WGP2 Season 4 – RP/results thread

[TJUN-ia]

WPG2, Season 4
Round 8
Yakumicha Circuit
Yakumicha, Toudekan, Eshigoa, Hodori Motorsports

After getting a podium and 16th in a car painted black for a team with a new name, Batu Tüvshinbayar was more prepared than ever before in his career to try and get as many points as possible in space of a few races. Kaidi had given him another chance to prove himself and he certainly did that with a podium at the Feature Race in Crossbay. Now, his back car was now fully white for the rest of the season with Batu's name and number 9 written in Sharpie by Kaidi herself, the now Team Noortekoondis going very simplistic as expected. While teammate Lukas Fichter had his personal sponsors to add character to the car, the lack of TJUN-ian companies in sport, period, meant that Batu only had a "B" to add to his car in the end. He wished he could do something, anything, to try and help this team get through the rest of the season, but he wasn't sure if anyone back home would willing to help someone like him at this time.

Onto the action here at Yakumicha in Hodori and Batu's day would actually be quite OK in the pure white car he now drove. His lap-times around this chaotic track were consistent and while 16th doesn't sound good at first, but being only 8 tenths off of Charyseine Valkyria wasn't that bad at all. Lukas Fichter was even doing well up in 4th, showing the Mongolian that there was pace in this car that he could exploit. Traditional Qualifying would see Taras Matviyenko, a man rumoured to be considering retirement by the press, take a shock pole over Sakiteno Kuyara and Chiruno Hakusoe. Batu qualified in 11th and Lukas in 13th, the two white cars separated only by Jama'obo Pegasii in a car now partly covered in the colours of the nation that broke away from the team. It will certainly be a picture of a thousand words in the grid tomorrow.

Batu knew he would have to keep on fighting no matter the colours on his car, but even he knew that a single "B" wasn't the best to put on his machine. So, in a move not approved by anyone and without any supervision, he decided to surround his B in a Sharpie Heart, on both sides of the car. He felt that this showed his love for this team until the very end, all signed with a simple note he left on a piece of paper on the nose of the car for someone to find:

From Shinebaishin, With Love
Шинебайшинаас, Хайраар
Shinyebaishinaas, Khairaar

[Chromatika]

Yakumicha Circuit Post-Qualifying

One of the hardest things about working with Anola Melani - perhaps better phrased as one of the few things that were hard about working with her - was that she was such a cerebral driver. Everything was about calculations, predictions, models and computations. This was fine, of course, until you ran into the more obscure facets about sports in general - momentum, inspiration, passion.

After talking about how Qualifying had gone, Vladimir did his part to get through the normal conversations rather quickly. Anola's eyes met his - she could tell he was leading up to something. Letting the last detail about key turns slide, she looked at him expectantly and motioned for him to say his piece.

"There's someone you should meet," he said calmly, "Someone came all the way here from your home country. She's waiting for you at the entrance of the hotel. Go enjoy yourself - take some time to actually meet - and come back once you've had your fill, all right?"

With that, he exited the conference room with a warm smile.

Ten minutes later, Anola got out of the hotel that Kaylan called their home in Hidori. Awaiting for her was a tall, white-haired, tan skinned, young woman, standing about six foot five, with excitement written all over her face. She looked to be no more than nineteen, and as soon as Anola exited, the young woman approached.

"Anola Melani, Ma'am?" said the stranger, "It's such an honor. It was such a longshot to be able to meet you - but your folks at Kaylan are super nice and I'm glad all the work I did before I flew here has led to this." The young woman held out a hand to Anola, who was taken a bit back by the forward positioning.

"Nice to meet you too, Miss..?" She held up a hand as if to give the other person a chance to speak.

"Oh, where are my manners!" stammered the young woman, looking a bit embarrassed, "My name is Miriebelle du Pallion, and I'm a new driver in the Chromatik Motor Circuit. I'm from Myana, and I've been driving in the Motorcart series for most of my youth. Just got a chance to get involved in the domestic scene - which is doing quite well now thanks to your fame - and, if I can daresay so myself, am absolutely crushing it. I asked for some of my winning to go toward meeting you, and the CFF were able to make it work!"

"Wait, did you say Chromatik Motor Circuit?" asked Anola, her eyes growing large.

"Yes," replied Miriebelle, "Renamed this year. We have eight races. Cars have to be up to spec with WGPC standards. Winnings are far more substantial. Competition could be better, but we're trying. It's a huge deal back home."

Anola took a step back, stunned. She had been so engrossed in her own racing and she hadn't kept track of news related to motorsports back home. If this was indeed the case...

"Did you come here all by yourself?" inquired Anola, noticing that Miriebelle didn't have anyone with her.

"No, I came with my friend and fellow driver Oskar Mantiola," answered Miriebelle, and Anola could tell a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

"Oh? Where is he?" she asked pointedly.

"He didn't have the clearance to come in," replied Miriebelle.

"We can't have that, can we?" teased Anola, "Come on, let's get out of here and grab dinner. I haven't eaten yet, my treat. You can tell me all about him on the way out, and we can talk about Chromatik motorsports."

She made sure to text Vladimir where she was going and to thank him, and then turned expectantly onto Miriebelle, who was already going off.

"Well, you see, Oskar is from Yesopalitha, and probably the only driver who has an outside chance at beating me this season..."

Motivation? Absolutely, irrevocably secured.

650 Words.

[Diarcesia]

Period: Race Event Eight

POST-QUALIFYING DEBRIEFING: CORRESPONDENTE

"We have also obtained the telemetry of the cars, which gives us a good overview of how they perform on the race track during the session. The V6 engines showed some issues, primarily with the acceleration. We will investigate this and if required, contact Preston so they're aware of the matter.

Other than that, everything seems to be working fine. The good news is that the drivers adjusted accordingly. The rest of the teams have gathered information for the most critical changes needed for the event, same as us. The 20 drivers after the polesitter logged times within one second of the fastest time. We were extremely, extremely close to having all the pieces to start at the first two rows without the engine issue that we couldn't nail down.

This means that we are once again in our typical feature race start. Yet again, we ask them to defy the odds."

Aldauren rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You know the rules, and so do I. Drive cleanly off the starting line to succeed. Patience is key, grab the opportunity. They get the ins and outs of the car, now."

Indra's time to think begins. He motions as if to speak, then pauses, and then begins to share his observations in his qualifying lap. His time has put him in P10 for the feature race. He looks out to Creusa, adds some more things that he wishes he did differently, and sighs. The field is very tight and competitive. He looks to his right, at Laura, and asks her what she likes to say. She smiles, though Aldauren can sense some pain in her eyes.

"We're very sorry Laura," Aldauren tells her after she finishes explaining her part. "We will find out which worked and which didn't. You did your best given our circumstances."

Laura thanks him.

"Don't worry about it, Laura, you're one of the best."

Aldauren shifts his seating position to be more comfortable, and turns his attention to Louis, who earlier gave the assessment to the cars.

"Anything else I like to say? Cornering speed is key, and I hope the engines don't do any worse. Their power is needed in the uphill portions. Engineering has time to make quick health checks on them. I have a gut feeling a minor tweak will fix the problem. I'll get my meeting with Artur tomorrow. If things go as planned, this will not be one of those nights I lose sleep over."

As Aldauren later walks around the paddock, flanked by a few team members, a reporter caught up with him.

"Hi Aldauren, I have a few questions with the qualifying section."

"Okay, what are they?"

"Uhh... first, qualifying has been rather tight today. How did your team take it?"

"It was more or less consistent with how previous sessions were. That is, it's not ideal. We just had our debrief and we have some discussions about what happened."

"What about the persistent rumors regarding your future involvement in WGPC?"

Aldauren laughs... "Ah... haha. That's something I'd rather not comment, would I? The most important task is tomorrow's race, and the race after that. That's where I focus."

[538 words]

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Helena & Jill left Oceana on Tuesday for the long haul flight to Hodori, which would give them a day to overcome jet lag and get down to the business of leading Sakite through the various PR events she would have to endure for her home Grand Prix; although she was quite socially aloof around those she didn't know, the Commercial Department had gotten her into a comfort zone for these 30 or 45 minute meet & greet sessions with sponsors and fans where she belied her natural shyness.

They wanted to try to have a similar Friday afternoon autograph affair like had been done at Drummond Vale with both Pedro and Sakite and had ordered extra team branded merchandise to be shipped for the race weekend. PC and Smitty would also come in an extra day early for sponsor duties with AtaGo and Deyoze Tires.

Speaking of sponsors, the only issue that would have to be worked around was the Port Royale logo; no alcohol or tobacco branding could run on the cars in Hodori, so a couple of different solutions were prepared for the front wing elements and endplates, as well other signage and on the drivers suits, to hopefully conform with the local law.

Because both Saki and her countrywoman Charuno Hakusoe had started from pole during the season, there was a lot of media attention focused on the pair, who were as different as night & day, during the promotional buildup to the race weekend. Outside of the main gates to the Yakumicha Circuit, large posters of every driver adorned the fencing, with the two Hodorans prominently displayed next to one another on one side of the entrance, and the two Prism River drivers, Annelise Devereaux and Charyseine Valkyria, on the opposite side.

"Are you sure don't want some more of your friends to come along? We'd have no problem getting them paddock passes, or even just hospitality passes." Helena brought up the issue again, but she knew it was a fruitless effort. Saki didn't want anyone to feel left out if she only brought along half a dozen of her former service buddies, which Helena thought was a noble way of looking at things.
"You've seen them up close," as Helena & Jill had stayed with Saki at her house after they arrived. "I can't concentrate on the driving and have them all underfoot for three days."

post-qualifying Press Conference, Friday

“Welcome to the top three qualifiers for the feature race of the WGP2 Grand Prix of Hodori, in third place, Charuno Hakusoe of VSK-Maarukanna Racing, in second, Sakiteno Kuyara of Scuderia Orange Cow, and on pole, Taras Matviyenko of Urotovsky-Gatutin. Taras, brilliant drive to prevent a hometown front row lockout, talk us through the lap.”

While Matviyenko spoke, Saki contemplated what just missing out on her second pole of the season in front of her home nation really meant; she never felt like the hundreds of people she'd met over the last few days for sponsor work were expecting her to be the star of weekend, although she sensed that some of them deep down hoped that she would upstage the championship battle.

“Now Sakite, another fantastic qualifying run out of you. Starting on the front row of your home Grand Prix must make up a bit for the disappointment at Crossbay?”

“Yeah, it was a tough weekend for the team, and myself especially. I can't say thanks enough to everyone in the garage who have supported me through the entire season. I'd have loved to been on pole, but Taras showed his experience and came through with a great run at the end.”
“Do like your chances of getting away at the start and staying out of trouble?”
(laughs) “I'd like a chance to make a pit stop once this weekend.!” (laughter in the room)

“Charuno, nearly another front row start for you, just a few hundreths off...”

Saki was certainly looking more forward to the autograph session than she had been earlier in the day.

656

[Lisander]

BUY IN ANNELIESEDEVEREUX.LS

Being featured in advertisements, panels and billboards around the circuit was good for morale and business. Anneliese Devereux was a girl from a poor family, then she was always thinking about how to make a little extra money. To help to fund her karting career, years ago, she sold handmade cookies and sweets. Even at that moment, she was always trying to show her exclusive Leinas Anneliese wristwatch whenever she could, and that would cause her to make some funny poses on photos. Of course, with the help of her team, make money was a lot easier. They didn't have a business license to sell merchandise on the circuit, it was quite true. But that wouldn't stop Sissie from having her own wild ideas. After all, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Darius gathered the whole team together after the qualifier, gave them some t-shirts and filming equipment. They had a cool strategy to put into action when Sissie would be leaving the circuit after the Qualifiers. Even if not more in evidence than the two local drivers, Sakiteno Kuyara and Chiruno Hakusoe, she was starting at P8, one position ahead of her partner Charseyne Valkyria, then she was in evidence for the first time since her win in Baker Park.

*So, we're live for Lisander TV 7, Sissie! Please, tell us how does it feel to be here in Hodori? "* - It wasn't a reporter at all, just two Lisander employees with a camera and a microphone.

"It's a wonderful experience! I am happy to finally run here, for PrismRiver. It is a unique opportunity to strengthen the relations between the two countries! Hodori is a beautiful place, and so big compared to our tiny principality... But I feel the same energy here, you know. A lot of people passionate about speed." - Sissie said, and pretended to walk away.

"Just one more little question, please!" - the fake reporter held out the microphone - "And this shirt, huh? You look very fashionable in PrismRiver colours!"

"Ah, not at all... It's just something the team prepared for me to wear on these occasions. They're for sale on my website, I think it's pretty cheap even. Anne, do you remember seeing if it was L$30 or L$40? I think it was L$40. Look there at anneliesedevereux.ls, I think they put it for 24 hour delivery. Guys, I really have to go now... bye-bye!" Anne Siebler, the driver's accomplice in that commercial move, called her off-camera and Sissie ended the "interview".

When Sissie and her companions escaped the movement of people, getting into the car to go to the hotel, she stood looking outside. Soon some PrismRiver fans were already looking for the team to ask where they could buy the t-shirts.

"Thanks, capitalism!" - she said with a smile on her face, as she looked at her phone and saw that she had already made the first sale of the day on the website.

PREV | 500 | NEXT

[Togonistan]

Yakumicha Circuit
After Qualifying

Both practice as well as qualifying sessions had gone relatively well for Kaylan. Ted on P6, sandwiched between his two championship rivals had promise to be a ground for a good showdown between the three tomorrow. Meanwhile, Anola's P14 might seem low in comparison, however, there was something that had to be taken into account. It was Anola behind the wheel, after all. The Chromatik had shown multiple times this season already that she has the capabilities to run through the grid and push the car further up the pack. Being ahead of both Jukkenna and Wingelaar, if she'd manage to keep the two behind her and do her own thing, Xander and the rest of the team saw a real possibility of her joining the battle further up the grid. The season so far had clearly shown that with right team strategy, anything can be converted into a decent points finish.

Ted had told Xander about the issues with his father during the flight. Of course, it had come as a bit of a surprise to him, but he couldn't say it was shocking. The experience he had from working with teams in domestic racing series before allowed him to bring some parallels from the past. Young drivers like Ted usually rely heavily on their family for support and people are different. Some parents support their children no matter what, others can slowly turn into glory hunters, demanding their son or daughter to fulfill their own dreams. Dreams they themselves never reached. Did Mr. Pressley fall into that category? Xander couldn't tell for sure, since he lacked the ability to see what was going on inside other people's heads. But he had some assumptions that the stone might be buried there.

Xander and Manu were currently sitting in a car on the way back to their hotel. After having sat in silence for a few minutes, Manu eventually dropped the question:

''So, what are we going to do about Ted's family situation?''

''We will wait and see,'' Xander replied calmly.

''Wait and see? Wait and see how this neglective twat destroys his own flesh and blood son?''

''Relax Manu, you're making it look bigger than it actually is. Ted is a grown up boy, he can handle it.''

Manu sighed, attempting to calm himself down. ''There must be something we can do.''

''There is. Leave it to me, I have a plan to smoothen up the situation.''

''Let me guess. It has something to do with that factory tour the other day, right?''

Xander smirked, ''Perhaps.''

''You're telling me you've known about the situation for a while now?''

Xander shook his head, ''No, I didn't. However, sometimes, a lucky set of circumstances can fall together. We've offered a deal to Mr. Pressley, and if that deal goes through, we might hit two birds with one stone.''

''You think so? From what I've gathered, the old man won't give a jack unless his son wins the championship.''

''Everyone likes to win. I don't know much about Mr. Pressley, but from what I've gathered from Ted, he hasn't always been like that. What I do know is that he has been around the motorsports scene for a long time. He is a team principal, just like me. And if the deal won't be enough to butter him up, I will personally sit down with him and have a talk. One team principal with another.''

''And what if that won't work either?''

Xander smirked again, ''Then we go to plan C.''

''And what's the plan C?''

''I hand him over to you and let you tear him into little pieces.''

Manu looked at Xander with a baffled look on his face. After a few moments, the realization kicked in and Manu started smirking, giggling and eventually laughing out loud. ''Xander, you old bastard! Hahaha, that's why I like you.''

''Let's just hope I won't be forced to do that. Come on now, let's go and grab something to eat,'' Xander said as the car had stopped in front of their hotel.

[Trans-Dniesters]

“Are you sure about your decision, Taras Gavrilovich?” Vasily Semyonovich Gatutin asked.

“Yes, sir, I am sure,” Taras Gavrilovich Matviyenko nodded.

“And there is nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?”

“No, sir,” Taras shook his head. “I’ve given this a good deal of thought before I came here to inform you of my decision, and my decision is final. This season will be my last as a driver for UrGa Motorsports DIvision.”

"Well then, if this is your decision then who am I to fight against it?" Gatutin shook his head. "It's going to be a real shame losing you come the end of the season, Taras. I know that this season has been very hard on all of us but this… I really didn't expect this to happen."

"It had to happen though, didn't it?" Taras asked. "How long have I been racing for UrGa, Vasily Semyonovich? More than 21 years already. I was going to reach the end of limits soon. It just so happened that I hit it this season."

"That is truly sad to hear from you," Gatutin admitted. "But I understand why you have made this decision. Let me be the first to congratulate you on being brave enough to take this next step in your life," he said as he extended his hand.

"Thank you, sir," Taras said, shaking Gatutin's offered hand.

"We're going to miss you, Taras," Gatutin said. "Truly, we will."

"And I'm sure I will miss the feeling of being behind the wheel of one of our cars," Taras nodded. "But for now, I only want to finish the season."

---

The Taras Matviyenko that arrived at the Yakumicha Circuit in Hodori was, for all intents and purposes, a different man from the one that had left the Crossbay Circuit a week earlier. It appeared to everyone as if a heavy weight had finally been lifted off of the Pridnestrovian driver’s shoulders, and to most in the UrGa garage it appeared as if their driver was now back to his old calm and laidback self. However, only very few people knew the exact reason why Matviyenko finally seemed to appear at peace with the world, and he requested that nobody else talk about his plans after the season until, well, the end of the season.

Taras breezed through the practice session without much bother or fuss. Yakumicha had a nice, good flow to it, just like Crossbay. The only difference was that it seemed as if Taras was actually having a bit of fun on this track. He finished just one tenth behind the leader in practice, and come qualifying, it seemed as if everyone just had a good feeling. At the very least, it made a nice change of pace after all the doom and gloom of previous race weeks.

Not a lot of true corners at this track, Taras thought to himself. Everything is just curves and straights and maybe a few hairpins. Not a bad place to have my second-to-last race in WGP2.

His qualifying session went by in an instant, at least from his point of view. “What’s my fastest, Vova?” Taras asked his engineer.

“Your fastest time is 50.722, Taras,” Vladimir Kripchak replied. “Currently you are on provisional pole. However we still have a few other runners still to go out, so that can still change. Do you want me to keep you updated?”

“Yes, Vova, I would like you to do that,” Taras nodded.

“Here’s Pressley… his fastest is a .892,” Kripchak said. “Laukkanen is out… his fastest is .951. Junker going out now… .875 is his fastest. And now Vialiv is out… she looks like she’s blasting through this one… it’s going to be close, Taras! Vialiv is over the line… and she is on .812! Congratulations, Taras Gavrilovich! You are now a WGP2 polesitter!”

“Taras, this is Vasily Semyonovich,” Gatutin said through his own radio connection to Matviyenko. “Congratulations on your first ever feature race pole in WGP2. It was a close one. Kuyara, Hakusoe, and Vialiv looked like they could have taken pole off of you, but you did well to extract all the speed that you did from our car. Now let’s build upon this and finish off this season with a bang!”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Taras replied.

(720 words not including these)

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Nexus Racing, Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
25th of May

For the past few days, Gertrude has walked the halls of Nexus Racing’s Crossbay headquarters with a spring in her step. Three victories in as many races is a marvel in itself; putting Janne on top in the Drivers’ Championship, proving (both to the wider world and himself) that Haru is capable of far more than consistently decent performances and unlocking the UHSGV 5’s potential on top of that? Simply, superlative.

She, and Nexus Racing with her, came into the WGP2 IV season innovating more deeply than ever before, fundamentally reworking their own development cycle in the hope of optimising it for greater success – shifting everything earlier, WGP2 development to the Driver Academy Series, WGPC refinement to WGP2. Now, finally, the first true signs of that innovation bearing fruit on track are showing; the late WGPC breakthrough that has become a trope of Nexus Racing’s campaigns is happening here, now.

That bodes extremely well for WGPC 19.

It is, however, only half the battle. And it is that that Gertrude considers as she sits in her office, waiting.

Janne is ready, she thinks, head resting on the somewhat unstable bipod of her shoulder and right hand. He is absolutely ready – arguably just as much as Ryker was and he won a Drivers’ Championship in his first season. He’d be a perfect pick for WGPC 19.

That is, of course, a problem when there are two other perfect picks already lined up for WGPC 19. A good problem to have, to be fair, but a problem nonetheless.

Gertrude scrunches up her face, mentally running through the choices for the thirty-seventh time. Taking Ryker off the team would be getting rid of the greatest wellspring of driver experience we have and, honestly, probably still our most capable championship challenger. Considering how much Jean’s promised for next season, it’d be madness to end his contract now rather than letting him prove that he can deliver on it.

She adjusts herself slightly, rubbing her hand along her cheek. His contract with us in WGP2 comes to an end next season. If he agreed we could extend it… Gertrude shakes her head (somewhat awkwardly. That wouldn’t be fair. He deserves better than that.

Get him a seat with a smaller team, maybe just for a year or two? She presses her lips together. Could give him experience of how other teams do things, offer some new ideas. Could completely destabilise his driving style by throwing him into a car that doesn’t behave anything like our own. Risky at best.

And, of course… Gertrude sighs, then forms a slight smile on her face, chuckling quietly. At the end of the day, all this theorycrafting and decision-making from on high can only get so far. Better that she take her own advice.

Read from the manual. Don’t try to work out everything yourself; go to the source.

As Janne knocks, then enters, Gertrude brightens, sitting up, smiling. The young man’s nervousness has always been endearing – but he, too, carries himself with a little more confidence now. It warms her to see. “Come on, Janne, sit. Thanks for meeting – it’s good to see you. Sami doing well?”

Gertrude breathes out in a puff of air. “The main reason I called you here is really just to ask you a question and, hopefully, get something of a discussion going! I wanted to ask: where do you see yourself in a year from now and, well, how can we help you get there?” She puts her hands in her lap. “Don’t have to answer right away – take a moment to think, if you want it.”

Not leading him anywhere, no prompts… Just an honest answer. I hope.

To the source.

[Liventia]

CUTOFF

for the Yakumicha IZAYOI GP2 Challenge - Feature Race at Yakumicha Circuit

[Liventia]

Event 21: Race

Conditions:      	Rainy
Laps:              	46
(Drivers retiring on lap 41 or earlier not classified)	
Nation:         	HDR
Circuit:        	Yakumicha Circuit
Event:                	Yakumicha IZAYOI GP2 Challenge - Feature Race
Safety Car on Laps:	
Cars on Grid:        	28

POS  # ▍DRV Name                                    Team                                   	Time      	Pts	Fastest Lap	
  1 91 ▍MTV Taras Matviyenko                        Urotovsky-Gatutin                       	01:46:16.126	25		
  2  3 ▍KUY Sakiteno Kuyara                         Scuderia Orange Cow                     	00:00:23.887	18		
  3 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker                       Teusbank TMW Rennsport                  	00:00:35.815	14		
  4 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley                            Kaylan Racing Team                      	00:00:48.969	11 + 1	2:10.109	
  5 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna                          Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin        	00:01:44.330	8		
  6 13 ▍CRB Pedro Carballal                         Scuderia Orange Cow                     	00:01:46.173	5		
  7 87 ▍PEG Jama'obo Pegasii                        VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix           	00:01:53.382	3		
  8 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv                            VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix           	00:01:53.527	1		
  9  7 ▍DEV Annelise Devereux                       PrismRiver Racing                       	00:02:03.001			
 10 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen                         Nexus Racing                            	00:02:14.059			
 11 21 ▍HKS Chiruno Hakusoe                         VSK-Maarukanna Racing                   	Laps Down: 1			
 12 44 ▍GOZ Rod Gozum                               Equipo Telebuenas-BA                    	Laps Down: 1			
 13 66 ▍ZOO Harry Zoomtwat                          Urotovsky-Gatutin                       	Laps Down: 1			
 14 23 ▍RIK Sakinomi Rikikida                       VSK-Maarukanna Racing                   	Laps Down: 1			
 15 35 ▍VAR Indra Vartak                            Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin        	Laps Down: 1			
 16 18 ▍JKN Haru Jukkenna                           Nexus Racing                            	Laps Down: 1			
 17  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar                       Team Noortekoondis                      	Laps Down: 1			
 18 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar                           Teusbank TMW Rennsport                  	Laps Down: 1			
 19 41 ▍ROU Edward Rousseau                         Equipo Telebuenas-BA                    	Laps Down: 1			
 20 72 ▍VAL Charyseine Valkyria                     PrismRiver Racing                       	Laps Down: 1			
 21 11 ▍MEL Anola Melani                            Kaylan Racing Team                      	Laps Down: 1			
 22 92 ▍MAR Alex Márquez                            Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel    	Laps Down: 1			
 23 45 ▍KUL Parveen Kulkarni                        Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel    	Laps Down: 1			
 24 79 ▍FIC Lukas Fichter                           Team Noortekoondis                      	Laps Down: 2			
 25 63 ▍RAS Lianna Rasianoara                       Bitten Heroes-MW Racing                 	Laps Down: 2			
 26 40 ▍KOW Adriana Kowalski Ela Lillian            Fireline Motorsports                    	Laps Down: 2			
 27  0 ▍AMD Astigar Armendaritze                    Fireline Motorsports                    	Laps Down: 3			
DNF  4 ▍LIL Athan Lille                             Bitten Heroes-MW Racing                 	Ret. lap 37

Drivers' standings

Pos # ▍DRV Name                                     Team [Engine]                                                  Tyres                                   Pts
 1 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker                        Teusbank TMW Rennsport [TMW]                                   Deyoze                                  118
 2 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley                             Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                                    Deyoze                                  111
 3 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen                          Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                    In Motion                               110
 4 11 ▍MEL Anola Melani                             Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                                    Deyoze                                  87
 5 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv                             VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix [Preston]                        Deyoze                                  74
 6 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna                           Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin [Preston]                     Phoenician                              64
 7 40 ▍KOW Adriana Kowalski Ela Lillian             Fireline Motorsports [Preston]                                 Deyoze                                  59
 7 35 ▍VAR Indra Vartak                             Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin [Preston]                     Phoenician                              59
 9 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar                            Teusbank TMW Rennsport [TMW]                                   Deyoze                                  54
10 66 ▍ZOO Harry Zoomtwat                           Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  51
10  7 ▍DEV Annelise Devereux                        PrismRiver Racing [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  51
12 87 ▍PEG Jama'obo Pegasii                         VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix [Preston]                        Deyoze                                  48
13 21 ▍HKS Chiruno Hakusoe                          VSK-Maarukanna Racing [VSK-Rotary]                             Deyoze                                  47
13 91 ▍MTV Taras Matviyenko                         Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  47
15 23 ▍RIK Sakinomi Rikikida                        VSK-Maarukanna Racing [VSK-Rotary]                             Deyoze                                  37
16 92 ▍MAR Alex Márquez                             Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel [Preston]                 Deyoze                                  35
17 18 ▍JKN Haru Jukkenna                            Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                    In Motion                               34
18  0 ▍AMD Astigar Armendaritze                     Fireline Motorsports [Preston]                                 Deyoze                                  32
19  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar                        Team Noortekoondis [Preston]                                   Deyoze                                  27
20 79 ▍FIC Lukas Fichter                            Team Noortekoondis [Preston]                                   Deyoze                                  26
21 41 ▍ROU Edward Rousseau                          Equipo Telebuenas-BA [Badai Angin]                             Deyoze                                  24
22  4 ▍LIL Athan Lille                              Bitten Heroes-MW Racing [Harlean]                              Stellenbosch                            20
23 44 ▍GOZ Rod Gozum                                Equipo Telebuenas-BA [Badai Angin]                             Deyoze                                  19
23  3 ▍KUY Sakiteno Kuyara                          Scuderia Orange Cow [Preston]                                  Deyoze                                  19
25 72 ▍VAL Charyseine Valkyria                      PrismRiver Racing [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  14
26 13 ▍CRB Pedro Carballal                          Scuderia Orange Cow [Preston]                                  Deyoze                                  10
27 69 ▍YUM Hoshikari Yume                           Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel [Preston]                 Deyoze                                  6
28 63 ▍RAS Lianna Rasianoara                        Bitten Heroes-MW Racing [Harlean]                              Stellenbosch                            0
28 45 ▍KUL Parveen Kulkarni                         Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel [Preston]                 Deyoze                                  0
28 16 ▍SHW Elise Shaw                               Bitten Heroes-MW Racing [Harlean]                              Stellenbosch                            0

Team standings

Pos NAT ▍Team [Engine]                                                  Tyres                                   Pts
  1 TGN ▍Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                                    Deyoze                                  198
  2 STL ▍Teusbank TMW Rennsport [TMW]                                   Deyoze                                  172
  3 NIM ▍Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                    In Motion                               144
  4 DCS ▍Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin [Preston]                     Phoenician                              123
  5 V&T ▍VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix [Preston]                        Deyoze                                  122
  6 PDN ▍Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  98
  7 ETN ▍Fireline Motorsports [Preston]                                 Deyoze                                  91
  8 AUR ▍VSK-Maarukanna Racing [VSK-Rotary]                             Deyoze                                  84
  9 HDR ▍PrismRiver Racing [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  65
 10 NYK ▍Team Noortekoondis [Preston]                                   Deyoze                                  53
 11 FID ▍Equipo Telebuenas-BA [Badai Angin]                             Deyoze                                  43
 12 SWR ▍Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel [Preston]                 Deyoze                                  41
 13 CBP ▍Scuderia Orange Cow [Preston]                                  Deyoze                                  29
 14 LIS ▍Bitten Heroes-MW Racing [Harlean]                              Stellenbosch                            20

Sprint race starting grid
 1  RIK
 2  ZOO
 3  GOZ
 4  HKS
 5  LAU
 6  DEV
 7  VIA
 8  PEG
 9  CRB
10  HAU
11  PRE
12  JUN
13  KUY
14  MTV
15  VAR
16  JKN
17  TUV
18  WIN
19  ROU
20  VAL
21  MEL
22  MAR
23  KUL
24  FIC
25  RAS
26  KOW
27  AMD
28  LIL

[Valentine Z]

Post 24 - A Slightly More Upper-Downer.

That track should have been a piece of cake, all things considered. It's technical, it has the turns, it has everything that Adriana thought that she would be able to do it and perhaps even earn a point or two. Alas, it was once again not meant to be. 26th, just right in front of her teammate who was down by 3 laps. Adriana went off back into her lounge, ignoring and literally blocking out her ears to not hear about anything from anyone, not even for the debrief. What is there to debrief about, other than that she was failing at her job in such a spectacular manner? A technical track, all for her taking, and yet, she could not do it. "Maybe I should just take up golf or something," she scoffed to herself, tossing and turning on the oversized bed that was accommodated just for her. Again, she did not like to think too hard about the race itself, but somewhere, something made her think: What went wrong, and should she have had put in more effort?

She knew she did so for the first half of the race, with the wins and some point-earnings going on. If Jane and the rest of the Fireline Team can vouch for, is possibly the fact that Adriana is as persistent and unbreaking as they have seen from a person. Still, she looked deeper into it, perhaps self-actualization of sort even for a robot whose computer mind and her artificial neurons were working for her in harmony. It was less of schizophrenia, and more of just separate thought processes inside her, except clearer and more defined than a human's. "What went wrong, Adriana? What went so wrong in these past few days that you were suffering so?"

There was the usual string of affairs that she would confide herself in - go for the practice, then the qualifications, then do a few hundred laps on her simulation, then the two races, then consultation with Jane. That was how it often for her, and it has not changed even in the slightest. "Did you actually do them well?" part of her mind was asking her, "Did you actually do those 200 laps on the simulation correctly, or was there something else?" Thinking a little more deeply, she did realise something was a little off when she was going through the more recent races and practices. Her time on the simulation cabinet, for instance. She was not doing as much as she thought she is doing. "I did 200 laps, didn't I?" she questioned herself. "No... you did only 10 laps, and you didn't review them back."

"But I put so much effort, so much power into it. I even learned some overtaking techniques. Today was a highlight of that! Or... should have, should it not? What is happening to me so much that I have been hitting the bottom rankings constantly, even on tracks that were supposed to be performing the best?"

"Let's face it: You are getting burned out."

That single thought from herself could have BSOD'ed her, right there and then, but Adriana persisted through it, putting herself into a much more stable state. She didn't want to face it, but she could not deny it. That burnout that she was getting from the desert heat back in Elbej, that read-only memory state that she unwittingly put herself into in Crossbay, and subsequently preventing her from getting anywhere, and of course, here in the Feature Race of Yakumicha Circuit, Adriana not doing as much as she thought. Was her mind(s) preventing her? Is there a malicious program somewhere that was screwing her over again and again? No, she thought. None of this happened in the past, and it certainly should not be happening too much right now. WGPC 18 was different, for there were more stakes involved and she was still a junior driver. Here, she was pushing herself way too hard and she was unknowingly getting burned out. "I probably just need a long break," she thought to herself. With 5 more races to go - the upcoming Sprint Race, along with four more across the two upcoming tracks, she just might get the longer one eventually. For that moment, she texted the group consisting of herself and the Fireline Team, citing about the short break she would need for this evening and that she needed a clearer mind.

"More practices tonight are not going to help me as much, I am so sorry for not being around just now and for being uncontactable. If it helps, I am not ghosting you guys and deserting; I just need some time alone for tonight." She would then say the same thing to Angela, or was about to, at the very least. The only Valentian that was together with her, Adriana figured it would be nice if Angela was around to help talk to her in some ways more than other. She slowly walked back to her private cargo jet, trying to make sure that she was not seen by anyone else around, a task easier said than done.

"Oh, hey! I just got your message, so sorry to hear about what happened? Everything all right?"

"I honestly don't know, to be honest. All this time I thought I was trying my best, and I really am. But I just keep getting one blunder after another. I think I am a bit worn out, or burnt out, if that is the expression."

"Overworking and strains, I can totally relate to those! Still, it's good that you had some thoughts about it and decided to rest."

"I mean, I know there is a race tomorrow too, but not a lot of point if I am not going to absorb as much, or needed a break, yeah?"

"Yeah, I know. Even computers need a break! So do you have any plans? I mean, we could go for dinner at this nice pizza place, or something. It would be pretty nice!"

"I was totally thinking of that! Then ahh... I am thinking if I should shut down and do a quick system restore."

"Oooh, sounds dangerous! Do you have backups before doing this? I hope you won't get anything deleted."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Just a simple refresh. I think I could use that, you know? I mean, the dinner will help, but I will need more than a dinner with a friend."

"Yeah, I get that! Though if you don't want to go out, I could just order some delivery! Delivered pizza does not sound too bad, you know?"

"Heh, let's get to it, then!"

With the quick dial of the local pizza restaurant, Angela ordered two plates of pizza, each of them possibly meant for 4-6 person to share, but Valentians are big eaters, and thus the portion size was necessary. Angela had her seafood special, while Adriana stick to the pepperoni. "You sadly don't get a lot of seafood when you are in space. It's so lonely out there in those oceans on other planets."

"Bet you miss the food back in Valentine Z, with all the huge portions and all."

"Yup, definitely!"

Eventually, with the dinner settled and over, Adriana decided to plug herself in on the plane and started the shut down and restore sequence. "It will take around 6 hours. Please wake me up when you need me... or a few hours before the race."

"Sure thing! Best of luck, Ela! ♥"

1260 / 1250 words.

[Tumbra]

A championship sandwich.

That was what most people were focusing on for the feature race on Saturday, despite other news items like Taras Matyvienko's heroic pole position lap after giving hints that he wouldn't be racing any more after the conclusion of this season, and even more driver changes, after the weekend in the Wardship. No, people were focused, and rightfully so, on the larger championship fight, and the pretty much improbable result which saw three of the four contenders for the championship line up next to each other.

Fifth, Heinz-Otto Junker. The recipient of five podium positions across the season, yet never making it to the top step, plenty of pressure had been heaped on him by his father. Deep down Ted wondered if he was dealing with it the same way that Heinz was, or whether Heinz had an entirely different method of dealing with the pressure altogether. A double podium finish in the Wardship had proven that TMW was not giving up on the championship fight just yet; if anything, they were doubling down on it.

Sixth. That was him. In the middle of the championship sandwich, vaguely lucky to find himself where he was. Qualifying these days was more of a lottery than anything, with the field so tightly bunched together — yet Ted had managed to stick it together for once, and land himself in sixth. Too tired from all the nonsense regarding his father to really remember whether it was his best start of the season, all he really wanted to do was to race. Getting the issue off his chest was the best thing he could've done — and now he had to convert sixth place into a better finish.

Seventh, Janne Laukkanen. The only driver so far to have broken the two-win barrier, the young yet extremely handsome Aboveian had made a name for himself, and reportedly was making things difficult for the Nexus team as well, who had to fit three jigsaw pieces into a two-piece puzzle. Rumours were that he would be leaving the team at the end of the season, yet the Flying Aboveian hadn't said anything about the topic, merely pointing at his driving.

This would be the place where they found out whether they had the mettle to go hell for leather. The podium fight in Diarcesia had already shown how far they were willing to take things — and already the media were trying to invent narratives that, for want of a better word, were utter shite. Did they hate each other? No, they'd barely spoken. Somehow that'd be twisted into not speaking because they hated each other.

Further down the grid, Anola. Ted was hoping she'd be able to do something from 14th — she'd inspired a new generation of Chromatik racers, and was looking forward to the development of the sport there. She was in the championship fight, too, and Ted really hoped she'd be able to do well. She'd been receptive of his issues on the flight, and had assured him that he'd done all he could.

He found himself in the position of suddenly wishing his own father was more like Niles Melani, and less like Charlie Pressley.

But enough about fathers, and how they'd somehow come to dominate the conversation this year. Gotthard Junker, Charlie Pressley, Petrus Wingelaar, Niles Melani...as far as Ted was concerned, all of them were thousands of miles away, and the race in Hodori was all that mattered. A new engine had been fitted to the car, and the car suddenly felt like a new one — with all the power, strength and speed of the Kaylan available to it. Flexing it would have to wait for Nekoni — but this was as good a circuit to show he was serious, once again, about getting back into the Drivers' Championship.

An excellent start once again saw both him and Junker leap up the order, and the next forty-six laps, marred by rain, blue and green tyres galore, the two were barely more than a few metres part — dueling, ebbing and flowing, each of them coming close but not quite close to vanquishing the other. A podium place awaited the winner — the ignominy of fourth awaited the other. Eventually, however, Ted would lose out — late in the race, he took a trip onto the grass after accidentally treading off the racing line. He'd recover, of course, and take the fastest lap, but Junker would take the podium, and a slender lead in the Championship.

Another opportunity awaited in the Sprint Race, where the challenge would be making as many places up as possible in less laps; he'd be starting tenth. Janne would be starting fourth; and once again, Heinz would be next to him. Another titanic duel, then, as the three went head to head to head for the World Championship.

But with his team behind him, Ted Pressley felt more confident than ever. And confidence carried.

[823] + 361 = 1184

[TJUN-ia]

As TJUN-ia as a whole mourned another WC heartbreak, Batu Tüvshinbayar was mourning another wasted opportunity in the white car he recently painted a nice heart on.

While Taras Matviyenko converted pole to the race win over Sakiteno Kuyara and Heinz-Otto Junker, both cars from Team Noortekoondis would struggle from their grid position, with Batu converting 11th to 17th and Lukas Fichter going from 13th to 24th in a race where only 1 driver retired.

As the team in white continues its fall, Batu will try to bring some joy to the TJUN-ian people in the Sprint Race tomorrow from 17th on the grid!

[Bollonich]

An Improvement?

Parveen had been struggling to get good results in the WGP2, with her latest disappointment being her 27th finish at the Yakumicha Circuit Qualifying. This meant she was starting the race at the 27th position at the end of the pack. Recovering from there and getting a good finish seemed unlikely. It had also been reported that she wasn’t in the best mental state following the crash in her first Feature race ever. This however was going to be her second and some expectations were definitely on her.
Before the race she was seen speaking to Alex Marquez, the other racer of the EHF. They seemed to be yapping about something happily, and seemed to have grown quite a bond. This was a good sign for the EHF members as friction between drivers are never good and can result in worse results.
The feature race was to begin and Parveen got into her vehicle. Starting at 27th wasn’t ideal for her so she had to make the best of this situation and get a good starting position for the sprint race to come. She had started off well overcoming some of her disadvantage and reaching 20th position in a matter of 13 laps. It was looking bright for her as with quite a few laps to go she was in a strong position and set for good position in the Sprint race. However soon everything went downhill from there. She dropped down to 27th due to a slow pit stop which cost her valuable time with only 10 laps to go. She had to make a comeback as she couldn’t afford another bad finish and a bad starting place in the Sprint race. Her efforts to regain lost ground was relatively successful as she came back 4 places and finished the race in 23rd position. This was a decent race for her but improving her performances were a necessity.
After the race, which was happily won by Taras, she said, “Well, I am not very happy with my performances yet. I have various areas to better on that I will surely work on. Transforming my 27th qualification into a 23rd finish is not the greatest achievement in the world but it’s an improvement. And improving myself is what I shall aim to do in the Sprint race.”


389

[Nykipiflugpuu]

Yakumicha, Hodori

Edvin arrives at the track just after practice has finished, waving his hands in the air in excitement. Half of it is the nostalgia of returning to the venue of Terho's first career win, and the other half is owing to the deal he's managed to land. He frantically searches for the Nykipik team principal as he dodges the handful of mechanics and staff in his way.

“Kaidi! Kaidi!” He ducks and sails between standing obstacles. “Where’s Kaid— Kaidi!”

She comes into view as she enters the garage from the pitlane, shaking her head and stretching out her hand in exasperation. “Yes, yes?”

“Look!” Edvin shrieks, holding out a piece of paper. “We have a sponsor!”

She frowns, biting her bottom lip and extending an arm to pull the paper closer to her, but without taking it in her hand. “Lisander. Timepieces…?”

Edvin points at his wrist. “Ah, yes,” she replies. “Okay, perfect.”

The Abovian nods. “They’re offering 180 thousand turkki, which should get us comfortably to the end of the season, but not much more. And we can’t risk losing cars or bodywork; we’re working with what we have until the end. Lukas’ accident last week sort of put us on the back foot.”

Kaidi nods in understanding, but pivots away from Edvin to face the incoming pure white cars, bug-speckled and laced with streaks of rubber. The car nearest to them both is Batu’s. Edvin frowns. “What’s… that heart on the side?”

The Nykipik smiles. “I want to keep that, if you don’t mind. We need to paint today?"

"Yes," Edvin replies. "As soon as possible." He strokes his chin. "And fine, the heart can stay."

[Diarcesia]

[META]
10:00 AM - Yakumicha, Hodori

"Good morning," reports a male voice emitting from the speakers of the radio.

"I would like to speak with you, over the phone, at this hour, regarding the recent events," another voice intones.

"Yes, the current situation in the Kattegat is critical to note. The region has been the scene of several terrorist attacks, with the majority of them being attacks perpetrated by members of the Closed Fighters Extremists. The recent downing of the A-10 Pegasus is being treated as one of those, with the claim that both pilot and co-pilot were somehow killed by cyanide."

"The Closed Fighters? Aren't they a New Order organization that emerged following the fall of the Northern Expeditionary Force? Some of the men went AWOL and were ripe for radicalization."

"Recent intelligence gathered is that these mercenery soldiers have gone to the aid of the Unsullied, but the UN Peacekeepers were able to prevent them from linking up. We have been seeking their leader, and we know that he is planning to cross the Bering Straight and attack the capital city of Alaska. We thought we had him in a building somewhere in the Russian Far East, but it turned out to be a decoy."

"I see. I understand. I'll get us a car, then."

"To the airport? The next flight is tomorrow morning."

The dialogue is interrupted by a narrator's voice. "The situation gets more complicated over the North! What will they plan to do next? Stay tuned for the next episode..."

Aldauren Ginintella sighs, now that today's episode of the radio drama he streams to the radio is over. This form of storytelling declined greatly after the proliferation of TVs, but some persisted, thanks to a niche but passionate audience. Having lived through its heyday, Aldauren is one of them.

* * *

"This is it, everyone," says Aldauren, sternly, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"What?" asks Fiona, one of the pit crew overseers. She is a little tired but still eager.

"This thing you all do, I appreciate the improvement in the tire change time over the season."

"You're welcome. Artur set the target of a two-second average. In a good day we get to the 1.90s."

"Rain is very probable in the forecast. Make sure the necessary preparations are done."

"Absolutely. We already went down the last few items of the checklist, thanks again."

"No problem there."

"Now, I must go."

Aldauren parts ways with Fiona. As he makes his way to the room, he crosses paths with Laura.

"Oh, hey Laura."

She acknowledges him back.

"Rain might come later. Knowing you, it may work to your advantage. We know it's not easy, but you may feel in your element there. As they say, rain is the great equalizer."

Later

"What's up?" asks Aldauren, taking a sip of his coffee. He looks down at the packet.

"I took a look at the cars yesterday. Fortunately, I am right that a minor tweak eliminated the issue with the engines. It's all good now," Louis replies.

As he reads the report, Aldauren's eyes widen. "At the very least, we know that we can potentially outpace much of the field later. Provided openings for overtakes are available."

"That'll be convenient. I'll get dressed to something more formal, I like to be more presentable than this," Louis says, shrugging.

"Got it."

Aldauren is left alone to muse about the implications of a wet race. Laura excels in them, and Indra has some struggles over it. Surely, it will pan out in the grand scheme of things, would it?

[599 words]

[Chromatika]

Yakumicha Circuit Post-Feature Race

To say that the experience was anything less than humbling would be a lie. For the first time all season, Anola simply couldn't make heads or tail of the entire race. Every single run she made on the rest of the field failed. Her turns got away from her time and time again. She couldn't blame it on concentration nor inexperience, but for some reason, nothing worked.

The meeting with Vladimir afterwards was the most somber that they had ever been working together. Her twenty-first place finish meant that she would be starting from that position in the Sprint Race to come. Her streak of getting points from every single Sprint Race during the season was in serious jeopardy. Unless she went on a run unlike anything she'd done so far, Hodori had a chance to be the first circuit that Anola wouldn't score any points from this season.

Thankfully, for Kaylan's sake, Ted scored fourth in the race - a position behind archrival Heinz-Otto Junker - and made his way to second in the standings, seven points behind Junker and one ahead of Janne Laukkanen, who couldn't replicate his success from the previous weekend. The gap between Kaylan and TMW in the Team Standings remains at twenty-six.

She couldn't help but smile despite the results, though, because of the interaction that she had had with Miriebelle du Pallion and Oskar Mantiola a few days prior. They had ended up being bright young drivers who wanted to do more for motorsports in Chromatika, and had the potential to join Anola in making something of the opportunities at hand. The two had obtained tickets to view both the Feature Race and the Sprint Race in Hodori, which did make her results smart a little more; however, there was nothing to do except to get out there again.

With the gap between her and Junker at 31, time was running out for Anola to make a serious run at the title. She'd known that she was a dark horse all along, but to realize that she had a chance and then to follow it up with such dismal results was disheartening to say the least. Ted was carrying more than just his championship hopes on his shoulders, and she was determined to do more than just sit by and watch.

She would need to move up to twelfth to get a point in the Sprint Race. Nine drivers to catch. After the abysmal run that she had had in the Feature Race, that seemed like an impossible task.

As she sat contemplating just how she was going to accomplish this task, Miriebelle's words from the meal that they shared returned to her:

"I want you to know that you're an inspiration to all of us racing in Chromatika. You've shown that there is a world beyond just domestic racing, that there is a higher level of competition to strive for. In your races, we've seen you overcome obstacles like injury, the field, living away from home, things that nobody has done before from Chromatika. Know that your success isn't bound by how many points you score nor by what kind of glory you bring back to our country. Sure, the news and experts and pundits might care about that, but to the racers in Chromatika, it's your courage, leadership, and existence in this space that speaks loudest of all."

The implication of these words hit her like a ton of bricks. No matter how hard the task, she had ample reason to try. With this in mind, she bent over her notes once more.

600 words + 650 words = 1,250 words.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

For once, under the gloomy skies that brought intermittent rain throughout, for once it seemed like the gods were going to smile on the Scuderia on this day.

Sakite had gotten away from the grid perfectly, and nearly swept around the outside of Matviyeno into the first corner--in the dry she almost certainly could've pulled it off--Sunil in her ear immediately. "Easy."
She got out of the throttle a bit and fell in behind the UrGo, as Vialiv and Hakusoe were creating mischief for the three championship contenders who were right the second row pairing.

Over on the far side of the circuit, she could see vague green & blue squares that she figured must be the national flag from the grandstand, and Sunil was back to give reassurance. "You have opened up about a three second gap to third, but Ted and Otto will get past the other two by the end of the lap. Stay patient."
She'd had a quick talk with Jordan earlier and he told her not to try and pounce on any little wiggle or missed apex by Taras; if he was going to make a mistake, it would be easy enough to know when to try and overtake.

At the entry to the chicane before the pit straight, just the thing that Jordan warned her about occurred--Taras had a bobble at the rear, but corrected quickly enough that just ended up being a fishtail through second part and he was back on the line for the last corner--and she was proud of herself for not instinctively trying to dive in.
The pit board didn't have a split time but Kenny, one of the "extra" mechanics who usually handled both drivers info held it out with a simple message--"P2 GO"

She was on the radio on the run from 14 to 15 on the second lap. "Who's behind me?"
"Lialiv, Otto, Ted, Hakusoe".

At no point during the entire season did Sunil ever refer to the points leader as "Junker"--of course the 'J' is pronounced like 'Y', but Lambert's edict still stood--no one in the team probably was even aware that Helena had told the story about Junker--and Saki wasn't going to give the game away by fessing up to knowing about it.

Meanwhile Pedro was finding all right spots to pick off cars ahead of him and slowly climbed up the order. On lap 13, Vaughn come on to ask him a question. "PC, if you're willing, we think there's a strategy that'll end up leapfrogging you over about 10 cars by the end of the race."
He didn't hesitate or ask how or why. "Let's do it."
"Box end of this lap. Box."

No one was running speeds that would create tire degradation that early, but if he was the first to change, he wouldn't need to do so again unless the rain stopped, which still might be to his advantage. It turned out the "boys in the back" of the garage had calculated that a good pit stop now could see him rejoin in a gap where he'd be able to run by himself, and it ended up paying off, as PC came home 6th; meanwhile, Saki was about 4 seconds behind Taras and about 5 seconds ahead of Otto and Ted, who were battling one another, which allowed her to concentrate on her own race and gain .2 or .3 every lap.
578 + [656] = 1234

But wait! The story continues!!

Final lap

"One final time through the chicane, the Orange Cow team know how to celebrate even if they don't get much opportunity (TV shot of the crew on the pit wall, cut to the long shot down the straight, team to the left as Saki veers towards them) and this time it's for the points, Sakiteno Kuyara comes home second in her home Grand Prix! Listen to the crowd!" (random cuts from one shot to another)

Parc Ferme
Saki pulls the car in front of the big "2" and kills the engine. She's not really sure what emotion she should be experiencing at this moment. While she's sorting through the maelstrom, a glove comes into view in front of her.
"Congratulations Sakite, well done! You drove a marvelous race today" It's Taras, and she reaches up to grasp his offered hand of friendship, while he pats her on the top of helmet a couple of times. "Come out and let your team celebrate you!"

She pulls the wheel off, climbs out quickly and replaces it, just then a tap on the shoulder from behind surprises her.

"Well done Sakite, well earned reward today." Heinz-Otto Junker also reaches out to shake hands and clasps her shoulder. "You deserve some luck. Congratualtions."

In the meantime, she's seen where the band of goofballs and misfits who are the race team are located and runs towards them with a leap into their collective arms.
She has her Hodori Air Force gang, with whom she's shared so much through war and now in peace time, her friends. And yet here is another group that's entirely different--different culturally, different temperamentally, from a nation that she knew nil about months ago but where's she's lived, played, laughed, cried, and been treated like a friend.
Were these her friends now, too?
She didn't realize that sometimes Your friends, they pick You.
+315

[Filindostan]

Yakumicha Circuit
Yakumicha, Hodori
Hours after the Feature Race

Manolo Ricafort and the Equipo Telebuenas - BA has had it rough at the recent races.

After getting the first win of the WGP2 season for the team with Edward Rousseau in Stelburgring and Rod Gozum adding points in Hapilopper, the team has not scored any points since the midseason break, with the latest round have Rod being four spots off the last point scoring position and Edward finishing 19th, not high enough for the reverse grid for the sprint race. The team itself has not made any strides, having made multiple errors in judgements and in pit stops for the past three races while Gozum has not shown his last season's form where he was able to finish in the top 10. That seems to be unachievable now, although having more points available than last season would give the team some hope of climbing from 11th of 14 teams in the Team standings.

An emergency meeting has been conducted after the feature race where Jose Manuel Varadi attended in person, discussing whether the outfit will continue next season, and the body language of Manolo and Rod post the meeting did not sound good, with reporters outside flocking to him regarding the outcome of the meeting. With the disclosure of the decision is prohibited as of the moment, he had the security shove the reporters as he rushed to the team's motorhome.

Hours after the meeting, speculations spread like wildfire about Equipo Telebuenas' impending withdrawal from the championship at the end of the season with the Badai Angin marque looking to a different operating model to provide support to their academy drivers. The rumors of Gozum being replaced in the ETBA team has resurfaced, with Alvis Kalvin Lacsamana rumored to replace the former WGP3 Filindostan champion in the last two races in Nekoni and in Liventia, with the Filindo driver tight lipped about the rumors.

323 words

[Trans-Dniesters]

“Marina, can I talk with you for a moment?” Vasily Gatutin asked on the morning of the feature race in Hodori. “In my office, if possible, please.”

“Of course, Vasily Semyonovich, certainly,” Marina Smirnitskaya nodded, and then she entered Gatutin’s office. The UrGa team principal was seated behind his desk scrolling through his tablet. “What did you want to talk about, sir?” she asked.

“That’s twice today that I’ve seen someone mention the possibility of Taras Gavrilovich retiring at the end of the season,” Gatutin muttered as he handed his tablet over to Marina. “I know that he came to you first to discuss his plan, and I am sure that he also made you promise not to speak a word of this to anyone else until the end of the season.”

“Well, that’s true, sir,” Marina nodded. “I haven’t said anything at all about Taras’s plans to anyone else. To me, these articles sound like someone trying to analyze or over-analyze what’s going on. Probably got some of those armchair body language experts in to make a headline or two for them. In any case, we probably should do something to quash the rumors. Shall I get a statement ready just in case?”

“Might as well, Marina Vladislavovna,” Gatutin agreed. “On one hand, such a statement could keep the press off our backs until such time that Taras Gavrilovich feels ready to make the announcement himself. On the other hand, releasing that statement could fuel the fire even further. Let’s just prepare the statement to be sure, and if something big comes up, then maybe we’ll release it.”

“Understood, sir,” Marina nodded.

---

Previously, when the weather radar showed that there was a possibility of rain during the race, Taras Matviyenko would be cursing the high heavens for deciding to deliver a deluge to the track, and especially on the day after he had taken his first ever pole position in WGP2 purely on merit. He had gotten a pole position before, but that was only because his 12th place finish in the feature race meant that he would start the sprint race at the very front of the grid. But today, even the pouring rain couldn’t dampen Taras’s mood. For the first time in a very long time, he was feeling confident about the coming race.

And his confidence, for once, would be duly rewarded. Taras got off the line marvelously once the lights went out, and because of that great start he was able to block Sakiteno Kuyara and keep the lead coming into the first turn. After that, it was just a matter of hitting the apexes, and eventually, by some miracle, Taras had built up enough of a gap to his nearest competitor to take what was essentially a free pit stop. The pit stop itself went off without a hitch; no nuts got stuck and all wheel guns worked properly. After that pit stop, it was pretty much a cruise to Taras’s first ever WGP2 victory.

Taras congratulated his fellow competitors on the podium with him and sung the Pridnestrovian anthem as it was played, content that he was leaving the sport a race winner.

(1250 words total - 720 words previous RP = 530 words this RP)

[Auruna]

MNA Sterlennau
Sterlennau, Auruna

"Good day Mr. Maarukanna, apologies for making you wait."

"No worries, Raiko. But please drop the formalities."

"Alright, if you're fine with that."

"Heh, now, who are our guests here?"

"Not sure if you've heard of them... err... right, meet Viska CEO, Kiiro Sÿrenna."

"Hello there... uhh..."

"Koiho, Koiho Maarukanna."

"Ah."

"And then here we have Schkeska Racing team principal, Haruna Kaurikanna."

"Nice to meet you all."

"How's the restructuring of Schkeska?"

"Well, it managed to take me here."

"Ah, haha."

"Anyway, back to why we're here. We, at VSK, needs a bit of help regarding our entry into international motorsport. MNA money isn't enough for everything WGP2 throws at us."

"Ah, I know it well."

"Of course you do."

"You came in unprepared aren't you?"

"Rather, our expectations were quite different. It was on a whole another level, and thinking like we're still racing here in Auruna got us nowhere. That's why we need your help, all of you so for the next season, we'll be better."

"Right, to start things off, I'll try to get Zÿhai to get in on the action. They would love to join the fun."

"Zÿhai Motors?"

"Nie, not that, the whole Zÿhai Group."

"Jÿmän... that'd be difficult."

"Trust me here, I'd like to see the team succeed."

"Thanks."

"Er.. me? I think I could help out with a few advisers as thanks for the first season in WGPC. I can't do more than that as we are focusing on our partner, PB."

"That's fine by me."

"Let me think... hm... well, since we're not involved in your international motorsport politics or some shit, full Schkeska factory support on your engine department and R&D, how does that sound?"

"Sounds great. I'd take that offer."

"Also, don't be too worried, I'm not like the previous team principal who messed everything up."

"Not a problem with that, I trust you guys. Well, thanks again. This is for the long-term so that VSK can stay competitive. Now that's out of the way, dinner's on me. Let's go."

"Now that's a surprise I'd go for."

"Every meeting with him always end up with food."

"Damn, I think I know what to do."

"This is a nice change of pace."

---

Karalinne, Auruna
12 years ago
At a small neighborhood at the outskirts of Karalinne, famed rally driver Aina Haukanna is working on her personal rally car. Continuing from where she left off the night before. The noise coming from outside, was enough to wake the young Laura up, rolling around, expecting a wide bed but instead, she fell off from the sofa with a noticeable thud. She then gets up and head outside to the source of the noise. Walking around the Schkeska Vezrel, she sees her mother working on something inside the engine bay, she gets closer then tugs on her shirt to get her attention.

"Hm..?" Aina halts her work and turns her attention to Laura. "Ah, Laura, päi. Didn't notice you there, you're up early. Where's Kata and Juno?"

"Uh... still... asleep." She then yawns. "Ah--... aanta äi..."

"Still sleepy? Hm... esta ame kau?" She asks Laura. "Should wake you up completely. Here." And hands her some küvinäti (cinnamon rolls) and maita(milk). "If that doesn't work, I have an idea that would so go wherever you want and eat, I'll call out later." Then she resumes her work on her car while Laura, sitting on a small wooden chair, is nibbling on her food and watching her mother work on the car.

After finishing her food, Laura asks. "Isö.. mistä kau?" ("Where's dad?") Aina, just finished working on the car, immediately answers. "He won't be back for a long time. Understand that endurance racing takes up most of his time now that he's with a big team. I know he'll be back soon." Laura then follows up with another question. "What about you..? Why aren't you racing?" To which Aina replies. "I still need to take care of you three. I just took a break. And well, you know... Kata is still small. I don't think they would allow her to my races. Yeah, come to think of it. It's better that I stopped for a while." She closes the hood of the Vezrel then gets two helmets and hands one to Laura. "Since I still need to my skills up and not get rusty when I return, let's have some fun for now. Let's go."

Laura excitedly puts on the helmet and enters the car. Aina helps Laura with her seatbelt first then heads over to the driver's side and enters the car. "Alright, you're going to be my co-driver for now, hope you can see out of the windows." Flicking through the switches then the car comes to life with the powerful inline six. "We're good to go, guide me through the forest!"

"I'm with you here, äi. Can't wait!"

"Heh. You'll love this stage."

The two now head off, quick through the forest on the gravel road. Laura watches as her mother navigates through the stage, flat-out through the stretches and eventually soaring through the jumps, while completely focused on driving. Laura is finally experiencing the ride through the forests instead of watching as a spectator on the side or on the television. She feels the adrenaline surging. The fearlessness of the drivers and their co-drivers as well. She understands now and she made a decision during the run.

Kiitan, äine... I know what I want to do...

I want to be like you, to race like you.

And eventually, to win like you.

---

Yakumicha IZAYOI GP2 Challenge - Feature Race
Yakumicha Circuit
It was a rainy day, the circuit is wet and in short: conditions are not ideal. It wasn't the start that Haru was hoping, especially since his previous successes, he didn't want to mess this up. Until the race was underway. Grip was inconsistent and the track conditions are not helping out. With car performance out of the way, it's all down to strategy.

"How are the conditions?"

"Pretty fucked. I'd say, apologies for the language."

"Do you think we can run longer with the wets?"

"Negative. We run as planned."

"Copy that, I'll update you if you need it."

Lap 23 of 46, Haru notices a severe lack of grip along the esses, losing out on a battle for P10. He presses on before being called in to pit.

"Haru, box box. Box this lap."

"Already?"

"Yep, please box this lap."

"Understood."

Damn, looks like I was deep in the zone that I forgot about the stop.

After a quick change from wets to wets, Haru was out quick but soon, everything went downhill. After being lapped, all the spray disrupted his vision by a lot, almost crashing into his teammate before falling behind. He notices the ones on the inters were sailing past the others although there was a high risk of spinning out. It was a difficult decision but his race engineer asks him first.

"Should we go for inters, Haru?"

"Too late but... argh, let's go for it."

"Alright, box next lap."

"Copy."

His next stop was better than his race. At the pit exit, he was running behing PB-Viska's Indra Vartak. Whatever overtake Haru attempts, it will always fail even though it seems that Vartak is struggling as well. He stays behind Vartak until the end of the race, missing out on P14. While soaking wet.

[Liventia]

CUTOFF

for the Yakumicha IZAYOI GP2 Challenge - Feature Race at Yakumicha Circuit

[Liventia]

Event 22: Race

Conditions:      	Cloudy
Laps:              	31
(Drivers retiring on lap 27 or earlier not classified)	
Nation:         	HDR
Circuit:        	Yakumicha Circuit
Event:                	Yakumicha IZAYOI GP2 Challenge - Sprint Race
Safety Car on Laps:	
Cars on Grid:        	28

POS  # ▍DRV Name                                    Team                                   	Time      	Pts	Fastest Lap	
  1 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna                          Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin        	01:04:24.355	15		
  2 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen                         Nexus Racing                            	00:00:06.360	13		
  3 66 ▍ZOO Harry Zoomtwat                          Urotovsky-Gatutin                       	00:00:10.395	11		
  4 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar                           Teusbank TMW Rennsport                  	00:00:14.605	9		
  5 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley                            Kaylan Racing Team                      	00:00:17.142	8		
  6 11 ▍MEL Anola Melani                            Kaylan Racing Team                      	00:00:20.281	7		
  7 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker                       Teusbank TMW Rennsport                  	00:00:22.718	6		
  8 21 ▍HKS Chiruno Hakusoe                         VSK-Maarukanna Racing                   	00:00:30.736	5		
  9 13 ▍CRB Pedro Carballal                         Scuderia Orange Cow                     	00:00:42.330	4		
 10  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar                       Team Noortekoondis                      	00:00:54.893	3		
 11 18 ▍JKN Haru Jukkenna                           Nexus Racing                            	00:01:04.838	2		
 12 72 ▍VAL Charyseine Valkyria                     PrismRiver Racing                       	00:01:17.021	1		
 13  3 ▍KUY Sakiteno Kuyara                         Scuderia Orange Cow                     	00:01:20.154	 + 1	1:53.702	
 14 41 ▍ROU Edward Rousseau                         Equipo Telebuenas-BA                    	00:01:20.292			
 15 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv                            VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix           	00:01:26.087			
 16 44 ▍GOZ Rod Gozum                               Equipo Telebuenas-BA                    	00:01:34.069			
 17 23 ▍RIK Sakinomi Rikikida                       VSK-Maarukanna Racing                   	00:01:35.518			
 18  7 ▍DEV Annelise Devereux                       PrismRiver Racing                       	00:01:38.939			
 19 40 ▍KOW Adriana Kowalski Ela Lillian            Fireline Motorsports                    	00:01:45.247			
 20 91 ▍MTV Taras Matviyenko                        Urotovsky-Gatutin                       	00:01:59.028			
 21 92 ▍MAR Alex Márquez                            Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel    	Laps Down: 1			
 22 79 ▍FIC Lukas Fichter                           Team Noortekoondis                      	Laps Down: 1			
 23 45 ▍KUL Parveen Kulkarni                        Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel    	Laps Down: 1			
 24  0 ▍AMD Astigar Armendaritze                    Fireline Motorsports                    	Laps Down: 1			
 25  4 ▍LIL Athan Lille                             Bitten Heroes-MW Racing                 	Laps Down: 1			
 26 35 ▍VAR Indra Vartak                            Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin        	Laps Down: 1			
 27 63 ▍RAS Lianna Rasianoara                       Bitten Heroes-MW Racing                 	Laps Down: 1			
DNF 87 ▍PEG Jama'obo Pegasii                        VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix           	Ret. lap 16

Drivers' standings

Pos # ▍DRV Name                                     Team [Engine]                                                  Tyres                                   Pts
 1 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker                        Teusbank TMW Rennsport [TMW]                                   Deyoze                                  124
 2 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen                          Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                    In Motion                               123
 3 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley                             Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                                    Deyoze                                  119
 4 11 ▍MEL Anola Melani                             Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                                    Deyoze                                  94
 5 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna                           Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin [Preston]                     Phoenician                              79
 6 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv                             VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix [Preston]                        Deyoze                                  74
 7 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar                            Teusbank TMW Rennsport [TMW]                                   Deyoze                                  63
 8 66 ▍ZOO Harry Zoomtwat                           Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  62
 9 40 ▍KOW Adriana Kowalski Ela Lillian             Fireline Motorsports [Preston]                                 Deyoze                                  59
 9 35 ▍VAR Indra Vartak                             Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin [Preston]                     Phoenician                              59
11 21 ▍HKS Chiruno Hakusoe                          VSK-Maarukanna Racing [VSK-Rotary]                             Deyoze                                  52
12  7 ▍DEV Annelise Devereux                        PrismRiver Racing [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  51
13 87 ▍PEG Jama'obo Pegasii                         VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix [Preston]                        Deyoze                                  48
14 91 ▍MTV Taras Matviyenko                         Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  47

15 23 ▍RIK Sakinomi Rikikida                        VSK-Maarukanna Racing [VSK-Rotary]                             Deyoze                                  37
16 18 ▍JKN Haru Jukkenna                            Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                    In Motion                               36
17 92 ▍MAR Alex Márquez                             Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel [Preston]                 Deyoze                                  35
18  0 ▍AMD Astigar Armendaritze                     Fireline Motorsports [Preston]                                 Deyoze                                  32
19  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar                        Team Noortekoondis [Preston]                                   Deyoze                                  30
20 79 ▍FIC Lukas Fichter                            Team Noortekoondis [Preston]                                   Deyoze                                  26
21 41 ▍ROU Edward Rousseau                          Equipo Telebuenas-BA [Badai Angin]                             Deyoze                                  24
22  4 ▍LIL Athan Lille                              Bitten Heroes-MW Racing [Harlean]                              Stellenbosch                            20
22  3 ▍KUY Sakiteno Kuyara                          Scuderia Orange Cow [Preston]                                  Deyoze                                  20
24 44 ▍GOZ Rod Gozum                                Equipo Telebuenas-BA [Badai Angin]                             Deyoze                                  19
25 72 ▍VAL Charyseine Valkyria                      PrismRiver Racing [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  15
26 13 ▍CRB Pedro Carballal                          Scuderia Orange Cow [Preston]                                  Deyoze                                  14
27 69 ▍YUM Hoshikari Yume                           Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel [Preston]                 Deyoze                                  6
28 63 ▍RAS Lianna Rasianoara                        Bitten Heroes-MW Racing [Harlean]                              Stellenbosch                            0
28 45 ▍KUL Parveen Kulkarni                         Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel [Preston]                 Deyoze                                  0
28 16 ▍SHW Elise Shaw                               Bitten Heroes-MW Racing [Harlean]                              Stellenbosch                            0

Team standings

Pos NAT ▍Team [Engine]                                                  Tyres                                   Pts
  1 TGN ▍Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                                    Deyoze                                  213
  2 STL ▍Teusbank TMW Rennsport [TMW]                                   Deyoze                                  187
  3 NIM ▍Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                    In Motion                               159
  4 DCS ▍Pryfors Bilar-Viska/Air Kalactin [Preston]                     Phoenician                              138
  5 V&T ▍VilayeEnergy Sport Grand Prix [Preston]                        Deyoze                                  122
  6 PDN ▍Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  109
  7 ETN ▍Fireline Motorsports [Preston]                                 Deyoze                                  91
  8 AUR ▍VSK-Maarukanna Racing [VSK-Rotary]                             Deyoze                                  89

  9 HDR ▍PrismRiver Racing [Preston]                                    Deyoze                                  66
 10 NYK ▍Team Noortekoondis [Preston]                                   Deyoze                                  56
 11 FID ▍Equipo Telebuenas-BA [Badai Angin]                             Deyoze                                  43
 12 SWR ▍Erkuns-Hohnschich-Furzeine-Motospiel [Preston]                 Deyoze                                  41
 13 CBP ▍Scuderia Orange Cow [Preston]                                  Deyoze                                  34
 14 LIS ▍Bitten Heroes-MW Racing [Harlean]                              Stellenbosch                            20

[Valentine Z]

Post 25 - Anguish.

The shut down and restoration cycle were complete two hours before the race starts. With Adriana thanking Angela for all the help that she has given - both in terms of looking out for her and talking to her as a close friend, Adriana sprinted off back into her lounge, changing into her firesuit and wearing her helmet, followed by sprinting down the flights of stairs to catch the Fireline team doing their first checklist of preparations. Adriana was 4 minutes late, but not late enough to get a warning or a reprimand.

"Is everything all right, Adriana?" Percy asked curiously, with the other Fireline team and crew silently looking at her. They felt a bit of uneasiness and tension in the air, to which they attributed to Adriana, "We were just about to ask where you have been but... well, here you are."

"Please take care of yourself, all right?" Jane followed up, "I know the ends of this season have not been kind to you, so I can understand that pain."

She simply nodded in silence, gripping her helmet and storming off to the car where a few engineers were still working on it. "How is it going?" she asked in a not impolite but rather straight-forward manner.

"She's good and ready to go, Adriana! All the adjustments have been made, fuel tanks topped, tires are brand new."

"Good, thanks," she cracked up a bit of a smile, but it vanished quickly behind the veil of her helmet as she put it on and slowly drove over to her starting point of the Sprint Race.

-----

"31 laps. 19th place. At least I was not lapped this time."

What happened is a matter of perspective. She already know that she was due for some changes to her code and to change the overall attitude of her towards navigating through the courses. That is one thing that could only be done by the end of this season; "Sorry, Ela. That is against the regulation and you cannot change your attributes half-way," she was told by one of the acting officials. Fair enough, she thought. That would be saved for the next season. The second thing were the other drivers. They were the best of the best, but this was perhaps something that she has never seen in her career before, not even in WGPC 18. Even that Championship season threw her a bone with some points at the second half of the race. And yet, for the Formula Two racing, here she is, no longer topping the leaderboards right after those two Feature Race wins. It was as if those two races were her two-trick ponies, and then she is either back to her WGPC standings, or even worse. The additional outcome of just having one retirement in the race reinforced the thought for Adriana that she was definitely racing with the best, or those that has somehow achieved nigh-godlike levels of performance.

"I really don't know anymore," she said wearingly, shrugging off and storming back into the room. She felt bad that she was leaving and cutting off with the rest of the Fireline crew in terms of communication, which also doubly would have hurt the team-driver dynamics and chemistry. She would talk to them in time, but she simply needed more time off for tonight and perhaps for this week, at least before the next race.

"Self-realisation, they say. Yeah, I have been trying my best to keep on thinking what was going on, and nothing is working. Advice from Jane, my own calculations... I even tried to shut off the computing programs half-way so that my human mind would work better. I didn't do it at the end, but it does make me wonder how it would be like if I wasn't so rigid, or at least be more aggressive in overtaking other cars. Nothing seems to be working, ain't it? Kurwa, chcę walić w ścianę."

For WGP2 Season IV, there was nothing much Adriana could do for the time being, at least with her current judgments in things. It was not so much of her team, but just of the course and the other drivers. With no more technical-heavy tracks, the last one being the one that she recently blew for both Feature and Sprint, it is perhaps only a matter of time on if Adriana would end up at least in Top 10, or get some points - to be decidedly average, or net some points (even a win), or just flop.

"Maybe I should have invited Clarissa over for the race. Or some other Valentian- I can't think of anything right now, nor want to," Adriana said softly to herself, staring at the ceiling with her room's door locked.

797 / 1250 words.

[TJUN-ia]

You don't usually see a livery change mid-weekend in the world of motorsports, but Batu Tüvshinbayar certainly got a shock went he got to the garage for the Hodori Sprint Race in Yakumicha. The car he drove to 17th in the Feature Race was pure white with only sponsors and Sharpie to add some character, but now that Leinas Timepieces of Lisander has come up with the goods for the rest of the season, Team Noortekoondis were now back in their familiar red, blue and white (with Batu's heart and B still on display, thank goodness for that) and now fully prepared for whatever the remaining 5 races had to offer.

If the team needed a race to move forward from, then this Sprint Race would be that race. Lukas Fichter need up a lap down in 22nd but that was at least improvement, so Batu can't really fault him. Batu himself, however, would be the main point of hope on this day as he drove his newly-decked machine to a points finish in 10th. Laura Haukanna won this race over Janne Laukkanen and Harry Zoomtwat and while Batu was sad to be up there with them, he wasn't going to scoff at 3 more points to his and the team's tally.

With 4 races to go, 14 drivers and 8 teams can still finish this season as champions of WGP2 IV. While Batu and his team are not a part of those contenders, he will definitely try his best to get as many points as he can before this journey comes to a close...