NSSCRA 12- Everything Thread

[Saint Kanye]

Daryl Calhoun is angry. But then again, he had every reason to be. After two races, the defending champion of the NSSCRA Everlong Contenders Series finds himself at the bottom of the standings with just six points. Last week, at the Tundra Falls 400, Daryl had a great start and even led some laps, only to have his day end early due to a blown tire and a spin. And then at the Kharao 900, he qualified 34th and finished one spot higher and several laps down. Vibration and handling issues prevented him from making a charge to the front, not to mention some boneheaded moves on his part as he got increasingly frustrated at his failure to overtake the others who were stuck at the back of the field with him.

"Man, screw this," he said, kicking a discarded can of Eon Energy as he walked back to the garage. "Started this damn season in a hole, and only dug myself deeper into it today. Should have known the racing gods would be toying with us ever since the first and last qualifier switched places back in the Prospect Showcase."
"
"We're just two races in, bro," said Pyotr Lavrentiev, Daryl's teammate. "Two! Plenty of time to turn things around. Look at the Haps in the Cup Seroes. Last season they too started slow, only to go beast mode during the Chase. I thought you were a true Yeezie? Anything can happen, remember?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"You know what you need? To blow off steam. Hit the gym, that's what I do."

"Sounds like a plan then."

---

Meanwhile, in Ramba, Sherpaland, qualifying for the TMW 500 has just concluded. Thea Alvarez and Jeremiah Brooke found themselves at 19th and 21st, respectively, and will look to work together in the early stages, while Stacie Houston found herself starting 46th of 46, with only unchartered driver Timo Szaba posting a slower time. Some found it a bit odd, considering Stacie's short track prowess both in the Dagan series and in NSSCRA, but she simply shrugged it off and said "Challenge accepted. The length of the track, coupled with the competitiveness of the field, means that bad quals don't necessarily translate to bad results."

"So you're telling me there's a chance?" said Jeremiah later at the garage, in reference to Stacie's post-qualifying interview.

"You're Jeremiah Brooke," replied Stacie. "Make of that what you will."

"Yeah, but Jeremiah Brooke didn't become Jeremiah Brooke without putting in a lot of work."

"Then put in a lot of work."

"Stace, please. When have I not?"

The two were about to kiss when they were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Thea. "Um, excuse me, lovebirds, but Ilya's here." Ilya Tsunopin, WGP2 driver turned GFR's newest member, was indeed outside the garage along with his manager.

"Wait, I thought he went back to St. Kanye?" asked Stacie. Ilya entered the TMW 400, the qualifier for the 500, but while he ended his first outing in a stock car with an incredible sixth place finish, only the top two finishers were given open charters and so he would unfortunately miss the cut.

"He said he decided to stay, watch the race, and get to know his new teammates more," Thea explained. "I heard the team requested a spot for him for next week as well, so he'll be traveling to St. Kanye and then TJUN-ia with us."

"Great, because I myself am looking forward to meeting him," Jeremiah said. "Heard a lot of good things about the guy."

"Apparently he idolizes Qiang," spoke Stacie as she stood up from the couch.

"What's wrong with that? I too idolize Qiang. Dude went from being a simple farmer to the Empire's ace driver and one of the NSSCRA's finest. How is that not a feel good story?" was Jeremiah's reply. He, Stacie and Thea stepped back outside just in time to see Ilya and his manager already shaking hands with the pit crew members that were present.

GFR requests an open charter for #45 Ilya Tsunopin at the Race of Oceania in Wollongmatta Bay, TJUN-ia.

[New Northwesteros]

"So, Sage, how does it feel to finish runner-up in the Tundra Falls 500 with a new team?"

Sage Caldwell was sure that the reporters didn't really care that he's with a new team. What they wanted to hear, he thought, was his reaction to yet again falling short of victory, something not only was he familiar with, it's what he has become most known for, aside from his dreadlocks. Yes, being second is the second most known thing about Sage Caldwell. It used to be that he got angry and frustrated about finishing behind the winner, but then he realized that it's still a good thing that he finished ahead of forty-four others, and his rage from the loss would be better off fueling him to push harder in his goal to get that dub.

"I tied my personal best, and set a new team best, so there's something positive to be taken from it. Maybe with a little more effort, I could surpass that this season, if you know what I mean."

Sage hoped that the momentum from his finish in Tundra Falls would carry over the following week in Ramba. He was quick in practice and ended qualifying with decent time, good for twelfth best. And if he could convert that into a good showing at the race itself, he could have a shot at the early points lead. Suddenly leaving GFR didn't feel so bad anymore.

As for Ricky Lee, he was glad that he was doing well in his goal to gain a charter, as he was once again the fastest among those who don't have one. He thought maybe it's the effect of driving a Chadwick instead of a Beiyang, or of being part of a team closer to home. But one thing Ricky still can't seem to find success in is scoring with chicks, as he got rejected by fans, crew members, and TMW 400 challengers alike. "Freaking Jeremiah and Qiang, they make it look so easy," he said.

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – Race 1 – Main Series: Tundra Falls 500, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Superspeedway); Everlong: Tundra Falls 400, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Superspeedway)

Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton and Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye were able to perform their utmost miracles for the first ever race – at least, the first race to ever have the points accounted for. It was to be expected of for Gwen since she was the one who got into pole position during the qualifications. She maintained that position for a few more laps but she fell behind for a short moment before catching back up in the later segments. Anastasia also pulled a net gain, starting off with 18th and then finishing at 7th, at one point even going as far as a 2nd. Poor Clarissa did not make it that far for this race, starting at 9th and then dropping back to 27th. It was not so much that she was not able to perform well throughout the entire race. In fact, post-race analysis showed that Clarissa has been, for the better part of the race, acting erratic. She managed to climb back into the top places, even maintaining the 1st place for a good few laps, before going back down just like in the first half of the segment. "I forgot to reset my data, sorry about that!" she said sheepishly, her fingers twirling around as she run a few codes inside of her head, clearing up the cache of her NSSCRA program that she runs as part of her system. "I forgot to do it because the World Cup and Cup of Harmony was getting a little too exciting for me, haha! Quite a lot of wins there from my team!"

In Everlong, one could see two familiar figures getting out of their cars, their heights distinguishable as soon as they exited their vehicle. At first, without an ounce of context, one could have assumed that the two Valentians have won the race or placed on the podiums, and were celebrating their victory. However, the race was still on-going with half the number of laps to go. As it turns out, Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine and Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds suffered separate incidents on the field, just saddled in-between by Ganglie Zhe from Abanhfleft. Valentijn suffered a crash that rendered her car inoperable for the remainder of the race, while Marcus at least tried his best to hit the finish line. Unfortunately, due to the handling and mishaps that happened, he was unable to get the minimum timing needed in order to avoid the DNF and as a result, he too have failed and DNFed after hobbling a little bit more. Valentijn and Marcus sat together at the holding area, tending to each other's wounds – Valentijn suffering a minor bruise on her left arm while Marcus only had a small cut on his right hand. "It is not your fault at all, Marcus," Valentijn said with a genuine tone, a soft smile on her face, "These things happen. The fact that both of us got knocked out through? Ehh, there will be better races ahead of us, I can definitely promise that!" To the outsiders, if they didn't know that Clarissa is Valentijn's wife, they would have mistaken Valentijn and Marcus for a couple. On the contrary, the two are simply amicable best friends, having gone through the Pre-Valentian Era like any other pair of best friends would have had. The two of them got back up onto his feet after the race was over, with Marcus putting back his living armour and pushing the car back onto the garage. The living armour sensed that Marcus sustained a small amount of trauma and injury, but ultimately determined that it was nothing to be worried about. "Small bruises. It should be fine. Would you like further medical assistance?" "No, thanks. It's ok for now."

-----

Head Secretary Jamie Izabella Maxie Clara “The Elegant and Magnificent Mathematician” Pernella Ellie Natie Lexie Marie Valerie Ruby Æstriðr Fni. Clementine Millicent Lizbeth Alex Cass Eirian looked at her invitation on her own computer, making sure that she was all set for her trip to Lhasa, Sherpa Empire once again. This was perhaps the second time she has participated in this particular race. She never did like the vigour of football, nor did she have any particular interest in the field of basketball for the time being. Even for NSSCRA, for stock car racing, she tried once only because the Valentians have a seat available as part of the open charter driver rule as the host country of the race; she never thought of herself volunteering so enthusiastically, and yet there she was, placing 31st on the Valkyrie Speedway back in NSSCRA 9, then a failed qualification attempt at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds.

Of course, as history would tell, Jamie's interest in motorsports grew just by a small bit. "Well, looks like I may be going for another one of these, after all," Jamie explained to Valentijn and the rest of the Valentian main team at the NSSCRA 10 meetup, "For the longest of time, I will admit that I have had reservations about not going for one of these, and I was afraid in particular that this would be a waste of the Valentian budget, especially when I was afraid of not having fun in it. However, perhaps this has changed, and I will admit that I have definitely misjudged the charm of this particular brand of automobile racing, as well as the fact that I no longer have to worry about the waste of budget when I can cover it myself using half of my savings. What I am suggesting, my dear Valentian friends, is that I do would like to be in this race, however in another way that is not associated with the main series."

At that time, Everlong just happened to be a thing, but even that Jamie thought she would not be able to enjoy it due to how intense it could get at times. She needed something that only happens once in a while, and that was the moment when she saw the pamphlet for the race in Sherpa Empire. IRACT, as it was called, it is a smaller spinoff of the stock car racing that happens within NSSCRA itself, and this time, it happened earlier, right at the start of the season. Without a breath of hesitation, Jamie gleefully signed her name under the same number and car that she used to drive for the past two seasons – A #84 in dark blue body with white and light blue accents, just like the way she is dressed up. She reminisced and thought about all of the people, as well as other non-human beings, that she would talk to, and perhaps even make friends with. One in particular is the yeti by the name of Ongmu Yeti, from Chengdu. Most people were known to be scared of yetis as she was told, but the Valentian hospitality has won this particular yeti over. Jamie remembered the first time she and Admiral Genki Lee Zhuān Jiā used to attempt many different languages, particularly Mandarin, Cantonese, and a rather broken Hokkien. However, since both Jamie and Ongmu were able to communicate to each other in sign language, that was the perfect sweet spot for them, one that does not need a translator. With Jamie and the rest of the participants preparing their cars and communicating with their crews, and with the Valentians being one of the many audience watching over the race, Jamie gave a thumbs up to the crew while slowly walking over to the Yeti yet again. She slowly smiled and did her bit with the sign language: "Wishing you all the best out there! You got this!" Jamie sat down in her car, body fitting in just right.

And that particularly fateful day, despite the rather wonky qualifications, Jamie realised – and were elated – to see that IRACT has already requested open charters for Yeti and for herself. After all, they aced and dominated the race. Barely able to hold her excitement and happiness but still trying her best to button it up and to be elegant about it, she then walked towards the Yeti and offered her congratulations. "Well, my friend, this is a very huge victory for you and me! I heard that the officials are requesting an open charter for both you and me. We may be able to race in the big leagues after all! I normally only go to this race because I wanted to avoid a very tight schedule, but hey, I suppose I can clear it up a little bit for this, you know? Again, my big and happy congratulations to you!" After massaging her fingers, Jamie then offered a hug or a handshake, or perhaps neither if the Yeti doesn't want it.

[TJUN-ia]

This blog was written by Derrick Carlisle, Jaguar Racing's Social Media Manager

After an opening weekend that showcased our potential and our pace above everything else, the long road has certainly begun once more. You could say that it was good timing on the NSSCRA's part that as soon as a driver from The Sherpa Empire (Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal, of course) the Multiversal Cup Series heads out to Sherpaland itself for the TMW 500 in Ramba. Though if this were to continue, one of our drivers has to win entering next week's "North-South Party" back home, so I guess all the pressure will be on us. As for Tier 2? Well, they're in Kharao and the Memorial Speedway at the National Sports Complex for the first-ever Kharao 900 - which sounds very long until you realise how long the track actually is.

Before we begin, I must echo the thoughts of Drake Stevenson from last week: "How the hell did #MemeWatch become so popular in Hapilopper that it's trending over everything else?" I mean, I can understand if the fun-loving gearheads from Hapilopper want something that combines both aspects, but...my stuff? This blog? I...I don't know what to say. I'm almost in shock. To think that this little blog could get so big that people actively seek it out is...just unbelievable, so...thank you. Thank you all very, very much...for your support. I really mean it...thank you.

Anyway, onto the action now and we start in Tibet where TMW 500 Qualifying went down in the mountains, altitude sickness and all. I know our Qualifying record at JR can be up and down on any given week but here in the mountains, we certainly had a good one without claiming pole. It was the Shark of River Suzgar II who took top spot in the end, but it will be Michael Stefan (@Stefan07) who starts alongside him on the front row after he managed to be within 3-thousandths of a second of the pole time. That was certainly quick and both of Stefan's teammates won't be far behind either with Maddison Riley-Jones (@MaddyRJ03) starting tomorrow from 8th and Alfonso Mercado (@AM64) just behind in 9th. To have all three of our cars in the top ten for tomorrow is certainly a good thing and with Drake Stevenson in 3rd, tomorrow's gonna be very fun indeed. Hendo's in 11th, Stacie Houston's starting from last for some reason, Lam Chow-Cheung starts Lam Chow-Cheung and finally, the GOAT of KImi-Suomi in Aurélia Karvonen will finally get to start a race as she makes her debut as a non-charter in 36th (with Ricky Lee, Jean Lannes, Andre Massena and Kassie Collins also involved). The Top 2 from the IRACT TMW 400 were involved as open-charters, with winner Ongmu Yeti in 25th and runner-up Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian of Valentine Z in 35th.

Now then, to Kharao for the very first time and this race weekend was certainly very interesting. Robin Dragonovic (@RD97SNL) somehow became off the pace between Tundra Falls and here, starting from 36th and ending up in 28th - not great, but not the end of the world either. Gongming Gao (@GG70) is sorta becoming a race-day specialist and that showed here, qualifying in 30th but finishing up in 6th - not too bad at all for #70. But today's main player for us was certainly Alice Jepkosgei (@AJ96), who's race today was almost perfect. She ended up getting a memorable pole position over Lexi Patterson and Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine, a first for her I think, and she certainly took that in her stride in this race. But while she did beat Edmund Flanders for 2nd, she was pipped to the flag in the end by Jixaka Motorai in the end - but she'll certainly take both the podium and the Points Lead heading into her home track. Ilmari Pëkannen was the best of the HMs in 12th, Kaarina Salo in 35th and Turakki Mayelli the only DNF of the entire race.

More to come tomorrow in the mountains. Game on indeed!

---

Current MCS Standings: #07 - 3rd (?pts)/#64 - 6th (?pts)/#03 - 10th (?pts)
Current ECS Standings: #97 - 4th (?pts+PS)/#96 - 10th (?pts)/#70 - 11th (?pts)
Next MCS Race: TMW 500, TMW Ramba Test Track. Ramba, Rinbung County, Tibet Province, The Sherpa Empire
Next ECS Race: Kharao 900, Memorial Speedway at the National Sports Complex, Angelou, Rangiora, Kharao
Music of the Round II: Panic! At The Disco - Emperor's New Clothes (LBR/LIB/GUY)

MemeWatch II
1) "You're BOTH In The Wrong!" Lloyd Clarence (HTN) and Taylor Henderson (#73) - Casual Sexism and Weaponised Basketballs

[The Sherpa Empire]

Rinzi Zakhilwal was feeling pretty chuffed when he arrived in Kathmandu where he was going to visit Tashi's family for a few days before heading up to Ramba for the TMW 500. Everything had gone right for him at the Tundra Falls 500. The mechanical problems that had taken him out of the exhibition race were completely resolved and the car ran beautifully. He didn't get caught up in any of the chaos caused by the macho idiots from the French Army. His pit stops went smoothly. It was good enough to get him a win to start the new season.

Rinzi had celebrated enthusiastically at the Proving Grounds, and now he was going to celebrate some more with Tashi's family. There would be lots of food -- and lots of booze because Tashi's father had never quite caught on that it was un-Islamic to get roaring drunk. In other words, they were going to have a good time.

When Rinzi and Tashi stepped into the house, they were greeted by the delicious smells of spices and sizzling meat. They set their luggage down, there was a round of hugs and excited chatter, and then it was time for dinner!

"When are you going to give us some grandkids?" Tashi's father asked between shots of ara. By morning he'd completely forgotten that he asked, and he had also forgotten RInzi's answer.

Some people in Kathmandu were wearing masks and acting more standoffish than usual, worried about the coronavirus, but Rinzi was not going to let that or the nightmarish images coming out of the North ruin his good mood. He had Allah and the IHS to look after him.

[Kimi-Suomi]

With so much going on, it's time for a catch-up. Let's see how everyone's getting on...

Let's start with the boss himself, Daniel Marx, who had to try and follow events from two separate countries at the same time now that HMT1 and HMT2 were split between Sherpa-Imperiumi and Kharao. The agreement that he set up was that he would stay with T1 while a couple of his engineers kept an eye on Kaarina and Ilmari for him. So far, his team was towards the rear but that was fine - they all had plenty of time to grow, after all. In Newmanistan, T2 had the better weekend by far...but so far here, it was definitely Tier 1.

Not that Ilmari Pëkannen wasn't trying. He was certainly jealous after Salo got the team's first-ever podium last time out and wanted to put up a performance that would stop the gloating and put the odds back in his favour. Qualifying in 31st wasn't the best but his more-aggressive nature would help in the long race, ending up in 12th and making sure that his performance was by far the best of the two. Father would certainly be proud of that one.

As for Salo, that P2 in Tundra Falls certainly put her on a high - but this weekend certainly sent her crashing back to earth. Qualifying in 19th showed that she did have some pace around here, but she just...fell off a cliff in the race and ended up 2nd-from-last at the flag, which put her on the back foot both in the standings and in the battle with Ilmari. She knew he'd be a dick about it and with the next round at a dirt oval in JYK-inen (TJUN-ia) of all places, she will just have to pysy rauhallisena ja jatka over on a surface she hasn't driven on before. Lumi? Certainly, but Lika? Not so.

The happiest person in the team after Saturday was, of course, Aurélia Karvonen - the GOAT of Kimi-Suomen Motorsports. She had a hard time adjusting to the Multiversal Cup's sheer class, something she hadn't really had to deal with before back home. She certainly felt a bit miffed, but her own mind and Daniel Marx assured her that there would be plenty more opportunities...and finally, she was going to get one. She will start 36th, directly behind "kiinalainen naamio" in Lam. You could certainly say her confidence returned when her spot was confirmed and with her first race now ahead of her, she will certainly try and do her best - the Karvonen way.

Speaking of Lam Chow-Cheung, starting from 34th was little solace to a soul still hurt from their DNF in Newmanistan. The team certainly tried to put it behind the mask that it was only one race and that everything would be fine, but that didn't matter to Lam. They had a target to finish that race and they failed, pure and simple. Sure, there were plenty more opportunities to get points down the road, but Lam believed in a philosophy that good times can only start with a smile task...and they failed in that simple task. They were, of course, hoping to actually finish here in Tibet tomorrow, a land so similar to their own in a few ways...but after what happened last week, the confidence was certainly in the mire.

It certainly wasn't helped by that trip in front of GRF, the mask hitting the floor at the same time as their dignity. That time they took contemplating their own place in the world was certainly too much as suddenly, here was the GFR gang wondering if they were OK. Brooke, Houston and Alvarez - former champions and champions-in-waiting all the same - people in a different stratosphere to whatever level Lam was at in their career. It was Brooke who offered them a hand and a single sentence - "Dude, you alright?"

They weren't going to tell off a former NSSCRA Champion for assuming they were a dude, so the situation was certainly awkward for LCC. They ended up thanking Brooke for helping him before saying something along the lines of "I was just contemplating my race before I just tripped. I'm sorry, but I'm not good enough to be talking to people like you." and just...left. It certainly wasn't the best way to go around things, but they knew that was the only way...no one really understood Lam and he didn't expect them to. The only thing that set them apart (apart from the mask, of course) was a pin they had on the overalls that said one simple thing: Enby. Maybe they noticed, maybe they did not, but that didn't concern the one in the shadows...all that mattered now was trying to make this race count.

[Garden at 6th Mile Road]

The Gardeners – Race 1 – Main Series: Tundra Falls 500, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Superspeedway); Everlong: Tundra Falls 400, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Superspeedway)

Jolyn was never a fan of standardized tests. During her days as a spy in the Pre-Valentian Era, there were times when she had to infiltrate and inspect the education systems of different schools and across different countries in order to fish out as much information as possible for her clients. It's only natural for her to pick up and learn more about what the education structure of the countries are like. A few of them have been to her linking, emphasis on non-academic performance and growing a kid's talent. Most of them, however, would have at least one standardized test. Due to the war, they modified and changed accordingly to the needs with little to no more central authority to vet and normalize it. Still, an exam is an exam, and Jolyn was not a fan of it. And yet, here she was, on the first day of her school and class, and she had to hand out these tests for her students of various backgrounds and ages. "There is no score for this, and I will not be announcing who won and this is not a contest," she stated, making her point as clear as rain from the get go, "To be perfectly honest, I hate standardised tests like this. However, I'll have to do this in a vain attempt to, well, get a gauge of you all." The exam papers would be personalized for each of the students in the sense that 33% of the questions were in their native languages, while the rest are in English. The questions vary across difficulty and subjects - from simple multiplication to calculus and trigonometry; from simple retelling of history, to asking for evaluation of more significant events; from simple Newtonian physics, to quantum physics of the highest order. Perhaps then she will get a rough gauge of how the future of Valentine Z will hold up.

-----

With this being their 3rd season, it's no surprise that Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight and Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta have picked up the pace significantly. The former, despite having a bad start with the qualifications, manage to stay behind of Jolyn for the most parts and placed herself a decent 25th in the middle. Jolyn, on the other hand, placed 17th om the qualification and then 21st as the checkered flag rolled across the finish line. She reminded herself about the days where she would won a few races here and there, even for her first season. Perhaps those days were long gone, what with her fumbling and taking a season off. Still, the other teams, such as Tropicorp, gave her a degree of renewed confidence be side that means that there may come a time where the Gardeners might have overtaken the Valentians. That day might be somewhen in the future, no one knows for sure, but it's certainly there. Additionally, today was a bit of a tough break for her, seeing how she nearly got herself totalled at the 2nd segment of the race and placing herself 41st. She pulled back up after a quick pit stop, making a comeback and retaining the top 20 positions until the end where she lost 10 positions from 11th to 21st. All-in-all, it was an impressive record.

Anna Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe, however, had a lot to learn, performance on par with Holly's first season and first few races. Still, with her current attitude and being the Personification of Happiness of Valentine Z (contrary to the myth, happiness won't die with her should something awful happen to her; the happiness in Valentine Z is normal, with Anna simply being more of a representative and a mascot). "Hey, this is just a first scored race, that's okay!" Anna said to the press as she answered a few questions for them. She is still relatively not known, but it was reassuring to hear that there were a few reporters and press and media who looks at the less well-known drivers and giving them interviews, perhaps both to boost their confidence and also to cover more stories, instead of just from the top scorers. Anna continued on as she gave a smile to the camera and the reporters, having already taken off her firesuit and revealing her usual dress that she wears, "There will always be other races and matches, you know?"

[The French Army]

While Napoleon and Bessieres returned to the Pearl Kingdom to check on their troops who were encamped in and around Chieujeau; the French NSSCRA team under the leadership of Berthier made their way to Tibet for the TMW 500. For the Frenchmen and Jouoangquoirens working in the paddock, it did not always feel like the team was under the leadership of Berthier. Murat, Lannes, and Massena each had their own very definite opinions, and they were not afraid to let everyone know.

---

"Oh God, I can't breathe!" Andre Massena gasped and gagged and leaned on the wall for support. This time the problem was not Jean Lannes' poor hygiene or Murat's aftershave. It was the thin air. It took several minutes for Massena to catch his breath, and the commotion drew the attention of a couple Ministry of Health agents who spent a little extra time interrogating Massena about his medical history and injecting him with some sort of "flu shot" in addition to the tests they were doing on everyone. (The Sherpas looked a little a horrified as Massena listed off all the various illnesses he'd had over the course of his life.)

Lannes' staff had to restrain him and calm him down to stop him from yelling at the woman who stuck the swab up his nose for...whatever it was they were sticking swabs up everyone's noses for. The French did not understand everything that was going on because their translator wasn't very good, and they did not appreciate being bossed around by a bunch of funny-looking oddly-dressed brown people.

Murat caused the least drama of the three as they navigated the Shigatse airport. A few people waved their hands in front of their faces trying to waft away the smell of his excessive aftershave, or pulled their masks up over their nose the way the masks were meant to be worn in the first place -- but other than that, Murat made it out of the airport without incident.

At the track, it was back to business.

Or yak racing.

The French marshals could not wait to find out if their experience with horses would make them good at riding yaks. It kind of did. They all did reasonably well until Massena had another fit of altitude sickness and had to sit out the final.

---

Lannes was very confused by the note he had received from Thea Alvarez. He had gotten it translated by now, but he still didn't understand why she had sent it. He could not recall having any meaningful contact with her and had no idea why she would reach out to him. Was she attracted to him and trying to get his attention? Massena thought so, and he had been grumbling about it, saying, "I don't know what she sees in you." Lannes decided he would have to talk to Thea and see where it went...

[Vilita and Turori]

Sluggish Speedweeks as VTM finishes Bottom of the Darts

Tundra Falls Superspeedway, Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan :: Despite failing to put any of their drivers in the Championship Four for NSSCRA Season 11, there was high optimism in the Vilita & Turori Motorsports camp heading into Speedweeks at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds. The team was coming off its first points victory at the proving grounds when River 'Shark' Suzgar II was victorious at the NSSCRA 11 concluding Proving Grounds 500.

Vilita and Turori Motorsports would enter NSSCRA Season 12 with their biggest roster shakeup since NSSCRA Season 6 with long time driver Centur Tiones taking the car #2 and sponsor Tiones Lumber along with the entire #2 pit crew and a few of Tiones' favorite racing chassis with them to Team Tropicorp, replacing Cocoabo #28 in the teams lead Full Time driver seat. In place of Tiones the Vilita and Turori Motorsport team would promote driver #4 Islago Tizilna from the Vilaye EnergySport Everlong Contender's Series team. Tizilna was the only Vilita and Turorian driver to earn a victory during NSSCRA Season 11 in the Everlong Contender's Series and finished 14th in the overall season standings. Despite their relative inexperience, the relationship between Vilita and Turori Motorsports and the Vilisorma Beverage Company along with the higher financial contribution the sponsor was willing to make in comparison with the modest sponsorship that Novarali Enterprises receives from the Arcticala Electrical Company or the Turoki Island Tourism board made the decision to have Tizilna compete for the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series Rookie of the Season for NSSCRA Season 12 an easy one.

While Tizilna graduated after just one season in the Contender's Series, the Novorali Enterprise duo of Lotara Novorali and Turakki Mayelli would return for a third season in the NSSCRA's second tier series with both looking to improve on their performances after failing to find victory lane at all during Season 11. As they did during NSSCRA Season 11, Novorali Enterprises would continue to provide technical support for a third Contenders Series entry. After the shock closure of the Badai Angin Tim Motorsport Effort saw NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series veteran Rockii Ezis out of a ride for NSSCRA Season 12, Ezis would be the beneficiary of the extra bandwidth available at the Arcticala-based Novorali Enterprises shop, taking the financial backing from the CoCoCo Entities down to the Everlong Contenders Series where Ezis will hope to compete for Victories and potentially even an Everlong Contenders Series title.

The season got kicked off with the traditional Exhibition events for both the Multiversal Cup Series and the Everlong Contenders Series. On the Contenders Series side it was a fairly underwhelming performance for the Novorali Enterprises team. Lotara Novorali put in the best performance for the trio qualifying 9th and placing 12th in the Prospect Showcase at the Proving Grounds presented by Rocket Automotive. Rockii Ezis in their debut for the team and their debut at the Everlong Contenders Series level of the NSSCRA would qualify 15th and finish 22nd. Turakki Mayelli - who some consider one of the most consistent drivers on the cricuit - would qualify 18th and improve four spots to finish in 14th position.

Qualifying for the Multiversal Cup Series Exhibition at the Proving Grounds was not a moment to remember for Islago Tizilna in their first appearance as a full time Multiversal Cup Series Driver. Tizilna was the slowest of the 49 drivers who took qualifying for the Exhibition while teammates Yraaga Gilli'i and River 'Shark' Suzgar II would both qualify inside the Top 10. Of course, starting dead last on the field there was no where for Tizilna to go but up, making their 23rd place finish in the Exhibition possibly seem like a better showing than it really was. Teammates Yraaga Gilli'i and River 'Shark' Suzgar II both finished outside the Top 10 in 13th and 18th position respectively while Jeremiah Brooke took the checkered flag in the #18 for the newly renamed Gale Force Racing team.

While none of the six Vilita and Turori based entries placed inside the Top 10 in either of the two pre-season Exhibition races, the first time in the history of the NSSCRA Exhibition races that that had occurred, there was still little cause for concern inside the Vilita and Turori Motorsports section of the paddock as, by nature, the Exhbition events are not always a great indicator of performance in the big show at the Tundra Falls 500.

When it came time for Tundra Falls 500 qualifying, the Vilita and Turori Motorsports trio would show decent speed with all three posting Qualifying times inside the Top 15. Once again it was Yraaga Gilli'i leading the way for Vilita and Turori Motorsports in 7th position though Islago Tizilna had improved greatly from their exhibition qualifying run with the 11th fastest time in Vilaye Energy Drink Pole Qualifying. River 'Shark' Suzgar II running the special tri-sponsor scheme for the race was just narrowly behind in 14th position.

The teams race day plan went up in smoke early in the race however when the #41 Tropicorp Racing Supply Hybrid Dart of Yraaga Gilli'i was destroyed in an accident that would also take out Hapiloppers Drake Stevenson leaving River 'Shark' Suzgar II left with only the rookie driver Islago Tizilna to work with. While Tizilna had shown speed and talent during their time in the Everlong Contenders Series they had never had to apply it in a pressure situation with the best Stock Car Drivers in the Multiverse at its most Prestigious event - and it would ultimately cost the Vilita and Turori Motorsports team. Tizilna was unable to properly defend late in the race and allowed the Sherpa Emire powered train of Kai Qiang, Tsering Chu and Liangmei Li driving for Rocket Motorsports to break along side, splitting Tizilna from 'The Shark' and sending both free-falling into the field. Tizilna would drop all the way back to 28th place while Suzgar would fight tooth and nail to hang on to a Top 20 finish - the highest finishing Vilita and Turori Motorsports driver in the teams worst ever Speedweeks performance, by far. To add insult to injury for the team, former driver #2 Centur Tiones finished inside the Top 10 in the first points outing for Team Tropicorp while all four Team Tropicorp drivers as well as all three Jaguar Racing drivers - a total of 7 Hybrid Darts - all crossed the line ahead of Suzgar, the highest finishing driver for Vilita and Turori Motorsports - another record low point for the team.

[Newmanistan]

Race: TMW 500, TMW Ramba Test Track, Ramba, Rinbung County, Tibet Province, The Sherpa Empire (Short Track)
Lap Record: 22.453 sec.
Minimum Time To Avoid DNF= 24.750 sec.

Segment 1:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                        22.711
 2 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                          22.745
 3 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                          22.753
 4 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)        22.762
 5 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                  22.771
 6 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                      22.773
 7 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                      22.834
 8 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                       22.837
 9 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)           22.887
10 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                     22.888
11 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)          22.892
12 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)            23.025
13 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)               23.032
14 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                   23.034
15 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                   23.064
16 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                    23.223
17 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                  23.234
18 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                  23.303
19 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 23.317
20 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)         23.325
21 #40- Ongmu Yeti (The Sherpa Empire)                    23.405
22 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                     23.560
23 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                     23.594
24 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                     23.605
25 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                      23.777
26 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                 23.817
27 #84- Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian (Valentine Z)        23.891
28 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                      23.992
29 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                          24.001
30 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                 24.026
31 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)               24.027
32 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                   24.054
33 #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                    24.123
34 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                 24.153
35 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                           24.195
36 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                         24.292
37 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                           24.323
38 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                        24.339
39 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                           24.389
40 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                            24.483
41 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                          24.559
42 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos)                               24.608
43 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*               24.613
44 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                 24.795 DNF
45 #12- Daniel Wynfor (Kannapian Sports Federation)       24.797 DNF
46 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                       25.061 DNF

Segment 2:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)       22.755
 2 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                        22.780
 3 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                   22.806
 4 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                    22.806
 5 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                     22.813
 6 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                           22.813
 7 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                    22.864
 8 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)          22.871
 9 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                    22.884
10 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                 22.889
11 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                       22.895
12 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                22.984
13 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                  22.999
14 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)         23.074
15 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                  23.103
16 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                     23.227
17 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                23.251
18 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                 23.273
19 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                         23.306
20 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                         23.448
21 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                     23.496
22 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)        23.508
23 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                 23.522
24 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                      23.574
25 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                    23.610
26 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)              23.621
27 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                         23.676
28 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)           23.680
29 #40- Ongmu Yeti (The Sherpa Empire)                   23.699
30 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)              23.768
31 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                  23.824
32 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                       23.868
33 #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                   23.868
34 #84- Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian (Valentine Z)       23.880
35 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                     23.998
36 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                          24.029
37 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                          24.034
38 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*              24.139
39 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                24.232
40 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                         24.375
41 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                24.458
42 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                          24.627
43 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos)                              24.774 DNF

Segment 3:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                  22.735
 2 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                    22.752
 3 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                 22.768
 4 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                         22.777
 5 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                       22.810
 6 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                        22.816
 7 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)         22.829
 8 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                   22.851
 9 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                         22.901
10 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                         22.903
11 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                 22.917
12 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                      22.922
13 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                     22.980
14 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                           22.996
15 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                    23.019
16 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                     23.027
17 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)       23.029
18 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                    23.139
19 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                    23.171
20 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)              23.178
21 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)        23.230
22 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                23.247
23 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)              23.257
24 #40- Ongmu Yeti (The Sherpa Empire)                   23.337
25 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)          23.378
26 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)           23.392
27 #84- Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian (Valentine Z)       23.411
28 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*              23.635
29 #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                   23.814
30 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                23.817
31 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                          23.859
32 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                23.861
33 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                          24.012
34 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                     24.077
35 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                 24.112
36 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                         24.153
37 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                       24.170
38 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                  24.220
39 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                     24.446
40 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                          24.658
41 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                24.747
42 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                  24.749

Segment 4:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                 22.741
 2 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)         22.759
 3 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                         22.766
 4 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)          22.766
 5 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                    22.777
 6 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                           22.780
 7 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                        22.782
 8 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                      22.808
 9 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)           22.817
10 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                         22.848
11 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                    22.896
12 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                     22.904
13 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                    22.935
14 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)       22.972
15 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                   22.975
16 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)              23.007
17 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                       23.035
18 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                23.109
19 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                  23.143
20 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                         23.184
21 #40- Ongmu Yeti (The Sherpa Empire)                   23.207
22 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                         23.209
23 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                  23.257
24 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                 23.328
25 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                     23.386
26 #84- Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian (Valentine Z)       23.396
27 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                     23.412
28 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                 23.428
29 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                       23.603
30 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                23.625
31 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                  23.670
32 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                          23.735
33 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)        23.739
34 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                    23.831
35 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                          23.913
36 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                23.924
37 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                     23.979
38 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*              24.053
39 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)              24.222
40 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                24.231
41 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                          24.234
42 #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                   24.317

Segment 5:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                    22.748
 2 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                       22.749
 3 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                  22.805
 4 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                   22.836
 5 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                    22.881
 6 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                    22.892
 7 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                  22.895
 8 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)       22.929
 9 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)        22.943
10 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                         22.959
11 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                 22.960
12 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                      22.966
13 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)              22.969
14 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                22.989
15 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)           22.990
16 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                         23.027
17 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)         23.041
18 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                        23.073
19 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                         23.147
20 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                 23.179
21 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                     23.199
22 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                    23.252
23 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                23.268
24 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                           23.320
25 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                     23.398
26 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                 23.412
27 #40- Ongmu Yeti (The Sherpa Empire)                   23.427
28 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                     23.509
29 #84- Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian (Valentine Z)       23.659
30 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)              23.668
31 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                  23.710
32 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                     23.875
33 #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                   23.879
34 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                          23.887
35 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                          23.953
36 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)          24.044
37 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                         24.067
38 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                       24.173
39 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                24.208
40 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                          24.213
41 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                24.619
42 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*              24.662

Final Results:

+-----+--------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                      Driver                      |  Avg.  |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                  | 22.840 | WINNER
|   2 | #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)  | 22.889 |
|   3 | #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)    | 22.919 |
|   4 | #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)               | 22.936 |
|   5 | #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)              | 22.938 |
|   6 | #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)             | 22.943 |
|   7 | #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                | 22.946 |
|   8 | #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)               | 22.964 |
|   9 | #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                 | 23.021 |
|  10 | #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)            | 23.045 |
|  11 | #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)            | 23.083 |
|  12 | #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                   | 23.149 |
|  13 | #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                | 23.167 |
|  14 | #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)      | 23.181 |
|  15 | #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)     | 23.189 |
|  16 | #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)         | 23.191 |
|  17 | #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)               | 23.208 |
|  18 | #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                    | 23.268 |
|  19 | #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                    | 23.275 |
|  20 | #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                      | 23.278 |
|  21 | #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)               | 23.312 |
|  22 | #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*           | 23.342 |
|  23 | #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)           | 23.343 |
|  24 | #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)   | 23.349 |
|  25 | #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                    | 23.386 |
|  26 | #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)             | 23.414 |
|  27 | #40- Ongmu Yeti (The Sherpa Empire)              | 23.415 |
|  28 | #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                    | 23.431 |
|  29 | #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)            | 23.439 |
|  30 | #84- Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian (Valentine Z)  | 23.647 |
|  31 | #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                | 23.723 |
|  32 | #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)         | 23.759 |
|  33 | #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)             | 23.896 |
|  34 | #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                     | 23.954 |
|  35 | #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                | 23.984 |
|  36 | #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)              | 24.000 |
|  37 | #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                  | 24.031 |
|  38 | #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                     | 24.034 |
|  39 | #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*           | 24.178 |
|  40 | #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*         | 24.220 |
|  41 | #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*           | 24.314 |
|  42 | #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                     | 24.424 |
|  43 | #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos)                         | DNF    |
|  44 | #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*           | DNF    |
|  45 | #12- Daniel Wynfor (Kannapian Sports Federation) | DNF    |
|  46 | #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                 | DNF    |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------+--------+

Point Standings (After 2 Races):

+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                         Driver                         | Points |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)          |     83 |
|   2 | #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)*                       |     81 |
|   3 | #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                    |     79 |
|   4 | #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                  |     79 |
|   5 | #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                     |     78 |
|   6 | #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                         |     76 |
|   7 | #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)           |     75 |
|   8 | #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                   |     75 |
|   9 | #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                       |     74 |
|  10 | #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                          |     73 |
|  11 | #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)*        |     73 |
|  12 | #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                 |     69 |
|  13 | #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                            |     67 |
|  14 | #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                     |     67 |
|  15 | #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                      |     65 |
|  16 | #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)        |     65 |
|  17 | #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                          |     61 |
|  18 | #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)            |     61 |
|  19 | #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                     |     59 |
|  20 | #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)               |     57 |
|  21 | #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                          |     57 |
|  22 | #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                          |     54 |
|  23 | #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                     |     49 |
|  24 | #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 |     43 |
|  25 | #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                  |     42 |
|  26 | #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                   |     40 |
|  27 | #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                  |     40 |
|  28 | #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)               |     37 |
|  29 | #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                      |     36 |
|  30 | #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                      |     33 |
|  31 | #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                        |     31 |
|  32 | #28- Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                           |     30 |
|  33 | #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                           |     29 |
|  34 | #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                      |     20 |
|  35 | #40- Ongmu Yeti (The Sherpa Empire)                    |     20 |
|  36 | #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                    |     20 |
|  37 | #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                   |     19 |
|  38 | #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                           |     17 |
|  39 | #84- Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian (Valentine Z)        |     17 |
|  40 | #59- Derek Harwood (Newmanistan)                       |     15 |
|  41 | #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                   |     14 |
|  42 | #12- Daniel Wynfor (Kannapian Sports Federation)       |     13 |
|  43 | #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                           |     13 |
|  44 | #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*               |     13 |
|  45 | #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q* |     13 |
|  46 | #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                 |     13 |
|  47 | #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos)                               |     11 |
|  48 | #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                 |      8 |
|  49 | #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                 |      6 |
|  50 | #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                       |      2 |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+

Next Races:
Multiversal: (Mar 1/2)- Race of Oceania, Adelaide Park Circuit, Wollongmatta Bay, UO Zone, TJUN-ia (Road Course)
EverLong: (Mar 1)- Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao (Shield City Conflict), Mviringo wa Dunia (The Circle of the Earth), Jiji la Ngao, AU Zone, TJUN-ia (Short Track- Dirt Track)

[Abanhfleft]

Finally, after three years of waiting, through all sorts of trials and tribulations, Rustam Ilyich Yudin had made it back to the NSSCRA Cup Series as a full-time driver.

It hadn't been an easy journey to get back to where he had once been. And there were many moments when Rustam thought that he was never going to be able to go back ever again. The national crisis caused by the Chaos had resulted in Rustam's old team, Motorsports Ceroat, to withdraw from NSSCRA in the middle of the competition's ninth season. And if it hadn't been for a certain Fleftic driver named Guillermo Archer, that would have been where Rustam's fledgling NSSCRA career would have ended. But Archer saw potential in Rustam, potential that Archer knew could not be allowed to go to waste. So Archer had approached Rustam with an offer: come to Abanhfleft and drive for Archer's team there where Rustam could continue honing his skills as a racing driver until such time that he was ready to return to NSSCRA competition. Now, Rustam’s career in the Abanhfleft Racing Truck Series was nothing to write home about, but even then, it was still giving him experience behind the wheel of a racing machine, and that was all that was important to Rustam at the time. He didn’t win the championship in his one full season with Manalastas-Archer Racing, but he was able to make it as far as the Round of 8 in the ARTS Chase, and that was apparently enough for Urotovsky-Gatutin to put him in their second team in the Everlong Series after they had decided that their usual number two, David Clarke, wasn’t really cut out for stock car racing. Sure, Archer’s return to UrGa’s Cup Series team may have had something to do with Rustam going into Everlong, but at this point, the Ceroatian driver no longer minded it.

And now here he was, back in the top competition of the multiverse’s top stock car racing tournament. The Multiversal Cup Series was the series that everyone wanted to be in, and it was the Multiversal Cup Championship that everyone wanted to have in their trophy cabinets. And, for a brief time before Motorsports Ceroat had been forced to fold due to the Chaos, Rustam himself had harbored dreams and ambitions of being his country’s first Cup Series champion. Now, Rustam was allowing himself to dream again, even if only for a little bit, as he knew that while UrGa’s equipment was a damn sight better than the old Ceroatian cars he had driven before, they still had a fair bit to go before challenging the likes of Dart, Chadwick, and TMW. But every season that UrGa spent in the competition was another season where they were able to get closer to the frontrunners and become consistent contenders themselves.

Rustam’s daydreaming was put to an end though by the appearance of a familiar face. Pyotr Lavrentiev, Rustam’s fellow Ceroatian driver who was now driving for the Saint Kanye-based Skip Stiller Speedworks, had also become a familiar face to UrGa’s garages thanks to the friendship between the two drivers, and whenever Pyotr appeared at their garage, the UrGa crewmen already knew to point him in the direction of wherever Rustam was at the moment. It was a similar arrangement to the one that Rustam had with the SSS garage and crew. "Hey, look at the big shot over here," Lav (the nickname that the Yeezies had given Pyotr) spoke upon seeing his old buddy. "How does it feel now that you'll be running with the likes of Stacemiah and Qiang and the Shark instead of the hacks like Pyotr Lavrentiev?" he asked. "Nervous? Excited?”

“Damn right I’m both nervous and excited, man,” Rustam replied. “We’re talking about the people that made stock cars popular throughout most of the multiverse! And now I get to race against them on a regular basis again! Then again, this is where we all started, right? Before our country went to shit and we all thought that we were never going to be able to drive again.”

“Man, imagine the look on Taras' face if he finds out about this," Lav said, referring to their other friend, the third driver in their Motorsports Ceroat team, Taras Lakrov. Unlike both Lav and Rustam, Taras had not been approached by other NSSCRA teams to drive for them and so he had been forced to find a way to get back to the homeland after other nations canceled all flights to and from Ceroat because of the Chaos. Taras had already told the other two men of the journey that he had taken from ship stowaway to guerrilla fighter to wounded veteran in the fight against the warlords that had taken over and carved up Ceroat between themselves, not to mention the alien tripods that had seemingly taken over the old capital of Ragusapolis. Taras had lost his left eye, left forearm, and left leg below the knee during the ill-fated First Southern Province Offensive that had introduced both the Ceroatians and their Pridnestrovian allies to the danger that the alien tripods posed, and since then he had been serving as a sort-of “poster boy” for Ceroatians wounded in the campaign to restore order in their country.

“I know, man,” Rustam nodded. “I know Taras will be happy for me, but I’m pretty sure that he would love it if he could be racing with us once again. If it weren’t for those damn tripods, man… Anyway, give my commiserations to Daryl. It must be hard to be both the defending Everlong champion and the first DNF of the season. Also, I saw the next race on your guys’ schedule. 900 kilometers in 150 laps; man, that’s practically an endurance race! A large part of me is kinda happy that I won’t have to deal with that, but another part of me wants to actually experience it for myself. Anyway, good luck over in Kharao, man. You and Daryl might actually need it.”

After Lav had left, Rustam remembered that he also had to deliver his congratulations to the winner of the Tundra Falls 400, his former UrGa teammate Agata Kosaryova. To think that the two of them spent so much time and effort into getting a win for Gasha last season only for it to not work out, and now here was Gasha winning the very first race of the new season. Motorsports really could be so weird sometimes. Rustam headed over to the UrGa Everlong garages to give his congratulations to Gasha in person, only to arrive just in time to witness her drinking a bottle of what appeared to be brown sauce or gravy. Rustam waited for Gasha to finish drinking the bottle, which was apparently part of a bet that Gasha had made with her crew chief in the event that the former finally won a NSSCRA race, before he finally walked over and said, “Congratulations on finally getting that win, Gasha. But why did you have to win it once I’m no longer in Everlong, huh?”

---

It felt weird watching the Tundra Falls 500 from inside the garages of the Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division instead of behind the wheel of a Luxur Byzant, and for Guillermo Archer, it would never stop feeling weird. He was a racer by heart and believed that his place was always supposed to be behind the wheel of a racing machine, but his current medical condition obviously precluded that. The decision to retire from motor racing because of that tumor in his head was one of the most difficult that Gil had ever taken, but he also knew that it was the right decision for him to take. He knew that he couldn't afford to be a threat to his fellow drivers, especially now that it had been proven that the tumor could cause a seizure in his brain at any given time. Gil had tried to play the odds and he had been surprisingly successful in avoiding any sort of trauma (the actual racing incident with Gongming Gao notwithstanding), only for an uneventful night race at the Yoggy Oval to be almost his downfall. Gil was pretty sure that he had died back then and had only been sent back into the mortal coil because, as his late first girlfriend Jessica had said, it wasn't his time yet.

Gil had spent the time he was recovering from his seizure to ponder about that. What did Jessica mean when she said that it wasn't his time yet? Was there still something that Gil had to do in this world before his mission here was completed, so to speak? He couldn't help but admit that he didn't know the answer to this. He had already won two ARTS championships. Obviously, a NSSCRA championship was now out of the question because of his condition, which he still hadn't yet revealed to the rest of the multiverse for personal reasons. The most he was willing to say about the condition was that it was life-threatening not only to him but to everyone else in the competition because if he was to be struck dead during the middle of a race, he would become a hazard to the rest of the grid. But beyond that, Gil was not willing to elaborate any further. Maybe it was his pride that was preventing him from saying that a pea-sized mass in his head had stopped him from taking the wheel of a racing vehicle ever again. Maybe because he didn’t want anybody to pity him and his circumstances. In any case, he felt that it was best if only his family and a few close friends and associates knew about his affliction at the moment.

Maybe that was Jessica’s point about Gil’s time and it being not yet over. Maybe Gil was never supposed to win a NSSCRA championship, but he was supposed to provide guidance to someone else who was supposed to win. Maybe he still had to stick around to help out someone like Wilma von Cärinthen or Rustam Yudin. Or maybe his real mission was to help and train his own son William into becoming a WGPC winner. And it might actually be nearer than he thought, since William had managed to find his groove in the second half of the previous WGPC season and claimed second place in the championship standings despite having been mathematically eliminated a few races before the Vilitan Grand Prix. Who knows where that boy might be if he could get everything in order right from the get-go? Maybe that was what Jessica meant when she said to Gil that it wasn’t his time to go yet. Maybe he was supposed to live to see the moment when William would finally lift up that WGPC trophy over his head.

And that was a bit of a scary prospect on its own. To Gil, it implied that he was only going to live long enough to see his son achieve his greatest dream, and then he would pass on after only a few days, or a few weeks at most. Obviously, he didn’t want that to happen because he still had a family to live for. Heck, he still had to live to see little Ryan Allen Archer, his youngest, grow up and choose if he wanted to follow his daddy’s footsteps and go into stock cars or go into open wheelers like his older brother William. Or maybe he won’t even get into racing and go in a completely different direction altogether. The possibilities were endless, and Gil was a little scared to think that there was a possibility that he wouldn’t be there to see Ryan (or Allen or whatever name he responded to on this particular day) finally walk the path that he wanted to go on.

Gil had accepted the offer from Urotovsky-Gatutin to become a “technical adviser” for the team in order to distract himself from those kinds of thoughts. But he hadn’t really thought about what that job title would actually entail until the boss lady, Olga Gatutina, had asked him to come over to Tundra Falls for his first day on the job as a “technical adviser.” Gil was mostly unsure of what he was supposed to do until Gatutina finally clarified what she wanted him to do there: help the other drivers, Wilma and Rustam, in navigating the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds. It seemed like an easy job, even though he and Wilma couldn’t help but get a few barbs into each other during the inevitable “introductory meeting.” But it was nowhere near as awkward as when Gil and Rustam had to reconcile after their epic falling-out in the Yoggy Oval way back in the last season. There was definitely a tense moment where neither man wanted to be the first one to break the silence, before Rustam finally decided to go first, and he apologized for his behavior last season and how his decisions had made him lose sight of the big picture. For his part, Gil also apologized for being too harsh on the young Ceroatian driver and shouting at him the night before Gil’s fateful accident at the Yoggy. But once all that awkwardness was done, it was right back to business as usual for Urotovsky-Gatutin and their new “technical adviser.” The only difference for Gil was that he didn’t have to get behind the warm and toasty interior of his Luxur in his toasty hot firesuit and drive around for hundreds of laps again. Instead, his attire was now a much more comfortable red-green-red cotton-polyester shirt, jeans, and a red baseball cap with the UrGa logo that he could wear alongside the comically large headphones that the pit wall crew wore in order to communicate with their drivers, and he now had the wind blowing the track to cool him down.

That was a fun experience, Gil had to admit. And now he was about to do it again in Ramba.

“Are you sure you have all your things packed, honey?” Gil’s wife Brigitte asked.

“Yes, Bree, I’m sure,” Gil replied as he parked his suitcase beside the couch. “I checked it three times already. Everything that I need is in there.”

“What about a face mask? I saw the government advisory for the Sherpa Empire that the MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] posted on their website last night?” Brigitte continued.

“Don’t worry, Bree, I got an entire box of masks in there,” Gil assured his wife. “And I’ve already read the bulletin from the MoH [Ministry of Health]. They say that the Hankou coronavirus is a different strain from the Biyi virus. As long as we follow the health protocol over there, we’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.” A little more than a decade ago, Biyi separatists had tried to cripple Abanhfleft by unleashing a bioterrorist attack using a virus injected into suicide attackers who spread the virus as much as they could within Abanhfleft’s cities before the virus killed them. The attacks killed an estimated 350,000 people before the government finally declared that the main phase of the terrorist epidemic was over, although so-called “milder” variants were still endemic in a few places.

“You know I just want you to be safe,” Brigitte said.

“I know that, and that’s why I’m always careful when I’m away doing my job,” Gil replied. Just as he was about to lean in and kiss Brigitte, the doorbell rang. “Oh, who the fuck is it now?” Gil muttered as he stood up to answer the door. On the other side was a man wearing the red and black uniform of a prominent delivery company in Abanhfleft, and he was carrying what appeared to be a large bouquet of flowers. “Are you Mr. Guillermo Archer?” the delivery man asked.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Gil nodded. “What’s this about?”

“These flowers are for you, sir,” the delivery man replied.

“For me? Who did they come from?” Gil asked skeptically.

"From the SFA, sir."

"The SFA? The one that's in charge of all football throughout Abanhfleft? Now why would they want to give this almost middle-aged former racing driver a bouquet of flowers?"

“Don’t ask me, sir,” the delivery man shrugged. “Apparently, some guy from the Kimi-Suomi team that went here to play in a World Cup qualifier wanted to give these flowers to you.”

“Some guy? Kimi-Suomi? What the heck are you talking about?”

“Damned if I know,” the delivery man replied with another shrug. “Sign here, please.”

Gil signed the form noting that he had accepted the delivery, and then he took the bouquet from the delivery man, who went back to his truck without another word. When Gil turned to go back into his house, he saw Brigitte standing with her arms crossed. “Who from the SFA is sending you flowers, Guillermo?” she asked. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Of course not, Bree,” Gil sighed. “You know I’m not that kind of guy. Anyway, I’m trying to look for something that’ll tell me who sent this and why they would want to send me some flowers, but all I’m seeing is this gobbledegook with dots over the vowels.”

“Oh, come on. There has to be something there that’ll tell you who sent this,” Brigitte said as she started looking as well. “Wait! I think I see something. From Daniel Marx,” she read out. “Do you know who this Daniel Marx is?”

“Yeah, the name sounds familiar,” Gil muttered as he racked his brain, but after a few minutes, he gave up. “Yeah, no, I don’t think I actually remember him. Oh, well.” Gil then looked at his watch. “Damn it. I gotta go, honey. Brandon doesn’t like to keep his jet waiting and burning fuel waiting for me.”

“Wait! Gil! What am I supposed to do with this?” Brigitte asked, referring to the bouquet now in her hands.

“I don’t know. Throw it away, put it in a vase, plant it in the garden. I don’t really care. Do whatever you want with it, honey. I’ll call you when we land at Shigatse. Take care of yourself, the kids, and the house. Love you!”

[TJUN-ia]

---

WELCOME TO WOLLONGMATTA BAY!
BIENVENUE DANS LA BAIE DE WOLLONGMATTA!
BONVENON AL GOLFO WOLLONGMATTA!

The Government of the International Community of TJUN-ia, along with the TJUN-ia Motor Racing Organisation, is proud to welcome all race fans to the 2nd edition of the Race of Oceania here in Wollongmatta Bay, UO Zone.

After the success of the Jungle Circuit races and the rise of local Maddison Riley-Jones into the national picture, everyone last season finally took the decision to bring NSSCRA action to the streets of the Bay and Adelaide Park Circuit in particular. It certainly did well in hosting the Everlong Contenders Series last time out and now it has been promoted to Cup Series Duty while a new venue in the AU Zone hosts our 2nd Everlong Race. This will mark the first time ever that TJUN-ia gets to host two Cup races in the same NSSCRA Season and you better believe the Bay will be happy to see everyone come to this corner of The North Pacific once more!

ABOUT TJUN-ia
TJUN-ia is a nation that was created by The Jaguar's United Nations, an organisation that pioneers "international roleplay" (think the UN but if the United States uses Fang the Sniper as its UN Ambassador), to be the official "testing grounds". The state acts as a place where TJUN Reps can learn the skills required to represent their chosen state, region or territory in TJUN over in what we call Universe 2.

To the average TJUN-ian, here in Universe 3, that fact doesn't affect their day-to-day lives. TJUN-ia is one of the most progressive states in The North Pacific, with decriminalisation of all drugs and the free distribution of alcohol joined this year by a new decree that enshrines the equality of every TJUN-ian in the land, no matter who they are. You can expect every race fan, no matter of country of origin, to be treated the same way.

The state recognises 6 Official Languages for official use in government and in day-to-day use: English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Arabic. We also have an official 2nd Language in the form of Esperanto, used as a bridge language by the state in order to help travel and synchronicity between all corners of the state. If there is a sign in TJUN-ia it will be in 2 languages: the language of choice and Esperanto. This helps ensure you won't get lost if you start seeing signs in a language you don't understand. All tourists entering TJUN-ia will receive a copy of the government's official guide to Esperanto ("Esperanto: How To Learn The New Second Language/Esperanto: Kiel Lerni La Nova Dua Lingvo") upon arrival in the UO. If you want to see TV options in the official languages, please see the TV Guide provided by the government.

---

WELCOME TO SHIELD CITY!
BIENVENUE DANS LA VILLE DU BOUCLIER!
!مرحبًا بكم في مدينة الدرع
¡BIENVENIDO A LA CIUDAD ESCUDO!
BONVENON AL LA ŜILDURBO!
KARIBU JIJI LA NGAO!

The Government of the International Community of TJUN-ia, along with the TJUN-ia Motor Racing Organisation, is proud to also welcome all race fans to the 1st edition of the Shield City Conflict, or the Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao in the native Swahili, here in the Shield City (Jiji la Ngao), AU Zone.

After the success of the first Race of Oceania promoted Wollongmatta Bay to Cup Series status only, a new venue for the 2nd TJUN-ian Everlong Contenders Series race had to be found - but luckily, the rise of Alice Jepkosgei last season meant that the search could be completed very quickly indeed. The Circle of the Earth, or Mviringo wa Dunia in Swahili, is one of the International Community's premier dirt racing venues and while we certainly won't claim dirt-racing dominance over the HNE Half-MIle, getting the Everlong drivers some dirt experience before going over there later in the season will be one of the big benefits of this weekend. No matter what, TJUN-ia is finally getting dirty and we hope the NSSCRA world can appreciate this corner of The North Pacific trying something new.

---

Weekend Calendar
Friday
1 pm - Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao Qualifying (AU)
4 pm till late - Soul of Africa (Music Event on the Dirt)

Saturday
1 pm - Race of Oceania Qualifying (UO)
4:30 pm - Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao Opening Ceremony (AU, All AU Flags and All NSSCRA T2 Flags with anthems of both TJUN-ia and Kenya)
5 pm - Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao (AU)

Sunday
1:30 pm - Race of Oceania Opening Ceremony (UO, All UO Flags and All NSSCRA T1 Flags with anthems of both TJUN-ia and Australia)
2 pm - Race of Oceania (UO)
5 pm - Dreamtime UO (A Celebration of both Aboriginal Culture and the People of the Islands)
7 pm till late - Dreamtime Throwdown (Music Event inspired by Dreamtime UO)

The Official Coronation Tally And Schedule
Kings/Queens
Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (#7, Valentine Z) as Clarissa I, Queen of the Jungle (TJUN 600, NSSCRA 9)
Fiona Sunarya (#00/#99, Filindostan) as Fiona II, Queen of the Jungle (TJUN 600, NSSCRA X)
Michael Stefan (#07, TJUN-ia) as Micheal III, King of the Jungle (TJUN 600, NSSCRA 11)
The Winner of the 2nd Race of Oceania as ??? IV, King/Queen of the Jungle (NSSCRA 12)
The Winner of the 4th TJUN 600 as ??? V, King/Queen of the Jungle (NSSCRA 12)

Princes/Princesses
Edmund Flanders (#47, Hapilopper) as Prince Edmund I of the Jungle (NGADM 500, NSSCRA X)
Robin Dragonovic (#97, South Newlandia/TJUN-ia) as Prince Robin II of the Jungle (NGADM 500, NSSCRA 11)
Al Shelton (#77, Hapilopper) as Prince Al III of the Jungle (Race of Oceania, NSSCRA 11)
The Winner of the Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao as Prince/Princess ??? IV of the Jungle (NSSCRA 12)
The Winner of the 3rd NGADM 500 as Prince/Princess ??? V of the Jungle (NSSCRA 12)

[TJUN-ia]

This blog was written by Derrick Carlisle, Jaguar Racing's Social Media Manager

Race day in Tibet and the TMW 500 was all upon us. The Ramba Test Track is always an interesting place to come to no matter what, the conditions up here in the mountains certainly cold and both driver and machine have to deal with the thin air up this high. This race may be a simple short track, but the conditions up here certainly make it mean more - the victor up here in the land of Magolor back in our world not only a master of this track, but someone who managed to take it all despite everything this land could throw at them.

Jaguar Racing had all three of their drivers starting in the Top 10 with MIcheal Stefan (@Stefan07) in 2nd, Maddison Riley-Jones (@MaddyRJ) in 8th and Alfonso Mercado (@AM64) in 9th, and all of them were certainly looking to try and get some good points on the board here in the mountains. Stefan was up there and there about in some sections of this race, but he was also down toways the midfield in others, and that contributed to his P18 overall today - not too bad, but not great after starting from the front row. Mercado was consistent, his pace certainly befitting for his starting place, and P12 will certainly be taken by #64.

But like in Tier 2, the woman in the squad had the best day and Maddy certainly had a good one. He pace was certainly threatening throughout this race and while a late stumble may've cost her a shot at her first Cup Series win, she certainly had reason to celebrate as she crossed the line in 5th. She was now 3rd in the points standings with Thea Alvarez winning this one over Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha and Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye, so you better believe she gave her congratulations to all three of her fellow female drivers after proceedings. Only four drivers failed to make the end of proceedings today but neither of them were from Kimi-Suomi as both Lam Chow-Cheung (35th) and Aurélia Karvonen (41st) would make the end today for HM - we certainly like to see that, so well done to them! Hendo was just ahead of Stefan in 17th by the way.

So, the first two rounds have certainly told us a few things - GFR is brilliant so far, JR is consistent for now, Val Z is great as well, Wilma von Cärinthen could be a dark horse (shoutouts to her, great driver and a great person) and Team Blue have started slow but that won't be a concern for the defending champs right now. Next week though will certainly be fun. Why? Because we're heading back home. For Round 3. Yes, before the thunder of the TJUN 600, TJUN-ia gets to host what is being called the "North-South Party", a celebration of local TJUN-ian culture without the national lens. The Race of Oceania, a T2 race last season, will get to host the Cup Series for the first time at Adelaide Park in Wollongmatta Bay, MRJ Town, and you better believe the UO Zone will be ready to celebrate the cultures of both this city and of the Manufano Islands in front of the world. As for the Everlong, they get to witness AJ's Homecoming as the gang heads to JIji la Ngao for the Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao (Sheild City Conflict) at the Mviringo wa Dunia (Circle of the Earth). This is TJUN-ia's premier dirt circuit and while not as prestigious as the HNE Half Mile, we hope that this oval can showcase African culture and passion in all it's glory. Two regions, two races, one weekend - the North-South Party is about to begin!

---

Current MCS Standings: #07 - 10th (73pts)/#64 - 6th (76pts)/#03 - 3rd (79pts)
Current ECS Standings: #97 - 15th (44pts+PS)/#96 - 1st (64pts)/#70 - 5th (59pts)
Next MCS Race: Race of Oceania, Adelaide Park Circuit, Wollongmatta Bay, UO Zone, TJUN-ia
Next ECS Race: Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao (Shield City Conflict), Mviringo wa Dunia (The Circle of the Earth), Jiji la Ngao, AU Zone, TJUN-ia
Music of the Round II: Little Mix - Woman Like Me ft. Nicki Minaj (MLT/COD/SAM/ECU/ARM)

MemeWatch II
1) "You're BOTH In The Wrong!" Lloyd Clarence (HTN) and Taylor Henderson (#73) - Casual Sexism and Weaponised Basketballs

[Kimi-Suomi]

A letter to the driver of Gale Force Racing, delivered after the TMW 500.

Dear Jeremiah, Stacie and Thea,

你好，这里是林周翔。

I am writing this letter to you to formally apologise for my conduct after the events of the Tundra Falls 500, during my encounter with all three of you. I know you may think that any sort of apology for what was essentially a small gripe but to me, it wasn't small - and it perfectly encapsulated my thoughts as I return to TJUN-ia for the first time in months for the North-South Party.

When you all arrived, I was contemplating the failures after my first ever race in this sport. I know I wasn't going to set the NSSCRA world alight from the off, but my team set me one simple goal regardless - to finish my first race, no matter the final position. That didn't go to plan and while I made up for it here in Tibet, I essentially ripped into myself in my post-race interview, saying that someone with more experience would've managed to get the car home. That's what I was contemplating when you all came along.

I'm sorry if I was awkward back then but after I everything I had been through that day, I didn't feel worthy of speaking with you guys. All three of you are stars in your own right, racing titans compared to this mask-wearing enby freak and so, I said what I said.

But I realise now, a week later, that I shouldn't have said that at all. I shouldn't have downplayed myself at all, especially in front of people who were simply trying to help. I get it now and I want to make it up to you all if I can, one way or another.

But I also understand that what happened was a product of my own making. I was scared before arriving here that I would be seen as a freak by most in this sport and that fear certainly affected how I acted that day. Ever since I came out as enby, I've been called a lot of things - especially since I chose to wear the mask - and all those words continue to haunt me. I know one day I will have to move past them...but sometimes, things stick and that's just where I'm at.

That's about it. Thank you for understanding. As I said, I want to make things up to you all so if you can think of a way I can then please feel free to let me know by any means necessary. I'll try my best to just get on with the job, as Marx expects of me, and I'll see you out on track.

切的问候，
林周翔 (Lam Chow-Cheung)

[Oontaz Dert Li Ng]

HRH Prince Bismillah ibn Kudarat was satisfied with the results that his new Oonaftco Oontaz NSSCRA Team had attained in the first two races of the 12th season of the NationStates Stock Car Racing Association. The Prince didn’t expect his two young drivers, Tawfiq Chouchane and Zacarias Policarpio, to be challenging for the Everlong Series championship or even just a race win just yet, but they had done the bare minimum of surviving both races and bringing their cars back intact and mostly undamaged. There were of course some scratches and crumples in the car bodies, but since rubbing is racing, Prince Bismillah didn’t think too much of it.

It was a good thing that the first two tracks on the schedule for the Everlong series were both superspeedways (even though Kharao had made the distinction that their six-kilometer was only a speedway because it was in the track’s name itself) because both of these tracks were good tests for the endurance of both the drivers and their vehicles. Prince Bismillah had entered into an agreement with Urotovsky-Gatutin that the Oonaftco Oontaz NSSCRA Team would be supplied with Everlong-spec Luxur Byzants and the associated spare parts while the Prince would provide for the crews, and while the Prince had already seen UrGa’s cars in action in previous NSSCRA seasons, he still wanted to see how they would hold up in Oontaznik hands. Especially in Kharao, since it was reported to have a race distance of 900 kilometers over 150 laps. Prince Bismillah wanted to see how his young drivers would hold up throughout such a long and grueling race, whether they would be able to get through the whole race unscathed or if they would get caught up in someone else’s mistake or maybe even their own. But because of the extreme emphasis on safety that the Kharao authorities had placed on the track, no major incidents of note happened, at least none that the Prince could recall.

Prince Bismillah had called for a video-conference with his NSSCRA team while he was busy getting back up to speed for the second season of the AOGP Series to check up on their status. “I believe congratulations for both Tawfiq and Zac are in order here,” the Prince said. “Congratulations to the two of you for surviving your first two races in NSSCRA, and for bringing both of your cars home in one piece.”

“Thank you for your appreciation of our efforts, Your Majesty,” Tawfiq Chouchane said with a customary bow. “We only wish to continue serving His Majesty to the best of our abilities.”

“And this you shall do,” the Prince nodded. “Now, before I go, there is one more matter that I wish to talk about. We are about to go to territories under the control of TJUN-ia for the next race in the Everlong Series, and I am sure that some of you will be familiar of the differences in culture between us and them. I ask only that you keep your thoughts about our differences to yourselves. We are not used to other people living the way that they choose to, and they are not used to us living the way that we do. So please, in the interests of international cooperation and friendship, don’t cause too much of a fuss over there. We don’t need that kind of attention on us right now. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the entire team said as they bowed to the Prince once again.

"Thank you, everyone. That will be all."

[Saint Kanye]

The reply to Lam's letter, delivered a few hours later.

Lam,

Don't be so hard on yourself! You're new to the series after all. Mistakes happen. I understand how hard it is to familiarize yourself with a new series and meet new people, but I believe you'll do so eventually. Hopefully our next encounter after this will go more smoothly, and we, especially I, look forward to forming a friendship with you. Oh yeah, and if you're going to the North-South Party next week, feel free to hang with us!

- Thea

You know, I think I'm the one who needs to apologize. I called you "dude", which to me (and most if not all of St. Kanye) is a unisex term, but that may not be the case with you or where you're from. I mean no offense by it, I respect your gender preference and do not at all think you're a freak. You're just doing your own thing, which to me is fine since you're not hurting others anyway, right? Don't worry, I will make sure to choose my words more carefully in the future.

- Jeremiah

I suppose everything that needs to be said has been said by my teammates, so let me just wish you the best of luck, not only in the next race, but for all other races to come. We all start from somewhere, and even we didn't get to where we are now without putting in the effort. Keep at it!

- Stacie

---

BATTLE FOR ROTY

Previous Winners (bold indicates active driver)

S6 - #14 River Suzgar (VNT)
S7 - #6 Alex Knight (HPI)
S8 - #06 Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (SHW)
S9 - #96 Guillermo Archer (AFT)
S10 - #00 Fiona Sunarya (FID)
S11 - #27 Maddie Alexander (TRP)

Current Season Standings (So Far)

After two races, there are two drivers tied for sixth and a whopping five for ninth, while Everlong graduates Yudin and Tizilna are on top of the leaderboard. Ezekiel "Zeke" Rodger of Esmerel has the most points among those who haven't appeared in any NSSCRA sanctioned event before the start of this season.

1. #39 Rustam Ilyich Yudin (AFT) - 42
2. #4 Islago Tizilna (VNT) - 40
3. #24 Chelsea Taylor (NEW) - 33
4. #58 Koshiro Kawai (AFT) - 31
5. #0 Ezekiel Rodger (ESM) - 29
T6. #37 Yageny Qabaliq (QQZ) - 20
T6. #38 Lam Chow-Cheung (KIM) - 20
8. #61 Joachim Murat (TFA) - 19
T9. #10 Anna Thanda (GSM) - 13
T9. #12 Daniel Wynfor (KAN) - 13
T9. #16 Laura McKenzie (SAJ) - 13
T9. #62 Andre Massena (TFA) - 13
T9. #63 Jean Lannes (TFA) - 13
14. #88 Al Jak (STR) - 11
15. #71 Aurelia Karvonen (KIM) - 6

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – Race 2 – Main Series: TMW 500, TMW Ramba Test Track, Ramba, Rinbung County, Tibet Province, The Sherpa Empire (Short Track); Everlong: Kharao 900, Memorial Speedway at the National Sports Complex, Angelou, Rangiora, Kharao (Speedway)

Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine and Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds arrived at Kharao, specifically at Memorial Speedway at the National Sports Complex for Kharao 900. For this particular race, they were separated away from the rest of the team in the Main Series, who are about to be having a time of themselves in The Sherpa Empire on the TMW Ramba Test Track. Valentijn and Marcus looked around at the new and unfamiliar place, perhaps already missing the magical and cosy aura of The Sherpa Empire, reminiscing the days where they went around the markets to buy a few charms and trinkets, as well as trying out the local food. For most of the travels, Valentijn has always been the one to tell Marcus and the rest of her friends to watch what they eat, especially when they went from Singapore to Yangon. It wasn't so much because Yangon has slightly lower food standards, but due to the age-old saying of "There is something in there that the locals have adapted to, but your stomach will tear yourself up." It was like that one time where Gwen went around multiverses to try different foodstuffs, and then ended up throwing all of it up across the various toilets in various dimensions. Still, with Valentine Z becoming a two-planet power, as well as with cross-pollination and sharing of cultures and foods on top of Valentine Z's technology with synthetic bodies, this has become a bit less of a problem. Moving on, Valentijn and Marcus – in their smaller but still larger-than-average bodies, walked slowly to the lounge to get into their rooms to get themselves comfortable.

"Fancy, isn't it?" Valentijn asked Marcus, who has already started taking out the contents of his luggage along with some tools to polish and maintain his armour. Valentijn continued on as she went on to comment about the room more than anything else, "The beds are a little small, and the bathroom may be a little too cosy but hey, they are not expecting someone of our stature!" Marcus nodded, having closed the door behind and then adding on to what Valentijn has thought of so far, "It is pretty nice. Quite a good day out there too. Shame the rest are not here though. Or that we are not there. Ah well, we have been through this a few times already, so I guess that much is fine."

“So how is your car?” Valentijn asked, talking about the DNFs and minor crashes that they had in the previous race. Marcus was more than open to talk about it. In fact, perhaps the crash – minus the injuries and not getting the points, might have turned out better for him, “Ahh, actually pretty good! And I didn’t mean that sarcastically, you know? So with the car needing repairs and a new layer of paint, we were finally able to paint over the #60 and then in with the new #77. That was definitely one of the solaces there. On top of that, one of the mechanics, along with myself, found out that my car was a little out of shape on endurance runs. That was probably why qualifications were great for me, but not so when it comes to racing for real.” Valentijn nodded and patted Marcus on the shoulder, taking care not to poke her hand on the spiky antennas on his living armour, “Well, who knows? Maybe luck will be on our side this time, haha! This speedway does not seem too bad from what I have read through so far. Much better than the short track, I suppose. I am still not used to them – as soon as you got some good speed, you turn.”

As it turns out, that race really was something for the two Valentians at Everlong. In typical fashion for her, Valentijn started off at 3rd from her qualifications, being able to maintain her place for a longest of times and only falling behind to 4th. On the other hand, Marcus, with his newly repaired car, was also able to start off from 4th and maintained his place at 5th, the two friends going hand-in-hand in looking out for each other and making sure that they are not falling off from one another. They even went to the pits at the same time, topping fuel and tires before going off steadily and streamlining off of one another. “We might have quite a fair bit to catch up,” Marcus commented towards the reporter, who he found was standing a little further than usual due to the fear of the armour Marcus was wearing after the race was over, “But hey, I think Valentijn and I and are making a comeback for the time being. The very first race was an absolute disaster, with the both of us earning ourselves a DNF as you might have seen. At the same time, that was just the very first race of the many- well, it would be nice to get a championship, hehe.”

-----

In the meantime, the Main Series Valentians were not that shabby either. In fact, Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye made the largest comeback of the race, starting off at 41st on the grid, but steadily increasing her pacing as well as her focus until she was contesting the Top 20 and then the Top 10, all-out stubborn to not let the others overtake her. Clarissa also started off at the middle of the grid, a dangerously crowded position with cars both in front and behind her and making overtaking a risk. Still, taking every opportunity, Clarissa ran around the track with a light amount of memory from the qualifications, as well as with the top 1% of the data from previous races. Final lap approached, with Clarissa and Anastasia bumper to bumper from each other. “We cannot catch up to her,” Anastasia said on the radio, “It’s okay, just focus on streamlining and going together with Clarissa,” her crew chief replied back in turn, a large hint of confident in his voice, “There are other chances to win. For now, just focus on making sure that you got those podium finishes.” Clarissa was also hitting the accelerator as hard as she could, while also making sure that she was not speeding too much on the turns. With a few more meters to go, the two Valentians gunned for the finished line, making sure to avoid any other hits and hazards that might come at very last second.”

And there it was – Clarissa finished 2nd, and Anastasia finished 3rd. They exchanged and gave their congratulations and compliments to Thea Alvarez, holding the trophy high and proud. Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton was also joyful to see her two friends making it onto the podium, but she yearned of the day – however small it might be, to get a podium finish for all three of them, or to the Gardeners. “Maybe one day three of the Valentians will be up on that.”

[Newmanistan]

Qualifying: Race of Oceania, Adelaide Park Circuit, Wollongmatta Bay, UO Zone, TJUN-ia (Road Course)
Lap Record: 81.000 sec.

Qualifying:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)             1:21.698
 2 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                              1:21.743
 3 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                                1:21.841
 4 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                      1:21.862
 5 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)            1:21.890
 6 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)              1:21.919
 7 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                          1:21.972
 8 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                              1:22.091
 9 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                          1:22.174
10 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                        1:22.181
11 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                         1:22.208
12 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                              1:22.251
13 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                       1:22.334
14 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                              1:22.390
15 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)               1:22.395
16 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)                   1:22.483
17 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                     1:22.526
18 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                      1:22.589
19 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)                   1:22.589
20 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)                1:22.752
21 #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Saint Kanye)                           1:22.983
22 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                         1:22.996
23 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                            1:22.999
24 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                     1:23.033
25 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                      1:23.194
26 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                            1:23.252
27 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*                   1:23.354
28 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                          1:23.642
29 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                       1:23.740
30 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                             1:23.842
31 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                               1:23.916
32 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                         1:24.068
33 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                          1:24.155
34 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                               1:24.174
35 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                     1:24.321
36 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                       1:24.535
37 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                           1:24.741
38 #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                        1:25.092
39 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                       1:25.278
40 #17- Timo Szaba (Qzvarkian Qaz) *Q*                        1:25.584
41 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                         1:25.600
42 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                     1:25.823
43 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q*     1:25.991
44 #12- Daniel Wynfor (Kannapian Sports Federation)           1:25.994
45 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                           1:26.138
46 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                     1:26.301
47 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                               1:26.350
48 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                           1:26.520
49 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos)                                   1:27.781

Note- There was only one open charter spot requested, so a fifth need to qualify driver makes the race.

Race: Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao (Shield City Conflict), Mviringo wa Dunia (The Circle of the Earth), Jiji la Ngao, AU Zone, TJUN-ia (Short Track- Dirt Track)
Lap Record: 16.789 sec.

Qualifying Results:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                   17.199
 2 #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)                                17.251
 3 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                              17.270
 4 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                                 17.278
 5 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                                17.299
 6 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                      17.344
 7 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                  17.366
 8 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                   17.384
 9 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                  17.397
10 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)       17.417
11 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                           17.537
12 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                    17.574
13 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                           17.651
14 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                  17.684
15 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                                17.700
16 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                                 17.790
17 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                   17.871
18 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                     17.909
19 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                               18.037
20 #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                                18.155
21 #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                                  18.314
22 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                     18.483
23 #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                                   18.565
24 #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                        18.582
25 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                        18.683
26 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                    18.696
27 #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                                  18.813
28 #11- Luist Mata (Kharao)                                         18.913
29 #87- Agdta Ndugane (Kharao)                                      19.132
30 #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                                  19.155
31 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                                 19.243
32 #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                               19.257
33 #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                    19.271
34 #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                               19.386
35 #91- Aidan Rowan (Kannapian Sports Federation)                   19.399
36 #43- Cynthia Verdenne (Kharao)                                   19.464
37 #33- Joshua Pelayo (Kannapian Sports Federation)                 19.489

(Minimum Time To Avoid DNF: 19.300 sec)

Race Results:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)                                17.381 WINNER
 2 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                                17.407
 3 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)       17.417
 4 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                    17.420
 5 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                   17.422
 6 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                                 17.489
 7 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                     17.511
 8 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                                17.531
 9 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                  17.533
10 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                              17.570
11 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                   17.597
12 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                           17.606
13 #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                                17.617
14 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                    17.634
15 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                  17.667
16 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                  17.678
17 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                                 17.930
18 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                               18.176
19 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                   18.253
20 #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                                  18.335
21 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                        18.561
22 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                      18.629
23 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                           18.710
24 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                     18.737
25 #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                                  18.751
26 #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                               18.963
27 #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                               18.994
28 #33- Joshua Pelayo (Kannapian Sports Federation)                 19.035
29 #87- Agdta Ndugane (Kharao)                                      19.136
30 #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                    19.157
31 #91- Aidan Rowan (Kannapian Sports Federation)                   19.307 DNF
32 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                                 19.362 DNF
33 #43- Cynthia Verdenne (Kharao)                                   19.409 DNF
34 #11- Luist Mata (Kharao)                                         19.476 DNF
35 #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                                  19.497 DNF
36 #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                        19.566 DNF
37 #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                                   19.631 DNF

Point Standings (After 3 Races):

+-----+------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                 EverLong Contenders Series                 | Points |
+-----+------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                             |     98 |
|   2 | #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                          |     96 |
|   3 | #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)**                        |     87 |
|   4 | #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                          |     87 |
|   5 | #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                          |     83 |
|   6 | #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                            |     82 |
|   7 | #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)*                           |     79 |
|   8 | #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                             |     77 |
|   9 | #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                               |     76 |
|  10 | #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                |     75 |
|  11 | #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                        |     73 |
|  12 | #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                           |     73 |
|  13 | #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z) |     71 |
|  14 | #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                     |     68 |
|  15 | #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                            |     67 |
|  16 | #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)              |     62 |
|  17 | #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                              |     62 |
|  18 | #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                             |     58 |
|  19 | #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                  |     57 |
|  20 | #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                         |     57 |
|  21 | #33- Joshua Pelayo (Kannapian Sports Federation)           |     52 |
|  22 | #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                         |     46 |
|  23 | #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                            |     46 |
|  24 | #11- Luist Mata (Kharao)                                   |     42 |
|  25 | #91- Aidan Rowan (Kannapian Sports Federation)             |     41 |
|  26 | #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                     |     39 |
|  27 | #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)               |     39 |
|  28 | #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                           |     39 |
|  29 | #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                           |     38 |
|  30 | #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                  |     37 |
|  31 | #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                             |     35 |
|  32 | #87- Agdta Ndugane (Kharao)                                |     35 |
|  33 | #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                            |     34 |
|  34 | #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                            |     33 |
|  35 | #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                              |     27 |
|  36 | #43- Cynthia Verdenne (Kharao)                             |     27 |
|  37 | #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                         |     22 |
+-----+------------------------------------------------------------+--------+

[Hapilopper]

Andrew’s Pub, Hapilopper City
A day before leaving for TJUN-ia
The good thing about not drinking anymore was that Chris Holmes could serve as a designated driver for Drake Stevenson and Taylor Henderson when they went out drinking at Andrew’s, the popular bar for the racing types in Hapilopper City when they were in town. This happened more often than one would think. Drake and Taylor loved going out, and Chris enjoyed hanging out with his teammates in a non-racing environment. But he had a lot on his mind as he watched Drake and Hendo take shots with other people there.

His fiancée, Angela, was having a good pregnancy, and it wasn’t that far off before they would figure out if they were having a boy or a girl. The two had started brainstorming about names for their child – whether if it was a boy or a girl. Angela wanted to name the child Michael Edward Holmes if it was a boy, or Ashley Marie Holmes if it was a girl. Chris, meanwhile, had borrowed a bar napkin and got out a pen to draw up some names. He watched Drake and Hendo taking shots with other patrons, and thought about people he’d name his child for. He thought, for a second, about naming his child for Drake or Taylor, or both, but then again, he had other ideas.

He stared out into space and had a thought that made him reflect for a bit. There was a great Sherpa driver he thought about naming his child for. One hell of a racing driver that he knew that if he beat on race day, he would have earned his keep.

The idea seemed a little strange at first, but the more Chris thought about it, the more he liked it. Certainly it would have been strange for a Hapiloppian to be named for a Sherpalander, much less a Sherpalander NSSCRA driver, but Chris loved the idea.

With a smile, Chris thought about how the name sounded. He was looking forward to asking this Sherpalander what he thought of naming his firstborn in his honor, and Chris figured it’d turn out alright.

So Chris wrote down the name “Rinzi Zachary Holmes” and “Zachary Rinzi Holmes” on a bar napkin and smiled. But what about if it was a girl? Rinzi didn’t sound like a girl’s name, but he still wanted to name his child for one of his fellow racers. May have seemed a little off, but drivers in Hapilopper had done it before.

He looked up at a television and saw a clip of Clarissa Alanis Star during the previous week’s race in Tibet. Chris, like most Hapiloppians, loved the Valentians. At driver introductions in Hapiloppian races, the Valentians received loud, sustained cheers from the rowdy Hapiloppian fans, who knew good racing drivers when they saw them, and it didn’t matter who they were or where they were from. They, along with Kai Qiang, Rinzi Zakhilwal, the Gale Force drivers and the Jaguar Racing camp, would receive huge cheers from fans in the Dominion.

So he thought about how the name “Clarissa Alanis Holmes” sounded. It didn’t sound that much unlike names that were popular among Hapiloppians these days. Plenty of Hapiloppian babies with names like Clarissa, Anastasia, Jeremiah, Thea, Tracer, Stacie, Kai and Archer were being born these days, one of the true indicators of the NSSCRA’s popularity in Hapilopper, and that of stock car racing. Chris decided he was going to name his child, if it was a girl, for one of the Valentians. At the very least, though, he figured he needed to ask both Rinzi and Clarissa for their permission, and he would do exactly that when he got to TJUN-ia.

Adelaide Park Circuit, Wollongmatta Bay, UO Zone, TJUN-ia
Qualifying for the Race of Oceania
Chris Holmes had not asked Rinzi or Clarissa yet. He figured he’d catch them during the pre-race driver’s meeting, and offer them the caveat that this was still pending Angela’s approval, but would it be OK if he named his child for them. Instead, he had focused his energies on getting around the Adelaide Park Circuit in TJUN-ia, a track he had taken such a liking to, and a nation he had taken a liking to, even in spite of the unfortunate incident that happened here the first time he was here.

But that unfortunate incident was in the past, and any time anyone asked him about it, he’d simply respond that “there’s no time like the present” and brush it off. He was over it, he wasn’t interested in dwelling on it, he was just interested in moving forward and possibly scoring his first win in four years. But as he sat in his car, waiting for his turn to go out to turn a lap, he allowed himself to think about that incident, and how far he had come. With that in mind, Chris couldn’t help but wonder… imagine if this was the weekend. Imagine if that first win in four years happened here in TJUN-ia. He had been so good in practice. This weekend just seemed different, like maybe he was capable of doing something special.

After a few minutes of reflection, Chris looked towards the track as his car was pushed towards the front of the line. He put his helmet on, flipped the ignition switch on his Super Skychief, and the car, with its distinct buzzing sound, came to life. His objective was clear: turn the best lap he could and get as far up-front as he could. Track position meant so much on a street circuit like Adelaide Park, and he figured if he wanted to get that first win in four years, he’d need to start up front.

Qualifying required total concentration. Qualifying meant Chris needed to dedicate his entire self to turning the fastest lap he could. To get the tires and brakes up to optimum temperature, to get the oil and water up to optimum temperature. He didn’t need to hear anything from anyone, so he shut the radio off. The warm-up lap would be to get both the car and himself ready. When he got the green flag, it was on.

The line must be right. Turn one, two, three, start there. Second, third gear… BRAKE!

Just nudge the curb. Out of turn three, get on the gas. Hard on the gas. Third gear. Fourth gear. Turn four coming up, a hard right-hander. A series of hard 90-degree corners. 300… 200… BRAKE! THIRD GEAR! SECOND GEAR! HARD RIGHT! Gas up… HARD LEFT! Gas up… HARD RIGHT! Gas up… HARD RIGHT!

Long straight coming up… GAS IT! FULL THROTTLE! THIRD GEAR! FOURTH GEAR!

Right-hand kink, point it right, stay on the gas… 500… 400… 300… BRAKE! HARD! THIRD GEAR! SECOND GEAR! FIRST GEAR! HARD, HARD HAIRPIN RIGHT!

Chris was so careful to not get onto the gas too hard out of the turn nine hairpin. If he put too much power to the rear wheels too soon, he could just as easily spin the car out in the hairpin. So he gently put his foot on the accelerator and massaged it as he wormed his way through turns 10 and 11, picking up speed for the last hairpin. Finally, he was making his way towards the final corner.

BRAKE! HARD! THIRD GEAR! SECOND GEAR!

Chris leaned himself to the right as he pulled the steering wheel hard right, trying to carry his car as hard as possible. Then it was on the pit straight, again careful with the accelerator so he wouldn’t put too much power to the rear wheels too soon, and across the line at 1:21.743, a half-tenth of a second off of pole sitter Rinzi Zakhilwal.

Chris felt the butterflies ease from his stomach as he let off and turned on the radio. It had been a good qualifying run for him, and a good run for Drake Stevenson, 7th fastest.

It was going to be a good run for Taylor Henderson, too. As she hauled ass down the long straight, on the way to the turn nine hairpin, she was tracking ahead of Chris and ahead of Rinzi. She got hard on the brakes for the hairpin, and knew she had to have a strong exit if she was going to win the pole for the next day’s race. She just knew she had to get out of the hairpin as hard as she could. But unfortunately, she got off the hairpin too hard, putting too much power on the rear wheels way too quickly, and spun the car out of the corner.

The spin not only cost Taylor the pole, but it cost her a chance at the front of the field – or even the middle of the field. She lost four seconds on the spin and put her 41st on the grid. To say she was frustrated was putting it mildly, and she knew she was going to have to do something, anything to get up front.

[Tropicorp]

Season Preview: #3 Jenna Logan

Team Tropicorp Headquarters, Tropicoast, Tropicorp :: While some might have considered NSSCRA Season 11 a disappointing one for Team Tropicorp after High Expectations after their merger with Team Cassadaigua, there was at least one driver who performed at the level that most expected them to: Jenna Logan. The long time Team Cassadaigua driver was perhaps the driver with the least pressure heading into NSSCRA Season 11. For her teammate Cocoabo #28 the pressure was enormous. The Entire Cocoabo experiment behind the wheel of an NSSCRA Stock Car. With the merger, Cocoabo #28 was the last Cocoabo left in the Multiversal Cup Series and they would be the focus of all the attention as well as any criticism. On the other end of the spectrum was Maddie Alexander. Competing for the Coleman and Thorne Rookie of the Season one might assume that there would be plenty of opportunity for patience and growth for the young 'Dagan driver. However, coming off a Championship Four appearance and a very strong showing in the Everlong Contenders Series, Alexander would be inheriting the famed #27 of NSSCRA Champion Stacie Houston along with her sponsor, Five Star Mobile - and all the expectations that went with it.

So perhaps, from that perspective, it was less of a surprise that it was not Cocoabo #28 or Maddie Alexander who emerged as the top performer for Team Tropicorp but Jenna Logan. Logan had been given a second chance - saved from unemployment when it was announced that Annavella Ariika would move to the AOCAR Stock Car Series allowing Logan to take over the Tropicorp sponsored ride in the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series. Newly rebranded to the #26 with a slight flair of pink and orange, Logan drove a strong campaign that included a victory in the sponsors own race, the Five Star Combo backed Tropicorp 500 at the Tropicorp Beach Course. It was a massive victory that propelled Logan into the NSSCRA Playoffs and all but secured her seat with the team for NSSCRA Season 12.

However, more shakeups would come off the track for Team Tropicorp. The return of Stacie Houston and the desire of sponsor Five Star Mobile to keep Houston's #27 would see Team Tropicorp left with a hole in the middle of their 26-27-28 Numerology. That would soon change in an unexpected way when a deal was put together to sign Centur Tiones from Vilita and Turori Motorsports, bringing the #2 with them. Already needing a new number for Maddie Alexander and now with the #2 joining the team through Centur Tiones full time in place of the #28 from Cocoabo #28, Team Tropicorp swooped in to register the #3 previously made famous by Skip Stiller at Glorious Free Republic Motorsports, and assigned the number to Logan while assigning the #1 to Alexander. Many twii.tur users would openly wonder why Logan, the teams top performer from NSSCRA Season 11 who also spent much of their career driving the #11 for Team Cassadaigua wasn't assigned the #1 instead but it ultimately would come down to marketing. With Tropicorp shifting its primary sponsorship from Logan to Alexander to cover the gap left by the departure of Five Star Mobile from the primary sponsorship role, the brand wanted the #1 associated with their young driver Alexander to leverage its position as the #1 supplier of Motorsports Tires in the Multiverse. As the top performing driver on the team from NSSCRA Season 11, Logan was able to attract the sponsorship dollars from twii.tur, the Turorian social messaging platform that had previously been using their sponsorship of Cocoabo #28 as a charitable write-off. Now, the twii.tur banner will be front and center on Logan's #3 Hybrid Dart along with continued support from Dagan Airways. Cocoabo #28 will continue to be supported by twii.tur displaying both the twii.tur logos and the logos of the Cocoabo Preservation Society in select events. After entering the season opening Tundra Falls 500, Team Tropicorp expects Cocoabo #28 to be back on the track in the near future with upcoming events in the Garden of Radiance, Qzvarkian Qaz and the Sultante of Oontaz all as possibilities on the Cocoabo Calendar.

After driving with Dagan Airways sponsorship at the season opening Tundra Falls 500, Jenna Logan and Team Tropicorp unveiled the brightly colored Green and Orange #3 twii.tur Multiversal Services Dart for the TMW 500 in The Sherpa Empire and Logan will be running the same scheme for the Race of Oceania in TJUN-ia. Logan's #3 will revert to Dagan Airways sponsorship when Cocoabo #28 returns to the track.

twii.tur Multiversal Services ✓

@multitwii

Welcome #3 @J3nna (and her new official handl3) to the @multitwii team for NSSCRA Season 12. Lets go chase that Multiversal Cup!

[Sixty-ninE X]

Somewhere over North Pacific

Mid-Flight, from Lhasa to Wollongmatta Bay

Carefree, was the term that Ilya liked to describe himself, and one that probably described him the best in terms of his career, as he reflected upon himself while lying on the hot tub of the Gale Force Racing's latest Learjet, reserved just for the racers. The native of Sixty-ninE X's never had trouble calling himself that, and was rather proud of the tag. While it would have been viewed as a negative sign for other racers who didn't do enough of works, it worked well for him because Ilya, unlike others, didn't try to fake through it. He simply didn't have time to fake and pretend.

Fortunately, the good news for Ilya this time was that he had a genuine company of veterans, and the ones who seemed to have minded his antics less, something that has more or less stabilised his mental fortitude this time around. This became particularly evident when Ilya, instead of flying straight to Kardashia, Saint-Kanye, had decided to stay around and watch his teammates Thea Alvarez, Stacie Houston, and Jeremiah Brooke race for the TMW 500.

The thrill, the team, the excitement, was etched into Ilya's on mind the rest of the way, as he felt the tensions rise all weekend. Not only did he watched Jeremiah racing consistently good, and Stacie rebound from awful qualifying earlier, it was Thea Alvarez who stepped on top of the podium after beating Valentians Clarissa and Anastia, but also his idol....Kai Qiang. It was an amazing feeling to become part of it all, especially when considering that Ilya had ended up on the NSSCRA by the sheer virtue of chance in meeting the number-eighteen, Jeremiah Brooke, when he was travelling around the world to various kinds of racing.

Now those two...$!%F!G#ing names that ring dings and dongs like @%#%^%YQ#&%*U@U.... Ilya thought to himself, as he closed his eyes and stared into the space, comfortably lying on his back, as he felt the hot tub comfortably shimmer and rumble with his body movements. There's no surprise that those two names, Kai Qiang and Thea Alvarez, caught him right at the race. They were the #44 and #46, and with his assigned number being #45, right between the two, there is no doubt that he had to keep an eye on those two.

And that number alone, #45, just proved that in life some things just made sense. For one Kai Qiang, the light of his life, was very much the opposite of him. The farm kid whose talents brought him all the way from the most unexpected of origins (even though the general view held by him and his native 69Xers were that stock car and open road racing, by all means, were lot more affordable than open-wheel racing), his moody, erratic behaviour as a racer drew his attention early on. The way he translated them, both in his talents and flaws, into something so palpable and respectable, captivated Ilya for many years. Now, after a decade of fanfictions written (they are available as both books and funfiction.sonnel updates, under 5 different aliases), a half-decade of racing anywhere he could go, and a foray into the WGP2 that delivered mixed results, he felt more accomplished than he had ever felt.

The honour of being with the man of my dreams....shimmered the thread of thoughts from his mind.

But then some things were not meant to be explained - and that's probably why he was feeling bizarre that he had ended up as #45, sandwiched between his idol and Thea Alvarez. As an enthusiast he had long heard about Alvarez, but this was the first time they had met (or he with most drivers, to put), since neither Sonnel region nor Quebec and Shingoryeo, where his family held a compound and he would visit Quebec City for his commitments with PlayToy, his sponsor, were really part of the greater autoracing world. But there was no doubt that the redhead, whose consistency and ability to come up with Yeezie-Magic comeback wins, was an amazing driver in her own right, and made him realise how heavy the weight of being a Gale Force driver can be.

Still, it was still hard for Ilya to figure out why she, who he originally thought not to be his type (lol really bruh), was on his mind since then. He's been briefed before by Dr. Balthazar Grey, his manager and father Vadim's friend, not to approach Thea Alvarez for reasons he didn't really specified but implied. The doc had implied that it was a matter of timing, for Dr. Balthazar Grey, whose strengths stood in the Quebecois subtlety - imagine a top-hatted gentleman with beard whose words carried some layers of meaning beyond his level of comprehension - saw solid potential of something between them. 'I am never wrong on this, but not right now,' the doc told him after his first time meeting the rest of the crew. 'I have faith in you, but also know you too well, Ilya Vadimovich,' was hat he said. He didn't want his friends Mayu Tsunopina and Vadim Tsunopin's son to not fuck up. It's been a known fact for some time that Ilya, being a hot-blooded youth, had right intentions and good heart, but didn't always express it.

Was he going to follow that though? Now that's another story. That said, Ilya knew his best remedy to the ailments caused by being the #45, the OG number in his eyes now, was to perform well and at least have a good time with it. Keep up the image, keep up the mojo, and just do it. Fuck that. You know, the world is my oyster, the high life my fashion of getting through this world, Ilya said to himself as the flight continued to cruise over the North Pacific. But for now, let's start it off well.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Kai Qiang's wives could not convince him to keep a mask on, no matter how they tried. Mendok tried to impress upon him the importance of biosafety, giving him vivid descriptions of the suffering and chaos she had witnessed in Wuchang. She had made quite an impression on Tsering, who masked up and tried to help persuade Qiang -- but they just could not convince Qiang to stop pulling his mask down off his nose or taking it off whenever it got too inconvenient. He complained that it was itchy, he felt like he was being smothered, and he wasn't that worried about catching the virus anyway. The IHS had things under control now. He was more concerned about his car, all the other drivers who were going to try to beat him, and so forth. In the mornings, they woke to find Ramba covered in frost. It was only a light dusting, but it was still enough to make the track slightly slippery until it burned off a few hours after sunrise. That could make practice interesting.

Getting their older daughter Kami to wear a mask was also a lost cause. She was much too squirmy and fidgety.

They convinced their younger daughter Sima to mask up by getting her a glittery blue mask that complimented the bluish glow of Xiaozhong. Xiaozhong was Sima's familiar, a miniature light creature that had been a gift from Holly Starlight. Lately, Sima wanted glittery blue and silver everything, so it would sparkle in Xiaozhong's light and make her look like an ice princess.

As for the other Sherpalanders in NSSCRA, Rinzi was more or less ignoring all the Ministry of Health's recommended precautions, while Liangmei Li followed them religiously. Li was wearing a well-fitted mask, carrying hand sanitizer everwhere she went, and doing her best to social distance. Meanwhile, a maskless Rinzi was bouncing around signing autographs, hugging fans, and happily posing for pictures.

---

The race went reasonably well. Rinzi had some handling problems that left him with an underwhelming mid-pack finish, but he could afford to have those issues now, when it was early in the season and he had already booked his ticket to the Chase. Qiang and Tsering were both in the top 10, so things were looking good for them.

Qiang still found an opportunity to show off how many obscene words he knew in foreign languages, though. Specifically, he cussed up a blue streak in French because he was trying to lap Andre Massena and the grimy old French marshal decided to put up a fight. He never expected Massena, or any of the other weird old-timey French guys, to hear what he said. He assumed they were too technologically-illiterate to listen in.

He was wrong...

[Saint Kanye]

Somewhere in the 69Xer countryside
A month before the start of the twelfth NSSCRA season

"Third place, not bad for a newcomer," the fat man spoke as he stepped out of his dune buggy and approached a red pickup truck, where another man with long hair and a beard was sitting in the driver seat. "Haven't seen you before. Where do you race?"

"Around the world," replied the long-haired guy. "Newmanistan, Sherpaland, Vilita and more. This is my first time in Sixty-ninE X, though, so yeah, I'm a newcomer. I'm actually from St. Kanye, you know."

"St. Kanye, huh. Never met anyone from there, but I heard you guys are really good in hoops. What's your name?"

"Jeremiah."

"Like that stock car driver?"

"You fool, that is the stock car driver," spoke another guy, this one bald, exiting his white pickup. "That's Jeremiah Brooke, NSSCRA champion."

"Oh! Pleasure meeting you then, Mr. Brooke," said the fat guy, extending a hand. "Sorry for not realizing it was you earlier. So, if I may ask, what's a stock car superstar like you doing off-road racing?"

"No need to apologize, it's fine," Jeremiah replied as he got out of the red pickup and shook the fat guy's hand. "I'm not out for recognition anyway, just here to try my hand at different forms of motorsport, that's all."

"You should meet Ilya," said the bald guy. "Our very own international racing superstar. Yo, Ilya!"

Jeremiah watched as a guy with a big bushy beard emerged from the pink jeep that he and the other drivers had trouble catching during the off-road race, and made his way over to him. "Jeremiah, this is Ilya Tsunopin, WGP2 driver," the fat guy spoke while all the other drivers started getting out their phones to take pictures of the two. "Ilya, Jeremiah Brooke, from the NSSCRA."

"Sup, bro?" Jeremiah raised a hand in greeting.

"NSSCRA, you say?" was the reply.

"Yup."

"Oh, I follow that series! Read all the news, even write some stories, and now I'm meeting a driver in the flesh, how awesome!"

"Nice to meet you too, Ilya. I've heard a lot about you - been following your series as well in my spare time."

"How's Kai Qiang, by the way? Tell him I said hi."

"He's an alright guy, just as long as you don't anger him. And yes, I will."

"Cool. Hope I get to race with him someday, he's a big inspiration to me, you know?"

The two kept talking, occasionally getting beers from a cooler that Ilya had in his jeep. Eventually, and after all the other drivers have left, Ilya revealed to Jeremiah something that had been on his mind for quite some time now.

"Hold up. You're thinking of getting into the NSSCRA?"

"Why not? Would be fun trying something new, like you're doing now in off-road, and as I said earlier, I really want to race my idol Qiang. Maybe there's a team out there with a vacant seat, maybe yours.... I don't mind running part-time, just saying."

"Oh. Haha. Well, if you really are serious, I'll see if I can talk to the people in charge about that as soon as I get back to St. Kanye."

"And I'll talk to my manager."

"Please do. Here's my card, by the way."

"Thanks."

---

Ramba, Sherpaland
Present day

Yes, Ilya really was serious, and with the recommendation of Jeremiah, Gale Force Racing signed the 69Xer on as their new R&D driver. After failing to make the field for the TMW 500, Ilya was supposed to go back to St. Kanye and wait for the next race that the team will sign him up for, but instead he chose to stay, observe his teammates' performance and take notes.

This turned out to be the right decision, as the GFR trio put on a show for their newest member, rebounding from their lackluster showing the previous week in Newmanistan with top ten finishes. Jeremiah led 55 of 500 laps on the way to an eighth place result, just a spot behind his wife Stacie Houston, who led 48. Thea Alvarez didn't need to pull some last minute Yeezie magic like she is mostly known for, instead putting up a dominant run with 103 laps led (including the last 21) on the way to her first win of the season and thirteenth of her career.





"This one goes out to my family, fans and friends, especially Hana Bhe and Fiona Sunarya who unfortunately are unable to compete with us this season," Thea told reporters in victory lane. Unforeseen circumstances led to the Filindo and Ajian teams deciding to skip the current edition of the NSSCRA, unfortunately leaving both of Thea's good gal pals without a ride. "Not only that, this goes out to all girls the world over. Remember this: We can code. We can race. We can win. We can do anything and everything boys can do. Don't be afraid to jump into motorsports or STEM fields or whatever else you want with your lives. Believe in yourselves! Be strong!" Cheers erupted from nearly every onlooker - and not just the females. Ilya was there, clapping with the rest; he stretched his arms out to give the victor a hug, but upon noticing that Thea was iffy about accepting it, offered a high five instead.

[TJUN-ia]

This blog was written by Derrick Carlisle, Jaguar Racing's Social Media Manager

Are you ready for a TJUN-ian racing party outside of the JagBase for the very first time? Well here we are, back home already and ready to throw down for the first-ever North-South Party, a celebration of regional TJUN-ia what you may see beyond the melting pot of Peninsula, TJUN-ia City and the JagBase as a whole. Both the UO and AU Zones were certainly ready to welcome us all, to show the world their culture and how they tick and this weekend will be an opportunity for everyone new to TJUN-ia to get a taste of who we are and what our Oceanic and African friends are all about before TJUN-ian Speedweek in Round 13. Both the 2nd Race of Oceania and the 1st Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao are here to show us all that TJUN-ia is more than just the Jungle Circuit and Jungle Fever and I look forward to showing you all what we have in store right here.

Friday saw our first action from Jiji la Ngao and Qualifying here on Mviringo wa Dunia would kick off this weekend's proceedings. Fans from all over the AU and other regions in TJUN-ia would be in attendance all weekend and with the dirt of the Sheild City hosting an international competition for the very first time, everyone knew this one was going to be a hell of a lot of fun - especially if you consider how much fun The HNE Half Mile was last season. Most in attendance were, of course, supporting JR T2, but you certainly did hear some cheers for the HM guys and SSS and a few others. For today at least, all three of our drivers would put on a show for this friendly crowd. Robin Dragonovic (@RD97SNL) was always going to be a favourite, Prince Robin II of the Jungle and all that, and he would qualify for tomorrow in 9th. Gongming Gao (@GG70) received a standing ovation in his first session here in TJUN-ia and would start from 6th...but today was only going to be about one woman. Alice Jepkosgei (@AJ96), the local girl, received the biggest roar of them all and especially when she banged in a 17.199 to take pole over Agata Kosaryova and Pyotr Lavrentiev, the celebrations certainly beginning after that one. Daryl Calhoun would start 4th while the HMs would be 16th (Ilmari Pëkannen) and 17th (Kaarina Salo) respectively. After that was over, the Soul of Africa music event took over the dirt and celebrated African music and culture to all those who chose to watch or attend.

Saturday then arrived and attention first shifted to Adelaide Park Circuit and Wollongmatta Bay - a place which crowned Al Shelton and Prince last season but now, would be deciding the 4th King or Queen of the Jungle. This upgrade to Cup Series status has certainly filled the stands here in the Bay and the world got to see the sunshine and the shrimps on the barbie as the culture of Down Under and the other peoples of the Manufano Islands had to offer the world. Adelaide Park is a quick and technical track and it certainly threw up a good qualifying session for all the drivers today, especially those as JR. The home team were looking to impress once more and this session was...certainly interesting for us. Micheal Stefan (@Stefan07) was certainly popular, KIng MIcheal III of the Jungle the last race winner in this nation and certainly looking for a 2nd crown - he will start tomorrow from 8th, sharing the row with Drake Stevenson. Alfonso Mercado (@AM64) will be looking to do what his BF did and claim a win at home, but he will certainly have work to do from 30th, sharing his row with The French Army's Joachim Murat. But Maddison Riley-Jones (@MaddyRJ03), the hometown kid, would have all the attention placed on her, the 1st Everlong Champion certainly receiving a roar when she came onto the track - her track. She will start tomorrow from 10th in a Stacemiah sandwich and will certainly be looking for more.

Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal took pole here in the Bay over Chris Holmes and Jenna Logan with a late spin for Taylor Henderson sending her to 41st for tomorrow. Ilya Tsunopin was here as an open-charter, the driver racing under the flag of Saint Kanye but whose presence will assure the flag of Sixty-ninE X is at the Opening Ceremony tomorrow, and will start in 21st. The 2nd open-charter spot was waived to the non-charters to fight for with Ricky Lee, Andre Massena, Jean Lannes, Lexie Shelby and Timo Szaba the Top 5 to make it in. But that 6th slot was pounced upon by Aurélia Karvonen, the GOAT of Kimi-Suomi starting tomorrow from 42nd. Her teammate Lam Chow-Cheung could also call this a home race and they will start from 33rd, just behind Kai Qiang.

Back in Jiji la Ngao, the Opening Ceremony featured every nation of both the AU and from the T2 World, including Ceroat and Hampton Island and South Newlandia and North China, before the anthems of Kenya and TJUN-ia were played. The order would be given and the action began, the crowd bearing the dust clouds to witness a dirt racing spectacle. Seven drivers failed to make the end and all our guys would have interesting races too. Gao wasn't the best in the dirt and ended up in 22nd, Ilmari and Salo were down in 17th and 19th respectively for HM, Robby just about did alright in 15th and AJ< on her home track, got lost in the shuffle towards the end but still kept hold to the points lead in 5th. Agata Kosaryova took her 2nd win of the season ahead of Edmund Flanders and VVSC, the Flefic driver showing herself to be an early contender for the crown as she was duly decreed Princess Agata IV of the Jungle, the first Princess of the system in fact.

All eyes are on the Bay tomorrow...may Dreamtime bless us all. See you tomorrow for the coronation of another racing royal...

---

Current MCS Standings: #07 - 10th (73pts)/#64 - 6th (76pts)/#03 - 3rd (79pts)
Current ECS Standings: #97 - 15th (44pts+PS)/#96 - 1st (64pts)/#70 - 5th (59pts)
Next MCS Race: Race of Oceania, Adelaide Park Circuit, Wollongmatta Bay, UO Zone, TJUN-ia
Next ECS Race: Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao (Shield City Conflict), Mviringo wa Dunia (The Circle of the Earth), Jiji la Ngao, AU Zone, TJUN-ia
Music of the Round II: Little Mix - Woman Like Me ft. Nicki Minaj (MLT/COD/SAM/ECU/ARM)

MemeWatch II
1) "You're BOTH In The Wrong!" Lloyd Clarence (HTN) and Taylor Henderson (#73) - Casual Sexism and Weaponised Basketballs

---

The Official Coronation Tally And Schedule
Kings/Queens
Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (#7, Valentine Z) as Clarissa I, Queen of the Jungle (TJUN 600, NSSCRA 9)
Fiona Sunarya (#00/#99, Filindostan) as Fiona II, Queen of the Jungle (TJUN 600, NSSCRA X)
Michael Stefan (#07, TJUN-ia) as Micheal III, King of the Jungle (TJUN 600, NSSCRA 11)
The Winner of the 2nd Race of Oceania as ??? IV, King/Queen of the Jungle (NSSCRA 12)
The Winner of the 4th TJUN 600 as ??? V, King/Queen of the Jungle (NSSCRA 12)

Princes/Princesses
Edmund Flanders (#47, Hapilopper) as Prince Edmund I of the Jungle (NGADM 500, NSSCRA X)
Robin Dragonovic (#97, South Newlandia/TJUN-ia) as Prince Robin II of the Jungle (NGADM 500, NSSCRA 11)
Al Shelton (#77, Hapilopper) as Prince Al III of the Jungle (Race of Oceania, NSSCRA 11)
Agata Kosaryova (#40, Abanhfleft) as Princess Agata IV of the Jungle (Mgogoro wa Jiji la Ngao, NSSCRA 12)
The Winner of the 3rd NGADM 500 as Prince/Princess ??? V of the Jungle (NSSCRA 12)

[The French Army]

Leujouje had always had a thing for warriors, ever since her youth. Her father had encouraged it, as he wanted her to marry a strong husband and have lots of healthy kids. But her father had not expected a strange army from an alternate reality to appear in the savanna where they grazed their goats. When he told Leujouje that she should look for a strong man to protect her, when he glorified the manly virtues of hunting and combat, he was not talking about Andre Massena.

And yet when they met, it was love at first sight. Or maybe just lust.

Everyone else, French and Jouoangquoirais alike, thought it was weird and disgusting. He was too old, she was too young, he was too white, she was too black, he was married, she should save herself for marriage, his clothes were too grimy, her clothes were too skimpy, a French marshal should be be dating someone more refined, a Jouoangquoirenne should be with someone who had completed their culture's ritual initiation into manhood, and so forth and so on.

But recently, some of the other Frenchmen had begun warming up to Leujouje because her knowledge of the modern world was useful. And so Berthier allowed her into the paddock at the TMW Test Track, and she showed him how to listen in on the other teams' radio chatter. She happened to find the #44 team's frequency just as Qiang was cussing out Massena for getting in his way. The battle-hardened men of the French Army were no strangers to profane language. In the heat of battle, men say all sorts of things. There is no time to worry about social niceties when you are getting charged by enemy cavalry or blasted with a barrage of heavy artillery. But Qiang's rant still caught them by surprise. It was really obscene, and they had never expected to hear that sort of thing coming out of his mouth. "Mon dieu! Where did he learn such language!" Berthier exclaimed.

Qiang's tirade caused such a stir that Lannes' spotter got distracted and failed to warn him that Daniel Wynfor was coming up on the outside. The two made contact and Lannes bounced into the wall. And then it was Lannes' turn to launch into an obscene tirade almost as vile as Qiang's. Almost.

After the race, Lannes angrily demanded to know why his spotter had not warned him about Wynfor, and Berthier and the spotter were forced to explain what had happened. They played the tape of Qiang's rant for all the French drivers to hear, and all the drivers' eyes went wide with shock.

After they got over the initial shock, they started to laugh. "His French is pretty good for a Chinaman," Murat observed, oblivious to the fact that his choice of words was outdated.

"He should tell us how he really feels," Massena said sarcastically.

"He thinks you're a *&*%&%(ing filthy ^%^$$%^*%^%%^ son of a &%&^%(%&(^," Lannes clarified, in case Massena had missed that part of Qiang's rant.