WGPC :: World Grand Prix Championship 19 [COMPLETE]

[Diarcesia]

Hapiloppian Grand Prix
Race

For Aldauren, the biggest surprise was not another of Laura's mega drives to podium-striking distance, but that Sara fell from P2 to P3. The PB team principal felt good about Laura's chances of securing Rookie of the Year and the change of fortunes their team experienced in the second half the season, for the better. A significant part of it is thanks to Dario. His ranking did not reflect it, but his continuous input on how the PF-1Cs behave (and should behave) helped his teammate a great deal. It was a shame almost nothing went his way during race days.

He watched intently Laura navigating the penultimate sector of Hapilopper Circuit on lap 45. He was extremely pleased and ecstatic on another significant points haul not only for the team, but for Laura herself.

He never hesitated to inject himself in the radio come the checkered flag. "Hell, yeah! Laura, that's a P4 from P10. You freaking sent it!" This week had piled much pressure for him, for beside him was Heikki Tuominen, Director of Motorsports of Sidus; a representative of their engine supplier. There would be even more next week. Siv herself would be trackside to watch the finale unfold.

He acknowledged that the season didn't go as well for them as he hoped, but not as bad as he feared. He earnestly thought that they had multiple opportunities to pivot themselves as the best of the rest (beating Badai Angin and TRÆ is too ambitious for him), and he felt he bottled them them all: the responsibility fell on his shoulders.

Same Energy

---

Did Sara Luna feel like a fool for harboring WDC ambitions? Absolutely not. The theoreticals she formulated need to be put into practicals, after all. She grossly underestimated how much of an adjustment was required to drive Tabetha to the fullest. She all but gave up in her initial goal after fumbling in Lintulahti and it was made clear at one point that her racing career, not only her stay in TRÆ, was at stake.

She thanked the lucky stars that right after that, she came online and finally delivered. It was better late than never. Sure, in Hapilopper, things could have went better, but her podium was more than enough to keep the constructors' fight between TRÆ and Badai Angin alive into the last race.

Twenty-one points separate the two teams post-race. Just as she was instrumental in Volkov being second place in WGPC 18, she would be an important piece in TRÆ grabbing the WCC in WGPC 19. For this, she fully embraced her role in supporting her teammate, who possesses the momentum to become champion himself for the first time.

Sara resolved to devote her waking hours to preparing for the season finale in the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course. TRÆ and iBen's goals depend on her contribution. She is paid to deliver.

[Aboveland]

Hapilopper Grand Prix Circuit
Hapilopper City, Hapilopper


Janne had always had a finishing problem.

He'd managed to get on top of it in recent years, to a certain extent, but it had always remained at least a lingering uneasiness. It stretched back to even his folkrace years: he'd have smashing pace at the start of races, cutting through the field like a hot knife through walrus blubber, but would fizzle out towards the end in the name of self-preservation. In his early days, the final few laps of a race were like his Kryptonite: all of his hard work suddenly unraveled by the anticipation — or the pressure — of actually reaching the end at all.

In his de-evolution — involution? — of WGPC19, that feeling had surfaced yet again at different points in the season, but had never quite made a dent in his results. After all, he'd barely scored any points throughout the season: there was little a final lap accident could do to sabotage essentially nothing.

But as he braked hard in a plume of tyre smoke for Oh Crap There's a Wall, with the yellow Kaylan of Ted Pressley shutting the door up his inside to defend from both him and Kruipin in the penultimate lap, that funny feeling returned: that nervous, bustling, rushing, queasy, exciting, terrifying feeling, which he'd learned to domesticate into submission, was brewing once again — but he wasn't about to let the chance of battling Ted slip away from him.

It wasn't just because of the playful, feral desire to toy around with him — on track this time — but also the need to regain lost ground. If he could beat the Kaylan, and also the Motorworks car, in his markedly inferior Carvenlo to claw back time and finish where he started, maybe he'd prove he wasn't... a flop.

Ted's defense had been effective in shutting him out into the straight before Chicken Bone Alley, and had let Kruipin slip past him, too. The Sorlovian, stuck in the Works machine this year, was alight heading into the end of the straight, his machine twitching nervously behind the yellow Kaylan of the Tumbran. He slotted behind him as the trio moved into the Triple Diamond Chicane, Kruipin trying a move down the inside of Ted, with Janne just a car's length further behind. The move was clumsy but immediately effective, with Kruipin heading towards the left turn of the chicane ahead of Ted and taking a wider line.

As the Tumbran kept his composure, hesitant to regain his position immediately, it was Janne who took advantage of the Sorlovian's overtake. The Abovian crept up behind Ted to just about put his nose up beside the rear right wheel of the Kaylan, following from the side into the final right to exit into the Final Straight with better traction. The Kaylan, being the stronger machine, didn’t lose ground as the pair headed side by side towards the start finish straight, and while Kruipin was ahead, he was losing milliseconds to the charging duo.

The Sorlovian, however, found himself out of immediate danger into the Downhill Pass, and Janne pulled out of his attack on Ted's rear to take a tighter line from behind and up his inside, thus creeping up from his left side as they headed down to McLaughlin's. Ted's tighter line, however, was faster past the apex, and he pulled ahead past the kink before the Slidey Right to relegate Janne back to last in the battle for eighth.

Kruipin, however, despite having begun to pull ahead of the following duo, locked up into the Slidey Right, caught out by the surface on the crucial right-hander. He slid wide off of the line and just about managed to save the car from hitting the outside wall, but the slip-up opened the door wide open for the more prudent Ted and Janne, the Kaylan leading the Abovian through the flat left and flat right at the run up to the infamous OCTAW wall.

The Tumbran wasn’t about to let his position slip, and he once again shut the door on Janne, who tried to pounce from behind. Keeping his line and cutting it close to the outside wall, Ted sped away towards Chicken Bone Alley; Janne, in his mirrors, hunted him down like an arctic fox.

The Carvenlo might have been less balanced than the Togonistani machine — with which Ted had clawed his way up the order from the antipodes of the front row — but in a straight fight, the difference was being made by the drivers themselves. Unlike on the previous lap, Janne was less reverent the second time the pair headed into Chicken Bone Alley. He waited for Ted’s Kaylan to stop violently before the turn-in point, lunged up his inside, and braked ever so slightly later. He was quick to save the car from running straight on or spinning out into the neon-colored machine, and Ted was not slow enough to open the door for a successful overtake. The two, side by side, fiercely fought their way down to the braking point for the first turn of the Triple Diamond Chicane. Janne, on the inside, pushed Ted away towards the wall, a gesture which the Tumbran returned on the left turn, but the last laugh would prove to be Janne’s. On the inside for the final corner, he repeated his move on the first corner of the chicane, edging Ted by the thinnest of margins to march off into the start-finish straight with the smallest possible advantage — both to him and, as the ominous figure in his wing mirrors showed, to Kruipin. The trio sped off towards the fast right-hander at the end of the final straight, and by sheer willpower, it was Janne who had crossed the line victorious in their final lap scrap.

With the engine winding down in the background, Janne sighed into his intercom to thank Antti and the team. It had been a long, trudging, difficult season, but at least now he had given himself something to talk about. Hopefully, it would also serve as a conversation starter with Ted on the ride back from the circuit: something they’d agreed on earlier in the day, since Sami had fallen ill and stayed back at the hotel.

Might he be pissed? Janne thought on his in-lap, first frowning, then after a second of thought, smirking.

---

Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course
Rockii Coast, Vilita

By now, all ten of Edvin's fingers are red at the base of their nails, not drawing blood but flaky and inflamed. He sits idly, leaned back in his pit-wall stool against the console desk, his hands burrowed in the nooks of his increasingly damp underarms — was it the nerves, or the woefully 'unfit-for-Abovians' climate of the Rockii Coast?

It didn't really matter; or maybe, a little bit, it did. He had never, as far as he could remember, felt so much pressure on his own shoulders: the constructors' title had been lost early in WGPC16 and had never been a real goal; there was no contest for top honors in WGPC17; and though the pressure had been shared between him and Terho in WGPC18, it was the reigning world champion who had, individually, much more to lose than the already-crowned winning team principal.

But WGPC19... had been different. Odd, and perhaps even wrong — like a disastrous vegan alternative to the secret TRÆ recipe. He had expected an uphill battle, at least at the start of the season, with integrating an external driver into the team’s established MO; with stacking up to the pace of rival teams Preston and Badai Angin, who’d been playing catchup for a while now to the car they were planning to run again; and with dealing with the fact that the legendary Trocpicorp-Talvela-Toralmintii cocktail was no more.

But he’d never expected to feel so lost as he had throughout the season, or to have to face his biggest fear: his own medicine. For a moment — a long, eleven-race moment — everything, that all-encompassing, dream-like, impossibly idyllic everything that had taken TRÆ to unimaginable heights — had seemed to have fallen into the hands of Badai Angin: was this finally Their Year?

Yet suddenly, everything had begun to click again, and just in the nick of time. Suddenly, but not surprisingly, and not without warning: he couldn’t credit divine intervention, or the work of a far-flung witch nestled in the depths of a frozen Abovian cave.

All the team needed was direction. A leader. Try as Edvin might to blame himself, Terho always shut him down, but it wasn’t a responsibility he was unwilling to bear. The truth, plain and simple, as he’d told himself in the mirror in the morning, was that it had been his fault. He had lost the plot, lost his edge, lost his momentum; and he’d never have guessed that the problem was him if it hadn’t been for the person themselves who had pulled that last fateful brick from the Jenga tower that was his psyche. That one person who’s name was even printed, once again, on the engine cover of an AGP car.

Even the posters had been made: “Will We Give Up? Never,” read the slogan, hidden under a gradient which clouded the number 56 on the endplate of the rear wing of AGP004. He was ready to pull the trigger: ready to pull the tablecloth from the table and rupture the fabric of the team — and the essence of the word team, and that famous, ethereal Coalesence they’d known to find — he and Terho and iBen and the Vilitans had built; just because he hadn’t yet opened his eyes. And once he did, TRÆ were back in business. A victory, a podium, and now, a chance at redemption so grand and so real he could almost taste the pungent effervescence of triumph at the back of his tongue. For that — for his snap back to reality, and for the turn in the tides of fortune in the twilight of the season — he had only a reigning triple world champion to thank.

With his hands buried in his underarms, now as wet as the creased skin on his forehead, he bites his upper lip and smiles for just a moment, lest he let himself get too comfortable in the midst of a skewed fight he’s yet to win. He’d been clear, but powerful, with the team after practice: TRÆ had come to Vilita with a single goal in mind.

A goal which would have to be achieved together, with unity, trust, and conviction, or not at all.

[Abanhfleft]

"You've finally done it, William! You've won the race!"

"YEAH!!! YES!!! Yes, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" William Archer screamed into his radio once he crossed the finish line. "That's what I'm fucking talking about, baby! Oh my God, yes! Finally! Fucking finally! Give me that win! I want that win! I want to hear you say it, man! Say it to me!"

"You are once again a race winner, William Archer, and this time this one's going to stick!"

"Oh yeah, that just feels so fucking good!" William shouted. "Hapilopper GP winner, baby! Tell everybody around you: the Archers own Hap City!"

Everything had gone almost exactly as how William had imagined it would go. He got a marvelous start off the line, much quicker than the one that he had back in Siovanija and Teusland. He beat Sara Luna off the line and held her off for the first half of the race, and then in the second half it was Kinu Luminna whom he held off. His one and only pit stop from medium to hard tires went off without a hitch; he was only stationary for 2.3 seconds, a literal blink of an eye in terms of pit stops. Luminna even got the drop on him once or twice, but William was able to immediately fight back and reclaim the lead. And then he was off into the sunset, building up a gap that nobody could assail or challenge. And as William Archer crossed the finish line for the 55th time in his PGP-02, and with the checkered flag being waved in the air, all of those worries and doubts that he had about Preston Autos and the future of his WGPC career vanished for a few blissful moments. He was on top of the freaking world.

Officially speaking, the victory in Hapilopper was William's first ever career win in WGPC. But everyone that he technically already had two race wins under his belt before this. Last season, instead of just a midseason test session, WGPC had actually staged two test races in the middle of the season, with the grids being set in reverse championship order, meaning that the driver last in the standings would start in pole position. William Archer had been way down at the foot of the drivers' standings at the time of those midseason races, hence why in those two test races, he was able to start near the front. And it was those two races that William had won, proving that a) William Archer was actually a damn fast driver who could win races if he was able to start out front, and b) Preston Autos had a car capable of winning, if only it could qualify just a little bit faster. It was those two wins that had convinced the executives in Preston Autos to approve their continued investment into the team and thus paved the way to the Preston Autos GP Team of present. But because those two races were officially tests and not grands prix, William Archer had officially not yet won a race. Twice this season, in Liventia and Stelburg, William had come as close to winning as he possibly could. But now, here in Hapilopper City, all the doubts that people had had about him, and the memes that had been made about him only winning races where points didn't matter, had finally been laid to rest. William Archer was officially a grand prix winner now, and nobody was going to be able to take it away from him.

And perhaps it was actually fated that William should win at Hapilopper City. His father Guillermo Archer had, after all, also won in Hap City, specifically the Super Skychief 500 of the NationStates Stock Car Racing Association, or NSSCRA. Unlike William though, Guillermo had won the Super Skychief 500 in the week following an incident between him and fellow NSSCRA driver Gongming Gao in which Gil had called Gao a racial slur after the North Chinese driver apparently collided with the Fleftic one. But despite calls from all corners of the motorsports world for Guillermo to be suspended by his team, he was still allowed to race at the Super Skychief 500, and he actually had the balls and the audacity to win the damn thing. Luckily for William though, there was no controversy at all surrounding his win at the Hapilopper City Grand Prix Circuit, so he could celebrate the victory to his heart's content. And celebrate he did. William Archer literally jumped out of his car once he entered parc ferme, and he was hopping all over the place like an excited puppy or a battery-powered bunny. William leaped into the waiting arms of his Preston mechanical crew and took high-fives from anyone and everyone. And the champagne from the podium tasted refreshingly sweet, and William found himself gulping down the bubbly stuff even though he knew that he was a lightweight when it came to alcohol.

Nobody knew how close they all came to witnessing the meltdown of all meltdowns had William not won this race.

---

A bar somewhere in Hapilopper City
The evening after the Hapilopper Grand Prix

"Where are the girls?" William Archer asked as he brought a bottle of gin and an unmarked cardboard box that he had reserved for this meeting between drivers. In this particular instance though, William didn't mean any random girls that they might have met in the bar; no, William was actually talking about the other two invitees to this meeting, Anneliese Devereux and Anola Melani, also known as "the Wrench". William had not received any replies from the two even up to the moments after he had won the Hapilopper GP. Once he saw that the two women weren't present, he just shook his head and said, "We'll worry about them later."

"Gentlemen," William said to the two men who were actually present, Ted Pressley and Lane Carter. "I bet you two are wondering why I asked you to come out here on this fine evening. There are two reasons for that. Actually, originally there was only one reason, but after I won my team's home race, the second reason is now that we must celebrate. And to do that, I've brought some gin and some apple-flavored green tea. A wise man once told me that apples are their way of introducing themselves to someone else, and since imitation is always the sincerest form of flattery, here I've decided to mix gin and apple green tea together. It's the only way I can drink gin, otherwise it's too strong for me. Heck, we can all even pretend we're drinking scotch or whiskey or whatever! Champagne's nice too but it's too bubbly sometimes. Makes me gassy, if you know what I mean." William reached into the box and took out one of those bottles of apple-flavored green tea with the red label and poured it into the three glasses at the table, and then he opened the bottle of gin and added that to their glasses. "Try it out first, see if you like it," he said as he picked up his glass and drank from it.

"Now, you might be wondering why I asked you out here in the first place," William said once he had finished his drink. "You also might be wondering why I'm using good old-fashioned emails instead of directly messaging you through twii.tur or whatever. Well, the answer to the second question is simple: I didn't want to just slide into your DMs and get ignored or even seen-zoned, if you know what I mean," William said with a laugh. It was clear that both of the champagne from the race and the gin right now were starting to get to him.

"But now, here's the reason why we're here. Ted! Teddy Pressley. Teddy Bear. Theodoro! How old are you again? 20, 23, around that range? And you, Lane! Lane Carter. Fast Lane. Express Lane. The Galarian nobody can forget. How old are you too? 21, 22, 24? Me, I'm 21 years old," William said. "And the girls, I'm sure they're also in their 20s. Now is there a point to all this? Of course there is. We are all in our early 20s, which means that we have a whole lot of years of racing ahead of all of us. And that means that we are all probably going to be racing in WGPC for a long time. You all know what that means? It means that we are the future of WGPC. Guys like iBen Toralmintii and R.L. Cruisin and Rusty Ibuna, sure, they're the stars of today. But they can't stick around forever. We already said goodbye to a freaking legend in Terho Talvela last season! Who knows if someone's going to follow him out at the end of this season?"

"My point is," William continued, "that we young drivers have to stick together and help each other out in presenting ourselves as the future of this sport. I'm not asking all of us to be all buddy-buddy and gentlemanly on the track, though. 'Go on ahead, my good sir!' 'Oh no, good sir! After you first!' I don't want that shit! We're drivers, and if we have to bang around with each other to get that win or even just that one point in the standings, then so be it! I just want all of us to go out there and do our absolute best. Rivals on track, but friends off of it. Think we can do that?"

"And it doesn't have to be just the five of us!" William continued. His drunk ranting was finally on a roll, and he was nowhere near done yet. "Ted, you're friends with Janne Laukanen, right? I saw him help you up when you collapsed way back in Liventia. And you, Lane, you've got Daryl Mizushima too! Why don't you ask them to come around next time, huh? This thing could very well change their lives! And yours too!"

"To the young guns of WGPC!" William shouted as he lifted his glass of gin and apple-flavored green tea in a toast.

[Vilita and Turori]

WGPC 19 | Week 11 Preview: Vilitan Grand Prix

Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course :: Grand Prix Event History

The Vilitan Grand Prix had been a consistent fixture on the World Grand Prix Championship schedule between World Grand Prix Championship 11 and World Grand Prix Championship 15 before entering into an alternating schema with the Grand Prix of Turori in nearby Eelandii. With the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course having been new to many of the worlds top drivers when introduced during the World Grand Prix Championship's 11th season, the local-based Vilita & Turori Motorsports team dominated the race weekend for the first ever Vilitan Grand Prix. For World Grand Prix Championship Season 16 it was announced that the Vilitan Grand Prix had been relegated to a mid-season test event at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course while the Grand Prix of Turori at the Eelandii Grand Prix Course took center stage. The Vilitan Grand Prix now runs in odd-numbered World Grand Prix Seasons and has been moved to the season finale for World Grand Prix Championship Season 19.

Vilitan Grand Prix Winners

Race Winners:
11: Stang Crax (1:31:08.955) - Vilita & Turori Motorsports
R.L. Cruisin, Marc Rangneri

12: Enaut Londoso (1:31:24.212) - Yogutz Lantzia
Vitaliy Aaltonen, R.L. Cruisin

13: Alex Dimitrianov (1:30:13.672) - SinoMotors
Matt Hingis, Crimson LaRoja

14: Will Madison (1:30:46.197) - Fornax
Terho Talvela, Igne Spupuo

15: Jean Mercer-Daly (1:31:26.188) - Red Lion Racing
Ryker Lane, Marria Cattaneo

17: iBen Toralmintii (1:40:42.605) - Tropicorp Racing Ælund
Jean Mercer-Daly, Drake Stevenson

Pole Winners:

11: Stang Crax (1:25.440) - Vilita & Turori Motorsports

12: Vitaliy Aaltonen (1:25.696) - Obeveklig-Farautoo

13: Lovisa Landenberg (1:25.869) - HonsoNyroto

14: Terho Talvela (1:25.600) - Vilita & Turori Motorsports

15: Terho Talvela (1:25.660) - MRT

16: Juracai Klianiota (1:25.456) - Tropicorp Racing Ælund* (Test Only)

17: Jean Mercer-Daly (1:25.893) - Nexus Racing

Just once in its history has the Vilitan Grand Prix has been won by the home-town team, Vilita & Turori Motorsports. However, the race winner or pole winner has never been either of Vilitan Local Nationality. The inaugural Vilitan Grand Prix was a 1-2 finish for Vilita & Turori Motorsports with Falcanian driver and eventual World Drivers champion Stang Crax taking the checkered flag ahead of Vilitan teammate R.L. Cruisin.

Cruisin would once again finish on the Podium for the second Vilitan Grand Prix as Yogutz Lantzia - who had been on the podium during Season 11 with driver Marc Rangneri - took home the checkers with driver Enaut Londoso. When Vilita & Turori Motorsports returned to action during Season 14, they were once again on pole through Aboveland's Terho Talvela - also the eventual World Drivers Champion - but Talvela was beat to the finish line by Fornax driver Will Madison.

No driver has won an event at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course two times and Vilita's own R.L. Cruisin along with Esmerel's Jean Mercer-Daly are the only drivers to have two podium finishes at the track. Abovian driver Terho Talvela has been the closest to breaking Stang Crax's track record having won the pole position in Season 14 and Season 15.

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Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course :: Information

Track Location: Rockii Coast, Vilita, Atlantian Oceania
Lap Record: 1:25.440 (Stang Crax, WGPC 11)
Track Lap Length: 5.05km
Precipitation Chance: 14%

Overview:
Located in the picturesque region of Vilitan right overlooking the waters of Atlantian Oceania, the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course was carved out of the Rocks on Vilita's Rockii Coast and offers a unique challenge to all drivers. The original challenge course consists of a wide-open high intensity speed park while The Grand Prix 'Boot' modification of the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course was a new addition to the facility in preparation for its inclusion in World Grand Prix Championship 11.

The Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course will be fully staffed with the exception of the Turn 5/6 and Turn 11 Grandstands and associated service centers which will be closed to the public. The majority of amenities will be available and the traveling merchandise haulers for the WGPC circuit will be on hand. Fans will be able to get a discounted weekend pass for entry and there will be no assigned seating for the weekend events. Children 12 and under are free with accompanying adult. All fans wishing to enter the Paddock Area will have to purchase a Paddock Pass for an additional fee.

Where to Eat:

Inside of the pit area in the center of the track you will find the central eatery with all the local cuisine, as well as some brought to you by the other competing nations as well. Everything from meats to the meat free, things that fly, things that moo and things that swim. There are rumors that there will even be a 'bug eatery' and a "We'll fry It". The "We'll Fry It" is likely to command huge lines as they have been banned for quite some time in Vilita. However, organizers did not want foreign travelers to suffer just because of the healthier eating habits of those in the Tropics, so "We'll Fry It" has been granted a license to serve on premises for the race weekend. The business model is supreme as they don't supply any of the food with the price of the meal. The guest brings.... whatever they want... and "We'll Fry It" fries it for them. They will likely have a cooler filled with various meats and candies that can be purchased and fried for an additional fee, but "We'll Fry It" will fry anything under 2 square feet in size for just 7 tures.

Outside of the paddock area, the hidden gem of the course is the famed Poultry Shack in Turn 13. The Poultry Shack is an absolutely exquisite source to quench that meaty craving and they will dish it any way you can handle it. You can walk away with a leg in your hand or even a cup of soup. Fans sometimes don't like to make the walk all the way to the Shack however, in addition to the food, the view is incredible looking out over the Vilitan cliffs over the Water. Visibility at turn 13 and the shack is thought to be amongst the most impressive in the entire Island.

Where to get Free Stuff or Prizes:

You likely won't have to walk more than a few hundred yards without being coerced into taking a free sample of various products on display such as the local-based Vilaye Energy Drink - personal sponsor of Vilitan driver R.L. Cruisin. The key will be to find the locations where they are handing out sealed portions opposed to the open-top samples that you'll need to drink on the spot. Check the boot area around Turn 7 for the best Vilaye booths where they will not only be giving out full beverages but they will have other prizes you can win and games for the children. A Second Vilaye Booth by the start/finish line will not be as large and will only be handing out samples in open cups. Look for giveaways and handouts from other event and team sponsors throughout the Fan section of the paddock and grandstand areas.

The most exciting display however is the recurring Tiones Lumber display outside Turn 1. Tiones Lumber holds mini-lumberjack competitions for the fans each season and you can line up to compete in many famed wood-based competitions such as the 40-foot speed climb, Long rolling, the Standing Block Chop and there will even be a team relay. The best times each day win prizes from Tiones Lumber. First prize winners will be excluded from winning on subsequent days but alternate prize winners can compete for the big prize the following day. Fans who beat the all time-records could find themselves winning free Paddock Passes or other great prizes from Tiones Lumber.

Tropicorp Racing Supply will also be on hand with a 'Pit Stop Challenge" display at the end of the pit lane where fans will be able to test their ability to change a WGPC tyre or act as the fuel person so long as they first sign a release form indemnifying Tropicorp and the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course of any injury that may occur as they attempt to set the fast times to qualify for a daily prize drawing from Tropicorp.

Where to access the drivers:

Drivers are readily accessible to those with a Paddock Pass. However, in the Paddock the drivers are working so fans are asked to to approach the drivers. Instead, let the drivers approach you. There will also be designated driver interaction zones for fans with scheduled driver appearances posted throughout the weekend.

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:: Tiones Lumber Lumberjack Challenge ::

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

The largest Tiones Lumberjack Challenge to date has taken place at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course in Rockii Coast, Vilita ahead of the Vilitan Grand Prix race during WGPC 14. However, with the Grand Prix of Turori taking the place of the Vilitan Grand Prix for the 16th World Grand Prix championships season, Tiones Lumber has an even bigger event planned. Instead of just having one or two concurrent 'zones' that fans can test their lumberjack mettle in, there will be five distinct zones where fans will be able to participate in various activities. There will be four 'competitive' zones where participants will be timed and scored for their execution - whether they are truly competitive or not - with each days top times earning a prize and the best scores of the race weekend crowned champions. The fifth zone will be deemed a 'family zone' with events and challenges more suited for children to participate in.

The Five zones will be as follows:

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

Zone 1: Chopping & Cutting

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

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

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

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

Zone 2: Climbing

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

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

Zone 3: Log Rolling

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

Zone 4: Team Events

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

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

NON-COMPETITIVE ZONES ::

Zone 5: Family Zone

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

Tiones Lumber is also inviting all WGPC drivers to try their hand at the various Lumberjack events in a special reserved time slot after the Friday Practice session.

[Vilita and Turori]

WGPC 19 :: Statistically Speaking

Positions over Grid (POG): While the World Grand Prix Organization (WGPO) does not officially keep track of overtakes during the course of a race there is still one metric that can be used to determine a competitors net performance throughout a race: Positions over Grid. In this statistic only the race start and finish are considered. If a driver Starts in 6th position, passes five cars at the start to take the lead but then drops back to 5th at the checkered flag, that driver would have a +1 Position over Grid. Naturally, the Pole Sitter for a race can not have a positive position over grid. Drivers or Teams with high Position Over Grid ratings are likely those who either perform well on race day or perform comparatively poorly on Qualifying day.

A slew of DNF's have made for a difficult campaign in the Nexus Racing machine for Esmerel's Jean Mercer-Daly who is averaging a drop of 6.1 positions per race from their grid position. At the other end of the spectrum, Driver's Championship contender Dom Falepeau's +4.2 average positions over grid is double that of the next highest competitor Kinu Luminaa of Viska Racing.

During WGPC Season 18, Tropicorp Racing Aelund driver iBen Toralmintii had the best Positions over Grid through 10 races at +5.8 which included a +22 Positions over Grid performance in a single race to take the checkered flag, the deepest in the field a race winner had started all season. Driver's Champion Terho Talvela had an average Positions over Grid of +3.7

Race Eelandii Vilita and Turori Motorworks driver Lane Carter has improved on average an additional half-position over grid compared to World Grand Prix Championship Season 18. After averaging an improvement of just 0.4 Positions over Grid Last Season, Carter has averaged +1.0 during WGPC Season 19.

WGPC 19 :: AVG. POSITIONS OVER GRID (DRIVER)

1  :: [TGN] Dom Falepeau                +4.2
2  :: [AUR] Kinu Luminna                +2.1
3  :: [FID] Rustom Ibuna                +2.0
   :: [STL] Heinz-Otto Junker           +2.0
5  :: [TUR] iBen Toralmintii            +1.9
6  :: [AUR] Laura Haukanna              +1.5
7  :: [DCS] Sara Luna                   +1.0
   :: [TJU] Lane Carter                 +1.0
9  :: [AFT] William Archer              +0.6
   :: [VEZ] Adriana Kowalski Ela...     +0.6
11 :: [NIM] Ryker Lane                  +0.2
12 :: [CMT] Anola "Wrench" Melani       +0.1

13 :: [TMB] Ted Pressley                 0
14 :: [SQR] Daryl Mizushima             -0.2
15 :: [HÜL] Dario Nülkeschläger         -0.3
16 :: [TLI] Joy Wingelaar               -0.4
   :: [HDR] Sayono Souzare              -0.4
18 :: [LIS] Anneliese Devereux          -0.5
   :: [ABL] Janne Laukkanen             -0.5
20 :: [HAP] Rudy Edwards                -0.7
21 :: [NIM] Olivia Stone                -1.5
22 :: [SOR] Gregori Krupin              -1.6
23 :: [VIL] R.L. Cruisin                -1.7
24 :: [TRP] Cocoabo #23                 -2.5
25 :: [ESM] Jean Mercer-Daly            -6.1

WGPC 19 :: POSITIONS OVER GRID (TEAM)

1  :: Badai Angin Tim            +6.2
2  :: Tropicorp Racing Ælund     +2.9
3  :: Teusbank TMW Rennsport     +1.6
4  :: GP Pryfors Bilar Viska     +1.3
5  :: Viska Racing               +0.5
6  :: Fireline+Heroes Eminent    +0.2
7  :: Kaylan Racing Team         +0.1
8  :: Preston Autos GP           -0.1
9  :: Race Eelandii VTGP         -0.6
10 :: Carvenlo Racing            -2.3
11 :: WGPC Motorworks (O)        -2.7
12 :: Nexus Racing               -5.9

---

Thus far in World Grand Prix Championship Season 19, there have been seven races where a driver has seen a net position over grid in the double digits. While no one has thus far matched iBen Toralmintii's +22 performance from World Grand Prix Championship Season 18, two drivers were able to put together a +16 Position over Grid performance - each doing so in the same event. During the second race of the season at the Yakumicha Circuit in Hodori both Kinu Luminna of Viska Racing and Joy Wingelaar of Teusbank TMW Rennsport gained +16 positions over grid en route to points finishes on the day. The greatest individual gain for a race winner was by Fireline & Heroes driver Adriana Kowalski Ela Lillian who utilized strategy to take the checkered flag in the Abovian Grand Prix at Lintulahti after gaining +15 positions from their position on the starting grid.

From a team perspective, Constructors Leaders Badai Angin Tim Motorsport lead all teams with an average of +6.2 positions over grid each race. Tropicorp Racing Ælund's +2.9 Positions Over Grid is down by nearly 7 compared with their incredibly +9.5 Positions Over Grid average during World Grand Prix Championship Season 18.

Points over Season (POS): Of the 25 drivers competing actively in the 19th World Grand Prix Championship Season, nineteen of them also competed in the 18th season of World Grand Prix Competition in addition to seven of the twelve active racing teams. In the Points over Season statistic, Drivers and Teams are compared with their current point totals in WGPC Season 19 and the equivalent amount of points the driver had earned at the same point of the World Grand Prix's 18th season. For Tropicorp Racing Aelund it is naturally a story of the loss of a 3 time champion in Terho Talvela. The rise of Badai Angin Tim Motorsport - With a Points over Season of +87 - combined with the loss of a three-time Drivers Champion in Terho Talvela and the associated Points Over Season dropoff of -52 for the Abovian outfit has set up a final-race battle in the Constructors Standings for the first time since World Grand Prix Championships Season 16. It is likely no surprise that William Archer tops the Points over Season immediately following their maiden (Official) Grand Prix victory at the Hapilopper City Grand Prix course. Archer struggled along with the Preston Autos Grand Prix team the first half of WGPC Season 18 and struggled to find their footing as the team improved with much of the focus being on local hero Rudy Edwards' late push for the Drivers Championship. However, during World Grand Prix Championship Season 19 Archer's speed has been undeniable with a pair of Pole Positions, fastest laps and a Race Victory which has put them in the Top 5 of the Driver Standings and atop the Points over Season Rankings - half a point above another 'Most Improved' Candidate - Togonistan's Dom Falepeau. At the other end of the spectrum, Archer's teammate Rudy Edwards has perhaps struggled in the wake of Archer's success - unable to repeat the magic from World Grand Prix Championship Season 18 - while the teams of the World Grand Prix circuit seemed to have figured out how to get maximum speed out of a 4-wheel package as Nexus Racing's imagination powered cars have also slipped down the list from their performance just one season prior.

WGPC 19 :: POINTS OVER WGPC 18

+83.0  :: [8]  William Archer
+82.5  :: [19] Dom Falepeau
+73.0  :: [82] Kinu Luminna
+62.5  :: [71] Rustom Ibuna
+41.0  :: [76] Adriana Kowalski
+34.0  :: [11] Lane Carter
+30.0  :: [12] Anneliese Devereux
+26.0  :: [85] Olivia Stone
+21.0  :: [77] iBen Toralmintii
+18.0  :: [25] Gregori Krupin
 +6.0  :: [27] Dario Nülkeschläger
 -1.0  :: [63] Daryl Mizushima
 -5.5  :: [51] R.L. Cruisin
-11.0  :: [23] Cocoabo #23
-16.0  :: [41] Jean Mercer-Daly
-24.0  :: [50] Sara Luna
-25.0  :: [94] Ryker Lane
-25.0  :: [52] Sayono Souzare
-35.0  :: [5] Rudy Edwards

WGPC 19 :: POINTS OVER WGPC 18
-Constructors-

+87 :: Badai Angin Tim
+42 :: Viska Racing
+30 :: Eelandii VTGP         
+27 :: Fireline + Heroes Eminent GP              
+23 :: Preston Autos GP
 -7 :: WGPC Motorworks       
-41 :: Nexus Racing     
-52 :: Tropicorp Racing Ælund
N/A - Kaylan Racing Team
N/A - Teusbank TMW Rennsport
N/A - Pryors Bilar Viska
N/A - Carvenlo Racing

---

[WGPC 19]

Cutoff for the FINAL Practice/Qual of WGPC Season 19

[WGPC 19]

---

[Toys '4' All] Vilitan Grand Prix Presented by Vilaye Energy Drink

Event History and Track Guide

Located in the picturesque region of Vilitan right overlooking the waters of Atlantian Oceania, the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course was carved out of the Rocks on Vilita's Rockii Coast and offers a unique challenge to all drivers. Originally more of a wide-open high intensity speed park, The Grand Prix modification of the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course was a new addition to the facility in preparation for its inclusion in World Grand Prix Championship 11. While Acceleration and Mechanical Power will be a great equalizer on much of the course, the Grand Prix boot designed by Turorian legend iBen Toralmintii mid-way through the course gives those with the ability to make maneuvers in tight spaces a chance to shine as well.

The Vilitan Grand Prix had been a consistent fixture on the World Grand Prix Championship schedule between World Grand Prix Championship 11 and World Grand Prix Championship 15 before entering into an alternating schema with the Grand Prix of Turori in nearby Eelandii. With the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course having been new to many of the worlds top drivers when introduced during the World Grand Prix Championship's 11th season, the local-based Vilita & Turori Motorsports team dominated the race weekend for the first ever Vilitan Grand Prix. For World Grand Prix Championship Season 16 it was announced that the Vilitan Grand Prix had been relegated to a mid-season test event at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course while the Grand Prix of Turori at the Eelandii Grand Prix Course took center stage. The Vilitan Grand Prix now runs in odd-numbered World Grand Prix Seasons and has been moved to the season finale for World Grand Prix Championship Season 19.

Week 11: Practice

Conditions:      	Rainy
Session Length:	75 minutes
Nation:         	VIL
Circuit:        	Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course

[/pre]
Drivers have 75 minutes to complete as many laps of the track as they like

---

POS # ▍DRIVER                           	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                     	00:01:44.844	00:00:00.000
 2 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                     	00:01:44.865	00:00:00.021
 3 40 ▍Adriana Kowalski Ela...          	00:01:44.885	00:00:00.041
 4 25 ▍Gregori Krupin                   	00:01:44.890	00:00:00.046
 5 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                     	00:01:44.942	00:00:00.098
 6 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                     	00:01:44.956	00:00:00.112
 7 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:44.990	00:00:00.146
 8 85 ▍Olivia Stone                     	00:01:45.091	00:00:00.247
 9 50 ▍Sara Luna                        	00:01:45.140	00:00:00.295
10 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                 	00:01:45.182	00:00:00.338
11 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:45.227	00:00:00.383
12 83 ▍Anola "Wrench" Melani            	00:01:45.270	00:00:00.425
13 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                   	00:01:45.288	00:00:00.444
14 11 ▍Lane Carter                      	00:01:45.338	00:00:00.493
15 24 ▍Sayono Souzare                   	00:01:45.395	00:00:00.550
16  8 ▍William Archer                   	00:01:45.543	00:00:00.698
17  5 ▍Rudy Edwards                     	00:01:45.609	00:00:00.765
18 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschläger              	00:01:45.615	00:00:00.771
19  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux               	00:01:45.868	00:00:01.024
20 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                      	00:01:45.967	00:00:01.123
21 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                  	00:01:46.098	00:00:01.253
22 31 ▍Joy Wingelaar                    	00:01:46.206	00:00:01.362
23 88 ▍Ted Pressley                     	00:01:46.506	00:00:01.662
24 15 ▍Heinz-Otto Junker                	00:01:46.716	00:00:01.872
25 63 ▍Daryl Mizushima                  	00:01:48.879	00:00:04.035

---

Week 11: Qualifying

Conditions:      	Cloudy
Qualifying Type:	Traditional
Nation:         	VIL
Circuit:        	Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course

POS # ▍DRIVER                           	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1  8 ▍William Archer                   	00:01:26.292	00:00:00.000
 2 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:26.323	00:00:00.031
 3 50 ▍Sara Luna                        	00:01:26.335	00:00:00.043
 4 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                     	00:01:26.438	00:00:00.147
 5 11 ▍Lane Carter                      	00:01:26.476	00:00:00.184
 6 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                     	00:01:26.478	00:00:00.186
 7 25 ▍Gregori Krupin                   	00:01:26.498	00:00:00.206
 8 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                     	00:01:26.556	00:00:00.264
 9 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschläger              	00:01:26.598	00:00:00.306
10 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                   	00:01:26.653	00:00:00.461
11 88 ▍Ted Pressley                     	00:01:26.744	00:00:00.552
12 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:26.894	00:00:00.602
13 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                     	00:01:26.951	00:00:00.659
14 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                  	00:01:26.964	00:00:00.672
15 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                      	00:01:27.045	00:00:00.753
16  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux               	00:01:27.151	00:00:00.859
17 85 ▍Olivia Stone                     	00:01:27.189	00:00:00.898
18  5 ▍Rudy Edwards                     	00:01:27.239	00:00:00.947
19 40 ▍Adriana Kowalski Ela...          	00:01:27.804	00:00:01.512
20 15 ▍Heinz-Otto Junker                	00:01:27.807	00:00:01.515
21 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                 	00:01:28.025	00:00:01.733
22 83 ▍Anola "Wrench" Melani            	00:01:28.100	00:00:01.808
23 24 ▍Sayono Souzare                   	00:01:28.369	00:00:02.077
24 31 ▍Joy Wingelaar                    	00:01:28.736	00:00:02.445
25 63 ▍Daryl Mizushima                  	00:01:28.854	00:00:02.463

Note: FINAL Race Scorination in ~24 Hours from this post. Check Discord and Ping if more time needed - Leniency will be granted for all who request it.

[Hapilopper]

LEWIS: WE’D LIKE TO KEEP BOTH DRIVERS
Acknowledges season has been a struggle
By Doug Goodman, the Hapilopper Television Network

ROCKII COAST, VILITA – Marty Lewis isn’t sure if he’ll be able to keep both of his drivers next season. But he’d like to.

Lewis spoke to members of the media the morning of qualifying for the Vilitan Grand Prix, and expressed some frustration about the way the season has gone.

“I’ll tell you the truth, there’s one side of this season that’s been, I don’t know the right word for it, but irritating?” Lewis said. “We’ve got one driver, William Archer, and he has overachieved so much this season, we need to keep our end of the bargain.”

Archer scored a hugely popular victory in Hapilopper City a couple of weeks ago, winning the Preston Autos Hapiloppian Grand Prix, the second victory in Hapilopper this year for the Archer family. Earlier this year, his father Guillermo won the Super Skychief 500.

Lewis made it very clear about Archer’s importance to the team.

“Make no mistake about it, William Archer is the reason we’re a front-running team,” Lewis said. “William Archer is the reason we’re here. He scored those two huge victories last year, and it got us motivated to do better. He’s won races when we really needed it. Without him, I don’t want to imagine where we’d be. We want to keep him with Preston Autos. Whether or not we do, though, that’s another story.”

If Archer does leave Preston Autos at the end of the season, Lewis said the team would just have to move on.

“We’re not going to get in his way,” Lewis explained. “We love him and always have. But if he needs to go elsewhere, we’re not going to stop him and we’ll cheer him on along the way.”

On the other end of the team, Rudy Edwards’ performance, Lewis said, has been “frustrating.”

“Tell you the truth, I’m pissed off,” Lewis said. “I’m pissed off that Rudy’s down in the midfield. He’s been dealing with personal issues all season, and it’s gotten in his way. I mean, he’s been feast or famine this year and it’s brought his side of the team down.”

Edwards has had some positive moments, most notably a win in Aboveland earlier this year at the Lintulahti—Toralmintii International Circuit, but in other parts of the season, Edwards has looked lost.

In an effort to try to help him out, Preston Autos recruited Drake Stevenson, the runner-up in this year’s NSSCRA championship, to serve as a coach for the troubled Hapilopper City native. But Stevenson’s work only helped for a spell, and wanting some rest after a lengthy NSSCRA season, Stevenson went home.

“Drake helped him out, yes, but the thing is, he’s a human being like the rest of us and he needs some time away from racing,” Lewis explained. “He was out of it, and I think he, more than anything else, wanted to spend some time at home. I’m not going to fault him for that. He’s not the reason Rudy’s having issues.”

There have been some rumors that Edwards could be on his way out of Preston Autos at the end of the season, a rumor that Lewis denies.

“We want to keep him too,” Lewis said. “Rudy nearly won a championship last year and we know he’s championship-caliber. But he needs to get himself out of this slump he’s in. I don’t know how, and frankly I’m not overly concerned with how he gets out of the slump. All I care about is that he gets out of it.”

If Edwards’ results don’t improve next year?

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Lewis said. “I’m not going to write someone off before next season’s even started. But next season, he’s got to improve. For the sake of all of us.”

[Vilita and Turori]

Archer, Falepeau Claim WGPC 19 twii.tur Top Pole Award

WGPC 19 :: Most Pole Positions

3 ::   8 ▍ William Archer   (Preston Autos)
      19 ▍ Dom Falepeau     (Badai Angin Tim)
1 ::  -- Seven Drivers Tied

Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Rockii Coast, Vilita :: When it came to Raw Speed during the 19th World Grand Prix Championship season, two drivers shined above the pack and will share the twii.tur Top Pole Award for World Grand Prix Championship Season 19. twii.tur, a popular multiverse wide short message communication platform originating from Turori first gained interest in sponsoring the World Grand Prix Championship Pole Award during WGPC Season 17 while serving as a full-season sponsor for the #71 Race Eelandii VTGP entry of Filindostani driver Rustom Ibuna. When the series traveled to the Lintulahti Circuit in Aboveland it was the Eelandii VTGP driver Rustom Ibuna who turned the fastest lap in the qualification session to claim pole starting position for the Abovian Grand Prix. Seeing their car and driver being photographed after turning fast lap and earning the first starting position was perhaps a moment of instant motivation for the twii.tur marketing team. If they could actually be the presenting sponsor of the World Grand Prix Championship Pole Award, they would be associated with success on a week in week out basis - even if the twii.tur sponsored Eelandii VTGP team cars did not perform well.

Furthermore, as they dug deeper into the idea of putting a bid together for the Pole Award sponsorship, they only realized further how much sense it made. With its limited message transmission size and quick distribution, twii.tur messages were inherently designed to be short and impactful - Just like pole award qualifying in motor racing when drivers run a single lap or short number of circuits around the track but do so with pace often higher than any speeds reached on race day. It was an obvious connection that the twii.tur marketing had missed up until the point that Rustom Ibuna put them on pole position in Aboveland and all the connections became so obvious.

During World Grand Prix Championship season 18 it was Sara Luna of Volkov Racing who earned the twii.tur Top Pole Award of the season by claiming top spot on the grid for the final race of the season in Mattijana. It was Luna's third pole in five events to close out the season and broke a tie between Luna and the driver she would eventually replace at Tropicorp Racing Ælund, Terho Talvela of Aboveland who had two pole positions earned during the season. Luna earned one pole position during WGPC Season 19, claiming the top spot during round 6 at the Autodromo Internazionale de Rivoli in Nekoni.

While Terho Talvela finished their career with 10 Pole Positions, the most of any driver in the Modern Era of Record Keeping began inclusive of the 9th World Grand Prix Championship Season, Talvela never achieved more than 3 pole positions in a single season. The record for most Pole Positions in a single World Grand Prix Championship season is four, set most recently by Jessica Franssen of Vannish Motors Racing during World Grand Prix Championship Season 17. As the defending World Driver's Champion, Franssen was fast on qualifying day throughout WGPC 17 but couldn't close things out on race day falling behind Tropicorp's Talvela and Toralmintii who took the honors atop the Drivers Standings. While Franssen earned pole position in nearly a quarter of the WGPC 17 races, not once did the Vannish driver earn consecutive pole positions having secured her top spots during Round 3 in Mytanija, Round 6 in Nekoni, Round 9 at home in Vangaziland and in the finale at Crossport Raceway in Audioslavia. The previous three seasons have all seen the driver who won pole position in the seasons final race also have the most Pole Positions earned over the course of the season.

Most Pole Positions by Season:

WGPC 19 - (3) :: William Archer / Dom Falepeau
WGPC 18 - (3) :: Sara Luna
WGPC 17 - (4) :: Jessica Franssen
WGPC 16 - (3) :: Jean Mercer-Daly
WGPC 15 - (3) :: Terho Talvela
WGPC 14 - (3) :: Terho Talvela / R.L. Cruisin
WGPC 13 - (2) :: Moisés Delgado/ R.L. Cruisin / Lovisa Landenberg
WGPC 12 - (3) :: Alexander Lund
WGPC 11 - (3) :: Stang Crax
WGPC 10 - (4) :: Matthew Portland
WGPC 9  - (4) :: André Luís Caconde
WGPC 8  - (3) :: Bruno Borghi

World Grand Prix Championship Season 15 was abnormal in a different way as just two drivers earned a single pole position while the remaining 10 races the top spot went to one of just a handful of drivers with multiple pole awards on the season including Terho Talvela and R.L. Cruisin who led the series with 3 Poles a piece. Matthew Portland (WGPC 10) and André Luís Caconde (WGPC 9) are the other two drivers who have achieved the mark of 4 Pole Positions won in a single season. While no driver earned three Pole Positions through qualifying during World Grand Prix Championship Season 19, one driver did start top spot on the grid on four different occasions and that is Preston Autos Grand Prix driver William Archer. After starting pole for the feature race in Siovanija and Teusland by virtue of a 10th place finish in the Teusland Sprint, Archer would win Pole Position for the final two races of the year marking three consecutive starts from 1st place on the grid. Only once previously in World Grand Prix history (Since Season 8 ) has a driver started from Pole Position for three consecutive races - that was André Luís Caconde of Team Globo/Velog who earned three conscutive pole awards in Sibirsky, Ad'ihan and Casari to close out WGPC Season 9.

From a Teams perspective, Vilita & Turori Motorsports have on two separate occasions achieved 5-Pole Seasons - doing so during WGPC Season 11 with Stang Crax (3) and R.L. Cruisin (2) and again during WGPC Season 14 with Terho Talvela (3) and iBen Toralmintii (2) and by virtue of those two seasons alone are the joint-top Pole Winner by name among Constructors. Of course, if you include the lineage to Tropicorp Racing Ælund the total increases to 15 though should statistics go back prior to WGPC Season 8 it is likely that Carvenlo Racing, on 9 Pole Positions by name since WGPC Season 8, would also be in the hunt for Top Honors among Constructors. Motorworks backed teams have earned two pole positions since WGPC Season 8 - the first on a technicality as the JGV Intl. Motorsports team entered administration while leading the constructors standings heading into the final event of WGPC Season 10. Matthew Portland, the reigning series champion and star driver for the team earned pole position at the AutoRingPacitalia for the re-branded in name only "WGPC Motorsports JGV" team. The second occurance came during World Grand Prix Championship Season 15 when iBen Toralmintii out-paced the field at the Eelandii Grand Prix course in what the veteran Turorian driver often cites as their most memorable moment in Motorsports, taking a true Motorworks machine and taking top spot on the grid in their home race.

Rk - DRIVER      All-Time Poles

 1 - Terho Talvela          9
 2 - Matthew Portland       8
 3 - R.L. Crusin            7
 4 - Jessica Franssen       6
 5 - Alexander Lund         5
   - Bruno Borghi           5
   - Jean Mercer-Daly       5
 8 - André Luís Caconde     4
   - Dom Falepeau           4
   - iBen Toralmintii       4
   - Jai Kardaeri           4
   - Joe Allon              4
   - Sara Luna              4

Rk - DRIVER              Poles
14 - Adam Richardson        3
   - Alex Dimitrianov       3
   - Mick Schramm           3
   - Moisés Delgado         3
   - Ryan Lilley            3
   - Ryker Lane             3
   - Stang Crax             3
   - William Archer         3
22 - Igne Spupuo            2
   - James Evans            2
   - Julianos Lemos         2
   - Lovisa Landenberg      2
   - Maria Cattaneo         2
   - Rafael Blanco          2
   - Rustom Ibuna           2
   - Sayono Souzare         2
   - Sigur Bjarnason        2
   - Sotil Morua            2
   - Vitaliy Aaltonen       2
   - Xeb Kallasdun          2
34 - Alexandra Mayari       1
   - Arie de Winter         1
   - Asao Nadakei           1
   - Axel Novikov           1
   - Cocoabo #23            1
   - Crimson La Roja        1
   - Donal O'Connell        1
   - Erica Okumura          1
   - Esteban Guilhermez     1
   - Gregori Kupin          1
   - J. Jensen-Fletcher     1
   - Jack Berry             1
   - Jason Drucker          1
   - Jesús Garcia           1
   - John Marqueste         1
   - Kinu Luminna           1
   - Laura Haukanna         1
   - Lee Rogers             1
   - Louis Krindle          1
   - Lukas Forbes           1
   - Marie Pitkanen         1
   - Matt Hingis            1
   - Nick Wagoner           1
   - Niklas Schonbaum       1
   - Olivia Stone           1
   - Rado Semarche          1
   - Roger Bunn             1
   - Sebastian Hill         1
   - Vijay Tripathi         1
   - Wayne Forrest          1

Rk - CONSTRUCTOR        All-Time Poles

 1 - Velog                           10
   - Vilita & Turori Motorsports     10
 3 - Carvenlo                        9
 4 - McPahan                         8
   - Nexus Racing                    8
 6 - MRT                             7
   - Vannish Motors Racing           7
 8 - JGV Intl. Motorsports           6
 9 - Tropicorp Racing Ælund          5
10 - Badai Angin Tim                 4
   - Hansa-Nyrota Racing             4
   - InfoInternet Liventia           4
   - Telaris                         4

Rk - CONSTRUCTOR                 Poles
14 - Bitten Heroes                   3
   - Frontiere                       3
   - Monarch Race Team               3
   - Obeveklig-Farautoo              3
   - Preston Autos GP                3
   - Race Eelandii VTGP              3
   - Volkov Racing                   3
21 - Fireline Motorsports            2
   - Goldmund-Teller                 2
   - Mirrors F1                      2
   - Movilla Patton-Carmichael       2
   - Omni                            2
   - Polaris                         2
   - Red Lion Racing                 2
   - Revél-Celestar                  2
   - Team Leopard ATR                2
   - Team WendellCorp                2
   - Toro Azul F1                    2
   - Viska Racing                    2
33 - Archer                          1
   - Aston-Tickford                  1
   - Brackfrome GP                   1
   - Drift Tech                      1
   - ENSADRINK GP                    1
   - GP Pryfors Bilar Viska          1
   - MSA-SinVal                      1
   - Postbank Synergent Feria        1
   - RBK-Continental                 1
   - SfeG                            1
   - Silverstar Airways Team KPL     1
   - Sino Motors                     1
   - TAS Alliance Racing             1
   - Velocitas Racing                1
   - WGPC Eelandii                   1
   - Aer Ancharine                   1

---

Rookie of the Season :: After entering the Hapilopper City race weekend with a 7.5 point advantage over Kaylan Racing Team driver Ted Pressley, Laura Haukanna put in a superb Top 5 run in her GP Pryfors Bilar Viska machine to increase her advantage over her Tumbran rival to 20.5 points. Pressley, who also had a solid day in Hapilopper City posting a top 10 finish and earning 2 points in the standings is still mathematically in contention for Rookie of the Season honors, but knows that it will be a tough hill to climb if they are going to best their Aurun rival for the award. With a 20.5 point gap in front the only path for Pressley to claim top Rookie Honors will be a victory in the season ending Vilitan Grand Prix with Haukanna finishing outside the Top 7. No other rookie driver is in position to contend for the Rookie of the Season Honors in the final race outside of Haukanna and Pressley. The two rookie rivals will have the opportunity to start together on the grid at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course with Haukanna starting 10th alongside her teammate Dario Nülkeschläger while Ted Pressley will roll off 11th right in front of World Driver Championship contenders iBen Toralmintii and Rustom Ibuna.

WGPC Season 19 Rookie Standings :: After 12 of 13 Races

Pos # ▍DRV Name                      Team                     Pts
 1 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna            GP Pryfors Bilar Viska   59.5
 2 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley              Kaylan Racing Team       42
 3 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen           Carvenlo Racing          23
 4 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar             Teusbank TMW Rennsport   18
 5 83 ▍MNI Anola "Wrench" Melani     Kaylan Racing Team       14
 6 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker         Teusbank TMW Rennsport   3

[Aboveland]

Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course
Rockii Coast, Vilita

"Is it too little?"

Edvin searches for a look of approval in Terho's face, who stands beside him in front of the two dormant AGP004 chassis before they head out of the garage for the grid. The mechanics are spreading the bubbles out of the thin vinyl stickers on the sidepods.

Terho grins warmly, shrugging. "I think it's nice. You couldn't have recycled the V&T Motorworks livery again."

The team principal nods, but then shakes his head in disapproval of his own decision. "I'll have to buy gifts later, then. It's not enough."

[Filindostan]

Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course
Rockii Coast, Vilita
Vilitan Grand Prix

Looking back at the pre-season expectations Tauro had for the team, he had not expected this to happen by the end of the season, with Badai Angin Tim still leading the constructors' championship with one race remaining in the season. His two drivers, Rustom Ibuna, and Dom Falepeau, had been contending for the drivers' championship all season, but it seems it would only take a win from either BA Tim driver and a no-score from the Turorian home driver iBen Toralmintii to snatch the trophy away from the multiple-time runners-up of the drivers' championship.

It is still game on in the constructors' championship though, with 21 points separating BA Tim and the reigning constructors' champions, Tropicorp Racing Aelund. The Abovian outfit had started out slow, but Toralmintii's ascendance culminating to a near-unassailable lead in the drivers' championship despite the two BA Tim drivers racking up points on almost a race-per-race basis prior to the closing rounds of the season, has allowed Tropicorp's de facto factory team to close the gap between them and the leaders.

Tauro remembered what he said in the pre-season press conference:

Journalist: Where do you put yourselves this season?
Tauro: Pamelita and I are working hard to quickly adapt to life as a WGPC technical director and team principal respectively. With the previous lead driver Alex Dimitrianov not returning to the team after another stellar season, it will be on Rusty to carry the Badai Angin's name to the doldrums of success in WGPC. Also we have faith in Dom to rack up points and contribute highly in our fight to retain third in the championship. Realistically speaking, since we could be at the post-transition stage, we are expecting a mid-pack placement minimum, and there might be a small chance we can fight for the title once the season comes to a close in Turori.

Journalist: Which of the new teams you think will make an impression this season?
Tauro: Preston and Volkov did well last season, it's a shame that controversies kept the latter from competing this season, but with a slew of new constructors coming into the competition this season, we could probably see Kaylan and TMW do the same thing the two did last season.

Journalist: Which teams do you think will contend for this season's constructors' championship?
Tauro: TRAE has been the gold standard in recent constructors' championships, but Carvenlo's return is the wildcard, given their stature as a six-time constructors' champion, and a large veteran presence in R.L. Cruisin. Preston is high up the list, we could be there as well. Kaylan has shown some speed in pre-season testing, and Viska is showing some improvements as well.

Journalist: Who is your bet for the drivers' title come the finale at Turori?
Tauro: Terho Talvela's retirement has opened up the competition for the drivers' championship. Maybe one of Toralmintii or Cruisin will get the crown this time. Maybe our own Rusty.

It seemed that two and a half of his four predictions pre-season happened:

- A small chance he pertained to in the first of the four questions was fulfilled, despite him saying the incorrect location of the final round.

- Both Kaylan and TMW are currently in the bottom third of the constructors' championship, and both struggled at the start of the campaign, failing to replicate what Volkov and Preston have done last season. A more impressive debut than the two came from PB-Viska, not to be confused with Auruna's Viska Racing, who are currently ahead of Liventia's Carvenlo Racing.

- This question gave Tauro half-point credits, as he failed to predict Carvenlo's struggles this season. TRAE, BA Tim, Preston, and Viska were mentioned as well and are currently top four. Surprisingly, one team he did not mention, Nexus Racing, who performed well in previous seasons, is languishing in 10th in the constructors' championship.

- Alas, Toralmintii leads the championship for the drivers, and Ibuna has an outside chance of taking the championship. However, qualifying results seem to back up Toralmintii's case. An unexpected element named Dom Falepeau may have better chances this time placing 6th in qualifying.

In the pre-race interview, Tauro was asked by the media on the rumors that Badai Angin may not be on the WGPC grid the next season, given that the NSSCRA operation would proceed to shut down at the end of this season. "We can confirm that there are discussions to sell the team to other entities. Let's see if Pamelita [Salinas], and I, can keep our spots next season given how well we did the turnaround of the team from perennial third placers to genuine title contenders."

It has been rumored after the Filindostan Grand Prix that the remaining share owned by Badai Angin is up for sale, and several entities from Aji No Moto have taken the lead in securing the sale, with unverified rumors coming in that a combined Nekonian-Hodoran entity is also eyeing for the team as they failed to secure a slot in this season's WGPC. More details will be shared in the offseason, probably.

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – Zastępca Strażnika Adriana Venus Ela Kowalski Lillian – Chapter 13 – Calculate out of this SNAFU.

It was not going so well for me for these few races, but I think almost everyone knows about this by now. Adriana, the one-trick pony-... machine, that won one of the races and then never again. Adriana, who was trying to fight for points, but other than small placements and gains, the one who wasn't getting a lot out of her! Hmm, maybe I shouldn't be too negative, I do apologise for that! After all, quite a lot of great things happened! For those of you who didn't know, Angela went through a milestone recently - not only she placed second on the Feature Race, but she also placed second on the Sprint Race! Sure, it might not be first place, but being able to get on the podium is more than wonderful. And I was so happy for her when I saw the news on the television as she held her medal tall and proud!

Other than that, where does that leave me? Well, I still have some of the most supportive folks out there outside of Valentine Z. Sure, my big sister Clarissa, and her wife Valentijn, are very accommodating and helpful to me. Clarissa's methods might be the one I found to be something difficult to follow, but at the end of it, it delivered results, and that was all that mattered. Valentijn as well, always supportive and her tall stature being comforting. She does physically make you feel small, but she will never belittle you and will always help out. I am more than happy to have met such folks, and maybe made and developed in such a caring country! That aside, there are also those from Fireline, of course! Understandably, their involvement in both WGPC and WGP2, as well as the joint team efforts, might have drove them thin and running out of staff. At least, I think that is the feeling that I am getting. Either that, or just that they have been extremely busy. So I didn't get a trainer like Jane, but that's not a big deal. Mind you, I am NOT saying that Jane isn't important; she definitely is, and I'm sure that she would have contributed and helped me out a lot more had she been there. Still, with the circumstances that we are in, I am still very thankful that Fireline as a whole have been very accepting and supported me (and Angela) through and through. Car problems, mechanical issues, and even software compatibility issues between me and the computer. I forgot to mention that, haha! Whenever I connect to my car via my arm and to the car's ports, the car would do one of the following:

- Delete and reset the computers on the car, taking with it ALL of the data that I have gathered from the practice sessions. Luckily, I always know to back up.
- Randomly change some variables. It varies from harmless to flat-out dangerous, but again, I have used interpolation and extrapolation to help me out with this.
- Inches forward slowly at 5 km/h. It did not sound like a big deal, but it really is when we are stopped on the pit or in the garage and we had to do some testing.
- Constantly telling me that it's out of fuel. I have learned to ignore that for the previous race, because as far as I am concerned, refueling is not a thing here.

Those little problems are relatively easy to solve, and I have the Fireline crew to thank once again. They have helped me out every inch of the way, and they feel that I can still fight for points even if Championship is out of the league for me this season. Which brought me to my next point - I am actually out of Championship. I am not very sad about it, of course! Okay, maybe just a little bit, but still, it isn't the end of the world. I am simply happy that I was able to keep a relatively consistent performance. Other than a few races here and there, I was almost-always in the middle - not too bad, but not too great, either. Something I would have to fix. And what better way to fix it by getting a win for this final race? It's not going to be easy, that is for sure! Especially from those who are due for their championship and fighting for points, they ARE going to be doing their best, and you know how the best of the best in this race were like. They are extremely good! I have the power of codes and computers on my side, with a hint of instinct. I wonder if I should change my coding to be more aggressive next race- ahh, that is for next season, sorry to detract away.

So yes... I would like a podium or even a win for this race. Will it be extremely difficult? Yes. I might even fail trying, maybe fail as hard as getting a lap down. Still, I am not being too pessimistic! I just think it will be realistic for me if I tell myself that it's equal parts success and failure. We shall see, we shall see. The Practice and Qualification sessions are coming up right now, and I will have to focus. I got my name called by my Fireline crew that my car is all set up, and it's time. As I slowly put on my helmet and zipped up my firesuit, there is one more thing that I need to accomplish:

Nie pojadę bez walki. (I am not going out without a fight.)

[Nico Hulkenberg]

Some Beautiful Poetry Before The Last Final Not Penultimate Round Of The Season

Plunder, thunder, blunder, ho
Understand just where we go
Then we are the ones who know

Race car, vroom vroom
All day, vroom vroom
Car goes, vroom vroom
Car goes, vroom vroom
On the track, vroom vroom
Only goes, vroom vroom
Never goes, boom boom
Save for when it does

I, personally, drive the car
Never do I not drive the car

To be a driver, you must go
Here or there, you never know
Except for when you do

And then, you find yourself to think
Rarely do you never drink
Suppose that is a problem
Erm, don’t drink a lot



yes we are doing softs and inshallah again so be ready for some tyre shredding bitcheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

[Abanhfleft]

William Archer knew that this was always going to happen to him anyway given his low tolerance for alcohol, but once again he just couldn't help himself. He had come to the point where he never thought he would be able to win a WGPC race ever again, so when he picked up that long-overdue dub in Hapilopper City, William just went wild. He downed the champagne from the podium ceremony like it was the last bottle of bubbly left on earth, and when he went out to celebrate his win with the rest of the Hap City nightlife, he just straight up guzzled as much booze as mlhe could. So it was no surprise that when William finally woke up on the morning after the race, he felt like someone had put a jackhammer right on his temple and got to work.

"What happened?" he asked himself. He remembered meeting with some of his fellow drivers, and that he was supposed to be making friends with them. William couldn't remember if he actually succeeded in befriending them, but he did remember something about a speech and being the future of WGPC. Did I really get that drunk last night? William asked himself. Because sure as hell I wasn't going to say anything like that while I was sober.

"Good morning, boss man!" William's imaginary supporter said, and the surprise jolted William fully awake. He still had that wicked hangover, but at least he was now awake to experience it in full.

"Jesus fucking Christ, man!" William said through gritted teeth. "Do you really have to speak that loud?"

"Only if that's what's in your mind, boss man," the supporter said.

"Goddamn it," William muttered as he rubbed his temples in an attempt to ease the pounding pain. "I don't suppose you can tell me everything about what I did last night."

"Of course I can," the supporter nodded. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, boss. You done messed up back there."

"Susmaryosep," William muttered. "How badly did I screw up?"

"You were supposed to be making new friends, boss man," the supporter said. "But instead you went on a roll and said that you and Ted and Lane and Anneliese and the Wrench were going to be the future of WGPC once the old farts like iBen and Rusty retire."

"Jusko po," William muttered again. "That bad, huh?"

"You really should lay off the gin sometimes, boss man," the supporter said. "Remember what happened the last time before last night?"

"Don't remind me. Shit," William groaned. "I gotta make up for this, somehow, but I don't know how. We got only one more race to go, and then it's the offseason again. I don't know if I'm gonna have the chance to get to talk to them again."

"Come on now, boss man," the supporter said. "I believe in you! I know you're gonna find a way to do it!"

"I wish I shared your confidence, man," William said. And then his phone rang. It was his stepmother Brigitte. "Hey, Ma," William said.

"William, your father, he… he's collapsed. At the end of the race here in Filindostan."

---

It was one week after William's father Guillermo Archer had collapsed after getting out of his car at the end of the Night Race at the Yoggy in NSSCRA. After spending some time in a Filindo hospital, Gil Archer had been flown back to Abanhfleft to continue his treatment closer to home. And while he was awake and responsive once again, the Archer family had not yet publicly said why he had collapsed. But William had been told the real reason by his mother: apparently, a meningioma had been spotted in Gil's brain during what was supposed to be a routine check-up, and after having kept it a secret for most of the NSSCRA season, he was struck by a seizure at a very inopportune time. Gil was okay, thank God, but there was a moment when William had come perilously close to losing his father. And in that one moment, William saw everything through a different perspective.

When William Archer arrived at Vilita for the final race of WGPC 19, he was not as joyful or buoyant as he had been last week in Hapilopper. He had a new helmet with him, a blue and pink design reminiscent of the designs that Guillermo Archer had driven in NSSCRA. The new helmet was a tribute to William's father, who was recuperating in Effelelendro but was still keeping his condition to himself until he had decided that the time was right. For his part, William also kept his mouth shut with regards to Guillermo's condition. "Out of respect for our family, I would like to say nothing about my father's condition until such time as we have decided to release a statement."

After William had taken pole, he had this to say: "Maybe it's fitting that I win at another track where my father has won before. That would be a very fitting tribute for him, wouldn't it?"

[WGPC 19]

CUTOFF for WGPC 19 Final Race!

[WGPC 19]

---

[Toys '4' All] Vilitan Grand Prix Presented by Vilaye Energy Drink

Event History and Track Guide

Located in the picturesque region of Vilitan right overlooking the waters of Atlantian Oceania, the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course was carved out of the Rocks on Vilita's Rockii Coast and offers a unique challenge to all drivers. Originally more of a wide-open high intensity speed park, The Grand Prix modification of the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course was a new addition to the facility in preparation for its inclusion in World Grand Prix Championship 11. While Acceleration and Mechanical Power will be a great equalizer on much of the course, the Grand Prix boot designed by Turorian legend iBen Toralmintii mid-way through the course gives those with the ability to make maneuvers in tight spaces a chance to shine as well.

The Vilitan Grand Prix had been a consistent fixture on the World Grand Prix Championship schedule between World Grand Prix Championship 11 and World Grand Prix Championship 15 before entering into an alternating schema with the Grand Prix of Turori in nearby Eelandii. With the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course having been new to many of the worlds top drivers when introduced during the World Grand Prix Championship's 11th season, the local-based Vilita & Turori Motorsports team dominated the race weekend for the first ever Vilitan Grand Prix. For World Grand Prix Championship Season 16 it was announced that the Vilitan Grand Prix had been relegated to a mid-season test event at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course while the Grand Prix of Turori at the Eelandii Grand Prix Course took center stage. The Vilitan Grand Prix now runs in odd-numbered World Grand Prix Seasons and has been moved to the season finale for World Grand Prix Championship Season 19.

Week 11: Race

Conditions:      	Dry	
Laps:              	61	
Nation:         	VIL	
Circuit:        	Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course	
Event:	Vilitan Grand Prix

POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     	Time      	Pts	Fastest Lap	
  1  8 ▍ARC William Archer           Preston Autos GP         	01:33:53.748	25		
  2 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna             Viska Racing             	00:00:03.344	18		
  3 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin             Carvenlo Racing          	00:00:23.297	15		
  4 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin           Race Eelandii VTGP       	00:00:30.537	12		
  5 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau             Badai Angin Tim          	00:00:31.120	10		
  6 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                Tropicorp Racing Ælund   	00:00:36.209	8		
  7 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna           GP Pryfors Bilar Viska   	00:00:37.908	6		
  8 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii         Tropicorp Racing Ælund   	00:00:38.782	4 + 1	1:29.713	
  9 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley             Kaylan Racing Team       	00:00:43.964	2		
 10 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna             Badai Angin Tim          	00:00:47.281	1		
 11 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane               Nexus Racing             	00:00:48.072			
 12 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Ela...  Fireline+Heroes Eminent  	00:00:54.536			
 13 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter              Race Eelandii VTGP       	00:00:58.053			
 14 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger      GP Pryfors Bilar Viska   	00:01:07.123			
 15 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23              WGPC Motorworks (B)      	00:01:08.569			
 16 83 ▍MNI Anola "Wrench" Melani    Kaylan Racing Team       	00:01:22.634			
 17  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux       Fireline+Heroes Eminent  	00:01:23.721			
 18  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards             Preston Autos GP         	00:01:26.214			
 19 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly         Nexus Racing             	00:01:30.375			
 20 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen          Carvenlo Racing          	00:01:31.483			
 21 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone             Viska Racing             	Laps Down: 1			
 22 24 ▍SZR Sayono Souzare           WGPC Motorworks (HR)     	Laps Down: 1			
DNF 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar            Teusbank TMW Rennsport   	Ret. lap 41			
DNF 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker        Teusbank TMW Rennsport   	Ret. lap 2

Pos # ▍DRV Name                      Team                     Pts
 1 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii          Tropicorp Racing Ælund   127 :: WGPC 19 DRIVERS CHAMPION
 2  8 ▍ARC William Archer            Preston Autos GP         114
 3 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau              Badai Angin Tim          107.5
 4 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna              Badai Angin Tim          99.5
 5 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna              Viska Racing             98
 6 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter               Race Eelandii VTGP       68
 7 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna            GP Pryfors Bilar Viska   65.5
 8 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                 Tropicorp Racing Ælund   61
 9 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin              Carvenlo Racing          57.5
10  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards              Preston Autos GP         57
10 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin            Race Eelandii VTGP       57
12 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone              Viska Racing             48
13 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Ela...   Fireline+Heroes Eminent  46
14 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley              Kaylan Racing Team       44
15  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux        Fireline+Heroes Eminent  38
16 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                Nexus Racing             27
17 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen           Carvenlo Racing          23
18 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger       GP Pryfors Bilar Viska   21
19 31 ▍WIN Joy Wingelaar             Teusbank TMW Rennsport   18
20 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly          Nexus Racing             17
21 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23               WGPC Motorworks (B)      15
22 83 ▍MNI Anola "Wrench" Melani     Kaylan Racing Team       14
23 15 ▍JUN Heinz-Otto Junker         Teusbank TMW Rennsport   3
24 63 ▍MIZ Daryl Mizushima           WGPC Motorworks (O)      1
24 24 ▍SZR Sayono Souzare            WGPC Motorworks (HR)     1

Pos NAT ▍Team                             Pts
  1 FID ▍Badai Angin Tim                  207 :: WGPC 19 CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPION
  2 ABL ▍Tropicorp Racing Ælund           188
  3 HAP ▍Preston Autos GP                 171
  4 AUR ▍Viska Racing                     146
  5 V&T ▍Race Eelandii VTGP               125
  6 DCS ▍GP Pryfors Bilar Viska           86.5
  7 F+H ▍Fireline+Heroes Eminent          84
  8 LEN ▍Carvenlo Racing                  80.5
  9 TGN ▍Kaylan Racing Team               58
 10 NIM ▍Nexus Racing                     44
 11 STL ▍Teusbank TMW Rennsport           21
 12 WGS ▍WGPC Motorworks                  17

---

Thank You All for a Great Season. The Results Might be Done but the thread remains open for your WGPC 19 Wrap up or WGPC 20 Rumormill!

Please stop by the POST SEASON SURVEY to provide your feedback for future editions.

---

---

Edit: Had Dom & Wrench with their pre-season numbers on the standings graphic. Updated to actual season numbers.

[Sorlovia]

So it was that another World Gran Prix Championship season drew to a close. Gregori stood on the now empty track at Crossbay with a wistful faraway look in his eyes. He wasn’t sure what it’d been but something had drawn him back to the Crossbay circuit in these final hours of WGPC19. It seemed like the season had only just started yet here he was contemplating the final results. If he was being honest with himself it’d felt like the season had flashed by in the blink of an eye. It’d been his worst season without a doubt. It’d been an absolute shambles of epic proportions. But he couldn’t shake a feeling of sadness and regret. The season was over. That long awaited time that gave excitement to his year on a level like no other had streaked by. It might have been a debacle. But he’d loved every moment of it.

The truth was that iBen deserved the WGPC19 Championship title. Gregori didn’t begrudge him that. He’d raced with incredible skill, employed impressive technique and had handled himself very well on the track. He’d made a point of sending him a congratulatory message after the results had been made official. A championship title continued to elude him but that didn’t mean that he then had to be bitter and resentful. The facts were that iBen had proved himself to be the best racer this season. He’d earned the championship and the rewards that came with it. He would no doubt he heading for some spectacular celebrations. Gregori hoped that iBen would enjoy himself and take in every last moment. Would he stop to appreciate how it felt? Would it savour it like a sweet taste on his lips? A dream had been realised. The dream they all held.

Gregori still silently with his racing helmet tucked under one arm. He was still dressed in his racesuit that Race Eelandii had given him for the season. But he knew he would have to return it soon. He just wanted to wear it for a little while longer. That quiet moment to reflect on the season and make the most of these final moments of racing with Race Eelandii. Because for all he knew he mightn’t get another opportunity to race with them again. He ran a hand over the Race Eelandii badging on the chest of the racesuit and sighed softly. He mightn’t have had a good season. But he’d enjoyed the races themselves. The feeling of being out on the track in the middle of a race had brought him one of the greatest joys in his life.

“Are you ready to go my love?”

Gregori turned to see his wife Elena standing a few steps away. He’d been so wrapped up in thinking about the season that he hadn’t heard her approach. She was wearing the dress he’d picked out for her on their honeymoon. She’d immediately loved the soft blue summer dress with its denim jacket and he’d bought it for her as a surprise. A soft smile creased her lips and she stepped forward to put her arm around his waist. He wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light or not but he swore that he saw a slight belly bump concealed beneath the fabric of the dress. He looked closer and noticed that it had a firm roundness to it. Was he seeing what he thought he was seeing?

“Yes my love,” she said noticing his curious gaze “you are going to be a father.”

She gently took his hand and placed it on her belly. Gregori’s eyes widened and a broad smile took over his face. He wrapped his other arm around her shoulders and kissed her softly as they turned to head back to the car. Well, it seemed that God had decided to favour him after all. He mightn’t have won the championship. But he was going to be a father. That was a greater prize. He’d thought of it for some time but he’d always imagined that it would come at a later date. They hadn’t exactly been trying for a child. At least not deliberately but it seemed that God had decided to bless them.

“That,” he said softly “is truly wonderful!”

[Hapilopper]

A TALE OF TWO SEASONS
By Doug Goodman, the Hapilopper Television Network

HAPILOPPER CITY – To get some idea of how this past World Grand Prix Championship season has gone for Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing, all one needs to do is look at both ends of their paddock after the Vilitan Grand Prix this weekend.

On one end of the paddock, William Archer and his crew are celebrating. Marty Lewis, the team principal, has just brought in a bottle of champagne to spray. Archer has just won the Vilitan Grand Prix, his second grand prix victory in a row and clinching second in the World Grand Prix Championship, 13 points behind champion iBen Toralmintii.

The faces on the Archer end of the paddock are joyous, delighted at what has been a great end to the season. There are talks already of Preston Autos preparing to open up the checkbook in a big way to keep the Fleftic driver for next season – potentially making him the highest-paid racing driver in the multiverse.

On the other end, Rudy Edwards has long since gone, having stormed out of the paddock in frustration as soon as he emerged from his car. A handful of his mechanics are still around the 5 car, but are moving their way slowly towards the celebration around William Archer.

As soon as Edwards left the paddock, he stormed away and made his way to the airport, catching the first flight back to Hapilopper City. He refused any requests for interviews after the Vilitan Grand Prix, and refused to speak to reporters for several days after the race.

Rudy Edwards: Everyone’s frustrated
“I’m not going to sit around and be OK with Rudy getting in his own way.” - Marty Lewis

“This has been the most frustrating year of my life,” Edwards said this morning, in his first interview since the end of the season. “I mean, there’s been some great moments – the win in Aboveland obviously was the high point, but holy crap.”

Edwards, who finished 3rd in last year’s World Grand Prix Championship, was considered one of the odds-on favorites to win this year’s championship, but he got off to a miserable start this season, failing to even score a point until finishing 9th in Turori.

For a brief period of time, it seemed like Edwards was going to turn things around, with a 5th place finish in the Aboveland sprint race and a win in the feature, followed up by a 5th in Filindostan and a 3rd in Auruna. But then the wheels came off the wagon, and Edwards failed to score another point.

Throughout the season, Edwards said he battled mental health issues, specifically concerns of self-doubt, whether or not he truly belonged in the upper echelon of international motorsport competitors.

And for a spell midway through the season, Preston Autos attempted to help Edwards with this matter, by enlisting NSSCRA driver Drake Stevenson to help him out. But Stevenson could only do so much, and on top of that, apparently told Edwards that he had “no interest in helping someone who didn’t want to help themselves.”

“That was his exact quote,” Edwards said. “Call him. Ask him what he said to me. He said he was wasting his time dealing with me because I was dealing with my issues.”

When asked about Edwards’ comments, Stevenson said that the whole story wasn’t being told and that Edwards had rebuffed his help.

“I am more than aware that getting better takes time,” Stevenson said over the phone. “But first of all, there’s only so much I can do, and it seemed like Rudy would disregard anything I would say. I suggested something to him, as a way of blocking out the critics. Get off social media. Put the phone away. But no, he’d stay on it. Things like this would happen, and it pissed me off. I’d rather stay at home and live my own life rather than try to help someone who wouldn’t listen.”

Whether it was Stevenson not being sufficiently patient with Edwards or Edwards not taking Stevenson’s suggestions seriously, it led to relations between the two souring.

It might have led to relations between Edwards and Marty Lewis souring as well, and that much was seen in Vilita, when Lewis said that Edwards had let his personal issues get in his way, and that it had “brought his side of the team down.”

Lewis recently admitted he had thought about firing Edwards for the incident with Stevenson, but has effectively given him an ultimatum.

“I’m not going to sit around and be OK with Rudy getting in his own way,” Lewis said. “And to tell you the truth, that’s why he was back there in the field. He kept getting in his own way. He kept telling himself he couldn’t do it. He would shut down whenever Drake would try to tell him something, and Drake got pissed off and left. I came this close to throwing Rudy out.”

Edwards will stay with Preston Autos next season, but Lewis made it clear that no extension for the season after that will be offered if similar results are seen next season.

“You need to understand something,” Lewis said. “We have two drivers on this team that can win the championship. Rudy nearly won the title last year. One more race this year and Archer would have won it. I want to see those two drivers competing, not sulking around in the back. That’s what frustrates me so much about it. We had a good car, especially late in the season, and Archer showed just how good we can be.”

William Archer: Just how much is Preston willing to spend?
“How much are we willing to spend to keep him? Yes. That’s the answer.” - Marty Lewis

Having won the last two grands prix and finishing 2nd in the championship, Lewis is adamant that Archer, next season, could win the World Grand Prix Championship if he stays with Preston Autos.

“The car we gave him, especially at the end of the season, was the best car we have ever put out,” Lewis said. “And William, my god, that’s a race driver that, when he’s on, he’s on like nobody else. If we can keep the equation right next year, William Archer will be a World Grand Prix Champion.”

After the Vilitan Grand Prix, rumors began to circulate from Hapilopper City that no less than Jim Preston, the President of Preston Autos, made it the automaker’s top goal to retain Archer for next season.

Lewis declined to comment on rumors that Preston personally walked a blank check to his office, but did state that he had heard from Preston a few days after the Vilitan Grand Prix.

“I don’t really like to comment on a personal conversation I had with Mr. Preston,” Lewis said, “but I don’t think he’ll object to people knowing that we want to keep William Archer on the team, and that we’re willing to pay him to keep him.”

But when he was asked how much Preston was willing to spend, Lewis declined to give a straight answer.

“How much are we willing to spend to keep him? Yes. That’s the answer,” Lewis replied. “If we can keep him, you’ll find out how much we’re willing to go for. Preston is a large automaker, one of the biggest companies in Hapilopper and likely one of the biggest in Atlantian Oceania. We’ve got funds, and that’s all I need to say.”

As of now, there was no indication if whether or not Archer would remain with Preston Autos, and Lewis and Edwards both indicated they weren’t sure. Both, however, said they hoped he stayed.

“He’s a hell of a teammate,” Edwards said. “If we keep him, that’s going to help us out so much.”

Even Jim Preston, who rarely provides public comment on the automaker’s motorsport efforts, told reporters at the annual Hapilopper Automobile Presentation the other day that he was hoping that Archer would remain a Preston driver.

“A lot of our Grand Prix team’s success comes from Archer’s presence on the team,” Preston said. “We probably would be down a different path without him. We want to keep him and we’re willing to pay him to do it.”

[TJUN-ia]

WGPC19
Round 11 - Final Round
Toys '4' All Vilitan Grand Prix Presented by Vilaye Energy Drink
Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Rockii Coast, Vilita and Turori

Practice
iBen: 11th
Dom: 1st
Rusty: 6th
Lane: 14th
Krupin: 4th
Mizu: 25th
Will: 16th

Qualifying
iBen: 12th
Dom: 6th
Rusty: 13th
Lane: 5th
Krupin: P7
Mizu: 25th (DNS)
Will: 1st

Race
Will: P1
(Luminna P2)
(Cruisin P3)
Krupin: P4
Dom: P5
(Luna P6)
(Haukanna P7)
iBen: P8
(Ted P9)
Rusty: P10
Lane: P13

And so, that is that.
iBen claims the drivers crown, while Badai Angin takes the contractors - the split both sides may have prefered not to see.
Archer went on a roll in the final 2 races, proving his worth once and for all - and to think he called Lane "Express Lane" only last week.
Not that Lane didn't like that nickname - just a thought.

Lane ends his best ever season 6th in the drivers, which both showed that he can do stuff and also show he still had things to work on.
Krupin ended up =10th, helping Race Eelandii to a comfortable P5 in the Constructors. Lane definitely saw the improvement in this season, but he also felt that he missed some opportunities to get more points on the board.

As for Krupin, the Sorlovian will also be remembered by the Galarian as an excellent teammate no matter what. He was a surefire help at times in a season that saw Lane help him, in a way. He didn't know if he was going to be in that brown car next year, but at least he does have something to look forward to next year - the birth of his child. Lane made sure to congratulate the new parents when he heard the news.

He entered this season with his future cloudy but heading in the right direction. He now leaves it with more questions than answers.
Can he build on this season for next time, maybe aim towards the Top 5 in both Championships?
Who will be alongside him next time, if not Krupin?
With Batu surely moving up to WGPC as the WGP2 Champion, will he become friend or foe to his compatriot?
He aims to be mates with Will Archer, but how will that play out?
What about Ted Pressley, also present at that meetup in Hap City? Could something be done with him?
And what about...Mizu? Will he come back? Is he going to fade away before Lane's very eyes?

All that will be answered after the winter...but for now, all he can do is rest and recover.
His name was Lane Carter...and he was simply....there. Nothing more, nothing less.

---

To: William Archer, Ted Pressley
From: Lane Carter (lcarter@jagwire.tj.un)
Subject: RE: RE: Wanna Hang Out?

---

Hey there, guys. Lane here.

That meet up was better than expected, to be honest, certainly helped by Mr Team Blue being on the bubbly for obvious reasons.

Maybe we are indeed the young guns of the sport and I can say all 3 of us have potential here. As do the ones who couldn't make it that day as well.

I'll try to keep in touch with both of you.

See you next season!

Lane

---

A note sent to Daryl Mizushima, via engineer (just like the beginning) before the teams left for the offseason.

I hope you are OK.
I really do.

I'm sorry I wasn't there for you but clearly, I was not in the loop.
I hope something isn't up that is stopping you from keeping contact.
I know we've progressed from this stage long ago.
But I felt this was the only way to reach you if e-mail wasn't going to work.

I've become part of a new social group, with Will Archer and Ted Pressley.
I was hoping you'd be interested in joining in on the fun.
If you want, of course.

Where did we go wrong, Mizu?
Was it the constant emails despite you being busy?
Was it something I said right near the start of this season?
Was it me using 'Mizu'?

I'm sorry if I did something wrong.
I'm sorry if I offended you in any way.
I'd never do that to you intentionally, not at all.

I hope you get to meet Batu, my compatriot.
He seems like a nice guy after all.

I hope you enjoy your offseason, Mizu.
I'll see you after the break, hopefully.

But if this is goodbye...then thank you.
Thank you for being there at my darkest hour.
I'll never forget that, Mizu.
Not at all.

See you when I next see you.

Lane x