WSRC 02 | Stage Rally | RP Thread

by **Aboveland** » Mon Jun 06, 2022 10:10 pm

If you are new to rally, or to motorsport in general, have a look at this brief guide to understand how the sport works.

Stage rally (not Rally Raid, as the Dakar Rally, or Rallycross, which is held on circuits) is a racing discipline where drivers race against the clock on point-to-point stretches of closed public roads called stages, or special stages (SS). Rally events tend to last between one and three days, also called legs, and generally, each leg is separated into two ‘loops’ of stages. Stages within a loop are separated by road sections: open, public roads which drivers use, at road speed, to travel from the start of one stage to the other. As rally is a timed sport, drivers must arrive at the start of a stage, also called a time control, at a specific time. Should they arrive too early, or too late, they receive a minute+ time penalty, depending on the time difference. A loop is a number of stages run consecutively: for instance, a leg might have a morning loop and an afternoon loop, wherein the morning loop drivers race on three stages, before returning to the service park at midday and then going out to race the stages of the afternoon loop. Rally events are based in a city, where the service park (essentially the garage/pits) is located; fans may visit the service park to get up close to their idols. Cars are stored in the service park overnight, and drivers return to the service park between loops for service, roughly a period of about 60 minutes where drivers may repair their cars and make changes to their setups before going back out to race the remaining stages of the leg.

CRUCIALLY, as drivers do not race around a circuit multiple times, they are aided by a co-driver/navigator, who reads the pacenotes the duo have prepared before the rally. The pacenotes are annotations which tell the driver how the road ahead looks, how sharp the corners are, if there are any jumps or hazards, etc. Before a rally, drivers and co-drivers drive through the stages twice at road-speeds to write down their pacenotes.

Stage rally is more similar to time trials than to a conventional race. Drivers go out onto the stages one by one, separated from their rivals by an interval of a few minutes, which means that unless one driver encounters trouble along the way and is slowed down, drivers will generally not run into each other during a stage. In the end, the winner of the event is the driver who has completed every stage in the least possible time. After the final stage, drivers return to the service park, where the podium celebrations take place.

A driver may lose a lot of time on a stage if they have a punctured tire, if they crash and carry on, if their car has a mechanical issue, etc. If a driver fails to finish a stage, it usually means their car has been damaged too much to continue.

RP Thread

Welcome to the RP and results thread of the second World Stage Rally Championship, NationStates' analog series to the World Rally Championship. If you're looking to sign up a driver, team or rally, or if you would like to discuss out of character, do so in the OOC thread. There is to be absolutely zero out of character discussion in this thread.

The WSRC is currently in its

Competitive season

Driver signups will remain open indefinitely.

To see how the negotiation period usually works, read below and/or have a look at the RP thread for the last WSRC season. Once you have signed a driver up, begin writing about them in this thread. The more interesting the story you create, the more chance your driver has of catching the eye of one of the teams. There are no rankings. Success is built on good roleplaying by team-owners, drivers and team-mates with your driver’s ratings coming into play too. Above all, though, remember that results are randomly generated, and nothing may guarantee success.

You may RP however you like. Maybe you'd prefer to tell the world that a couple of teams are interested in your driver via some rumour-mongering in your local newspapers? Perhaps you'd like to set up an interview with a team? Maybe your driver has a big social media presence or can’t keep out of the news for all the wrong reasons? There is no 'right' way to do it, and the only 'wrong' way to do it would be to attempt to confirm your driver is racing with a team before any real negotiations, OOC, IC or otherwise, have taken place.

When you wish to confirm that a driver has joined a team, or formally offer a spot in your team to a driver, please do so in bold. With the proliferation of off-site discussion and interaction, it has become commonplace to secure driver deals off the forum. Though this is inevitable, it is encouraged for participants to develop the WSRC pre-season in the pre-season RP thread. A solid RP base set during the pre-season period enriches drivers, teams, and the quality of the competition as a whole, in addition to improving participants' chances of success. If all the discussion is had off-site, this elemental part of the process is sidelined.

There is no deadline for teams to have their seats filled.

Date		Event Name			Surface			Host City			Length (km/number of SS)	Rain % (avg)	A (avg)	T (avg)	RCE (avg)	E (avg)	Banner/Logo
24-26 June	Nordenflyg Rally Aboveland	Gravel			Brukkkifordet, Aboveland	481.3/27 SS			11%		7	3	1.16		2.5	https://i.imgur.com/Yjpjuw1.png
1-3 July	Wakkanai Winter Classic		Snow 			Wakanai, Quebec and Shingoryeo	508km/10 SS			20%		2	8	3		4.2	https://i.imgur.com/XBcZeS8.png
8-10 July	ZX-Flow Energy Rally Togonistan	Gravel			Metavira, Togonistan		463.4km/26 SS			7%		5	5	2.3		2.6	https://i.ibb.co/ccYNgBv/image-2022-05-20-205944497.png
15-17 July	Lumen Ralli			Gravel, Asphalt, Snow	Lumikukkulat, Kimi-Suomi	508km/23 SS			3.5%		7	3	0.7		2.7	https://i.postimg.cc/L83fr8HB/NSS-Logo-Data-1.png
22-24 July	Optimus™ Rally de Lisander	Gravel			Grandeville, Lisander		508km/22 SS			2%		3	7	0.5		0.6	https://i.imgur.com/IarjCJD.png
29-31 July	Aurunair Rally Auruna		Gravel, Asphalt, Snow	Nisko, Auruna			478.4km/21 SS			7%		7	3	1.7		3.17	https://i.imgur.com/tbWfRa3.png
5-7 August	bet.koi Rally Port Starside	Asphalt			Port Starside, Koaiwa		487.7km/20 SS			1%		3	7	2		0.75	https://i.imgur.com/N60E9r6.png
12-14 August	ENSADRINK Rally Hodori		Gravel, Asphalt		Chirumicha-kae, Hodori		497.6km/15 SS			20%		3.5	6.5	1.2		4.56	https://i.imgur.com/1pXeQ26.png

· Events and dates subject to change.

Team Name                             NAT       R       A       T
Iskalbil-Ælund WRT                    ABL       3.20    4.50    4.30
 1| Novikov/Baardsen                  ABL       2.60    5.00    4.40
23| Keretene/Karaka                   TGN       4.00    4.00    4.00

Sport Mikuren                         AUR       3.25    4.45    4.30
77| Raatikainen/Blomqvist             KIM       4.00    3.00    5.00
84| Gallegos/Reotutar                 AFT       3.00    5.00    4.00

Camden WRT                            LIS       3.50    3.50    5.00
 4| Hargis/Holstein                   LIS       3.00    4.00    5.00
27| Harcourt-Mauroy/d'Ombret          GAL       5.00    2.00    5.00

AP-Dëritee WRT                        KMN*      4.50    3.00    4.50
46| Mëlander/Lösspeng                 DMN       4.00    4.00    4.00
76| Södergren/Jansson                 SOD       3.50    5.00    3.50

TGK-VK WRT                            KOI       4.00    4.00    4.00
 5| Watanabe/Hitchens                 KOI       2.00    5.00    5.00
86| Pajari/Kalliomäki                 ABL       2.40    5.00    4.60
91| Boludo/de FitzLawrence            QUE       4.00    3.00    5.00

ENSADRINK WSR Tarogama Mazaregi       HDR       4.05    3.97    3.98
21| Inyuseo/Mizeyuki                  HDR       4.02    3.49    4.49
16| Imparato/Nogueira                 VEZ       4.00    3.00    5.00

*Kalmarlund/Darkmania joint entry

Available/free agent drivers

#	Driver/Co-driver		DRV	NAT	R	A	T	G	A	S
16	Imparato/Nogueira		AUG	VEZ	4	3	5	4.5	4	6.5
32	Bauçaien/Lytchian		BAU	JOU	2	5	5	10	4	1
44	Suyauey/Yliande			SUY	JOU	3	4	5	7	8	0
21	Gianluigi/Virgile		GIA	MCO	4	4	4	8	4	3
10	Vukašinović/Pintar		VUK	KHA	3	4	5	7	3	5
77	Raatikainen/Blomqvist		RAA	KIM	4	3	5	4	5	6
1	Novikov/Baardsen		NOV	ABL	2.6	5	4.4	5	7	3
68	Pajari/Kalliomäki		PAJ	ABL	2.4	5	4.6	8	1	6
23	Keretene/Karaka			KER	TGN	4	4	4	10	5	0
57	Poldov/Ponomarjov		POL	KSG	5	2	5	6	6	3
76	Södergren/Jansson		SOD	KML	3.5	5	3.5	6	3	6
87	Aurinen/Kailenta		AUR	AUR	3.8	4.4	3.8	7	2	6
4	Hargis/Holstein			HAR	LIS	3	4	5	4	9	2
46	Mëlander/Lösspeng		DME	DMN	4	4	4	6	5	2
7	Kurosawa/Emerson		TAK	BRK	4	3	5	4	7	4
84	Gallegos/Reotutar		GLG	AFT	3	5	4	5	7.5	2.5
27	Harcourt-Mauroy/d'Ombret	HMA	GAL	5	2	5	5	9	1
3	Rasmussen/Roy			RAS	SAS	3.4	4.1	4.5	5.1	4.1	5.8
25	Bun/Roll			BUN	TCL	2.8	5	4.2	7	3	5
80	Kusuo/Mercedes			KUS	GCZ	4	5	3	5	6	3
5	Campbell/Rutherford		CAM	KOI	2	5	5	5	10	0
86	Kimura/Ali			KIM	KOI	2	5	5	8	7	0
21	Inyuseo/Mizeyuki		INY	HDR	4.02	3.49	4.49	6	8	1
71	Shuadakei/Shuadakei		ASY	HDR	3.5	4.25	4.25	7	7	1
65	Verik/Klindt			VRK	GCZ	3	5	4	4	4	7
91	Boludo/de FitzLawrence		BOL	QUE	4	3	5	6.5	1.5	7
35	Dizadare/Ènuts	                DIZ	DCS	3	4	5	4	4	7

by **Valentine Z** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 12:02 am

Part 0 – For those who just came in, we will rally around.

An early afternoon at Valentine Z in the year 2094, it’s been nearly a decade since the country’s last debut at WSRC (World Stage Rally Championship) Season 1, a rally event that Fleet Admiral Augustine and Wing Commander Angeline have taken part in. The duo, along with the rest of the Sixty, got busy when the Interdimensional Incident came about, but were able to fix back everything within the 4 years and by the time 2093 hits, the Valentians were up and ready to hit the international scenes again, being able to play at their utmost performance and peak that they have always put into. After a long and lengthy walk that she goes on a daily basis, Angeline stopped right at the house of Augustine, giving a gentle knock on the door and waiting for her friend to show up. In all honesty, she wasn’t expecting him to answer the door immediately, for this was an impromptu visit with not even as much as a call in advance to let him know that she would be around the neighbourhood. A few seconds passed, with the smile still on her face, Angeline knocked the door a few more times again before sitting down on a porch, using her phone.

Last night was an all-nighter for him, though not necessarily because he was up doing some navy work for the Valentians, nor because he got some very important work to do. Rather, Augustine was up all night, having a gaming night with a few of The Sixty, as well as with the neighbouring Valentians. They went for a couple of matches in a strategy game, followed by a first-person shooter, before all of them hit the hay right before the sun comes up. He was deep in his sleep, exhausted but ultimately have had a lot of fun with his friends and strangers throughout the various matches. He dreamed of going for a relatively long sail in the open seas, perhaps on an aircraft carrier accompanied by a few smaller ships here and there. He wasn’t able to control most of his actions in the dream, and thus was able to simply watch as if he was in some POV TV show. He dreamed himself on the carrier, a little livid, and was barking orders at his subordinates to fire at another incoming ship – one that has the other Valentians on it. Part of him did not understand why he was firing at the Valentians, but judging from their appearances even when they were being fired upon, it seemed like an exercise. That still does not explain why he was a little angry at the whole thing in general, or as to why the ships exploded into a bunch of flowers and lollipops when shot upon.

“Knock, knock, knock!” came the muffled knockings from downstairs. Augustine snapped awake from his sleep, the dream ending abruptly as he got up from his bed. He was in his usual sleep attire – a simple t-shirt with a decent and not-that-outlandish tropical-style pants, one that he got from the off-shore vacation when the ship he was on landed at South American parts of Valentine Z. By the time the knocks came in the second time, Augustine then walked down the stairs, wondering as to who was visiting him on Sunday out of all days. A surprise birthday party? His birthday was long over. A repossession? That has been outdated ever since Val Z came in. Maybe just friends.

And so it was. Angeline, in her bubbly and happy self, in contrast to the more reserved and stoic Augustine, who does have his soft side but does not show a lot of it to the friends and family and other strangers around him. It was a pleasure for him to see her, what with the two having spent a bit of time here and there even after WSRC 1. Sure, what with them being part of The Sixty and all, the two have definitely encountered each other, but they have not thought of going for events together or anything else along the way. Augustine has his fair share circle of friends as per the example above, while Angeline have hers. And this is on top of Angeline being part of the Air Force, while Augustine spends most of his years in the seas. So, at first, it seemed like just a filler and that it would have been nothing but business, when they are in WSRC 1. However, the events that happened in the rally have brought them closer to one another, genuinely appreciating each other’s company and tending to each other, almost like a couple to an outsider. Now Angeline is here again, and Augustine took a couple of guesses as to why. “Oh hey, the Rally is going to happen again, ain’t it? I thought it’s going to be just one of those one-off things, hehe. Is that the invite letter?” “Yes, it is!” Angeline nodded, showing Augustine the letter, the latter then realising that his should be also in the mailbox (which it is). “Ahh, awesome! So… hmm, not much in the way of the schedule yet. Inviting the drivers and the teams first, I see. We are up for this again, right? We might be in a different team, but that should be fine.”

“So long as I am your co-driver again, haha!” Angeline said cheerfully, to which Augustine then returned the sentiment. “Haha, well, that sounds like a plan, then! And hey, thanks for reminding me- would have missed it otherwise.”

by **Koaiwa** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 4:30 am

A recap of the 15th National Congress of Workers' Party of Koaiwa
The first congress since Furukawa's retirement give a view into the post-Furukawa future of Koaiwa

Feb 21, 200X, at 2:16 PM. By Allissa Power of the International News Service of Koaiwa

NAIRKU, Koaiwa — The ruling party of Koaiwa, Workers' Party of Koaiwa began its four-day congress last Tuesday, which is held every five years to orchestrate a new vision for the future for the nation, as well as, review the past. The Workers' Party of Koaiwa has been in power since the beginning of the 20th century and was originally established as an guerrilla organisation to fight against the axis forces occupying the country at that time. It since has been the major political party in Koaiwa and has a majority government in all elections but two since its inception. Within the past party congress, the congress had the attendance of its coalition partner, the Liberal Party, however with WPK recent success in the 200X election marked a return to its normal of being purely organised by the WPK central committee.

The congress is being held this year under the theme 'Globalism and the Future of Socialism', which was discussed over the course of the week by various delegates from across the nation. This congress has decided on policy decisions regarding education, foreign affairs, economic development and more. There were several hundred delegates attending the congress, including representatives from every regional branch of the party, as well as members of the central committee itself. The congress also includes some international guests with the other socialist parties around the region also sending representatives.

On Tuesday morning, the congress opened with a speech from President Kazuya Muto. He spoke about how important it was to continue working towards a better future for the people of Koaiwa and praised the achievements of his predecessor and founder of the party, Furukawa Shigeru, who had led the nation through many difficult times such as its fight for independence, split from the Soviet Union, and rapid industrialisation of the nation. His speech received a standing ovation from the delegates. Afterwards, there were speeches from various other speakers representing different regions of the country, including the Minister of Education, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the head of the Central Bank, and the leader of the Workers' Party of Koaiwa's youth wing. All the speeches were followed by applause. After lunch, the first round of voting took place. The delegates voted on a number of resolutions put forward by various committees in-regards to the handovers in leadership positions within the committees, which would then go to the second and third rounds of voting later in the week.

The afternoon session's focus was the economy, the delegates heard reports from various state-run enterprises from various industries within the country. The session started with a general overview from the delegate from the department of economics, which gave an overview of recent developments in the economy; representative from Tatehama Giken Kogyo, nation's premier automobile and diesel generator manufacturer, announced that the company would aim to double its current production of 500 thousand motor vehicles, with the aims increasing overseas sales by 500% to match production. The Minister of Agriculture also reported that the nation's agricultural output had increased significantly over the past decade, and that the nation now produces over 8 million tonnes of foodstuffs annually. The minister went on to say that he hoped to increase this export figure further, and that the ministry would work closely with farming co-ooperatives around the nation to ensure they could produce even more crops than before. In the evening, there were several cultural performances, including dance and music shows performed by students from the national university, as well as a performance from a local theatre group. Following these, the delegates adjourned back to their hotels or hostels for the night.

Wednesday saw the start of the second day of the congress, with a series of speeches from various departments that were not included yesterday, such as the Ministry of Tourism. The tourism sector has seen significant growth over the last few decades, with the number of tourists visiting the country rising from 50 thousand in the early 2000s to 150 thousand today. The Minister of Tourism explained that the department had set a target of 300 thousand visitors per annum by 2020, and that the department would be looking to expand its infrastructure in order to accommodate this. The Minister of Transport also spoke about the plans to construct a new highway connecting the capital city with the port city of Starside, which would reduce travel time between the two cities from four hours to just one hour. The construction of the road would be funded by the taxation of various private companies within Starside. The Ministry of Tourism has then quelled the fears of this impacting smaller towns part of the highway being impact by promising that there will be more cultural events being held to ensure their tourism sectors are not impacted. After this, the delegates were given the opportunity to discuss the topics of the day in small groups, where they would be able to voice any concerns and questions regarding the presentations made earlier in the day. In the evening, there was another cultural event, this time featuring the national orchestra.

Thursday saw the final day of the congress, with a number of speeches being made by various departments. The Minister of Defence spoke about the recent conflict with the internal-conflicts neighbouring nations within the region and its impact on Koaiwa, as well as how the nation was planning to build up its military capacity in preparation for defensive purposes. The Minister of Finance spoke about the ongoing trade negotiations within the region, saying that the talks were progressing well, and that the nations of Maluya were keen to invest in Koaiwa. The Minister of Internal Affairs spoke about the success of the police force, citing the fact that crime rates have fallen dramatically over the past decade, with the number of murders falling from 1,500 in the early 2000s to less than 100 today. The Minister of Communications spoke about the progress of the fibre optic network that had been constructed throughout the country, saying that the government was aiming to connect every home in the country with the internet within the next five years. The Minister of Health spoke about the successes of the health care system, explaining that the average life expectancy in the country had risen from 60 in the early 1980s to nearly 85 today. Following this, the delegates were allowed to discuss the topics of the day in small groups again, before coming together once more to vote on the resolutions passed during the previous two days. This resulted in a number of changes to the party constitution, as well as a number of new policies being introduced, including the creation of a new department within the ministry of education focused on science and technology. At the end of the session, the delegates returned to their hotels or hostels for the night, while the central committee met behind closed doors to discuss the results of the congress.

Friday morning saw the delegates gather once more for the closing ceremony, where the president of the party addressed the delegates. He thanked them for their attendance and hard work, and said that he looked forward to seeing what the future holds for the country. Following this, the delegates dispersed, with most heading back to report to their respective branches, unions, or companies.

It is not uncommon for various sub-groups, or sub-committees to come about after a party congress. Tatehama Giken Kogyo (TGK) had set pretty bold goals for itself at the party congress, wanting to double production and increase exports by nearly five-fold to match the production figures. Each of these goals alone resulted in a sub-committee; Sub-Committee for the TGK Production Targets, and Sub-Committee for the TGK Export Targets. The former of which had only had delegates from the Ministry of Labor and Industry, with some representatives from the city council of Tatehama. This was in stark contrast when compared to the Sub-Committee for the TGK Export Targets, which was a smorgasbord in-regards to how many representatives it had accross how many departments, and enterprises. Which included everyone from state-run gambling agency, as well as ministries such as Tourism, Transportation, as well as Trade.

Ministry of Trade and Finance was responsible for organising free-trade agreements, which would play an important part of fulfilling TGK's goals but being able to easily export does not mean people will necessarily buy it. Exporting vehicles under their own badge has been an issue haunting TGK for decades. Perhaps its due to Koaiwa's international outlook, or TGK's past of only producing trucks, busses, or the most pedestrian of cars, or TGK's present of being focused on being focused solely to diesels, electrics, or a hybrid of both. As such, the rest of the exports sub-comittee is purely focused on building a brand that will have overseas appeal. TGK has been observant of its overseas competitors and studying them. A similarly unappealing brand known for vans and small trucks were able to completely re-invent themselves through their motorsports division, giving their marketting direction. If the strategy worked for their competitors, it must work even better for TGK, the management was convinved.

An initial pilot-program of hosting a domestic motorsports in Port Starside had been succesful with the TGK organising a single-model GT4 event, not only attracting sufficient crowds, interest from privateers wanting to join the race, but most importantly an increase in-sales in TGK's more premium models. While the pilot-program was technically held domestically, Port Starside is more autonomous than all other regions within Koaiwa. This is due to being only relatively recently intergrated to rest of the island. Before that, Port Starside has spent most of its existance as a tax-haven city-state with seaside properties and casinos. As such, has notably different demographics to rest of the Koaiwan domestic market.

With the success of the pilot-program resulted in the sub-comittee meeting again, with the plans of going global with it. With the help of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the sub-committee was able to secure a large plot of land near the coast of Port Starside for use as a circuit. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also helped in securing sponsorship and collaboration of the state-run gambling agency, bet.koi. The Ministry of Transportation also adjusted their plans in the construction of a new highway to Port Starside, which would allow easier access to the track from the capital. However, this track would not be complete for a couple of years, and every day counts in a five-year plan. To aliviate this, the local amateur motorsport event, the Starside Rally, was to be professionalised and re-worked to fit the WSRC calendar. TGK Motorsports had already spread themselves too thin to organise a rally-team on their own by this point. The success of the domestic GT4 series went to their head, and had delusions of grandeur flooding the management. The had their resources and staff tied up in upkeep of the GT4 series, and the massive task of producing an engine for its future entry in open-wheel racing, as well as, prototype racing cars.

TGK management decided to go to its old-ways once more for its rallying ambitions, pursue a foreign partnership.

by **Lisander** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 12:44 pm

After a debut year of Magic and Fury, we decided to write a different page in our history. To look to the future, having learned from the mistakes of the past. We decided to work with all our passion, but without neglecting safety, solidity and care. That is why, this season, Camden WRT's main partner is Tourism Assistance Group (TAG).

With the arrival of TAG, as well as Optimus, Lisander's largest private internet provider, and Hedra, the country's largest chemical industry, our Squaria has gained new capabilities and is ready for another tour around the world, challenging the most inhospitable terrains! Likewise, it is an honour to anticipate that only a few bureaucratic adjustments are missing to confirm the return of the fearless women's duo, Leora Hargis and her Co-Driver, Mor Holstein, for car #4. Hargis and Holstein have revealed to us that they can't wait to get back into the action, and should be joined by two more duos this season. One of them will be composed by the Gallienan national champions, Lucien Harcourt-Mauroy and Guillaume d'Ombret. The team's plan is to have a full roster at every stage, so a third crew is also in the plans of the squad.

Our featured sponsor

This yellow logo means "welcome!". Day or night, we always have
people to serve you!
TAG is the oldest and biggest road assistance company in Lisander.

You see our yellow cars around, you are safe. TAG provides a range of services for people on the road, for cars, motorcycles, bicycles, vans, buses and trucks. Flat tire? Call us and we'll replace it. Broken engine? Call us and we'll send a tow truck. Tired of driving at night? Stop at one of our 97 drive-in centers around Lisander, Ariannin and Saint Ianina.have a snack, buy souvenirs, get your hair cut, get your nails done, take a nap*, all while our staff takes care of your car! Car accident? May the gods forbid, but we have ambulances and helicopters ready to send you to the nearest hospital.

Our pioneering spirit is also reflected in many other fields of life on wheels. Our centers offer driving lessons, parts sales and the unified rental service "renTAG": You can rent and return a car at any TAG center in Lisander, even if the place of return is not the same one where you rented it.

Being a TAG member also guarantees discounts at many stores, and not only for car parts and products, but also for snack bars, bars, restaurants and cinemas.

Last but not least, you can buy, replace or finance your car with TAGBank. We have the best rates in the market for new and used cars!

*Check the availabilty of desired services in the desired center in tag.ls/centers/locate

The Car

Squaria RS (RallySport) is the Rally version of the most sold Supermini Car in Lisander. For the last ten years until two years ago, it was also the most sold car in Lisander, regardless of the model. Due to its simple, angular lines, and its low price, it's still a popular car. You can buy a brand new Squaria for as low as L$14,800, and old versions are sold even cheaper. There's a great market of spare parts and race modifications. Once, one of the Lerna factory workers bought a vanilla Squaria and developed a "special race version" named Squaria Stripped. It became a great success, and the company adopted the idea. After removing most of the leather, eletronic and plastic parts, included but not limited to seats and panels, the estimated value for the car dropped to L$ 4,770 (later this car was even more modified for legal street racing). For the WSRC02, the livery for Hargis and Holstein was already revealed, while the colours for Harcourt-Mauroy and d'Ombret are still on the works.

As well as supplying the Camden WRT, Camden Motors are ready to offer spare units of the Squaria RS to other teams.
(OOC: I'm available to do other paintjobs on this livery template, should anyone be interested.)

Drivers

#4 Leora Hargis (Co-driver: Mor Holstein)
30 years old. Finished 4th in WSRC 1. Leora started as a gentle(wo)man driver, but now she's a very respected woman in the motorsports scene, and not only because she driver with an enviable finesse, but also for her filled pocket. She's the current owner of a chain of car dealers in Lisander, started by her father, Leon Hargis. Leon is now retired, on his seventies, and his youngest daughter continues the story of the family with cars. She is an all-terrain driver and spent a lot of her time and money in racing, not only in touring cars, but also in open-wheelers and Rallycross. Her co-driver, Mor Holstein, despite her young age of 19, has three seasons of experience in international motorsport, two NSSCRA and one WSRC season. With the sponsorship of Hargis, Holstein is establishing herself in other championships of motorsport. It's expected the duo returns to Camden WRT in WSRC2. Curiously, both Hargis and Holstein favourite sandwich is the traditional lisanderian hot dog, which comes with ground beef, Vienna sausage cubes cooked in tomato sauce, sliced Italian sausage with onions, mashed potatoes, canned corn, straw potato and creamy cheddar. This hot dog is famous around the food trucks, especially in racing events, due to its high caloric value.

#27 Lucien Harcourt-Mauroy (Co-driver: Guillaume d'Ombret)
The 38-year-old man is a long time service driver for the city of Arlesia, in Southeastern Galliena. His passion for Rally was born when he was 19. While working as an ambulance driver in a Rally Event near his city, he was invited by Maurice Mercx, then national champion, to give "some info on local terrain". Ombret, co-driver and most recently turned his brother-in-law, is a longtime friend that was also a Rally aficionado. They started by the amateur circuit, reaching the top of the local scene in some years. Now they plan to venture themselves internationally, with support of some Gallienan companies.

The Season

Car/Event	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Points
#4 Hargis / Holstein(LIS)									0
#27 Harcourt-Mauroy / d'Ombret(GAL)									0
#TB TBD/TBD(TBD)									0

The Story so far

No posts at the moment. Please come back later.

by **Togonistan** » Tue Jun 07, 2022 5:17 pm

Keretene Vacation Residence
Helterburg, Togonistan

Rain. Day after day, nothing but rain. That's what the past week had been like for Naomi Keretene, who was looking out the window and sighed. Once again, her plan to visit the beach had been ruined. Annoying. Naomi sighed and landed herself on a couch, turned on the TV and started browsing through the channels. News, cheesy talk show, Togonistani mud league football match, old movie everyone has already seen at least twenty times... ugh, nothing good there either. She turned the TV off, even more annoyed than before. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. No one to hang out with.

Naomi's beloved daddy had gone on a business trip overseas. His third one in the past two months already... heh, business trip. Naomi had a hunch it was just an excuse to slip away again. In fact, her dad had been acting really weird lately, as if he had his head up in the clouds. Naomi was sure her dad had found himself another lover, she had experience with such situations before. Back when she was younger, her dad would sometimes bring different women to the house and introduce them to her. Naomi never understood it back then, and naturally, she had despised all of her so-called ''mother figures'' that had ended up staying for an extended period of time. Luckily, extended period in this case meant a month, at most. Sometimes her dad had ended those relationships himself, other times Naomi had to... take some measures herself to ensure said woman would leave and allow their life to turn back to normal again.

Having laid down, Naomi took out her phone and started scrolling. Not only was it her dad, but all her friends also seemed to be busy. Heriko had been busy helping his brother Samuel, that little brat, with his rallycross career. Carmen, her agent, had been busy dealing with other clients. Some of her friends had gone overseas on a vacation and posted pictures taken under palm trees with the sun shining, causing even more annoyance to Naomi. Dom Falepeau, WGPC driver with whom Naomi had been talking about cars and stuff, also seemed to be busy dealing with his own domestic racing outfit... eventually, having scrolled back and forth through her contact list, she found Fili Faraimo, another circuit racer, to be online. Been a while, might as well say hi.

Naomi: Hey babe, what's up? xoxo

Fili: Heya Naomi

not much, just chilling in my new Aurun apartment

Naomi: Whaat? Wait, you moved to Auruna?

Fili: Just temporarily. For now, atleast.
If u didn't know, I race in WGP3 Auruna
With Viska

Naomi: Omgggg really?!? That is so cool

Fili: Thanks I'm happy about it too. Helps me develop better as a driver
Anyways, what about u? What u up to these days?

Naomi: Oh, not much. Just chillin', y'know
Weather in Togonistan sucks rn

Fili: U about to compete anywhere anytime soon?
Just heard the next rally season is behind the door
U still in a ship with Abovians?

Naomi: ...maybe

Fili: What, u can't say?

Naomi:

Fili: Haha, why u so cryptic about it XD
They would be crazy to not keep u. What u did last season was awesome
Despite some salty bois being angry at u

Naomi: I always do my best.
It was funny to see the face of that reporter when I threw middle fingers at the camera tho hahaha, you should have seen it

Fili: Haha it was epic XD
That's why ur fans love u, u are who u are

I gotta go now

Naomi: Okei, take care c:
Hope the Aurun championship works out for you

Fili: I hope so too. Good luck with ur rally stuff too. Hope to see u again some time
Bye

Naomi: Byeeeeee

Everyone has something to do. Literally everyone. Naomi sighed and got herself up from the couch again. Having dived into her wardrobe and put on a leather jacket, she took a quick look into the mirror to gussy herself up before grabbing the car keys and walking out of the house. Might as well take a quick spin around the countryside... anything to get out of the house.

by **Auruna** » Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:35 am

Sport Mikuren Rally Team, SM Motorsport Facilities
Nisko, Auruna

It's a relatively quiet day for Studio Mikuren's motorsport team as it is the off-season for most of the series they compete in except for one branch of Sport Mikuren. The rally team had grown restless after their team manager, Juri Mikkula, announced that they will be entering the upcoming WSRC2 partnering with Schkeska Rally, knowing that entry would be difficult for a small team like them. "What bold move by Juri." Most of them thought while they work on preparing everything in the pre-season.

Later in the day, Juri arrives at the garage with three Schkeska Kana SRs. "I'm back!" He yells out as he gets out of one of the Kanas. The other two were driven by some of the Schkeska mechanics that were sent to Sport Mikuren as part of the partnership. Some of the Mikuren mechanics and engineers gather around the cars, as well as sporting director Ari Lämppeä and technical director Mick Körä.

"Good news guys, we're in!" Juri excitedly says to the crowd and cheers soon followed as it finally confirms that the team will be competing. He goes on to talk to a few about the details until he notices a confused-looking Mick.

Mick walks around the three plain-white cars, confused, he asks. "Why three?"

Juri answers. "Rules state that we can have three drivers, so I politely asked for another one, just to be prepared."

"I like the sound of that." Says Ari. "But the hard part is looking for the right drivers for us."

"Well, Schkeska wants us to get Kälö Aurinen and Zuiha Kailenta, they said that the pair had potential."

"That's what Schkeska wants but not sure if they would agree to that."

"We'll find out once I reach out to them."

"If they said that the two only needed the equipment necessary, these are the cars they ran last season, right?"

"Yeah, basically the same but we'll do our tweaks to the cars with the help of Viska."

"Alright, got it. Just hoping that Schkeska's misfortune won't rub onto us. Also, who in Schkeska told you that?"

"No one, I got it from a certain Mr. Ivan Könä. Anyway, I'll leave you guys to do your work, I'll be heading to the designers for the livery."

"Looks like we have a lot to do before the actual mess starts."

Work continued soon after Juri left, with the AtMA and E-Series team nearby wondering what the noise is all about. The sound of metal and engines, and the smell of fuel and oil fills the entire garage. As Juri walks away from his team's garage, he take a quick look behind and smiles. "This is what you guys have been waiting for all this time huh?"

Later, Juri's Office

"Drivers, drivers... there's a lot here." Juri mutters to himself as he scrolls through the list. "I watched the previous season so I know some of them which makes things easier I guess." With his hand not letting go of the mouse for a few minutes, he continues scrolling back and forth through the driver list, making a mental note of each of them. "Some of them are interesting, some already have contracts, Schkeska wants us to sign Aurinen but which of them is the right choice for us..."

"Well, it's still too early to decide."

...

"Heh, I could only do so much by myself."

Kälö's Apartment
Nisko, Auruna

A cold day at Nisko, nothing too unusual to Kälö as he enjoys his quiet day browsing the internet and playing games. It was peaceful, as it should be especially since Zuiha isn't with him at this time. That was until a single phone call from the one and only Ivan Könä changed his day... or something. When his phone suddenly rang, he was quick to pick it up and answer the call. "Hello hello, this is Kälö."

"Yo Kälö, it's Ivan."

"Ah hey mate, why call me? Something important?"

"New season of WSRC is coming up, I'm calling to ask you if you want to continue in the series."

"There's another one? How come I haven't heard of it?"

"Probably because you were busy with something else to catch up to the news. Now, I need your answer."

"You know me, I'll agree to any chance to drive."

"Alright, I'll quickly enter you two."

"You're acting as our agent now, what a surprise, I though you were busy."

"For this series, I'll be your agent. To be honest, if I'm not a driver, I'd be some kind of team or driver manager or something haha. This doesn't get in the way of my usual business."

"Ooh... interesting."

"I'll get to work right away. Oh-- before I almost forgot, Schkeska's looking for you two again."

"Oh? A team already looking for us this early?"

"Yeah, I'll give you the details soon."

"Alright, alright. I'll let Zui know about this."

"Aye, see ya."

The call ends and not long after, Kälö couldn't contain his excitement and immediately lets his friends know about the news. Then, he hears a familiar sound from the outside. He quickly heads to the window to look out and see what it is. Looking to the right, he sees a trio of plain-white hatchbacks and as they drive past his apartment building, he can clearly see that the three are Schkeska Kana SRs, the car that he drove in the previous season. He stands there confused as the Kana SRs drive off in the distance, headed somewhere. Did Schkeska move here or is there a team based in Nisko? He thought to himself as the event peaked his curiosity.

And because of that, he forgot to tell Zuiha about the news.

by **Kimi-Suomi** » Sat Jun 11, 2022 12:05 pm

Rally. Ralli.
A sport present in the blood of Kimi-Suomi. Kimi-Suomen veressä oleva urheilulaji.
But what happens when two good friends, a driver and a co-driver, try to enter the international arena?
Mutta mitä tapahtuu, kun kaksi hyvää ystävää, kuljettaja ja kartanlukija, yrittävät päästä kansainväliselle areenalle?

This is their story. Tämä on heidän tarinansa.

A Coffee Shop
Kimi-Kaupunki, Kimi-Suomi
15:43 KDST

If you were to point to the two people, one woman and one man, sitting in front of a laptop on Table 24 and ask someone to identify them, you would get a variety of answers depending on the respondent. Most wouldn't have the foggiest who they were as they intently focused on whatever the man was typing on the keyboard. Others would guess that they were famous, that some in this icy kingdom in northern AO would know who they were, but then they themselves wouldn't be able to identify them. Some would recognise their faces, as these mystery people looked focused in concentration, but couldn't quite put their finger on what their names may be. Maybe their footballers or something like that?

But to those with affinity for motorsports, they will know these two quite well. The man on the keyboard is Pehr Henrik Blomqvist, a rally co-driver who certainly knows his way around the sport. He's been a co-driver for a long while now, the 26-year-old, and he's always been a studious understudy to all of the drivers he's been paired with. The woman next to him is his current partner and best friend, Laila Raatikainen - the "next Aurélia Karvonen" if some are to be believed. Laila has always been seen as a great motorsports prospect since she was at least 13 but ever since she fully committed her resources to rally at 16, she has been with PHB and this partnership has certainly been effective in the domestic scene. Some may argue that these two are more then friends, a claim both would strongly deny, but there is no doubt that these two have a bond of some sort - one that runs a bit deep.

So what brings two rally drivers to a coffee shop with a laptop? Well, Kimi-Suomen Auto- ja Kilpaliitto (KSAjK for short) - the governing body of auto racing in this icy kingdom - has decided that our love of the Ralli should be extended to the highest competition in the world, which is only in it's 2nd season. The World Stage Rally Championship, or WSRC or short, is that arena and KSAjK opted to pick Laila and PHB as the first entry from Kimi-Suomi to try and enter the series.

That is why there were here...they were formulating an email to send to all the teams in that series to see if any were interested in a pairing like theirs. There only are 7 teams in the WSRC at the present point, but each of them can have at least 3 cars entered into a rally, so almost all of the available slots were still up for grabs. In the end, they did come up with an email that would cover both of the points they wanted to make - who they were and their availability to all comers. Everyone has to start from somewhere and they hoped that they can start at the very least.

To: Iskalbil-Ælund WRT, Sport Mikuren, Camden WRT, AP-Dëritee WRT, PAN World Rally Team, TGK-VK WRT, ENSADRINK WSR Tarogama Mazaregi
From: Laila Raatikainen, Pehr Henrik Blomqvist
Topic: An Introduction.

To all those concerned,

Hei! Mitä kuuluu? We are the driver and co-driver of the potential #77 entry, Laila Raatikainen and Pehr Henrik Blomqvist. We are writing to you today considering your available seat in the 2nd WSRC season. We, as a unit, would be available for any tests or procedures you would like to do in order to determine your drivers for the upcoming season.

Here in Kimi-Suomi, rallying is within our blood. We have been chosen by our nation to try and enter this series, but our domestic series are full of other would could've been in our position. If you opt for us, you will get pioneers from our homeland...but also drivers who feel confident in their ability to adapt to an international environment.

We hope you consider us and we look forward to potentially meeting you in the coming weeks.

Kiitos,
Laila Raatikainen
Pehr Henrik Blomqvist

by **Aboveland** » Sat Jun 11, 2022 4:18 pm

Ælund Rallisport Headquarters
Lintulahti, Aboveland

Every word coming from Marko's mouth puts a smile on Konrad's. It's not just the contents ― the two-liter engine is fine, after all, despite having been a last-minute development, and the Skua is a hit with Axel and Henrik, who'd been giving it a beating on the dirt trails around Lintulahti in preparation for the start of the season ― but also, the echo with which his words reverberated in the vast workshop. Iskabil-Ælund's success in WSRC1 had given the rallying department — previously a part of the bread and butter of the Abovian motorsport scene — the lifeline it sorely needed: their segmented, hacked-together, reserved portion of the Tropicorp Racing Ælund facilities which had served as headquarters in the last season were no more. Motivated as well by TRÆ's partial relocation to the tropics of Atlantian Oceania (after it had become clear the departure of Terho Talvela, and the end-of-life of the AGP002-based chassis had arrived), considerable workshop space had been freed in Lintulahti to house an expanded rallying operation. It would have been necessary to expand either way: with the WSRC allowing teams to field an extra car in the second season, and with Ælund Rallisport's own decommissioning of the Kokko XB4 from factory competitive use, a revamped headquarters, with extra wiggle room and more modern equipment, had to be on the cards.

Iskabil-Ælund's team principal, however, had basked in the sweet words of sporting director Marko for long enough to zone out, and to miss the important part of his stellar report back.

"Konrad..." Marko mutters, his face beginning to show fastidiousness. "Konrad!"

"Yes, sorry," he stammers back. "Yes. Yes!" He's regaining his pointers in space and time, hunched over the desk and desperately trying to claw back anything of what Marko had really said, to feign interest, attention, and receptiveness to his drawn-out report.

"Did you hear what I said," the sporting director moans, cutting the performativeism as short as his patience, almost delivered as a statement. "There's still work to do."

"Of course," Konrad replies, oblivious to what work there is to be done until a sheet of paper drifts down towards him. A finger pins the sheet down, aiming at a colorful set of charts.

"Reliability is a concern," asserts Marko, tapping at the charts and pulling a chair beside him with the other hand. "Not bad, but worse than last year. We had a proven championship winner in the Kokko; everything on the Skua is new." He watches as Konrad reaches for his glasses, and continues. "The suspension, the steering, the dampers, the mounts, the rollcage — and let alone the entire engine and almost the whole powertrain, too."

Konrad's eyebrows rise. "Do we need more money?" he asks, digging around his shirt for his phone. "I've got Iskabil on speed-dial―"

"No, Konrad," insists Marko. "Iskabil's backing is better than before already. What we need is testing: stress testing in the workshop, field testing with Axel ―"

"And drivers!" interrupts Konrad. "We need our lineup set, pronto."

"Axel is committed to iskabil-Ælund," affirms Marko, "so that's one seat filled. With our extra seat this season we can take more risks in the lineup, too."

Konrad nods. "For sure," he agrees, pushing his glasses down to the tip of his nose, frowning and clawing his finger around the bridge of the lenses to pull them forwards. "But I know who I want in that second seat, and so do you."

Marko shrugs. He's never admitted his prejudice had been ill-intentioned, and had never conceded to Konrad that the elder's judgment had been correct, but he shakes his head affirmatively at the unnamed suggestion. "It would be ridiculous to do so otherwise, Konrad," he admits. "I'll go send Naomi Keretene the renewal offer, then." Before he turns to leave, he taps the slip of paper he'd left on Konrad's desk again, the last knuckle of his index finger flexing with the force of his presses. "Testing!" he insists, but as he starts to turn, he pauses. "What about our third seat, then?"

"We've time, Marko," Konrad assures through a chuckle. "And we have an invitational to host."

PRE-SEASON TEST: Ælund Rallisport Invitational Rallysprint
June 14th | Iskajärvi, Aboveland

The green blips indicate the start point of each of the stages

Ælund Rallisport welcomes on short notice all teams, drivers and free agents of the World Stage Rally Championship to participate in the Ælund Rallisport Invitational Rallysprint event held near Iskajärvi, Aboveland, on June 14th. Participating free-agents will find themselves at the wheel of Iskabil-Ælund WRT's brand new Iskabil Skua XB4-SR, for a chance to land a seat for the upcoming WSRC season with the Abovian team. All teams will be invited to the event as well, as spectating agents or to run their WSRC2 vehicles and drivers in a competitive setting for the first time. The two stages spanning a total of 5.74km of gravel roads are both quick and technical, and should serve to expose every competitor's strengths and weaknesses.
Event format: drivers will have a full morning to familiarize themselves with the Skua XB4-SR or their own teams' vehicles in an indefinite practice session around the two stages of Nurmikenttälampi campground, before a regroup at noon separates the event in two. In the afternoon, drivers will set off onto the stages in an elimination qualifying format: all fielded drivers will be authorized two runs of each stage per phase of qualifying, with the lowest-classified drivers dropping out of the running until the final ten are left. Results will be presented as a leaderboard sorted by each drivers' fastest time in the last qualifying group they participated in.
Participation by teams and drivers is OPTIONAL, and must be confirmed [in bold] before the running of the event.

Vankkavalta Kyvyteslesbillettalli workshop
Vankkavalta, Aboveland
Days before the start of AOCAR season 2

Mats watches as the last of the painters' tape peeled away from the new sign plastered over the garage door.

"Vankkavalta Kyvytelsesbillettalli..." he whispers, under his breath. Does that sound nice? VK? Vee-kay?

The fresh coat of paint on the previously rain-stained building had been little more than a cosmetic upgrade. Since the first season of the WSRC, business had boomed: compared with the over-saturated customer rally market in western Aboveland, Vankkavalta Kyvyteslesbillettalli was bustling with business, but the uptick in competition-oriented customers had forced a business model change for the private garage. No longer was the previously-known-as-Vankkavalta-Suotelsesbillet outfit left to toil primarily in street-oriented tuning. Now, especially after the garage's presence in regional stock car racing, Vankkavalta Kyvytelsesbillettali has shifted entirely to preparing rally cars for customers across Aboveland―with the formerly vast space reserved for AOCAR reduced to a dingy corner in a cluttered nook of the warehouse.

As Mats—team owner, father of AOCAR struggler Eyvind Andersson, old and gray and with a neatly kempt, shag carpet-length white beard occluding the lower part of his face—scrutinizes the placement of the second y in the name on the new sign, the piercing tone of the landline inside the workshop escapes past the garage opening to his ears. The phone ringing—even if it's the oft-neglected landline―was never other than a potential customer.

In spite of his old age and thickening frame, Mats dashes into the workshop with the agility of a man half a life younger than him. The cluttered workshop threatens to trip him at the slightest of slip-ups; he dodges wheel guns, nuts, bolts, tyres, rims, fabrics, seatbelts, harnesses, vats of thick used engine oil, and as the phone reaches its final ring, he clutches it off of its stand, answers, and brings it to his face in one single, sweeping motion.

"Vankkavalta Kyvytelsesbillettali, nimeni on Mats, hvem snakker?" he answers, with a confident grin and the casual tone of an established local staple business.

The voice opposite his ear canal, however, stammers at the response in Abovian, and confirms the recipient of the call is correct in English.

Mats' heart drops, and his posture changes from laid back to upright as he rolls his shoulders slowly and switches to fluent English.

As the proposal comes through, he nods and pins the phone against his shoulder, scrambling for a pen and a loose leaf of old dyno test paper. "Uh huh, humm, yes... yes... we can do that, yes..." he replies, a passenger to his own fate.

He scribbles down the requests coming through the phone, from an unknown place called Koaiwa... And while he confirms his "team" is "more than capable, yes" of all the requests these mystery men have noted down, he stares premonitially through the stationed customer cars across the workshop floor at the abandoned little corner reserved for AOCAR.

by **Darkmania** » Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:02 am

SÄKKAVËLLO, DARKMANIA
Dëritee Ëutomobÿle HQ

Danÿel Mëlander and Frÿdrick Lösspeng had driven rallies before but that was only in national rallies back home in Darkmania, not internationally before so that was both new for them. The driver/co-driver pair had come all the way to the headquarters of Dëritee Ëutomobÿle as they had been announced as the darkmanian driver and codriver for "AP-Dëritee World Rally Team". They had driven for them earlier and even crashed a few cars with Dëritee. Now that Dëritee was planning to promote their brand abroad and to see if their success also can happen in WSRC, this was a new chapter for darkmanian automobile industry and darkmanian motorsport.

The new car was the Dëritee R2000x Rally Version, a new car that Dëritee is developing. This is the rally version of the popular R2000 model, which first debuted in 2015 and has since become one of the most brought cars for the darkmanian car brand. Danÿel was hyped. "It looks fantastic", Danÿel says. Frÿdrick opens his door and looked inside of the car. It looked fresh, it almost looked like it just came out of the factory just 10 minutes ago. "It looks too good to be true. Is this our new car?" Frÿdrick asks.

Dëritee was founded in 1919 by brothers Gälma Dëritee and Rëubens Dëritee after Gälma had visited a faraway country and after seeing all of these cool things called "automobiles" (cars) he was inspired to make one for the darkmanian masses. The first car rolled out from their Säkkavëllo shed in 1920 and thus started what will later lead to the largest darkmanian workforce taking 5% of all darkmanian labour force, 12 different car models, 4 factory expansions, countless billion NS dollars earned and spent, and putting their back then their small home village on the map.

Kalmarlundian rally team AP-Rallysport and Dëritee Ëutomobÿle ("Dëritee") both agreed on fielding a joint team with Dëritee providing them cars and technical support, as well as their owned petrol station chain "Yes!" as a sponsor.

by **Kalmarlund** » Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:54 pm

Motormag Kalmarlundiska

Darkmania and Kalmarlund join forces to conquer the world of rallying

Findus Petersen is looking forward to the upcoming challenges as the team principal for AP-Dëritee WRT.

Last season of World Stage Rally Championship gave us a ton of excitement as we witnessed drivers from all over the world drive cars on public roads at breakneck speeds. This time, the world of rallying is once more ready to witness more spectacular wins and perhaps even more spectacular crashes as teams prepare themselves to step into another season. Amongst established outfits such as Iskalbil-Ælund and Camden, a number of new teams are also ready to step into the series in order to show the world what they have to offer. One of them is AP-Dëritee World Rally Team, a joint venture between Kalmarlundian team AP-Rallysport and Darkmanian automobile giant Dëritee Ëutomobÿle. Motormag Kalmarlundiska were allowed a tour around the team's headquarters at Säkkavëllo, during which we were able to briefly speak with Findus Petersen, one of the founders of AP-Rallysport and acting team principal for the team's WSRC entry.

According to Mr. Petersen, AP-Rallysport has had it's eyes on WSRC for some time now, however, inadequate funding and lack of technical capabilities for the Kalmarlundian outfit had denied them the ability to enter the series at it's maiden season. ''The talks with Dëritee went rather quickly. We were in talks with a couple of different car manufacturers from around the region, however, Dëritee seemed to be the party most open to the idea. The fact that we have ran various versions of the R2000 model in domestic scene ourselves in the past also leant the odds in their favor, it's a car we are already very familiar with,'' Petersen spoke as he took us through the team's garage, where multiple cars were being worked on. Sadly, we were strictly denied the opportunity to take any photos in the garage area, hence we can't provide any insight to what Dëritee's WSRC version of it looks like. However, Mr. Petersen assured us that the public can take the first look at it soon enough, most likely at the upcoming Ælund Rallisport Invitational Rallysprint, where AP-Dëritee plans to participate and run their new R2000x.

''Rallying is huge in this part of the world, it was a matter of time until we'd see a team break the door open into WSRC. Someone has to be the first one to do it, so why not us?'' Petersen said when asked about the backstory of how the plans of entering WSRC came to life in the first place. With both Kalmarlund and Darkmania hosting multiple national rallies a year, all of which generally see big attendance numbers, calling it huge is definitely not a stretch. It will be interesting to see whether the team shall overcome the inevitable teething issues that come with running a new team, as well as whether the car and drivers will be up to par with the best talent all around the world. Earlier this week, it was announced that the Darkmanian driver pairing of Danÿel Mëlander and Frÿdrick Lösspeng will be driving for AP-Dëritee this season. However, Mr. Petersen assured that the team plans to go all out in the championship and field three cars in every rally. ''Danÿel and Frÿdrick have shown themselves as a capable team and rising stars in the Darkmanian rallying scene. With their young age, I can see us looking to be working with them long-term. In addition, to bring more experience to the team, I can tell you right here and now that we will also have Kalmarlundian veteran pairing of Södergren and Jansson driving for us.'' According to Petersen, the third driver pairing is still being discussed by the team. ''We have discussed some options about the third driver pairing, but haven't made any definite decisions just yet.''

Whether this new partnership will set the world alight or end up being forgotten in history is yet to be seen. However, having seen the HQ, the team does seem to have a more than solid ground to work on. We definitely wish all the best to AP-Dëritee World Rally Team and look forward to see what they are capable of achieving.

by **Togonistan** » Sun Jun 12, 2022 3:15 pm

Tushlark International Airport
Tushlark, Togonistan

''Excited?'' Heriko asked from Naomi as they had gone through check-in to book their flight to Aboveland.

''Maybe. A bit. I don't know,'' Naomi sighed, ''At least there'll be something to do for me now. And a reason to get out of this godforsaken place.''

Heriko shook his head, ''You have been acting really weird for the past few weeks. Come on... tell me, what's going on?''

''For the hundred and twentieth time, I am FINE!'' The duo had made it to the waiting area and Naomi took a seat, ''why do you care all of a sudden anyways?''

Heriko put down his bag and sat next to Naomi. ''Because you're my teammate. And, most of all, my friend. Right now, I feel like I have done something to piss you off. Come on, please, tell me.''

''Oh, right. For the past few weeks, you haven't even spoken to me. What a great friend you are indeed.''

''I told you, I've been helping my brother to...''

''Yes, yes, yes. Your brother. It's always about him, your precious little baby brother! He is so important you don't even have time for anything else!''

Heriko looked around the lounge and noticed Naomi raising her voice had attracted some eyes towards them. ''Look, I don't understand why you want to cause a scene right now. Yes, I have been busy helping him like I told you. However, I'm here now, ain't I? As soon as you told me that Ælund wants us back, I dropped everything I had been working on and came to you. Not because of Ælund, but because of you. Because I care about you.''

''More than your brother?'' Naomi asked while looking at Heriko.

''My brother is my brother. I do what I can to help him, but that doesn't mean I have abandoned you. I have been very busy recently, but now I have time. Now I'm here, not going anywhere.''

Naomi sighed and looked at the floor. ''I... I'm sorry, I just... I have felt like no one wants to hang out with me recently, as if I have done something to...''

Heriko put his arms around Naomi and squeezed her. ''It's okay, I understand.'' Wasn't the first time for Naomi to let her emotions get over her head. Luckily, Heriko had learnt over time to cope with it and knew a trick or two to calm her down again. ''Don't worry, everything fine. It's not your fault.''

With Naomi calmed down, the two spoke about what they had been up to as they were waiting for their flight. Time to rest was over, time to work again was on. Work on replicating what they had done last season. Iskabil-Ælund had offered to extend their contract and they had accepted it.

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:00 am

OOC: First of two pieces I have for Bo. Of course, the latter piece will talk about the FQRA granting Boludo-FitzLawrence pair to sign up for the WSRC.

Boludo Ranch
Yoseo-Manitoba,
Quebec and Shingoryeo

There once lived a legendary rally driver, whose home was a small ranch on the southern plains of the Yoseo-Manitoba Province, named Malo 'Bo' Boludo. To him it brought him quiet serenity of the land that he, a city boy from a middle-class Jolbonopolis neighbourhood, did not necessary have, and helped him to discover other sides of the life. And then, there was also the aspect of privacy that he and his wife, Charlotte de Fitzlawrence, wanted to have as a couple in their early marriage years. While neither of them had doubts about their public image, or all that they have built up to this point, this was something that they, especially with a two-year old son 'Canarito', wanted to make it clear from early on, and whenever they were not out in the rally courses of the wilderness of the Quebecois Commonwealth that stretched across four major regions of the sporting Multiverse, they were at home.

In the last three years they had lived on this ranch, most things had stayed relatively stable, even as the number of farm animals and horses gradually increased and their two-storey house lot busier. While it wasn't a constant they would be the ones running the farm, both her sister Nathalie (named after her grandmother, late Queen Mother Nathalie) and his brother, Horacio, too moved to help developing the ranch. Because of that, what the couple had originally expected as a three-person household had instead grown further into a home of seven people (don't forget their and-ones) and sooner than later they would have to look to add an additional wing or two to it.

Anyways let's stop talking about the Boludo Ranch and go back to racing. In the six months he's had since the conclusion of the previous Quebecois Commonwealth Rally Circuit (QCRC) season, Bo and Charlotte mostly stayed back here, maybe driving to the train station now and then so they could go to Jolbonopolis, the nearby metropolis three hours away, or California City, around six hours away on a sleeper train. Besides those trips they would be looking after the farm and young Canarito, though would be driving in simulators and makeshift courses nearby every now and then. But otherwise, they had mostly kept themselves out of the racing circuit.

Of course Bo and Charlotte did think about where to continue with the rally racing. In past they have watched some of the races on the WSRC, and with Aboveland only an one-hour flight away to the east and Saint Kanye two hours to the west (though they had no intention joining the NSSCRA), they knew that the opportunities were plentiful. Of course they both knew that the FRQA were famous for their particularly conservative stance on letting Quebecois drivers continue beyond the highly-lucrative Commonwealth circuits. Charlotte's late uncle, Emperor Jacques IX, was a longtime patron to the society, and it was often said that said policy, while implied and never on wording, was suggested by the regent himself.

Regardless, Bo and Charlotte had entertained these thoughts, and having won 27 races in past 5 QCRC seasons, wondered if they may be considered exceptions to the usual.

It wasn't a normal day of the week in that a Royal, no matter how linked he may have been by blood or amity, would visit a rural ranch. But those who lived around the Boludo Ranch, who had either spent most of their lives here or had moved here to look for somewhere where they could farm and raise their kids, knew that an occasional exception or two had existed.

HRH Prince Laurent, Charlotte's (not on document, but everybody knew he was one) father, gave a bright smile at his son-in-law. Every bit of that man, who had fought in the Liberation War of the Holy Republican Empire four decades ago, spoke of confidence, toughness and ability to task measures that would challenge his own limits. The study certainly felt lot chillier but also more ready thanks to that alone.

On the other side of the table stood Bo, whose confidence was also there, though sometimes even he had found a bit of challenge with his father-in-law, who he had always gotten along but barely so. They held a complicated relationship that wasn't helped by late Jacques IX and the Royal Cabinet to allow Prince Laurent to re-marry to Charlotte's mother, Erina Roberge, and thus knew that was always clouding up on Charlotte's head, no matter how close he were to his four children (two legitimate, two illegitimate). Regardless, Prince Laurent and the FQRC were lot more reasonable than what the couple had long thought out, and maybe it was a time to make a difference.

Prince Laurent lit a cigar, quietly sitting on the mahogany desk. 'Well, congratulations,' Laurent said to Malo, feeling genuine relief that the discussions had gone well. Especially as a man known to be a maverick on his years of service with the Royal Quebecois Navy, his temper and impatience with these proceedings did not always help with him. 'You and my dearest daughter have finally been given clearance, boy. How are you feeling?'

'Well, this means we are going right?' Bo said back in a thic, inner-city accent, his face smiled with a glee. 'Charlotte and I had waited for this opportunity to come up after all. It's a chance that only comes up once every four, five years, and does involve travelling to unusual circuits out there. So I know that the federation has put a lot forward with us.'

'My, my, they really went through miles and miles just for you and Charlotte, my son,' the prince sighed, him remembering how frustrating it was and how many times did he want to punch someone. 'Even opening up the Wakanai Winter Classic, goodness me, in honour of the late Queen Mother. You know how much Charlotte loved her nan, don't you?'

Bo gave out a soft smile. He, coming from a house of twenty-something cousins combined, remembered it all too well. Bo, Charlotte and young Castor were just there in the Sandringham Abbey six months ago, paying last rites. 'Yes, sir,' answered he. 'And I know that Charlotte and I will be holding her on our thoughts the entire time we will be racing. It's not about money for us anyway, especially when considering the circumstances.'

The Prince's eyes shot up. 'Don't let these thoughts or those who we miss get to your head,' Laurent said. 'Have some pride. You two are three-time QCRC champions who have won twenty-seven races in the last five years, for crying sake. You guys have what it takes to succeed in the circuit, so the best you can do right now is to start contacting the constructors.'

'Will do, sir,' answered Malo, as he realised that this was going to be a very long trip for him and his wife. Six months away from home, travelling abroad and competing in the finest, most difficult rally courses of the multiverse. It was a task that's going to be all-intensive out there, and not for a normal family (not that the Boludos were one anyway).

Their son, Castor 'Canarito', would have to stay with their uncles and aunts, but there's a solid chance that Malo's parents, who were a railway worker and a country musician, could take some time off to look after their grandson. They had seen that work before with Jeremiah Brooke and Stacie Houston, de facto the royal couple of the NSSCRA, and with his parents nearing retirement, this was a good opportunity for them to spend more time outside their usual professions. So they knew it was possible, even if it means that they will miss their son a ton.

Malo 'Bo' Boludo is now available for preseason tests and/or negotiation with the WSRC teams.

by **Koaiwa** » Mon Jun 13, 2022 1:44 am

Tatehama Giken Kogyo - Testing Grounds
15 km from Tatehama, Koaiwa

The ball had not started rolling on TGK's big international branding building exercise but, started to roll fast. As such everyone involved in the project from all the various state ministries, to various companies such as bet.koi.

The meeting room used was too cramped for all delegates that arrived, not because a larger room was not available but because the recent network upgrades at the complex rendered most of the screens connected to meeting room PC unusable.

"Hey, there's water drops outside the water pitcher" said Goro Nakai in small astonishment. "Have you never seen condensation before, Goro?" replied Kadir bin Musa in a very curt tone. "Having nearly a dozen people in this shoebox of a room breath is probably adding enough moisture in the air to replace entire pitcher" quiped Nitika Das in a disgruntled tone.

"Gentlemen" said Kazuo Muto, the Director of TGK Motorsports, in a commanding voice. "Shall we start now, since you are all so eager to leave?", he added on. "From TGK Motorsports side, our application to join the next WSRC as a constructor was accepted." The reception in the room was fairly positive. "As for the developments on the car itself for the next season, I will pass it on to the team principal of TGK Motorsports - Rallying, Li Wei".

Li Wei was not confident with the cards he was dealt with the project, but was able to hide it behind a stoic demeanour "It's better to start with the better news, so I will discuss our driver situation.". He continued on "As we all know, excluding Port Starside, Koaiwan rallying scene does not exist. We had to be very creative with our scouting as such. With the help of the Koaiwan Armed Forces, we were able to a very good rural ambulance driver from the gendarmerie. Ryou Kimura is a very talented driver on dirt but not sure how he will adjust to something smaller and cannot test him ourselves at the moment. However, TGK has promised to Ministry of Sport commit to supporting Koaiwan talent. As such, TGK will grant a driver spot for Kimura/Ali. Even if the duo is unproven.".

Kadir interjected: "Kimura is a good kid, I back him fully, and I think enough has been said about him. I want to talk about what happened with other part of the local talent scouting". Said Kadir, his tone was frusturated. "We dont have a rallying scene most parts, right? Closest thing we have is a bunch of cashed up bankers blasting their weekend toys on asphalt now and then again in Starside." As he went on, his tone grew angrier "So, looking through the local club's records. We got Grant Campbell, has been a part of the club for more than two decades, quite a bit of experience. I have to emphasise he is an amateur however". Kadir at this point became livid from reliving the driver negotiations "This boomer millionaire was basically offered a nice holiday package from behalf of the Koaiwan state driving a car for a bit. He expected to get paid for it all of a sudden, and when we couldnt offer that. He expected compensation by having his tax-dodging scheme of an investment firm as a sponsor on the car! He did it for free for two decades, we give him a promotion to world stage and all of a sudden he expects to get paid! The sheer insolence of this fucking c-" Wei interrupted before the rant went off the rails.

"Short story, scouting the Starside rallying scene turned about be not too productive", as Wei took the presentation back. "Regretably, the Ministry of Sport already had issued a racing licence for the Starside rallying 'talent'. However, we are in the process of trying to transfer the same licence onto one of TGK Albatross Challenge Series drivers. May have to sweeten the deal for some of them to switch to rallying but, it will still be cheaper and more worthwhile than trying to pursue hobbyist drivers wanting to get paid. As such, we confirming Watanabe as the second driver". Goro Nakai, one of the bet.koi representatives, being puzzled asked Wei. "Wait, is this suppose to be the good news? TGK has an ambulance driver, and the backup test driver as our talent?".

Wei replied "I said the better news, not good news", deadpan and rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "The development on the car has been tough. With a large majority of the TGK Motorsports tied up with other road racing endeavours, and engine experimental development. Having basically quarter the staff of our competitors on the rallying project, we had to look around for external help." Wei stopped rubbing his forehead. "The scouting effort to look for motorsport or an engineering firm willing to help on this project was primarily done with in Aboveland, as they have argubly the strongest rallying culture and expertise in the world." as he spoke, he started staring down the marketing representative from TGK. "We had a problem during the scouting effort. People were not actually taking our tender offers seriously. Our brand outreach is not only so poor that some thought we were scammers. The ones did recognise us thought it was a prank because the only time they saw the name TGK on a motor vehicle was either on a tractor or a truck in a timber yard."

Wei stopped his stare down "The scouting effort was still successful at the end, as we got am Abovian regional racing team on-board with the project called Vankkavalta Kyvytelsesbillettalli. Similar to us want to transition from road racing to rallying. Which made the collaboration co-beneficial". Goro Nakai again was snappy "Checking these guys on my phone, it seems like they are a small garage somewhere in the north of Aboveland. You sure this is a good piece of business?"

"They dont have too strong of an online presence but their record within the local scene seemed good enough. I have full confidence that this partnership will bloom into something beautiful. In fact, we will be able to present a car in the Aelund invitational". This was not conveyed in Wei's stressed tone. There was a pause, the entire room felt like they were going to be assigned to various isolated fishing farms for misappropriating and managing state funds for being associated in a project like this.

"Well," replied the marketing represnative of TGK, Nitika Das, breaking the silence, "I want to to start with the basics." He started to explain the basic strategy of the brand, which was to make it a global phenomenon, with the hopes to prevent the blunders Wei experienced in the future. "With the team name. We need a name that will resonate with everyone. We want it to be universal. Something that can be used in every language and culture. Something that will be easily remembered by the public. And something that is easy to pronounce. I think the partnership will help as the name repeating k sound with TGK-VK, does this perfectly".

Goro Nakai confidently said out loud "In relation to marketing from bet.koi's perspective, As we are nearly confirmed in becoming the official sports betting partner for WSRC. This WSRC partnership is going to be very co-beneficial, while they may deny it, having our financial backing put Rally Starside on the event calendar. I hope people at Ministry of Sport are happy because dressing up a bunch of hobbyists was not going to get the event on the world stage" This started to disgruntle the Ministry of Sport representatives. Seeing this Kazuo Muto decided to wrap up the meeting.

"We will have another meeting in a few weeks to discuss the results of the invitational, and further partnership between TGK Motorsports and Vankkavalta Kyvytelsesbillettalli. I would like to thank you all for your time and attention today." With that, the meeting ended before Goro started a fight in a 9 m-square meeting room.

by **Auruna** » Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:54 pm

At some cafe
Nisko, Auruna

"Among all of the places to meet up, you decided on the most crowded place in the afternoon." Says Kälö as he approaches Ivan Könä's table through the crowded cafe. Ivan smirks as Kälö takes a seat.

"I thought to myself, 'Why not get something to eat as well?' And that's why we're here." Ivan says after finishing his coffee and snack. "Now, you know why I asked you to meet up here."

"Yeah."

Ivan slides his tablet across the table to show Kälö a screenshot. "Here's the current schedule for this season, you'll find something you'll like: a rally in Nisko." He then swipes to show a few more screenshots. "A few minor details here and there and then here we have Ælund's invitational just like in the previous season."

"Oh? Another one of those?"

"Yeah, you didn't participate in the previous one, right?"

"I was immediately signed to Schkeska and so there was no need to go."

"Understandable. This time, will you go?"

"I really like to explore my options first before deciding. I know Schkeska wants us back but I want to find out if the problem is Schkeska or not so let them know that I'll be participating in Ælund's invitational."

"Right, I'll let them know. Also, Schkeska's not actually competing."

"What?"

"They only partnered with Sport Mikuren, a team based here who are actually the ones competing."

"Ohh so that's why there were Kana SRs driving around the other night."

"Looks like they took delivery of their cars."

"Interesting..."

"Next, in terms of sponsorships, do you have anything in mind?"

"Nah, never good with sponsors."

"Hm.. maybe the school can sponsor you, I'm not sure about that."

"I think that goes against what your dad wants for the school."

"Right, my bad."

"Is that it?" Kälö asks as he looks around.

As Ivan packs up, he answers. "Yep, that's all. Looking forward to seeing you behind the wheel." Afterwards, he stands up and taps Kälö's shoulder, wishing him "good luck" in Niskoan Aurun before leaving the cafe. Kälö leans back and relaxes for a moment in silence. Ah Ivan, mate, after what happened last season, I don't believe in luck anymore. He nearly closes his eyes before being confronted by the staff to have him order something.

Sport Mikuren Rally Team, SM Motorsport Facilities
Nisko, Auruna

For a small team to participate in the big stage, their budget is usually the main issue they will encounter and while they are prepared with a big backing this time, Mikuren isn't confident about the allocation of funds especially when Juri found out about the Ælund invitational. After some alone time in his office debating whether or not to participate in the trials, he called in Mick and Ari to help him decide.

"Most of our budget went on the cars, R&D, and the fee for Viska's assistance. And there's a lot more to do."

"I know that but--"

Ari then cuts him off saying. "We don't even have any drivers signed so who's going to drive our cars if we even decided to go."

"Ari's right." Mick says in agreement. "If you ask me, we can just do our tests here. There's no need to go because we don't have a reason to. Besides, we there's a lot of places to test our cars here but we have to rent out a driver for those tests because we don't have anyone signed yet."

"Alright, alright. We'll just rent out Schkeska's play area in Livonsk for our own tests. I'll figure out the driver problem because Mr. Aurinen said that he wanted to explore a few more options available before deciding."

"I heard that Aikio Vorlen and Laura Haukanna are available."

"Isn't Vorlen in J-ARC now?"

"It's the off-season but yeah, the kid wants to follow in his dad's footsteps unlike his older brother."

"Ah... it got me thinking."

"You're thinking of getting either of the two in WSRC to drive for us."

"If it's possible then yeah."

"Is there like a minimum age for it because you know that Vorlen is like 16 or something."

"I don't think so and if he decides that he wants to, there's no problem with it so.."

"Alright, I'll reach out to those two later and ask them."

"Can we go now?"

"Yeah, you can get back to work now. I'll be here... busy... again."

Mick and Ari leave the office to continue their work on their respective departments, leaving Juri to fend for himself against a dreaded email service that he's using in a weird start to Sport Mikuren's hunt for drivers.

by **Aboveland** » Tue Jun 14, 2022 1:25 pm

Tatehama Giken Kogyo Industrial & Agricultural dealership
Bjørnskog, Aboveland

"What the fuck is this?"

Next to a hacked-up sister-car test mule, basking in the waning rays of the midnight sun which seep in through the skylight of the garage at the dealership, stands an ebony white Tatehama Giken Kogyo Albatross GT4 in WSRC spec. Its shipping suit, a sloppily layered assortment of cardboard paper, thin sheets of polystyrene, and a liberal mix of painters' and duct tape, surrounds it like a wreath. It glistens among the specks of dust hanging in the temperate summer greenhouse heat of the workshop.

With a clump of packing paper in his hands, facing a Mats in the doorway between the lobby and the garage, his son Eyvind responds.

"It's the GT4 spec! They wanted us to—"

"Why has it got three fucking wings on it?" exclaims Mats. His hands are indecisive about whether to grasp his scalp or scratch at his beard.

Eyvind sets the packing paper down and dodges the clutter on his way towards his father. "It was the only set-in-stone requirement," he admits, hopping on one leg to avoid a square of styrofoam. "But everything else is as on the test mule;" he pumps behind his back with a thumb outstretched to point at the jacked-up, adulterated Albatross.

Even though the partnership with Koaiwan automobile manufacturer Tatehama Giken Kogyo had come on short notice, Vankkavalta Kyvytelsesbillettalli had moved mountains to start development on time― perhaps prematurely with regards to the Koaiwans' pacing. The AOCAR corner of the shop had been cleared of surplus parts and inefficiencies, and a number — not insignificant ― of customer cars had to be either moved outside or their contracts rescinded to make just enough room to fit a stock TGK Albatross in the shop. The car had arrived in the Vankkavalta workshop from the sole remaining TGK dealership in Aboveland, in the derelict northern town of Bjørnskog: a surplus, dusty, front wheel drive base model at least a few years old. While TGK prepared the existing, race-ready GT4 spec Albatrosses for shipping straight to the capital, Vankkavalta Kyvytelsesbillettalli was to tinker with the base, stock chassis to "see what they could do" with it, and to develop the suspension for the rallying variant.

The resulting test mule had received a broad assortment of modifications, almost entirely unseen: the car was stripped down to its bodyshell to design the chassis' reinforcements, including the rollcage. Based on technical data and documents supplied by TGK ― virtually, of course, for lack of the real deal in the Abovian shop ― the mechanics at Vankkavalta Kyvytelsesbilettalli, and oftentimes Eyvind and Mats themselves, went to work on the chassis. They welded armor plates, cut up routing for the exhausts and four-wheel drive systems, rearranged material across the shell for theoretical weight distribution purposes, enhanced the firewall, installed cooling vents, and, of course, designed the rollcage. After that, the suspension was fitted to the chassis; the mounts, front and rear, were installed with the aim to leave as much room as possible for the eventual powertrain. The test mule, with the stock engine, had been tested sparingly in the outskirts of Vankkavalta; the suspension had held up well, and the chassis had seemed to be strengthened enough, but all the development would be unproven until the race-spec powertrain arrived: after all, the mule was a front wheel-drive base model.

By the time the GT4 arrived in Vankkavalta, however, Mats had already traveled to Bjørnskog to meet the TGK mechanics and present the work done on the suspension and the bodyshell with the test mule. The GT4 was readied for shipping to the dealership as soon as the aesthetic demands of the marketing department were met.

Mats continues to stand in silence, while Eyvind seasons the quiet. "So we have the test mule and the show car; should we swap the suspens―"

"Tsk," interjects his father, swatting his small talk away. "Three wings!"

"It's not that terrible," Eyvind insists, whispering harshly to stay out of earshot of the TGK staff beyond the doors of the garage. "I don't think they've realized that the lower two wings are pretty much useless..."

"Okay," nods Mats, blankly, quickly switching to shaking his head in disapproval. He pauses, then quickly changes the subject. "How quickly can we get the WSRC spec running?"

Eyvind remains quiet, and bites his lower lip. They exchange glances that intensify by the second. "Hva?" inquires the elder.

His son responds sheepishly, then heads towards the factory race car to expose the suspension mounts. "Have a look at the GT4," he suggests. "If this thing hits a pebble it'll disintegrate. We're better off building on top of the mule."

Mats frowns. "It can't be that bad," he dismisses, walking closer to the engine bay. However, as he peeks inside, and then walks around the chassis, his eyebrows begin to fall, and his forehead starts to become shiny with worry.

Eyvind hums in the background as his father speaks up, stopping himself from speaking an expletive. "Who's gonna be driving this... This?" He gestures at the GT4 spec Albatross.

"Two Koaiwan drivers at least," Eyvind replies. "They wanted to see how Sakke Pajari gets on at the invitational, too. Poor sod..."

Mats nods slowly. "Okay," he begins, "...okay. The mechanics here should be able to give us a hand."

"With?"

"Power train swap. Let's get the GT4 stuff into the test mule," affirms Mats.

"But it's a front wheel drive mule!" Eyvind exclaims. "What if it doesn't fit?"

"Then we'll have to make it fit!" Mats says. "I didn't come all the way to this shithole town to look at a show car."

He turns to face the lobby to summon the truck mechanics based at the dealership before pausing at the doorway and turning back towards Eyvind. "Three wings..." he sighs, grimacing, on his way out.

by **Kassegrochia** » Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:02 am

34 Jermakov Street
Nachekov, Kassegrochia

''Daddy's home!'' little Jevgeni shouted as Ivan Poldov stepped into the kitchen. Immediately, the blonde-haired boy jumped down from his chair behind the dinner table and ran to hug his papa. ''Hey there little cub!'' Ivan smiled as he embraced his youngest son, ''what have you been up to today?''

''I was just helping mama to cook,'' Jevgeni said as he raised his chin up proudly like a soldier.

''Yeah, the more accurate way to put it would be, he helped by eating half of the dough I made,'' a woman laughed as she took off a pair of oven mitts and bent forward to give a kiss to Ivan, who had just made it to the kitchen. That was Svetlana, Ivan's wife. ''You arrived just at the right moment. Dinner is ready.''

''Hmm, I can smell that. My senses tell me that I can smell some apple in there,'' Ivan said as he reached his hand out towards a plate covered by a piece of cloth, only to receive a strong slap at his fingers.

''No pie until we're done with the steak.''

Grumpily rubbing his fingers, Ivan took a seat behind the table. ''So, where's Dima?''

''He's not eating with us tonight. Dima is out with his friends. At least, that's what he said to us. If you were to ask me, I think he has found himself a girlfriend,'' Svetlana replied with a smirk on his face as he put plates on the table. Meanwhile, at the other side of the table, Jevgeni giggled while swinging his feet.

''A girl?'' Ivan raised his eyebrows, ''well, they sure grow up fast.''

''Tell me about it. He sure has grown up to become a handsome young man. Must have his father's genes.''

Blushing, Ivan scratched his balding head for a moment before digging into the dinner. As always, his wife had outdone herself. The steak was perfect, the pie was amazing. With his belly full, Ivan stood up and kissed Svetlana on the cheek, before heading on to their bedroom. There, he turned on his PC and, having swapped his work outfit for a pair of comfy sweatpants, sat down behind the computer screen. First, a quick look at the news sites. Nothing groundbreaking there, politicians arguing with each other as usual. However, when Ivan opened up his e-mails, a newsletter about the so-called Ælund Rallisport Invitational Rallysprint caught his attention. For a second, he was confused why something like this had landed in his mailbox. However, then he remembered... last season, he had a quick stint with Camden, during which he had also signed up for the WSRC newsletter. To be fair, as of late he had sent any motorsports-related newsletters straight to the bin, as he had enough on his plate running the workshop. However, for some reason, the Ælund invitational sparked his interest. Having read through the text, Ivan smirked. An opportunity to drive the Skua XB4-SR. Surely he could take a few days off from work to... okay, Ivan, stop! Don't let yourself be fancied too much. But, still, it seemed like a sweet opportunity. Had been a while since he had gotten to drive a proper WSRC car.

Having sat there for a while, he decided to take some time to think about it. However, the idea stood in his head for the following days and didn't leave him alone. Seemed like it was time to give Vitaly a call, he was always game whenever Ivan got some crazy ideas like that. After a brief phone conversation, the two men met up at a bar and after a few beers, it was decided. Ivan Poldov and Vitaly Ponomarjov were about to take part in the Ælund invitational.

by **Koaiwa** » Wed Jun 15, 2022 12:14 pm

A week before the Aelund Invitational
Tatehama Giken Kogyo - Testing Grounds
15 km from Tatehama, Koaiwa

Li Wei had been loyal to TGK for years. First started as an apprentice mechanic when he was 16, climbing through many roles from head mechanic to engineer, he found himself at the right time, the right place to be appointed as the project lead for the TGK Albatross Challenge Cup. He had been involved in almost every aspect, from the design of the cars to the management of the factory teams, attracting privateer teams, to even the training of the mechanics. His work ethic was second to none, he had been one of the big reasons why the TGK Albatross Challenge Cup had managed to stay afloat despite the lack of funding.

However, his appointment to lead the TGK-VK World Rallying Team had almost become a white elephant gift in his mind. Although initially, he thought the project was doomed to fail from the start, and it was a miracle that they were able to get it off the ground. But now that it was actually happening, he was terrified of the outcome. TGK-VK WRT was not a team that could afford to hire a full team of staff, such as mechanics. So, they had to rely on their existing resources and their contacts to fill out the rest of the team. Li Wei's resourcefulness was coming to be very useful. VK being a small garage they were also used to stretching resources. As such the TGK-VK partnership was a well-made match.

Wei was having issues giving them Albatrosses to work on. GT4s were tied up in the last round of the Challenge Cup, and GTDIs were in a short supply. However, through investigation, he was able to find a base-model pre-facelift model in Aboveland, which was surprising with only one passenger car dealership remaining. Luckily, they were able to route the car to VK's garage through the truck dealership network that was still strong in the country. Bjørnskog TGK Industrial/Agricultural dealership was helpful in not only delivering the car but also, providing VK with additional staff such as diesel mechanics, as well as setting up tents and demountable near the garage to provide them with much-needed space to work and test the car.

By the time a GT4 was available, Wei was dealing with another issue. The marketing dept had got some Portside design firm to redesign GT4 for the WSRC, and the firm's answer to making the car look more aggressive and fighter-jet-like was to add three wings. "I know the three wings is ridiculous but there isn't much I can do," said Wei to Watanabe. "You can always say no", replied Watanabe angrily, "You don't want to be seen as a coward!'. Wei in a dejected tone replied, "It's not worth fighting management without results, I know you like modelling this stuff in your simulation games but they won't listen to you either until this does a backflip after going over a bump in

Watanabe sighed "I'll have to agree with you on that. It looks like a flying fish with three wings. But, if we are going to have any chance of winning this, we need to get that wing design gone from the car somehow. We will just have to hope that it doesn't become a distraction for the other drivers. If we can keep it under control, then we will be fine."

Wei replied in a deadpan voice "That's the spirit. Besides, even your complaining now doesn't have much merit as I signed the car off to be sent a few days ago. We are so time-poor that VK will have to do the suspension." As Watanabe headed out of the office, Wei quipped in a similarly flat tone "Remember, every jump is a triple caution as long as those wings are on the car".

There was a piece of business was left with the rallying team, trying to find a driver for their remaining spot. The Koaiwan talent picked were not only too much of wild-cards but, with the way Koaiwan geography is, neither of them had any experience with snow. They had to go looking overseas for someone who had the right skillset, and preferably, was familiar with driving on ice. After a lot of research, he identified a few suitable candidates.

One of the candidates on the list was Boludo. The young Quebecois talent fit the bill perfectly. Had a good head on him, who not only had a good attitude at the wheel but also off the wheel. However, his taste for designer clothes, as well as his co-driver and partner's aristocratic connections may rub a few people the wrong way. Maybe some representative from Koaiwan Worker's Party, or party true-believers like Watanabe would sour. Those issues could be dealt with as they happened. Besides, an in-team rivalry may end up beneficial, what's wrong with a bit of competition? Either way, if Boludo could prove himself. he'd be in. Wei contacted Boludo's agent asking whether he would be willing to be on a trial with TGK-VK, and drive a TGK Albatross GT4 WSRC at the Aelund Invitational.

The other candidate on his list was Pajari. Touted as the next big Abovian talent, it would be massive for the team if they could get him on. Wei believed that he since has got some experience on the WSRC stage, and would make a great driver to lead the team. Both Pajari and TGK-VK had lofty ambitions, and as such Wei also contacted Pajari to be a trial driver for TGK-VK at the Aelund Invitational.

by **Valentine Z** » Thu Jun 16, 2022 10:26 am

Part 1 – Practice Run.

Taking their own rally car, Augustine Lorenzo Vinto Silas Imparato and Angeline Joyce Estefania Mik Nogueira wasted no time in practicing around the trails all over Valentine Z, having been a little rusty and once again taking a bit of time to get used to the techniques. Angeline was still sharp as ever, though she also had to re-familiarize herself with the assorted lists of symbols for each of the turns, ramps, and conditions. Given an abundance of portals all over the Valentian world, they have little to no problem with going around the world, and thus to try out the different terrains and conditions. Augustine found that he fared the best at snow and ice still, while gravel, dirt, asphalt, and tarmac are something that he is more or less average on.”Not bad,” he remarked to himself after getting out of the car, and then there is Angeline, standing 5 feet taller than him, and was finalizing her notes. He continued on a little bit more, perhaps excited by the adrenaline rush that the speed and drifting were giving him. “Steering does seem a little loose, but well, nothing that is too out of control, you know?” Angeline nodded and smiled, “Haha, of course! You did amazing back there!” “Ah, well, I mean, I couldn’t have done all that without the best co-driver there is.” “Ohhh, stop it, you,” Angeline teased, the two laughing it out and then going back into the car, perhaps ready to call it a day as they have been driving for 4 hours. Driving around Germany’s countrysides and then eventually to a decently-sized village, Augustine and Angeline headed off to the nearby eatery for some lunch, waving and greeting at the rest of the Valentians as they made their way inside. “Admiral Augustine, Wing Commander Angeline,” the owner of the eatery greeted, exchanging saluted with the two Sixty members. “Ahh, at ease, nothing formal today!” Augustine remarked, “Just the usuals, please.” “Aye.” The two sat down at a table, with Angeline taking out her laptop and then browsing through the different websites – sites that she thought that could potentially be the teams that are inside WSRC. “Well, ahh, good news and bad news. Good news is that the sign-ups will be open throughout the season, and that there are a lot of teams available! And the bad news is, well, we are nearing deadline.”

Augustine’s eyes widen a little – not too much, but not too little either; just enough that would be akin to an admiral hearing news about losing his favourite ship. “Ahh, shoot. I know that was going to happen. We took a bit of time practicing too much that we forgot. So, what are the options?” he looked at the individual pages and then the official one - Iskalbil-Ælund WRT, Sport Mikuren, Camden WRT, AP-Dëritee WRT, PAN World Rally Team, TGK-VK WRT, and last but not least, ENSADRINK WSR Tarogama Mazaregi. They were unsure as to whether or not the teams still have available slots, perhaps like last time whereby each team is limited to two drivers. They’ve to try right away, or someone would have taken those spots. As a result, Augustine (and edits from Angeline) wrote an email to every single team under the sun (opting to use the BCC field), citing their availability for all of the tryouts they can go. Then they also sent out an email to confirm their participation in Ælund Rallisport Invitational Rallysprint, attached with their application and CV regarding their rally experience previous season and off season, as well as a note that they can bring their own (downsized) car if needed.

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Thu Jun 16, 2022 11:44 am

“Let’s see if this shit works when the power goes out again.” The man standing in front of the standby generator nodded his head, and the other man on the circuit breaker nodded back before tripping the breakers. All of the lights inside the small property went out, and for a brief moment the only thing that could be heard was the humming of crickets and the breathing of the people present. And then slowly, the generator started to cough as it tried to start itself up upon detecting the absence of any electricity in the property, and this went on for a few seconds before the generator finally barked to life, and the coughing turned into a more regular humming accompanied by the smell of exhaust fumes from the generator. A few moments after the generator started running, the lights in and around the property turned on again without a bulb turning off again.

“Yep, looks like we finally did it,” John Watt-Samuels, the man who had tripped the circuit breakers, said to the other man. “We are finally free from the specter of surprise electric and Internet blackouts!”

“And about time too,” snorted the other man, Trevon Gallegos. “No more missing out on team offers because of either spotty Internet or a shoddy electric grid!”

“Hopefully this means that our international rallying career will finally actually get off the ground this time because we can now respond to offers from teams in time,” Victoria Reotutar quipped.

“All right, Johnny, let’s get the real electricity back on,” Trevon (or Tre to his friends) said. “Let’s not waste the gas in the generator when we don’t have to.”

As John went back to the circuit breaker panel to reset it, Tre Gallegos stopped and let himself think about how and why he had gotten that generator, as well as this new place in the outskirts of the city of Markovsky in Abanhfleft’s Mezaladbyi Province, in the first place. It was impossible to tell just from a first glance of him, but Tre Gallegos was actually a rally driver. He didn’t really seem the type to be a rally driver; he was mild-mannered, soft-spoken, slow to anger, and also just a tad bit overweight. Well, maybe overweight was pushing it, but he certainly had a slightly bigger waistline than expected. And he was also edging ever closer to the big four-oh, 40 years of age. It was still about a year away, but Tre could just as well feel himself growing older by the day. Which he was, in a manner of speaking, but until his birthday, he was technically still only 39 years old. And yet he still felt much older than that. But, as with most things, age didn’t really matter much as long as one loved what one did, and strange as it may sound now as it did back then, Trevon Gallegos actually loved to drive in rally.

The way that Tre got into rally racing was a funny story of its own as well. Tre and John Watt-Samuels, who had been friends in university, had been watching a reality show called Top Speed: Rally Star, an offshoot of the car magazine show Top Speed which was very popular in Abanhfleft. The overall point of Rally Star was to put amateur rally racers in top-notch (in Abanhfleft, at least) equipment and then pit them against each other to see who was the best driver out of the whole lot. Back then, the prize had been a whopping two million new penenks and a guaranteed place with the Billingshurst Rally Team (or one of its three customer teams in Coalition Competitive Rally, the highest level of rally racing in the APOC Coalition), which meant that there were real stakes attached to what was otherwise a fun reality show concept. But, to get back to the story of how Tre Gallegos became a rally driver, Tre and John had been watching the season finale of Rally Star and having fun watching the final four contestants stumble their way through the final stage of the final rally in Norrdnhammr, all the way down in Fleftic Antarctica. It got to the point where, in a fit of confidence that was only possible thanks to the alcohol flowing through his system, Tre declared that he could be a better rally driver than all of the contestants on the then-current season of Rally Star. When Tre had made that claim, he was very much drunk, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to back it up once he had sobered up. But what he wasn’t counting on was the fact that Johnny had managed to get it all on his phone camera, and once everyone’s hangovers had cleared up the next morning, John made sure that Tre would not forget about it at all.

“Hey, Tre, remember when you said that you could probably do a better job at rally driving drunk than all of the contestants of Rally Star could while sober?” John asked Tre one fateful afternoon.

“Seriously, John?” Tre asked back in disbelief. “I can’t even remember all the shit I said to everybody yesterday, let alone something I may have said a few months ago!”

“Can I take that as a no?” John muttered.

“Of course, you idiot!” Tre shouted. “Now, unless there’s a point to all of this, can we move this conversation on somewhere else?”

“Yeah, about that,” John said. “You see, I’ve given what you said that night a good deal of though, and eventually Daze and I thought that maybe we were going to make you put your money where your mouth was.” Daze was the nickname of Daisy Samuels-Watt, John’s stepsister.

"And what the fuck do you mean by that, John?" Tre asked suspiciously.

"Well, there's no other way to say it, Tre," John shook his head. "Daze and I entered you into Rally Star!"

"What?! You did not just do that!" Tre exclaimed. "Please tell me that this is all a big joke, Johnny. Tell me this is just a joke! I promise I won't hold it against you, big fella. Tell me this is just a prank and I'm telling you, I'm wiping the slate clean! I'm not gonna hold it against you, John. Just tell me that you didn't put me into Rally Star!"

"You know, Tre, I could say that," John nodded. "I could tell you that Daze and I were just joking about putting you into Rally Star."

"Oh, thank goodness for that," Tre sighed, but as it turned out, John wasn't finished speaking just yet.

"I could say all of that, but that would make me a liar," John finished. "And you wouldn't want me to lie to you even just for your own sake, would you?"

"You're serious about all of this, aren't you?" Tre asked, all hope otherwise slowly but surely leaving his system. "Oh my god, Johnny. You are bloody serious about this!"

"Your audition run is already set for the 20th of this month," John said. "Daisy and I already paid for your entrance fee to the audition, and they don't do refunds! You better show up or else Daze and I are getting that twenty thousand nups right out of your own pocket!"

"But I can't do it, Johnny!" Tre insisted. "I can't do it!" he repeated. "It's bloody rally racing! Literally the most dangerous motorsport on four wheels there ever is! It's more dangerous than stock cars! It's more dangerous than open wheelers! Heck, it's even more dangerous than actually driving on the road! It's literally the deadliest motorsport there is! I don't know what it is that possessed me to say that I could be a better rally driver than anyone on TV, but I won't do it! I can't do it!"

"Look, Tre, there is obviously an easy solution to this," John said. "We just need you to drink a few bottles of San Rafa, and then you'll be raring to get behind the wheel of a Blitzen in no time!"

"Are you fucking kidding me, Johnny!?" Tre shouted. "If I won't touch a fucking 4x4 while I'm sober, what makes you think I'll do it drunk?"

"You made that particular claim while you're drunk?" Johnny offered unhelpfully.

"And that's not the only thing!" Tre continued. "If I'm going to go ahead with this rally star madness, I'm going to need a co-driver! And who's that going to be? You? Or Daze? I can't take either one of you as a co-driver! You two are the absolute worst backseat drivers I've ever had the misfortune of knowing!"

"Don't worry, Tre, Daze and I know that," John assured him. "Which is why we signed up Vicky to be your co-driver!"

"What!? NOOO!!!" Tre screamed. "You picked the one person who is actually worse at being a backseat driver than you two step-siblings! Why?! Why did you pick Vicky of all people?"

"I mean, if this Rally Star thing actually manages to work out for you somehow, Vicky's gonna wanna know where you are most of the time," John shrugged. "Wouldn't it be easier if you just brought her along with you so she would know where you are at all times?"

"I guess you have a point there," Tre conceded. Tre Gallegos and Vicky Reotutar had met each other through a mutual friend (namely a certain Daisy Samuels-Watt) a few years ago, and though the two of them had hit it off, Tre had been too shy or timid to ask Vicky out on a date. If it hadn't been for the step-siblings pushing the two of them closer together, Tre and Vicky wouldn't have become anything more than just friends. But Tre did manage to muster up the courage to ask Vicky out, and a few months later the two of them were a couple. That had been two years ago, and Tre and Vicky were still going steady even if Tre had been unfortunate to find out why Vicky had remained available for so long.

And that was the story of how Trevon Gallegos got into rally racing as an actual driver, not just as a fan anymore. Tre and Vicky went on Rally Star, and in spite of their occasional disagreements about the rally stages (or maybe because of it), the two of them actually were able to win the thing. But now, instead of joining one of Billingshurst's four teams in CCR, Tre and Vicky's prize (along with the two million nup cash prize) was getting registered for the inaugural season of the World Stage Rally Championship. Of course, joining the WSRC and actually taking part in it were two completely different things, and if it weren't for power outages in Markovsky, Tre and Vicky could have and should have been part of that inaugural WSRC season. Instead, because of the power outage, Tre was unable to accept a contract offer from either Anitun Tabu or ENSADRINK, and so he and Vicky were forced to watch the first season of WSRC from the sidelines. But not this time. This time, Tre had decided to move to a place where he didn't have to rely on others to supply both his electricity and his Internet.

"Let me ask you one more time just to make sure, Tre," Vicky Reotutar asked. "You've already sent the email this time?"

"Yes, Vicky, I've double checked and triple checked it," Tre nodded. "We're going to attend that preseason test in Aboveland or Auruna or wherever it actually is."

"Have you thought about which team is going to be your preference?"

"Well, I really hope that Sport Mikuren will give us a look even if we haven't done anything of note last season," Tre said.

"That's a bit ambitious, don't you think? But I like the way you think," Vicky said. "Go big or go home, right?"

"Indeed," Tre nodded. "Also, you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take. If they don't take us, it's fine. At least we tried."

"So that's it then," Vicky muttered. "Nothing else left to do now but wait."

"Yep," Tre said. "That and go out there to preseason and show them all what they missed out on last season."

by **Hodori Motorsports** » Thu Jun 16, 2022 2:20 pm

ENSADRINK WSR signs Marisa Inyuseo as first driver and offers a contract renewal to Augustine Imparato. Additionally, the team will attend the invitational in Aboveland.

An’ue Shuadakei will participate in the invitational.

(Apologies for this; I've been having a hard time coming up with something to write.)

by **The Pearl Kingdom** » Thu Jun 16, 2022 3:08 pm

Sulan flounced into the living room in a long flowing dress and an exquisite assortment of silver, pearl, and abalone jewelry. Almost all women in Jouoangquoi wore jewelry made with pearls and shells, but few could afford to have their pearls set in delicately crafted silver like Sulan wore.

"Hey, do you guys want to come with me to Haybien Fashion Week?" she asked her family with an excited grin on her face.

"When is it?" her mother asked.

"Next week."

Her mother turned to her father and asked softly, "Are we doing anything next week?"

While they were quietly conferring between themselves, Sulan prodded her sister Suyauey. "What about you? Do you want to come?"

"I can't," said Suyauey. "I am going to be in Aboveland."

"Where on Earth is Aboveland???" Sulan asked, a little too dramatically.

"It's in Altantian Oceania," Suyauey explained. "I am going there for the Ælund Rallisport Invitational."

Sulan screwed up her face like she thought that sounded like the dorkiest thing ever. "What on Earth is that?"

"It's like a tryout for WSRC drivers," Suyauey explained.

Sulan still looked like she couldn't imagine missing Haybien Fashion Week for such an event. She turned to her brothers. "What about you? Do you want to come?"

"Maybe if there's a banquet or something," said Suquai.

Sugianuey shifted awkwardly in his seat and looked rather uncomfortable. "Are you going to pay for tickets and hotels and everything or...?"

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Thu Jun 16, 2022 9:04 pm

OOC: Quick letter of acceptance as Koaiwa and I had discussed this on Discord server for days before, with Aboveland's acknowledge of it.

DE FITZLAWRENCE-BOLUDO FAMILY AT THE BOLUDO RANCH
Recipient: Li Wei, Director, PAN World Rally Team

Dear Mr. Li Wei,

Thank you for sending your enquiry regarding Boludo/De FitzLawrence pair's availability for the TGK-VK Team at the Aelund Invitational.

As civil citizens, my husband and I are more than delighted to participate in the trials under your company and are happy to see how the outcome comes along. Let's Go and Get Gewd.

Best,
Charlotte de Fitzlawrence

by **Aboveland** » Thu Jun 16, 2022 9:49 pm

CUTOFF

for Pre-season test 1: Ælund Rallisport Invitational Rallysprint

Entry list:

#	DRV	Name				NAT	Team
76	SOD	Södergren/Jansson		KML	AP-Dëritee WRT
46	DME	Mëlander/Lösspeng		DMN	AP-Dëritee WRT
4	HAR	Hargis/Holstein			LIS	Camden WRT
27	HMA	Harcourt-Mauroy/d'Ombret	GAL	Camden WRT
21	INY	Inyuseo/Mizeyuki		HDR	ENSADRINK WSR
1	NOV	Novikov/Baardsen		ABL	Iskabil-Ælund WRT
23	KER	Keretene/Karaka			TGN	Iskabil-Ælund WRT
5	WAT	Watanabe/Hitchens		KOI	TGK-VK WRT
86	KIM	Kimura/Ali			KOI	TGK-VK WRT
Free agents:

16	AUG	Imparato/Nogueira		VEZ	Iskabil Skua XB4-SR
44	SUY	Suyauey/Yliande			JOU	Iskabil Skua XB4-SR
77	RAA	Raatikainen/Blomqvist		KIM	Iskabil Skua XB4-SR
57	POL	Poldov/Ponomarjov		KSG	Iskabil Skua XB4-SR
87	AUR	Aurinen/Kailenta		AUR	Iskabil Skua XB4-SR
84	GLG	Gallegos/Reotutar		AFT	Iskabil Skua XB4-SR
71	ASY	Shuadakei/Shuadakei		HDR	Iskabil Skua XB4-SR
68	PAJ	Pajari/Kalliomäki		ABL	TGK Albatross GT4 WSRC
91	BOL	Boludo/de FitzLawrence		QUE	TGK Albatross GT4 WSRC

by **Aboveland** » Thu Jun 16, 2022 10:41 pm

Pre-season test 1: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Average SS Time:      	00:01:33.927
Nation:         	ABL

Practice | Drivers had an indefinite amount of time until noon to recce and practice the two stages of the Rallysprint. The time displayed is the fastest average time across both stages, obtained at any moment.

POS # ▍DRIVER                                   AVG TIME	GAP TO LEADER
 1 23 ▍Keretene/Karaka                    	00:01:41.657	00:00:00.000
 2 91 ▍Boludo/de FitzLawrence             	00:01:41.664	00:00:00.007
 3  1 ▍Novikov/Baardsen                   	00:01:41.665	00:00:00.007
 4  5 ▍Watanabe/Hitchens                  	00:01:41.697	00:00:00.040
 5 57 ▍Poldov/Ponomarjov                  	00:01:41.713	00:00:00.056
 6 68 ▍Pajari/Kalliomäki                  	00:01:41.727	00:00:00.070
 7 27 ▍Harcourt-Mauroy/d'Ombret           	00:01:41.744	00:00:00.087
 8 87 ▍Aurinen/Kailenta                   	00:01:41.830	00:00:00.173
 9 71 ▍Shuadakei/Shuadakei                	00:01:41.873	00:00:00.216
10 46 ▍Mëlander/Lösspeng                  	00:01:41.897	00:00:00.240
11 21 ▍Inyuseo/Mizeyuki                   	00:01:41.909	00:00:00.252
12 76 ▍Södergren/Jansson                  	00:01:41.920	00:00:00.263
13 77 ▍Raatikainen/Blomqvist              	00:01:41.927	00:00:00.269
14 84 ▍Gallegos/Reotutar                  	00:01:41.955	00:00:00.298
15 86 ▍Kimura/Ali                         	00:01:42.003	00:00:00.346
16 16 ▍Imparato/Nogueira                  	00:01:42.217	00:00:00.560
17 44 ▍Suyauey/Yliande                    	00:01:42.250	00:00:00.593
18  4 ▍Hargis/Holstein                    	00:01:43.002	00:00:01.345

Pre-season test 1: Timed runs

Conditions:      	Dry
Average SS Time:      	00:01:33.927
Nation:         	ABL

Timed runs | Drivers set out onto both stages three times with a chance to set their fastest laps. The slowest five, then four, drivers are eliminated from the running order, until nine drivers remain for the final timed run group.

POS # ▍DRIVER                             	FASTEST G1	GAP TO LEADER	FASTEST G2	GAP TO LEADER	FASTEST G3	GAP TO LEADER
 1  1 ▍Novikov/Baardsen                   	00:01:34.340	00:00:00.211	00:01:35.584	00:00:00.251	00:01:34.915	FASTEST : G3
 2  5 ▍Watanabe/Hitchens                  	00:01:34.129	FASTEST : G1	00:01:35.333	FASTEST : G2	00:01:34.924	00:00:00.009
 3 71 ▍Shuadakei/Shuadakei                	00:01:34.756	00:00:00.628	00:01:35.809	00:00:00.476	00:01:34.927	00:00:00.012
 4 44 ▍Suyauey/Yliande                    	00:01:34.310	00:00:00.181	00:01:35.470	00:00:00.138	00:01:34.979	00:00:00.064
 5 16 ▍Imparato/Nogueira                  	00:01:34.353	00:00:00.225	00:01:35.513	00:00:00.180	00:01:34.993	00:00:00.077
 6 23 ▍Keretene/Karaka                    	00:01:34.973	00:00:00.844	00:01:35.782	00:00:00.449	00:01:35.021	00:00:00.106
 7 68 ▍Pajari/Kalliomäki                  	00:01:34.699	00:00:00.570	00:01:35.813	00:00:00.480	00:01:35.024	00:00:00.109
 8 76 ▍Södergren/Jansson                  	00:01:34.833	00:00:00.704	00:01:35.654	00:00:00.321	00:01:35.068	00:00:00.153
 9  4 ▍Hargis/Holstein                    	00:01:34.898	00:00:00.769	00:01:35.807	00:00:00.474	00:01:35.147	00:00:00.231
ELIM Group 2
10 21 ▍Inyuseo/Mizeyuki                   	00:01:34.656	00:00:00.527	00:01:35.881	00:00:00.548		
11 87 ▍Aurinen/Kailenta                   	00:01:34.942	00:00:00.813	00:01:35.916	00:00:00.583		
12 27 ▍Harcourt-Mauroy/d'Ombret           	00:01:34.968	00:00:00.839	00:01:35.926	00:00:00.593		
13 84 ▍Gallegos/Reotutar                  	00:01:35.052	00:00:00.924	00:01:36.075	00:00:00.742		
ELIM Group 1
14 86 ▍Kimura/Ali                         	00:01:35.114	00:00:00.985				
15 57 ▍Poldov/Ponomarjov                  	00:01:35.150	00:00:01.021				
16 77 ▍Raatikainen/Blomqvist              	00:01:35.371	00:00:01.242				
17 91 ▍Boludo/de FitzLawrence             	00:01:35.804	00:00:01.676				
18 46 ▍Mëlander/Lösspeng                  	00:01:35.985	00:00:01.856

by **Koaiwa** » Fri Jun 17, 2022 2:05 pm

A cafe in Iskajärvi, Aboveland

Wei was in a small cafe, minding his business checking telemetry data from the TGK Albatrosses that had joined the Aelund tests. The results were actually very promising. The two trial drivers were in the Top 6 with the practice sessions, with Boludo coming second and Pajari, 6th. Watanabe showed a good performance in the practice session as well, coming 4th. The timed runs were equally strong, with Watanabe coming to form by setting the fastest times for the first two laps, and narrowly coming second on the 3rd lap by less than 1/10ths of a second. Pajari also managed to make it to the final 9 drivers. Sadly, Bo's error early on resulted in him being eliminated in the first lap but, this didn't discount his previous results.

However, there was one bad egg. Kimura. He was one of the wild cards that were less likely to perform with his gendarmerie-ambulance driver background. Although while in the gendarmerie, he did not have a tendency to go against orders. This predicament of being pushed to rallying didn't suit him. Whether he was having issues getting used to the car, or silently dissenting and throwing was hard to tell. But, his performances were nothing short of disastrous. He was consistently last in both practice and timed run. His best result was 15th place in the practice run. He showed a slight improvement in the timed run climbing to 14th but this still got him eliminated.

As he was finishing his tea, he got a call from Goro Nakai. "Hey, I heard you have some news for me." Wei replied."Yeah, I was chatting with Boludo after the test. I gotta say, great guy, very jovial, great in front of a camera. Bet.koi always needs new spokespeople, and he's basically built for it-" as Goro was excitedly rambling on. "Get to the news" interjected Wei but, Goro didn't care and kept his schpiel "He's got many ideas, even with the car, not how it drives but, how it looks. You know we expect TGK-VK to have a koi-themed livery, may-or-may-not have our name on it with the advertising regulations with rallies. Anyway, I was telling him that, and he had the idea of this yellow psychedelic chasing-the-dragon livery for himself. I was bouncing ideas to have also koi-fish on it, turning into a dragon through a waterfall, like the common folk-lore thing. I think the story is also apt for TGK, you know? Bus manufacturer winning a premier motorsport comp? The livery should keep the people at the Ministry of Culture happy too-". "You are talking like we signed the guy" replied Wei, showing a bit disgruntlement. Goro instantly stopped his spoken train of thought "Bet.koi signed him as a spokesperson, we expect you to sign him too. Sign Boludo." with that Goro hung up.

Wei's hand almost magnetically went to his forehead after being strongarmed by Goro. While both trial drivers were promising, Wei felt Pajari's consistency made him the better candidate. This was a hard decision but, it had to be made before the season debut. Especially with one of the signed drivers performing worse than both the trial drivers.

Wei was disappointed in Kimura. He was expecting much more from him. He was hoping that he would be able to show his true potential in the invitational. However, he knew that this was a long shot. It wasn't just about talent. The car and the conditions were completely different from what he was used to. He had to admit that it was probably impossible for him to adapt so quickly from a van to a sedan, one with a tendency to have its nose dive front, constantly. Still, he was hopeful that he could pull it off somehow but, with two-trial drivers showing more promise than him. It may be the best for everyone involved to send him home. He decide to go forward with swapping Kimura out, so that TGK-VK could sign Pajari.

Wei then took a deep breath, it is tough being a team principle of a team. A team with a car with an aerodynamic set-up designed by the marketing team, a team staff consisting of mechanics more used to working on tractors than cars and, a team with an HQ mostly made out of tents and detachables. Even being able to contact free agents without being laughed off was a success for him, with the team's appearance. However, even with all of this, the team was performing above expectations. The results at the pre-season event showed them being closer to title-contenders, rather than back-markers. Maybe another promotion is on the cards for him with this team, rather than managing a trout farm.

WSRC 02 | Stage Rally | RP Thread

WSRC 02 | Stage Rally | RP Thread

The Beginning (Ralli - Yski)

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