World Grand Prix Championship 18 [RP/results]

[Diarcesia]

Excerpt from Sara's Notebook

Schedule of Activities

Friday | Praeparatio

6:15 a.m. - Breakfast
6:45 a.m. - Gym workout
8:00 a.m. - Preparation for practice
12:00 p.m. - Lunch
2:30 p.m. - Practice
4:00 p.m. - Debriefing
7:00 p.m. - Dinner
8:00 p.m. - Press conferences
10:00 p.m. - Bedtime

Additional Information

Filindo Sun Shines Off the Lines

In the wake of the brutal race in Nekoni and the consequent debriefing on what transpired, I should step up in verifying the settings in my car. With the tragic pit speeding penalty in mind, my crew and I created more efficient procedures to address the inefficiencies we uncovered.

Now equipped with the corresponding hindsight, I don't think the methodologies we used in the Nekoni race were appropriate, nor were my admittedly brash actions that lead to less-than-ideal outcomes. I still am deeply apologetic for that, and I wish to make amends in the next race.

I will review my prior notes in the circuit here. There will be changes given that I'm driving a WGPC-spec car against a different set of people.

In the meantime, I have to set aside a moment to review the replays of the street-circuit specialists.

The practice was going well given the circumstances. First, WGPC racing in a street is daunting. The course is narrower than usual. The straight sections are at a premium. Lots of precision-required corners. The place shapes the track and it defies the cars' attempts to reach top speed.

This meant the right amount of braking is important. It had worked for Sara before. She was used to this type of driving. She trusts Fitten to work with her here.

She pulled hard for the corner on the end of the fast section. She wasn't going to take for granted that she would win. Such a reward would be given as a result of focus and discipline. She was ready to give it all to try to bring Volkov up the constructors' list and chase the drivers' championship.

The practice dragged on for some time. There was still enough left to evaluate her options when entering each corner. She was able to complete all her objectives once the session ended.

At the debriefing, her team would interview Gregori and her. Their goal would be to evaluate the cars' telemetry and how driveable they are in the streets. She had experience in this regard. Even when she took unorthodox approaches towards certain sections, the car's handling was superb. The engines' response when she steps on the gas allowed her to execute her plans with pinpoint accuracy.

During the week, she got to speak separately with Gregori and Terho. Gregori was polite as ever, and they discussed the importance of driveability in the everyday cars that they drove (Sara made a point that her personal full-size sedan didn't drive like a yacht). Sara values Gregori's words; she has a vested interest in receiving his opinions. She always has something to learn from the way he competes in the series.

Gregori followed up with his own thoughts on the upcoming street race. The way he reacted on the Nekoni results made him appear somewhat deflated to Sara. He hoped it would not end up with a bad qualifying position by Saturday.

His pre-race interview wasn't his most positive for Sara. He seemed to be caught off-guard or hesitant. In the end, he might just be tired and want to get to tomorrow's practice.

The way he carried himself leading up to the practice and Saturday's qualifying was very professional. One would forget how his prior interview went. It was even better post-qualifying, when his spirits were clearly up as a reporter asked him how he felt. Being at P5 would do that to anyone.

His biggest worry was keeping his lofty position all the way to the finish line. He will do his part, and he has faith that his team will do theirs to support him. It was that faith that helped him in his qualifying success.

Sara's 'chance encounter' with Terho, as she called it, was the defining feature of the drudgery between the Nekoni and Filindostan grands prix. It stood out amongst the blur of that time span. Being in different teams in their own busy schedules make for very few times when they can strike up casual conversation. It was rare for them to even exchange a word of encouragement or a glance, let alone a discussion centered on a topic. Terho wasn't even present in William Archer's drivers' party.

Terho, with some time to spare, quickly dropped what he was doing and said hi to Sara. She was glad to be near the two-time WGPC champion and to have someone to talk to even if they are presently competitors. It had been a tough time for her, having to constantly endeavor to finish races with points. It helped that events like this allowed her to blow off some stress.

"Nice to meet you," she said. "And congratulations on leading in the drivers' leaderboard. How is the day going for you?"

Terho smiled, perhaps out of surprise, and replied.

This was more than meeting a new driver. Emil once predicted that Sara would have a hard time curbing her enthusiasm if this happened. He might be right. Sara was in the mood to be uncharacteristically chatty now. What would it be about? How the season would shape up, for instance?

"My day is going great!" she said in a voice that was just a touch hoarse, though she made a conscious effort to sound enthusiastic at the same time.

---

WGPC Predictions for Week 13: The Unknowns

Who would reach the podium in the upcoming Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat? It's currently unclear, but here are some who can grab this acclaim.

a. Cocoabo #23
Cocoabo #23's races were middling after a strong result just outside the podium at Eelandii. However, the avian driver was able to gain momentum starting in the Twicetagria non-championship race. This streak continued with grabbing pole position this Saturday. Can this be maintained and soar above the competition for one of those rarefied spots?

b. iBen Toralmintii
TRÆ is known well for being one of the most aggressive teams in the WGPC, and their high risk-taking had their corresponding high rewards with their 1-2 finishes. Toralmintii smooths out the rough edges by his experience in technical circuits, making for a nicely-balanced driving dynamic. A potential complication would be finding himself behind Sara Luna, who is loath to concede positions if she can help it.

c. Rudy Edwards
Get Good (and not just the motor oil)! He took a qualifying P2 in Nekoni, he did it again here! Lots of eyes are on him in this high-stakes street race. If he takes a win once more, everyone should delete their Preston-related memes stored in their drafts. Disclaimer: You gotta pray his car doesn't blow up in the early laps.

d. Alex Dimitrianov
It was a large shock to the home crowd when Badai Angin Tim's Rustom Ibuna figured in an unfortunate incident while on his way to pole position. No such fate befell Dimitrianov. With a qualifying lap that earned him P6, he has plenty of opportunity to snake his way to P3 or better with his deliberate pacing and patience. He may have dropped in the drivers' standings, but don't count him out yet.

e. Sara Luna
Redemption is in her mind after buckling in a race that was hers to lose. The Luna Wolf eyes for a repeat of her earlier win here. Having shown amazing recovery drives in much of the first half of the season, it is a breath of fresh air for Diarcesians to see her start within the top 10 again. Her consistent driving style, technique, and her string measured overtakes gives her a fair shot at the podium.

[Recuecn]

[OOC: building from this post in the NSSCRA thread. Thanks to Kanye for taking the initiative here, and to Vilita for the amazing iROS idea.]

Somehow, in the midst of the craziness of the WGPC, Abdoulaye found a way to carve out time to make it to the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds in Newmanistan. There he joined stars from across the world of motorsport, both stock car and open wheel. The drivers were split half and half between those with a background in NSSCRA and those from formula racing. Abdoulaye and most of the other WGPC drivers had never been to Tundra Falls before, but Abdoulaye's brief pair of visits to the NSSCRA last year had exposed him to the sport enough that he knew what a Mecca it was. Hands down the most important racetrack in NSSCRA history, the Proving Grounds at Tundra Falls had witnessed the beginning and end of each season's championship.

Abdoulaye was here at the draw for grid position, and he had just gotten lucky, pulling the #1 ball from the bingo spinner to earn pole position. I wish this was a WGPC pole position I'd just earned, the thought flashed across his mind, qualifying's been what's really setting me back in the championship. It was true; Abdoulaye had been doing a great job overtaking during races, but had been starting so far back that it never mattered. Hopefully he would race just as well in the iROS cars. He worried the stock car drivers might have an advantage.

The bright red Dart Hybrid Sport Vehicle he'd been given for the race was very, very different from any sort of grand prix car. It didn't even remind him too much of the Kanyean Chadwick he'd driven in NSSCRA; it felt more like a normal sports car. Abdoulaye loved it, and he loved the way it looked. But he worried he wouldn't be able to compete with an NSSCRA driver - let alone Kai Qiang, Stacie Houston, or Jeremiah Brooke. But he knew however it went that it would be a great opportunity and a lot of fun - especially being able to drive alongside his friend Jeremiah in particular.

Now, looking across the room as the position draw wound down, Abdoulaye caught a glimpse of Jeremiah again. He'd seen him go up during the draw - Terho had gone first, as WGPC champion, and Jeremiah had followed him immediately as his NSSCRA counterpart. Abdoulaye smiled to himself. He knew Jeremiah was just as star-struck as he himself had always been, and had been wanting to meet Terho.

Abdoulaye realized Jeremiah hadn't seen him yet, so he walked toward the table where he was sitting with the rest of the Yeezies, calling out a greeting. Sage noticed him first, and pointed him out to Jeremiah.

"Abdoulaye!" The NSSCRA champ greeted him with a bro hug. Instantly he wanted to know how Abdoulaye was doing now that he had moved up to the WGPC, asking about it before even letting Thea or Sage get a chance to say hi.

But as he caught up with his friends, Abdoulaye felt very happy. He'd missed them. "Thea, good to see you too! It's been so long!" He gave her a hug, and then gave one to Sage as well. "I hope you're watching what you eat?" Abdoulaye couldn't forget how scary it had been when Sage had been hit with food poisoning during his visit, but hopefully it didn't bother him that Abdoulaye kept teasing him about it every time he saw him.

Just then Jeremiah noticed Terho on the other side of the room. "Oh my, is that...?"

"Yup, that's Terho Talvela," Abdoulaye confirmed. Even in a room full of celebrities, he had serious star power. He watched Jeremiah get a little shaky.

"Abdoulaye?"

"Yes, mon ami?"

"Could.... could you perhaps introduce me?"

Abdoulaye laughed and put a hand on Jeremiah's back as he walked him over. "Of course!" It was a real ego boost to be asked to introduce someone to Terho Talvela, as if he had some sort of inside connection. In reality, Abdoulaye and Terho had only interacted a handful of times over the course of the season, but Abdoulaye wasn't about to tell Jeremiah that. And now he would introduce one series' champion to the other's.

"You have to promise me one thing, though, Jeremiah," said Abdoulaye as they crossed the room.

"What's that?"

"You can't ditch your friend the WGP2 champion just because you upgrade to the WGPC champion, alright?" They both laughed, and now here they were in front of Terho. He was looking at a copy of the just-printed starting order.

"Hey, Terho," began Abdoulaye. Terho looked up. "I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Jeremiah Brooke, who I'm sure you've heard of... reigning NSSCRA champion. He wanted me to introduce him, and I thought it was only appropriate that the two champions meet each other." And that the third champion introduces them, Abdoulaye added silently.

Jeremiah and Terho shook hands. "I'm so glad to get a chance to finally meet you!" said Jeremiah. "I'm such a big fan of yours."

"Wow, thank you!" Terho smiled. "That means a lot coming from you."

"This is going to be such a great series." Abdoulaye hazarded an attempt at small talk. "I've never seen this much talent all in the same room before in my life."

As the two stars began to chat, Abdoulaye's thoughts flashed back to the conversation he'd had with Olivia a while back. “Reçueçn is… Normal, when it comes to how it treats famous people, isn’t it?” she had asked. Abdoulaye had hesitated, but had been forced to admit that it was true, at least in most cases. I guess this proves it, he though. Here I am talking to Terho Talvela and Jeremiah Brooke as if it's nothing. I wish Olivia could see me now. He dialed it back in. Terho was saying something about how the schedule would provide a unique challenge for every racer in the series.

"It's very well designed," Terho said. "It seems balanced."

"You can tell people agree," said Abdoulaye. "It seems that everyone who was invited accepted. Everyone bought into the idea."

"There was probably a bit of a snowball effect," said Jeremiah. "As soon as some big names started to say yes, everybody else wanted to do it too."

"You say that as if you're not one of the big names," said Abdoulaye. "Although I suppose really everyone here is."

The conversation continued pleasantly for a few minutes, touching on the group's thoughts on the rest of the competition as well as the Proving Grounds track and even the schedule.

"I actually do like how tightly they've schedule it," Abdoulaye mentioned to Jeremiah after they had said goodbye to Terho and were returning to the Yeezies' table. "It would be impossible to fit into the middle of the WGPC season otherwise... I don't know how bad it is for NSSCRA."

"A little less hectic, but still very similar," Jeremiah said.

"Well I really enjoy the chance to see everybody," said Abdoulaye. "Next time we should take an extra day so we can actually have some time to hang out."

[Sorlovia]

San Marco Street Circuit
Post-qualifying

To be entirely honest Gregori had to admit that he’d been feeling distinctly deflated. It had shown in his interview pre-race interview despite his best efforts at hiding it. He knew full well that Sara saw it too. She was remarkably insightful and observant. In fact, there seemed to be few things capable of escaping her keen eye. But a string of less than desirable finishes and a tough season was enough to wear on any racer. Then there were the pressures of the WGPC environment and the long season. It all worked together to wear out the racers. If you added to that the long training hours, the rigorous physical training sessions and the numerous other demands then it was understandable that a racer might grow weary.

Gregori knew that he hadn’t been entirely his normal self in that interview. His thoughts were on the races ahead and what he might be doing wrong. By all regards he would’ve had looked hesitant or a little bit distracted. He wanted to do his best for Volkov Racing but it seemed that the season had so quickly turned against him. He was using every ounce of skill he had but it hadn’t seemed to even be enough. There was something he was missing and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He wasn’t the sort to give up but he was human. There were times when, despite his love for the sport, he did become disheartened.

But his fifth place finish in qualifying for the San Marco race was just what he needed. It served as a perfect pick up and re-energizer. He was tired but smiling when he bumped into Sara in the Volkov pit after the qualifying session. His car could be seen sitting cooling off in his race shed under the very watchful eye of Viktor and his team while he basked in the fresh air. Gregori enjoyed the simple pleasure of the fresh air and the wind on his face. There was an almost primal comfort in it. The way it calmed your mind, body and soul.

“You did well,” he said with a smile when he saw her “these practice and qualifying session really can be tough. But you held your own out there. This really has been your season.”

Gregori was happy for Sara. Her impressive record of success in her debut season would set her up well for her future with the WGPC. He expected to see her racing with one of the top teams in future seasons. Her record of high place finishes and impressive skill on the track would make her a racer of great interest to the major teams. She would now be on the MRT and Tropicorp radar in a big way. It would be interesting to watch her career. Gregori had fond memories of his time with MRT. After all, he’d raced with them in WGPC17 and had immensely enjoyed every moment of it. Sara would likely find herself with offers from those two top teams as well as Polaris, Badai Angin Tim and every other team looking to increase it’s standing in the WGPC. A talented racer with an impressive track record like Sara’s was a hot commodity.

"You'll have your pick of the teams next season. They'll be lining up to sign you after your record this season. Very few racers have a star debut season like yours."

Gregori hadn't been as fortunate. His debut season had been a challenging fight to earn places and make a name for himself. The Vannish Motors team had taken a chance on him and that one act of faith had given him his start. But WGPC16 and WGPC17 had been a battle. He'd never had quite as fortunate. He'd had to fight for every result and every inch of track. Sara was one of those racers who just seemed to have that "It" factor from the very start. She drove in a way that put her ahead of the other rookies, she handled her car with a skilled hand and she hadn't held back for so much as a single second. But, despite how his thoughts might have seemed if someone else had heard them, Gregori wasn't envious of her. He was proud of his teammate. He'd had to fight every step of the way but that was the way he liked it.

Sara had that seldom seen raw skill. She drove with a finesse and confidence that drew the full and unbridled attention of everyone watching. Was he witnessing another Terho in the rising? A soft smile spread across his face at the thought. His time would come. For now he'd be pleased for Sara and her ongoing success. It was paying off for Volkov in a very big way resulting in a long list of very pleased executives and sponsors.

A fifth place finish at the San Marco qualifying had given him a lift. It reminded him that he still had the skill to compete in the WGPC and that if he applied himself he could do well. It might be a low season but it wasn't a total write off.

---

Entry from Gregori's Journal

December 2nd

What can I say? This season has been more challenging than I'd thought at first. I knew that it would be demanding. Aren't they all? But I didn't anticipate that it would quite like this. But I love a good challenge and WGPC18 has certainly given me that. Though I do wonder if things may have been different if Volkov had gone with designing its own engine instead of using a WGPC-spec one. The engine is competitive but I wonder if a Volkov engine might've have given us more of an edge. But it doesn't seem to have held Sara back. She's a rookie and she's been pulling in finishes that a veteran would be pleased with.

I shouldn't have gone with aggression over technique. My father always said that sometimes you need to adapt your approach but here I am using the same approach. I know I have the skills to race in the WGPC. At the very least this season has been an interesting learning experience. Now I know what I need to do better.

Gregori sat in his hotel room with the sleek black notebook folded on his lap. He liked to keep a record of key race analysis results, particular race aspects and a record of his thoughts. It gave him a valuable source of information to look back on in future WGPC seasons. He recorded the results from his training sessions and jotted down his plans for how he could do better. It was a handbook of sorts. A record of where he had come from, where he was now and the ways that he could move forward.

He attached a photo of his very first podium finish in the book. The image of him standing at the top of the podium after his first place finish beamed out at him from that little book. It was then followed by his race results and the in-car analysis readouts from each race. Then there were the results from his training sessions and his reflections on how he had coped that day. The book was another example of his methodical and analytical mind. It was a record that would expose where he needed to improve and any habits that were damaging his performance.

[Hapilopper]

Pit road, San Marco Street Circuit, San Marco, Filindostan
The morning of the Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat
Marty Lewis was spending his morning looking through some notes and reviewing strategy with Preston Autos’ two drivers, Rudy Edwards and William Archer, as well as their crew members. All had been going well with the team the last few weeks. The team had won its last three races – the two non-championship races with William, and the Nekoni Grand Prix with Rudy. Marty had felt the team had finally met the moving target it had been looking for and was now ready to take its place as one of the sport’s elite teams.

As the group were in the midst of the pre-race meeting, one of his assistants, looking a little frantic, barged in.

“Uh, Marty?” the assistant, a young kid just out of college, whispered. “Jim Preston and a couple of his people are here.”

Marty turned towards the assistant and his eyes went wide. Because of Preston Autos’ byzantine bureaucratic system of bosses, supervisors and superiors, Jim Preston was rarely seen by anyone in the motorsports industry. He let the racing people do their thing on the track through Preston’s Performance Division, which was led by Shawn Hammer, who Marty reported directly to. Jim focused his energies on making sure Preston Autos sold more cars than Major Motors or Stevens Automotive Manufacturing – more sedans, more minivans, more sport utility vehicles, more pickup trucks, and more sports cars. He rarely went places to see people, let alone a place where Preston didn’t sell any cars. People went to see him.

So for this assistant to tell Marty that Jim Preston, his boss’s boss’s boss, had flown out to Esportivan Filindostan for the Grand Prix, that was a bit of a shock to his system. It either meant that Jim was thinking of pulling the plug on the whole program, or he was there to tell him how proud he was, or maybe they were going to discuss funding for the next season. Who knew. Jim Preston was always said to be a hard person to read, a hard person to impress.

“You said… who?” Marty asked softly.

“Jim Preston, Mr. Preston Autos,” the assistant repeated. “The big guy.”

“Oh shit… I wasn’t thinking he’d be coming,” Marty responded nervously. Let me go see him.”

Marty rushed out to see Jim and his associates touring the Preston Autos pit garage at the San Marco Street Circuit. Jim had that look on his face that indicated a level of satisfaction with what he was seeing. He was looking at a team that had built itself up from nothing to becoming one of the top teams in the World Grand Prix Championship, and since it carried the Preston name and carried funding from the auto manufacturer, it reflected on the car company as a whole for the team to run up front. Jim looked over to see Marty, a little nervous, walking into the pit garage.

“Mr. Lewis, I do not believe we have met, yet, at least,” Jim said. “Your boss was telling me the other day you’ve built this team up from nothing just using our funds and our name. I’m impressed.”

“Thank you, sir,” Marty sputtered. “What brings you to Filindostan?”

“Well, I wanted to talk to you about a few things,” Jim said. “And I heard you guys won the last Grand Prix, so I wanted to see the team in action. Maybe meet the two drivers – Rudy Edwards, and who was the other guy named?”

“William Archer,” Marty replied. “He’s from Abanhfleft. Good kid, too. Better than his father.”

“So I hear,” Jim said. “Who was his father?”

“Guillermo, drove in NSSCRA last year,” Marty replied. “Got in a few scraps with Drake Stevenson.”

“Interesting,” Jim said, changing the subject to business. “So after the race, I want to have a meeting with you about next season. You guys started off pretty badly, but you turned things around. And I want to meet with you this weekend so we can get something turned around before we announce something in Hapilopper City in a couple of weeks.”

“Yes sir, will do.”

“But I want to see this team in action first,” Jim said. “I want you and the team to have a great race, maybe a repeat of last week? Maybe a repeat of what we saw?”

“That’d be good, but it’s going to be really hard to win another race,” Marty said. “I mean, it’s not like we’re running up against a bunch of schmucks. We’re running against the best in the world. Teams like Tropicorp Racing Ælund, Nexus, and Badai Angin Tim, they’ve been doing this a while. If we can put one over again on them, it’ll be a hell of an achievement.”

“But I think you guys can do it,” Jim said.

“We’re gonna try,” Marty said.

The two went walking down the pit area so Marty could show Jim what the WGPC circus looked like on race day morning.

“These are not like the teams you see in HASCAR or even in the NSSCRA,” Marty said. “These are the most technologically advanced racing cars in the multiverse. These are cars that utilize technology that you and I could only dream of. The WGPC allows us to use anything and everything that we can use that won’t kill us.”

“What do you mean?” Jim asked quizzically.

“Well, I think the only thing in the rulebook that’s banned is something that could render a racetrack uninhabitable for the next ten thousand years, but other than that…”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Hell, those guys over there,” Marty said, pointing towards the Nexus Racing crew, “utilize some kind of neural network for their car known as Imagination. I’m sure it’s legal for a team to use organic power, or animals of some sort in their car. There’s other ways we could power our car if we want…”

“Now, you’re not expecting us to do something like that, right?” Jim asked.

“Oh, no,” Marty said. “We’re fine with what we’ve got. Maybe given a little more time, we could really develop what we’ve got, and maybe I was wondering your thoughts on getting some extra staff soon so we could sell this to some other teams.”

“Not a bad idea, but let’s talk about it after the race.”

[Squidroidia]

Something seems to not be okay in the Mizushima camp today.

With the 7th race on the WGPC calendar approaching, the Squidroidian driver knew he had to get himself up to practice in qualification on the tricky San Marco street circuit - The same circuit where Lane Carter's hopes of a 1-2 finish for his were broken in a WGP2 race the season prior. Mizushima knew that he only had one GP start heading into qualifying, so the goal was simple - Show up.

He proceeded to show up as a soccer head.

"Hey guys, big game today, you think Tikariot is going to win today?" He said as he got his seat in his #63 Motorworks car for qualifying. Practice was a joke for the Squidroidian, 11 seconds off the pace of even Jean Mercer-Daly and spinning out of control on seemingly every turn.

"Sir, we don't want to see you pull off those practice antics, no time for the Di Bradini. Besides, your nation isn't participating in it. Go out there and try to get into that race, will you?"

A gulp was heard from the Squidroidian, as the 18 year old driver firmly grasped his steering wheel and got ready to take this car onto closed-off public roads.

...There was one problem. Daryl couldn't shut up about football for the life of him, even while putting in his laptimes. He was that focused on that son of a gun football match between Tikariot and Krytenia in the Di Bradini Cup.

"Hey, how are Tikariot doing now? They must be in the lead or something, right?"

"Daryl, you have a qualifying run to do. Again, no time for football, you're miles off the pace of your teammates. The match can wait until after qualifying."

And Daryl still was miles off even Kitti Armbruster. Last in qualifying, almost 4 seconds behind the 2nd qualifying Motorworks car in Dario Nülkeschläger, a mind that cared more about football than the qualifying session? That was a deadly mix of a DNS for him. Grand Prix start #2 can wait. Maybe until Hapilopper City, maybe until next season or when Daryl shuts up about the Di Bradini. He was Krytenia losing 9-0 to Tikariot.

---

To: Lane Carter
From: dmizushima@squidmail.sqr
Subject: RE(10): Letter

---

Woohoo indeed, Lane! RE(10)! I'm surprised this is continuing on even after we talked to each other in person - You gotta love the magic of electronic mail! I used it to even get here with trying to get rides with Volkov and MRT and especially Preston and Race Eelandii, not to mention the Cocoabo Expo, it's a pretty fun weapon to use when it comes to accepting offers and tryout opportunities. I'll do it again next season, just for sure.

I'm happy that you accepted my offer to meet in Hap City. You know I actually raced there for the Preston tryouts, right? I think I got 11th, not too sure about that. But hey, at least I got some experience navigating "Oh Crap There's A Wall"! If it wasn't for my good showing in my first time driving WGPC machinery, I wouldn't be on the grid this year, and I wouldn't certainly talk to you all these weeks later!

But yeah, qualifying and especially practice in San Marco was not good this time around. You saw highlights of me spinning up and down the streets like it was nothing. 11 seconds behind the 2nd worst performing car in practice and qualifying wasn't much better. I didn't spin around like I did in practice, but I was far off the pace of Valkyria and Nülkeschläger. You know what? They had great rides in qualifying today, heck you're on the same row as Charys for the start of the Grand Prix! I'm fine if my teammates do well in qualifying - That means I have to brush up on my skills over the offseason in a simulator or something. Hopefully with that I'll get some racetime!

But yeah, I'll see you in Hap City after qualifying for our meeting. Get Good out there, Lane! Avenge your WGP2 nightmare and get on top of that podium for your former homeland!

-Daryl Mizushima
#63 WGPC Motorworks driver

[Cocoabo Forest]

Fast Cocoabo Takes Pole Position on Streets of San Marco

Filindostani Grand Prix, San Marco Street Circuit, San Marco, Filindostan :: From the moment the #23 Tropicorp Engineering Powered Fireline Motorsports machine hit the track in San Marco, it was fast. Cocoabo #23 was one of the quickest drivers in the 75 minute long practice session and backed it up by taking pole position in the Traditional qualifying session, sneaking out a late hot lap to edge last weeks race winner Rudy Edwards. Edwards, who is backed by Good Motor Oil, will potentially have a new view out the front of his Hapilopper built machine as the Fireline Team are rumored to have put the words "GET FAST" under the rear wing of Cocoabo #23's machine in the hopes that the Cocoabo can get the jump on Edwards and hold him off to bring the team its first victory - or at least first podium of the season in San Marco.

WGPC18 Supplier Performance Standings

[1] - 140 :: Tropicorp Racing Supply
[2] - 89 :: InMotion
[3] - 53 :: Deyoze
[4] - 52 :: Solymok

Another team that will be looking for an improvement to their performance will be the local team Badai Angin Tim. While it was a difficult qualifying session for Rustom Ibuna who place just 22nd on the grid, teammate Alex Dimitrianov who also recently qualified for the iROS circuit will start 6th on the grid and carry the flag for local support unless Ibuna can somehow cut through the field in the #71 machine.

While Badai Angin remain third in the Constructors standings, the gap to the field behind them has dwindled. Come race day in San Marcos, Badai Angin will not only be fighting for themselves but also for Tyre Supplier Solymok Racing. After having previously been the clear third-best performing Tyre on the grid during the first half of the season and at times even pressuring second-placed InMotion in the supplier performance standings, the wheels have come off the rail for Solymok who have failed to score points in two of the previous three points-scoring races and have now been overtaken in the supplier performance standings by Deyoze Tires of Hodori.

Deyoze completely erased their deficit to Solymok after the Eisborg Gran Premio di Nekoni where flagship Deyoze driver Sayono Souzare piloted the #52 Polaris Racing Team entry to a runner-up podium finish. The points Souzare earned for Deyoze on the day were nearly double the amount that Solymok had earned over the previous four race events and moved Deyoze into third position on 53 points, one marker ahead of Solymok in the Supplier Performance Standings and even closing to within 36 points of inMotion tires who, if not for earning the bonus for Fastest Race Lap through Ryker Lane, would have also had a struggle of a day coming out of Nekoni.

With that result Tropicorp Racing Supply have begun to check out at the Top of the standings after In Motion had managed to keep things close through the first four events of the season. While Tropicorp Racing Supply had left the door open following the Aboveland Sprint where the Supplier failed to place a car on the podium for the first time all season, and, failed to earn the fastest lap award for the first time all season, it was back to business as usual when Edwards put Tropicorp back in Victory Lane in Nekoni. Now, looking forward to San Marcos, it is an all Tropicorp front row on the grid as Cocoabo #23 will take off from the preferred position with Tropicorp Tyres and a Tropicorp engine as Tropicorp could clinch the Supplier Performance Standings title should they win in San Marcos and InMotion failed to place in the points. Of course, a reversal scenario would swing things wide open for the stretch run of the World Grand Prix Championships 18th Season.

---

[Nekoni]

As the checkered flag waved the winner of the 7th Nekonian Grand Prix across the line, there was a noticeable gap between Rudy Edwards' stunning Preston and everyone else. However, when the next cars came, it lit up the audience. Why? Because it was two Polaris cars. On the podium, Sayone Souzare, who quietly kept her head down, qualified in third, then pleasantly kept her head whilst chaos happened around her, and brought the car home in second place. Unfortunately, despite Erica being next to her physically, the results spelled the truth out. She was a whole lap slower.

The spectators didn't necessarily mind that Erica had only managed to squeeze out a ninth on her home track, choosing to get caught in the moment of a wonderful photo op of the Nekoni team crossing the line in perfect sync. The conditions were prime, anyway: a beautifully dry, cloudless mid-summer in the rolling valleys, the light allowing perfect shot of the purple and orange tearing down the pit straight at 200mph, no cars behind them to obstruct the view. No doubt some young budding petrolheads in Varea were going to be getting a framed picture of that adorning their bedroom walls come Christmastime.

However, Erica knew that once again, in Rivoli, she had taken her eye off the ball. Whereas she spent the first two seasons overanalysing the course, and as a result, her drives were smooth, graceful, but not necessarily quick, this weekend, Erica went in underprepared, and she knew it. Although she could be trusted to pull points out of an 11th position, and she did, coming away with just two this weekend felt like she wasn't selling herself well. And, of course, as the taste of that amazing steak dinner she had on the night she should have either been in the gym or in the simulator turned to ashes in her mouth, she had nobody to blame for herself.

As with any job, the work-life balance is a vital one to get right in the WGPC. It's a job driven by passion. After all, it takes a certain kind of someone to want to earn their bread driving at extreme speeds with only a split second's difference in braking and turning standing between taking a perfect line through the Carousel and launching yourself facefirst into a sandstone wall. The issue that Erica found, is that, although she effectively had the 50:50 split that she needed, it was inconsistent as hell. She couldn't spend one week in self-imposed lockdown, and then spend the next one effectively going on a drunken sightseeing tour of Nekoni. Something had to change here.

It was exacerbated during the podium celebrations. Whilst the Polaris boys and girls were all celebrating in the garage, and naturally, Erica was with them too, she had one single thought jammed in her brain as she watched Sayono get in a spray-fight with Talvela on the stage: 'This should be you.' Talking with Alexandra after the race, despite knowing that Alex wasn't intending to do so, Erica could notice the disappointment in her voice. If her head was screwed on this week, Polaris would have been celebrating two drivers on the podium today.

---

The week that followed was a tough one. After treating the Nekoni round as a soft introduction, she needed to hit the ground running at San Marco. Effectively a go-kart circuit on speed, Erica knew that the tight twisty streets of Filindostan took no prisoners. At only 4.4km, it would be a much larger challenge than at Nekoni, navigating through all 70 laps of the demanding 20-turn maze of tarmac and metal. As if that didn't sound challenging enough, the circuit was known for its potential to be a wet-weather nightmare. One mistake would ruin an entire weekend, and, given the spot on the calendar, it could ruin the whole season. This would be a game of endurance.

Precision and endurance were certainly the themes of her training. When she wasn't in the gym, running off the now-mental excesses of that damn steak dinner, she was in the simulator. The enclosed nature of the street circuit meant that she needed to manage her speed above nearly all else. There wasn't run-off on San Marco, only a steel barrier and shame. Not content with the San Marco recreation on the simulator, she additionally asked for different street circuits to be added into the rotation, including ones that WGPC cars really shouldn't go on, for example, the WGP2's original Nekoni round at Derneo Quays. It was a baptism of fire, sure, but if she could learn to build flow in a circuit where flow didn't really exist, and if she could thread the line at speed without being afraid of the walls, then perhaps in Filindostan...she'd be able to pull off something special.

The team arrived in the San Marco pit on Friday morning, with a quiet confidence exuding from a well-tested Okumura wanting to put the week's work to practice. The feared rain helpfully would be staying away for the practice and qualifying sessions, which was a relief. Despite putting a lot of time down in the wet sim, Erica still didn't feel that she could hit the flow of the turns as well as she'd have liked. As the team went over the details for the practice session, she smiled to herself, knowing that she couldn't wait to see how the new Erica worked against the rest of the field.

An hour into the session, the #47 powered round the tight righthander of 20, and blasted down the straight to the sweetest sound Erica had heard all month from Alex's usual patter.

"Top of the tree, Erica. You can't win shit from the Practice, but if you do that tomorrow, you're gonna!"

Despite losing the lead and ending up fourth at the end of the session, the mood was a whole lot more positive than last Sunday. She didn't hear the disappointment in Mayari's voice now. She didn't feel like she owed something anymore. At that moment, she knew that the spark that she'd inadvertedly spent the last week snuffing out with beef, fat and champagne had been reignited. She let out a long, wry smile whilst looking at the top three of the board that day, three drivers that were well within striking distance, and she spoke, determined, under her breath, her voice deepening: "That podium is going to be MINE."

[Abanhfleft]

William Archer didn't know what exactly he was expecting from Lane Carter's reply, but it certainly wasn't this. He hadn't been able to check up on his emails until after the race in Nekoni, where he finished in P10, a reasonable result, but the topic of the week definitely had to be William's teammate Rudy Edwards, who proved that "Get Good!" wasn't just a marketing campaign anymore but an actual challenge to the rest of the grid.

But now back to Lane. So Lane was saying that neither he nor Daryl Mizushima were talking about William behind his back. It was all a misunderstanding, and what they were really doing was having a laugh at the slogan plastered on the rear wing of the Preston cars. Maybe it was true; maybe William was just being paranoid. Maybe Lane was just being diplomatic about the whole thing. Lane himself said that he wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge on someone for something they didn't do. And what was this? Don't involve Daryl into this. The only thing that William wanted to do was ask the Squidroidian about this thing that apparently didn't happen. He wasn't that kind of person. Looks like his email attempting to clear the air and smooth the waters had actually stirred the pot.

Well, William can't let things end like this. It just doesn't feel right. He wanted to let Lane know that he had seen his email and that he was okay with it. But sending another email didn't feel right with William though. There had to be another way that he could get his point across.

That opportunity would come at the San Marco Street Circuit in Filindostan. William had given this coming meeting some thought; thought about the words that he was going to say, how he was going to respond to the possible ways Lane could respond to his approach. Eventually, William reasoned that he had thought about everything he could think about with his coming conversation with. The only thing left to do now was to bring someone along with him.

"Why exactly do you want me to come with you again?" Taras Matviyenko asked when William approached him asking him to come with the Fleftic to the Race Eelandi garage.

"I just thought it would be nice of you to reconnect with your former teammate, you know," William said. "Also I feel like I need to have somebody with me when I go there cause I literally have no idea how he's going to react to me coming over to his garage."

"You have nothing to worry about," Taras assured William. "I don't remember Lane ever having had an angry moment."

"But man, he probably would have and should have been angry about what happened to you guys here back in WGP2," William said.

"You don't have to remind me," Taras moaned. Both Taras and Lane had almost managed to give UrGa Motorsports Division its first ever 1-2 finish in WGP2 were it not for an incident between the two cars. William could only imagine the disappointment that both drivers must have felt when that happened.

"So, you ready for this, man?" William asked Taras.

"As ready as I ever will be, I guess," Taras replied, and then the two of them made the walk towards the Race Eelandi garage.

"Hey Lane, it's William," William said. "So I only just read your email after Nekoni, and I just thought that I would rather reply to you in person than by email. It's good to see that you don't hold anything against me despite having all the reason in the world to do so. But if it's okay with you, I'd still like to hear you say it to me in person. Oh, and I also brought you something," William said as he brought out a red bottle filled with an amber liquid. "I looked this up, and I read somewhere that you Galarians bring along a basket of apples when meeting someone new. I don't have a basket of apples with me, but I do have this bottle of apple-flavored green tea. It's not much, but I hope you like it nonetheless. I'm not looking to make a scene; I just want to know we're cool." William then held out the bottle for Lane to take if he so wished.

---

In other news, William Archer was still a shit driver during qualifying.

[Twicetagram and JYPe]

Best (Meat) Foods in Filindostan!

---

Chars: Wassup guys! I'm Chars and today I'm in Filindostan! Filindostan is a beautiful place, overflowing with natural wonders and culture. Talking about culture, food is certainly part of their cultures! People of Filindostan really pride themselves in their food, and I'm going to look at some of their best, tastiest foods!

Adobo
Chars: Just a tidbit, adobo is the national dish of Filindostan. For newbies, adobo is basically meat or pork marinated in soy sauce or vinegar! You may be thinking, wpuldn't the soy sauce make it taste ungood? Actually, it gives the meat a savory flavour! The chicken is really tender and juicy, and not to mention tasty as well! If you come to Filindostan you should try adobo!

Mi Goreng
Chars: For noodle or spicy lovers, I recommend mi goreng! Mi goreng is a spicy noodle dish fried with vegetables and some meat like chicken and pork. The noodles are usually thin and yellow. You can get mi goreng everywhere, as it's a cheap delight found in every corner in Filindostan. To add to the taste, chili is added, making a spicy delight. Not for those with weak stomachs!

Calamares
Chars: Some of you may already be familiar with calamares, but it's quite close to squid, or calamari. It's basically fried squid, battered in flour. The chewy squid really satisfies the taste buds of your tongue, and with the flour, it)s also crispy! It's a really good treat for those who wants to try some street food. If you're going on a diet, you should still try it!

Milkfish Relleno
Chars: For the inexperienced, milkfish relleno is ground meat stuffed in milkfish. Sounds exotic? Well, the taste is unmatched with any other meat food! You can fry it, but steaming the fish is also an option. If meat stuffed into fish sounds foreign to you, well you should try milkfish relleno. You'll love it!

So that's all that I have today. Join us soon as we race here at Filindostan?

[Auruna]

San Marco Street Circuit
Practice
There's a guest inside Viska's garage, it was a sudden request but it's from the MNA. Future VSK WGP2 team principal Raiko Meirokana, he will be observing how the team functions in race weekends. Obviously he's not allowed to see any of the secret technical parts and strategy of Viska to Jöna's relief. It's going to be a weird weekend.

Jöna still couldn't bear the fact that someone from their rival is observing how they work. Guessing that the reason is to prepare them for their entry, he just shrugs it off after a few minutes of staring at the garage. He just focuses on what's more important.

They have enough data for this weekend but they needed more, more data. While both drivers are enjoying their time in their cars, the rest of the team are getting all those important data. They want to focus more on the race but since this is a street circuit, which is unforgiving to mistakes. The race is higher than qualifying in priority for Viska, it's what they usually do.

Practice concludes with Olivia posting the fastest lap of the session, a 1:47.173.

Jöna heads to the garage first then he heard Raiko calling his name. He walks toward Raiko, slightly annoyed, he just asks him. "What is it?"

"After witnessing everything here, I'd say you guys are doing well."

"Er.. thanks." Jöna answers, he clears his mind for a bit. "Now, just remember to take things seriously whenever necessary."

"Yeah, I can see that. Now, I think we can break your records at the WGP2 soon."

"Like winning a home race and placing second in the championship on their debut season? Good luck to that."

"Aye, would need it."

After that conversation, Jöna gets a cup of coffee before heading outside, he felt a bit stressed after talking to Raiko. "I think I have a lot of questions for Kiiro." He says to himself then takes a sip of coffee.

Qualifying
Qualifying is business as usual. They need to qualify well here in order to utilise the unique features of a street circuit to their own advantage. They did well here previously so hopes are high. Although the cars are mainly setup for the race, they should do alright in qualifying. Halfway through qualifying, both Viskas have been out for a while now, aiming to set their fastest lap in their preferred tyre. Jan couldn't understand why they are going on mediums at first, he realises something after a quick chat with Artur. A one stop is very risky here but they want to maximise their chances. Artur pushed for differing strategies for both drivers that should help out a lot. It took a lot of planning after practice, Artur is sure that the plan will work.

Nearing the end of the session, they couldn't put in a faster time. After several attempts later, no progress has been mate.

It was set, Goita qualified P11, his fastest time is 1:41.738. Olivia qualified P13 with a fastest time of 1:41.796. Dario Nülkeschläger deserves a special mention with splitting both Viska drivers by qualifying P12. They both did their fastest times in the tyres according to the plan set.

It's going to be an interesting race.

[TJUN-ia]

WGPC18 - Round 7
Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat
San Marco Street Circuit, San Marco, Filindostan (Topical and Filipino. Huh.)

Maligayang pagdating sa Pilindostan! Welcome to Finindostan! It's a nation many back in TJUN-ia will know well and for this weekend, it shall be where most of us focus in on. On the island of Kabishawan lies San Marco, the capital of this nation and the beating heart of Filindostan and it's culture. This weekend we race on its streets as WGPC18 arrives here for Round 7. Yes, I know, It's San Marco time!

San Marco holds an interesting place in the heart of both TJUN-ian racing fans and of the Galarian Lane Carter. It was here last season, for Round 2 of WGP2 S3, that the Galarian would have both the best moment of his career and also his worst. You all know what happened then: he shocked everyone by ending up on Pole and was in a position to lead UrGa to a historic 1-2 before he went into the path of teammate Taras Matviyenko and that was the end of that. It was weekend that showed both the potential and the "what ifs" of the Galarian's career thus far but here and now, redemption must be in his mind right now...

---

Friday - Practice
For the first time since that weekend in WGP2, Lane Carter was on Filindostani soil. You didn't need to tell him what happened here all that time ago, the jubilation of getting his UrGa on pole on Saturday, the anger he directed at himself over what happened on Sunday. Things have changed since that weekend, of course: he now wore Race Eelandii brown instead of UrGa red, his teammate was Cruisin of Vilita not Taras of Trans-Dniesters and he actually had a friend on the grid in the form of Squidroidia's Daryl Mizushima. In some aspects, WGPC was treating the Galarian better and in others, it wasn't. But here in San Marco, the track he knows all too well, Lane knew that if he was to get some good points for himself in his debut campaign, then it would have to be here.

While he did have aspirations about Sunday, Friday was not kind to the Galarian - on track, at least. While he knew how important this circuit was to his career, he was still a bit rusty after not racing this track for a while. San Marco was as punishing as he had remembered and he could only manage a lowly 21st in the car, 2 and a half seconds off the pace of Olivia Stone. The car can do good here, as Cruisin showed in 7th, but it was Carter himself who needed to improve. Daryl's performance was very much worse, as he ended up nearly 19(!) seconds off the pace after struggling to conquer this track without spinning somewhere. Lane still hadn't heard from the Inkhallen since last week, but he didn't really think about that...especially as William Archer did respond...in person...with Taras.

It was very unexpected, to say the least when the Fleftic and his Pridnestrovian friend turned up after practice. William felt that after the response Lane had sent him, it would be better to respond in person that on e-mail - which was totally understandable. He wanted to hear the Galarian say what he said in person - that he had no issues with the son of...him. He even looked up the whole "Apple Diplomacy" tradition and though he didn't bring a basket of apples, he did bring the next best thing: a bottle of apple-flavoured green tea. Warmed by the unexpected hospitality, he repeated to the Fleftic that he had no issues with him, nor does TJUN-ia as a whole. He took the bottle and had a chat with both of them before saying goodbye, making sure he hugged both of them in turn. The drink was very nice, too!

---

Saturday - Qualifying (Traditional)
Maybe Lane needed to drink green tea more often. After a terrible Friday, Saturday arrived with the Galarian looking to be at least competitive before the big one tomorrow - and he did exactly that. Sure, it wasn't pole, but being only 2 tenths off of it in one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season thus far was certainly good enough in this series. P7 is where he will start, with all the points ahead of him.

Looking back, he thought it wasn't as surprising to see Cocoabo #23 (the bird he beat to pole last time out) take pole here for Fireline, just ahead of inform Ruby Edwards and Erica Okumura. Lane will be joined on Row 4 by, of all people, vlogger and "Mr Cute Face" himself, Charyseine Valkyria. Dario Nülkeschläger also did well in 12th, blowing both Mizushima and Luminna out of the water once again. Toralmintii starts 10th, Cruisin down in 16th and Talvelain 18th, a surprise to be sure.

So, all in all, he couldn't really ask for more out of Quali after the disaster yesterday, but the main event was still to come. But before all that, another email had to be sent...

---

To: dmizushima@squidmail.sqr
From: lcarter@jagwire.tj.un
Subject: RE(11): Letter

Hello again, Apple Man here. It seems fitting that I, driver of the #11, get to write RE(11). I will certainly agree that e-mail is a gift that can be used for wonderful things, like signup and...this whole thing. If e-mail didn't exist, maybe we'd be communicating on paper instead of screens...

I do know you were in Hap City for the Preston Trials. I was there too.

10 Jasmine Muscadet (Nephara)                 1:32.594
11 Daryl Mizushima (Squidroidia)              1:32.836
12 Lane Carter (TJUN-ia)                      1:33.090
13 Charyseine Valkyria (Twicetagria)          1:33.123

Here we are. I was only behind you by 2 tenths, but that shows how well you really did back then. It seems fitting that we both were there and in Cocoabo Forest for events as if we were supposed to meet perhaps. Now, I'm not suggesting that the universe was trying to get us to meet from the beginning but...maybe?

Sorry about your struggles, but San Marco can be a tough beast to tame at times. I know you will have some luck at some point, so don't give up! I'll certainly try my best out there, although I'm doubtful that I could even get on the podium. Top 5 would be nice, though but we'll see.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the show tomorrow! I'll definitely see you in Hap City after quali, no matter where or when! You can count on that.

Kind Regards,

Lane Carter
Driver of #11 for Race Eelandii V&T GP

[Vilita and Turori]

TORALMINTII EYES FINAL FOUR MAGIC ONCE MORE

Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat, San Marco Street Circuit, San Marco, Filindostan :: iBen Toralmintii grumbled a little under their breadth inside their helmet in the Cockpit of the AGP-003. After winning the Abovian Grand Prix Feature in a throwback to the Vilita & Turori Motorsports World Grand Prix season 14 livery that made the Talvela-Toralmintii partnership famous, the #77 Tropicorp Racing Aelund car was back to its usual color scheme. On the final lap, Toralmintii could see the leader just ahead of him on the straightaway. He was fighting his hardest to catch back up but it was not to be. Rudy Edwards crossed the line to win at the Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli. iBen Toralmintii had finished one lap down.

As Toralmintii past the flagstand, the crowd began to roar. Not for the Turorian, but because coming around the corner, but for the two Polaris Racing drivers who seemed poised for a photographic approach to the Checkered flag as hometown driver Erica Okumura lined up at speed alongside soon-to-be runner-up finisher Sayono Souzare to the delight of the fans in the stands. Okumura finished a lap down, one position behind Toralmintii but still in the points to complete a solid day for the Neknoi based team that moved them 5th in the constructors standings.

The normally calm, cool and collected Turorian certainly showed their frustration at how the strategy had gone all wrong on the day. Of course, having a cut tyre during a race is nothing that could be predicted but with a World Class championship caliber team such as Tropicorp Racing Aelund, Toralmintii had hoped they could recover better than an 8th place finish. Still, 3 points in the Championship Standings was far better than nothing and could ultimately make the difference in the title hunt. Having twice been on the losing end of a championship battle decided by 5 points or less, no one understood better than iBen Toralmintii the difference a handful of points could make. The real question was - when the World Grand Prix Championship's 18th season came to a close, would Toralmintii be looking back at the Gran Premio di Nekoni as Points gained, or Points lost?

For now, they were most certainly Points Lost. Having entered the race as the leader in the Drivers' Standings, Toralmintii would depart Nekoni one point behind teammate Terho Talvela who finished 3rd in at the Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli. The schedule for the remainder of the season still favored Toralmintii's driving style, much as it had during World Grand Prix Championship Season 17 when the Turorian driver clicked off a record four straight Grand Prix Victories - yet still lost the title by five points. If he could do even half as well down the stretch during World Grand Prix Championship 18 he could cap off his career by claiming the ultimate prize - something no Vilitan nor Turorian driver had ever accomplished. As the most Technically demanding track on the circuit, the San Marco Street Circuit would be the ultimate test of Toralmintii's championship hopes. While a podium finish would not be required for Toralmintii to keep up the title fight, it certainly felt like the best opportunity for the Turorian to make up for points lost and re-establish themselves as the Championship favorite in the event of any struggles at the more equally balanced Hapilopper circuit one round later.

Toralmintii was certainly looking to shake their current string of luck before heading back to Atlantian Oceania for the Hapiloppan Grand Prix as there had been a lot of disappointment for the Turorian at the hands of Hapilopper just in the previous week alone. While he was a lap down, the Gran Premio di Nekoni was the second time in less than a week that Toralmintii had taken the checker flag just behind a Hapiloppan driver. Earlier in the week was the much anticipated debut of iBen's Race of Stars, an all-invitation SuperStar caliber cross-discipline racing series sponsored by Toralmintii which had its debut event in Newmanistan as a support event to the NSSCRA Season 10 opening Tundra Falls 500.

While Toralmintii was too busy with competing for a World Grand Prix Championship to participate in any of the on-track testing of the iROS vehicles, the veteran driver quickly found comfort in the brand new Hybrid Dart Sport racing machines and led 12 of the races 40 laps. By the races end however, Toralmintii was trailing Frank Bronson with World Grand Prix teammate Terho Talvela tucked in behind heading for the white flag. Coming off Turn Two Toralmintii broke out of line and signalled for his teammate Talvela to come with him. The Abovian followed but was unable to keep up the momentum down the back straightaway and allowed NSSCRA Season 8 champion Kai Qiang to get a fender under the Midnight Blue #56 machine. Qiang's presence disturbed the air around Talvela's Dart and the Abovian lost the lock on Toralmintii's bumper. Seeing Qiang coming, Toralmintii changed lanes to try to re-establish the momentum but only resulted in slowing the whole train down at the critical time in the final corner - much to the delight of Bronson who skated off to victory. Toralmintii survived to finsh second while Talvela was shuffled back to 5th place at the line. It was a solid start for both drivers to the first ever Race of Stars event but naturally Toralmintii would have loved to take home the checkers in his own event.

With iROS taking a break until joining up with the World Grand Prix circuit prior to its penultimate event of the season at the Talbott Autodrome, it was back to the focus on the World Grand Prix. There were four races left in the season. Toralmintii trailed the leader Terho Talvela by just 1 point. Of course, one season prior during World Grand Prix Championship 17, Toralmintii had accrued just 47 points and trailed Tavela by a mathematically insurmountable 87 points. Over the final four events of the season Toralmintii reduced the deficit to the leader by 82 points, losing the title by just 5 points. Now, over the last four events of WGPC Season 18, with a schedule that clearly favored the Turorians driving style, Toralmintii had to make up 1 point. Just 1 point. Out pace Talvela by 1 position over four races and don't let anyone sneak up from behind. That was all that was standing in the way of the first ever Vilita & Turori World Grand Prix Driver's Champion.

---

Of course, Toralmintii wasn't the only Vilita & Turori driver in the field who was hoping to become the first ever World Grand Prix Driver Champion from the Vilitan Cove Region. Vilitan driver R.L. Cruisin whose best finish in the World Grand Prix driver's Standings was a 4th place in their rookie season behind teammate Stang Crax and a pair of WGPC Hall of Famers, Jai Kardaeri and Matthew Portland, would certainly have taken note of Toralmintii's comeback performance from one season prior. While mired near the top of the mid-pack drivers sitting 8th in the drivers standings, Cruisin still sat just 41 points behind Terho Talvela in the drivers standings. Less than half of the gap that Toralmintii made up over the final four races one season prior. It was already a much improved season for Cruisin after making the switch from Starblaydi based Mirrors Racing outfit to the locally operated Race Eelandii! VTGP team but it was still not quite the note the Vilitan driver was looking to send off on. Of the tracks remaining on the WGPC Calendar, the Preston Autos Hapiloppan Grand Prix is likely the one that Cruisin circled as their best opportunity for a Podium finish, the experienced driver knows how to push a car as they have done throughout their entire career - always outperforming their teammate with the exception of that first season in the shadow of the Champion Stang Crax. The San Marco Grand Prix will be the 95th Points-Paying Grand Prix of Cruisin's career and they will need every bit of that experience to battle up from the 16th position into the points. It would be a new venue for the Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat which was held one season prior at the Yogyakulta International Circuit - A race won by Terho Talvela with iBen Toralmintii finishing 4th from Pole Position and R.L. Cruisin crossing the line 14th. Cruisin's teammate Lane Carter seems to have taken well to the layout of the Filindostani Street Course after posting the 7th fastest time in qualifying and appears well positioned to score points for the team. With 31 points in the 8th position the Race Eelandii VTGP team is slightly below their season goal of a Top 5 Constructors finish but with four races to go and just 15 points separating them from 5th place team Polaris Racing, there is no reason to believe that with a little bit of luck the Race Eelandii team won't still be able to climb up into the Top 5.

[Lisander]

San Marco Street Circuit
Formation Lap

"So, Anne, here we go again. It hasn't been a good season ... but had I ever a good season?"

Anneliese sighed inside the helmet, lowered the visor and hit the throttle, leaving for the formation lap. She walked cautiously through the narrow streets of San Marco, full of excitement, noise and fans. She looked carefully at each turn, for one last time to fix the overtaking points in his head, the best opportunities he would have to try to get more points for himself and the team. It needed to be better, to make sure it would stay there next year. On the radio, her longtime friend, Anne Siebler, spoke.

"Sissie, all right, we checked the car all over again. Everything is working as well as we could make it."

A newly graduated engineer, Anne Siebler was just a grid girl until last year. In the female empowerment management promoted by Carolina Lasseps, the girl had been promoted to a lollipop man, and later to an engineering assistant, a position she held at that time. But her best position, at least for Anneliese, was the one of friend.

"Thank you, Anne. Confirm the nearby pilots, please."

"Olivia Stone at the front, Jasmin Kranjska at the side and Adriana Kowalski at the side. It will be kind of hard ... But do your best."

"Thanks. Keep an eye out, anything, just call. Now I'm going to enter the line."

Sissie aligned herself, looking quickly at the cars nearby. The red lights started to come on, and she sped up.

3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Red lights off. It was time to continue chasing her future.

[Nico Hulkenberg]

Good... Job?

Post-Qualifying

*bloooooooooooooooop*

”Well done Dario, that’s P12! I repeat, P12.”

“Woo! Thank fuck for that, eh? Did any of the other fellas leapfrog me in the standings?”

“Yep, Charyseine will be starting 4 spots ahead of you in P8.”

“...fuck.”

“Hey, if you want to be the one in the points, you’ve got to get your quali pace up.”

“Aye, aye. I’m doing the best I can, y’know!”

“You can do better.”

A frown appeared on Dario’s face behind his visor. He knew fine well he could do better, but he was quite a lazy git at times and wouldn’t bother his arse to actually do anything until it was too late. Nonetheless, he could only try his best to get in the points - and hopefully, his best was yet to come.

[Aboveland]

San Marco Street Circuit
San Marco, Filindostan
Qualifying

Terho scrolls through the Hodoran Blue Flag Report as iBen sets off on his qualifying runs, letting the team focus fully on the Turorian's session before sending him out. He squints as he reaches the Reports' standings; the points system is extremely confusing, but as he skims through the text he realizes MBP stands for, apparently, Meatball Points, and TRÆ had had a hearty serving of them after Crossbay, it seemed. He smiles, half-wincing; that race had been a disaster, but had so far proved the only time the team had succumbed to mechanical failure all year, and when compared to last year, AGP 003 is far more reliable than its predecessor. Sure enough, the electrical gremlins which plagued AGP 002's active aero systems on the regular didn't do much to dent the team's dominant performance, but those had been all but resolved into season 18, and the only mechanical failure they'd endured this season had been a brake supplier issue.

As he stares blankly at the floor, Edvin taps his shoulder. It's his shot at qualifying now; Terho nods, then slips on his gloves and helmet and sets off onto the track. As he exits the pits, Edvin springs the radio to life.

"Keep it steady, Terho," he says encouragingly. "Everything was fine yesterday; any result today would surely beat last season!"

Terho smiles politely behind his visor, as he circumvents the Rotonda towards turn four. "Yeah, surely," he replies dryly. Though he'd been adamant to himself to make an effort in separating the title fight from the people he's fighting against, his burning desire to defend his crown for the first time, coupled with the anxiety of having missed out on his tenth win so far into the season's deep end, start to bite back at his psyche. Fortunately, it's not a negative feeling: he's ferociously concentrated, and more so as it's his first time at the San Marco Street Circuit. Not only is he at a disadvantage with regards to the WGP2 graduates, but he's also on the back foot compared to iBen. This kind of circuit is the Turorian's hunting ground, and at such a crucial moment in the championship, it's another dash to his chances.

He slams the throttle out of turn 20 and Resilience wails, with the whistling of the two turbos of the Tropicorp powerplant complementing the mechanical rumble of the V8. He brakes hard for turn one, sticking to the apex and darting off towards the square corner of turn two, his exit necessarily wide to maximize his speed down the first straight. Manhandling the wheel into turn two and then into turn three, Resilience obeys: its rear axel dances over the pavement, its winglets flow downwards to glue the Calanian rubber to the floor, and the brakes fade from orange back to gray. Round Rotonda, the mechanical whirring of the motors driving the aero complements the exhaust note erratically, the millimetric adjustments of the wings giving him optimal grip towards turn four and away from turn five towards the X-Chicane. His steering wheel flashes green, as it's his first lap; he's equal on iBen's 12th place time, though it seems the Turorian is improving.

When Terho exits turn ten, flat from turn nine and braking hard towards turn eleven, iBen's time updates. He's now tenth, and Terho's first sector split is just a few hundredths off. Glancing back at the road, the concrete barriers narrowing his vision and creating a tunnel effect, he brakes hard for turn twelve and turns in as he eases the pressure on the brake pedal, again slamming the throttle to take thirteen flat towards the slight right before fourteen. Not a single bit of shaking or fishtailing from Resilience. His sector two split, now equal with iBen's new time. Terho smirks.

He brakes hard for turn sixteen, having held the throttle open past fifteen, and as the brakes screech and he sets the car up for the run towards turn eighteen, he hears the flutter of a turbo, unusual at his current throttle input. He doesn't manage to react in time; he floors the throttle out of turn seventeen, but the horsepower trickles down to Resilience' rear axle. As he passes seven-thousand RPM, the whistling of the turbos kicks in once more, but it's a singular whistling, and a sucker-punch of engine grunt. Resilience kicks about on the tarmac, a small plume of tyre smoke rising over the rear of the car. Terho, now frowning and confused, brakes for turn eighteen but misses the braking and locks up, then floors the throttle again; he's met with the same lethargic throttle response.

"Fuck!" he yells into the radio, but there's no reply. Once he finishes his lap, the sole remaining turbo whistle fades away. In his mirrors, another plume of smoke, darker than the first.

"Shit," mutters Edvin to himself, before pressing the radio button. "Turbo failure, Terho," he communicates. "Bring it in."

"Fucking hell," Terho replies, clicking his tongue.

Edvin, scrunching his nose, tries to cool the air. "Still one place better than last season," he says. He elicits no response.

[Liventia]

CUTOFF

for the Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat at San Marco Street Circuit

[Liventia]

Week 13: Race

Conditions:      	Cloudy
Laps:              	67* (two hours + 1 full lap; scheduled for 70 laps)
Nation:         	FID
Circuit:        	San Marco Street Circuit
Event:                	Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat
Safety Car on Laps:	33
Cars on Grid:        	28

POS  # ▍DRV Name                               Team                               	Time      	Pts	Fastest Lap	
  1 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii                   Tropicorp Racing Ælund             	02:02:08.414	25		
  2 50 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards                       Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing    	00:00:05.171	18		
  3 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin                     Volkov Racing                      	00:00:42.546	14		
  4 47 ▍OKU Erica Okumura                      Polaris Racing Team                	00:00:53.740	11		
  5 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter                        Race Eelandii V&T GP               	00:01:16.368	8 + 2	1:44.268	
  6 42 ▍DIM Alex Dimitrianov                   Badai Angin Tim Motorsport         	00:01:16.785	6		
  7 27 ▍NUL Dario Nülkeschläger                WGPC Motorworks                    	00:01:48.319	4		
  8 76 ▍KOW Adriana Kowalski                   Fireline Motorsports               	Laps Down: 1	3		
  9 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23                        Fireline Motorsports               	Laps Down: 1	2		
 10 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone                       Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing          	Laps Down: 1	1		
 11 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin                       Race Eelandii V&T GP               	Laps Down: 1			
 12  7 ▍GTA Abdoulaye Goita                    Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing          	Laps Down: 1			
 13 72 ▍VAL Charyseine Valkyria                WGPC Motorworks                    	Laps Down: 1			
 14 28 ▍LNA Sara Luna                          Volkov Racing                      	Laps Down: 1			
 15 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna                       Badai Angin Tim Motorsport         	Laps Down: 1			
 16 12 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux                 TAS Alliance Racing                	Laps Down: 1			
 17 52 ▍SZR Sayono Souzare                     Polaris Racing Team                	Laps Down: 1			
 18  8 ▍ARC William Archer                     Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing    	Laps Down: 1			
 19 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau                       Mattijana Racing Team              	Laps Down: 1			
 20 22 ▍KRA Jasmin Kranjska                    Mattijana Racing Team              	Laps Down: 1			
 21 37 ▍SCH Niklas Schonbaum                   TAS Alliance Racing                	Laps Down: 2			
 22 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                         Nexus Racing                       	Laps Down: 2				
DNF 46 ▍ARB Kitti Armbruster                   SVJ Racing WGPC Team               	Ret. lap 51			
DNF 56 ▍TAL Terho Talvela                      Tropicorp Racing Ælund             	Ret. lap 32		
DNF 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly                   Nexus Racing                       	Ret. lap 20	
DNF 14 ▍BJA Sigur Bjarnason                    SVJ Racing WGPC Team               	Ret. lap 11		
DNS 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna                       WGPC Motorworks                    	DNS					
DNS 63 ▍MIZ Daryl Mizushima                    WGPC Motorworks                    	DNS

---

Drivers' standings

Pos # ▍DRV Name                                Team [Engine]                                                            Tyres                              Pts
 1 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii                    Tropicorp Racing Ælund [Tropicorp Engineering]                           Tropicorp Racing Supply            91
 2 56 ▍TAL Terho Talvela                       Tropicorp Racing Ælund [Tropicorp Engineering]                           Tropicorp Racing Supply            67
 3 50 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards                        Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing [Preston Autos]                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            55
 4 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                          Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                              In Motion                          52
 5 28 ▍LNA Sara Luna                           Volkov Racing [WGPC Motorworks Engineering]                              Tropicorp Racing Supply            38
 5 42 ▍DIM Alex Dimitrianov                    Badai Angin Tim Motorsport [Badai Angin]                                 Solymok                            38
 7 47 ▍OKU Erica Okumura                       Polaris Racing Team [Polaris Trois]                                      Deyoze Tires                       31
 8 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly                    Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                              In Motion                          30
 9 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin                      Volkov Racing [WGPC Motorworks Engineering]                              Tropicorp Racing Supply            27
10 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23                         Fireline Motorsports [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            26
10 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin                        Race Eelandii V&T GP [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            26
10 52 ▍SZR Sayono Souzare                      Polaris Racing Team [Polaris Trois]                                      Deyoze Tires                       26
13 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna                        Badai Angin Tim Motorsport [Badai Angin]                                 Solymok                            25
14  7 ▍GTA Abdoulaye Goita                     Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing [Schkeska Motors]                              In Motion                          17
15 22 ▍KRA Jasmin Kranjska                     Mattijana Racing Team [Nordija]                                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            16
15 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone                        Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing [Schkeska Motors]                              In Motion                          16
17 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter                         Race Eelandii V&T GP [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            15
17 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau                        Mattijana Racing Team [Nordija]                                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            15
17 27 ▍NUL Dario Nülkeschläger                 WGPC Motorworks [WGPC Motorworks Engineering]                            Deyoze Tires                       15
20 14 ▍BJA Sigur Bjarnason                     SVJ Racing WGPC Team [Johansborg Motor Collective]                       Solymok                            14
21  8 ▍ARC William Archer                      Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing [Preston Autos]                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            4
21 12 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux                  TAS Alliance Racing [Harlean 1]                                          Solymok                            4
21 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna                        WGPC Motorworks [WGPC Motorworks Engineering]                            Deyoze Tires                       4
24 46 ▍ARB Kitti Armbruster                    SVJ Racing WGPC Team [Johansborg Motor Collective]                       Solymok                            3
24 76 ▍KOW Adriana Kowalski                    Fireline Motorsports [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            3

---

Constructors' standings

Pos NAT ▍Team [Engine]                                                            Tyres                              Pts
  1 ABL ▍Tropicorp Racing Ælund [Tropicorp Engineering]                           Tropicorp Racing Supply            158
  2 NIM ▍Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                              In Motion                          82
  3 SOR ▍Volkov Racing [WGPC Motorworks Engineering]                              Tropicorp Racing Supply            65
  4 FID ▍Badai Angin Tim Motorsport [Badai Angin]                                 Solymok                            63
  5 HAP ▍Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing [Preston Autos]                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            59
  6 NEK ▍Polaris Racing Team [Polaris Trois]                                      Deyoze Tires                       57
  7 V&T ▍Race Eelandii V&T GP [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            41
  8 AUR ▍Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing [Schkeska Motors]                              In Motion                          33
  9 MTJ ▍Mattijana Racing Team [Nordija]                                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            31
 10 ETN ▍Fireline Motorsports [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            29
 11 WGP ▍WGPC Motorworks [WGPC Motorworks Engineering]                            Deyoze Tires                       19
 12 SVJ ▍SVJ Racing WGPC Team [Johansborg Motor Collective]                       Solymok                            17
 13 LIS ▍TAS Alliance Racing [Harlean 1]                                          Solymok                            4

EDIT to note: While not currently separated in the drivers' standings, any tied drivers will be sorted in the final standings following the Mattijana GP.

[Valentine Z]

Post 18 – The Perfect Data.

En Route to San Marco.

Adriana took a look at the circuit, being told that it was going to be rather Technique-heavy, which she was more or less accustomed to and was working with for most of this course. Perhaps this time, it would pay off, she thought to herself.

Angeline: “Looks like some weird animal! No offense to it, of course, but I mean, look at the shape and all.”

Adriana: “Haha, you are quite right! What is it, like… some sort of a camel?”

Angeline: “I was going to say it looks like a very weird dog. Or an alien, rather.”

Angela: “Ohh, like that one movie about aliens that bleed acid! Has the head of one, and… yeah, camel?”

Adriana: “Camel alien, hehe! So I have quite the confidence for this one. I mean, at least I hope so. It’s time for a big break, hehe.”

Minimizing the application that she viewed the course on, Adriana went out of the cockpit and had a go on the simulator a few times once again. It was a rather expensive and complicated setup, and by no means portable. Hydraulic chairs, near-pefect analogue steering wheel and pedals, 5 16K resolution screens, 8 GPUs running parallel, and 4 deca-core CPUs all whirring furiously. It was by no means top of the line for the Valentians, but as far as they are concerned, this is miles ahead of what the others have been using as a computer. The setup sits in the middle of a plane, bolted to the ground and away from other environmental hazards that might damage the screens when they sway around under normal operations. This one was custom-sized for Adriana’s 11 feet posture, with the seats, steering wheels, and pedals being larger than the one she would drive on the track.

---

San Marco Street Circuit, San Marco, Kabishawan Island, Filindostan.

As they land on the airport and made their way to their lounge, Adriana was checking on a website using her HUD. A brief tourist guide regarding the place.

Places to visit in Filindostan
There are two islands to visit in Filindostan - the beaches at the Heritage City of Jakulta in Tanjung Pagi Island, and the fish stalls/dampas at Bandarito in Pelita Raya Island. Jakulta is known as the surfing and heritage capital of Filindostan, so people wanting to ride the waves may visit the beaches at the northern part of Tanjung Pagi. If you want to catch fish as well as to pick and decide how to cook your fish of choice, then the Pelita Raya Island is the best place to visit, with many of these located in the eastern portion of Bandarito, and the northern portion of Yogyakulta.

There is currently a travel advisory to avoid visiting Kabunuklan Island at the moment, as there are currently intelligence reports of an insurgent group planning to take over the island in the coming weeks.

She figured that if she had the time, the Valentians and herself could visit the beaches. Angela might be a bit more up her alley with the fish stalls at Bandarito, given her constant craving for fish in general. Their current would indicate that they are at San Marco, on Kabishawan Island. Bandarito would be at Pelita Raya Island, and Jakulta at Tanjung Pagi Island.

As they walk into the lounge and started setting up, Adriana started asking her two friends or whether or not they would like to tag along. They looked at the string of options and visiting opportunities that were available for them. Since their plane can more or less travel to another place in the whim of a few minutes, they would have more than enough time to walk around the play tourists in this place.

Angela: “Hmm, boat? Or our own plane? I assume that a boat ride would be pretty darn neat!”

Angeline: “Yup, I want to go boating as well! I mean, our plane and all are neat, but I think we need to experience it as their tourists a little bit more, or use transports like the natives do!”

Adriana: “Hmm, that’s a good point. We can leave our plane on this island, right? I mean, no one will try to touch our private jet?”

Angela: “Well, judging from the past few weeks, I don’t think anything was going to happen… Maybe apart from that one small incident.”

Angeline: “To be fair, that was because our plane was in the middle of the field and it was a bit more susceptible. I think we can file in a requisition for a temporary hangar space while we visit.”

Angela: “All right, I will do that later!”

As the three Valentians decided on their travel plans, as well as on dealing with the logistics and signing up for whatever they need to, the sun eventually set, and it was time for them to sleep for the big day ahead. Adriana plugged herself in using her own portable charger that she brought down, while the other two Valentians slept diagonally, each of them on a King-sized bed.

“Once again, no accommodation for large people,” Angela remarked before turning the lights off.

---

San Marco Street Circuit, San Marco, Kabishawan Island, Filindostan – Practice and Qualifications

The next day came, and Adriana was ready as ever – her red and purple outfit basking in the sunlight, with the Fireline crew giving her words of encouragement. Her results were severely a disappointment in the previous race and for this time, she was more or less ready to set the record straight that she is indeed capable of at least getting a point, or a two.

As she went for the practices, the results were – the usual. It was rather awful, ending second last in the list with the others. However, she was not fazed by it in the slightest. Determined, and knowing that this was just a practice, Adriana reviewed the data that she has obtained, and did a few corrections here and there by hand. Hazardous areas, as she highlighted, would include Turn 5, Turn 8, Turn 9, Turn 16, Turn 17, and Turn 20, either being hairpun turns, or 90-degree sharp turns. The awful practice results was, as aforementioned, was something that Adriana did not have much of a concern over. She gathered as much data as she could while driving conservatively, making sure to account for every turn, every acceleration, every deceleration. 26th out of 28 for the practice, they then went on for the qualifications.

A nice 17th, was what she has obtained. Not that great, but not that bad either; she was more or less going to be starting from the middle of the roster. “Maybe this time, just this time, I might be able to make it,” she told the Fireline crew, who has been with her all this time. This was in spite of the Cocoabo #23 being at the pole position for this race. It was not that she was jealous of the bird driver. Perhaps there was a bit of an envy, but never flat-out jealousy. It was that all of the points and accomplishments were all from him, and they could have all supported him while abandoning her to her devices. However, they did not do that at all, and instead increasingly supporting Adriana as she went on and through her pits and falls. To say that she was grateful, would be an understatement. The crew also told her that she was going to be doing rather well on this course, since it was more or less meant for someone like her – someone who has maxed out the Technique and Reliability, and sacrificing the Aggression. Being too conservative with her speed and handling could be a setback, while not a flat-out disaster.

Feeling accomplished with the qualifications but still unsure for the next day, Adriana went into a sleep mode after a long day. Her processing units did not flat-out shut down, but went into a low-power consumption mode, adjusting and working on the data that she has obtained for the day.

---

San Marco Street Circuit, San Marco, Kabishawan Island, Filindostan – Actual Race

♪ Music ♪

“Well, this is it,” Adriana thought to herself, suited up and her vehicle prepared by the crew, “I am hoping for something out of this, at the very least. Maybe just one point. Or two, if I am doing good enough. Let’s get this going.”

And they are away! Adriana went about with her own routine, loading up the raw data that she has obtained, coupled with the new one that was calculated to give her the best edge on the track. As she worked her way on her around (and her hands and her legs) on the best routes and the best gassing and breaking points, she made several laps without incident until Lap 11 and Lap 20. It was not as so much as that she was caught up in the incident with the two separate drivers (Sigur and Jean) getting a DNF and being retired; more of the fact that she was distracted and was afraid of the same fate. This little distraction would cause her to brake late, which in turn caused her to brake rather excessively at Turn 8, all in all losing precious seconds. Eventually, however, she caught up with the action once again, making another tabulated data on the fly in order to account for the lost seconds and a lost lap. “There was nothing much I can do to make up for the lost lap,” Adriana talked to the crew chief of hers, citing the risks of it, “It is too dangerous. I am not that well-versed with aggressive techniques.”

“It’s okay, just try your best! You got this!”

Determined still, Adriana did as best as she could. Several vehicles have lapped her, and without keeping a tally of the cars around her, she was not exactly sure on how many times was she lapped, or how many cars are behind or in front of her. She could hit up the official scoreboard, but she decided to forego checking that lest she demoralise herself more.

However, the demoralising was not on the menu for Adriana today. As she hit the checkered flag, Adriana realised the unthinkable. The nigh-impossible and yet still a good surprise. A surprise, but a good one. And many other phrases that would describe how much she was surprised by.

8th. She earned 3 points.

Buttoning up her excitement in order to not rub in anyone’s face, Adriana quickly kept her vehicle and ran towards her team, her Valentian friends, and the Cocoabo driver, hugging them all gently and was just jumping around with excitement.

“Awwww, tak! I got the points, yes!” she exclaimed excitedly, her helmet in her right hand. She borrowed a marker from one of the crew members to write something on it.

Adriana took a couple of pictures with her crewmates, along with inviting over Angela and Angeline to be part of the memory. “Thank you so much for all the support, from all of you. I know that was not exactly the best results, and 8th was not as much, but seeing as this might be the beginning of something wonderful, thank you for sticking with me.”

Adriana and the Valentians then went back to their lounge, launching a slumber party, followed by drinking a few shots, channel surfing the local TV, and eventually falling asleep hard with a hangover in the morning. They have slept it through the afternoon and through the evening, requesting for an extra day in their lounge.

---

Bandarito, Pelita Raya Island, Filindostan – After-race Activity

The three Valentians, after packing their belongings and putting it on their private jet, which in turn was put in a hangar for safekeeping, Angela safe-kept the keys and then the three of them took one of the earlier boats to the Pelita Raya Island. The boat trip, while exciting for the departure and the arrival, was nothing too particularly interesting for the middle of the trip. It was as normal as it could get. Angeline was downing a few too many lemonade drinks due to her getting seasick, while Adriana was checking and making sure that her body was structural enough to not get affected by the salty sea water and winds. The other tourists, as well as the residents and natives, were all amazed at the Valentians mainly for their heights, a few of them requesting for pictures with the three ladies – Angela was the shorter 7 feet, while Angeline and Adriana were at 10 feet and 11 feet respectively.

After an hour or two of traveling around, they were finally on the island, and soon made their way to the dampas, the fish stalls, as they were planning to go to. Bandarito was certainly an experience for them, they thought to themselves, with many types of fish (along with many cooking methods to try). Angela stuffed herself with a nice helping of Escabeche, a sweet and sour fish of some sort, that seems to be relatively much more common. Given their reluctance to kill, the Valentians passed on using the dampas, and instead went for buying from the vendors with a helping of some rice. The village-esque feeling of some parts of the place also gave them a warm feeling, given that the Valentians like to spend their many sunsets in present-day Burma of Valentine Z – little village homes all around, setting sun, kids having fun, families and friends having a chatter.

Angeline, on the other hand, was feeling a little worked up by the smell of all the barbequing and cooking. She always has not been a fan of seafood being grilled, especially due to the smell that nauseates her.

---

Jakulta at Tanjung Pagi Island, Filindostan – After-race Activity

The next day came in the form of another boat ride, this time to the pristine sands of Jakulta. The Valentians are no strangers to the beaches and sand alike; after all, with the world in their hands more or less, the Valentians have embraced and loved the beach life – the warm sun, the waves crashing, and the like. Adriana once again ensured that no sand would come into her machine parts, while Angela and Angeline built a sandcastle, followed by a small little sculpture of Adriana with her race car.

“Damn, you always made the best sand sculptures!” Adriana exclaimed, taking a photo of the sculpture.

“Well, you know, one of my hidden talents, hehe. I never really told a lot of people, so other than you guys, not a lot of people don’t know about it.”

“This is most definitely the best day ever, hehe,” Adriana remarked again, resting on a beach chair and taking a sip of orange juice that she bought.

Angela, whilst having fun, quickly checked on her phone in order to access the security camera within the hangar of theirs. The jet they came in was still secure and safe and sound, with no other soul around or within the hangar. “Good, good,” she told the others, “Our plane is still safe and sound, haha!”

The Valentians would spend a day or two in these places before going back to San Marco, retrieved their jet, and decided to fly off to the next destination.

[TJUN-ia]

Sunday - Race
The clouds descended in San Marco for Race Day, the most important race day of the season for the Galarian of Lane Carter. Starting in P7 with a Cocoabo on pole, it certainly felt like a race that could make or break his career. How good was he at this track? Is he just a "1-track Driver" and can he use San Marco as a stepping stone to improving at other circuits? Those were the questions that have surrounded the Galarian ever since his first race here and now, he had to try and do it all again. He told Daryl he would be happy with Top 5, so was the main aim as the light went out.

This race would start well with a first lap overtake on homeboy Alex Dimitrianov at the X-Chicane, and the good pace would continue from here. He managed to set a brilliant lap time of 1:44.268 as he tried to catch the Top 5 and once he found Cocoabo #23, he made no mistake in passing the bird. P5 became P4 as Sigur Bjarnason retired on lap 11 and he kept hold of this strong position for a while. Jean Mercer-Daly went on lap 20 and things were still looking good for the Galarian heading into the 2nd half of this one.

Then the shock of the weekend happened. Lap 32, Terho Talvela ended up making a rare mistake at turn 13 and ending up in the wall at a dangerous part of the circuit. The safety car was brought out as the crews removed the Ælund car from the track and most switched to fresh tires, including both the Galarian and the guy directly behind him: iBen Toralmintii. It made sense then that the Turorian, who owned the team Carter drove for, would get past the Galarian once the safety car came in for the restart and would fly up the field from there. The rest of the Galarians race was undramatic as Kitti Armbruster retired on lap 51 but as the 2-hour limit was reached, the race was called early on lap 67 instead of the scheduled 70.

RE: That is P5, Lane, P5! That was a brilliant drive out there mate, well done! You really are good at this circuit. aren't you?
LC: I guess I am. Thanks, guys, couldn't have done this without you. I know I could've done better, but I'll happily take 8 points.
RE: You mean 10?
LC: What do you mean?
RE: You got the fastest lap, Lane. 1:44.268. You get 2 bonus points because of that.
LC: Oh, NEAT! Nice, I'll take that!
RE: Top 10 was Toralmintii, Edwards, Krupin, Okumura, yourself, Dimitrianov, Nülkeschläger, Kowalski, Fast Cocoabo and Stone. Cruisin finshied in 11th.
LC: Wait so I, Kowalski and Dario scored points but Cruisin, Talvela and Ryker Lane did not?
Re: Yep. Crazy how this sport works sometimes.
LC: You're telling me!

After all that, Carter had 10 points in the kitty and iBen had the championship lead once again. Carter moved up to tied-17th after today's events while Kowalski became the 25th driver to score points in this season. Only Mizushima, Valkyria and Schonbaum have yet to get themselves in the points standings with 3 races to go and time is running out for all of them. Race Eelandii remains in 7th after these points, in the no man's land between Polaris and Schkeska-VSK Viska.

Speaking of Daryl, an evil smile emerged on the Galarains face as he returned to his computer. He remembered what Daryl did after his podium in Île Saint-Joseph and so, in the kindest way, he felt that imitation was the sincerest form of flattery...

---

To: dmizushima@squidmail.sqr
From: lcarter@jagwire.tj.un
Topic: PS: RE(11): Letter

PS: It may not be a podium, but do I get something for the fastest lap? (jk jk)

Lane Carter
Driver of #11 for Race Eelandii V&T GP

[Squidroidia]

You know, it can get lonely perched high atop the stands at San Marco. For Daryl at least, he had to deal with being in the stands all time time. He still only had one grand prix start to his name, but can you blame him? He was placed in this situation because of all of this - New driver to the grid, no experience in open wheeled cars, had to qualify for every race with his 3 teammates... He could very much use a simulator right about now, but he still had to watch this race. He was pulling for 3 people - The 2 Motorworks drivers in the race and Lane Carter himself. If any of them did well then he'd be a happy man in the paddock.

And we have a crash! TERHO TAVELA HAS HIT THE WALL! A mistake for the leader in the Drivers Championship up until this race, and he has gifted Toralmintii the championship lead!

The safety car came out shortly thereafter. In the drop of a dime the championship had changed drivers from one TRÆ driver to another TRÆ driver, and iBen Toralmintii was now leading with the cars adhering to the yellow flags. It was heartbreaking for any driver to crash, moreso for a championship contender. The best driver with the best car and best tyres always had a chance of crashing, and this was the case here. With the race slowed down, Daryl could catch his breath. But of course, nothing lasts forever, and as soon as the checkered flag flied and iBen Toralmintii won the race and got into the conversation for greatest of all time, Daryl was ready to head back... And he saw Carter 5th in the race and with the fastest time on the course. He had to write something for the Galarian.

To: Lane Carter ( lcarter@jagwire.tj.un )
From: dmizushima@squidmail.sqr
Subject: RE(12): Letter

---

Welcome back Lane! Heh, just writing this after the Grand Prix we just had in San Marco... Congrats on the fastest lap and 5th place! To be honest I was kinda expecting that with how good you did in WGP2 before the whole incident... And fastest lap is great too! Congrats!

It always seemed like we followed each other ever since I started to get into this whole thing... I still don't believe how I finished ahead of some WGPC teammates and competitors, including you, in that Preston trial, especially because I hadn't touched a actual WGPC car beforehand! I think with that on the books I should be qualified for the next race in Hap City, but I don't know... My father Yusuke isn't going to be okay with me if I crash into "Oh Crap There's A Wall", just saying.

But yeah, with 3 races to go (Hap City, Talbott and Ljubala) I think this is my chance to prove myself and qualify for Grand Prixs. This has been a wild first ride, and even though some people are calling me a joke (And I know some Squidroidians in the media who joked on me too during practice), but some loyal fans want me to succeed. After this season I'll probably get to work on honing my craft before next season's shenanigans.

So yeah, I think that's it! See you in Hap City for qualifying, and I'll try to Get Good along the way!

-Daryl Mizushima
#63 WGPC Motorworks driver

[Liventia]

Very important host note: The scorinator is not capable of scorinating red flags right now. There is no red flag protocol here. The race was not red flagged and any further RPs referencing such run the risk of a lower RP bonus. As per the scorinator output, there was a safety car period following Terho Talvela's retirement. That's it.

[Aboveland]

San Marco Street Circuit
San Marco, Filindostan
Race

The five red lights disappear, and Resilience sprints off the start line. Immediately, the Abovian inches his nose ahead of Kowalski, and follows Cruisin closely into the braking for turn one. The experienced Vilitan swerves, avoiding the bunched-up cars ahead, though too late for Terho to react the same; he's forced to scrub speed further towards the outside than Cruisin, and drops two places down to 19th. He clicks his tongue and grips the steering wheel, throwing Resilience into the corner before powering out towards turn two. Long race, he mutters to himself, upset. He manages to make up a spot at turn nineteen, patiently keeping his line, but his progress proves slow.

On lap 32, Terho holds his line through the X-Chicane, keeping close to Sara Luna's Volkov ahead, and holding the outside around turn eight. She's ahead on exit, but at turn nine Terho's got the inside line. He dives, pushing the Diarcesian long, and keeps to the outside line for the entry to turn ten. He sees an exasperated hand wiggle in his left wing mirror as he runs down towards turn eleven, by now safely 12th and focusing on his next target, ten seconds ahead. He sighs heavily, exhausted, as he makes his way towards turn twelve. In half a race, he'd already cut from eighteenth to just two places outside of the points, but in the same time iBen had climbed to fifth and is scrapping for fourth. His progress, while steady, is not enough, and it's starting to nag at his temperament.

"Steady on, Stone is up next. How are the tyres?" radios Edvin, his voice trembling occasionally with the brunt of the pressure crushing his chest.

"Okay," replies Terho, turning his radio off immediately. He needs no distractions.

The Abovian attempts to brake early for turn twelve, to maximize his exit speed past turn thirteen and towards fourteen, but overcooks the brake pedal. His front tyres screech for an instant, and a small puff of smoke drowns his visor. He mutters an expletive and, his heart pounding at the sight of the approaching Volkov behind, tries to hurry through the exit. He's wide, grazing the kerb on the outside, and out of line for the left kink of turn thirteen. Hugging the apex, he rides the inside kerb, but he's hot on the exit. The winglets twitch to keep the wheels planted as the right side of the car bears the brunt of the g-forces, but Terho's disastrous line proves too much even for the active aero to take over.

Following through from turn thirteen, the rear of the car steps out for an instant. Resilience' rear right rides the outside kerb and the rim smacks the concrete wall. Tiny titanium embers mix with flakes of orange paint as a cloud--not a plume--of damper oil steam engulfs the rear of AGP 003. The rear right differential half shaft springs away from its hub; the clonk on the rear rotates the front of the car towards the wall as well, snapping the steering and shredding the front wing. Lifeless, the Tropicorp powerplant groaning to a halt, Resilience limps across the asphalt towards the inside of the track, Terho's steering inputs futile, narrowly missing the passing Diarcesian on the left and leaving a streak of thick, gooey damper oil in its wake. Terho brakes to a stop by the time the car has made it to the middle of the road, leaving enough space to his left for the cars behind to pass through without touching the oil slick.

Puzzled, startled and immediately enraged, Terho spots the marshalls waving double yellow flags. His steering wheel flashes yellow.

SC | TAL OUT

Edvin, back at the pit wall, grunts, but keeps it to himself before opening the radio. "Engine off, Terho, engine off," he reminds.

The Abovian, strapped in his stricken AGP 003, rests his helmet on the head restraint to his left, groaning from the bottom of his throat, and punches his steering wheel. "Perrrrrkele!" he exclaims, bringing his hands to his visor. "I'm okay," he mutters, croaking, "in case you were wondering."

Edvin bites his lower lip. "Right, sorry, good to hear," he says.

As Terho unstraps himself from his seat and removes the head restraint, he's inadvertently left the radio on. "Shove that Coalesence spirit up your asshole," he scoffs.

Edvin raises his eyebrows with genuine concern. "What?"

The radio channel becomes static as Terho pulls the plug from his helmet and climbs out of the car, holding his right shoulder and stretching his arm back. Under his visor, he winces.


By the race's end, Terho joins the team, freshly showered and his temper cool, to celebrate another win for TRÆ and, importantly, iBen's tenth career win, officially surpassing his own record to become the winningest WGPC driver in history. Just over an hour earlier, he'd been furious and close to his tipping point, though the efficiency of the Filindostani showerheads had helped to ease off just a pinch of pressure. His shoulder pain, haing been checked out by the on-site medic, was nothing more than a bruise, and he'd been given painkillers to ease the swelling. By Hapilopper, they said, he should be 100% again.

The Turorian, drenched in foamy champagne, returns to the garage followed by a convoy of Vilita and Turorians members of TRÆ who celebrate his accomplishment. As he approaches Terho, the two hug joyfully. His mistake had been a massive blow to his title hopes, and in the heat of the moment, plain to see around the world, he'd betrayed his core philosophy, but he genuinely feels satisfaction at his teammate's--former mentor's--success. Behind him follows Edvin, who's rubbing off the last of the champagne from his glasses, holding an arm to iBen's shoulder to avoid being lost in the crowd. When he passes by Terho, he stops instantly, his outstretched arm pivoting from iBen's shoulder to Terho's. He glares at the Abovian, pushing his glasses up his nose with his free hand.

"We need to talk," he delivers, somberly, before rejoining the conga line.

[Diarcesia]

The race was rather boring for much of it. Despite that, both Volkov drivers were very focused on the task at hand. It was not difficult to say why Sara might feel bored, given how many laps she had to go through the circuit. Seventy? It'll surely go over two hours!

Then, like a sudden gust of wind, things went downhill for Sara that knocked her out of the top 10 in the leaderboard. It was a chaotic, jittery ride down to the mid-table, which was a far more difficult situation for Sara to manage than some might think.

"Terho." Emil opened the radio communication with Sara during lap 33, his voice calm.

"Is he okay?" Sara replied.

"Yes. He is fine. Just wanna say that with him retiring from the race, the safety car will be out soon. Please tell me you're okay."

"Had a near miss. Otherwise, everything is working normally," Sara said.

"Okay. Thanks."

Following the safety car's exit from the track, Sara tried to exploit the resulting scramble without success. Sara found herself missing her timings and a few drivers were able to overtake her. The real tragedy was that they were all avoidable errors.

The race continued. Sara's attempts to overtake didn't work out, and openings where she could do so were few and far between. The single positions she gained were shortly lost, and the most she could manage was to avoid falling further. She'd been through so much already, and she hoped that she wasn't struck by sheer bad luck that she'd wreck her car as well.

Sara lost her chance to win and was pulled down to fifth in the drivers' championship. It was a difficult momentum-stopper, punctuated by a rare and spectacular failure to initiate a recovery before the allotted two hours ran out. The checkered flag was raised at the 67^th lap.

Despite what happened to her, she was genuinely happy for Gregori's first podium. Where she faltered, Gregori picked up the slack. For his heroic performance, Volkov surpassed Badai Angin to be just behind TRÆ and Nexus in the race for the constructors' championship. Never mind the 93-point deficit from the leader. They, a rookie team, are in third place. It's a great result for any fan from Sorlovia to see.

"I think it's great that Gregori did well," said Sara during the subsequent interview. "It shows what you can do with good preparation, and the same can be said for our winner iBen Toralmintii. It is a historic day for the WGPC, now that he has the most wins of all time. I've had some setbacks along the way, but the past tells me it would be worth it in the end. I just need to keep working hard and smart. This is what I owe to the team. I can't ask for more from them. They equip us to win races."

Today was all too much for Sara, who struggled to find her rhythm. Perhaps she wrongly got stuck to an aggressive mode in race time and made costly errors that eroded her pace vis-à-vis the other drivers, many of whom were all incredibly successful. The former WGP2 driver couldn't help but notice whether the harder lessons of the WGPC are just coming at her. She was getting more sure that the earlier parts of the season is one giant fluke. Is her best efforts being applied to the wrong things, and therefore wasted? She would find herself pondering over that.

It was a different story for Gregori, who had a far more balanced style. He had pushed to get ahead of the other drivers, but he also had his share of struggles. It was an irony that despite what the prior analyses say, he was able to mold his style closer to the course's requirements than Sara. He might not have been the fastest or the most aggressive, but he is among the most reliable. Perhaps this was the reason he had been able to last in the WGPC for as long as he did.

Despite her internal troubles, she hoped Gregori would not be discouraged. He had made it this far, and perhaps the most important thing to realize was that there are three more races. Wait, I need that advice, too, she thought. Ultimately, it isn't just about winning, it is more than that. It is about being passionate at what you do, which is driving cars really fast.

In the Volkov office, there was a quiet in the background as Gregori and Sara exchanged glances. They just arrived from the podium celebrations. She didn't know if Gregori shares this, but she felt that she was swimming in a sea of uncertainty. How would she stay afloat if unforeseen circumstances left her without any sort of a clear direction? What would happen if Gregori started doubting her as a viable teammate? It would break her to disappoint her colleague.

It was a long walk down the hall back to the team cafeteria with Gregori. It was somewhat cold, but Sara welcomed the change. Having a hot, fresh meal is welcome almost always, especially at a time like this. Over her career, she had become increasingly aware of the ways in which she reacted to adversity as she fought to finish as high as possible. It could be mentally taxing for her at times. The meal in front of her contained carbs and protein. Preparing them took the cooks careful work, and she was glad that they were able to.

After they finished, the two went to their respective lodgings. Sara went to hers with the intention of sleeping as soon as she arrived. She wanted to clear her mind before she prepared for her next race weekend. It would be easier for her to prepare if she started in a state of mind with little worry. The truth was that now, she was not motivated. Her decisively sub-par racing weighed on her. She was wondering if she strayed from the pursuit of success. If she had become complacent, that would be disappointing.

She woke up to a fresh, energized mind. It was a good start. With the team staying in Filindostan for one more day, she grabbed the opportunity to tour parts of San Marco.

Image provided by Filindostan

Desiring for some bonding time with her family, they went to the Baywalk and lingered there, taking care that Violet and Zac don't get lost. Eventually, they came to one of the malls, where some kind of military-related exhibition is taking place. One particular tank caught her eye, as she saw a few of them back in Diarcesia. It turned out, the Mundana Forces are present there.

The Apsychia is a main battle tank developed by Mucero in the 1970s for the Diarcesian Mundana Forces. It is the successor to the defunct Scorpion main battle tank, itself derived from the French AMX 30 tank. The Apsychia variants continue to use its own AMX-series numbering.

The tank featured an all new front armor and was the first of its kind for a vehicle of local manufacture. In an urban configuration, it is heavily armored, protected by a full complement of heavy firepower, and with the applicable modules, is the Diarcesian vehicle of its kind to be specifically designed for jungle warfare. The Apsychia AMX44 variant is the first to be equipped with the 6RCS and ECM3 active protection systems and also the first to be fully integrated with the M113 Medium Multi-Role Movement System.

"Mom, so do you think you can drive a tank?"

"I am not sure, dear, but it would be very different from a car. I have seen others drive tanks, though, and they look like real rocket scientists in getting them around."

[Sorlovia]

San Marco Street Circuit
Raceday

Gregori, despite his simmering frustration with the way the season had gone, savoured the feeling of being out on the track again. When it all came down to it that was what mattered the most to him. It felt good to get high place finishes and places on the podium. But simply being there was a large part of the enjoyment of it. Some racers tended to fixate on the results, of course Gregori strove to do as well as he could, but for him the actual race itself was what gave him the greatest thrill. The feeling of being behind the wheel of such a high-powered high-performance car, the roar of the engine and the pulse of the turbo, the squeal of the tyres on the asphalt and the way the car responded to each of his directions. He wasn’t going to win the championship but that didn’t mean that he would pass up the chance to have a hell of a lot of fun.

He pushed hard into the opening corner. As far as he was concerned there was nothing else around but the track in front of him and his hands on the steering wheel. He pressed the Volkov Mark II hard through the corner using the g-forces and momentum to propel himself into the long straight and as he did so he drifted to the edge of the track in preparation for a slingshot through the Rotunda. The track map had showed him that there were multiple tight corners on the San Marco track and he had opted to adjust his approach for the race. This time he would be less aggressive in favour of far greater focus on technique. San Marco was a track that required finesse.

He crept past Alex Dimitrianov on the approach to the X-Chicane and unleashed a burst of speed in his pursuit of Lane Carter. Lane fought his attempts at passing in what he’d nicknamed the Gauntlet, the tight section of corners through the eighth to eleventh corners, and blocked his attempt at a pass on the lead up to the twelfth corner. But this was exactly what Gregori had hoped he would do. A hard fought and intense race environment was far more interesting. There was no thrill in it if your rivals just let you past. Lane was refusing to give up even an inch of space on the track and that was just the way Gregori liked it.

“That’s it Lane,” Gregori said to himself with a smile “make me fight for it.”

Gregori finally managed to pass Lane on the approach to the fourteenth corner and fought off his attempt at a recovery through the fifteenth and sixteenth corners. He now had Erica Okumura in his sights and she wasn’t giving him any opportunities either. A quick glance behind him showed that Lane was still hot on his tail with Alex in turn close behind him. The next three corners would be an interesting piece of track given that the four of them were so close behind each other. It was one of those tight battles for position that gave Gregori a particular thrill. This really was what he lived for.

He fell back on his familiar slingshot technique in the seventeenth corner and used momentum that it gave him to streak past Erica. He pressed hard into the acceleration on the straight only easing off on the immediate approach to the eighth corner. The more refined technique-focused approach was paying off and Gregori was closing on the leaders. They were now coming into their last few laps but perhaps there was still a chance for his first podium finish of the season. iBen was well out in front but Rudy wasn’t that far away. Was there still time to get past him? Passing iBen was likely more of a challenge than the remaining laps gave him time for. But Rudy was just ahead of him. He could at the very least snap at his metaphorical heels. Lane and Alex were now jostling for position behind him.

The rest of the race passed in a blur of Preston and Tropicorp cars. The Volkov crept past the Preston to narrow on the Tropicorp only to have an unforgiving corner help the Preston regain its position. It was a high stakes high-powered conclusion to the race that would keep the Krupin Krew on the very edge of their seats. By the end of the race they were in first, second and third. The Tropicorp in first place, the Preston in second and the Volkov in third. They had fought hard and would stand on the podium together. He’d done it. He’d won his first podium finish!

---

He’d won his first podium of the season! It wasn’t the first place he would’ve hoped for or even second place. But it was still a podium finish. Finishing in third place was nothing to turn your nose up at it. He’d fought hard in the race and had given it everything he had. That that was the closest he had been to first in the entire season and it felt good. The fact that he’d managed to come in ahead of Terho wasn’t lost on him. The Abovian hadn’t been able to finish the race. To come up ahead of him, even if it had been for such a reason, brought a thrill Gregori hadn’t felt before. Terho was his biggest inspiration and his greatest challenge.

Gregori looked forward to the race that would allow him to contest a place with Terho. In the same way that he had just done with Rudy and iBen. Terho was the racer he respected the man and he had taken the time to speak with him after the races. Beating Terho in a race with both of them in it for the duration would be a highlight of his career. It wasn’t something of contempt. It was simply a career focus born from Terho’s immense skill as a racer. If you were able to beat that veteran then it meant that you had what it took. Terho would make him work for it and the glittering prospect of that promise brought a smile to Gregori’s face.

Gregori quickly typed a message to Sara as he leaned back in his armchair;

I hope that you’re not being too hard on yourself Sara. You did well at San Marco. You have so much skill. But a race is an ever changing thing. Not matter how skilled you are there will always be times when you just don’t get the result you hoped for. I want you to remember something. You’re here. It is your reality. You’ve made it to the WGPC! Not everyone gets here.

I wonder what happened with Terho? I guess he had a bad race like all of us? Enjoy your day off. I heard that Volkov is taking an extra day here to give us a bit of downtime. It’s something that will do us both some good.

With that last message sent Gregori slipped his smartphone into his pocket and put his jacket on. He was going out to tea and then a movie with Elena. He'd been so busy lately that they hadn't had any real time together and he wanted to make it up to her. Maybe they could go out one of the local nightclubs after the movie. It was time to blow off some steam.

[Aboveland]

The wings of the airliner break the cover of the Filindostani clouds at early dawn, as its engines spool back and the flight slows its ascent. Terho, his forehead flat against the window, yawns violently, while Edvin, who'd been patiently on his phone until then, turns to him and taps his shoulder. Terho winces, as it's his still sore shoulder.

"You're trapped now," he jokes, whispering courteously in the early hours of the morning, before turning his tone more serious. "You thought I'd forget."

Terho turns in his seat, stretching his legs out below the seat in front. Incredibly, they've only managed to book economy tickets. He sighs, heavily, rubbing his eyes. "About what?"

"What you said on the radio the other day," Edvin replies. Terho rolls his eyes. "That wasn't good."

"Heat of the moment, okay," moans Terho. "I'm over it." They stare at each other, Terho sincere, Edvin unconvinced. "I'm serious, Edvin," he reassures. "I'm fine."

"But you're not," pushes Edvin, dropping his shoulders. Terho frowns, confused. "It's like you forgot all that progress you've made in the past few years in an instant, and..." He pauses, checking to see if Terho looks like he'll react badly. "And as if there were anyone else to blame for your mistake."

Terho clicks his tongue, annoyed, bringing the thin, short courtesy blanket up to his chin and leaning further onto the window. "What are you on about?" he asks, now irritated.

Edvin curls his lips inwards, his eyebrows relaxing. "How are you feeling?" he says compassionately. Terho stares back for a moment, still frowning. "Fine," he says, pausing, before shifting his gaze towards the floor, rubbing his feet together. "Kind of shit, actually. Yeah, shit."

Edvin nods, trying not to put on an 'I knew it' face. "It's just..." continues Terho, shaking his head, his eyes wider now. "I wasn't expecting the season to go down like this. You know, that whole retirement thing, that I thought this would be it?"

"Yeah," replies Edvin.

"I didn't expect us to do so well, frankly," he breathes. "I just expected to go out on a high note without really fighting for the championship, score a win or two, and call it a day. But, as soon as I--we--started doing so well, I forgot all about that. I don't really know if I want to retire anymore, maybe not this season." He stammers for a moment. "I don't feel like I've... lived this season like a farewell tour." Edvin nods comprehensively. Terho continues.

"And I know this is wrong, or maybe selfish, or something, but I didn't expect to play the second driver role this season. It doesn't bother me because I've been good, but I just can't do any better, and iBen is doing incredible." His mouth stays open, his face expressing helplessness but, at the same time, profound admiration for his teammate. "You know what I'm saying?" Edvin smiles sheepishly, which Terho takes as a yes. "And also, you know... I haven't even won yet this season, which makes me more nervous, because I feel like Hapilopper is my last chance. Add all this to that stupid, stupid mistake yesterday, and it's kinda... defeating. And I can't imagine retiring after coming so close again."

Edvin stretches out his arm in support, but Terho pulls back before he can lay his hand on his injured shoulder again. He chooses to keep his hands to himself, but inches closer to him. Hell of a conflict of interests, he thinks to himself, before speaking out loud. "You've done great this season, Terho, you really have." He again smiles encouragingly, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "And there's little you could have done better not at the expense of iBen who... well, like you said, has really been stunning."

Now it's Terho that smirks back, understandingly. "If it were up to me," Edvin continues, "and you know this well, surely, but I wouldn't have you retire. You're an invaluable asset to the team, but beyond that... you know, it'd be the first time in like five or six years we wouldn't be working together. It's gonna hurt."

"Yeah," mutters Terho, nodding, looking towards the floor.

"But anyway," Edvin adds, grabbing his arm rather than his shoulder, "whatever you decide to do, and however it goes, you should be proud. You have little left to prove, and you know that, mister double world champion."

Terho chuckles, breaking his defensive character. He looks back out the window while Edvin resumes, the morning sun now splashing the sky in a peachy orange and a sliver of golden light blanketing the cabin.

"Defending this title would be a treat more than an obligation, hey; statistically though, you still can do it."

Terho's eyes light up for a moment, the tension in his posture relaxing. He reaches into his pocket for his phone. "You've given me an idea," he says. "Stat crunch."

Edvin shakes his head and swats Terho's hand from below his blanket. "Stop that! It's bad for you," he orders, whispering harshly, before the edges of his mouth betray his dishonesty. "I've done it myself already," he says, giggling. The two of them chuckle quietly, a stern shush propelled their way across the aisle.

"Here, look," says Edvin, putting his phone between them, and indicating with his finger. "Counting Aboveland this year as a single race, you're second by twenty-four points, seven races in. In WGPC14, you were behind iBen at this point, 72 points to his 80, and by race ten--as if it were like this season--you led by 13."

Terho nods, his anxiety gradually dissipating in high spirits as he focuses on the statistics, now smiling with pride.

"In WGPC15, you led the championship over Axel, Axel Novikov, by eight points over his 61, and led Ryker by ten points by the tenth race. Of course, you weren't the eventual winner there." He scrolls further back, overshooting the last two seasons and pulling his finger back up. "In season 16, you just led over Jean by five points with 61 yourself, but Jessica Franssen ended up leading the race by the tenth event, though just by ten points."

"And last season isn't worth analyzing," Terho completes. Edvin nods. "Exactly."

"So this tells me," Terho reasons, "that it's the hardest it's ever been for me to take the title?"

Edvin winces. "Well yeah," he says. "You're the furthest behind you've ever been at this point. Sorry." He nods back.

"But it's not impossible," Edvin adds encouragingly. "24 points is less than a win for you and a tough event for him, and there's still three races left."

"Yeah," Terho retorts ironically, "on tracks where he's probably better."

"Sure," Edvin says, shrugging. "Probably."

As he finishes, the cabin lights flicker on, and the sound of slamming cupboards and clicking buttons coming from the back galley signal the start of the breakfast service.

"Thank God," moans Terho. "I'm starving."