WGPC :: World Grand Prix Championship 19 [COMPLETE]

[Filindostan]

Tauro and the Badai Angin Tim did not look confident coming into the first race of the season in Liventia, having had to wait for the third test to secure the services for their second car. In addition to this, Rusty's conflicts of interest may have costed the Filindo valuable track time, as he skipped the two testing sessions in Diarcesia, and Tumbra, to attend to a NSSCRA race in Newmanistan, and later, in Sherpaland, when he won the IRACT race to qualify for the NSSCRA race at Ramba.

They had their official test driver in AK Lacsamana, the greenhorn Filindo-Hispino driver who won the national WGP3 Filindostan championship, who participated in all the three tests. Valuable car data was passed hopefully between half-Filindos, and the first race in Liventia brought out results that they didn't expect. Rusty, brought the car home in 4th place, interestingly, his finishing position in all the races he had in the Talbott Autodrome while racing for Eelandii VTGP in Season 17, and his current team in Season 18. Dom Falepeau, the Togonistani driver who drove for their junior team in WGP2 two seasons ago, finished sixth, ensuing a double points finish for the team in their first race of the season.

The second race in Hodori, this time held in Yakumicha Circuit, probably validated the team's efforts to start mounting a serious challenge to the constructors' championship held by Tropicorp Racing Aelund in the past two seasons. Falepeau has taken pole for the race, the first time for Badai Angin this season, but his race was hampered by a safety car situation, where a pit stop costed him the first spot, although his recovery gave him two consecutive sixth places, and thus additional points for the team.

For Rusty though, he had a glorious chance of a podium finish in the closing moments of the race, with him stringing a series of fast laps after nailing their pit strategy, with Licentian driver Joy Wingelaar, driving the TMW, ahead of the Filindo with a few laps remaining in the race. The former MRT and Eelandii VTGP driver got the fastest lap of the race with two laps to go, and in the final lap, was preparing an attack on Wingelaar, but ran out of road as the Licentian driver was able to hold on for 3rd place.

"Gaah! I just missed the podium."

"It's alright, Rusty, we can take on them in the next races." Werner Ragos told him through the radio. The ex-Formula Hodori driver had experiences in the Yakumicha Circuit in previous years, and he was able to assist both drivers on optimal racing lines and braking points. Ragos now solely focuses on being Rusty's race engineer, having relieved of his duties as President of Team Operations for Badai Angin Tim's NSSCRA program.

"Sorry guys, I've ran out of track to try to get Wingelaar."

"You get the extra point for fastest lap Rusty, that would be a good consolation. I can also say that we will lead the constructors' championship going to Crossbay."

"Ha, I've seen that scenario before, leading that championship before floundering midseason."

"That can change this season Rusty, keep your heads held high."

After the scrutineering post-race, Rusty went back to the garage, with Tauro tapping his back for a job well-done.

"Thanks, boss for giving me a great car to race with. I didn't expect this turnaround from the first test, you have certainly worked wonders here." The Filindo driver responded while asking the Hispino team principal to give him a high-five.

With the bonus point for the fastest lap of the race, Rusty was among three drivers at the top of the drivers' championship, with him in third as the two drivers ahead of him has race wins under their belt, and as Werner said on the radio, Badai Angin are leading the constructors' championship, with the defending champions having to catch up on the leaders, coming to Nimbus Bay and the Crossbay Circuit. The track gave him some moments, as he had top 5 finishes in the last two races here, and here is where their love story with Kyoko started to blossom when the Ajian, racing for Kissan Motorsport, was injured after an accident during the season 16 race here.

[Sorlovia]

Crossbay Circuit

Crossbay was a challenging beast. It always had been.

His seventeenth place finish at pratice proved that it wasn't going to be any easier this season. It was just one of those tracks. Every racer had one. That track that always seemed to work poorly for you. No matter how many times you studied its layout or took runs at it in the simulators. It was just a beast that he'd never been able to conquer. But that wasn't to say that he didn't enjoy it. In truth it was exactly the opposite. He savoured the tracks that challenged him the most. They were what made him want to be a better racer. They were the arenas that pushed him the most and as a result forced him to practice harder. One day he would do well on Crossbay. It wouldn't be soon, It might not even be in the near future. But one day he would do well at Crossbay.

He kept a small map of the track in his race notebook. In a way it served as inspiration for him. The target that he hoped to best. Every racer had that one track that they longed to best. The track that kept them up at night and that they dreamed of one day getting a first place finish on. Crossbay was Gregori's glittering prize. He'd memorized its curves and straights. He'd stared out at it for hours. The portion of track that passed over the ocean fascinated him. Getting a first place finish at Crossbay would be his magnum opus as a racer.

"One day Crossbay," he said softly to himself "I'll best you one day."

Placing fourth in qualifying was at least some encouragement to him. It helped to soften the sting of the seventeenth place finish in the practice session and gave him hope for raceday. He knew he had the skill to do well. He just hadn't had his break in the season yet. But, despite himself, he doubted that Crossbay would be the track to give him that break. It might be his favoured target but it was also the bane of his existence. But despite his frustrations he would never avoid it or refuse to race on it. No, that would be conceding defeat and he refused to let the track get the better of him like that. He would race on it and one day he would get that good Crossbay finish that he'd dreamt of.

But for now he had to prepare for the coming race. He'd spent the past day in intensive practice runs and long sessions in the race simulator with Race Eelandii. But there was nothing more that he could do before the race. So, he would go for a walk and have a coffee. A little bit of time to unwind before the race would do him some good. He hadn't spent much time with Elena lately and he felt guilty about that. They'd both known that he would be away for periods of time and that he'd often be busy during the WGPC seasons. But he didn't mean that he liked being way from his wife. She had her own obligations back home with her modelling career and couldn't always be there for him at every race. He savoured the times they had together during the season.

[WGPC 19]

Nimban Grand Prix

Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay


Lap Record (WGPC Car)(seconds): 1:26.018 [Ryker Lane, Nexus Racing UHSGV-1]

Event Specific Background Info Link

The home of Nimban motorsport effectively by default, Crossbay Circuit holds true to a tradition of building circuits in areas of glorious natural beauty carried from the Nimbans' origin universe. The stark dolomite rock cliffs of the coast at Nimbus Bay make for an excellent setting, one that Nimban engineers have used to the fullest, stringing together elements of well-remembered tracks to create a masterpiece that flows through the cliffside and above the waters suspended on great frames of concrete. All the while a great Imaginational atmospheric barrier keeps spectators from harm, allows only so much rain through as is appropriate for competition and locks in pollutants to be scrubbed away by industrial strength machinery beneath the track, while recovery of cars is made similarly possible in the second sector by Imagikinetic convertors kept on standby for this precise purpose.

Companion Event(s): WGP2 Race #1

Week 3: Race

Conditions:      	Dry	
Laps:              	64	
Nation:         	NIM	
Circuit:        	Crossbay Circuit	
Event:	Nimban Grand Prix

Pos # ▍DRV Name                      Team                     Pts
 1 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna              Badai Angin Tim          43
 2  8 ▍ARC William Archer            Preston Autos GP         34
 3 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                Nexus Racing             27
 4 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone              Viska Racing             25
 4 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin              Carvenlo Liventia Airways25
 6 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii          Tropicorp Racing Ælund   22
 6 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau              Badai Angin Tim          22
 8 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna              Viska Racing             21
 9 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna            GP Pryfors Bilar Viiska  18
10 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar             Teusbank TMW Rennsport   15
11  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux        Fireline+Heroes Eminent  14
12 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin            Race Eelandii VTGP       11
13 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen           Carvenlo Liventia Airways10
14 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter               Race Eelandii VTGP       4
14 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley              Kaylan Racing Team       4
14 83 ▍MNI Anola "Wrench" Melani     Kaylan Racing Team       4
17 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly          Nexus Racing             2
17 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker         Teusbank TMW Rennsport   2
19 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                 Tropicorp Racing Ælund   1
19 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger       GP Pryfors Bilar Viiska  1
19 24 ▍SZR Sayono Souzare            WGPC Motorworks (HR)     1
22  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards              Preston Autos GP         0
22 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Ela...   Fireline+Heroes Eminent  0
22 63 ▍MIZ Daryl Mizushima           WGPC Motorworks (O)      0
22 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23               WGPC Motorworks (B)      0

Pos NAT ▍TeamPts
  1 FID ▍Badai Angin Tim                                      65
  2 AUR ▍Viska Racing                                         46
  3 LEN ▍Carvenlo Liventia Airways                            35
  4 HAP ▍Preston Autos GP                                     34
  5 NIM ▍Nexus Racing                                         29
  6 ABL ▍Tropicorp Racing Ælund                               23
  7 DCS ▍GP Pryfors Bilar Viska                               19
  8 STL ▍Teusbank TMW Rennsport                               17
  9 V&T ▍Race Eelandii VTGP                                   15
 10 F+H ▍Fireline+Heroes Eminent                              14
 11 TGN ▍Kaylan Racing Team                                   8
 12 WGP ▍WGPC Motorworks                                      1

Note: There appears to be a reported potential Google Sheets issue which has effected the WGPC instance of TRS I am using. I did not run into the issue with WGP2 Yesterday. Effectively, the results are being scorinated and displayed properly, then somewhere in the sheet there is an iterative overflow and everything errors out. After running dozens of tests to be satisfied that the initial calculations were accurate and finding no immediate solution, I proceeded to set TRS up for the actual race scorination and captured the results before the sheet errored out and posted the direct capture above.

Note: The Next Race Will be in 1 Full Week. The Next race will include an experimental SPRINT QUALIFYING session similar to that used in F1 This season. That means that Friday scorination will include Practice and Qualifying to set the Grid for the Sprint Qualifying Session. Following this there will be a One-Third distance Sprint Qualifying Session "Race" with points being awarded 3-2-1 to the Podium Finishers. The Results of the Sprint Qualifying event will set the actual grid for the Full-length, full-points race. Hopefully Google Sheets complies.

[Lisander]

Crossbay Circuit was one of Anneliese's favourite circuits. Its corners were slow, then fast, then slow, then fast. A paradise for those who liked to attack the kerbs, for those who wanted to go for every millisecond. And for Anneliese that was great. She loved to feel the sea breeze of the water crossing sector kissing her face, on the straight between turns 7 and 8. In a few minutes, however, she would be going over 300 km/h on that straight, so the wind would not only be a problem but a real risk to her safety. At that moment, she was going 5% of the speed, in the truck that took the drivers on a tour of the track, to greet the teams. Looking around, Anneliese thought about how people were watching from afar, on the boats, on the yachts and on the beach.

"I think I'd get a lot of seasickness from bobbing around in those boats. Well, it would be even worse with alcohol." - she told herself, as she leaned back in the vehicle, waving to the people who watched from the sea as the truck entered turn 8.

Alcohol was considered a drug and liquor was banned in the Wardship. - "ah, that also explains why Bitten Heroes came with the paintwork without the Burgunden Breuerie logos" - she thought. That ban even influenced the traditional champagne ceremony on the podium. On Crossbay Circuit, Elderflower pressé was used instead of the traditional bubbly-fermented grape juice. At first, Anneliese found the whole thing strange. It was like taking a bath with lemon soda. But then, like everything you see a second and third time, she simply didn't mind. She had drunk champagne for the first time at the age of 15, when she came second in a go-kart race in the adult category. That day, Adam, her father, was so happy to see his little girl competing among the adults that he didn't even realise that Sissie wasn't old enough to drink. On the other hand, she took a scolding from her mother, Lia, who spent the night calling her husband an "irresponsible scumbag". After that occasion, young Anneliese would not drink alcohol again until she was sixteen, the permitted drinking age in Lisander. Of those large bottles, which were a prize in themselves, Anneliese only had two, won at the previous year's WGP2 at Baker Park. That had been the best weekend of her career, having been on the podium twice, and once to hear both the "widows' lament" and the Hodori anthem. She still had the two now empty bottles, stored on a shelf at home, next to the two trophies. For that day, she probably wouldn't reach one of the top three positions again, so she took precautions and went to a market near the team hotel, where she bought two bottles of the exact brand of Elderflower pressé that would be used on the podium. One for her to drink as soon as the race was over, and the other to join her collection, which was beginning to take shape in the wine cellar in her kitchen. There was already a rare Liventia wine and a bottle of sake from the Yakumicha region of Hodori.

When the truck started its way up through the cliff after finishing the seaside sector, suddenly a famous face appeared. That was a certain famous driver, bringing a cameraman. That was the official broadcaster for the event using former drivers as reporters.

"So, Anneliese, and we have Adriana right there! How do you feel driving together for Eminent? Being a team with three female drivers, is there something different? We know that some nations are still kind of sexist when it comes to motorsports... And of course, what are your expectations for the rest of the season?"

"Well, you may notice I feel a little bit of a shorty, but I wear these shoes with high insoles. They're kind of like invisible heels, so I can fool others a bit and look taller. Anyways, it's a lovely opportunity for us. We keep working hard and giving our best, for us and why not, to give an example to all girls and women around the world, to inspire them in searching her dreams..."

Anneliese smiled, waved to the camera and left the focus slowly. - "Damn, that was monotonic as hell. I doubt it inspired anyone." - she thought and kept smiling and nodding in agreement to the words of her teammate until the impromptu reportrt left to interview other drivers.

"Hey, sorry about that. I'm just into an anti-media moment these days... Well. Good luck today!" - Unlike her recent relationship with the media, when it came to the people with whom she most identified, she was more open. With these people, she naturally had a soft-spoken, humble and nonchalant manner. Adriana Kowalski, as her team partner, was one of the people she seemed to get along with.

[TJUN-ia]

WGPC19 Round 3
Nimban Grand Prix
Crossbay Circuit, Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
Post-Race

Finally, things were starting to turn around a bit for Galar's Racing Export, Localised Exclusively in TJUN-ia. Lane Carter's 2nd season syndrome saw him take no points from the first 2 races despite everything he threw at them. He knew he would get them eventually, his pace wasn't too terrible at all, but it still felt a bit frustrating to see his name with 0 and Gregori Krupin's with 1. Speaking of Gregori, he replied to Lane's email and both Race Eelandii drivers took to a sports bar in Turori for a well-earnt chat. It was there that Gregori could tell him everything Lane needed to know about himself: he has a wife, whom he misses dearly whenever he is far away racing, and the early season is always a struggle. Even a man with the experience of Krupin has doubts about his abilities from time to time - but Lane was chosen as the #1 for a reason. VTGP saw something in him and the only thing he needed to work on was taking care of himself, building confidence and unwinding when you need to. He made sure to thank Gregori both in person and in email form but now, the focus was back on Crossbay for Round 3.

This weekend was being shared with the WGP2 Opener and so, he could watch Batu in action before he took to the track himself. Watching the lines the Mongolian got in his slower orange machine helped him focus on what was at hand. Race Eelandii were well in the mix during that day's practice session, with Lane in 12th (0.619 off) and Gregori in 17th (0.801 off) with Daryl up in...11th?! Yes, Mizu beat Lane in this session. Yes, Lane is still struggling with not calling him Mizu. He knew he would be happy with that and good for him. Jean Mercer-Daly was 1st in the Nexus ahead of Heinz-Otto Junker and Ryker Lane.

Batu got 4th in his Qualifying so later that Saturday, Lane hoped to do similar...and he actually succeeded. Daryl and the Motorworks gang were back towards the back but at least Mizu made the race in dead lats once again. R.L. Cruisin, Lane's former teammate, also went out in Q1, a shock to the Galarian's system for sure. Both the VTGP cars were consistent in this session and would ultimately make Q4, Krupin beating Carter to 4th by a whisker. Laura Haukanna took pole over JMD and local Olivia Stone but that didn't matter to Lane. For the first time this season, he felt confident in his own ability in this car. That was all that mattered to him that day.

So, onto Sunday and with Batu getting a point in his race, Lane was determined to make it a double TJUN-ian delight at Nimbus Bay. This race would see both of the Top 2 retire alongside Sayono Souzare (meaning Daryl was on his own this time), Cruising and Dario Nülkeschäger, but neither of the Eelandii cars could really capitalise on that. Cars lower down the field had the batter pace and some of them would find their way past the 'Brown Wall' and especially past Carter. In the end, Stone won her home race ahead of Rustom Ibuna and William Archer (who got the FL) with iBen, Krupin, Devereux, Falepeau, Lane (Carter), (Ryker) Lane and Sara Luna rounding out your Top 10. He felt good to get points on the board, of course, but also felt more was up for the taking if he had the passion to defend his lane. Ibuna leads the title hunt at the moment with Krupin in 12th with 11 and Lane in 14th with 4. With Luna and Stone getting points this weekend, that means only Edwards, Kowalski, Mizu and Cocoabo #23 was yet to score points - though Daryl did manage to finish 16th from last on the grid, so plaudits had to be given in an email in due course. Badai Angin Tim is the obvious leader in the Constructors, with REVTGP down in 9th on 15.

Next weekend would be very important for the whole team as the series heads into Eelandii itself for Round 4, litteraly across the road from HQ. The last time he was here to race, Cruisin won the day and Lane managed some points - now, there would be some expectation for Carter and Kruipin to try and do the same here. Could he actually do that though? He wasn't sure...he hadn't gotten a podium before in his career (unlike Batu with 2), that race in San Marco forever ingrained in his head, so he didn't know if he could do anything magical on home track. But he knew he had to try...of course, he had to try. If he didn't try, then all would be for nought. Even if the dream decided to rear its head once more, he had to try and go for it. He may not be the best...but if he tried, anything was possible...

---

To: Gregori Krupin (GKrupin@expressmail.com)
From: Lane Carter (lcarter@jagwire.tj.un)
Subject: Thank you

---

Hey Gregori,

Thank you for meeting me and giving me the boost I needed. I guess it really helped with things. Hopefully, our form can continue to rise.

Kind Regards,
Lane Carter

To: Lane Carter (lcarter@jagwire.tj.un)
From: Daryl Mizushima (dmizushima@squidmail.sqr)
Subject: RE: RE: Checkup

---

I see that the learning process certainly helped today, didn't it? Nice to see both of us pull off a good result in the same race. Progress is always good and hopefully, we both can build on this forevermore.

Hope you're doing OK and I'll see you in my backyard!

Kind Regards,
Lane Carter
#11 Race Eelandii! Vilita and Turori GP

[Sorlovia]

Crossbay Circuit
Raceday

The final strait on the Crossbay Circuit had always been one of Gregori’s favourite pieces of track in the entire World Gran Prix. It’s long smooth nature played well to his habitual technique and gave an edge that served him well in races. Then there was the second straight after the thirteenth corner. It served as an extremely lead up to that final straight with its tight corners and shorter straights giving him a bit of fun of he neared the end of a lap. Crossbay might be the track that challenged him most. But it was also one of the tracks he enjoyed the most. It was a perplexing feeling. It was so very frustrating yet so enjoyable at the same time. He wondered if there was a word for it.

Gregori pressed his Race Eelandii car to the limit as he barrelled down that final straight nearing the starting line and the first corner. He used the g-force provided by the corner to slingshot himself past Dom and moved to block his passing attempt as they approached the second corner. These were the parts of the races he enjoyed the most. The feeling of having another racer hot on your tail forced you to be on your toes. It meant that you had to employ every bit of skill to defend your position out on the track. Dom was one of the most skilled racers he’d encountered. The fact that he was battling for position with him would be a highlight of the race.

“Let’s make this fun Dom,” he said with a grin as the all too familiar car fought to pass him “shall we give them a show?”

Dom’s skill with handling showed itself when he exploited a split second of indecision on his part so flash past him on the sixth corner. He tore off down the straight leaving Gregori to contest his place with iBen who had also been close on his tail. The shifting nature of the race meant that he’d seen both of them several times. He’d been ahead of iBen a couple of times only to lose his position later in the race. Lane, Ryker and Sara had also been frequent challengers at several points. Every racer on the track wanted to get further ahead and that meant that you had to take that position for yourself. It wouldn’t be given to you. No, it had to be earned and fought for.

Gregori arced around the twelfth corner and slipped past Sara. He blocked a probing pass attempt rom Ryker and kept close on Lane’s tail as they entered the fourteenth corner. A WGPC race never had a dull moment. The extremely fast-paced nature of it meant that there were multiple factors to consider at any given moment. A wise racer kept a careful eye on their nearest challengers equally as importantly as he did the track in front of him. Every inch of track was bitterly contested and no one was going to go easy on you. That was what it was all about. You had to earn that good finish.

“Keep it tight on this next corner,” Sergei said through Gregori’s earpiece “you could gain some good ground here.”

Gregori leaned into the sixteenth corner and shot past Lane as they exited onto the final straight. He shot Lane a smile as he passed although there was no way that he would’ve been able to see. But it was a nice gesture that he’d wanted to make. Gregori was a man who treated his teammates well. He saw the best in them and did everything he could to encourage them. He’d done it with Sara last season and he would do it now with Lane. But that didn’t mean that he had to let them get ahead.

By the final laps it had become clear that he wasn’t going to pass iBen. He was too far ahead at this point for there to be any chance at getting by him. Anneliese was close behind him with both Dom and Lane close on her tail. The final laps of a race were some of the hardest found and most exciting. It was when everything came down to the wire and you had your last chance to gain any ground.

[Auruna]

Nimban Grand Prix
Crossbay Circuit
Race
Crossbay Circuit has been one of Viska's cursed circuits for the past circuits where the results are far from what was expected. While it is another cursed day at the track, the team is showing their complete support for Olivia in her home race after qualifying in P3. Everyone was busy before the race, as usual. Jöna, who wants to do something about Olivia, approaches her, hoping to help get her confidence up after what previously happened here. He wants to make it brief to no take up much of the driver's time. He comes up to her and just says. "You know, third time's the charm, today will be your day here in Crossbay. Good luck and... keep fighting." Without anything else to add, he just walks back to the pit wall as the formation lap is about to start.

At the pit wall, Artur asks Jöna what he was doing out there to which Jöna just replies. "Just watch her."

With a clear motivation to redeem herself in this circuit, her home race. Olivia's VK-02H is aching is get ahead of the competition at the start. Both car and driver having the desire to win this race. Meanwhile, Kinu starts way behind at P16, completely unable to help his teammate at the start, he has to work his way through the field in order to do so. It's going to be a long race.

The lights go out and both Viskas got good starts. While Olivia's aiming for the lead, Kinu is trying to get through the pack and as they come up to Turn 1, Kinu nearly collides with his former teammate Dario as the latter tries a move down the inside of Kinu. The battle continues until the exit of TUrn 4 where Kinu fires up the hybrid system on his Viska to gain an edge over the PB of Dario at the relatively short straight and by the time they reach Turn 5, Kinu was way ahead, setting his sights on Rudy Edwards ahead.

Back at the front Olivia has overtaken the Nexus of Jean Mercer-Daly and is close behind the PB of Laura Haukanna. The two battle on for the lead with Laura putting up a fierce fight trying to convert her pole into a win. Then Laura's PB is showing symptoms of mechanical failure as she falls behind Olivia. It was a heartbreak of one but a success of another. The PB pulls into the pits at the 14th lap to retire from the race. Olivia is comfortably running the lead and more good news came two laps later as JMD retires in Lap 18. With a significant lead from the rest of the field, a win is in the bag as long as they aren't hit with severe bad luck again.

Olivia was pitted first for hards, hoping to make it last for the remainder of the race then Kinu was pitted in the following lap. The rear-left on Kinu's car had some issues and it ended up being a second or two slower than Olivia's stop, causing him to lose a few places.

"Apologies about that Kinu. It was the rear-left that had some issues."

"Ah, don't worry. There's still a long way to go until the end."

"Copy, Mode 4 on pit exit, let's get those positions back."

"On it."

As Kinu attempts to reclaim his positions, Olivia left a huge gap behind her. For sure, this is her win and she just needs to bring it home. With the help of Baxen's guidance and Artur's strategy, no one was able to challenge Olivia. Nearing the end of the race, Olivia and her VK-02H are determined to finish this first, no mistakes. Fortunately, Olivia's laps from that point on were flawless, keeping her cool until the chequered flag. At the final lap, as Olivia negotiates the final couple of corners, the entire Viska crew run to the pit wall, cheering for her as she crosses the line to claim her first points and VIska's first win of the season. Unfortunately, things weren't so great with Kinu as he spun at the final corner, dropping him to P18 as he limps to the finish. Still, there's something to celebrate.

The reactions at the pitwall were wild and filled with pure happiness. Jöna, not wanting to miss out, immediately goes on the radio to congratulate Olivia during the cooldown lap.

"What a race Olivia! You deserve it! Congratulations on your win! Everyone is ecstatic, we're all proud of the result! We'll celebrate it later on, for now, enjoy! Täitä Olivia, täitä!"

---

GPA Pryfors Bilar-Viska Office
Post-Qualifying Debrief
The team was enjoying Laura's pole over the Nexus of JMD. They were proud of her, for sure but inside, Laura is just worried that she couldn't convert it into a win. She wants to express her concerns but decides to keep her mouth shut and enjoy her pole with the team. Although she knows that she'll be able to do it. Staying optimistic after the debrief, the thought still lingers in her mind.

I'll try to make it work tomorrow. Aina, Erik, let's aim for a win here to put my worries to rest.

Nimban Grand Prix
Crossbay Circuit
Race - Lap 13
Fiercely battling Viska's Olivia stone for the lead, Laura tries to defend from the charging Viska. The lead changed hands between them in the previous laps. She kept trying to hold off Olivia and with a move that seemed desparate, she covers the inside of Turn 4, forcing Stone to back off a bit to not risk a collision between the two. Their battle continues through the lap.

"Can I get more power here?"

"Mode 8, Laura. Mode 8. And prioritise exit on 12."

"Copy."

While pushing through sector two, something felt off with the car. As she shifts up, the gearbox seemed to be unresponsive, reminiscent of PB's first half of WGP2 IV. Plagued with transmission failures. She goes on the radio to report the issue to to Erik, not wanting to end the race in the pits.

"Come on, gearbox, work with me here."

"Laura, we're looking into it. We're checking if it's mechanical or not."

"Let me know as soon as possible."

With a gearbox on strike, she drops back and is now unable to challenge Olivia for the lead. Then at Turn 16, Laura turned in too early, running over the kerb at a weird angle, it made the situation worse with heavy vibrations after the landing. Losing access to other gears, she was stuck with third to fifth but still kept running, waiting for news from the pit wall. Lap 14 came and there's still nothing from the pits. Making it through the first couple of corners unscathed until bad news arrived.

"I hate to say this but it seems that we have a mechanical failure with the gearbox."

"I also have heavy vibrations after running over the kerb."

"We'll look into it but we'd have to retire the car now."

"Ahh.. no... no, not again. Fuck..."

"Box this lap to retire, sorry Laura."

Disappointment is what she felt afterwards and what she feared came true in the end. She limps back to the pits to retire at the end of the lap, ending her fight for that race. More bad news later came as the mechanics found out that as a result of Laura accidentally running over the kerb, the rear suspension developed a few issues after landing which made things worse with the gearbox.

As she sits around the back of the garage to clear her mind of what happened, Juno and Kata came over to comfort her. I know it would inevitable happen but I didn't expect it to be this early. Laura calms down with the help of a few snacks from her two siblings. She watches the race, hoping for Dario to get some points for the team with his weird strategy.

PB's misfortune didn't end with Laura as later, at Lap 43, Dario retires, taking out the last running PB in the race. The team will be leaving Crossbay without a point to their name.

[Tumbra]

Retrieved from ChequeredFlag.com.tmb

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We Ask: Where Has Ted Pressley's Magic Gone?

Scarcely a year after his miracle run to third in the championship, Ted Pressley is now struggling in WGPC. Is it merely Kaylan, or is it something more?

By Jack Reynolds
4 minute read

TWO victories in changing conditions. Three more podiums. A victory in a non-championship race. Last year Ted Pressley, who was forty-eight hours away from ending up without a seat on the WGP2 Season 4 grid, managed to prove all his doubters wrong and stormed to the front of the championship at the halfway mark; and put up a brave fight for the championship. There were rumours Carvenlo — six-time world constructors' champions — were in for perhaps the hottest talent on the grid.

Three races into the WGPC championship, however, and we're all left scratching our heads at what happened to Ted Pressley. The driver who electrified, delivering exciting performances in changeable conditions and helping Kaylan to last season's constructor's title has...bombed. He scored four points in Liventia, then fell out of the points from ninth place in Hodori and had an utterly forgettable race in the Nexus Wardship. It's been a series of disappointing performances, especially when drivers like Joy Wingelaar have achieved podiums and rookie Laura Haukanna a pole position. Some have even wondered whether the hype was justified at all.

There were promising signs for the young Tumbran near the start of the season, who at 22 years of age is one of the up-and-coming crop of WGP2 drivers to have made their way to WGPC this season — a selection that includes champion Heinz-Otto Junker, runner-up Janne Laukkanen, fifth-placed team-mate Anola Melani, sixth-placed Laura Haukanna and ninth-placed Joy Wingelaar. Finishing top of multiple pre-season testing sessions, big things were expected from the Tumbran; whose doe-eyed, tousled hair looks almost too innocent to belong on a grid as unforgiving as WGPC. Yet after the first practice session he reported feeling quite queasy; as he struggled to adapt to the rigours of a WGPC car. He even fell over after the first race in Liventia, his first time adjusting to the full 305km race distance.

Kudos to him for having spoken frankly about it — in an interview with wgpc.com, where they caught up with all the new drivers on the grid, he explained frankly that it was taking time for him to adjust, and his trip to the ground in Liventia, where he ended up having to be helped up by Laukkanen, was a result of that. He spoke more honestly than most about adjusting to life in WGPC, and said he wasn't expecting much from this season, taking it as "a learning opportunity."

Yet he sounded visibly frustrated with himself at the end of the Nimban Grand Prix, where he finished seventeenth and eighty seconds off the pace; listeners of his car's radio feed through WGPTV+ were treated to a few choice expletives about how he wasn't able to drive the car as well as he wanted to, coupled with his race engineer Simon Brennan having to calm him down. Naturally, it never made it to the World Feed; though it has sparked some debate on whether his success last year was down to luck, more than driver skill.

The competitiveness of the Kaylan car has also been called into question; engineered for fast, aggressive corners, it should have been right at home at Crossbay, yet the team never seemed to be able to get the pace out of the car. Eight points after three rounds also sees them hovering just above WGPC Motorworks, regarded by some as a 'dumping ground' for those unable to prove their speed to be able to secure a seat at another constructors' team. Their rivals from previous seasons Pryfors Bilar and TMW have already had a few achievements, with that pole and podium respectively, and are well ahead of Kaylan in the Constructors'. Make no mistake, Kaylan have struggled; and it certainly hasn't helped the young Tumbran's confidence. But it is in these high-pressure situations that true diamonds are made; and luck is fickle in the racing world, after all. R.L. Cruisin, the winner of the first race in Liventia, hasn't scored a point since; Olivia Stone was figuring about near the tail end of the field before scoring her win at Crossbay.

There is still time for Kaylan and particularly the young gun Ted to reverse their fortunes; though it must take effort from both sides and a concerted effort to improve if they are both to live up to their boundless potential.

Or perhaps last season was a flash in the pan.

Jack Reynolds is a senior writer for ChequeredFlag, and has previously worked in Tumbran Super Formula as a staff writer. He is known for his close relationships with many team principals on the Super Formula grid, particularly Charlie Pressley of Pressley Racing Engineering

[Sorlovia]

Crossbay Circuit
Post-Race

Fifth place! That had been his best placing in the season so far.

It was also the nearest he had ever gotten to a podium at Crossbay. The result had given the burst of encouragement that he needed. At twelfth place he was still down in the standings but perhaps with enough good placings he could climb back up the list to challenge Rusty. Rusty would have resolved to be his rival for the season. There was a small part of Gregori that hoped that he could unseat him. It wasn’t just because word had received him about Rusty’s sentiments about him. It was about the Championship. Every racer wanted to take out a WGPC Championship. It was the crowning glory of their career and lofty goal. Outdoing Rusty would simply be a bonus. He didn’t harbour any ill will against Rusty but he wasn’t about to back down in the face of his deliberately chosen position.

He’d had a rivalry with Terho last season. The man had been his inspiration as a racer and it felt odd to be racing without him. An impressively skilled racer like Terho Talvela deserved to be out on the track. The privilege of competing with Terho was what made him want to do better. Now it seemed Rusty was determined to position himself as his rival. The very ideal of rival racers amused Gregori. It was unavoidable reality of the industry but one that he wished didn’t have to exist. They all had to be in competition against each other but did that have to mean forming rivalries? Rusty seemed to have taken a disliking to him. Surely he wasn’t still upset by the fact that he’d stolen the MRT seat away from him.

But fifth place! That was tempting close to a podium. He’d spent the past hour wondering whether or not he could’ve got a higher placing if he’d pushed himself that much harder. He’d had podiums before but only one first place finish in his entire career. If he could get more of those he might have a chance at taking out the Championship yet. Even if it was very much looking like it was going to be Rusty’s season. A Championship title would be invaluable for his WGPC career. But it had so far very tantalizingly eluded him. He’d watched the race replay several times. He’d carefully studied how he’d performed on the track. But he hadn’t yet found that magic moment. A fifth place was good. But a third, second or even first would be far better. It would give Race Eelandii the return on giving him the second seat and prove that he still had what it took to do well in the WGPC.

He’d made a careful note of the racer’s he’d keep a close eye on the most. With Terho absent from the WGPC season his favourite race rival wouldn’t be around. He wasn’t entirely sure how that made him feel. He’d always enjoyed racing against Terho. He would instead watch Rustom, Sara, Anneliese and iBen very closely indeed. Dom was, of course, the racer that he’d watch the most closely. He had known that Dom would be a serious threat on the track the moment he’d first met him. Especially with all that raw talent and technical skill. He would be a worthy challenge. Gregori liked challenges. iBen also interested him immensely. The Turorian racer had impressive skill and showed incredible potential. Somehow he always managed to be right there in the good positions. So he’d made up his mind. Dom Falepeau and iBen Toralmintii would be the two racers he watched the very most closely in the season. They were the two that interested him the most. Anneliese, with her self-made nature and growing skill, was a promising racer of note as well. He enjoyed learning about his fellow racers. It was going to be an interesting season.

Gregori quietly typed up an email to Lane;

To: Lane Carter (lcarter@jagwire.tj.un)
From: Gregori Krupin (gkrupin@expressmail.com)

Hey Lane,

It was a pleasure hanging out with you. We should do it again sometime soon. I know things will be busy with the season now underway and everything. But hanging out is a great way to blow of some steam and share ideas. It’s good to relax sometimes and unwind a bit. It’ll also help as teammates. I look forward to getting to know you over the course of the season. We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other so we should hang out more. I know Race Eelandii will like it too. But I also really enjoy your company.

I’m always here for you if you need to talk about things. We all know how stressful the WGPC can get. It’s so healthy and helpful to have someone to talk with. Who better than your teammate? I just wanted to say that you deserve the number one seat. Don’t forget that. You were picked for a very good reason. We’ve only had two races too. It’s still very early in the season. Things will turn around. Don’t stress about it. You’ve just got to keep practicing hard and taking advantage of any chance to learn. It’s also helpful to push yourself. You never know what you can do until you make yourself go that much harder. You’ve got this Lane!

Kind regards,
Gregori Krupin

Gregori had, prior to emailing Lane, spent the past half hour updating his email and his social media profiles. The formatting of his email address had been bothering him for a while so he’d created a new one and set his emails to forward to it from his old one. It might only be a cosmetic change but it was a satisfying one. He’d then spent the next hour engaging with his fans online and had made a new episode of his podcast. He’d talked about his thoughts ahead of the next race, how he felt about the season so far, what he thought of the Race Eelandii car and had finished off by thanking his fans for their continued support.

It was funny. He’d never really been into social media much before he’d started racing in the WGPC. But now he was regularly active on it. He’d expanded into two social network profiles, his podcast to motorsport fans in Sorlovia and a blog. Despite his reluctance to get into it, after seeing the way that it absorbed so many people’s lives so completely, he now found himself an expert at it. It was funny how things changed. He was part of the generation that had grown up with the whole social media thing. He’d just never really embraced it. The industry wasn’t really all that new to Sorlovia either. It had been a bit slower to arrive because of the extremely damaging legacy of the communists. But it had integrated into every sphere of Sorlovian life.

[Togonistan]

Kaylan Racing Team HQ
Tushlark, Togonistan

What had they done wrong? Was it the wrong car setups? Faulty strategy calls again? Following two consecutive points finishes, Kaylan had gone to Crossbay Circuit with high hopes in mind. Finally, the circuit that should have benefited the T180's aggressive design language. This should've been where they can solidify their standings in the midfield fight. However... what had followed was a decent qualifying session, followed by a race that left both Anola and Ted out of points. Was it the lack of experience the team had? The lack of experience of their drivers? Was it the T180 simply being an inferior car in comparison to the rest of the grid?

When Xander walked through the main door and entered Kaylan WGPC team HQ building, he remembered the words that he had heard from one of team engineers back during the pre-season phase. ''I think Kaylan has shot themselves in the leg. Rushing to the WGPC grid is just a marketing gig. Sure, the brand's presence in WGPC will be a good PR stunt for the company, but is the team ready for it?'' Back then, Xander had ensured said engineer that while it will be difficult, they can overcome any obstacles the team will be facing. However, it was no secret that Kaylan had taken a big risk in entering the highest tier of the sport. While their emergence last WGP2 season had set the team, as well as the whole Kaylan brand in spotlight, it had happened by a set of things being done right. First of all, Veronica Dams's T170 design had been innovative for WGP2. While a lot of their competitors had seemingly been focusing on taking inspiration from each other, Kaylan had gone their own route with the T170. No shark fins, no stable all-around aero packages. Just one brutally aggressive car with good straight line speed and somewhat decent performance in the corners, provided that it would run a high downforce setup. While Kaylan had put their focus on these qualities even in the seasons prior, it had been additional funding brought by Ted's sponsors that had also allowed them to put more emphasis into upgrades, as well as quality assurance. That, paired with Kaylan's new Kaieke 3 engine that had been a breath of fresh air after it's clunky V10 predecessor, had given Anola and Ted the edge needed to bring the constructor title for Kaylan.

For many in the whole Kaylan franchise, Xander was seen as the man who had brought the team out of mud. New team principal bringing fresh air to the team and securing the title that, before the start of the season, seemed so out of reach. It had been the reason why Kaylan board had decided him to be the best fit to lead the WGPC outfit. Xander was ready to do it. ''But was the team ready for it?'' Clearly, when it came to entering WGPC, it was the board's decision to do it. Not Xander's, not Manu's, definitely not pit mechanic Artyom's decision... the board was the one pulling the strings higher up, deciding where and when Kaylan would fly their flag. When the opportunity was presented, Kaylan's board had taken it with open arms. For them, bringing the Kaylan brand to WGPC grid was a great marketing stunt. Yes, a marketing stunt, that's what it had been before anything. Kaylan had multiple talented engineers, mechanics, race drivers, you name it. But, the board didn't consist of engineers or drivers. Instead, it consisted of businesspeople before anything. While they may know a thing or two about making money, they sometimes had no clue about motorsports in general. Xander remembered a meeting with one of the board members prior to the start of the season. A tall man wearing a white cowboy hat, looking like he had stepped out straight from a low budget western movie, asking him if the team was going to ''re-sign that young gun Ted Preston or what was his name again.'' Forcing himself to stay calm, Xander had politely corrected that the Tumbran was named Ted PRESSLEY, not Preston. Yes, he had a distaste towards people like that. What could you possibly ask from someone who can't even get the name of one of the most iconic young talents of the current generation right? Sometimes, it seemed that Ralph Felan, the CEO of Kaylan, was the only one out of that bunch even having any interest about what was going on in their motorsports division.

With that thought process going through his head, Xander had eventually made his way to his office. He sighed as he sat down on his chair, lit up a cigar and looked at the raindrops moving down a window. What had they done wrong? What had he done wrong? The local press had already started sharpening their teeth at Kaylan's WGPC performances. Following a heavy marketing campaign during pre-season, the hopes amongst fans had been high. Now, the social media was full of self-proclaimed experts discussing if Kaylan had made a right decision with signing rookies Pressley and Melani for their debut season. After all, it had been Xander's decision, before anything, to go that route. Had he been wrong?

No, Xander didn't think he had been wrong. He could've put Sara Luna, iBen Toralmintii or, heck, even the legendary Terho Talvela into that car. Would've things been different right now if he did? No. Xander knew this season was going to be a tough one, no matter who they would sign. When it came to the engineers, they had come into WGPC pretty much blind, with no prior WGPC experience whatsoever. T180 was using a lot of design elements from their previous WGP2 machine. While the package was good to compete in WGP2, WGPC was a whole different opera. Despite their extensive testing and preparations during pre-season, it had become apparent that the T180 was currently lacking in terms of performance compared to other teams on the grid. And, as long as that was the case, it wouldn't make a difference whether they put Terho Talvela or a trained monkey behind the wheel. Ted and Anola had already managed to bring some points and while they were indeed currently second to last in standings, only ahead of the WGPC Motorworks team, the season was still in it's infancy. If he were to trust the latest balance reports, the team had some spare money to spend right now. And, Xander was going to make sure that money will be spent on additional research and development. Both Ted and Anola had decided to stay with the team, despite reportedly having other offers on their table. Ted's sponsors were continuously putting their money and faith into the team. Anola had managed to secure some Chromatik companies to sponsor the team as well. Heck, after all that, he better do everything in his capabilities to give them the car with an aero package they deserve! Indeed, maybe the team wasn't ready for WGPC. Maybe the Kaylan board had been overly optimistic in rushing the team to WGPC grid following their WGP2 success. However, one way or another, he and the team were here now and Xander was not going to give up without a fight. Puffing smoke up into the air, Xander logged into his computer and started a video call with Veronica Dams to discuss possible technical improvements on the T180.

[Diarcesia]

GPA Pryfors Bilar-Viska capitalized on Laura's pole momentum by maintaining P1 right at the start. That time, sealing a high championship position for Laura and the team was very possible if all things went as planned. The drivers had their own plans on approaching the circuit: Dario with his highly-public 'softs and inshallah' gambit and Laura's 'tough love' into the car she calls Aina. Both of them, and their supporting staff, worked very hard and had done their best to bring points for the team. Unfortunately, Laura's tough love on her car proved too much for the machine to handle. The infamous transmission issues from WGP2 struck back with a vengeance during the heat of her battle with eventual winner Olivia Stone. Already at its limits, the component failed as Laura's PF-1C encountered too much kerb and fouled the gearbox as well as the suspension. Dario would later lose grip of the car on Turn 10 during Lap 43 and careen into the mercy of the Imagination-powered barriers.

[Sorlovia]

What wasn’t he doing right? Because the simple and unavoidable truth was that there really was an aspect of either his handling or his use of the car that he wasn’t doing right. It bothered him a great deal and he wouldn’t rest until he found out what it was. To that end he’d spent the past four hours in his race garage pouring over race readouts, practice readouts, watching the recording of the first two races and generally picking through everything with a fine-toothed comb. He knew that he had what it took to secure higher placings. The fact that he hadn’t as of yet continued to gnaw away at him. The fifth place finish at Crossbay had only whetted his appetite. Now he wanted higher placings and ultimate more first place finishes. He knew that he had what it took. He’d done it once. Surely he could do it again.

Gregori rubbed his forehead and leaned back in his chair. A small headache was niggling at the back of his mind like a barracuda at a fish carcass. Perhaps he’d spent too much time staring at lines of data on a screen. But he had to get to the bottom of it. He owed to Race Eelandii and to himself to do better. The fifth place finish had shown him that the podium was still in sight. If he could just push himself that much harder he’d get there. His wife, of course, had been right. He really did want to be the best he could be. Gran Prix was his passion. The prospect of not being able to race or giving it up just wasn’t an option. He had to race. The domestic Gran Prix wasn’t enough for him anymore. He’d got a taste of the World Gran Prix in his first three seasons and now he wanted more. But as it stood his career wasn’t progressing as he’d hoped when he’d first left Sorlovia with the Vannish race team.

”Come on Gregori!” he thought to himself ”Pull yourself together! You’ve got this!”

“You can do this my love,” Elena said as if reading his thoughts “I believe in you.”

He’d tried to disguise the little surprised jump. But the smirk on her face showed that she’d seen it. He hadn’t even heard her coming and the fact he’d been so engrossed in what he was doing that she had been able to startle him would amuse his wife. Elena spoke in the thick Slavic accent that both of them naturally possessed. They’d made the conscious decision not to work at doing away with it as some did. If you really wanted to you could take vocal training to learn to hide your accent. But it was a matter of pride for both of them. Sure, that thick recognizably different accent might set them apart. But it was part of who they were. When they were alone together they spoke Sorlovian and they wrote to each other in Sorlovian Cyrillic. They both knew English but using their own language and writing system was a natural preference.

Perhaps more amusing was Gregori’s tendency to lapse into Sorlovian when he swore. Most people would not be able to understand it so it at least disguised itself. The Slavic language of his homeland and its complexity was difficult for most to understand. Except for people from other Slavic countries with similar languages. Gregori sang in Sorlovian when he was happy, he lapsed into it to describe an illustration that he couldn’t find a suitable English equivalent for and he habitually used it when with his fans. He’d had all the race readouts and information translated for ease of digestion.

“You are a treasure to me Elena,” he said slipping into Sorlovian “I’d be lost without you my sweet.”

“Always a charmer,” he said kissing him softly on the forehead “I might swoon if you’re not careful.”

Elena smirked and slid herself into his lap. She had always been a slender and elegant woman. It was why she’d done so well in her modelling career. Elena cared about the way she looked, a mixture of wanting to look good for him and an effect of her career, and went to great lengths to ensure that she was always impeccably presented. She was what some might call classically beautiful. Her Slavic features were enhanced rather than disguised and her long dark hair kept neatly braided. But he hadn’t married her for the way she looked. He’d married her of her caring heart and because of her gentle nature. Because of her kind soul and because he adored her. Gregori and Elena. That was a love story the media had eaten up with eagerly.

[Abanhfleft]

Afternoon had always been the young William Archer’s favorite part of the day. Afternoon meant that school was over, and he was now free to go back home and play and do whatever he wanted. Recently, he had taken to visiting the house where his new friend Katie lived. It was fortunate that Katie lived just down the street from the Archers, or else William’s father Guillermo or his grandparents wouldn’t have allowed it in the first place. William and Katie had first met in a public playground one summer afternoon. William had tried to play with some other kids but they weren’t interested in this young and scruffy kid whom they had never seen before. Except for one girl, that is. That girl had introduced herself as Katie, and although she was a few years older than William, the two of them became friends almost immediately. When Guillermo finally returned to the park to pick him up, William wondered if this would be the last time that he would see Katie, but then Katie told him her address, and William realized that they were on the same street, practically neighbors. William had told his father about this, and then he had asked permission from Gil to visit Katie’s house in the afternoons. Gil had agreed, albeit reluctantly, and he also told William to tell his grandparents whenever he was going to play with Katie.

That had been going on for almost a year now. Most of the time, it was William going to Katie’s house to play, but sometimes it was the other way around. Once Guillermo had finally met Katie, he was more open to the idea of William going to her house to play. And once he got to see the kinds of games that the two liked to play, he was actually happy. Gil had always thought that William would really benefit from having some friends around him, so having one around was certainly a positive for the older Archer.

William was, as always, excited for his latest afternoon play date with Katie. He could already see what they were going to do today: running around the house playing tag before moving on to their handheld consoles and then watching cartoons or maybe taking a nap. And that was exactly what they did, down to singing out loud the cartoons’ theme songs. William had a good time, as always, but as the clock struck five in the afternoon, he saw that Katie was suddenly feeling sad. “What’s the matter? Why are you sad?” William had asked her.

“We’re moving,” Katie replied. “Later tonight. We’re going to Kimmirut tonight.”

“Moving? What do you mean, moving?” William asked. “You mean you’re leaving?”

“Yeah,” Katie nodded.

“But you can’t! You can’t leave me!” William said. “You’re my friend! Why are you doing this?”

“I don’t want to leave too, William!” Katie said back. “But Dad said we have to go to Kimmirut. He said he got a new job there and he wanted to bring our whole family there.”

“But why? Can’t you stay here with me?”

“William, trust me, I don’t want to leave too,” Katie muttered. “But if I stay here, where am I going to go? Where am I going to stay?”

“You could stay at my house!” William offered. “I’m sure Lolo Herbert and Lola Corazon would love to have you stay at our place!”

“Thanks for the offer, William,” Katie said. “No, really, thank you. But I really don’t want to be a burden, another mouth to feed to your family. Trust me, William, everything will be better off this way.”

“But…” William trailed off just as someone knocked on the door. It was William’s father Guilllermo. “Come on, William, it’s time to go home,” he said.

“I think you should go,” Katie said before getting up and going back to her room, leaving William no choice but to go follow his father back to their home.

“Did you two fight over something?” Gil asked his son as they walked back to their house.

“I don’t know,” William shrugged. “Maybe? But I don’t think so. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“If you say so…” Gil muttered.

---

That had been the first time that Katie Corpus had left William Archer’s life. She would ending coming in and out of William’s life more times than he would like, but despite all that, William still held on to the hope that there would come a time when Katie would finally stop moving away from him and stay put, finally giving William the chance to tell her that he loved her, and he hoped that that would be enough to convince her to finally stop moving as well. However, as the years passed and William didn’t see Katie again, the hope slowly faded away until it seemed as if William had finally moved on and forgotten about her. And then, just as if fate was playing some sort of cruel trick on him, Katie appeared in William’s life again. Now William was once again not sure if he would have that opportunity to speak to Katie and finally tell her how he really felt.

William had started recalling his early memories with his first crush since they met again just before preseason testing for WGPC. He thought he had forgotten all about them, but he was mistaken. His mind was just waiting for the opportunity to show it back to him. Not that William minded. He liked looking back at the past sometimes, especially considering where he was now. The Crossbay Circuit, site of both the Nimban Grand Prix and Nimban Deuxieme Prix, had been the place where William had gotten his first ever win in WGP2, and also the place where he confirmed that he was going to take the step up to WGPC itself. After a grueling and excruciating season with Lisander’s Bitten Heroes, William was this close to bowing out of open wheelers altogether and maybe taking a chance with stock cars, just like his father Guillermo, but William made a bet with the fates that if he managed to make it into the points at Crossbay Circuit then he would keep driving open wheelers. If not, then William would have to make his own choice after that. And the fates decided that not only would William score points at the Nimban Deuxieme Prix in WGP2 Season 3, he would win the whole bloody race itself. Now that was a memory worth living again.

If only there was rain on the circuit once again. The closest the Nimban Grand Prix of WGPC Season 19 had to getting rain was when clouds covered the track during the practice session. Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing was decidedly midfield at this track, and it appeared as if a miracle would be needed to claw a decent result back. Both William and Preston needed to get back into the swing of things, especially after what happened in Yakumicha. The crash was damaging to the team in more ways than one. The loss of one car running in the points was a big loss, and then there was the issue of the faulty DRS. That was two races in a row now that the DRS had failed on William’s car. The team thought that they had found and fixed the problem in time for Hodori, but obviously that wasn’t the case. Now William had been told that this time, the DRS was fixed, and while this did seem to be true, William still didn’t trust the fix enough to push to the absolute limit during practice, and it also cost him when time came to qualify for the race.

William would start the race in P13, smack dab in the middle of the grid. He was one second off of the fastest lap in Q2, the session in which he had been knocked out, but at least he had the excuse of not being able to fully trust his DRS. Rudy Edwards was two places behind William in P15, not a place where either William or Rudy himself probably expected him to be. The length of the race meant that some drivers were going to attempt to gain positions on track via tire strategy, and William considered himself to be one of those people. Others though had a very different idea. Especially Dario Nülkeschlager of Pryfors-Bilar. He had gone on record on twii.tur with an ambitious and audacious plan which he dubbed “Softs and Inshallah." Based on how a similar phrase was being used in Abanhfleft, William could sort of guess that Nülkeschlager's plan amounted to strapping on soft tires at the start of the grand prix with the hope of gaining positions before they inevitably wore down. It sounded like a good plan at first, but then what tires would he use for the second and maybe third stints? In any case, William wasn't really interested in second-guessing Nülkeschlager's tire strategy, or anyone else's for that matter. He had his own race to run.

And it would seem as if William didn’t even need the rain to do well. Maybe Crossbay Circuit just liked the young Fleftic driver. Or maybe it was because William had been stuck on Rustom Ibuna’s gearbox like white on rice. William had been cutting through the field in Crossbay like a hot knife through butter, but even though he was gaining positions left and right, the one thing that didn’t change was the fact that the blue, yellow, and dark teal BAP003 was still in front of him. Was it because Ibuna was using William and his PGP-02 as the carriage to his horse as he carved his own way through the field? Maybe it was. But William knew that he wanted to get in front of the Filindo, and it had nothing at all to do with shoving the rear wing with the provocative sponsorship in Ibuna’s face once again and everything to do with grabbing his second win in Crossbay.

William’s strategy once again hinged on him taking the hardest compound of tires available to him and using them for as far into the race as possible before making just the one pit stop for either medium or softs, driver’s choice. Had William been able to make it all the way to at least lap 50 then the softs might have been an option for him, but because of a safety car that came out on lap 42, he knew that the only way that he would be able to stick to a one-stop strategy after pitting that lap was to strap on the mediums. William also hoped that he would be able to get the jump on Rusty Ibuna during this pit stop cycle, but when William rejoined the track, there that bloody BAP003 was once again, still in front of him. "Never mind that, William, we'll get him at the restart," his engineer told him.

It was easier said than done, sadly. Ibuna had a great start once the safety car came in, and William came off second best because of it. Or more accurately, third best, because in front of both of them, Olivia Stone had already sped off into the distance, and the longer William spent staring at Ibuna's tailpipe, the further Stone got away from both of them. And Rustom must have got temperature into his fresh tires quicker than William because the Filindo driver started building up a gap to the Fleftic, a gap that quickly put Ibuna two seconds ahead of William. When his engineer told him of the gap, all William could really say was, "Putik."

"Twenty laps to go, William," his engineer reminded him. "We've still got a chance and a half for the win."

"Okay, thanks for reminding me," William said. "No, seriously, I'm not being sarcastic. I needed to hear that. Now I just gotta get these tires warmed up too."

William would find the sweet spot on lap 48. This gave him at most 16 laps to attack Ibuna and maybe even Stone. But if he wanted to claim his second win at the Crossbay Circuit then William needed to get past Ibuna ASAP. And the good thing was, William felt really fast.

Steadily, and in ever-increasing increments, William closed the gap to Ibuna. Two seconds became one and a half, then one and a half seconds became just one second. Soon, William was within DRS range of the Badai Angin car once again, and he was using the flap on his rear wing to eat away further at Ibuna's gap. "Great job, William, you're reeling him in," his engineer said. "Also, you just got the fastest lap."

"Sure, sure, now leave me to it!" William said back.

Unfortunately, the effort that William put in to get close to Ibuna was also the thing that cost him in the end. Those ten laps that he spent getting closer to the BAP003 in front of him had seemingly taken most of the life out of William's mediums, and after William came closest to Rustom on lap 58, the Filindo started pulling away once again. Ibuna must have expected this from William and saved his own tires for what he expected to be a tough fight from the Preston. But because William had already used up his tires, Ibuna just ended up extending his lead once again, and by the time the two of them flew past the checkered flag, the Filindo was 1.9 seconds ahead of William. Nevertheless, the result was still good enough for a podium. "That's P3, William, P3," his engineer said. "Not bad considering where you started today."

"It could have been more, man," William said sadly. "It could have been more. If I was just a little more patient, didn't use up all my tires that early, it could have been at least another P2."

"There's still a lot of races left, William. I'm sure we'll still get to see you at the top step soon. Anyway, right now, we'll see you on the podium."

William Archer went up to the podium first since he was the third place driver, followed by Rustom Ibuna and Olivia Stone in P2 and P1 respectively. William stood quietly while the anthems of the Nexus Wardship and Auruna were played for the race winner, and then when the time came to spray the champagne (or more accurately the rose water since alcoholic beverages were not allowed in the Nexus Wardship), William slammed the bottom of his bottle on the podium step to pop the cork. But even as he was getting bathed in the bubbly stuff and spraying it back, a sobering thought occurred to him. Despite not finishing the Hodori Grand Prix, William Archer was still responsible for one hundred percent of the points that Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing had scored in this season so far. Sure, there was still a lot of the season left to race, but the fact that William had scored all of Preston's points after three races was still strange to say the least. Last season, it felt like this was how Rudy Edwards felt after William failed to finish the first two races of WGPC 18. What in the world had happened to Rudy this season?

William felt like it was time to talk to his teammate.

[Vilita and Turori]

Track Location: Eelandii, Turori, Atlantian Oceania
WGPC Lap Record: 1:22.409 (Jai Kardaeri, WGPC 12)
Track Lap Length: 3.23m
Precipitation Chance: 18%

Event Guide :: Grand Prix of Turori

Overview:

The area now known as Eelandii was purpose-built ahead of the Turorian hosted World Cup 63 Finals as a center of sport and congregation point for fans, players and media alike. Eelandii itself is not a town or a city but a purpose-designated area located midway between the Turorian capital of Almintora and the populous city of Cednia. . Initially consisting of just Eel's park - itself a state of the art sporting complex for football and athletics, the campus at Eelandii was expanded to include the offices of the Football Association of Turori and a permanent training facility for the Turori National Team. Eelandii has been dubbed a "Sportropolis" due to its ever expanding selection of sporting venues including the Multi-purpose venue constructed for Eelandii's participation as the Bandy Demonstration Hub for the 14th Winter Olympic Games.

Shortly after the World Cup 63 Finals, it was announced that Eelandii would be further expanded with a Grand Prix race course using the already existing central loop and large strip. The Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit was completed in time to host a testing session on the World Grand Prix 12 schedule. The 3.23 mile course was built in the shadows of Eels Park and, originally as one of the less regularly used of the sport facilities in Eelandii, relies on the infrastructure throughout Eelandii for its support. The first full top-level motorsports race weekend held at the Eelandii Grand Prix course was the Super Formula Round Turori held during the second International Super Formula Championship.

While the Eelandii campus is more than sufficiently designed to host multiple team sporting events on a single day, the Layout and size of the Grand Prix circuit that cuts through the center of some of Eelandii's key locations including overflow and parking facilities limits the amount of concurrent events that can take place at the other sporting venues on a racing weekend.

The weather in Eelandii is mostly temperate. There is no defined Wet or Dry season but the Chance of Rain is typically constant between 10-30%.

Event History:

The first ever Grand Prix of Turori was held during the 13th World Grand Prix Championships. The pole was won by Moisés Delgado of Honso Nyrota at a speed of 1:22.649 and the race was won by McPahan's Alexander Lund with R.L. Cruisin finishing just behind in the runner-up spot for Frontiere Racing.

The Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit was relegated to a test event for the WGPC's 14th season but returned as a race day for the 15th WGPC campaign and once again, it was a near miss for a local driver as iBen Toralmintii, after stunning the field by putting the WGPC Eelandii Motorworks machine on pole position, came home in second place behind Juliano Lemos in the Bitten Heroes machine. With an increasing demand for World Grand Prix Championship schedule dates, the WGPC began a rotation between the Grand Prix of Turori and the Vilitan Grand Prix within the Vilitan Cove, with the Grand Prix of Turori being the lone Vilitan Cove event on the schedule for the 16th World Grand Prix Championships and the Vilitan Grand Prix the only Vilitan Cove event on the 17th World Grand Prix Championship schedule.

For the 19th World Grand Prix Championship Season, the Grand Prix of Turori will introduce the Sprint Qualifying format whereby a one-third distance race will be held to determine the starting lineup for the Grand Prix itself. A One-Shot time trial session will set the grid for the Sprint Qualifying itself and the Podium finishers of the Sprint Qualifying race will each earn championship points in a 3-2-1 rundown.

Eelandii Grand Prix Course – Historical Fastest Laps by Event		
					
Event	Fastest Lap	Session	Driver			Team
WGPC12	01:22.409	PRAC	Jai Kardaeri		[STB]	Carvenlo-Franklin
NSFC2	01:29.887	QUAL	Juracai Klianiota	[V&T]	Vilita & Turori Motorsports
WGPC13	01:22.649	QUAL	Moisés Delgado		[SJG]	Hansa-Nyrota
EEL-14	01:22.640	TEST	iBen Toralmintii	[TUR]	
WGPC14	01:22.610	PRAC	Terho Talvela		[ABV]	Vilita & Turori Motorsports
WGPC15	01:22.520	QUAL	Terho Talvela		[ABV]	MRT
WGPC16	01:22.571	QUAL	Alexander Lund		[AUD]	McPahan
EEL-17	01:22.688	TEST	R.L. Cruisin		[VIL]	
WGPC17	01:22.538	PRAC	Jai Kardaeri		[STB] 	Eelandii VTGP
WGPC18	01:22.432	QUAL	Dom Falepeau		[TGN]	MRT

Transportation:

Drivers and teams have access to the Eelandii Airstrip which is utilized by small and medium aircraft only. Access to the main Airstrip terminates on the Wednesday prior to the event to allow preparations for use as part of the racing surface. The secondary runway at the Airstrip remains active primarily for emergency purposes throughout the weekend.

Travelers from outside Atlantian Oceania who wish to come direct to Eelandii should note it is accessible by air through the Almintora Internationstatal Skyport (AIS). There is public transportation between Almintora, Eelandii and Cednia. Additional Ferry service connects Cednia and Yeaddin on the Vilitan mainland where alternative International Transportation options are available.


Food and Drink:

Eelandii has a number of restaurants, shops and amenities which typically are only open on match days as well as a smaller selection of local eateries that are open on a daily basis to serve the towns full time employees and visitors which include Football Association of Turori, Eagle's Club as well as visitors to the Race Eelandii! Racing School and Driving Experience at the Eelandii Grand Prix Course. From Wednesday of Race Week all shops and eateries in Eelandii will convert to 15 hours daily operation.

There will also be Food Tent Villages in Turn 3, Turn 13 and along the Main Concourse with selections to include a full Cocoa-bo Eatery, a number of local selections from throughout Atlantian Oceania and even a popular transplant from Vilita, "We'll Fry It". "We'll Fry It"s profitable business model allows the customer to bring whatever they want... and "We'll Fry It" fries it for them for a nominal fee. We'll fry it also has a selection of things that fly, things that moo, things that swim and even candies that can be purchased and fried for an additional fee. "We'll Fry It" will fry anything under 2 square feet in size for just 7 tures or three separate items for 15 tures. Each item includes a full selection of condiments at no additional cost. An essentially stocked 'CoCo-Mart' location with a selection of food and essentials will be located in the campground area.

---

Sponsors & Activities:

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:: twii.tur ::

twii.tur is a short message communication service based in Turori allowing users to exchange content of 140 characters or less. The service originated as a way to allow officials to receive alerts and key information such as incoming weather notifications, major events and the ability to stay coordinated during a time of crisis but was under-utilized and doubts were raised as to whether the overhead of the infrastructure was worthwhile to maintain.

As capabilities of interconnected and handheld communication devices improved, the Turorian Weather & Information Interchange (Twii) was adapted into a public facing service where users could sign up to create their own twii nodes where users would sign up to a twii group to receive all the twii messages delivered by members of that group.

Ultimately, as demand grew, a fully public release of twii came at the connected location twii.tur where all users can participate in the public twii, selecting which messages to receive by adding individual users, groups or topics to their twii.tur feed.

Twii.tur will have a photo booth set up where fans can get behind the cockpit of a Race Eelandii VTGP World Grand Prix racing machine and twii.tur representatives will instantly post the image to the users twii.tur account. Guests will also have the chance to spin a prize wheel to earn things such as Sunglasses, Socks, Pens and communication device grippers emblazoned with the Twii.tur Logo.

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:: Race Eelandii! ::

Race Eelandii is a high-speed driving experience based in the purpose built city of Eelandii, Turori located midway between Turori's capital, Almintora, and its most populous city, Cednia. Race Eelandii is based at the Eelandii Grand Prix Course and operates on select weekends when there is no other Grand Prix or major internationstatal sporting event being held at the Grand Prix course or the nearby Eels Park footsport stadium.

Race Eelandii offers multiple packages to professional drivers and thrill seekers alike from simply renting track time on the full Grand Prix course or one of the smaller sub-courses, all the way down to companion experiences where a professional driver is in control and the thrill-seeker rides along in a passenger seat as the race car is brought up to full speed around the high-G inducing race course.

During the Grand Prix of Turori Race Weekend, Race Eelandii will be putting on Demonstrations with driver Juracai Klianiota in the Lot J temporary course as well as Meet & Greet sessions with R.L. Cruisin, iBen Toralmintii and Lane Carter.

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:: Tiones Lumber Lumberjack Challenge ::

The Tiones Lumber corporation has a long history of aligning itself with sporting events in Vilita & Turori, from being the long time shirt sponsors of the Vilitan Stellar Division's Yeaddin Owls AFC, to their sponsorships in motorsports, the name "Tiones" is always on the forefront. Competitors and fans alike reap the benefits of Tiones Lumber involvement in sporting events with their finances sometimes allowing a team to compete or an event to proceed and their famous Lumberjack Competition displays always a hit with the fans.

The Tiones Lumberjack Challenge has traditionally taken place during extended Motor Racing and Outdoor events where participants can return over the course of multiple days to complete all the stations. In the full Challenge there are five distinct zones where fans participate in various activities. There are four 'competitive' zones where participants are timed and scored for their execution - whether they are truly competitive or not - with each days top times earning a prize and the best scores of the race weekend crowned champions. The fifth zone is a 'family zone' with events and challenges more suited for children to participate in.

The Lumberjack Challenge produced one of the most viral moments of the World Grand Prix Championships 16th Season when WGPC drivers championship leader and eventual champion Jessica Franssen lost her balance in the Log Rolling zone and splashed down into the waters below. Cameras were rolling from the many fans in attendance to watch the special drivers-only challenge after the Friday Practice session and mini clips circulated quickly on twii.tur of the Plaidly-attired Vannish Motors Racing driving going for an unplanned swim.


COMPETITIVE ZONES ::
Note, All competitive events will explicitly require a waiver and release of all liability against Tiones Lumber signed by the participant

Zone 1: Chopping & Cutting

There will be 3 distinct events available in Zone 1, the Standing Chop, the Firewood Split and the Saw-Through Cut.

Standing Chop: Tool: Standard Axe :: In the Standing Chop Challenge, competitors can be scored in two different categories: Time and Number of Chops. A single 12 inch diameter log will be stood vertically and the competitor will be tasked with chopping through until the log is severed. Competitive times are expected to be under 20 seconds.All contestants are required to wear chain mail protection from the waste down to protect against injury from errant chops.

Firewood Split: Tool: Standard Axe :: Like the Standing Chop, there are two separate criteria used to grade the Firewood Split. Contestants will have 45 seconds to split. as many firewood segments as they can. The first 10 segments will be pre-staged and the contestant will be timed in completion of the first 10 successful splits. Should they have time remaining on the clock after the 10th split they will be tasked with resetting and further chopping segments until time runs out. Winners will be declared both on speed and number of splits made. All contestants are required to wear chain mail protection from the waste down to protect against injury from errant chops.

Saw-Through Cut: Tool: One-man Bucking Saw :: Contestants will saw through an elevated, horizontal log with a 20 inch diameter using a one-man bucking saw. Competitive times are expected to be below 15 seconds.

Zone 2: Climbing

The Climbing zone will see three identical Climbing Challenge stations to allow multiple contestants to attempt the event at the same time.

The event consists of a 20 meter tall vertical log which the contestant must after starting from a position with both feet on the ground, climb and bypass the 18 meter mark. Contestants will have spurred climbers on their feet and steel-cored climbing ropes. Several safety precautions are taken in the event. A support pole next to the designated climbing log will support a belay rope system managed by event staff. Time will stop once the contestant reaches the 18 meter mark on the vertical log and the contestant will not be timed on the way back from the top of the climbing log to return to the ground. Competitive times are expected to be below 13 seconds.

Zone 3: Log Rolling

A new addition, the Log Rolling competition will take place in water. Multiple floating logs will stretch from one end of the log pool to the other with a dry dock on either side. Contestants will be timed on crossing the pool twice - or from the starting dock to the opposite dock, then back to the starting dock. If the competitor falls into the water they are permitted one attempt to re-mount the log and continue their run. If the contestant should fall a second time their run will be ended and they will be given credit for the number of total logs they have traversed.

Zone 4: Team Events

Team Saw-Through Cut: Tool: Two-man Bucking Saw :: Contestants will saw through an elevated, horizontal log with a 20 inch diameter using a two-man bucking saw. Competitive times are expected to be below 7 seconds.

Team Log Rolling: Multiple floating logs will stretch from one end of the log pool to the other with a dry dock on either side. Contestants will be timed on crossing the pool twice. Two team members will start on opposite sides of the pool and will have to traverse from their starting dock to the opposite dock and back resulting in two 'passes' where teammates will have to bypass each other on the same log. Contestants must bypass each other on the logs and can not use the docks or the water to complete a bypass. If the competitor falls into the water they are permitted one attempt to re-mount the log and continue their run. If a team suffers a total of three combined falls their run will be ended and they will be given credit for the number of total logs the least advanced competitior has traversed. Time will be stopped once the second of the two team competitors has returned to their starting dock.

NON-COMPETITIVE ZONES ::

Zone 5: Family Zone

The non-competitive family zone will feature learning zones where Firewood Splitting techniques will be taught; three single-log rolling pools including one with a picture zone where the log can be locked into place for an individual or family to pose for photos, two 7 meter climbing logs, a firewood stacking challenge area and a special tree planting zone that teaches youngsters and parents alike the value of Tiones Lumber's Renewable Lumber Operations.

:: Tiones Lumber Drivers Challenge ::

Tiones Lumber will be hosting its popular Lumberjack Challenge for Drivers and Crew members of the World Grand Prix Championship Circuit after the conclusion of the Qualifying session. Drivers and select crew members who wish to participate in the Challenge will compete in Three of the Five Zones: Chopping & Cutting, Climbing and Log Rolling. Drivers may pre-register with the Tiones Lumber representative in the paddock if they need to reserve a specific time in the competition in order to maintain their schedules or sponsor activities. Drivers who are not pressed for time may walk-on during the 2-hour set-aside time period for the Drivers Challenge. Official World Grand Prix crew members may also participate on a stand-by, First-Come, First-Serve basis when showing valid Paddock Pit Crew credentials.

---

[WGPC 19]

Week 4: Practice

Conditions:      	Rainy
Session Length:	75 minutes
Nation:         	TUR
Circuit:        	Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit

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

POS # ▍DRIVER                           	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:40.532	00:00:00.000
 2 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                 	00:01:40.543	00:00:00.011
 3 25 ▍Gregori Krupin                   	00:01:40.551	00:00:00.020
 4 11 ▍Lane Carter                      	00:01:40.581	00:00:00.050
 5 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                  	00:01:40.612	00:00:00.081
 6 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:40.664	00:00:00.133
 7 40 ▍Adriana Kowalski Ela...          	00:01:40.685	00:00:00.153
 8 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                     	00:01:40.689	00:00:00.157
 9 50 ▍Sara Luna                        	00:01:40.697	00:00:00.165
10 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                     	00:01:40.744	00:00:00.212
11  5 ▍Rudy Edwards                     	00:01:40.785	00:00:00.254
12 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                     	00:01:40.989	00:00:00.457
13 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                     	00:01:41.179	00:00:00.648
14 31 ▍Joy Wingelaar                    	00:01:41.390	00:00:00.858
15 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschläger              	00:01:41.515	00:00:00.983
16 83 ▍Anola "Wrench" Melani            	00:01:41.516	00:00:00.984
17 88 ▍Ted Pressley                     	00:01:41.659	00:00:01.127
18 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                   	00:01:41.818	00:00:01.287
19 63 ▍Daryl Mizushima                  	00:01:42.089	00:00:01.558
20  8 ▍William Archer                   	00:01:42.363	00:00:01.831
21 15 ▍Heinz-Otto Junker                	00:01:42.386	00:00:01.854
22 24 ▍Sayono Souzare                   	00:01:42.724	00:00:02.192
23 85 ▍Olivia Stone                     	00:01:45.360	00:00:04.828
24 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                      	00:01:45.562	00:00:05.030
25  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux               	00:01:46.635	00:00:06.104

Week 4: One Shot Fast Lap Session

Conditions:      	Light Showers
Qualifying Type:	One Shot
Nation:         	TUR
Circuit:        	Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit

POS # ▍DRIVER                           	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                     	00:01:30.814	00:00:00.000
 2 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                 	00:01:30.944	00:00:00.130
 3 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                      	00:01:31.017	00:00:00.203
 4 15 ▍Heinz-Otto Junker                	00:01:31.238	00:00:00.425
 5 11 ▍Lane Carter                      	00:01:31.394	00:00:00.581
 6 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                  	00:01:32.381	00:00:01.567
 7  8 ▍William Archer                   	00:01:32.490	00:00:01.676
 8  5 ▍Rudy Edwards                     	00:01:32.602	00:00:01.788
 9 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:32.763	00:00:01.949
10 63 ▍Daryl Mizushima                  	00:01:32.878	00:00:02.064
11 50 ▍Sara Luna                        	00:01:33.134	00:00:02.320
12 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                     	00:01:33.141	00:00:02.327
13 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:33.477	00:00:02.663
14 24 ▍Sayono Souzare                   	00:01:34.110	00:00:03.297
15  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux               	00:01:34.195	00:00:03.381
16 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                     	00:01:34.295	00:00:03.481
17 25 ▍Gregori Krupin                   	00:01:34.392	00:00:03.578
18 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                     	00:01:35.079	00:00:04.265
19 40 ▍Adriana Kowalski Ela...          	00:01:35.155	00:00:04.341
20 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschläger              	00:01:35.766	00:00:04.952
21 85 ▍Olivia Stone                     	00:01:36.788	00:00:05.974
22 83 ▍Anola "Wrench" Melani            	00:01:36.971	00:00:06.157
23 88 ▍Ted Pressley                     	00:01:37.465	00:00:06.651
24 31 ▍Joy Wingelaar                    	00:01:39.614	00:00:08.800
25 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                   	00:01:43.042	00:00:12.228

Note: Based on the above results it is reasonable to suggest that ICly the heavy rain was getting lighter throughout the day and a drivers qualifying draw would have greatly effected their speed as the track began to become slightly less wet.

Week 4: Sprint Qualifying

Conditions:      	Dry
Race Length:       	18 Laps
Nation:         	TUR
Circuit:        	Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit

POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     	Time      	Pts	Fastest Lap	
  1 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau             Badai Angin Tim          	00:27:22.672	3		
  2 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter              Race Eelandii VTGP       	00:00:02.016	2		
  3 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly         Nexus Racing             	00:00:08.298	1		
  4  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards             Preston Autos GP         	00:00:12.097			
  5  8 ▍ARC William Archer           Preston Autos GP         	00:00:12.326			
  6 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii         Tropicorp Racing Ælund   	00:00:14.941			
  7 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin           Race Eelandii VTGP       	00:00:18.378	 	1:24.844	
  8 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                Tropicorp Racing Ælund   	00:00:20.213			
  9 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker        Teusbank TMW Rennsport   	00:00:22.434			
 10 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna             Viska Racing             	00:00:22.462			
 11 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna             Badai Angin Tim          	00:00:23.608			
 12 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane               Nexus Racing             	00:00:23.650			
 13 63 ▍MIZ Daryl Mizushima          WGPC Motorworks (O)      	00:00:25.563			
 14 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger      GP Pryfors Bilar Viiska  	00:00:25.631			
 15 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin             Carvenlo Liventia Airways	00:00:26.350			
 16  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux       Fireline+Heroes Eminent  	00:00:27.242			
 17 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley             Kaylan Racing Team       	00:00:29.698			
 18 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23              WGPC Motorworks (B)      	00:00:33.384			
 19 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen          Carvenlo Liventia Airways	00:00:38.503			
 20 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna           GP Pryfors Bilar Viiska  	00:00:44.338			
 21 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone             Viska Racing             	00:00:47.004			
 22 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar            Teusbank TMW Rennsport   	00:00:53.527			
 23 83 ▍MNI Anola "Wrench" Melani    Kaylan Racing Team       	00:00:55.577			
 24 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Ela...  Fireline+Heroes Eminent  	00:00:58.504

The results of SPRINT QUALIFYING will be the starting grid for the Grand Prix. Any RP posted between now and the race resultscounts for Same RP Cutoff Period (So if you've already posted a significant contribution since the previous race, there is no driving need to 'squeeze' in something of similar caliber between now and race results posting). For those of you who have not RP'd as a reminder there is a slight boost to the 'current' weeks RP compared with sustained RPs.

[Chromatika]

Private Chatroom
Moderate Encryption

WrenchRacer has joined the room.
ModernStylus has joined the room.

ModernStylus: What was so important that you asked for one of our clandestine meet-ups over the internet, with a moderate encryption to boot?

WrenchRacer: Thanks for agreeing to do this, I know you're a busy person. I just would like a bit of advice, if that's okay.

ModernStylus: Must be some kind of advice to ask for an encrypted chatroom. You know it's not like me to leave you hanging. What's up, Wrench?

WrenchRacer: I've been asked to be part of a panel with some legendary sportspeople, and I don't feel like I belong. What do you think/

ModernStylus: Hm. I think I heard this up the grapevine a bit. KA, SMBG, Xiu, AM, right?

WrenchRacer: Right. They are all such masters of their sport. Some of them have actually won Championships. I've only raced professionally for one year and I wasn't even my team's best driver. It almost feels like the organizers are having me there to represent all the "minor sports" and they don't expect me to do much.

ModernStylus: LOL there is no way you're going to be left just saying nothing, KA will not let you. She'll make sure you get your words in if you attend. She's all about fairness and representation and thinks that sports is the unifying aspect of what brings Chromatika together, no matter how popular or not the sport is.

WrenchRacer: And the others?

ModernStylus: I think the thing that you should trust the most is who's doing the questioning. Aimée de Pierre is one of the best out there and she is the one that allowed SMBG that opportunity to tell the story from her own angle. All the people you'll be on the panel with? They know what it's like to start from nothing and end up near the top. They may be more famous than you are, but by even being recognized to be alongside them, you're showcasing your potential.

WrenchRacer: And what if I don't end up being as famous as they are? What if I don't succeed?

ModernStylus: Has what ifs ever stopped you in the past, Wrench? You've already made history by getting here. You'll make history no matter what happens. You continue to improve, you continue to race, and history will take care of itself.

WrenchRacer: I... Thanks. I needed that.

ModernStylus: Trust in yourself, Wrench. Trust in yourself. I've got to go, but you should definitely attend this interview. In the meantime, hope you kick some butt out there!

WrenchRacer: Thanks, and uh, why "ModernStylus" this time?

ModernStylus: Can't use the same nick all the time in encrypted servers, right? Don't worry about it, it's still me, your friend from up high between the trees.

WrenchRacer: Fair skies to you.

ModernStylus: Clear travels to you as well. Good night.

ModernStylus has left the room.
WrenchRacer has left the room.

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians - Chapter 7 - Differing Parameters.

Initial Time: 2085-11-07 14:03:41 (Valentian Time, Old Earth Hours)
Location: Eelandii, Turori, Atlantian Oceania.
Universe: [DATA REDACTED]

I think what happened in Crossbay Circuit was bad enough for me. I mean yes, it was not exactly the road course that I performed the best at, judging from the experience that I have had driving at there. So the results were expected, I am afraid - 15th, no points. Till this moment, there are 4 drivers out there who has not scored a single point just yet. One of them was unfortunately me. I am very sure that Eminent was trying their best to help me out as well, I never doubted them in the first place. I have spent many CPU-hours driving round and round on the simulation, checking my code to the best of my abilities, and then getting used to the car that was provided to me. Maybe the others are better than me, that is a good point. That is not something I fear or am surprised of, I already know that coming into the world of WGPC, it is going to be tough. A LOT of good drivers out there! There is something that still bugs me. I know, this is just the first few races, it might get better. However, I have used a bit of time to dwell on this question.

How did the Valentians in NSSCRA did so well? Even on their very first season, they got quite a lot of wins, and then come the third season, one of the main drivers got a Championship! I am not jealous of them, oh no. I am very exuberant for them, and only want to follow in their footsteps in WGPC as well. I mean, sure, it is a different breed with the world of Formula Racing. Still, other than those two wins in the previous season, I can do with more wins! Still, I am here just for a good experience and a good time, but there is still a degree of stakes involved because I mean, I got two teams that hired me as one of their racers. Fireteam, and Heroes. I certainly cannot let them down!

And so, here I am, after a failed qualification of landing on the bottom at Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit. I am not exactly a fan of one of those Sprint Qualifications. It's not enough that we have to get the fastest lap with as many laps as possible, but it has to be like this - one-third distance race will be held to determine the starting lineup for the Grand Prix itself. To add a bit of insult to injury, those who made it quite far and in the top 3, got points. I'm sorry, I thought this would only be possible for the race? And this is ALL on top of the fastest lap, which get 1 point. Contrast all this convoluted system to the one where I could get a pole position, and there might be only 1 point at best. To staje się już zyt męczące i absurdalne! (This is all too tiresome and absurd!) Ugh, I'm sorry I am going into the point of where I am ranting needlessly angry. I am getting to the point I am whining too much, and this is very un-Valentian. Again, I have to apologise for going this far, and for anyone reading this. I am not that joyful like Clarissa, but I don't normally complain like this, I will have to say!

What will I do now? You bet I am going to hit the simulation. I have already sought for the permission to get a software of the simulation into my systems many seasons ago, and I will very well use that, on top of the real-life simulation. I will hit the real-life simulation later, but for now, I am going to do quite a bit in my head. Work out the parameters, do a lot of laps. Simulate the physics for all kinds of weather conditions. Please see below for what I have went through.

Simulation - Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit, WGPC 19

Track Length: 3.23 miles
Number of Weather Conditions Simulated: 1,178,654 (514,484 different rainfall and wind conditions)
Number of Laps Simulated, per condition: 5,000,000,000,000
Epoch: 100
Full Realistic Physics: Yes

Average CPU time per lap: 5.48 seconds
Total CPU time: 34,984,885,411,696,630,410 seconds (~ 1,108,604,121,089 years)
Real time elapsed: 4011.55 seconds (~ 1 hr 6 min)

Optimal Laps Rate:
1st Epoch: 41%
2nd Epoch: 42%
3rd Epoch: 55%
...
100th Epoch: 89.877144845%

> Simulation complete!

And now, for the real machine! Fortunately, the people are Eminent are very, very kind to accommodate for me and at this point, I can always rely and count on them! I do wish they will have a personal trainer for me like Jane, though. It will be nice if I have someone outside of the Valentians to talk to as a personal gauge on how well I am doing, as well as to have a professional who is more familiar with the cars of Eminent. I can only analyse so far but it will be still organic and human input from someone outside that I need - someone to tell em about the quirks of the cars, of the nature of the other drivers, and maybe a few tips and tricks. Cold hard facts and knowledge can take me quite far, but it's the intuition and human touch that will give me the extra edge. I think I should ask them for a trainer.

[Diarcesia]

CHANCE #         ═ID:042212>
Position: Commentary

Sara Luna found herself in a more favorable position to finish a 2^nd race within the points after the first-ever sprint qualifying allowed her to improve from P11 to P8.

For the new TRÆ driver, it is yet another chance for her to show to her bosses and the public that she remains on top of her racecraft. It was a relief for her when she was able to hold on to the final points-granting position in Crossbay Circuit and end her points-less drought. It was at Crossbay where she had a podium the past season. It will keep at bay any whispers that her production is closer to Juracai Klianoita than Terho Talvela.

As a bonus, the upcoming race will be held in her teammate iBen Toralmintii's local track. It is highly probable that his inside knowledge there will also benefit Sara. It was there that the inaugural event of WGPC18 took place with iBen taking a podium spot and Sara finished sixth. Now that the early stages of WGPC19 is about to wrap-up, a significant improvement in both drivers' race finishes is required if TRÆ wanted to mount a credible challenge to the current constructors' leader Badai Angin Tim.

Next weekend will mark WGPC 19's return to Aboveland in Lintulahti where a sprint race will once again be a part of the grand prix. It may be here where TRÆ's trajectory for its championship hopes could be decided. If either iBen and Sara fail to make a great impression in the next couple of weekends, catching up will be an uphill battle. Maybe even that could be an understatement. Team principal Edvin Pekkanen's decision to pick up two veterans who are possibly in the twilight of their careers betray a lack of a clear future for the Abovian outfit. Did they mortgage WGPC20 and onwards in an attempt to fulfill their ambition of a third consecutive constructors' title? Or have they been left with no choice but to try and win as many races as possible in a bid to endear themselves to the public to the team and to work to their advantage in the championship?

A lack of podiums/wins and literal precipitation raining on their momentum in Liventia among the embarrassing indignities inflicted on the team, it is to TRÆ's credit that they have been undaunted so far: after all, a double mechanical DNF in Crossbay during WGPC18 did not prevent them from clinching the championships. Additionally, let us not forget Preston's turnaround to form after the midseason break to present a credible title challenge. If I were a TRÆ fan (which I am), I would trust iBen's talents and Sara's calculated acumen to soon produce the tangible results that we and Edvin badly need. It is by no means easy, but if the duo are able to take the team to new heights, it would prove once again that Edvin's strategic genius in steering the ship through hell and high water is unparalleled.

Leaderboard Analysis (as of the Nimban Grand Prix)
1. Rustom Ibuna: The introduction of Badai Angin's new formula in their cars augurs well for the team and their lead driver. Rumors of back-office drama early on did not deter from making Ibuna the season's brightest spot so far.
2. William Archer: As equally shocking as Sara's lackluster performance is WGPC18 championship contender Rudy Edwards's. The "Savior of Preston" is once again saving his team from an ignominious backmarker designation.
3. Ryker Lane: That most talked-about eight-wheeler car in the past few seasons is hard to drive, to the surprise of the few, is not hard for Ryker Lane. It remains to be seen if he can keep on churning points for Nexus Racing.
4 (tied). Olivia Stone: The Nimban's ghost of races past is finally exorcised by winning in Crossbay for the first time, after previously snatching defeats in the jaws of victory. It should free a lot of mental baggage from her, which increases the likelihood of her showing stellar race results in the future.
4 (tied). R.L. Cruisin: Inconsistency on his part is revealed again after failing to follow-up from winning his inaugural race, just like the previous season. Something must be done about it if he wants the championship or improve from seventh in the final standings.

[Hapilopper]

Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit, Eelandii, Turori
Leading up to the Grand Prix of Turori
“RUDY! Thought you’d be here. What the hell is going on?”

Marty Lewis had been looking all over for Rudy Edwards. The stresses of the start of the season, and the poor performances that have followed, had taken their toll on him already. It started off with that bad showing in Liventia, in a place that still scared Rudy following that massive crash in qualifying a year before, but it seemed like he just wasn’t able to get out of the blocks. Instead, William Archer was pulling all the weight, and the fact that Preston Grand Prix was 4th in the Constructor’s standings was a miracle because William, and William only, had scored the points for the team.

“Just trying to get away from what’s going on, Marty,” Rudy said. “You know, I don’t know what’s going on. Just trying to do as good as I can and it seems like it’s not good enough. You know I’m trying. There’s nothing I want more than to go out there and kick ass, you know?”

“And I want you to kick ass too, Edwards,” Marty said. “But I’m disgusted with what I’m seeing. This is a race-winning team, and this is a team that can win a World Championship. You’re a driver that can win a World Championship. You want to tell me what the hell’s the matter?”

“I don’t know,” Rudy said. “I just don’t know. I just haven’t felt like myself.”

“Well, god damn it, you know, you haven’t been yourself since you were in Liventia,” Marty said. “Did that crash REALLY bother you that much? Is it a problem at home? Is it a problem with us? I want you to tell us.”

“It’s not a problem at home, Marty,” Rudy responded, a little bit of exasperation going through his voice.

“Well then what IS it?” Marty asked, growing annoyed.

“I just haven’t felt like myself,” Rudy said. “That’s all there is to it. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, you need to talk to somebody,” Marty said. “I asked you to talk to Drake Stevenson and I asked you to talk to Chris Holmes. They’re more than happy to help you out, and now that the NSSCRA season is over, the least you can do is get to them. If you don’t, I will. Because I am NOT going to let this situation go on. They can help you out. Drake knows what it’s like to fail. You know his story, he drove for Nexus and fell flat on his face. Chris, he screwed himself up, had to move to Wreckeria, got out of racing and started working in a warehouse, but they both came back. Hell, Drake almost won the NSSCRA title.”

“Your point?” Rudy asked, almost telling Marty to go away.

That annoyed Marty to no end, as it seemed that Rudy was unwilling to listen, unwilling to do whatever it took to improve himself. The truth was there had been something bothering him, but he didn’t want to talk to anyone about it, out of fear of looking inferior to anyone on the grid, and to anyone in Hapiloppian motorsport. But if he talked to someone about it, it could help him out more than he could imagine.

“My point is that you need to talk to someone. You need to work this out so it doesn’t become a liability to us,” Marty snapped. “And if I’m going to be quite honest? I’m getting a little fed up with your attitude, Edwards. OK, you had a shitty start to the season! You can turn it around! Whatever’s bothering you, talk to someone!”

Rudy shook his head and started to walk away.

“GOD DAMN IT, EDWARDS, I’M STILL TALKING TO YOU!” Marty snapped. “I don’t pull this card very often, but I am your boss and you listen to me when I talk to you. Right now, whatever is bugging you is hurting you on the track, and it’s hurting us. We can only go so far with Archer. He’s a damn good driver, god bless him, but we can’t go far in the Constructor’s standings with just one guy scoring, especially when the other guy nearly won the World Title last year. Right now, your attitude has become a liability. Sort it out or I’ll sort it out for you. We’ll do it the easy way or the hard way.”

Rudy stood there and stared at Marty, pissed off at being confronted like this. But Marty had a point. Rudy’s on-track performances had been lethargic, and there was no question about the fact that he had become the weak link on the team. Rudy’s attitude had to change and fast.

“So what do you want me to do?” Rudy asked.

“Call Drake again,” Marty explained. “Tell him you’ve got to talk to him. If nothing else, I’ll see if he wants to travel with us to help you out. If he can’t, we’ll see if Chris Holmes can.”

[Nico Hulkenberg]

Lap 43

Dario, having just put on another fresh set of soft tyres, was running quite high up the order. He wasn’t anywhere near the leaders, but he was in a points scoring position - which would be a bit of a godsend, considering how his season had gone thus far.

”These tyres will last you to the end, mate - make it work!”

“Copy that.”

However, as he came out of turn 7, he noticed that the grip just wasn’t right. The car wasn’t as nailed on as it normally was - but he continued to push. ”Fucking hell, something’s up.” thought Dario, sailing out of turn 8 into turn 9. His tyres still felt like he was driving on ice, but surely if he pushed hard enough they would heat up and everything would be fine, right? Well…

Turn 10

As Dario went through the turn, he felt the car tilting too far to the left. In an effort to correct this, he turned his wheel to the right - and it all went terribly wrong. He had overcorrected a mistake on cold tyres, and from then on he knew his race was over. His car went right round, spinning off of the track and plunging towards the sea, before being lifted by the Imagikinetic recovery technology towards safety. It felt really odd, and it wasn’t an experience he’d recommend. Still, it was better than having to take a dip in the water while still strapped into the car.

”Agh, FUCK!”

“Are you okay, Dario, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a bit shaken.”

“No wonder, your car’s glowing blue and you’re levitating over the sea. Try breathing in and out, you’re being lifted to safety.”

“Copy. It’s just…. AGH! Pushed too damn hard, I just had to, didn’t I.”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

As his car was being lifted by the technological equivalent of Lakitu towards safety, Dario had plenty of time to ponder what had went wrong. Was he pushing too hard, or were his tyres just too cold? Were the softs the problem, or was he just too bold? Whatever had happened, he’d have to make sure it didn’t happen again. No other race would have him spinning off into the sky - any mistake at another would have his car in bits, and him in danger of injury. This couldn’t happen again.

Post-Sprint

”Some good positions made up there, mate. P14.”

“Woo, jeepers! I made some good overtakes there, the softs were brilliant!”

“Certainly looked it. Slow button on, by the way. Need to keep that engine in good shape for the feature race.”

Following his spin at Crossbay, Dario was in quite a jovial mood - after all, he’d just managed to get his highest qualifying position all season. It’s no pole position, but it’s a lot better than the 20th he started from for the sprint. He wondered if every race should have sprint qualifying, but then he remembered that everyone would hate that, so he quickly dashed that thought. Sprint qualifying aside, he knew exactly what he was going to do tomorrow - softs and inshallah. This time, it had to work. Surely, it would work. Lightning never strikes twice, right?

#SoftsAndInshallah

[Esmerel]

Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, The Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
Saturday, 30 October 2021 - Nimban Grand Prix

Jean’s weekend had gotten off to a fantastic start.

Throughout every session, it’d felt like the old him had come out to play, and he knew it. Fastest in practice. Fastest in Q1, then Q2, then Q3, and finally Q4- though he’d just started the race in 2nd, by virtue of setting the exact time as polesitter Laura Haukanna, only slightly later in the session. It irked him, but it was over. Second didn’t have much of a difference aside from a meter or two back from the very front.

So far his race start, though, wasn’t as completely perfect. Close calls were occurring behind him at Turn 1, and he just didn’t seem to keep up the performance he’d been doing in the other sessions. He fought on, as anyone would, but couldn’t start nipping at Haukanna’s bud, instead watching as she got out of range for a reasonable overtake. Behind him was the Viska of Olivia Stone, fellow Nimban who Jean hadn’t gotten to know at all, and especially not as well as Ryker Lane. Stone seemed to have a fast car that kept up with Jean comfortably- by the end of Lap 2, she’d made the move and demoted Jean to third.

“Jean, you’re dropping back. What’s wrong?” Max asked.

“Can’t say… I’ve got a bit less pace than we predicted. Fine tune our pit strategy and I’ll see if I can compete while I’m out here,” Jean replied.

More laps began to go by. Nothing much changed on the track, as the positions finished shuffling and all the cars and their drivers got ready to enact their strategies and react to others, all while reaching for the front and those juicy 25 points (or 26 if the fastest lap was also yours).

As those laps counted down from 64, Jean’s luck went down and up at the same time. He was still in P3, but was starting to lose more and more time to the cars ahead. By lap 14 he was four seconds behind Haukanna and seven behind Stone, both of whom showed no signs of slowing down. However, as he got to the end of the lap, he could just see Haukanna entering the pit lane, which moved Jean up to P2. Looks like an early stop for her, I guess? She was on the softs, so it makes some sense, Jean thought. He dove down the straight to begin lap 15 and made his way through the first sector.

“Max, give me an update. Gap to car behind and where Haukanna exited,” Jean requested.

“The car behind is about two seconds back; they gained on you by three tenths last lap,” Max responded. “Are your tires alright? We started on mediums, so they shouldn’t be wearing this fast.”

“I’m losing a little grip, but… no, they don’t feel like they’re dying yet,” Jean said. “I’m not sure what’s going on. My car’s just getting a bit slower than it should. Now, Haukanna?”

“I haven’t seen their car exit the pit lane. Let me check down the stalls,” Max said. “I can see her still in the box, actually… Her mechanics appear to be taking her car into the garage. She is retiring from the race. Repeat, retiring.”

“Okay. That makes it a bit looser up front,” Jean said. “I just need to find my pace again. I’ll push on. Remind me of my pit window?”

“Should be lap 25 to lap 27, onto another set of mediums, then lap 46 to lap 51 for softs to the end, or hards on the first stop to the end with some nursing,” Max explained. “Let us know if you want to go for hards or mediums.”

“Copy.”

Jean’s pace continued to crumble faster than expected, however. By the eighteenth lap he was forming a train from his car and third place behind him that continued to stretch a bit.

“Last lap was six tenths slower than the previous. Is the display showing anything?” Max asked.

Jean checked his wheel display for any potential problems and saw nothing to note. “Tires appear worn, but not more than they should,” he said. “Nothing is showing up as a warning light.”

“Okay, Jean, box this lap please, box this lap,” Max asked. “We’ll give you the hard tires and see if anything’s going on with the car before we release.”

Jean agreed and entered the pits at the end of the lap for a stop. His mediums were thrown off to be replaced with hard tires, which would carry him to a late second stop. The crew ran their diagnostics, though, and noticed something.

“Energy store is critical,” one of them said. “One of the Imagikinetic converters appears strained. It isn’t delivering enough to the core unit to power the car.”

“Can it still run?” Max asked. “Can we continue the race and push for points?”

Meanwhile, however, Jean sighed. “Max, revs are dropping too low. Anti-stall is on. I can’t get it back into gear.”

“...Sorry, Jean,” Max realized. “Go to null, please. We’ll retire the car.”

Jean had no choice but to acquiesce, and shut the car off. He took the wheel off its base and slammed his clenched fist against the spot where it used to be attached. Gods damn it! I was so close to doing something today! he thought, exasperated. How did this even happen? The car was running so well the entire weekend, and now it fails? Mira was rolled into its garage slot and Jean hopped out.

“Data on the screen shows a pretty damaged converter on the rear left,” Max said as the screen showed. “I think we can trace it back to Hodori and your crash with William Archer.”

“Really? And we didn’t fix that?” Jean asked. “It’s been a week!”

“Considering the car ran well after tests and through practice and qualy, it didn’t seem to be damaged when we looked at it before. All that running might have strained it too much,” Max thought aloud. “We’ll make sure the same doesn’t happen before the next race, but we can’t save today. I’m so sorry. There really was a good chance for us here.”

Jean didn’t have anything more to say. He waved goodbye and left the garage for Nexus HQ, where he’d go to his room and calm down after the complete collapse of anything that had resembled a chance this weekend. The race would end with Ryker earning two more points with a P9, which left Nexus’ 29 points in the Constructors an outrageous advantage to Ryker, 27-2.

There were eight more chances to earn points and wins. But it seemed like they were going by faster and faster, and no matter how much Jean tried, he couldn’t keep up. He might have had another week to prepare for the next race in Turori, but it just felt like it would go by too fast to prepare - if it hadn’t already.

Jean wanted to get himself ready, no matter what. He had that meet with Evyn he’d promised this night, and he could definitely do it, but it’d need to be some other focus. Meanwhile, the mechanics would work on Mira and ensure it didn’t fail him again when he was doing so well. There was also the continued lack of contact from Ryker or anyone serious at Nexus, and interviews and people at home to appease, and figuring out how else to salvage his season… There was plenty on his place, and only one utensil to eat it with.

But Jean, no matter what, would give it his all. He knew that there would always be that chance that it’d all go perfectly. And he wasn’t missing it.

He hadn’t before, so why miss it now?

[Tropicorp]

Cocoabo Finally Set for Race Day Action

After a disappointing offseason that saw their former team, Fireline Motorsports, merging with Bitten Heroes to form the Fireline+Heroes Eminent Grand Prix team and seeing their race seat taken away in the merger, Cocoabo #23 finally landed with the World Grand Prix Motorworks team. It wasn't a smooth or quick transition for the Cocoabo starting the season in old chassis with a modified cockpit, "Fast Cocoabo" was anything but during the first two events after joining the team in Hodori and the Nexus Wardship. It looked like more of the same when the field rolled in to Turori as Cocoabo #23 was 24th fastest out of 25 cars in the Rainy Practice session. However, Cocoabo #23 was gifted a late draw in the Qualifying session and absolutely stunned the field posting the third fastest lap in the One Shot Fast Lap session to set the field for the Sprint Qualifying Race. It would also ensure that Fast Cocoabo would make their first race of the season with only two Motorworks cars advancing through to multi-car on track action.

As the track dried off, the lack of speed in the #23 Motorworks machine became more prevalent and the Cocoabo fell through the field losing more positions than any other driver from the drop of the green. However, finishing in 18th position in the Sprint Qualifying will still give the Cocoabo a chance to run a smooth race and hang on in the quest to score their first points of the season.

---

[WGPC 19]

Grand Prix of Turori

Eelandii Grand Prix Course, Eelandii, Turori


Lap Record (WGPC Car)(seconds): 1:22.409 (Jai Kardaeri, WGPC 12)

Event Specific Background Info Link

The area now known as Eelandii was purpose-built ahead of the Turorian hosted World Cup 63 Finals as a center of sport and congregation point for fans, players and media alike. Eelandii itself is not a town or a city but a purpose-designated area located midway between the Turorian capital of Almintora and the populous city of Cednia. . Initially consisting of just Eel's park - itself a state of the art sporting complex for football and athletics, the campus at Eelandii was expanded to include the offices of the Football Association of Turori and a permanent training facility for the Turori National Team. Eelandii has been dubbed a "Sportropolis" due to its ever expanding selection of sporting venues including the Multi-purpose venue constructed for Eelandii's participation as the Bandy Demonstration Hub for the 14th Winter Olympic Games.

Shortly after the World Cup 63 Finals, it was announced that Eelandii would be further expanded with a Grand Prix race course using the already existing central loop and large strip. The Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit was completed in time to host a testing session on the World Grand Prix 12 schedule. The 3.23 mile course was built in the shadows of Eels Park and, originally as one of the less regularly used of the sport facilities in Eelandii, relies on the infrastructure throughout Eelandii for its support. The first full top-level motorsports race weekend held at the Eelandii Grand Prix course was the Super Formula Round Turori held during the second International Super Formula Championship.

While the Eelandii campus is more than sufficiently designed to host multiple team sporting events on a single day, the Layout and size of the Grand Prix circuit that cuts through the center of some of Eelandii's key locations including overflow and parking facilities limits the amount of concurrent events that can take place at the other sporting venues on a racing weekend.

The weather in Eelandii is mostly temperate. There is no defined Wet or Dry season but the Chance of Rain is typically constant between 10-30%.

Companion Event(s): None

Week 4: Race

Conditions:      	Dry	
Laps:              	52
Circuit:        	Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit
Event:	Grand Prix of Turori
Safety Car Deployed on Laps:	3, 4, 5, 6

POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     	Time      	Pts	Fastest Lap	
  1 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter              Race Eelandii VTGP       	01:23:43.513	25		
  2 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii         Tropicorp Racing Ælund   	00:00:06.296	18		
  3 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau             Badai Angin Tim          	00:00:14.686	15		
  4 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger      GP Pryfors Bilar Viska   	00:00:25.076	12		
  5 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly         Nexus Racing             	00:00:26.490	10 + 1	1:25.679	
  6 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna             Badai Angin Tim          	00:00:30.457	8		
  7 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna           GP Pryfors Bilar Viska   	00:00:32.821	6		
  8 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin           Race Eelandii VTGP       	00:00:32.902	4		
  9  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards             Preston Autos GP         	00:00:35.767	2		
 10 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna             Viska Racing             	00:00:37.455	1		
 11  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux       Fireline+Heroes Eminent  	00:00:42.322			
 12 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                Tropicorp Racing Ælund   	00:00:43.326			
 13 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane               Nexus Racing             	00:00:44.430			
 14 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker        Teusbank TMW Rennsport   	00:00:45.200			
 15  8 ▍ARC William Archer           Preston Autos GP         	00:00:46.194			
 16 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen          Carvenlo Liventia Airways	00:00:48.464			
 17 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin             Carvenlo Liventia Airways	00:00:56.575			
 18 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley             Kaylan Racing Team       	00:00:57.614			
 19 63 ▍MIZ Daryl Mizushima          WGPC Motorworks (O)      	00:01:03.754			
 20 83 ▍MNI Anola "Wrench" Melani    Kaylan Racing Team       	00:01:05.614			
 21 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar            Teusbank TMW Rennsport   	00:01:13.894			
 22 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Ela...  Fireline+Heroes Eminent  	Laps Down: 1			
DNF 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone             Viska Racing             	Ret. lap 36			
DNF 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23              WGPC Motorworks (B)      	Ret. lap 2

Pos # ▍DRV Name                      Team                     Pts
 1 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna              Badai Angin Tim          51
 2 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii          Tropicorp Racing Ælund   40
 2 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau              Badai Angin Tim          40
 4  8 ▍ARC William Archer            Preston Autos GP         34
 5 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter               Race Eelandii VTGP       31
 6 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                Nexus Racing             27
 7 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone              Viska Racing             25
 7 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin              Carvenlo Liventia Airways25
 9 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna            GP Pryfors Bilar Viska   24
10 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna              Viska Racing             22
11 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin            Race Eelandii VTGP       15
11 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar             Teusbank TMW Rennsport   15
13 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly          Nexus Racing             14
13  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux        Fireline+Heroes Eminent  14
15 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger       GP Pryfors Bilar Viska   13
16 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen           Carvenlo Liventia Airways10
17 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley              Kaylan Racing Team       4
17 83 ▍MNI Anola "Wrench" Melani     Kaylan Racing Team       4
19  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards              Preston Autos GP         2
19 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker         Teusbank TMW Rennsport   2
21 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                 Tropicorp Racing Ælund   1
21 24 ▍SZR Sayono Souzare            WGPC Motorworks (HR)     1
23 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Ela...   Fireline+Heroes Eminent  0
23 63 ▍MIZ Daryl Mizushima           WGPC Motorworks (O)      0
23 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23               WGPC Motorworks (B)      0

Pos NAT ▍Team                                   Pts
  1 FID ▍Badai Angin Tim                         91
  2 AUR ▍Viska Racing                            47
  3 V&T ▍Race Eelandii VTGP                      46
  4 ABL ▍Tropicorp Racing Ælund                  41
  5 NIM ▍Nexus Racing                            41
  6 DCS ▍GP Pryfors Bilar Viska                  37
  7 HAP ▍Preston Autos GP                        36
  8 LEN ▍Carvenlo Liventia Airways               35
  9 STL ▍Teusbank TMW Rennsport                  17
 10 F+H ▍Fireline+Heroes Eminent                 14
 11 TGN ▍Kaylan Racing Team                       8
 12 WGP ▍WGPC Motorworks                          1

Note: The Next Race Will be in 1 Full Week. The Next race will include an actual Sprint RACE As used in WGP2 and during last seasons WGPC. However, in WGPC (much like Sprint Qualifying this week) it is going to be the Sprint Race FIRST then the Feature. That means that Friday scorinationwill include Practice, Qualifying and the Sprint Race. The Sprint Race will be 50% Distance of the Feature Race and award 50% points to the Top 8 Finishers. The starting lineup for the Feature Race will be the results of the Sprint Race, with the Top 10 drivers inverted.

Following the next event there will be a mid-season event which will include a practice-qualifying-race showcase race for the Test Drivers. Not all teams have test drivers identified. This would be a good chance to identify them if you would like them to participate in the mid-season test.

[Esmerel]

OOC: Mild apologies for the split posting, I wanted to get some in before the race but also make sure the rest was noticed.

Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, The Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
Saturday, 30 October 2021 - 19:00 Local Time

Sitting in a chair in the Nexus garage, Jean could hear the sound of an electric engine coming through the crossover.

He drew in a breath and stood up, straightening his face mask to make sure it wasn’t loose or misaligned. This was it. His first real moment with Evyn since gods know when. He still remembered, if only just, that last race they’d had in the Pantera and Esprit in Huntington, where Evyn pulled away and won. This was the runback. Jean had the home advantage here. All he had to do was prove he could use it.

The engine decelerated through an octave and a half and hit a steady hum, respecting the pit lane speed limit. It pulled up to the Nexus boxes, where Jean could see Evyn sitting in the driver’s seat of a Nimban electric semi. He shut it off and hopped out of the cab, though quickly jumped back up to put on a face mask of his own. Just because Evyn was a rebel didn’t mean he ignored common sense at the same time.

“You know how long I’ve been waiting for this?” Evyn asked Jean. “Too long. Thanks a bunch for the opportunity, bro!”

“Yeah, I know it,” Jean replied, as the two had a handshake or so. He sighed. “You saw me today, right? In the race?”

“I said I was gonna come to all of them now, right?” Yeah, I saw your car go boom,” Evyn said. “Your team’s been mighty quiet this year. They ought to have noticed the problem in your car before it got bad on track. Where’s a hot shot who just comes up to you and says ‘how’s your car running?’ when you need one? Anyways, I bet I could get in touch with some guys, and they could take over. How about it?”

“Evyn, just… I’m fine,” Jean countered. “I know Nexus has been radio silent as of late, but there has to be a reason. And they’re the masters of Imagination. The preservers, if you will. They know my car, and how it runs, and they’re still human like us, so they make mistakes sometimes. Do you really think a bunch of junkmen could turn up to the WGPC- hell, for ANYONE- and start work as a perfect crew right away?”

“Gods, Jean, I was trying to help.”

“I know, and I do appreciate it, I just haven’t… I’m not, like, used to you still,” Jean explained. “How long’s it been? You left in ‘04, so 15 years difference? Us men and women can change in 15 years. Or, look at this.” Jean showed his cybernetic left arm. “We can change in instants, too.”

“You’d have been a better fit for a writer,” Evyn remarked. “Maybe in another world. Now, I do want to get my sleep tonight, so let’s get this done and dusted. I have to catch the flight to Mexico City tomorrow morning for the Festival.”

“For the what?”

“...You wouldn’t care. Come on, I’ve got the cars in the trailer,” Evyn redirected.

Jean and Evyn walked around to the back of Evyn’s rented (hopefully) semi, and Evyn hit a button to open the back door and roll out the machines for the duel. He’d brought short, boxy to a point, German precision vehicles from the 80s for his first challenge.

“The BMW… E30, right?” Jean asked.

“Close enough. The M3 E30 Sport Evolution,” Evyn clarified. “These were- are, I should say- coveted in the Verse. Only 800 of the Sport Evo model were made, so to have two here is quite the feat. They’re both mine, by extension, anyways. 2.5 liter inline 4 engines producing 238 horsepower. 0 to 100 in six seconds. Top speed hits about 240 kilos per hour. These cars are simple. No turbochargers, no massive engines, no overzealous aero. They get the job done with only the basics. So I thought they’d be perfect for our little fun time.”

“They sound good enough.”

“Oh, wait. As an aside, they’re fitted with emissions mods to comply with the Nimban code, and the code back home. Otherwise they’re stock,” Evyn added.

“Ah, good. So are we going to go, or do you want to keep flaunting your knowledge?” Jean asked. “I wouldn’t mind if you did, though.”

“Nah, let’s go. Here, take this,” Evyn said. He tossed an earpiece to Jean, who caught it and put it in his right ear. “That way I can talk to you in the car. Or you to me. Now, hop in the red one. I’ll take the black.”

The brothers got into their cars and reversed out of the pit lane for a quicker way to the grid. Jean on the left, Evyn on the right, though both of them had the same distance to the start/finish line instead of using the marks.

“We’ll make it three laps, like every other arcade circuit race,” Evyn said. “Rules are simple. No banging the cars, first to finish wins.”

“Okay. Time to take you down,” Jean replied.

“Ah, I like the sound of that one, bro!” Evyn said. “This is getting exciting and we haven’t even started. Quick question, though. Have you ever woken up in the morning and- GO!” Evyn took off once he said it.

“Oh, you’re funny, aren’t you?” Jean replied, as he shot off as quick as he could as well. “Let’s do this!”

____________________

The contest was tight all the way through. Evyn had more experience driving this kind of car, but so had Jean, having driven GT cars for years before this. Plus the track experience would help. Though Evyn held the lead early on, Jean kept patient behind him, waiting for the right chance to make his move.

He found it coming into the second tunnel on the final lap. A mistimed upshift from Evyn dropped his speed slightly and gave Jean the run on his brother. Approaching turn 14, Jean swung to Evyn’s right to take the inside, which Evyn moved to block. However, Jean’s daring moved has convinced Evyn that Jean really was going for that gap, so Evyn wasn’t ready when Jean swung to the outside of the turn and lined up next to him as they went down the straight to turn 15.

Jean had the inside, but Evyn still had the nose ahead, so Evyn moved to put Jean at a disadvantage by blocking the racing line and forcing Jean to brake early for the turn. But Jean would not give. He wanted that position, and if he didn’t take it now he never would. He kept going on, even as Evyn hit the brakes. Jean slowed down a bit later, blocking the apex and making Evyn hesitate to finish the corner- an unorthodox and perhaps controversial move, but who cared when it was something like this? He’d been forced all the way left anyways, and it didn’t cause a crash. Either way, Jean had saved himself from getting the door slammed on him.

Coming to the final chicane, the plan had fallen into just the right place. Jean had the right side and thus could dive through the apexes, to which he did. Evyn had no choice but to miss out on fighting through the final corner and watch as Jean shifted up, and up, and up and took the fictional checkers.

“Woo! That’s how I want to be doing this! Good run out there, Evyn,” Jean said.

“Yeah, I guess you really aren’t washed out,” Evyn said. “Still, your driving in these has been phenomenal. You didn’t lose ground on me at all. Are we sure you don’t want to make street racing your thing?”

“We’ll… wait and see, yeah?” Jean said. “Until then, this was still great. I like how we're doing this, and I like how you've been recently. I think we could definitely do this more, and learn to appreciate each other's strengths, you know? You should probably take off now.”

“I should. Hey, I’ll be there in… what was it… Turori, like the last couple races,” Evyn said. “Not to race, probably, but I'll be watching. If you really want to stay here, you need to prove you can take this night and use it in your GP car there, okay? We’re not done with this.”

Jean laughed. “Heh. No. No, we are not.”

[Hapilopper]

The Stevenson/Henderson house, Poplar Prairie, Hapilopper City
A few days after the Grand Prix of Turori
Following the Grand Prix in Eelandii, someone – it wasn’t Rudy Edwards – placed a call to Drake Stevenson, asking for a little bit of Drake’s time to talk to Rudy and figure out what the problem was. Drake enthusiastically said ‘yes’, figuring that Rudy needed a little bit of help. Drake figured he could talk to Rudy and maybe he could try to understand his problems.

Rudy didn’t entirely want to go, but he was sort of pressured by members from the Preston GP crew, saying it would do nothing but help him out. Rudy didn’t want to talk to anyone about what was bugging him. It wasn’t anyone else’s business, he thought, and he didn’t want to be exposed to anyone – not to the media, not to his fellow drivers, not to the fans, nobody, as someone who was unsure of his current place in the World Grand Prix Championship.

Besides, Rudy thought, if Drake Stevenson or anyone else knew that Rudy was doubting himself, he feared that could be used as ammunition against him. Maybe Drake could use it as a chance to get back in the World Grand Prix Championship and take care of some unfinished business. Maybe Drake could get a hold of some people within the team and convince them to sack Rudy and put him in the first Preston seat.

A lot of those thoughts and more ran through Rudy’s mind as he drove past the “POPLAR PRAIRIE” sign entering the neighborhood, and then eventually into the driveway to Drake Stevenson’s house. He wondered if he was about to torpedo his chance of being a World Grand Prix Champion. He feared what was going to happen. As he got out, Drake stepped out the front door of his house and waved at Rudy.

“Been expecting you, Edwards, come on in!” Drake called out. “Marty called ahead, said you needed to talk to someone about what’s been bothering you.”

“I’m not sure I do, but he told me to come over here,” Rudy said uneasily as he got out of his car. “He’s been pressuring me to talk to someone.”

“Well, he said something’s bugging you and it’s hurting you on the track,” Drake replied. “He said it’s obvious there’s a problem. I’m not a psychologist, I’m not a therapist and I sure in the hell ain’t a love expert, so let’s get that out of the way. But Marty said I could relate to whatever’s bugging you, so let’s talk. Let’s go out to the back porch. I got some cigars and some whiskey.”

As Rudy walked through the living room, he noticed a bunch of boxes all over the place, and a gigantic multi-colored trophy sitting on the coffee table in front of the television.

“What’s with all the boxes? And what’s that trophy?” Rudy asked.

“Those are all Taylor’s,” Drake said, a tiny bit exasperated. “We spent all weekend moving her out of her apartment and in here, and she’s still got a bunch of stuff we need to go through. That big trophy is the NSSCRA trophy. Turns out it doesn’t fit either of our trophy shelves, I don’t know where to put it, and Taylor wants to place it somewhere she finds nice. Since she’s the NSSCRA champ in the family, it’s her decision.”

Drake shook his head and went into a walk-in humidor near the back door, getting a couple of cigars and a big bottle of bourbon whiskey.

“You didn’t come here to talk about Hendo moving in with me, though, you came in because you’ve got a problem, so let’s talk,” Drake said as he came out of the humidor. “Why so glum, chum?”

Rudy stood there and thought about it as they walked out onto the back porch. He was scared to say what the issue was, and that was annoying Drake a little bit.

“Well?” Drake asked. “Marty said you were stonewalling him too.”

After a while, Rudy finally opened up, and it was obvious it bothered him a great deal, the idea of even opening up.

“Stevenson,” Rudy said haltingly, “I feel like I’m not good enough for this. That last year was a fluke.”

Drake’s first reaction was to dismiss that idea. But that wasn’t going to work. Instead, Drake raised his eyebrow and responded with one word, probably the best word he could have used at that time.

“Why?”

By asking “why,” Drake didn’t dismiss Rudy’s concerns as invalid, nor did he make him feel like an idiot for feeling the way he did. Instead, Drake wanted to know why Rudy was feeling that way. Because Drake had been there before.

“Because…” Rudy started, before staring out into the expansive back yard.

Drake knew this was painful for Rudy, so he just let him think about it, rather than interrupt him again.

“This is such a cutthroat business, Stevenson,” Rudy said after a while. “You know how many people are wanting our jobs, and would do anything to take them? Too god damn many. After the deal in Liventia, I’ve had this fear in my mind that Marty and the Preston guys have started looking for other guys. Guys that wouldn’t screw up. Guys that they know would be better than I am, you know?”

“No, I dig,” Drake said. “What it sounds like, is you feel like you’re not good enough for the seat. That, after last year, you put such high standards on yourself for this year, and when you had a few bad races, you feel like you’ve been exposed.”

“Yeah,” Rudy said. “See, I’ve been scared to death to say that.”

“Rudy, I get it. I really do,” Drake replied. “I’ve been there before. Part of the reason I left Nexus Racing was that I didn’t feel like I was good enough. I nearly won Vilita the year before and won the pole for my first race with Nexus, but then it just went downhill from there. Preston Autos pulled the plug and told me to go stock car racing again, but I felt like I wasn’t good enough. There were a lot of problems I was facing at home. The girl I was dating at the time, she was whatever.”

“What do you mean?” Rudy asked.

“She was seeing other guys, that’s what I mean,” Drake said. “You know, she’d claim to love me and then when we’d go out, she’d be texting some creep dude. Then she’d tell me she really liked the guy and she was sorry and knew I wouldn’t like it. So I got depressed. You have that issue right now?”

“No,” Rudy said.

“Good,” Drake said. “So, I got depressed, I had self-confidence issues, thinking that this girl, that I thought was perfect for me was screwing me up, and then I start thinking I’m not good enough to do this and it messed me up entirely. I don’t really like to think back to my time at Nexus, probably the lowest point of my career and maybe my life.”

“So, what did you do?” Rudy asked.

“Marty Lewis called me from Hapilopper City and told me that if I wanted to stay a Preston driver, get back in a stock car,” Drake said. “They were going to back someone else. Someone that they knew was going to get the job done, someone that had been a lifer in open wheel cars.”

Rudy flinched a bit. He knew that Drake was talking about him, but Drake never said it.

“And I’m glad they did,” Drake continued. “That guy was, well, is, one hell of a talent in open wheel cars. He’s won championships and he’s won races. And he’s got more of a future than I do. His problem right now is he’s going through a slump. Everyone has ‘em. I know I did. But it’s how you respond to these slumps that can make or break you.”

“You need to take ownership of what’s been bugging you,” Drake explained. “Go out there, and just admit it. You had a bad weekend in Liventia, your confidence was hurt, and it snowballed from there. Just admit it to Marty and anyone else. You felt like you weren’t good enough and it hurt your self-confidence and it slowed you down. You explain that to him and he’ll be ready to help you. He called me at 3 a.m. last night and explained that he’s scared to death that you’re going to mess up the whole team because of what’s been bothering you.”

Rudy nodded his head in acknowledgement, a sad look on his face.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Drake explained. “You’re not the first person in this world to doubt yourself and you won’t be the last. And you’re right. There’s god knows how many drivers out there that want your seat. There’s god knows how many drivers out there that want my seat. But before you start thinking about who’d be in that seat, tell yourself something. That’s YOUR seat. That car? That’s Rudy Edwards’ car. That ain’t nobody else’s. It’s yours. Matter of fact, when y’all go to Aboveland for the next race, go over there and declare to Marty that that car of yours? That’s your car and you’re going to kick ass.”

Rudy nodded his head.

“Tell you what,” Drake said. “This doesn’t go away overnight. You’re not going to instantly feel better tomorrow as if none of this has happened. Let me try to clear this with Taylor, but if you need, I’ll travel with you to Aboveland and to any other race so if you need someone to talk to, you’ve got me. I’m not going to share this with anybody, nor am I going to tell Marty any of this. Deal?”

“Deal.”

That night before going to bed, Drake told Taylor of his plans – that Rudy Edwards needed someone to confide in, so he would be coming over more often, and that he would travel to, at the very least, the race in Aboveland to help his confidence issues out. Taylor nodded her head understandingly, saying that while she had no interest in going, she didn’t mind Drake helping out a friend.