WGP2 :: World Grand Prix 2 Season 5

World Cup 81/82/83/84

The flight back from Aji No Moto was a relatively short hop compared to some of the other flyaways so far this season, and as a rule, return flights were when the mechanics and other crew caught up on sleep that was usually in short supply over race weekends.

The huge cargo charter that could carry the car hauler, motorhomes and the rest of the equipment in addition to passengers could only land at about half a dozen airports in the Commonwealth, and until the Banijan Drought Crisis and resulting relief airlifts from Baker Park, Osheana International Field was not among that list; a major upgrade & expansion of one of the runways was undertaken in a joint effort between the Ministries of State for Transportation and Defense, which also allowed planes with larger payload capacity to arrive and depart.

The 'junior Cows', i.e., the AOGP team, were disappointed that they were unable to carry momentum into the Serizawa Circuit meeting from the results at Drummond Vale, where they'd been victim to a brilliant drive from P2 on the grid by Gus Perry of White Unicorns to prevent a double 1-2 sweep for the home team; neither Sammi Carter nor Nick Unger got anywhere near comfortable with the setup on the extremely quick Aji No Moto track.
There was still optimism, as they would be going off on their own to The Dyrrhonian Isles for another oval track race in the next round, with Sammi already thinking about the technique she used in Vilita.
She was still in the thick of the drivers championship and the team were still only a good weekend result from jumping into the battle on the constructors side.

The reality that the Scuderia left Aji No Moto on top of the WGP2 Constructors Table, with Batu 2nd and Jordan 4th in the Drivers standings only started to hit home among the engineers and directors as they were on the final approach for landing.

"We're leading the Championship. How does that sound to you?" Mike Lambert looked across at Vic Marzetti, who had been nodding in and out of sleep for the last hour.

"It sounds fucking incredible. How in the world are we gonna keep this up?"

"We're going to focus on what's ahead. Now that we've had back to back wins, we are going to start playing up the fact that we can win every week, and we should approach what we're doing with that mindset."

Lambert finished, then remembered something else he wanted to tell his deputy Team Principal.
"We'll be back with the main series for the next race, and now that we on everyone's radar, I suspect there'll be a lot 'how you dos' from the WGP bosses. I want you handle that through the weekend, just be non-committal about anything they ask. I'm going to have Hella and Smitty make sure they keep the guys away from potential bump & greets. Obviously we aren't holding anyone back, but I don't want them talking with other people about next year on my time." Vic nodded in agreement.

by **Auruna** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:16 am

Tarvellanet Aurunaan vär WGP2 Kÿrteroitseet Kültenen!
Welcome to Auruna for the WGP2 Race of the Hills!
In cooperation with the MNA and NDT

Akresna Circuit

Circuit Details
Event: Aurunair Aurun Grand Prix / Aurunair Sÿrä-prii Auruna (WGPC) || Aurunair WGP2 Race of the Hills / Aurunair WGP2 Kÿrteroitseet Kültenen (WGP2)
Location : Akresna, Auruna
Layout : International
Length : 5.792 km
Lap Record : 1:40.442 (new estimate) | 1:42.211 (AtMA, 1997 - old version) | 1:32.970 (AEC, 2021)

Description
Located at the Aurun hills, near the city of Akresna just north of Veratuna, is the most popular, successful, and challenging Akresna Circuit. With an altitude of about 1,350 m above sea level, the circuit is both challenging for both the drivers and cars. After the formation of the Mötoraaroitu Nazyonalla Auruna (MNA), this is one of the circuits that are now government owned and it was saved from closure by the MNA and it is one of the Viska Racing test tracks due to a partnership with Schkeska Motors. First built in 1956, the track features a wide variety of elevation changes and corners, also featuring the Akresna Tunnel that goes down though a hill (Although it is not used in the International Layout). With decent run-off areas and one of the best facilities in Auruna, the circuit is one of the best in Auruna and is a part of the Aurun Trinity Circuits.

Akresna starts off with the start/finish straight followed by a heavy braking zone to Turn 1, Valantov, then a fast Turn 2 that goes uphill. Turns 3 continues the uphill climb where Sector 2 starts at the exit of Turn 4. Sector 2, also called the "Hill Run", starts with a short straight to Turn 5 then followed by a slightly downhill then uphill Turn 6, where an old bunker is next to, then flowing nicely into Turn 7 which heads to the Akresna Sun section where most of the pictures of the track are taken, usually at sunset and during endurance races. At Turn 8, Politov, the Akresna Tunnel is located, it is unused in the international layout. What follows is a series of uphill-downhill corners ending with Turn 12, this is the most challenging part of the circuit where oversteer and understeer are prevalent and demands good throttle control by the drivers if they make a small mistake in this section, they will end up in the barriers. Still going downhill, a straight leads on to Turn 13, Veren Üka, which starts Sector 3, the fastest sector. The fast corners and chicanes of Turns 15, 16, 17, and 18. Cars go though this section flat-out and at this area is where most of the grandstands are located. Drivers usually get caught out at Turns 17 and 18 where they can oversteer into the barriers and ending their race. A final heavy braking zone to the Turn 19, Kaulinta. Another fast straight followed by a fast Turn 20, Entenalla (Similar to Parabolica of Monza) that leads to the start/finish straight which then completes a lap.

History
Akresna Circuit started out as a part of a much larger hillclimb from the then village of Akresna to the summit of the nearby hills. Shortly after a hillclimb, a few smaller paths were built that branched off from the main route and many started racing around the newborn circuit. This then caught the attention of the local racing club that was handling the hillclimb events and decided to start the funding of the construction of a permanent race venue. Construction was finished in 1956 and was a big hit for the local races and once word got out to other parts of the country, more drivers flocked over to Akresna to race at this new permanent race circuit, the third one of its kind in Auruna after Livonsk and Veratuna.

Akresna had a rough start after it was built and soon, it was deemed not to be a profitable circuit due to its location but this all changed right after the formation of the Mötoraaroitu Nazyonalla Auruna (MNA). The circuit, along with Livonsk and Veratuna was then bought by the MNA and in turn, the three are the first government-owned circuits in the country. It was a part of a project to promote motorsport in the country and it proved to be a success that lasted to the present day. This led to Akresna, Livonsk, and Veratuna being referred to as the Aurun Trinity Circuits.

It hosted a variety of motorsport series from the endurance AEC to the touring cars of AtMA, it had a slow rise to the top. A circuit rework occurred in the winter of 1973 where certain improvements to the layout and infrastructure and as a part of that, the now famous Akresna Sun and Tunnel section appeared and was received well by the fans and drivers.

After the success at the WGP2 with Viska's win here, the MNA decided to fund the circuits for the Aurun WGPC project. The MNA held a bid for the MNA International Circuit License where Akresna was chosen at the end over Livonsk and Veratuna. The MNA decided to stick with the International layout used in the WGP2 but there were rumours about using the AtMA or the K1 layouts. There were a lot of upgrades to the infrastructure of the circuit to better suit WGPC.

Soon after the WGPC race, work started on improvements in the International layout with the most significant change is replacing the T6 hairpin with a more flowing corner after criticisms about that certain corner being flow-breaking and not suiting the circuit structure. This change led to the layout being significantly shorter than it originally was. The end result proved to be popular with fans and drivers saying that it's much better than before.

It only missed out on the previous WGP2 season but circuit officials and the MNA are persistent and kept entering Akresna.

Previous Podiums in Akresna
WGP2 III - WGP2 Race of the Hills
1 - Olivia Stone [Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing]
2 - Abdoulaye Goita [SVJ Racing]
3 - Lourdina Westgrens [Bitten Heroes Academy]

WGPC 18 - Sÿrä-prii Auruna (Aurun Grand Prix)
1 - iBen Toralmintii [Tropicorp Racing Ælund]
2 - Terho Talvela [Tropicorp Racing Ælund]
3 - Abdoulaye Goita [Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing]
Special Mention:
4 - Olivia Stone [Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing]

How to get to Akresna
Most traffic to the circuit will be coming from Veratuna. The flights are expected to arrive at either Veratuna Lorukeentteä Airport (VER | EAVL) or Veratuna North / Zuroloyov Airport (VZL | EAVZ) which are located close enough to Akresna, cutting travel times. Then a 30-minute trip north by road using the As-1 or As-4 highway from either airports or from the capital area at an average speed of 115 kph. (Note: there are no speed limits at the As-1 and As-4 but please observe road safety as the highway patrol units are strict)
As an alternative, the Gs-21 and the Körinö Pass which adds about 15 minutes to your travel time but there will be fewer traffic in both roads.

by **Mertagne** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:43 am

Practice
Yannec was feeling pretty good about himself as the week rolled on towards the events at Serizawa, Aji No Moto. His finish in the sprint race at Drummond Park had catapulted him to the forefront of the drivers who had yet to score any points this season, and while that didn’t seem like much of an achievement from the outside, on the inside of the cutthroat world of WGPO racing it was still quite impressive to be battling just on the outside of the points with a stock car setup. Other drivers had the backing of much more lavish teams that had the budget and the time to focus on getting the most of out the car and their drivers, but Bryce’s team had various fair play rules and the bureaucracy of the gargantuan organisation that is the WGPO to contend with. Bryce wasn’t ungrateful towards this fact, as it’s simply the way that his path has been forged, and he was glad that he seemed to be making the most out of his time at WGPO Motorworks.

The media had picked up Bryce’s fight for points and, going into free practice, there seemed to be air of hope around the WGPO garage as Bryce slunk into the cockpit of the car. His driver’s briefing had been just that, brief, but his initial analysis of the circuit found that this one had plenty of sharp turns, but also a long series of straights. The general word around the paddock was such that this track would be more of a test of car power than a test of driver technicality. Bryce was hoping to prove people wrong on that point, and identified the Kismo Complex as a key area where he would hopefully be able to make up some time on the other, faster cars out there.

The practice began and Bryce was keen to get an early lap in. The cloud hovered over the track, and he was worried that it might break at any moment, even though he was reassured that nothing of the sort would happen over the next seventy minutes. Bryce’s reaction to rainy weather had become nothing short of a superstition, and he was dreading going out in the wet again this weekend. His knee preemptively ached in anticipation, and while it was far from injured, the ghost of the injury lingered, and emerged in damp conditions. He planted his foot firmly into the base of the cockpit to stave off the ache, and set out onto the track to record his practice laps.

His result after the 70 minutes was enough to leave even Soishic speechless. A 5th place practice result was immense, and proved that he truly was a driver who could take to a track a little quicker than most. While this was a useful skill to have, its usefulness tended to peter out over the course of a weekend, but Bryce was hopeful that if the weather could be held at bay, he could be unleashed on the track.

Qualifying
The dark rainclouds descended on the track before qualifying, and a small amount of swearing could be heard from within the garage of car #87. Rain again would be hard to deal with, especially as the straight-line speed of the cars would be dampened, literally, further by the weather. Bolting out of the pit lane, Bryce was determined to get out of Q1 at the very least, hoping that if the weather dried up he could be in with a shot of Q3. Bryce was also spurned on by the mere presence of Tsunopin, who had been on good form throughout the week after earning a coveted point during the Drummond Park sprint race for the fastest lap in an amazing attacking run towards the end of the race. While Bryce had just outdone Tsunopin in practice, he was keen to do so again here in qualifying.
His Q1 was enough to get him past the barrier, finishing about a tenth behind Tsunopin and scraping into Q2. However, the weather got the better of him in Q2 to a degree, and he fell off the pace of the other drivers, settling into a middling 17th position for the race proper.

Feature Race
As Bryce geared up for the feature race, he blessed the fact that it was definitely looking dryer heading into the event. A 17th position was enough to hopefully start climbing into the points, but over the course of the weekend, he’d noticed that the drivers had managed to more effectively navigate the more technical sections of the track, due to having further practice. Any advantage he might have had from his quick thinking was rapidly eroded, and now the rumour of car performance determining the day was taking centre stage. He tried to bat those thoughts out of his mind during the formation lap, and focused on the ever important start of the race.
The lights went out and away they went, with Bryce struggling to pull up to the same straight line speeds as his nearby competitors in the Fireline cars. The UrGa Motorsports duo of Kalhu and Fitzpatrick seemed to be on the attack hard early on in the race making use of the wide track to weave in and out of the competition and create some tricky defences for the cars in front. Bryce was able to hold them off for several laps, until he ran into a tricky time at Turns 6 and 7, when the two UrGa cars outclassed him by forcing him to choose who he was going to defend his position against at the Bird’s Beak before going up and making him defend his weaker side again at the hairpin on turn 7. An effective pass that made Bryce’s head spin a little, he was unable to gain the spots back before the end of the race, and this combined with the weaker speed of his own car resulted in an unfortunate slump into 22nd, where he remained, solidly in front of an Edward Rousseau, who had had a disastrous weekend.

by **Taxonomic Kingdoms** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:45 pm

Nobody at the Pox Party Bar was talking about WGP, probably because Vaccinia hadn't given them much to talk about. At Serizawa, she had finished near the back as usual. She was beginning to think the Motorworks cars just weren't up to snuff, since Bryce Yannec was struggling too.

When Vaccinia walked into the bar, a few people acknowledged her presence with a wave or a hello. The goddess of smallpox, who was drowning her sorrows in a corner, briefly looked up from her drink.

But for the most part, everyone was distracted by a pair of bulky bearded travelers from Asgard, who seemed determined to drink the bar's entire supply of mead. The Asgardians said they had come to Bamford to seek an alliance to help them defend Asgard against the Jötnar and the Angels. A local atadenovirus deity was sitting on the bar in the form of a duck, explaining that Fenrir, Jörmungandr, the Jötnar, and the Angels were immune to all the viruses of the natural world, and that made it difficult for Bamford to help. Now and then, the duck atadenovirus goddess would pause to think of a word, but instead of saying "um" or "uh," she would make ducklike quacking noises. Thor gave her weird looks when she quacked, but Odin didn't seem to mind. After all, why shouldn't she quack when she was in the form of a duck?

Odin was trying to understand why none of Bamfordvirae's viruses could infect Asgard's rivals, but this required a rather detailed explanation of the biochemical systems that translated genetic code into proteins.

Vaccinia sat down near the Norse gods and the duck atadenovirus, and ordered a drink.

"Quack, have you tried asking the RNA kingdom for help?" the duck asked Odin.

"No," said Odin. "The Orthornir annoy me." (Orthornir=RNA gods)

The scowl on Thor's face made it pretty clear what he thought of the RNA gods, but just in case it wasn't clear enough, he said it out loud: "The RNA kingdom is a land of cowards and cheats!"

"Okay, but the problem with infecting Jötnar has to do with RNA," said the duck. "Their tRNA is coded differently from mortal creatures, so when viruses try to use it, it brings us the wrong chemicals."

"I think we could create a virus that infects Jötnar," said Vaccinia. "It would just be a lot of work."

The other Bamfordviraeans murmured in agreement.

"Quack, yeah, we'd have to study how the Jötnar's tRNA works and manually edit all our genes so they work with the Jötnar's biology," the duck explained. "It's a lot of work. Someone in Orthornavirae might know how to fix the tRNA so ordinary viruses can use it."

"I don't want to talk to the Orthornir," said Thor. He hefted his hammer. "Let's just go home and defend Asgard ourselves."

Odin rubbed his head wearily. "It doesn't hurt to talk to them," he said. "If the Orthornir are difficult we can always go home and do it ourselves." He lifted his empty mug. "Can I get a refill?"

"Sure thing!" the bartender answered cheerfully. He was doing good business today thanks to the Norse gods.

Odin started to say he would talk to the Queen of Bamfordvirae in the morning, but then he remembered Bamford didn't have morning. He would talk to the Queen of Bamfordvirae when he sobered up, and if she could not help then he would inquire of the other Taxonomic Kingdoms.

The bartender brought Vaccinia and Odin their drinks, then leaned across the bar and whispered to Vaccinia, "How are things in WGP2?"

"Not that great," Vaccinia admitted. Of course, the bartender probably knew that anyway.

by **TJUN-ia** » Fri Nov 26, 2021 5:31 am

The first thing Batu could remember was a cold day in Shinebaishin when he was 3 years old. His father, a graduate of the University of Texas in U1 and a councillor, and his mother, housewife ever since Batu was a thing, was playing with the future driver. He could remember the words of his mother very clearly: "One day, Batu, you will be so powerful...but only if you listen to both of us." He asked what she meant by that and got a cold response: "If you stray from the path of power, you shall be cast from us all and be forgotten by us all."

That was the main focus of early life: to avoid that fate, the fate of being left behind and...who knows after that. His parents, especially his mother, felt that outside influences like "school" or "playtime" would "corrupt" his mind and thus, he was homeschooled from 3 all the way to 16, with rewards of watching the TV for good work and punishments of "the room" if he failed - a cupboard that he would be locked into for hours at a time to "think about what he had done". The only time he would be allowed out of the 4 walls was for a competition, for any sort of competition that could see him get that glory his mother desired - from taekwondo to judo, fencing to karate, he tried it all...but nothing seemed to click.

He could remember a chaotic time, at the age of 11, when he entered a judo tournament and ended up breaking his arm from avoiding the Ippon from his opponent. Obviously, he wasn't able to complete the contest and while he was in tears in the ambulance, he could remember the words his mother said: "It's always failing with you, Batu, isn't it? When will you do something good for once in your pathetic life!" That only increased the pain and when he was alone with his father, he could see him visibly distraught. He apologised for his mother's conduct but to Batu, what was the point - he still had to go home at the end of the day, bad arm or otherwise. He could request a meeting with someone who could help...but he didn't want to incite the rage of someone who believed they were a direct descendant of Chinggis Khaan himself anymore.

Another vivid memory, this time at 14. He must've been good because he was watching TM1 in English, a language he was taught alongside his native Mongolian for "his own sake". The program in question was a "soap" of some sort, a story that went on forever with ever-evolving characters and storylines. Today, one boy admitted to another that he was, in fact, in love with him and wanted to maybe go out sometime. He said yes and they would begin to make out, right there in front of Batu. He initially questioned why his parents were showing him this show as he thought Buddhism was all about removing yourself from this sort of thought, but later on, his father explained it plainly: "When you get older, Batu, at 18 to be precise, you will be let out of this house for good - to spread your own wings. When that day comes, you will have to figure out what type of person you are very quickly as you need to meet people in order to become a true free spirit. Maybe you will meet the love of your dreams...and maybe it is a he. That's why we showed it to you, Batu...it will be up to you to determine who you date and who you love."

It was only a few months after that that he discovered the thrill of watching live motorsport and from there, the path was set. Karting and the domestic series, NRDAS, NN, the Classic, the Rumble and SOC would all follow. But the words of both his parents followed him onwards. His final day in that house was strange, as everything he had believed in was about to be challenged the very next day. The last thing his mother told him before he moved out was a simple warning, a warning that followed Bato throughout his WGP2 career: "You are free now Batu...but be careful. If you fail us, we have no hesitation to disown you. Remember that."

WGP2 S5
Round 6
Konbini 24/7 WGP2 Race of Shibara
Serizawa Racing Circuit, Serizawa, Aji No Moto

Of course he still remembered that. He remembered everything about that time. Life wasn't easy for Batu Tüvshinbayar from the start, his situation he knows many will call "abusive" and "controlling", but to him, it was just...there. A part of the fabric of his very being that he couldn't remove no matter how hard he tried. Throughout his "escape" and his progression in his motorsports career, the memories of what came before either diminished or amplified as he went through the highs and the lows. When NN went bust, that was when they were at their most powerful...but on the other hand, winning the Rumble in the Rice Fields almost shook them out of his mind for a whole month. This is what he's been dealing with all this time, but Season 5 of WGP2 had, so far, been pretty good to the Mongolian. Scuderia Orange Cow was a truly comfortable environment to be in, the team around him truly a group bound together by racing, and getting that 1-2 for them at their home race was certainly the least everyone deserved after the first half of this season. Batu was 8th in the championship after the first 5 rounds, with teammate Jordan Crowe just ahead in 4th and the team overall sitting comfortably in P3. It was nice to see but with the 2nd half coming up, Batu knew he had to keep it up no matter how hard that would be...if only he knew what was to come.

The 2nd half would kick-off at the Serizawa Racing Circuit in Aji No Moto and the only real downer for Batu was the fact that Adonis Fitzpatrick hadn't responded to his texts...but clearly he was busy, as his personal profile suggested a little party with his mates to celebrate his victory back in Round 4. He looked OK, but Batu wanted to talk to him and...well, yeah. But he had to push that aside very quickly as Friday arrived with some interesting pace. While Crowe was focused on quali runs, the team decided to let Batu focus on the race pace and that can explain why both cars were in different positions by lunchtime, Crowe in 2nd and Batu 16th. Darian Vilau was the session leader with Alvis Kalvin Lacsamana in 3rd and Adonis in 8th. The rain arrived in time for qualifying and for the Elimination format at that, which definitely caused a bit of chaos overall. Donny fell in Q1 while Batu himself just about made Q3, only to not move on and end up in 9th for the Feature Race on Saturday. Pande Putu Raka Ganesha took pole over Kyidawa Sherpa and Haru Jukkenna with Crowe ending up in 5th.

The Feature Race was supposed to be a good opportunity for some good points...but then it became something much bigger across the 55 laps run. The strategy became apparent from the start, as AKL looked very good and Batu felt it would be best to follow his charge up the field to claim as many points as possible. One by one, through tight racing and the pitstop window, AKL and Batu would carve their way through the field and by the final 10 laps, they had made their way past Daniel Rae and they were the top 2, with fellow chaser David Findlay also climbing his way up to third. It would turn into a duel of wills for a while before Batu, focus like never before to make this one count, got past on Widow's Peak with 5 laps to go and then proceeded to never look back. The gap was building and building and while Batu didn't want to assume things were done like that, he could feel that maybe this was indeed his time. The final lap was pure torture, a race against his own mind and a race against the demons that tried to make him fail, but as he entered the Kismo Complex, he knew that the job was finally done. Winning the Rumble was one thing, but this...this was different. He felt pure joy as he cross that line, as he took that flag in front of his team, and the tears were certainly pouring out now. Batu Tüvshinbayar had won the Feature Race, the first of his WGP2 career, and only 3 weeks behind Lane Carter's triumph in Turori at that. This season was truly TJUN-ia's now...and Batu didn't know what to say.

He's going to do it, bar any bad karma now. If there was anyone who deserves a moment like this, except Lane Carter of course, it certainly is Batu. Batu has been through a lot in his career, winning the Rumble in the Rice Field was a big deal to him, but this...this will be seen as a breaking of the chains! THE CHAINS ARE INDEED BROKEN! BATU TÜVSHINBAYAR WINS THE FEATURE RACE, HIS FIRST OF THE YEAR AND THE 2ND WIN FOR ORANGE COW THIS SEASON! THE TODES ARE TURNING iN THIS SEASON, AND IT MAY HAVE SHIFTED TOWARDS BOTH TJUN-IA AND BAKER PARK!

BT: AAAAAAAH! AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH!
VE: YES, BATU! WELL FUCKING DONE! P1, P1!
BT: YEEEEEEEES! WOOOOOOOO! I DId IT! I....did it! Oh my goodness!
VE: Yes you did, Batu! Yes, you did! One more race tomorrow, but well bloody done Batu!
BT: Thank you...Thank you all so much...You all did this...WE all did this...I cannot thank you enough...

Today was his to claim and like Crowe before him, he made sure every single SOC member got some love. The moment he proceeded to sit next to his car, his helmet off and his eyes flowing like waterfalls, would be relayed back to Shinebaishin and the world in due course, everyone happy to finally see their boy make it to the top step in the WGPO at last. He made sure to savour every single moment of that from the anthem, to the champagne to everything that came after. It was all...his...no one could take it from him now, not even the one who reared him to this very point.

But work still needed to be done and for Sunday's Sprint Race, the newly-christened race winner would start in 8th and try to get more points to add to the 25 he got on Saturday (or "The Day", as it will now be forever in his head). 9th-placed Skiia Vialiv got past him off the start in the wet conditions and instantly, Batu thought "let's do it again, shall we?" and began to follow the Vilitan up the field. It was essentially a wet repeat of yesterday but this time, when it came down to Batu and Skiia, the Vilitan just about had enough pace to keep the 15 points in the end by less than a tenth of a second. It was infuriating to miss out on the double by that margin...but the fact he was in that position to begin with was a definite sign that Batu was here now and he wasn't going to turn down another trip to the podium at all. Findlay was 3rd with AKL, PPRG, Crowe (good drive from 12th), Sherpa and Jukkenna rounding out the Top 8 and Ilya Tsunopin in 9th claiming another fastest lap award, his preferred scoring method it seems.

It was only when he was collecting his gift, a mug and a pair of red headphones, from Shalmaneser Kalhu of all people (who seems like a nice guy overall) that he realised what this weekend did for him and the team overall. AKL now led the standings but now, it was Batu in 2nd with an 8 point gap to climb. From 8th to 2nd in a weekend but to be fair, 37 points will do that to you in this series. Crowe's 4 puts him in 4th, 22 points back on Batu now, and now even SOC as a whole is leading ANMARA in the Constructors battle by 5 points. This season had just been kicked into high gear for SOC over the last 2 rounds and now, they have momentum and will be looking to keep that going in Akrensa next time. Both Carter and Batu had won races now and next time, both will be on the same track at the same weekend. What fun for those at home!

But what about Adonis? Without that chat, maybe neither of them would've made the top step at all...or maybe it was all a coincidence. Of course, Batu could understand if he wanted to keep himself to himself (as Batu was basically doing before the note stuff)...but Batu didn't want that. They only talked for about...3 minutes tops, the length of a song in a contest TJUN-ia knows very well, but even then, something about that talk was...needed. Batu had revealed himself and Donny had given him a chance to...make things right, he guessed. But no matter what happened now, Batu at least knew one thing: he would not allow that meeting to be the end of the matter. Not while he was still discovering himself with every given day...

More texts to Adonis

Sal is a good guy, so is his gifts tbh.
Can you thank him for me?

If not, I could find another way.
Look, I know you must be busy, but now we're both race winners in this series.
That deserves a "meeting" of sorts if you're up to it?

I don't mind where or when...you can even bring Sal if you want so I can thank him in person

You will get back into the points soon enough...you can trust me on that.

by **United Adaikes** » Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:52 pm

Home turf, Aaron thought just about he was about to see the track coming out of the garage.

Well, not really where he was born, but this was the country of the team that gave him a chance to pursue his dream—hired as a test driver in the premier team and one of the drivers of the second-tier team, all in the first season. He's not only thinking about the now. He's also thinking of the future. He'd love to stay in the first team that hired him. But he also knows he needs to deliver and get those points to keep the seat.

Even the tracks are getting familiar. Aaron knows how he wants to drive when nearing those turns. But when he drives, he is on the track alone. Will opponents be affecting his driving? Will the race feel different from when he was test driving?

Aaron's got two podium finishes now; the other was a win in a sprint race. Most of the time, he'd do well in practices and qualifying. But he'd always be somewhere in the middle when it all matters. And that's what Tomaš has been asking himself. What do we need more to do? Tomaš always reassures Aaron that he can do good. Are there still the rookie jitters? Will those thoughts leave after this season? But as he is racking points this season, he might as well do something about it now.

If he can't let Aaron talk about what's constantly bogging his mind, he can always ask Jamie. But what if Jamie doesn't know too? Can Tomaš ask Jamie to ask Aaron what's bogging him down?

It's going to be an interesting (and also exciting) weekend in home territory. And all they need to do is prepare for it.

World Cup 81/82/83/84

Tuesday Engineering Meeting, Conference Room 'B', PRL Center

"There are a lot of things about this track (the Akresna Circuit, site of the next WGP2 race) that are similar to the Vale in terms of corners, but the things that are different are what we need to concentrate on."
Paul Valentini, Chief Engineer for SOC, was running the meeting as usual, although it was just JC, Batu, Vaughn Estes and Sunil Choudray and the other main team personnel present--the AOGP group were having their own meeting separately as they would be running on a different track.

"The altitude is going come into play, so we are going to want to look at some numbers on the affect that'll have on downforce as well horsepower, Mark" Mark Genovese was the Lead Data Engineer, the head of the "techies" that ran calculations, broke down all of the telemetry data from the cars and worked closely with Ed O'Malley on aerodynamics.
"It'll be in the ballpark of about 15%, but we can have a full data run by lunchtime."

"I've already talked to Mike and we'll be going to Vale either tomorrow or Thursday, but we are going to concentrate on the Hill Course. The twisty bits in Auruna I think will make the difference, because the straights are going be the same for everyone--fast, but with a reduced capacity due to the altitude. We're going to be at a disadvantage because several other teams are going have better data to work a baseline from than we have, but I have a hunch that if we can get the front end grip and balance right, we've got a chance to bring some more points home."
_______________________________________________________________________________________

When the meeting was finished, it turned out that Jordan and Batu had a clear schedule until 4pm; Mondays were normally the drivers day off, and Tuesdays were almost always devoted to sponsor and promo appearances, but there had been an exception made yesterday--that had been arranged prior to the Aji No Moto race--where all four drivers had gone down to Belle Haven for a CommOil promo shoot and meet & greet, followed with a TV network whip-around; guest segments on mid-day programs where the quartet mixed & matched freely among themselves--someone with the capability to view 2 channels at once would probably not encounter the same duo on any segment--before heading back with the understanding that they would have free time on Tuesday post-meetings equal to the time they'd given up.

"Let's go for a ride." Jordan grabbed Batu by the arm and they walked out to the parking lot.
"Here, why don't you drive my car." JC flipped the keys to his teammate and walked around to the passenger side.
Crowe had celebrated his signing as a full time SOC driver by splurging for the first time in his life on something he'd only dreamed about being able to afford--a 1966 Compton-Cowan Leopard Series III, the fastest production car ever produced in the Commonwealth up to that time.
[OOC--the IC equivalent of a 1960's Jaguar E-Type, same body shape, same prestige/aura)]

"No, Jordan I cannot accept. This car means everything to you and if something were to happen..."
JC shook his head. "Nothing is going to happen. You're perfectly capable of handling this car and I'll be with you. I promise, I will not dare you to do anything crazy."

Batu accepted the confidence of his teammate and friend--most Mondays they got together to have lunch or an early dinner, often Sammi Carter and Nick Unger joined them, but they'd all decided that the Belle Haven trip had been as good a time as one of their usual gatherings--and took the wheel.

"This machine is older than you and I combined. I don't know about you, but it's older than either of my parents." JC laughed.
"Yes, mine as well. It just feels...right."
"Uh-huh. Go ahead and crank it up"

Batu engaged the clutch with his left foot and turned the key. The V-10 engine roared to life, the whole chassis vibrating as the 9,800 RPM power plant awaited to be engaged.
"First gear, slow on the clutch in tandem with the throttle." Jordan used his hands to demonstrate.

Off they went, JC giving directions where to turn and where Batu could stretch the legs of the classic car.

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Fri Nov 26, 2021 10:38 pm

It all seemed to be going downhill for Adonis Fitzpatrick after the incredible high of winning the WGP2 race at Aboveland. Donny had long ago accepted that motorsports was a cruel mistress who had a disturbing knack for bringing down drivers just as they seemed to have reached the peaks of their emotions, but she seemed to be having a lot of fun making him suffer after Donny had won his first WGP2 race. Urotovsky-Gatutin thought that maybe they had finally found the perfect racing package in their GP2-5-3 car after Donny had claimed the dub in Aboveland, but those thoughts were quickly proven wrong once they arrived in Drummond Vale for the WGP2 Grand Prix of Baker Park. After displaying an incredible amount of pace and overtaking and defending capabilities at Vankkavalta, UrGa found themselves falling flat on their faces in Baker Park. Adonis found himself getting swamped in both the feature and sprint races, with the sprint race being the more damaging to his championship as he plummeted down the order like a rock before settling in P21 at the end of the race. The only real consolation that Donny had in Baker Park was that his watchful shadow, Batu Tüvshinbayar, had been able to claim both a pole and a 1-2 for his team Scuderia Orange Cow, who also happened to be based in Baker Park, making the Drummond Vale race their home race.

In fact, Batu had texted Donny after the races in Baker Park, where Batu speculated that perhaps their meeting in Aboveland had played a part in Donny winning a race and then Batu getting a podium at his team’s home race. Batu also offered to do anything for Donny; the latter need only ask for it. Donny had planned to reply to Batu’s texts, but with the next race week at Aji No Moto coming thick and fast, Donny ended up forgetting about replying to Batu. Batu didn’t seem to have taken his being seen-zoned hard though, because Batu aced the feature race in Serizawa and claimed his first ever WGP2 victory there. At the same time that Batu was celebrating his first win in an international racing series, Donny and Shalmaneser Kalhu were busy debriefing the engineers and mechanics of the Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division about what they felt was wrong with their cars. Except for those two magical moments in Yakumicha and Vankkavalta, neither Donny nor Sal had been able to nail the optimal setup for their respective machines, and it was costing both themselves and the team very dearly in both the drivers’ and constructors’ standings. And for all their talk of merely wanting to develop cars and providing a stepping stone to drivers, the higher-ups at UrGa were beginning to squirm under the (self-imposed) pressure to succeed. They had been doing this for three seasons already, after all. The time for development and training should have been long gone by now. They should have been challenging for the constructors’ championship at this point. But for whatever reason, the upgrades that the team were bringing to race week just never seemed to be good enough. And with only four races left to run (five if you counted the sprint race scheduled to be held in Lisander, which almost everybody did anyway), if either Donny or UrGa wanted to surge back up the standings then something had to go right for them.

Donny’s replies to Batu

Hey man, sorry 4 replying late. I wanted 2 txt u bck after Baker Park but Ajinomoto snuck up on me & I forgot.

If ur angry bout that then Im sorry. I’ll try not 2 let that happen again!

Dont worry abt d notes man, I actually had fun trying 2 figure out who B was
& if I need anything, ull B d 1st 2 know

Dont treat not being perfect as a bad thing. Acceptance is often d 1st step 2 greatness

& congrats 2 ur podium & win BTW. If any1 deserves it, its U. Just sometimes I wish I was with u on d up n up

I think meeting up again is a gud idea! Just gotta find time & place & i gotta ask Sal if he’s available

& i’ll make sure 2 pass along ur thx 2 Sal. Kid needs d pick me up after last 2 races

“Thanks for the headphones, man,” Donny told Shalmaneser Kalhu after the former had picked up a pair of headphones the latter had offered to the other WGP2 drivers on the grid along with white mugs marked "With love, from Sal." "No, really," Donny said. "My old pair was already getting on its last legs, and I don't know if I would have had the time to get a new pair. So, once again, thanks for the headphones. Also, about that message that you sent me earlier, I'm down for it! I think I know a good place in my hometown, Effelenendro. Also, if you're asking the whole crew to come along, you better bring your big wallet because those boys have very big appetites!"

Donny was truthfully grateful for the new pair of headphones that he had received from Sal. He was telling the truth when he said that his older pair was running on its last legs and that he really needed a new pair. One of Donny's pre-race rituals was listening to drum solos on his phone, and the headphones were a vital part in putting him in the proper rhythm to race. Without them, and without hearing those drums, Donny just didn't feel like he could race to the best of his ability. Maybe that was another reason why Donny had been doing poorly lately, because his old headphones were not working properly and he was not hearing his drum solos as well as he would like. Hopefully, these new headphones from Sal would help put Donny back in the proper rhythm.

The place that Donny had in mind for Sal's blowout (which in this case meant someone treating a group of people to food and drinks and not the catastrophic puncturing of a tire) was a place that he knew very well. Its logo was literally on the side of his helmet. It was called Lovely Baka (baka being the Fleftic word for cow) and it was a Korean-style all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. As its name implied, its primary dish was beef, but it also offered other meats such as chicken and pork. Donny made a mental note to get in touch with the place to make sure that the pork was removed from the menu (temporarily, of course) and that the beef was halal and came from halal sources. Donny knew that Sal was Muslim and had religious dietary restrictions. The Lovely Baka was a joint venture between two of Donny's sisters' husbands, which was why Donny had a direct line of communication with the restaurants' owners, and why he knew he would be able to negotiate for the halal beef for Sal Kalhu's blowout. It was also the reason why it had been one of Donny's first sponsors when he got into grand prix racing, because the owners knew him well and they wanted to support their wives' little brother (and also for Donny's success to rub off on them).

And there was also that meet-up that Batu had suggested between him and Donny since both of them were WGP2 race winners now. Donny also had an idea of where he and Batu could meet, but then he ran into another problem, if it could be called that. Batu had said that it was all right if Donny brought Sal along to their meeting, but Donny had wanted to meet Batu just by themselves. Besides, Sal had said that he wouldn't drink any alcohol, which was understandable given his religion. But Donny still wanted to ask Sal if he wanted to come along. He didn't want to just assume that the Adabian would either want to come along with him or not come at all. But one thing was sure: both of these things would have to happen after the race in Auruna.

It was settled then. Donny and Sal and their respective crews would eat out at the Lovely Baka after Auruna, and then after that would be Donny's… date with Batu. It felt strange for Donny to call it that. In his mind, a date between two people implied a romantic relationship, or the possibility of one. And Donny didn't know if that was what he wanted out of Batu. Heck, the two of them were barely even friends at the moment! But this was a chance for the two of them to maybe get to know each other better, and if things developed in that particular direction, then so be it.

But the big question now was, is Donny ready to love someone again? Only he knew the answer, but he wouldn't find it until after he met Batu again.

by **Trans-Dniesters** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 8:40 am

“Thank you all for coming,” Vasily Semyonovich Gatutin, team principal of the Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division, said as the rest of the heads of the team sat down. “Right, our agenda for today is the one thing that’s been troubling us and keeping us awake for long nights and weeks. Yes, it’s the one thing that I am sure that we are all thinking about right now. It’s the elephant in the room, to borrow that very descriptive English phrase. The results have not been coming to us. Ever since young Adonis got his first WGP2 win in Aboveland, our results in both the constructors’ and drivers’ standings have not been anywhere near to our liking. So, let’s go ahead and break it down, starting with the engine. Kostya, do you have any news on our engines?”

“The only news that I can give you, sir, is that we have no news,” Konstantin Zakharovich Rezansov, chief engineer of UrGa Motorsports, replied. “I’ve been trying to get in contact with the people over at Preston with regards to their development of their WGP2 engine, but so far I’ve been met with nothing but silence. I don’t know if they’re still developing this engine or if they’ve diverted their resources and attention to the WGPC fight, but they’re not answering me either way so there’s no way to tell. The bottom line, sir, is that we are currently stuck on nothing as far as engine development is concerned.”

“Well, that’s not exactly the news that I would have wanted to hear at the moment,” Gatutin shrugged. “Oh, well. At least we can do something about our chassis and aerodynamics and such, right?”

“Yes, sir, about that,” Rezansov said. “We’re also having difficulty getting the right upgrades to the right tracks. Some of the upgrades that we’ve managed to bring along would have been more effective at different tracks. Right now, we really look like we’re just mixing and matching upgrades, throwing things at the wall and seeing which ones stick.”

“That’s very uncharacteristic of you and your team as a whole,” Gatutin said. “What happened to the team that was able to send chassis and aero upgrades to the next track at just a week’s notice?”

“I don’t know, Vasily, if I’m being honest,” Rezansov admitted. “We are seeing so many deficiencies in our cars that we just don’t know where to start. And that’s probably what’s allowed our competitors to outpace our development this season. Our roadmap for car development has been thrown way out of whack.”

“You need to fix this, Kostya, by any means necessary if you must,” Gatutin ordered. “We cannot let the other teams think that our results in the first half of the season are merely a fluke, a byproduct of us making a good package out of the bat but unable to develop it any further. Now then, I believe that that’s the car settled. Taras, what of our drivers?”

“They both could be doing better, but they could also be doing worse,” Taras Gavrilovich Matviyenko, chief driver relations officer of Urotovsky-Gatutin, reported. “Both Donny and Sal are in need of friends, someone whom they could talk to and confide their feelings with. I believe Adonis has already taken steps to get to know someone better, and I’ve heard that Shalmaneser is also reaching out to the other drivers on the grid and let them know that he’s there.”

“Well, good for him,” Gatutin nodded. “Good for them, I mean. I would say that as far as driver relations go, this is a relatively better problem to have than what we had in our hands last season. So, do you have any idea who Adonis is going to see later?”

“Yes, sir, it’s Batu Tüvshinbayar,” Matviyenko nodded. “Incidentally, he is also the one who has been leaving those mysterious notes in Adonis’s garage in the past few weeks. It took Adonis some time to solve the mystery, and Batu had to give him clues and hints, but Adonis was able to guess who it really was. And as for Shalmaneser, I heard that he’s bringing in some stuff from Adab to distribute to the rest of the grid before the race in Auruna.”

“What a lovely gesture,” Gatutin said. “That will surely get him noticed by the others. Now, on to public relations. How have the fans been dealing with our recent downturn in form, Marina?”

“The fans are still optimistic, so to speak,” Marina Vladislavovna Smirnitskaya, chief public relations officer of UrGa, replied. “They’re understandably worried that things seemed to have taken a downward turn after Adonis’s victory in Aboveland, but overall the fans still believe that there is enough time for the team to turn our fortunes around and deliver at least one more victory to either Adonis or Sal.”

“How comforting,” Gatutin muttered. “I’m sorry, Marina. I don’t mean to be so flippant about this, but now we know what the fans expect of us, and we have to deliver. Kostya, Taras, those are your areas of expertise. Get those cars ready for the race, and put the drivers in the proper mental space.”

“Understood. Yes, sir.”

“And now, last but most definitely not the least, Yakov Leonidovich, have you had any progress in helping to negotiate any deals between Adab and Pridnestrovia?”

“Ah, yes, about that,” replied Yakov Leonidovich Yurievsky, who looked uncharacteristically glum. “Unfortunately, I have not had the same luck in negotiating and securing any deals between Adab and Pridnestrovia as of this moment. I don’t know what it is about that country, but so far, it seems as if every attempt of mine to open informal negotiations has been rebuffed.”

“Is this real?” Taras Matviyenko asked. “Are we really hearing Yakov Yurievsky, the great negotiator, admit that he has not had any success in negotiating even one single small deal with Adab?”

“Oh, keep gloating while it lasts, Matviyenko,” Yurievsky snorted. “I’ve found some other avenues of communication where it might be easier to get those talks that I’ve been looking for.”

“All right, save that for the other teams and not on each other, will you?” Gatutin said. Tensions between Matviyenko and Yurievsky have been high since the latter practically forced the signing of Harry Zoomtwat on the team last season, and Taras had not had a good experience at all in competing with the major from Featherstonehaugh Cholmondeley. “Now, to return to the original topic, have you found out what resources, if any, we can trade with Adab?”

“The ongoing assumption within both the Foreign and Economic Ministries is that Adab could be a good source of foreign oil should relations with the Sultanate of Oontaz turn frosty once again,” Yurievsky replied. “But based on new information that I have acquired, oil may not be the most important thing that we could trade with Adab. I don’t yet know what exactly it is that we can trade with them, but oil may just be the least of our worries with them.”

“Well then, go ahead. Keep working on it as much as you can,” Gatutin nodded. “Now, is there anything else that anybody would like to say before we adjourn this meeting?”

“Actually, sir, yes, there is,” Konstantin Rezansov said. “Lately, I’ve been hearing talk from Shalmaneser’s manager, a Mr. al-Taghlibi or whatever his name is. He claims that Sal’s results are suffering from what he calls ‘socialist engineering’.”

“And you’ve taken offense to it?” Yurievsky asked. “Of all the things that could have offended you, you’ve chosen the words ‘socialist engineering’?”

“It’s not the words themselves that anger me,” Rezansov admitted. “Rather, it is the implication, subtle or otherwise, that he thinks our engineering is somehow worse than other teams’ engineering, or even other countries’ engineering. I could hardly care less if he thinks we’re still socialists just because we still have the hammer and sickle on our flag or if we still retain that awfully long official name that the late Stepan Stepanenko bestowed upon us, but I don’t like the way that he thinks our methods and ways are below his country’s.”

“Thank you for bringing that to our attention, Kostya,” Vasily Gatutin said. “If it really annoys you this much then perhaps this is a matter that must be attended to. But we will have to find the right time to approach him about it. Mr. al-Taghlibi is still the manager of one of our two drivers, and if we don’t navigate this tactfully and respectfully, we might lose the services of one of our drivers at the worst possible time. Now, is there anything else aside from that that any of you would like to discuss? Nothing? Very well. This meeting is now adjourned. Once again, thank you all for coming,” Gatutin said before dismissing the others to do their respective jobs.

Gatutin was the last one to step out of the conference room, and he had just locked the door when he heard footsteps approaching him. It was Illarion Osipov, Sal Kalhu’s race engineer. “Yes, what is it, Illarion Arkhipovich?” Gatutin asked him.

“I just received a text from Sal, sir,” Osipov replied, showing his phone to Gatutin. “What am I supposed to say to him?”

Gatutin read the message and laughed silently once he reached the part about Pridnestrovia getting cold in the winter. It was an understatement at the very least. “What’s the problem then?” he asked once he was done reading. “You’re worried about him finding out about all of those fur coats and ushankas in your closet?”

“No, sir, of course not,” Osipov said. “But he says that I can’t say no, and I don’t know if I have any room for more clothes for me or my family. And what about you, sir? He’s also asking about you and if you have any winter clothing of your own.”

“Just tell him whatever you want to tell him, Illarion,” Gatutin said. “If he insists on buying us winter clothes, then who are we to turn them down? Although I might just turn up at Auruna wearing the whole ensemble. Hopefully it’s cold enough there for the get-up to make sense. I would hate to sweat like a dog because of this!”

“Of course, sir,” Osipov nodded.

To: Sal
From: Illarion

Thank you for the offer of winter clothes, Sal. Yes, you’re right; it can get cold in Myrilsk, even in the spring and fall. My family and I have more than enough winter clothes, but if you insist, I certainly wouldn’t turn you down. Also, Mr. Gatutin has more than enough winter clothes for himself as well. He is the team principal after all and can afford it.

Thank you again for the offer, Sal.

by **Vilita and Turori** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 2:07 pm

Vialiv claims First Career Victory in Aji No Moto Sprint

Konbini 24/7 WGP2 Race of Shibara, Serizawa Racing Circuit, Serizawa, Aji No Moto :: Things had not gotten off to a fast start for the Tropicorp VilBev GP2 team in Aji No Moto with Skiia Vialiv and Ryden Solow both over a second off the fastest time run in the overcast Practice Session by Kaylan Junior Team driver Darian Vilau. Fortunately for the team the overcast conditions turned to rain and in the wet the Vilitan driver Skiia Vialiv shined with the second fastest lap in Q1 to advance in the Elimination Session even as teammate Ryden Solow could only post the 24th fastest time of the session for a quick elimination.

Vialiv would advance all the way through to the final elimination round before posting a lap top of 91.693 seconds good enough for the fourth spot on the grid behind pole winner and the dominant driver in qualifying, Pande Putu Raka Ganesha, Kyidawa Sherpa and Nexus Racing driver Haru Jukkenna. The home course drivers from the Aji No Moto Auto Racing Alliance had both been eliminated in the penultimate round of the elimination qualifying and would start the race in 7th and 8th place respectively.

The ANMARA drivers would make their way through to the front in the feature but could not get around TJUN-ia driver Batu Tüvshinbayar in the Scuderia Orange Cow who would take their first career World Grand Prix 2 Feature Win and the second of the season for the Baker Park based entity. Vialiv slipped to 9th place in the running order, enough to secure 2 points on the session. The following day, Vialiv would line up right behind the previous days fastest cars Batu Tüvshinbayar and Alvis Kalvin Lacsamana of ANMARA for the short distance sprint race.

With the wet conditions favoring Vialiv's style she was able to quickly dispose of Tüvshinbayar at the start and smartly took a path in the slipstream of Lacsamana and Kaylan driver David Findlay who was the third driver on the podium in the feature. Before long the quartet had made it to the front of the pack and had left it between them to settle the 15 points available to the victor. As Findlay and Lacsamana battled for the lead, Vialiv and Tüvshinbayar followed in lock step close behind. Finally, the big moment of the race came which saw Lacsamana go wide into turn 8 and Findlay losing all momentum trying to avoid making contact with the ANMARA machine that had found its way off the course. Vialiv and Tüvshinbayar had the entire Kissan Straight to overtake the leaders and had no trouble screaming by at full throttle as Findley desperately tried to get his Kaylan machine back up to speed.

Findlay attempted to keep pace and re-join the fight for the lead but it would ultimately be decided by Vialiv and Tüvshinbayar. As the race came to its final laps it was clear the Scuderia Orange Cow machine had the advantage on the straight but Vialiv was using her wet-weather skills to maintain just enough distance to keep Tüvshinbayar behind. The Jaguar driver made one last dramatic attempt on the final lap but Vialiv kept her cool and narrowly edged out her long awaited first Grand Prix 2 Victory after having been runner-up five times during World Grand Prix 2 Season 4.

Before Leaving Atlantian Oceania to head to the next event on the World Grand Prix 2 Schedule, Vialiv stopped home to Northern Vilita to thank a few of the sponsors that helped her achieve the accomplishment of being a Tier 2 Grand Prix Winner. Of course, there was a big celebration at the PaKaMo storefront in Yeaddin, Vilita where one of Vialiv's long time sponsors, PaKaMo, have their flagship big city presence. It was Vialiv's connections with PaKaMo that led to her first opportunity on the international motorsport scene. With support from PaKaMo, Vialiv landed a last-minute ride with one of PaKaMo's partners from the sponsorship of the XIV Winter Olympic Games in Yeaddin, the Vilisorma Beverage Company and their Vilaye Energy Sport entry to the IRACT Rumble in the Rice Fields. While Vialiv wasn't particularly fast in the Rice Fields, she did enough to put her #14 into the show. Vialiv impressed in the race moving up from her 42nd place start to finish just outside the Top 10. While PaKaMo were thrilled with her contribution to bolster the name, it really caught the eye of officials at Vilaye EnergySport who called on Vialiv to drive their last minute entry into World Grand Prix 2 Season 4 alongside primary driver Jama'obo Pegasii after the Montagne based driver expected to fill the second seat backed out due to financial irregularities. Now, in her second World Grand Prix 2 season, Vialiv has repayed the faith that PaKaMo had put in for her by spending time with all the employees and locals as a World Grand Prix 2 Race Winner.

by **Diarcesia** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 8:40 pm

Konbini 24/7 WGP2 Race of Shibara
Sprint Race

Kyidawa Sherpa spotted a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, in his quest to overtake Sam Blaatschapen. And he knew what to do. He grabbed the inside line and broke late at turn 15 to emerge ahead in the start/finish straight. But he locked up and turned too wide. Sam, a little behind enough to see the VSK-WU car to her left, avoided contact, but was forced to the pit lane.

"What the fuck!!" Sam yelled as she was limited to the PLSL (pit lane speed limiter). "Very, very dirty of the White Unicorns guy. Can't overtake me, so he forced me off. Quite clever. A whole bunch of points. Gone!"

Her engineer noted and raised it to the marshals. It was ruled a racing incident, but Sam was unsatisfied with the verdict. Perhaps it would be wise for her to stay away from other people and cool it off rather than risk doing something she would regret if she would later be in the proximity of Kyidawa.

by **WGP2** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:19 pm

WGP2 Race of the Hills

Event Preview & Circuit Guide

Located at the Aurun hills, near the city of Akresna just north of Veratuna, is the most popular, successful, and challenging Akresna Circuit. With an altitude of about 1,350 m above sea level, the circuit is both challenging for both the drivers and cars. After the formation of the Mötoraaroitu Nazyonalla Auruna (MNA), this is one of the circuits that are now government owned and it was saved from closure by the MNA and it is one of the Viska Racing test tracks due to a partnership with Schkeska Motors. First built in 1956, the track features a wide variety of elevation changes and corners, also featuring the Akresna Tunnel that goes down though a hill (Although it is not used in the International Layout). With decent run-off areas and one of the best facilities in Auruna, the circuit is one of the best in Auruna and is a part of the Aurun Trinity Circuits.

Akresna starts off with the start/finish straight followed by a heavy braking zone to Turn 1, Valantov, then a fast Turn 2 that goes uphill. Turns 3 continues the uphill climb where Sector 2 starts at the exit of Turn 4. Sector 2, also called the "Hill Run", starts with a short straight to Turn 5 then followed by a slightly downhill then uphill Turn 6, where an old bunker is next to, then flowing nicely into Turn 7 which heads to the Akresna Sun section where most of the pictures of the track are taken, usually at sunset and during endurance races. At Turn 8, Politov, the Akresna Tunnel is located, it is unused in the international layout. What follows is a series of uphill-downhill corners ending with Turn 12, this is the most challenging part of the circuit where oversteer and understeer are prevalent and demands good throttle control by the drivers if they make a small mistake in this section, they will end up in the barriers. Still going downhill, a straight leads on to Turn 13, Veren Üka, which starts Sector 3, the fastest sector. The fast corners and chicanes of Turns 15, 16, 17, and 18. Cars go though this section flat-out and at this area is where most of the grandstands are located. Drivers usually get caught out at Turns 17 and 18 where they can oversteer into the barriers and ending their race. A final heavy braking zone to the Turn 19, Kaulinta. Another fast straight followed by a fast Turn 20, Entenalla (Similar to Parabolica of Monza) that leads to the start/finish straight which then completes a lap.

Week 7: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Session Length:	75 minutes
Nation:         	AUR
Circuit:        	Akresna Circuit

POS # ▍DRIVER                                	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1  9 ▍Batu Tüvshinbayar                     	00:01:48.984	00:00:00.000
 2 28 ▍Aaron Deering                         	00:01:49.010	00:00:00.025
 3 84 ▍Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling           	00:01:49.010	00:00:00.026
 4 27 ▍Jordan Crowe                          	00:01:49.058	00:00:00.074
 5 19 ▍Daniel Rae                            	00:01:49.098	00:00:00.114
 6 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick                    	00:01:49.140	00:00:00.155
 7 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                          	00:01:49.172	00:00:00.188
 8 88 ▍Ilya Tsunopin                         	00:01:49.193	00:00:00.209
 9 18 ▍Haru Jukkenna                         	00:01:49.263	00:00:00.278
10  0 ▍Vaccinia Poxvirus                     	00:01:49.324	00:00:00.340
11 47 ▍Alvis Kalvin Lacsamana                	00:01:49.335	00:00:00.351
12 12 ▍Darian Vilau                          	00:01:49.409	00:00:00.425
13 13 ▍David Findlay                         	00:01:49.439	00:00:00.454
14 25 ▍Pande Putu Raka Ganesha               	00:01:49.541	00:00:00.557
15 69 ▍Ryden Solow                           	00:01:49.568	00:00:00.583
16 30 ▍Kyidawa Sherpa                        	00:01:49.633	00:00:00.648
17 53 ▍Shalmaneser Kalhu                     	00:01:49.767	00:00:00.783
18 37 ▍Nikhil Pillai                         	00:01:49.895	00:00:00.910
19 31 ▍Sullivan Joyner                       	00:01:50.068	00:00:01.084
20  4 ▍Athan Lille                           	00:01:50.435	00:00:01.450
21 87 ▍Bryce Yannec                          	00:01:50.561	00:00:01.577
22 39 ▍Ahmad Syaqirin Rahman                 	00:01:51.450	00:00:02.466
23 33 ▍Sam Blaatschapen                      	00:01:51.714	00:00:02.730
24 45 ▍Parveen Kulkarni                      	00:01:52.107	00:00:03.122
25 41 ▍Edward Rousseau                       	00:01:52.218	00:00:03.234
26 21 ▍Chiruno Hakusoe                       	00:01:54.438	00:00:05.454

Week 7: Qualifying

Conditions:      	Dry
Qualifying Type:	Traditional
Nation:         	AUR
Circuit:        	Akresna Circuit

POS # ▍DRIVER                                	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1 12 ▍Darian Vilau                          	00:01:43.850	00:00:00.000
 2 28 ▍Aaron Deering                         	00:01:43.867	00:00:00.017
 3  4 ▍Athan Lille                           	00:01:43.877	00:00:00.027
 4 19 ▍Daniel Rae                            	00:01:43.891	00:00:00.041
 5 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick                    	00:01:43.937	00:00:00.087
 6 27 ▍Jordan Crowe                          	00:01:43.944	00:00:00.094
 7 31 ▍Sullivan Joyner                       	00:01:43.969	00:00:00.118
 8  0 ▍Vaccinia Poxvirus                     	00:01:43.031	00:00:00.180
 9 69 ▍Ryden Solow                           	00:01:44.035	00:00:00.184
10 87 ▍Bryce Yannec                          	00:01:44.081	00:00:00.230
11 13 ▍David Findlay                         	00:01:44.114	00:00:00.264
12 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                          	00:01:44.191	00:00:00.341
13 30 ▍Kyidawa Sherpa                        	00:01:44.243	00:00:00.392
14  9 ▍Batu Tüvshinbayar                     	00:01:44.377	00:00:00.526
15 84 ▍Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling           	00:01:44.435	00:00:00.585
16 18 ▍Haru Jukkenna                         	00:01:44.498	00:00:00.648
17 39 ▍Ahmad Syaqirin Rahman                 	00:01:45.019	00:00:01.169
18 88 ▍Ilya Tsunopin                         	00:01:45.029	00:00:01.179
19 37 ▍Nikhil Pillai                         	00:01:45.424	00:00:01.574
20 53 ▍Shalmaneser Kalhu                     	00:01:45.728	00:00:01.877
21 25 ▍Pande Putu Raka Ganesha               	00:01:45.760	00:00:01.909
22 47 ▍Alvis Kalvin Lacsamana                	00:01:46.531	00:00:02.680
23 45 ▍Parveen Kulkarni                      	00:01:46.696	00:00:02.845
24 21 ▍Chiruno Hakusoe                       	00:01:46.766	00:00:02.916
25 41 ▍Edward Rousseau                       	00:01:47.055	00:00:03.204
26 33 ▍Sam Blaatschapen                      	00:01:47.871	00:00:04.021

Week 7: Race

Conditions:      	Dry	
Laps:              	42	
Nation:         	AUR	
Circuit:        	Akresna Circuit	
Event:	WGP2 Race of the Hills

POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     	Time      	Pts	Fastest Lap	
  1 12 ▍VIL Darian Vilau                  Kaylan Junior Team            	01:17:39.283	25		
  2 74 ▍FIT Adonis Fitzpatrick            UrGa Motorsports              	00:00:21.142	18		
  3 69 ▍SLO Ryden Solow                   Tropicorp VilBev GP2          	00:00:45.675	15		
  4 87 ▍YAN Bryce Yannec                  WGP2 Motorworks               	00:00:52.036	12		
  5 31 ▍JOY Sullivan Joyner               Fireline Academy              	00:00:53.877	10		
  6  4 ▍LIL Athan Lille                   Bitten Heroes Academy         	00:00:55.802	8		
  7 28 ▍DEE Aaron Deering                 Viska White Unicorns          	00:01:01.090	6		
  8 13 ▍FIN David Findlay                 Kaylan Junior Team            	00:01:01.167	4		
  9 19 ▍RAE Daniel Rae                    ANMARA                        	00:01:06.810	2		
 10 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv                  Tropicorp VilBev GP2          	00:01:11.477	1		
 11 27 ▍CRO Jordan Crowe                  Scuderia Orange Cow           	00:01:17.007			
 12  0 ▍POX Vaccinia Poxvirus             WGP2 Motorworks               	00:01:25.796			
 13  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar             Scuderia Orange Cow           	00:01:27.889			
 14 30 ▍SHE Kyidawa Sherpa                Viska White Unicorns          	00:01:28.323			
 15 84 ▍ANG Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling   Fireline Academy              	00:01:41.886	 + 1	1:46.529	
 16 53 ▍KLH Shalmaneser Kalhu             UrGa Motorsports              	Laps Down: 1			
 17 18 ▍JKN Haru Jukkenna                 Nexus Racing                  	Laps Down: 1			
 18 37 ▍PIL Nikhil Pillai                 Gajamina Racing Team          	Laps Down: 1			
 19 33 ▍BLA Sam Blaatschapen              ENSADRINK TDDP                	Laps Down: 1			
 20 39 ▍SYQ Ahmad Syaqirin Rahman         EHF Motospiel                 	Laps Down: 1			
 21 47 ▍AKL Alvis Kalvin Lacsamana        ANMARA                        	Laps Down: 1			
 22 88 ▍TNP Ilya Tsunopin                 Bitten Heroes Academy         	Laps Down: 1			
 23 25 ▍RGA Pande Putu Raka Ganesha       Gajamina Racing Team          	Laps Down: 1			
 24 45 ▍KUL Parveen Kulkarni              EHF Motospiel                 	Laps Down: 1			
 25 41 ▍ROU Edward Rousseau               Nexus Racing                  	Laps Down: 1			
DNF 21 ▍HKS Chiruno Hakusoe               ENSADRINK TDDP                	Ret. lap 31

Pos # ▍DRV Name                           Team                          Pts
 1 47 ▍AKL Alvis Kalvin Lacsamana         ANMARA                        78
 2 69 ▍SLO Ryden Solow                    Tropicorp VilBev GP2          77
 3  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar              Scuderia Orange Cow           70
 4 74 ▍FIT Adonis Fitzpatrick             UrGa Motorsports              53
 5 12 ▍VIL Darian Vilau                   Kaylan Junior Team            48
 6 27 ▍CRO Jordan Crowe                   Scuderia Orange Cow           46
 7 41 ▍ROU Edward Rousseau                Nexus Racing                  45
 8 18 ▍JKN Haru Jukkenna                  Nexus Racing                  43
 8 28 ▍DEE Aaron Deering                  Viska White Unicorns          43
10 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv                   Tropicorp VilBev GP2          41
10 30 ▍SHE Kyidawa Sherpa                 Viska White Unicorns          41
12 33 ▍BLA Sam Blaatschapen               ENSADRINK TDDP                38
13 19 ▍RAE Daniel Rae                     ANMARA                        35
14 13 ▍FIN David Findlay                  Kaylan Junior Team            34
15  4 ▍LIL Athan Lille                    Bitten Heroes Academy         32
16 31 ▍JOY Sullivan Joyner                Fireline Academy              25
17 25 ▍RGA Pande Putu Raka Ganesha        Gajamina Racing Team          22
18 21 ▍HKS Chiruno Hakusoe                ENSADRINK TDDP                18
19 53 ▍KLH Shalmaneser Kalhu              UrGa Motorsports              17
20 87 ▍YAN Bryce Yannec                   WGP2 Motorworks               12
21 88 ▍TNP Ilya Tsunopin                  Bitten Heroes Academy         10
22 84 ▍ANG Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling    Fireline Academy              2
22 37 ▍PIL Nikhil Pillai                  Gajamina Racing Team          2
24 45 ▍KUL Parveen Kulkarni               EHF Motospiel                 0
24 39 ▍SYQ Ahmad Syaqirin Rahman          EHF Motospiel                 0
24  0 ▍POX Vaccinia Poxvirus              WGP2 Motorworks               0

Pos NAT ▍Team                          Pts
  1 V&T ▍Tropicorp VilBev GP2                                  118
  2 CBP ▍Scuderia Orange Cow                                   116
  3 ANM ▍ANMARA                                                113
  4 NIM ▍Nexus Racing                                          88
  5 A+D ▍Viska White Unicorns                                  84
  6 TGN ▍Kaylan Junior Team                                    82
  7 PDN ▍UrGa Motorsports                                      70
  8 HDR ▍ENSADRINK TDDP                                        56
  9 LIS ▍Bitten Heroes Academy                                 42
 10 ETN ▍Fireline Academy                                      27
 11 PCU ▍Gajamina Racing Team                                  24
 12 WGP ▍WGP2 Motorworks                                       12
 13 SWR ▍EHF Motospiel                                         0

Next Event Timer :: Forest Cross Raceway, Esmerel

by **TJUN-ia** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:06 am

WGP2 S5
Round 7
WGP2 Race of the Hills
Akresna Circuit, Akresna, Auruna
Post Race - Some Bar in Effelenendro, Abanhfleft

After the greatest weekend of his WGPO Career, this one would certainly be an interesting one. Batu Tüvshinbayar thought he knew what the week after a win felt like after the media attention he got from winning the Rumble in the Rice Fields months ago, but getting 37 points and climbing to 2nd in the standings was a BIG deal to a lot of people, both in TJUN-ia and the Commonwealth of Baker Park. His Monday was filled with tv duty and stuff that, while agreed before Aji No Moto, meant a whole lot more after Aji No Moto. That allowed Batu and teammate Jordan Crowe some free time on Tuesday, which Crowe decided would be best used allowing Batu to drive his 1966 Compton-Cowan Leopard Series III - a car obviously made with class and style in mind. At first, Batu was hesitant to take the wheel in case something bad were to happen, but Crowe's confidence in Batu was infectious and so, they ended up having a good time overall. Team bonding was very important to where Batu was now and with everything on this horizon, he felt like he knew what to expect...but was he really sure? Especially relating to why he was in a quiet bar in a town he'd never heard of...

The 7th Round of this season was paired up with the WGPC at the Akresna Circuit in Auruna and with how tight the championship fight was now, every little thing counted now. SOC knew that they had to prove something and so, both drivers were given the all-clear to go full pelt in quali runs and that was reflected in the standings by the end of Friday. Batu topped the session over Aaron Deering and Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling with Crowe not that far behind in 4th and "him" in 6th. Qualifying was supposed to be similar but in the end, it wasn't to be. Darian Vilau took pole over Deering and Athan Lille with "him" in 5th, Crowe in 6th and Batu down in 14th. With Ryden Solow in 9th and Alvis Kalvin Lacsamana in 22nd, there was a chance for the championship to be shaken up in a big way.

And shakeup, it did. The race itself saw some movement, but not a lot and while the SOC boys would try their best to get into the Top 10, it wasn't to be with Crowe falling to 11th and Batu ending up 13th. Vilau won this race while Solow's P3 and AKL's P21 would mean Batu would fall to 3rd in the standings, still 8 points back on AKL but now also 7 back on Solow. Crowe was now down to 6th, with the guy who finished 2nd and Vilau now ahead, with the 16 points for VilBev and 2 for ANMARA meaning the Constructors battle now looked like this: Tropicorp VilBev 118, Scuderia Orange Cow 116, ANMARA 113. With 3 races to go, the Top 3 drivers were separated by 8 points and the Top 3 teams by 5. This battle was going to continue in Esmerel and no one could really predict who was going to come on top.

But all of that wasn't the reason why he was here, in a bar that he hadn't heard of in a town he hadn't heard of, pondering all of what he had done and what was to come. No, that involved the guy who finished 2nd: Adonis Fitzpatrick. You see, the good luck seemingly shifted back to the Fleftic driver after all...and Batu felt that maybe, just maybe, that had to do with his texts. He finally responded during the gap between Aji No Moto and Auruna, apologising first and foremost and making sure that it would never happen again. He actually felt that solving the mystery was 'fun' and that if he needed anything of Batu, he would let him know. That was also how this meeting was arranged, in a certain order as well: Donny would go to little shindig with Shalmaneser Kalhu and the rest of UrGa at a place called "Lovely Baka" here in Effelenendro, which is Donny's home town no less, before making his way to this bar (with or without Sal, depending on how he was feeling) to have this "meeting". He made sure to let SOC know of his plans, of course, though the reaction that Helena gave when he called it a "meeting" seemed to suggest that maybe, at least in her mind, this "meeting" was a bit more than that and Batu didn't want to admit that.

So here Batu was, waiting for Donny in an unfamiliar bar that...was actually quite warm, like how Adonis himself was during those 3 minutes in Aboveland. As he sat here in this bar, he started to wonder what he would say when he (and Sal, maybe) actually turned up. Maybe they would talk about the season or, if not, maybe something a bit more...personal. Maybe they would find out they click or maybe this isn't to be. Batu didn't know how things would turn out, but he wanted to make sure he made an impression on him by being himself: it's OK to be nervous, treat him like you would treat anyone at SOC, maybe even pay the tab if that is an option. He could feel the nerves in his stomach, but he didn't understand why. This was a simple meeting of 2/3 drivers at a bar, what was there to be nervous about? Maybe Helena did, assumingly, have a point that maybe this was more than a meeting to Batu than he thought, but only time would tell if that was the case. For now, all Batu could do was await the arrival of Donny, no matter how long it took. As far as he was aware, only divine intervention would stop the Mongolian and the Fleftic from engaging in some conversation...

by **Togonistan** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:57 am

Akresna Circuit
WGP2 Race Day

''That's P1, Darian! P1! Great job, bring her in!'' Darian's race engineer said over the radio as the Togonistani crossed the finish line.

''Yeah, not bad. Not bad at all. Great job guys!'' Darian replied. Having started from the pole position, Darian had retained his lead right from the start of the race and built up a comfortable gap with the chasing pack. It seemed that the team had, for once, managed to get the car setup right. The KD-1 was flying around the circuit, smooth in corners and decent speed on straights. Pit stop had gone smoothly, the crew had worked like a well oiled machine.

''Okay, and... P2 Fitzpatrick, P3 Solow. David got P8. Double points finish for the team. Bring the car to P1 sign.''

''Copy,'' Darian replied and drove the car to parc ferme. He put his fists up above his head as he stood up in his car, before climbing out and going to shake hands with Adonis and Ryden. During the post-race interview, Darian thanked the team for giving him a good car for the weekend. Indeed, the car had been surprisingly solid. Ever since the start of the season, Darian had not been shy to voice his criticism about the KD-1's poor behaviour on track. Sure, he had managed to get points, but on multiple occasions, it had seemed to lack in speed, especially when battling for positions on track. With the Domerton outfit that was acting as Kaylan's junior team in WGP2 this season being new to WGP2 machinery, it was expected there would be some teething issues at the start of the season. However, Darian could feel that the team started getting more used to the construction of KD-1 and managed to finally give him the car he needed.

The win here was enough to put Darian all the way up to P5 in the drivers standings, which was something he definitely needed right now, especially after his poor luck last event, where his teammate had managed to get a podium in both sprint and feature race. Sure, David was a good guy. However, Darian had a clear end goal in his mind to get himself into WGPC. When it came to that, Kaylan would surely compare their results in the championship when deciding their status in the development program. David was his teammate, and yet, his main rival right now.

Having received his trophy on the podium, Darian gave it a kiss before lifting it above his head as cameras flashed to take pictures of him. Next, it was time to pick up the champagne bottle and celebrate. He took a good chug from the bottle, before starting to spray the champagne all around the podium.

by **The Sherpa Empire** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 12:06 pm

Kyidawa hadn't planned to force Sam Blaatschapen into the pitlane. It just sort of happened. After the race he insisted in broken English that he had not done it on purpose and he was very sorry for messing up Sam's race. Some people might have thought his apology was flippant, but he actually did feel a little bad. It just wasn't his style to be too serious and earnest.

When he saw her again as they were arriving in Akresna, he smiled and waved and hoped she was not still mad. "How are you?" he asked.

The race at Akresna was nothing to write home about. Kyidawa spent much of it dueling with Batu Tüvshinbayar -- which would have been way more exciting if they were fighting for points instead of 13th place. Batu eventually won the epic duel for P13, and Kyidawa had to settle for 14th.

It was frustrating to fight that hard for such a mediocre result.

by **Krbustan** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:57 pm

Marketing Department meeting
Krbustan Sport Company
Western Port city, Krbustan

Several topics were discussed, the most important of which are increasing the advertising plan in the Melayu Archipelago, where the company's popularity is increasing, and sponsorship offers for regional championships, Then the employee Ahmed Hassan presented the file of sponsoring one of the rising young stars, The Director of Marketing Department, Muhammad Hamdy, was asked.
"Are there names suggested or do you suggest a search?"

"Yes, there is a name I have been following for a while."

"Who?"

Reply in enthusiasm "Ryden Solow, A young driver from Beepee, He is competing for the World Grand Prix Two, and he is now in second place."

"World Grand Prix Two, A championship with a mass following in Krbustan and the world, Good."

"Yes, a good advertising opportunity."

"So let's put the terms of the sponsorship offer and send it to the young man."

From: Marketing Department of Krbustan Sport Company
To: Ryden Solow
Subject: Sponsorship Offer

Dear,

We follow your performance and we wish you to achieve the championship, and with our support for you, we offer you a sponsorship offer worth 5,000,000 dollars In return for:
- filming one ad as part of our advertising campaign for our new product, Racing suits.
- Put the company logo on your Racing suit During WGP2 races.
- If you win the WGP2, you will get a reward of winning 1,000,000 dollars.
Attached is a copy of the contract for review. If you agree, we will ask you to come to the company's headquarter in the Western Port city, Krbustan, to sign the contract.

Regards
Muhammad Hamdy
Director of Marketing Department
Krbustan Sport Company

by **Taxonomic Kingdoms** » Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:25 am

Vaccinia was ecstatic about her speed in qualifying. She wasn't thrown off at all by the ups and downs of the hilly Akresna Circuit, and for once she would be starting inside the top 10.

After talking to the Motorworks team about her qualifying results and their plans for the next day, she spent the evening grazing on a nearby hillside in the form of a cow while Sadie perched in a tree and they chatted about recent happenings, both on the race track and back home.

One of Bamfordvirae's most notorious crime bosses, the virophage Sputnik, had recently been arrested by Protozoan authorities after it assaulted an amoeba in Bridgeport. Sputnik was wanted in Bamfordvirae for numerous charges of assault, armed robbery, fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. The two kingdoms were now arguing over who should be allowed to prosecute it.

"That's ridiculous!" Vaccinia said between mouthfuls of grass. "Sputnik's Bamfordviraean and we put out a warrant for its arrest before it ever went to Protozoa. The protists should hand it over to us!"

"Yeah, but they caught it," said Sadie.

"Sputnik is a criminal sleazebag, but its OUR criminal sleazebag!" Vaccinia insisted. "The protists should give it back."

"Okay, but they're protists," said Sadie. "They usually just eat anything they can get their pseudopods on. They don't like giving things back."

"Hmph! Protists are gross!"

Race day came and Vaccinia had other things to worry about besides the uncivilized eating habits and uncooperative police forces of Protozoa.

Despite her best efforts to hold off the other drivers, she fell back from 8th to 12th and finished outside the points once again. A slowish pit stop certainly didn't help her cause.

Meanwhile, Odin and Thor were in the sprawling metropolis of Xuedu, Orthornavirae -- the largest city in the Taxonomic Kingdoms, also known as Ribovia and hundreds of other names -- where they drank a large quantity of the local wine, and Thor smashed an annoying flu with his hammer. The flu's human husband started to complain, but the mortal man immediately backed down as soon as Thor took a step toward him.

The Asgardians' next stop would be the citadel of Torpenhaubergstein -- also known and Fort Collins and hundreds of other names -- home to the royals of the RNA kingdom.

World Cup 81/82/83/84

Jordan Crowe had felt pretty low emotionally after the weekend in Auruna; the team had arrived atop the constructors standings, with Batu Tüvshinbayar second in the drivers points and himself in fourth.

The final reckoning was much like the previous season's storyline--good practice pace, good quali pace, disappointing race result--and JC felt pressure about quality of his performances since Drummond Vale, although it was all self-generated; Batu looked towards him as the team leader, the crew were nothing but encouraging and never allowed Crowe (or Tüvshinbayar for that matter) to shoulder blame for poor performances.
(Obvious driver error was the exception, but overlooked if it was due to being proactive rather than passive--Saki Kuyara made mistakes, but they were almost always errors of commission rather than omission).

Fortunately, the damage from the race result wasn't catastrophic as Batu only slipped one place to third, and Jordan dropped to sixth in the driver standings, with the team now second behind Tropicorp VilBev.
JC had found some video of the track he'd never heard of, in a place he also never heard of, where the next round would take place, spending about an hour or so studying the layout; he began to develop a strange sense that he'd seen a lot of the multi-corner complexes on the Forest Cross Raceway somewhere before, with the track crossing under and over itself in three places.

Helena had seen JC putting his tablet aside and moved across the cabin to take the seat next to him.

"I've been meaning to ask: how's Steph? Do you two have plans for tomorrow evening?"
Steph Landers was Jordan's girlfriend of 4 years, who was deathly afraid of flying, which meant she never accompanied the team to flyaway races; she saw Jordan's victory in person at Drummond Vale, with Helena dragging her along with the rest of the crew to the pit wall at the finish.

"She's great, What do you have in mind?" Hella had recently been spending time with Rick Osgood, one of the techies in the engineering department, although neither of them considered the few casual encounters as a 'date'. She mentioned that perhaps the four of them might have dinner together.

"So I get to be a chaperone for you, or actually we get to chaperone?" Jordan smiled at Helena's seeming discomfort, but quickly put his friend at ease.
"Of course we'll come along. Text me the time and place."

by **Auruna** » Thu Dec 02, 2021 6:03 am

Akresna Circuit
WGP2 Kÿrteroitseet Kültenen | WGP2 Race of the Hills
As the weekend was shaping up to look good, it all fell apart and disappointment is what Haru could feel. That one time where he can race infront of his home crowd is where he shattered badly. Qualifying at P16 and eventually finishing 17th was not a good look. Although Nexus has a history of flopping at Akresna, Haru couldn't help but feel that he has some input into this disappointing performance. He wants to do well but for some reason, it has been so difficult.

Shortly after the race, he asked for some time alone and went to the circuit's cafe. A relatively quiet place compared to the paddock, he finally has some time to refresh. After making his way to the cafe alone, he quickly gets some coffee and heads off to a corner with a view of the hills and the circuit. His mood slowly shifted as he admires the view until a "Hey!" directed at him caught his attention. He turned to see who it was and it was none other than Laura Haukanna. She greets Haru before taking a seat. "Didn't expect you to be here, thought you would be with your team. It's just after the race, right?"

"I asked for some time alone before debriefing, this weekend has been disappointing." Haru says while pointlessly stirring an empty cup. "I never knew I'd do bad here in Akresna, I'm not completely blaming the team here but since they have some issues with scoring points here, it's embarrassing. And I think I also have something to do with it."

Haru... you idiot." Laura says before raising herself to lean over the table to flick Haru's forehead. "Come on man, what happened to you? It's no fun getting left behind now, and it seems you're not even trying. It's rare for us to meet like this but get it together. Where's that Haru that's my teammate and friend for a long time who is the fiercest behind the wheel? Bring him back."

"I want to try but something doesn't feel righ--" He was then cut off by another flick at the forehead. "Ikä--! Okay, okay... I just need some motivation."

"Motivation? You want to race against me, isn't that your motivation? To reach the top and continue racing against me. Or do I need to show up for you before your races?" As Haru was left speechless, Laura continues. "I think I, alone, am enough to be motivation for you, it's always been like that since we first raced against each other, it was something special. So, whatever happens, let's try to keep up with each other. Promise me that."

"I... I will. For you."

The home race of VSK-WU's Aurun side was a commendable effort especially for Aaron Deering who started the weekend strong with a P2 qualifying, he has the pace to compete for a home race win. For the race, Viska's Jöna Ekeränna is present to observe Aaron as he is the test driver for Viska's team. The pressure on the team and on both VSK-WU drivers were high with the local fans cheering them on and expecting a challenge for the win. There was a strong showing from the team as progress was being made.

When everything seemed to be doing well, misfortune struck at Aaron's pit stop when his tyres weren't ready and the mechanics soon scrambled to get his new set as precious seconds ticked by. Everyone in the team was disappointed at the mistake and Aaron exited the pits out of the points. Tomaš could only reassure Aaron that they're still in the fight. Jöna meanwhile, had a few comments for Raiko to which Raiko could only nod in agreement while his eyes are focused on the monitors.

After regaining his pace, Aaron began his climb back up the order and with the assistance of Tomaš, he was back in the points in no time and was aiming for more. Eventually progress halted and near the conclusion of the race, Aaron was locked in a tight battle for P7 against Kaylan's David Findlay. Their battle increased their gap to Athan Lille at P6 as they were focused on themselves. Kyidawa was in a similar situation with Batu Tüvshinbayar but out of the points. Aaron defended well enough to claim P7 as his at the end of the race.

Shortly after the race, Raiko approached Aaron to commend him for his efforts and tell him that Jöna wants to briefly talk to him. After Raiko left, Jöna then approached Aaron.

"I've been told that you're doing fine here, it's a bit disappointing that we couldn't get the result we wanted because Raiko and crew fumbled a bit but hey, we have days like that every now and then so it doesn't matter. Anyway, I'm here to offer you something -- to continue racing during the off-season, to hone your skills if you'd like. I'm not expecting an answer now so you can tell me whenever you want to. Oh and I'll quickly get to work on your MNA license if you agree to it so you can start in whatever discipline you want. That's all and good luck." Jöna says to Aaron before heading off for some other important stuff to attend to, leaving Aaron with Tomaš and a few VSK-WU mechanics to prepare for debriefing.

World Cup 81/82/83/84

"I know most of you remember last season when we were at this point, hoping that we'd get some points so as not to finish last."

The combined mechanics from both the Scuderia and Orange Cow Racing were listening to Mike Lambert's impromptu speech on the factory floor Tuesday morning following the return from Auruna; the 'Boss' liked to speak to the crew outside the presence of Chief Mechanic Kevin Ammaker, his OCR counterpart Chris Naylor (who'd been one of their own last year), and the race engineers who were attending the Engineering meetings in Building A.

"And here we are, in a completely different battle that I know all of you will put everything into. The tracks we'll be running on at end of the campaign might not be the best suited for our cars. We've got four drivers in the top ten in both series, and I know everyone would love to get Nick a win. So don't get complacent, don't take anything for granted, don't let anything go unmentioned if you believe it needs said. We are a team--all of us together--and we always will be, regardless of what happens every other weekend."

Michael Lambert's strong sense of teamwork and his hands-on management style were the products of his upbringing in Allenwood, located in the southeastern corner of Ezra approximately halfway between Newport and Hamilton; the third of four children and oldest son of Greg & Marcia Lambert--a building contractor & a teacher/coach respectively--he saw first-hand how fostering a sense of common purpose brought about success in both business and sport.

Although not much had gone right in Auruna or the Dyrrhonian Isles, there were still three more rounds for both teams to get back to winning ways and Lambert had confidence that his entire race organization would build upon their earlier season form to push the orange, blue and white cars to new heights.

by **Diarcesia** » Fri Dec 03, 2021 7:20 pm

WGP2 Race of the Hills
Akresna, Auruna

With the end of qualifying, Aaron Deering's front-row spot would put him with ample opportunity to cut down the gap between him and the leaders in the championship fight. What was supposed to be a winnable race encountered a large bump with pit misfortune during a stop. It looked like Pryfors Bilar's troubles trickled down to their junior team: a serious challenge to any championship hopes if this keeps up.

Later that day, once Louis Meissner reached the hotel, he found Kyidawa sitting by the lounge table, seemingly contemplating his next move. He could reach out and talk about the race, or really, about anything, but how would that be any help if he barges in uninvited? The question had lingered on his mind for a little while now, but only now was it brought to the forefront as he was about to act.

In the end, Louis let himself be seen by Kyidawa. The former waved hello. If his driver would want to, he would beckon him closer and initiate conversation.

by **Adab** » Sat Dec 04, 2021 9:05 am

Life on the Edge
An Adabian tries to make it in the racing world

Chapter 12: Happy… or Not?

Effelenendro, Abahnfleft

He had a good time, he really did. And that was something he certainly didn’t expect, especially considering the recent race results were… sometimes not very encouraging. But one night out at this “Lovely Baka” bar did wonders for his mood. Outside the garage, without the pressure of producing good results haunting them (for just this night, at least), everyone was much more open and relaxed. Illarion spent much of the time reciting Pridnestrovian jokes. Some were genuinely funny, some were cringe (for Sal, at least), but still many a laugh was had. Their laughter was loud and roared across the bar; Pridnestrovian people were not always as cold as their weather.

He and Donny had a good time talking, mostly about how they felt about the upcoming races, about how racing had shaped their lives, and just about racing in general. It was good to see Donny happy, although Sal could not help but wonder if there still was something Donny was hiding behind his smile, a conflict within himself. But still, he had a good time and Sal had a good time, too. Sal paid for everything, as he had promised, even though Donny offered to split the tab with him.

Then they split up; Sal and the crew went back to wherever they’re staying and Donny went to that bar where he would meet up with Batu. Sal had wanted to go with Donny but backed out in the end, deciding that he was too tired and in need of sleep. Besides, though he didn’t say it to anyone, he sensed that there was something between them and he didn’t want to get in the way.

Adab City

“How come they know what I’ve been talking about with Sal?!” roared Mustafa al-Taghlibi, stepfather and sponsor of Shalmaneser Kalhu. On the other end of the room Aida Kaykali, the young driver’s manager, leaned back against the wall, almost ready to sigh at the sight of Mustafa’s latest rant. “I know those people can’t be trusted. Have they been spying on us? I know those socialists aren’t above illegal surveillance.”

“Well,” Aida shook her head, “I don’t know, but… you’ve been calling Sal when he’s still in the garage after the race and, well, maybe they overheard what you two were talking about. You know, socialist engineering and all that- look, the point is we need to assure them that everything is alright from our side, that we have no concerns at all-“

“No concerns at all, are you kidding me?!” Mustafa brought his fist down on the desk with a bang. “Not only has this team been delivering… erratic results, to say the least, now they are infringing on our privacy, our God-given rights and liberties, and- ah who am I to expect anything from them? They’re godless socialists, that’s who they are, and they’ll never change.”

“With all due respect, Mr. al-Taghlibi, you’re jumping to conclusions here with no proof at all. And like it or not, those people you call socialists are the ones who gave Sal the opportunity to even drive in WGP2 this year. So for the time being, we are stuck with them. So we have to work together with them unless you don’t want Sal to get into WGPC.”

Mustafa inhaled deeply and nodded slowly, knowing that, although he hated it, Aida was right. When he began speaking again, his head bowed somewhat, looking at the desk, his voice was low and breathy. “You’re right. Okay, look, take out your phone now. I need you to send this email to Gatutin. I’ll dictate it to you now and then you can send it through the office computer.”

“Right now?” Aida asked, her hand reaching down into the pocket for her phone.

“Yeah, right now.”

“Alright,” Aida said, raising her phone to chin level.

“Okay,” Mustafa began. “Dear Mr. Gatutin, greetings. I am writing this email on behalf of both myself and Mr. Mustafa al-Taghlibi, Sal’s stepfather and sponsor, to let you know just how much we are grateful to you for the opportunity that you have given Sal, and that we have the full confidence that your team will be able to give Sal and Donny the results that they truly deserve as top drivers. On this beautiful day I send my best wishes to you and hope that you and your great country shall soon sleep with the fishes, and that I may soon be able to stand on the ashes of your godforsaken land and vomit on a broken statue of that godless witch Stepanenko-“

“Uh, Mr. al-Taghlibi-“

“Now you’re concerned? And not when I wish death upon the entire country?”

“Wait, did you just wish death on the entire country?”

Mustafa raised his head, obviously slightly perplexed. “I just wished for them to sleep with the fishes!”

“Wait is that what ‘sleep with the fishes’ mean? Death?”

“Do you not know what ‘sleep with the fishes’ mean? Have you not watched The Godfather?”

“Uh, well that’s more my dad’s thing, to be honest.”

Mustafa found himself unable to do anything but sigh. “It’s mafia talk. Basically it means you will be killed and your body thrown to the sea. Look, just… erase that part, alright. Just start over from ‘I send my best wishes.’”

From: Aida Kaykali (aidakaykali@skmanagement.com)
To: Vasily Semyonovich Gatutin (gatutin_v_s@urga.pdn)
Subject: Thank You

Dear Mr. Gatutin, greetings.

I am writing this email on behalf of both myself and Mr. Mustafa al-Taghlibi, Sal’s stepfather and sponsor, to let you know just how much we are grateful to you for the opportunity that you have given Sal, and that we have the full confidence that your team will be able to give Sal and Donny the results that they truly deserve as top drivers. On this beautiful day I send my best wishes to you and the whole team. Know that we are forever thankful for your trust in Sal and that he has the skill and ability to repay your trust.

Mr. al-Taghlibi is aware that his views on the economy may sometimes be diametrically opposed from those held by you and your country, but he wants to take this opportunity to assure you that nothing will stand in the way of our cooperation and that he has the utmost trust and faith in you. As a sign of his appreciation, he is sending to UrGa:

-A watercolor painting of Sal in UrGa’s car, which Mr. al-Taghlibi commissioned some time ago as a celebration of our teamwork and cooperation
-A balalaika
-Beautifully-decorated porcelain dishes made by the best craftsmen in Adab
-A vinyl LP of Madonna’s 1984 record Like a Virgin, featuring the hit singles “Like a Virgin” and “Material Girl”, previously owned by Mr. al-Taghlibi’s late mother, which Mr. al-Taghlibi thinks will work well as a soundtrack for late nights in the UrGa garage

Do inform us if they have reached you. We look forward to many more years of fruitful teamwork, cooperation, and friendship between us.

Sincerely yours,
Aida Kaykali
Shalmaneser Kalhu Management

by **Mertagne** » Sat Dec 04, 2021 11:12 am

Race
As Bryce surveyed the cars around him before the race began, he was amazed that he'd made it this far. After a blinder of a qualifying result that had shocked the WGP2 Motorworks mechanics and twii.tur alike, Bryce had made it to P10. Even better, his team-mate, Vaccinia Poxvirus, had qualified two spaces above him in P8. As he sat on the fifth row of the grid, opposite Ryden Solow of Tropicorp VilBev, he wondered if Ryden Solow had ever even seen a WGP2 Motorworks car, let alone two around him. He looked into the mirrors of Vaccinia's car, and gave her a nod from his helmet, which had been painted in a unique style this race weekend in support of a charity that Yannec and his personal sponsor, House Sivaleinen, were interested in. The design, which was composed of a white base with a smattering of unique handprints on it, which were pressed onto the helmet as if the middle three fingers were missing, like when children pretend to use a telephone. The charity, which funded emergency services call centres, was close to Bryce's heart, as without their fast actions, he probably would have suffered more lingering injuries surrounding his plane crash all those months ago.

The titled 'Circuit of the Hills' yet again reminded Bryce of his teenage years, speeding around the highlands of Mertagne and stopping off at hospitals to receive and deliver study white coolers that could mean the difference between life and death. Here, cruising around regularly at over 200km/h, he was employed a different battle between life and death, this time wagering his own life. The modern safety features of WGPO cars, combined with his performance on the track, meant that it was highly unlikely that he'd every get in a fatal crash, but it was still certainly a possibility.

He tried to put such macabre thoughts out of his mind and concentrate truly on the driving as the formation lap began. Slotting back into place, it seemed that his technical skill had finally married well with the car on this circuit. The drive now felt familiar, the car felt familiar, and the weather looked to remain dry throughout the race.

The lights went out and he was able to get a good line up to the inside of that sharp corner of Valantov, before stringing up for the Uphill run. Just deliver a heart, 42 times. Nice and easy. he thought, as the pack thinned slightly around Kolantalla. He'd held his position in 10th, and was defending it well from David Findlay, who had become a regular sparring partner in recent weeks. On these hills, however, Yannec had Findlay figured out, and was able to hold him off effectively for the first part of the race while weaseling up the grid.

About halfway through the race, Bryce began to signal to his race engineers that he was ready for a pitstop. Running the tyres hard, he'd managed to make several positions and was now actively hunting for a podium spot, racing close alongside Adonis Fitzpatrick.

"Alright Bryce, come in this lap. You're flying out there, we'll be ready for you." crackled Soishic on the radio.

Bryce flicked the car into the pitlane as he came off of Entenalla, hoping that his strategy of coming in a bit earlier than the other teams would pay off. His tyre management skills were average, but he tried to calm himself down, believing he would reach the end with enough grip intact to keep him competitive.

He stopped the car on a dime in the box, and what followed were several seconds that felt to him like an eternity. The wheels came off. They came on again. The lights flicked on and he sped back off again. Had he kept his position? It was impossible to tell, as the track was rife with overtaking and the gap between cars at this stage was tiny.

"Bryce, you've come out in P8. Good work, keep that position and we'll greet you like a hero at the end."

"Soishic, I'll do you a bit better than that. I feel like I know these hills better than most this weekend."

Bryce battled up the grid, taking advantage of the later stops that his opponents had employed, and snaked around the more technical sections of the track. With two laps to go, he was making a push at P4, this time with Sullivan Joyner acting as a barrier to his progression.

Bryce moved the car onto the inside of the Valley Run, to take a quick line through Turns 17 and 18, Hoping to bait Joyner into making the mistake over oversteer that he'd been warned about but that nobody had yet done. Unfortunately, Joyner was quick to spot his tactic, and blocked Bryce from making a clean pass on him. Bryce sped up quickly out of the corner, keeping his line and attempting to go around the outside of Kaulinta. The Fireline Academy car had a little more speed, however, and Bryce was unable to make the outside overtake going into Entenalla and then into the final lap. Bryce knew he had one more shot to truly make this overtake, and that would be in the undulating section after Politov. Keeping the pace just about along the Akrensa Sun section, was aggressive into the corners at Politov, pulling close to Joyner as the two cars came out of the corner. Diving into Turn 9, Yannec made a risky play and moved to the outside of Turn 9, hoping to overtake on the inside at Turn 10. The cars came out of Turn 9 almost neck and neck, but Bryce was faster out of the corner after some late braking from Joyner, and he was able to use his technicality to slip out from the side of Joyner before taking Turn 11 with ease, noting a lockup from Joyner heading to Turn 11.

Success.

Bryce kept it together on this final lap, navigating Veren Üka and heading into the fastest section of the track. He'd made some ground, but if he played it cool now, he knew he'd retain his gap and finish strong. Taking care to turn correctly on the chicane of turns 17 & 18, he brought the car around Kaulinta and into Entenalla with more speed than he had throughout the entire race. The crowd roared around him as he spied the chequered flag on the side of the start finish straight, waving triumphantly as he crossed the line.

"Yannec, you did it! That's P4 for us! P4! Amazing result!" Soishic cheered into the radio.

"Yes guys! Amazing race, everyone. We've fought hard for a result like this all season. Great work, everyone!" Bryce replied, a smile unseen to everyone spreading across his face.

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Sat Dec 04, 2021 12:58 pm

"Vilau is twenty seconds ahead of you, Adonis. Let's go get him."

Maybe he should start talking to Batu more, Adonis Fitzpatrick thought to himself. The first time he did it, he actually won a race. And then when he was finally able to text Batu back after a few weeks, Donny now looked like he was in position to win his second race of the season. It was a very miniscule sample size, sure, but given how the season had panned out for both Donny and Urotovsky-Gatutin, he was more than inclined to grasp at even the thinnest straws.

Okay, maybe saying that he was in contention for this win was a bit of a stretch. Donny and Darian Vilau had pitted at the same time, and Donny had actually managed to get ahead of the Kaylan-Domerton driver in the pits, but once they had both finished their out laps, Vilau just had more heat in his tires and he was easily able to overtake Donny and then build up a near-insurmountable lead up front. Barring a catastrophic failure of his car, Darian Vilau had the victory in Auruna in the bag. Despite what his engineer had said, Donny and everyone else in UrGa knew that he was not going to be able to reel back Vilau. That didn't mean he wouldn't stop trying to chip away at that lead though.

"Blue flags up ahead, Adonis," Donny's race engineer Vladimir Gennadiyevich Kripchak said. "We're about to lap Sal."

"What?! Damn!" Donny exclaimed. "What happened to him, man? What happened to his race?"

"Sal just didn't have the pace today, Adonis. I'm sorry," Kripchak replied.

"Well, damn," Donny muttered. When he passed by his teammate to lap him, Donny gave a little wave of his hand to Sal Kalhu. "Don't forget about Lovely Baka after this, Vlad," Donny told Kripchak once he had lapped Sal. "Someone needs to talk to him and pick him up."

"Will do. We're working on it," Kripchak said.

The act of lapping his own teammate had taken Donny out of his groove, and the 20-second gap that Vilau had built up on him increased a little bit because of it. In the end, while Donny was the second driver to take the checkered flag after the 42-lap WGP2 Race of the Hills, he did it 21 seconds after Darian Vilau did. Nevertheless, Donny did feel a little bit relieved once he finally set foot on the podium once again. He hadn't put a foot wrong during the whole weekend, and while the fact that he had to lap his own teammate dampened his mood somewhat, overall Donny thought that he had done a good job in Auruna. The only real way it could have been better was if he had actually won the race, but Darian Vilau and his Kaylan-Domerton car were just unstoppable on the day.

That podium in Auruna meant that Donny was now fourth in the drivers' standings, putting him right behind Batu Tüvshinbayar. That being said, Batu still had a 17-point advantage over Donny, but if Batu were to finish outside of the points and Donny got at least second place again just like in this race then the Fleftic driver could get ahead of the TJUN-ian by a single point. And depending on where the other championship protagonists ended up then Donny could be right back in the fight for the drivers' championship. It was a long shot, of course, but a guy could dream, right?

Speaking of long shots, there was also that… meeting that Donny had set up with Batu in Effelenendro. The meeting itself wasn't the long shot; Batu had already accepted. The long shot was what both men would get out of that meeting. Donny was reasonably sure that he was going to be able to make a friend in that meeting, but what if Batu wanted more? What if Batu wanted something more than just Donny's friendship? What did Batu even want from him, for that matter? Advice? Friendship? Just someone to talk to? At least Donny wouldn't have to wait too long to find out the answer.

Tambayanan Bar
Effelelendro City, Abanhfleft
Three days after Auruna

"Siya na ba yun, Donny?"

"Sino?"

"Ayun o, yung nandoon sa tabi na parang may hinihintay. Siya ba si Batu?"

"Oo, siya nga. Anong masasabi nyo sa kanya?"

"In fairness sa'yo, Donny, magaling ka rin pumili eh. So chinito pala ang type mo?"

"Boba, hindi siya chinito! Isa siyang Mongolian! Malaki ang kanilang pagkakaiba!"

"Alam mo, meron akong pwedeng sabihin tungkol sa ninuno niya—"

"Sige, isang salita pa mula sa'yo at mananakit na talaga ako ng babae!"

"Gusto ko lang naman na patawanin ka! Masama na ba ang magpatawa ngayon?"

"May tamang oras at lugar para sa pagpapatawa, at hindi ngayon at dito ang oras at lugar!"

"Pero sa totoo lang, cute din siya eh. Sayang lang at bakla siya."

"Hoy! Intrigera ka rin ano? Porke gusto lang makipagkita sa akin, bakla na kaagad?"

"E bakit nga siya nakipagkita sa'yo? At dito pa talaga sa Tambayanan mo napiling makipagkita sa kanya? Iba ka rin minsan, Donny, eh."

"Eto na nga sana, tatanungin ko na nga eh! Alam nyo na kung ano ang una nating kakantahin, di ba?"

"Oo, alam na namin! Wag ka nang mag-alala!"

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, Tambayanan Bar’s house band, Dive Bomb!”

The four members of Dive Bomb, Mississippi Asuncion, Conrada Godin, Pauline Chavez, and Adonis Fitzpatrick, stepped out onto the stage to light applause from the few patrons in the bar at the moment. It was still somewhat early in the evening so there weren’t a lot of people in the bar just yet, but there was a reason why they had decided to make an early entrance tonight. The band members waved at their currently small audience before Pauline, their vocalist, picked up a microphone and said, "Hi guys, thank you all for coming to Tambayanan once again. And now, before we get started, we would like to dedicate our first performance of the night to someone who's new to the place. We hope that you understand the message behind this song even if the lyrics aren't in any of the languages you speak, but if you still have questions, just feel free to ask." She then turned to the rest of the band and said, "All right, girls, it's showtime." The girls picked up their instruments (guitars for Pauline and Missy and the bass for Connie) and Donny tapped his drumsticks together. "One, two, three, go!" he said as he tapped the sticks to the beat in his head, and then they started playing this song.

Kanina pa kitang pinagmamasdan
Mukha mo'y hindi maipinta
Malungkot ka na naman

Kanina pa kitang inaalok
Ng kwentuhang masaya
Parang sayo'y balewala

Sandali nga
Teka lang
May nakalimutan ka
Di ba pwede mo kong iyakan

Sige lang, sandal ka na
At huwag mong pipigilan
Iiyak mo na ang lahat sa langit
Iiyak mo na ang lahat sa akin
Sige lang…

The band finished the song, and after some applause from the audience, Donny excused himself from the others and got off the stage. A few minutes later, Donny appeared at the place where Batu Tüvshinbayar was waiting for him carrying two bottles of San Rafael Pale Pilsen beer. "Sorry to keep you waiting," Donny said to Batu as he put down the bottles of beer on the table. "Sometimes I like to make a dramatic entrance. Anyway, you've seen my band. Well, it's not actually my band. It was Connie's idea. The girl with black hair. The one on bass, I mean. It was her idea to form a band because there was this 'Battle of the Bands' going on at our university, and she wanted to join. We got second place in the contest, but we liked it so much we decided to stick together and keep playing until now. We're mostly a cover band, and we cover alt rock and post-grunge as well as local songs. Speaking of local songs, the song we just sung basically says that if there's anything you want to say to me or talk to me about then I'm right here. If you want to cry about whatever, you can cry on my shoulder."

"Yeah, Sal can't come with us tonight," Donny said when Batu asked about the former's teammate, the Adabian driver Shalmaneser "Sal" Kalhu. "He treated me and our crews to dinner at the Lovely Baka. It's this Korean barbecue restaurant owned by my sisters' husbands, and they were actually one of my first sponsors when I first started racing. Anyway, Sal said that he was tired from last night so he couldn't come tonight. I'm sure that he'll be able to join us somewhere else sometime too."

"So, Batu, what do you wanna talk about?" Donny asked as he sipped his beer. "Not sure? Okay, I'll start. My name is Darren Adonis Fitzpatrick, 24 years old from Effelenendro City, and I believe in the saying 'If you don't cooperate, evaporate!' I got into motorsports when I was maybe six or seven. One day, my dad was watching ARTS—it's kinda like NSSCRA but with pickup trucks instead of stock cars—and I happened to be there too, and when I saw those trucks going round and round, I just knew that I liked it. I wanted to get into one of those trucks, but my dad… well, we weren't exactly rich so it wasn't easy. And he was… he was dealing with some stuff," Donny said as he drank his beer. It was tough for him to talk about this particular topic because it was tainted with memories of how his father had treated him before and after he got into racing. "If it weren't for my aunt, who married this guy who owned a bunch of gas stations and got his fortune via will when he died, I don't think I'd even be in WGP2 now. My aunt had the money we needed to rent karts and pay the needed fees, but even though Dad agreed to let her pay for everything I needed to get into karts, it was hard for him to make that decision. He didn't want to be in my aunt's debt because of it, and he also was torn between letting me do this masculine thing and not letting me enjoy anything because of… actually, it's not really that important."

"But enough about me," Donny said as he down his bottle of San Rafa beer. "What about you? Who are you? Who is Batu Tüvshinbayar?" Donny then turned around and asked the waiter for two more beers. "And don't worry if you think your story is a long one, because I got all night to listen," Donny told Batu.

by **Valentine Z** » Sat Dec 04, 2021 5:55 pm

The Valentians – 1st Cpt. Angela Stella Trista Hannah Tan Fang Ling – Chapter 9 – A Fast but not Very Furious Astronaut.

Angela was rather happy with the results from that race. Once again, she was not able to score points for herself or for the team, but at the same time, she managed it. Practicing and running through the course several times both on the actual track and on the simulation have paid off, scoring the fastest lap on her most recent race in Akresna Circuit. One more point for her, she thought to herself. As she let out a small sigh, she headed to one of the nearby gyms outside of the road course. "Hevänpaivu," the receptionist greeted her with a smile, though a little put off and intimidated by Angela's height outside of the race course. After all, it's not even day that folks in Auruna get to meet someone who is 238.76 cm tall, the halved height of Angela for when she is visiting other countries. Angela exchanged the greeting in awkward Aurun, though she quickly realised that they do speak English and German as second languages, at least from the guide that she was given. "Thank you, and good day to you too!" Angela returned the greeting and the sentiment, "I'm just visiting for a while, if you don't mind. Would just like to look at the facility and maybe do a few exercises." She paid the cost that is relevant to her session and what she would be doing, and then walked towards the locker room. It is no stranger for the Valentians anymore to get a lot of looks towards themselves, especially from those who have not seen someone as tall as them. Admittedly, Angela was crouching around the place and trying her best not to get smacked on the ceilings. The Auruns minded their own businesses, and on top of Angela not having a lot of name for herself just yet in the field of WGP2, she got quite an easy time of not having to deal with fans and paparazzis alike. "Going to try the weights," she thought to herself.

As the people around looked at her, Angela waved and smiled and was generally happy to see such a company. For all that is worth, they are not relatively as friendly as the Valentians back home, but she nevertheless was glad to see a lot of sociable folks around her. With more acknowledgments and smiles done, Angela went to work. She started off with the dumbbells followed by bench-pressing. Angela is not the most muscular of the Valentian women, and definitely not the strongest. However, she took pride in maintaining a lean figure of hers - one that is absolutely necessary even for the technologically-able Valentians. "The lack of gravity in space is not a kind mistress, even for synthetic bodies that we Valentians are used to," Angela explained to one of the Auruns who have taken quite a bit of interest in her, "In space, you have to do rigorous exercises and while the synthetic bodies have a bit of improvements and checks in place to ensure that we still function, it's still inevitable that our muscles, bones, and everything else in-between will start losing themselves in Zero-G. So, yeah, here I am, being a bit of a fitness buff!" In an optimal and fine day, along with her current height Angela could bench-press a good 360 kg, which is still relatively low for a Valentian considering that an average Valentian of 15 feet height could easily lift up to 1600 kg for minutes without muscle tearing. "Square-Cube Law does not really apply," Angela replied sheepishly as she went over to the dumbbells station to do curl-ups. She ended the fitness session with a quick run around the block, covering 6 kilometers before the sun sets. Sweat running down her body, Angela sat down and rested for a few minutes before hitting the showers and changing back to her scientist outfit, one that she is quite fond of wearing, even when she isn't doing any labwork. With a couple of Auruns that she have befriended, they all walked outside the balcony and started having a it of a chat. The Auruns were sitting down while Angela walked towards the glass panels, leaning while making sure that it will be able to support her weight. With that reassurance, she then started looking into the distance, simply taking in the beauty that Akresna has to offer. "Very beautiful," she said, smiling.

For what's worth, the usual hobbies that a person tend to have include collecting certain things, fishing, hiking, taking photos, and the like. For Angela, these are not the hobbies that she has something against. Rather, it was simply that she had something in mind when it comes to a hobby. As she looked forlornly to the world around her from the balcony, she started wondering to herself: "What other world is out there that I can explore?" Often times, people think that they are alone in this world, or in this universe. For most of the cases, it is actually true. It's a terrifying thought to have when you are alone in this world. At the very least with aliens, even of the invasive kind, you know that there technically is life out there. Exploring other worlds have been something that Angela always took pride and joy in doing so. Of course, there were factors and conditions that she had to account for - atmosphere gas composition, gravity, native life, potential hazards, and everything else down the line. And after the preparations were done, all it took was for Angela to descend down, make a subtle entrance, and introduce herself. She had her fair share of success - times when she was welcomed, and other times where she was labeled as their world's devil and was forced to get out. Perhaps the most vivid experience she had was in the universe 831-56-493, on a habitable planet with temperatures hovering around 11 degrees Celsius. Angela touched down and stepped out of her spacecraft with nothing but her scientist outfit, perhaps shivering a little but nothing that she cannot handle. "Edmonton was colder than this," she thought to herself, looking around and taking pictures with her rugged camera. She was aware of the flora that lives and thrives on the planet, but she also found out about fauna living there.

The fauna that Angela found there have been a topic of fascination and memory for her, mostly because this was the first time she countered such a thing in her travels. Most of the time, it would just be the flora. The lifeforms that she have first encountered on the planet were small little tribal beings, around 10 cm tall. They have 4 long arms, with two lower arms used in lieu of legs whenever they need to walk somewhere. Even though they have lived in small communities and tribes, they have evolved technologically equal to that of Earth's 20th Century it would seem. Angela was able to discern and tell that they have combustion engines, radios, and the like. It also happen that she was watching them from a distance, but given her height and the surroundings that she was in, Angela wasn't exactly in the most stealthy position and as a result, she was spotted by the locals and promptly knocked out. Hours passed, and then she would find herself being tied and pinned to the ground by said locals, all of them speaking their completely alien language, but the facial expressions indicating fear and confusion about who this exotic visitor is. Still, rather than immediately breaking the strings away, Angela figured that she would lie down for the time being and watch what they would do. She knew that they have the tech of the 20th Century Earth, but there was a problem of whether or not they were going to freak out very hard from the fact that she - a completely different being from another world - showed up here and might have shattered views and opinions that locals have. After a while, it soon turned out that the local fauna definitely wanted Angela captured as planned, but only because they didn't know as to whether she would be hostile towards them. After a few minutes of tedious back and forth communication involving grunts and hand motions, Angela was fully let go and then stood back up, towering over the little beings as she slowly tried her best to explain. Angela managed to strike up a somewhat warm and cordial relationship, though trying her best not to reveal too much, thinking about the Prime Directive that she have read and watched before from her favorite franchise. "Never reveal too much or give them tech that is too advanced."

"Would be fun to do something like this again soon!" Angela thought to herself, still watching the sunset as she realised she was lost in her thoughts for some time, "Maybe after this season, then I go exploring more universes!"

WGP2 :: World Grand Prix 2 Season 5

WGP2 Pt16: Batu's Ballad (Батын баллад/Batyn Ballad)

Full of questions?

WGP2 :: S5 - Aji No Moto Sprint (Vialiv Victory)

WGP2 :: Season 5 - Week #7

WGP2 Pt17: Not Much On Track, Off Track Awaits...

Who is online