World Grand Prix Championship 20 [RP/Results Thread]

[Tropicorp]

SKIIA VIALIV ✓

@Skiia

Well, Well. Surprise, Surprise. See you at the Gernache Circuit @donnyfitz74. It will be nice to not be the only one out here driving for UrGA! #WGPC20

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Tiones Lumber Drivers’ Challenge, Eelandii Grand Prix Course, Eelandii, Turori
15th of May

“If you’d prefer not, there’s no compulsion –”

“Baxen, it’s a bit of wood. I’m not supporting deforestation by chopping a bit of wood.” Olivia Stone sizes up the chopping area ahead of her, hand on her hip. She dressed simply today, in a pullover and jeans (now augmented with mail) – not adorned with corporate sponsorships, not bearing the mantles, robes or cloaks often donned by Imagination mages. She does this as herself.

She smiles at her companion reassuringly, before reaching down to her hip.

Nothing there.

Olivia frowns, mouth opening a touch with concern. Not having that would ruin just about everything. “Oh. Oh, no, no –”

“Liv? Here.” A flask proffered by a friendly arm. She returns another smile, this time apologetic and grateful, before flicking at the button to activate its internal mechanism and raising the bottle to her lips.

She almost spits out the bitter orange juice and the orbs of Imagination accompanying it. Blinking as she gulps it down, Olivia coughs. “Almost forgot you…” And coughs again, this time half in laughter at her friend’s horrified expression. “Imagination, Baxen, I know orange is Assembly’s colour, but… Why?”

“Are you –”

“Yes, yes!” Now it’s fully laughter, which turns to a grin that she sets on her face as the contestant who’d just finished the round departs with light applause from those gathered to watch. Only about two rows of them.

Step one: perform well in the trials. Fastest in the session is as ‘well’ as you’ll get, even if Baxen not being on the radio was still unsettling… Anyway – check.

Step two: stand out afterwards.

Olivia strides up, watching as a new log is lifted onto the traditional stump. Climbing and rolling I’ll breeze through. Learned to cancel out my gravitational pull when I was two-thirds my height. Chopping… Will require more discipline.

The simplest methods, purely in terms of efficiency, would be to split the wood telekinetically – possibly even drive a blade of condensed air clean through it. Unfortunately, the competition’s rules specified use of the axe itself. An accomplished Imagination mage might simply take control of the axe but… No, I definitely do not want to risk an accident with this crowd, she thinks, glancing at the small group cordoned off from the event. Slight lapse in concentration could be a recipe for serious harm. Especially recently… She frowns a moment before shaking that thought away.

In any case, she has another plan, one reliant on more conventional methods.

She’s sparred enough with Baxen to trust her swinging arm.

“Name?”

The somewhat bored-looking official greets her. It’s honestly a tiny bit of a relief not to be recognised.

“Should be under ‘Stone’? ‘Olivia’? On the drivers’ list.” Now the realisation passes over his face; he steps aside to let her pass. A murmur through the crowd turns into cheering – at least two call out her surname. A turn to wave politely reveals some smartphones being pulled from trouser and jacket pockets. A shiver down her spine. Then she steels herself. You know what? Record this all you like. This is me.

She takes up the axe, testing its weight. She looks across to the official, now armed with a stopwatch. “Counting me in, or…”

“Starts when the axe hits the log. Take your time.”

Perfect.

A moment of stillness as she truly focuses. Letting one hand leave the axe, she passes it over the blade. Baxen’s idea – just a touch of theatre.

And then, she considers the axe. Perfectly serviceable, of course, but repeated use by other competitors has blunted it somewhat. Even were it ‘sharp’, the general imperfection of the physical world leaves it a poor substitute for the inclined plane it pretends to be.

Nothing that can’t be fixed.

Calling upon air about the weapon, Olivia binds it to the axe’s edge. Every roughness is smoothed, every cavity filled, every microscopic chip replaced, until the result is molecularly perfect.

To the naked eye, it simply shines cerulean.

Another murmur, now, louder. Olivia lifts the axe above her head, still focused on axe and air, bound together.

Not so hard when she’s about to swing them.

She brings them down once – cleaves halfway through, only resisting with the friction of the sides of the axehead against the splitting. Again; now about four fifths of the way through.

Mmm. Good enough.

With a will, Imagination impels the axe down the remaining inches. The wood splits with an almighty crack.

Olivia turns to the somewhat stunned official, grinning widely.

“Great! So, what’s next?”

[Tumbra]

CUTOFF

for Pre-Season Test 2 at Gernache Circuit

[Lisander]

<< Previously | Next >>

VI. ΛIR

Forget the haute-couture. Anneliese Devereux is the monthly guest in Air Magazine, but refused the professional photoshoot. Still, we managed to steal a glance of her eyes.

[Tumbra]

Week 2: Pre-Season Test 2 (AM Session)

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:30.694
Session Length:	180 minutes
Nation:         	MRT
Circuit:        	Gernache Circuit

Drivers have 180 minutes to complete as many laps of the track as they like

POS # ▍DRIVER                           	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1  1 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:38.117	00:00:00.000
 2 10 ▍Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir            	00:01:38.121	00:00:00.003
 3 42 ▍Sophie McCreary                  	00:01:38.121	00:00:00.004
 4 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick               	00:01:38.121	00:00:00.004
 5 84 ▍Angela Tan Fang Ling             	00:01:38.123	00:00:00.005
 6 87 ▍Bryce Yannec                     	00:01:38.124	00:00:00.007
 7 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                     	00:01:38.125	00:00:00.008
 8  9 ▍Batu Tüvshinbayar                	00:01:38.129	00:00:00.012
 9 33 ▍Sam Blaatschappen                	00:01:38.130	00:00:00.012
10 12 ▍Darian Vilau                     	00:01:38.135	00:00:00.018
11 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                     	00:01:38.148	00:00:00.031
12 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                  	00:01:38.160	00:00:00.043
13 28 ▍Aaron Deering                    	00:01:38.171	00:00:00.054
14 24 ▍Jordan Crowe                     	00:01:38.172	00:00:00.054
15  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux               	00:01:38.174	00:00:00.057
16 96 ▍William Archer                   	00:01:38.211	00:00:00.094
17 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                   	00:01:38.217	00:00:00.100
18 88 ▍Ted Pressley                     	00:01:38.218	00:00:00.101
19 71 ▍Brendan Faloe                    	00:01:38.232	00:00:00.114
20 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                     	00:01:38.261	00:00:00.144
21 13 ▍Ji So-Yeong                      	00:01:38.263	00:00:00.146
22 50 ▍Sara Luna                        	00:01:38.269	00:00:00.152
23 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:38.361	00:00:00.243
24  5 ▍Rudy Edwards                     	00:01:38.406	00:00:00.289
25 40 ▍Adriana Kowalski Lilian          	00:01:38.467	00:00:00.350
26 91 ▍Kingston Walcott                 	00:01:38.530	00:00:00.413
27 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                      	00:01:38.571	00:00:00.453
28 11 ▍Lane Carter                      	00:01:38.646	00:00:00.529

Week 2: Pre-Season Test 2 (PM Session)

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:30.694
Session Length:	180 minutes
Nation:         	MRT
Circuit:        	Gernache Circuit

Drivers have 180 minutes to complete as many laps of the track as they like

POS # ▍DRIVER                           	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux               	00:01:38.117	00:00:00.000
 2 87 ▍Bryce Yannec                     	00:01:38.121	00:00:00.004
 3 91 ▍Kingston Walcott                 	00:01:38.122	00:00:00.005
 4 10 ▍Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir            	00:01:38.125	00:00:00.008
 5 28 ▍Aaron Deering                    	00:01:38.126	00:00:00.009
 6 42 ▍Sophie McCreary                  	00:01:38.127	00:00:00.010
 7 12 ▍Darian Vilau                     	00:01:38.128	00:00:00.011
 8  9 ▍Batu Tüvshinbayar                	00:01:38.131	00:00:00.014
 9 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick               	00:01:38.134	00:00:00.017
10 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:38.136	00:00:00.019
11 71 ▍Brendan Faloe                    	00:01:38.137	00:00:00.020
12  1 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:38.138	00:00:00.021
13 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                      	00:01:38.139	00:00:00.022
14 96 ▍William Archer                   	00:01:38.146	00:00:00.029
15 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                     	00:01:38.178	00:00:00.061
16 13 ▍Ji So-Yeong                      	00:01:38.186	00:00:00.069
17 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                  	00:01:38.200	00:00:00.083
18 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                     	00:01:38.205	00:00:00.088
19 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                   	00:01:38.205	00:00:00.088
20 50 ▍Sara Luna                        	00:01:38.208	00:00:00.091
21 40 ▍Adriana Kowalski Lilian          	00:01:38.215	00:00:00.098
22  5 ▍Rudy Edwards                     	00:01:38.260	00:00:00.143
23 33 ▍Sam Blaatschappen                	00:01:38.273	00:00:00.156
24 11 ▍Lane Carter                      	00:01:38.343	00:00:00.226
25 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                     	00:01:38.355	00:00:00.238
26 88 ▍Ted Pressley                     	00:01:38.362	00:00:00.245
27 24 ▍Jordan Crowe                     	00:01:38.580	00:00:00.463
28 84 ▍Angela Tan Fang Ling             	00:01:38.672	00:00:00.555

[Esmerel]

CHAPTER 3
Going At Gernarche

May 17

One of motorsports’ rules was that pre-season tests never accurately determine the pecking order. That being said, the goal of one Brendan Faloe at the tests in Turori and Mertagne was just to drive, consistently and cleanly, and make sure the car works at a similar pace to other cars.

So far, he’d gone through three test sessions: two at the Eelandii Grand Prix Course, a venue alternating between races and testing most years, and one at the Gernarche Circuit, a new track passed over for a race date for the upcoming season- a decision the likes of which would never satisfy everyone, even though it had to be made. Either way, the fans were still happy to hear the roar of V6 and V8 engines thundering down around the old airfield, even though there was little end goal for those engines to roar towards.

Speaking of the season schedule, it would be shorter than most previous seasons; many of them had around 12 races, while this season would only have 10. Just 260 points were the maximum, a far cry from the championships he’d known about back home; the ones that never seemed to end. Brendan didn’t know if he liked a shorter season, but it wasn’t his decision anyway. He would go with the flow, so long as it didn’t lead him right into chaos, and it’s not as if this would have.

The final event, however, did please him somewhat. He had been hoping for Esmerel’s return to the schedule after its one-off 2018 Grand Prix date; a lengthy interval in which the Forest Cross International Raceway that hosted the first race had become a venue much better suited to racing for another race. Few in Esmerel hadn’t heard of the track promoters’ struggles to bring the race back, and now that they had, it was time for their worth to be proven. It was even better that the WGPO had selected it as the season finale; the championship-deciding race (at least in theory).

These were the things Brendan thought about- the things that kept him smiling and in the mood- while he waited in the garage for the afternoon testing session. He’d spent the day driving, eating lunch, and doing interviews with the few reporters who wanted to talk to a plucky driver from a plucky team. Throughout it all, he was happy to know that he chose right- that he chose to take the plunge into a new world and a new beginning.

Lianna Alphonse stood nearby looking over the morning telemetry. As it was, she was surprised to see the entire field so competitive; such minute gaps between the drivers’ fastest laps was almost unheard of. The team could be just one tenth off the fastest time and yet be down in 24th. However, it was reassuring. The time mattered more, and it meant Cygnus wasn’t very far behind- even if testing times weren’t wholly representative of actual pace, what with various teams running different programs to get their cars to respond, plus the 3-hour-long sessions giving ample room for a driver to go and set the best lap at some point.

As for Cygnus’s drivers, Brendan was as expected: consistent, if not at the top of the charts. He held on to the mid to lower end of the field; there was room to grow for sure, but it had promise. Angela, on the other hand, was different- sometimes not that fast, but she had better highs, within just a few thousandths of the top time.

Still, it was fairly dull waiting for the afternoon session. There was only so much understanding she or anyone else could gain from staring at computer data.

Over her shoulder, she heard Brendan approach and speak. “Hey, Lianna,” he said, “you mind talking for just a bit?”

Lianna looked over at Brendan with a shrug, though she spoke with a reassuring tone. “I don’t suppose why not,” she replied.

Brendan was happy to hear it- he’d wanted to know more about his associates, especially Lianna. She was intriguing to him- some similar deal with numbers and positions as his own. Whereas Brendan seemed to be second in (almost) everything, Lianna was first in some things, worse off in others.

“What’s your own opinion, on, you know… going right from Dr. Emerson’s class to this?” Brendan asked.

“Hm? Well, I did expect something out of my life, especially after I completed college,” Lianna replied. “I went looking for opportunities, and I wasn’t surprised when I found some. Though I was surprised when I found one of my own teachers asking for me.”

Lianna could tell that Brendan wanted to know more, and without saying it, she agreed. “I’m not sure if I had a passion for motorsports or simply a passion for doing something worth my effort,” she continued. “But I don’t think that matters much. I’m here, and I’m doing my job; few if any could do better.”

“Huh. Not to burst your bubble, but that’s a bold claim,” Brendan noted. “I mean… Like, don’t get me wrong, we were in the same class, and you aced a lot of things- but not everything all at once. And now you’re competing against 13 other designers, some with years, or even decades, of experience- We don’t look like we’re on top, even with testing comparisons all but moot.”

“...At least I expect to reach the top at some point, by giving it my best,” Lianna said. “Not just taking things as they are and expecting them to just improve. Did you miss the entire point of Cygnus? Striving to build off the success of the past?”

Brendan did understand Lianna had a point, though he failed to say so.

“Just some constructive criticism. Reach for a little more, Brendan,” Lianna said, “and we’ll all get more.”

Lianna turned away and reviewed the telemetry once again. Brendan turned away as well, his thoughts going elsewhere.

Brendan felt like he did try. He did want something more, just a little bit. He reasoned to himself that none of this would have happened if, as Lianna had put it, he’d simply taken things as they were. Yet Lianna seemed to have a slight apprehension towards Brendan being a part of the team- perhaps due to a lack of experience, or a lack of identity- Esmerel’s previous international racers had a decade each of domestic racing under their belts before they went pro. Brendan’s best driving was on a computer program.

It was a miracle the WGPO gave out licenses like they were going out of fashion. But maybe they were right to do so- Brendan seemed to be keeping up, experience or not.

Brendan took a deep breath. The afternoon session was in just a few minutes. He’d need to get his balaclava and helmet on again, and put the car through a few more hoops.

He could reach for a little more- but now, in a testing session, probably wasn’t the time.

__________

Four garages up the pit lane was Max, sitting with telemetry of his own.

Testing seemed to cloud everyone’s judgements and expectations, but at least the Chase Cutters this year seemed to be keeping up as well as the rest of them. And both cars, driven by Ryker, and Max’s newest acquaintance Janne, were running without overt issues.

To Max, Janne was good to work with. It was a solid way to shake things up; remove the last clinging stragglers that embodied the past and its… monotony. In this way, Max knew Jean had been right- regarding Janne being deserving of a race seat. While the lights hadn’t yet gone out at Talbott, Max figured Janne could use the years of experience he’d gained, patiently waiting, to hit the ground running. Which, well… that idiom didn’t work, because it provided no actual advantage, but the phrase did come to his mind.

Max looked at the wall clock in the garage. It read 13:50- just ten or so minutes until the afternoon session began, and he’d need to focus again on guiding Janne through more important tests.

He knew there was something he had to do, and this was a good time. So he called Jean Mercer-Daly.

A few seconds later, Max saw Jean appear on the other end of the call, sitting in the same kitchen that they had last had a call at.

“Hey, Max,” Jean said on the other end. “Anything bring you to my humble abode?”

“Jean, I… I wanted to let you know a few things, and also to… apologize,” Max replied.

“Wait, um… go on?”

“...I don’t know if you’ve heard the news, but it has to do with the Nimban people,” Max said. “Maybe even… with you. See, there was this… strange blip in time where more and more Nimbans seemed to fall into a state of pure… monotony. Going about their days in routine fashions, every time the same. As of late, some of them have been ‘waking up’, in a sense- they know what they did during the blip, but they don’t remember doing it.”

Jean seemed to take the news in stride. He’d grown used to other universes, after all. “I guess that happened, then,” he said.

“Hey, hold on, don’t just brush that off,” Max retorted. “What I’m saying is that you were involved with Nexus pretty deeply, and maybe it got to you, if less potently than a complete ‘blackout’. You’ve told me that you’ve felt tired, haven’t you? What if it was purely external factors and chance that got you here?”

A few seconds passed as Jean processed the information. “Huh… That, uh… could be one explanation,” he admitted. “Gods, what’s that got to feel like? Just… moments of clarity in an expanse that lacks it.”

“I thought similarly.”

“So what you’re saying here is that the way I feel… isn’t my age, or my ability, but rather… this Nimban ‘curse’?” Jean asked. “...If we can shorthand it like that, anyway…”

“It might be. What I’m saying is you’ve ended up in an unfair situation,” Max said. “You might still have speed in you.”

“...I still feel like I lost it at Crossport. The best of it, anyway,” Jean said.

“Jean, let me ask you again,” Max began. “Do you have any passion at all for racing?”

A few seconds passed. Then, Jean answered.

“Yes.”

“...I’ve got some good news, in that case,” Max continued. “What you said has been correct- I think Janne is deserving of a race seat, so he’s gotten that. And Ryker’s still in the first car. And… Well, let me catch you up. I’m in Mertagne right now, for preseason testing. All 14 teams and 28 drivers have assembled. The first race in Liventia’s on the weekend.”

“...Oh. I guess I’ve missed the chance,” Jean said.

“Well, you weren’t looking for it. I wouldn’t imagine you’re too put off by that, anyway,” Max said. “But there is another solution. Nexus would love to have you still- I finally got to talk with Gertrude, and you could sign on as a test and reserve driver. It still involves going fast, but without the pressure you’re afraid of.”

“Huh… I hear you, go on,” Jean replied.

“I think it’d be a solid idea. You could repay Nexus for all they’ve given you over the years, by helping shake off the shackles of the past and all that,” Max remarked. “Leave things better than where you found them. …And I don’t think you’re done yet, anyhow. Give it one more fair try.”

Max could see Jean smiling on the other end- surely a good sign. “Should I wait for you in Liventia?” he asked.

“No, no, you can come to Nexus HQ for a bit, maybe do some quick runs,” Max corrected. “Then you can join up with us en route to Liventia and beyond. So? That alright?”

On the other end, a few seconds passed again. Then, Jean smiled even more.

“...Tell them I’ll be there.”

[Aboveland]

Gernache Circuit, Mertagne

A draft wafts in from under the door to his private driver's room, sneaking into the confines of Janne's fireproof garments from the openings on their legs. He shudders, his elbows dug into his ribs; his thumping chest accelerates a quick shiver. Familiar sounds from the chatter and movement outside ― a mellow iBen trying hard to small-talk an unfamiliar sounding woman, whirring wheel guns, and beeping computer scanners ― ground him, as he stares at his brand new race-suit, draped over a metal frame chair in the same tone of gunmetal gray. The edges of his mouth curl upwards involuntarily; the gravity of the incoming season ― of what it all means ― still hasn't quite sunk in. This very moment, his standing before his brand-new thick, milky gray Nexus Racing WGPC suit on the cusp of a pre-season test, had been years in the making. Was he right, then, in going about with all this, into his fifth season of Grand Prix competition? Was naive, confused, loverboy, sixteen-year-old Janne Laukkannen the driver of his destiny?

So many things had happened since sixteen: he'd risen as an upcoming prodigy ― winning on debut ahead of a then-junior Dom Falpeau ―, plummeted as a fluke, toiled in the lower echelons of a domestic series, and been given a lifeline and a final vote of confidence with which he'd so very nearly won it all. So many teammates had come and gone, too: first, Rebecca Darlington; then, the embattled Drake Stevenson; a so-called Henry Dinkins ― where was he now? ― in WGPi; the luckless Haru Jukkenna; and even WGPC royalty RL Cruisin.

Cruisin ― Carvenlo. For all he owed his life to Nexus Racing, his year out on loan to the Liventian outfit had been a fruitful learning experience. Bless Matthew Portland, he'd been a refreshingly effortless person to work with, the team a comforting chamber of tranquility and familiar order ― but the season had been an eye-opener as well. As it turned out, so many years in a Chase Cutter had stunted his progress as a driver: he and the conventional Carvenlo machine never quite meshed, all the while his teammate had tasted the champagne on more than one occasion. The fresh perspective of joining a new team was also a novel concept ― but again, not quite the same. Through thick and thin, alongside future prospects and perpetual strugglers of all nationalities, be it on four wheels or eight, and patiently waiting for his turn in the big boy car, Nexus Racing had stood by his side. For all intents and purposes, Nexus was his family: leaving that behind proved too big of a challenge, at least for a single season.

For all his doubt around how his return to Nexus would go about, the first pre-season test had gone excellently. Most importantly, his relationship with his new engineer, Max ― in the absence of Antti — had gotten off to a good start. They were still timid with each other, the Esmerelian direct and brief and the Abovian shy and quiet, but so far, they quickly seemed to have found themselves on the same page. With his experience in WGPC ― the top-tier Nexus lineup the polar opposite from the ever-changing WGP2 squad ― he did quick work to get Janne reacquainted with the whims and peculiarities of the Chase Cutter. Before long, the Abovian felt as if he'd never left: suddenly, the driving started to just make sense all over again, from the forces his suit dampened to the agility and immediacy with which every one of his Imagination-enhanced inputs responded. If the test was anything to go by, the season would surely have something good in store, at least on the track.

Tentatively, Janne reaches out for his suit and slips his legs into its bottom half, shuffling his body down to ride the suit up onto his hips. The suit he'd worn in Eelandii had been a placeholder; this one was the real deal, his first ever brand new WGPC Nexus outfit, and it fit as snugly as a new garment should. He crouches to slide his arms into the sleeves, pulling to the right to catch the end of one of them, before standing and reaching over to fully slip his other arm through. He tugs at the zipper just below his navel, and with a couple of tries it glides fluidly up to his neck. He does the velcro straps around his waist and under his chin, and before he turns to face the mirror behind him, he runs his hands down either side of his torso, tracing the unique-to-him colored accents that frame his chest. With a deep breath, the suit follows his form. It feels rough and cool under his fingers, like shark skin; he turns slowly to face himself in the mirror, rolling his shoulders to correct his posture and cracking his neck.

"Nexus Racing driver Janne Laukkanen," he whispers to himself, smiling with a pang of melancholy he didn't understand the source of. Was it a longing for a simpler time? A desire to live out the flashbacks all over again? A moment more filled with jubilant expectation than the weight of culmination? Or was it a lack of something else, a deep remorse, or a clamor for... touch?

It didn't matter. Right now, there's one thing only that should be on his mind as soon as he swings open the changing room door.

"Nexus Racing driver, Janne Laukkanen."

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Everyone at the Orange Cow Racing Center were working long hours every day, pushing themselves to the limit across every department: the techies were analyzing all of the data collected over the two extended open tests for the fourteen WGPC teams; the mechanics were working on how quickly they could breakdown and reassemble elements on the cars, how fast they could potentially replace an engine, rebuild the chassis after an accident; the engineering department taking the numbers and data to build setup profiles for their two drivers who were as different as they were similar; and the design team already prepping the drawings for changes to components even before they were needed.

One important upgrade that was included in the construction of the OCRC was the ability of the team to produce all of the carbon fiber elements of the race machines in-house with the installation of an autoclave.
Deputy Team Principal Vic Marzetti was the CEO of Vulcan Fabricating, a West Chester based company that produced composite, alloy, & basic metal parts, along with components and framework across a wide variety of applications; all of the carbon fiber fabrication of the cars in the first two seasons was done at Vulcan.
The turnaround time from drawing to production was now a couple of days rather than weeks; the wind tunnel at PRL and the autoclave here at the factory meant that Orange Cow was now capable of developing their cars as fast as the top WGPC teams were able.
___________________________________________________________________________

It probably didn't register as something unusual--or if it did was dismissed as a one-off single day anomaly--by the four drivers that had come to Haskins to run laps on the factory track in hopes of securing a contract with SOC that the regimen they were put through was the standard work routine the team had employed since even before Pedro Caballal arrived ahead of the fourth WGP2 season.

Controlled length stints with a delta time range to be adhered to was a SOC program that had paid dividends a thousand times over. It often produced wildly inconsistent practice or test session results on the time sheet, but it had developed a discipline that was hard to ignore for a team that was an afterthought at the start of their first season and the championship winners at the conclusion of their second.

At Eelandi Park, Batu and Jordan were on two completely separate data runs in the early session, then swapped setups and objectives for the later run which the team ended up cutting short by 30 minutes;
in Mertagne at Gernache Circuit there was a similar focus for each car over the two sessions and an early surrender of the remaining time. Together they ran over 2,100 miles coupled with their mileage at the factory and two day long sessions at Drummond Vale.

__________________________________________________________________________

Ahead of the first proper flyaway to kick-off the season, there was a family day at the facility where everyone was encouraged to bring their family; Michael Lambert expressed his appreciation to everyone gathered.
"I thank each and every one you who have joined us today. You've sacrificed your husband or wife, partner, mom or dad, grandparent, cousin, uncle or aunt--the people who come here every day to work at jobs they love. The hours are hard, I know...hopefully once we get the season going we'll be able to establish a max limit on hours worked here in the factory."

There was a sit down among the core personnel--Jordan and Steph, Batu, Helena & Rick Osgood (the data engineer who was now "official" with Hella), Shelly Brandywine, who was now Batu's Press handler, Smitty and his partner Amelia, and Chief Mechanic Kevin Ammaker and his wife Lisa.
"I don't know if we'll have the same success as the last season, but I hope we'll at least have the same level of fun and friendship." Jordan spoke up, a role he'd grown more comfortable in over the last campaign and now heading into the new season; he'd thought of himself as the small 'l' leader of the team, as Batu was still fairly shy, but he never said anything like that out loud. Maybe it was more accurate to say he was the "senior" driver, a Baker Park racer in a Baker Park based team which carried a responsibility to represent everything honorably.

As the date grew closer for the load-out and flight to Liventia, the nervous tension became more palpable within the entire race operation team. It was much like the leadup to the team's debut in Alikki-Corra where the expectation was to not be embarrassed.

[Aboveland]

Iskajärviin Mekkusenter
Iskajärvi, Aboveland

The lights in the Iskajärviin Mekkusenter exhibition building dimmed; in front of a large projector screen, two lifeless, tarp-covered chassis rested on the stage before the auditorium full of motorsport press. In the darkness, a polo-clad Edvin and similarly-dressed Terho walked confidently towards the cars. It was finally time: the highly anticipated Colourworks livery reveal had finally come, the first new-look car for the Abovian outfit since WGPC17 — and for the team principal, it was a complete unknown. The livery design had been commissioned by Terho Talvela himself, with the complicity of returning lead Abovian designer Aada Høddmakker, and they had both been adamant to Edvin that the reveal should be as much a surprise to him as it would be for the media pundits. The prospect was enticing at first, though the principal's enthusiasm had quickly begun to wane as the days went by. "You're gonna LOVE it," promised Terho. "And the people are gonna love it too." After running both AGP005s in a pure-carbon fiber look in both pre-season tests, the anticipation for the team's livery had reached a fever pitch, and the last-minute decision to move the reveal from the team's new testing facility in Tropicoast to the Abovian city of Iskajärvi further added to the excitement of the show — if, perhaps, for the wrong reasons.

Before long, once the teams' directors, the lead designer, the race engineers, and both drivers were lined up, the floodlights above the stage flashed, and a brief light show ensued to give way to the start of the conference. As the colossal reveal music filled the room, and the murmurs of the crowd increased at the same pace, Edvin and Terho walked slowly towards the front of one of the chassis, while Aada and Ji So-Yeong's Vilitan race engineer Agreka Rimanti'i each grabbed a corner of the tarp covering the other chassis. The Abovians, both also crouched to grab the tarp, exchanged glances as the flashing lights paused and softly increased in brightness.

"You ready?" mouthed Terho under the oppressively harsh bass filling the auditorium. Edvin nodded once, then shook his head in a figure eight pattern. "Three, two —" Terho glanced behind him to check that the women at the other car had counted the same timing, and on — "three!" the tarps were lifted, all four of them throwing the silk behind their chassis' rear wings to uncover the Tropicorp-Colourworks WGPC20 livery. When he turned around, Edvin's eyes bulged, his eyebrows falling with desperation. Covertly, he turned away from the crowd to mouth words back at Terho. "What the fuck is this?"

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^{Æ-NOPEA NEWSREEL___________________________________________________________________________________________________________}
Tropicorp-Colourworks Reveals Striking Livery

Abovian-registered bi-national WGPC outfit Tropicorp-Colourworks Grand Prix revealed their strikingly colourful WGPC20 livery from the Iskajärviin Mekkusenter on the eve of the landmark season's first race, with world champion iBen Toralmintii and new signing Ji So-Yeong among those present at the event.The latest challenger in the team's history of winning machines, AGP005, aims to propel the outfit back to its winning ways atop the WGPC constructors' championship standings, aided by a brand-new 2.4 liter twin-turbo powerplant from Tropicorp Engineering, aerodynamic refinements, and an all-new active suspension system destined to maximizing the car's underbody downforce across varied circuit surfaces and conditions. "We've used our active aero controllers to implement active suspension components in the rear of the car," revealed team principal Edvin Pekkanen. "This lets us achieve better downforce from the floor than what the active fins offered, while also cutting back on drag." Though based on an aging chassis, Pekkanen is "confident" that the team's fifth WGPC challenger will be "fighting at the sharp end" of the grid.

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[Tumbra]

from the journal of sophie mccreary

it's five days to the first race in liventia. i would be lying if i said i wasn't nervous. scared, almost? the car's fast. almost too fast...i spent a while in turori trying to get it under control but it seemed to be much, much easier here. i think maybe the car just likes the track, or it's just easier to drive on. positions don't mean much, anyway; the field's so tightly-packed that it doesn't really matter.

things are different here. there's so many more people from every corner of the globe here. countries i've never heard of. to be honest, i'm pretty scared of finding out about more of them; there's this giant sky blue car that looks like it's from another planet...that's probably what i've been looking at the most. there's a car from a green-coloured team - cygnus, i think - that looks super cool, and i think a literal robot's piloting one of them. which sounds unfair, but they...didn't do too well at the tests, anyway. but then again, the whole field's separated by less than a second...

i've seen ted around. i miss him. he used to come round my karting races and give me advice. mom's sick often and dad's taking care of her, so his mom took care of me quite often. but i haven't seen him in years. he promised to bring me to a wgp2 race, but couldn't, because i had school. but i caught every race back then; i saw him win in stelburg, i saw him win in hapilopper...but then it all ended.

i dunno what happened. aunt mary refused to tell me, though i think i know. the seat i'm in right now was meant for him. he was meant to be driving the PRE-023; not some nineteen year-old with two seasons of experience in tumbran super formula. and honestly? i'm terrified. terrified of letting everyone down; terrified of letting uncle charlie down, terrified of letting sonia down, my mechanics, my engineers...even bryce, who's been nothing short of super nice to me since he joined us. i don't want to let him down.

i've heard that the team are planning to get a third driver in to test the car this season. honestly, i think it's to scare both of us. if we don't perform, we could easily be replaced at any moment. dario nulkeschlager (there are several scribbles here)...he's got tons more experience than me. if not ted, than he should be in my seat. i'm not ready, and i know it, but i don't want to let uncle charlie down. he's put so much faith in me...i wonder if he thinks i'm really better than ted.

i want to talk to ted again. i want to hug him, get him to tell me everything. we've known each other from when i started racing, and...he's basically my older brother. i saw him in the paddock today and he looks so much older, so much more experienced...i wonder what's gone on in his life. i just want to talk to him.

but i think uncle charlie'd be angry if i did.

TED (C:) > My Documents > Untitled.docx

I don't know why I'm doing this. I guess it's because Sophie always told me I should journal my thoughts, so I could leave them there and go faster on the racetrack. I think she was thirteen when she suggested it? It's stayed with me. Many little moments do.

Ah, I've only gone and spoiled what I'll be talking about. Yeah, it's Sophie. I always knew Dad was going to bring the team into the sport eventually, so that's not a surprise. What did surprise me was the fact that Sophie would be driving for them. Sophie. She started in Super Formula at the age of seventeen, when I first started WGP2. She has two seasons of full-sized racing under her belt. She is fast, good, and she might even be better than me one day, but she is not ready.

But I know why Dad's doing this. He wants to prove a point to me that I'm not special; I'm replaceable, I could easily be dropped at any moment for the next big thing. And honestly, if that's the point he wanted to impress on me, it...honestly isn't working. I know I'm replaceable, lmao. But using Sophie, who's basically my little sister? Horrible. I just- I just don't know why he's doing this, beyond trying to prove a point. Spite?

Would he really derail Sophie's career out of spite? Does she really mean that little to him?

Fuck me, I know he's not perfect, but this is too much.

I saw her in the paddock today. She looked so small and lost...she looked much more wiry than last time. She was never big, but she looks so much thinner than when I last spoke to her in person all that time ago. I almost wanted to talk to her, but...I don't know. I don't think Dad would be pleased that I talked to anyone from Pressley outside press conferences. We made eye contact briefly; you know that feeling you get when you see someone you know outside the context you know them in? when your heart leaps out of your chest? Yeah.

It sucks. I've basically been iced out of my own family, and I don't know what's going on at Kaylan, but the recent funding cuts I've heard about don't bode well for the future of this enterprise too. It'd be a shame. They're basically who I look to as a family now...and that could be taken away from me too. I...And as much as Ian's dad has all the money in the world, I don't think I'd be able to convince him to buy Kaylan outright. Hates internal combustion engines, apparently.

I hope Sophie's fine. I want to hug her, tell her everything that's happened, and tell her that everything will be okay. We've known each other for so long, now, when she was just a toothy nine year-old starting out in karts; and...she's basically my younger sister. I really wonder what happened to see her in the #42, and I just want to talk to her.

But I think Dad would be angry if I did.

[Delaclava]

Sandro Perez will not enter further discussion with Race Eelandii, and will not drive in AOGP.
Perez remains open to a Test Driver position with any team on the grid.

Why, precisely, was Kingston Walcott, the pretty boy, the Virgin Marius of Delaclav racing, calling Sandro Pérez, one of the fastest-rising sluts in Sonnel? How did Kingston even have Sandro's number?

Well, first, as Kingston was spinning out about life as an adult, interacting with other real adults, he was doom-scrolling on his social media—at first debating whether to post some canned message about how good he felt about that day's test, before getting distracted—a new headline blared on his screen: TWO AFFAIRS BECOME ONE: Actress, designer add boytoy racer to spice up their marriage!!!

Mildly intrigued, Kingston read on, and came to realize the "boytoy racer" was none other than Sandro Pérez. During his Prix del Á winning season, he carried out an affair with the A-list actress Celia Cross, but then made waves when he switched over from Celia to her "bisexual" fashion designer husband, Benji Parra. Now, as Sandro had alluded in a press conference recently, Benji and Celia were staying together, but were going to incorporate Sandro into the bedroom.

Instinctually, Kingston did not approve of any of this. Nor could he particularly respect Pérez and his undisciplined approach to racing. And yet somehow, Sandro was clearly cut out for the sport, evinced by his Prix del Á championship after a season off. Kingston would have quite liked to take him down the next season if they weren't both pursuing WGPC opportunities. And ever the womanizer and maneater that Sandro was, he might be the one to help Kingston better understand this other culture of racing.

Kingston certainly didn't feel close enough to his father to ask him these questions. And the way he felt about Ashley, there was something about it, he thought it would be inappropriate to ask him. And, as it happened, Perez's number was publicly available on his BingBong profile, soliciting naughty conversations with his fans.

Kingston took a deep breath and clicked on the number to dial.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he heard on the other end. "I've not made my mind up yet, you just called me!"

"Uh...what?" Kingston was confused. Had he reached the right person.

"Wait, what? Who is this?"

Kingston steeled himself. "This is Kingston Walcott."

He heard faint muttered. "You are Sandro Pérez, right? I'm sorry, it's just that your number is—"

"I know," Sandro snapped.

"I am—"

"Oh, I know who you are. What do you want?"

Kingston was already taken aback, but he nervously plunged forward. "I need help."

"You've gotta be kidding me, dude. They gave you the seat, didn't they? You figure out how to drive the car now."

"No...not that. I... I... It's just, not just the driving. The attention, the press. The girls."

"The girls." Sandro repeated, somewhat mockingly. "So, what? That's what you want?"

"Well, yeah."

"You get a WGPC seat, and I don't, and now you bother me and you want me to take time out of my life so I can teach you how to talk to girls."

"Um..."

"Listen, Kingsley. You're a big boy now. You're a fucking grown-up, aren't you. Figure it out yourself. And fuck off."

"No, but—" but Kingston heard the click. Frustrated, like a pissed-off teenager, Kingston threw the phone against the TV table, hearing the phone crack slightly.

***

First, Sandro was stunned, then, he started to cackle, even as it made his head hurt. He fumbled with his phone to call back his manager Marco.

"Have you come to your senses?"

"Marco, you won't believe this shit. Guess who just called me?"

"Who?"

"Kingston Walcott, man." Sandro burst into laughter again.

"What did he want?"

"To help him talk to girls. I don't know, man. It doesn't sound like he's cut out for that WGPC life."

"...what did you tell him?"

"What do you mean? Of course I told him to fuck off."

"...Sandro, you absolute witless prickhead."

"What?!"

"You are looking for a WGPC seat. Kingston is already having trouble being in a WGPC seat. Get the picture?"

Sandro thought for a second. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. You get in there, you find a way to force him out! Or, worst case, you chum up with the drivers and figure out who won't last. What, you're telling me Cocoabo #23 is cut out for this shit? Kowalski? The weird murder chick?"

"Man, I don't know..."

"Fine, you don't want to do that. But look, help the kid out for a bit. Maybe you make some friends, maybe even his rich daddy cuts you a favor. Go to Mertagne, help him for like a day, get some tail, and you can come right back if you want. There's nothing to lose, everything to gain. Alright?"

"Ok. I'll call him. I'll let you know how it goes."

Sandro hung up, shook his head—this really was a lot to expect of him this morning—and redialed the previous number that had called him.

Kingston saw the number on his cracked screen, mumbled "Oh no," and shakily answered. "Hello?"

"Yeah, it's Sandro. Look, I'm sorry for my attitude, perhaps I got overly frustrated with you. Anyway, sure. I don't know what I can actually do, but I will help you."

"Oh. Great!" Kingston was stunned. "Um...how? When?"

"Test 2 is in... Mertagne, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright. I'm gonna come too. We'll... I don't know, we''ll see what happens."

"Oh, thank you so much!"

"Hey, take it easy, man. I'll see you soon."

[Esmerel]

THE LAPIZ POINT POST
The biggest news in Esmerel and beyond, brought to you as it should be

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SPORTS:
WGPC UNDERWAY AT LAST, PLUS, “WE’LL MAKE IT STICK”, SAYS BOSS OF ESMERELIAN TEAM
________________________________________________________________________________________

This is a LPP original article, which may be rehosted on other sites.

To the delight of motor racing fans across the Verse, the World Grand Prix Championship has made its return after a year away to bring the twentieth running of the historic Championship. Twenty-eight drivers will compete at ten circuits over the next 11 weekends to see who is the best in the sport.

With the WGPO allowing a record-tying fourteen teams into the championship this year, five of the teams are newcomers to the top of the sport, and one of them might get local readers a bit more excited.

A team from Esmerel, managed by the engineering department of Cygnus University, has entered as “Cygnus Motorsport Team”, and is ready to contest the championship rounds. The return of team representation to Esmerel has excited many.

Of course, some have been optimistically cautious about the endeavor. With past opportunities such as Obey Sport and MTAC Motorsports being completely squandered by faulty leadership, expectations are high for Cygnus to deliver where its predecessors did not- at the very least, an honest effort, doing what they can to buck the trend.

Cygnus has signed deals with some prospective sponsors, among them the grocery chain Brynhildr, the state Tourism Department VisitEsmerel, and the reforestation company Nuflora. Other sponsorship deals from outside include the Esterlonian cybersecurity firm Atlas, the Yeezie (Saint Kanye) brand Axis Hyper Clean, and Tropicorp Racing Supply, who provide the team with engines and tires.

Cygnus recently shared information about themselves in a launch video online, detailing the specifics of the team. The car, chassis name C101, uses a 2.4 liter twin turbo V8 engine from Tropicorp, alongside Tropicorp’s Sifaka brand slick tires. Team boss Dr. William Emerson and lead designer Lianna Alphonse built the car from the ground up based on the rules and concepts of open-wheel racing, in an effort to create a simple yet competitive chassis at reduced cost to match the team’s limited budget.

The highlight of the car is a lightweight hybrid functionality in the front wheels. On braking, energy is retained and stored in a capacitor battery, which can be automatically deployed on acceleration or at the driver’s leisure. While the power boost lasts for only a few seconds, the lack of a full system saves on weight and size; it can also recharge to full in short time.

Tests have indicated that the car is capable of going from a standing start to 300 km/h in about eight seconds, using full capacitor boost. It also has a top speed of 360 km/h, with the aid of DRS on the rear wing. Fuel is provided by a carbon-neutral petroleum solution. Many have commented on liking the chassis design, as can be seen in the below image:

Possibly the most interesting, or confusing to some, aspect of the team are the drivers they have signed. One is Angela Stella, a Valentian astronaut with one year of midtable experience in WGP2. The other is Brendan Faloe, a recent Cygnus University graduate from Dr. Emerson’s own engineering class, who has no prior motorsports experience outside of designing a WGP3 chassis and simulator work.

Some of Esmerel’s other drivers, particularly those in the EGTC, have chastised Dr. Emerson for his choices of drivers, citing their own skill would give them an edge. Dr. Emerson has defended his choices in public, saying of Brendan and Angela, “We know our road to the top of the Championship is going to be long. We have every confidence that we will make it there in the end, and we are happy to have two drivers that we are confident will grow their skills in good time. As for the jeers, it’s on them; they should have signed up, or approached me or anyone else in the WGPO, if they wanted to race that badly.”

Before Cygnus’s departure to Eelandii the previous weekend for preseason testing, they had a brief shakedown at Esmerel’s own Forest Cross International Raceway. Cygnus stated the test went well and as expected, sharing some pictures of the test:

Captions, clockwise from top left: Brendan Faloe rockets down the pit straight. Brendan Faloe works his way into Turn 2, just out of the banked Welcome Mat. Brendan Faloe drives atop Jean’s Primer, entering the lengthy Blast Zone. Angela Stella comes through the fifth turn, Be Brave, about to brake for the Embankment Hairpin. Angela Stella rolls through the final corner, Turn 20 or The Adjustment, a rapid chicane; note the bright yellow number and trigram. Brendan Faloe rolls through Turn 7, just after the slowest corner on the circuit.

In all, Cygnus Motorsport Team looks to be an honest attempt at competing in the WGPC, and they know that success won’t come naturally, though they will be looking for it. The Lapiz Point Post, for one, is optimistic that they’ll find their footing sooner rather than later, and they’ll be heading to the Talbott Autodrome in Liventia this weekend for the first race, all with pride in their hearts.

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In related news, Esmerelian fans have been able to rejoice at the release of the WGPC20 schedule, which features the popular return of the Forest Cross International Raceway back to the Grand Prix schedule for the first time in five years.

The WGPC Nuflora Esmerelian Grand Prix 2023 will feature as the final event of the 10-race calendar on 30 July, leaving race fans to enjoy both the Grand Prix itself and the possible conclusion to a thrilling championship battle. FCIR’s track promoters have taken to the news very well, saying “We’ve been fighting to bring the Grand Prix back for a while, especially after the reconfigurations, and we’re more than happy to have not just any date, but the final date. It’s a serious honor.”

The previous Esmerelian Grand Prix was held in 2018, during the 16th running of the Championship. Home hero Jean-Mercer Daly stormed to victory in a complete Grand Slam, while the rest of the race was fairly uneventful- not to mention dangerous, with World Champion Terho Talvela crashing hard at the Double Shift chicane and bringing out the red flag. The track promoters, especially Ewan Martan, the head of the reconfiguration, are confident that the new layout will provide excellent racing with little room for error, even if there may be fewer on-track overtakes than the WGPC average.

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And now, just before the first Free Practice session of the championship begins, we’d like to do the first of what we’ll call our “Pre-Weekend Rundowns”. We’ll tap into a few names and stories you should be paying attention to, starting with the Drivers’ Championship:

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
After 0 of 10 Rounds

POSITION	DRIVER (NAT)	CONSTRUCTOR	POINTS
01	iBen Toralmintii (TUR)	Tropicorp	0
02	Ji So-Yeong (CMT)	Tropicorp	0
03	Rudy Edwards (HAP)	Preston	0
04	William Archer (AFT)	Preston	0
05	Sara Luna (DCS)	Viska	0
06	Aaron Deering (UAD)	Viska	0
07	Lane Carter (TJU)	VTGP-Tropicorp	0
08	Cocoabo #23 (TRP)	VTGP-Tropicorp	0
09	Laura Haukanna (AUR)	Pryfors Bilar-Sidus	0
10	Sam Blaatschapen (DCS)	Pryfors Bilar-Sidus	0

Tables are truncated to the top 10. Find the full official standings at this link.

There’s… not much to talk about here, and the table might seem redundant. Everyone’s still at the start, after all. But who’s the most likely to get things going from this early stage? We have a few ideas.

iBen Toralmintii starts the season determined to end it a 2-time World Champion. Based on last season, Preston’s William Archer and Portland-Carvenlo’s Dom Falepeau are tipped to be his main rivals, but leading teammates Rudy Edwards and the new Ji So-Yeong might also be competitors, and with the WGPC being so unpredictable by nature, we could see some other real surprises yet.

Within the field, a large number of rookies have been signed for the Championship- Ji So-Yeong, Sam Blaatschapen, Darian Vilau, Sophie McCreary, Bryce Yannec, Aaron Deering, Brendan Faloe, Angela Stella, Skiia Vialiv, Adonis Fitzpatrick, Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir, Kingston Walcott, and Batu Tüvshinbayar- just under half the field- are all starting their WGPC careers here in Liventia. The new kids on the block will be keen to impress both experienced drivers and WGPC fans the Verse over, with some of them having waited for this opportunity for a while. Take note- you wouldn’t want to miss one of them having a breakout year.

Well, that covers the Drivers. Let’s take a quick look at the Constructors next:

CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
After 0 of 10 rounds

POSITION	CONSTRUCTOR (NAT)	POINTS
01	Tropicorp (ABL)	0
02	Preston (HAP)	0
03	Viska (AUR)	0
04	VTGP-Tropicorp (V&T)	0
05	Pryfors Bilar-Sidus (DCS)	0
06	Eminent-Sidus (ETH)	0
07	Portland-Carvenlo (LEN)	0
08	Kaylan (TGN)	0
09	Nexus-Paragon Warp (NIM)	0
10	Orange Cow-Tropicorp (CBP)	0

Tables are truncated to the top 10. Find the full official standings at this link.

Tropicorp are looking forward to another year at the top of the WGPC. Team boss Edvin Pekkanen has World Champion iBen Toralmintii and Ji So-Yeong at the wheel of the all-new AGP005. Preston are likely to be Tropicorp’s main rivals, with their team boss Marty Lewis already stating in public that their new car, the PGP-03, “will contend for race victories and the World Grand Prix Championship”; anything else effectively being unacceptable.

Down the field and potentially waiting in the wings are teams such as Viska and Pryfors Bilar; after strong success in their opening seasons, both are looking to see if they can take it a step higher. And with the Championship being so hotly contested, it’s entirely possible they could.

Two teams we’ll be watching closely this year are Eminent and Nexus; over the last few years both have shown signs of struggling. Eminent was granted a slightly late entry into the championship, after one wing of the team, from Lisander outfit Bitten Heroes, was effectively shut down over the break, and we’ll see if they can maintain their form. Nexus in particular has gone from a championship-winning team to slipping further and further down the order every season. With World Champion Ryker Lane and young prodigy Janne Laukkanen behind the wheel of the revolutionary UHSGV5, we’ll be waiting to see if a bit of extra time can save the team from their death spiral.

Elsewhere, five new teams- Orange Cow, UrGa, Pressley, Cygnus, and Sivaleinen- are all looking forward to their first ever start in the WGPC. All five teams feature pairs of fresh rookies, though some do have more experience with junior formulae than others. Regardless, it should be exciting to watch the new teams fight for their places in the pecking order; perhaps one or more might break out from the very start.

We’ve covered the Drivers, and we’ve covered the Constructors. Now, let’s take one more quick look at the first circuit of this season’s Championship:

The image presented is a recreation of the official WGPC image. It was created for the purposes of this article and does not mean to disparage the original creator in any way.

Located just near the city of Talbott in the Folenisa Desert, the Talbott Autodrome combines a mixture of long, high speed straights and slow, technical turns. Over the long break between championships, the track has seen some small reconfigurations, changing the direction of some turns and removing a chicane. Even with these changes, however, Talbott is the oldest track still in use by the WGPC, and the drivers and teams are ready to experience its record-setting tenth event.

Portland-Carvenlo Racing, the home team, are the favorites to win the race, having won it 4 of the 9 times it has been so far run, and their current driver R.L. Cruisin is the only driver to win the Grand Prix more than once. Cruisin, continuing to extend his race start record, shows no signs yet of slowing down, and will be difficult to beat if the weekend follows the usual pattern. Of course, being the WGPC, anything can happen, and it usually does.

Future Pre-Weekend Rundowns should be more developed as we continue through the season, learning more about the pecking order and about how the teams are trying to adapt to it.

All that we can say with certainty at the moment? It’s going to be one heck of a season.

[Lisander]

<< Previously | Next >>

VII. ΛIR, the complete edition



Isn't life a performance, if we look at it?
Guilherme Rocher to ΛIR

Lisanderians, perhaps because they live in a monarchy, like to give "titles" to themselves and others. Whether they are commercial, like those shops that call themselves like "King of Tyres", or even nicknames and epithets. Anders Michaelichen, the goalkeeper of the national football team, was for a while called "Captain Rebel" due to a raid with a former coach. Darius Castellammare from time to time is still called "Iceman".

Among many epithets received, our interviewee of the month, Anneliese Devereux has a rather embarrassing one: "Leoa de Treino" (literally "Practice Lioness", a roughly equivalent to "Friday Driver"). In her WGPC career, there are many best times in practice sessions, but no pole positions and no wins. She has not tasted the champagne of victory for two years. The last time was in her "redshirt" season in WGP2 at the Baker Park round. Since then she has been mostly in the middle of the pack, excelling only in practice on Friday. "Prone to discouragement" or just "dealing with an unpredictable car?"

AIR visited Anneliese, not on a Friday, but on the Tuesday before the first race of the season in Liventia, for some questions. However, due to sponsorship factors, the company that looks after her career requested that no photos be taken of Anneliese in clothes other than the ones she would appear in for the interview. "Our agreement provides for as much of the sponsors' display as possible, so we will have to refuse the photographs." It's a shame for our readers, but they won't be able to see Anneliese in dresses or other garments other than the team's Polo Shirt this time around. Our Fashion Editor, Lara Cartier, lamented deeply in the newsroom: "Why, God? Look at this place. This wonderful house, this high-class aura.... She would look perfect in a Martina Navarro midi navy tailleur!". We feel your pain, Lara. But business is business.

Despite not wearing photoshoot clothing, Anneliese was still extremely gentle in the interview, which was held in a small, well-decorated, ultra-modern mid-century house in the Soria Port neighbourhood where Anneliese was living during the preseason. The large glass windows covered with curtains let you see the garden and even a lot of the movement of the street and a bit of the sea in the background. The place is lofty, the neighbourhood is chic and the architecture is worthy of having its own article in AIR. The atmosphere created in the place was so elegant that our team wondered if this was really real or just a play.

ΛIR: Thanks for welcoming us to your house, Anneliese. It's all so beautiful, it has a different aura, seems like we're in a novel or something.
"I thank you for coming. So... no, this isn't exactly my house. In the offseason, when not travelling from GP to GP, I live in an apartment in Kasandora. But for the preseason, to be closer to the action, I managed to find this house in Soria. I'm close to the airport, the sea is fifteen minutes by walking, the neighbourhood is upscale, which helps with security... It's a very nice place to reside. Well, if there is something of mine here it is the clothes in the upstairs wardrobe and the Camden Ira parked down there, a gift from Kimi Nasunen for my season as a driver for TAS-Alliance."


ΛIR: Sorry, I noticed you use reside instead of live. So I must believe you'll leave this place soon?
"Well, soon I'll be back on the tracks, so living in hotels, sleeping in the plane, napping in vans or in the paddock. I'd love to live in a house like this, but not for the time being. It has some lovely amenities, plenty of wine in the cellar, the bathtub is state of the art, and the bedroom is so comfortable. It's quite luxurious, maybe when I'm at a more winning moment in my career, I could live, not reside, in a place like this. While I can't, I go on with life as the saying goes: "Fake it until you make it".

In the face of that answer, my "middle-class journalist" side let slip the question that was on my mind.

ΛIR:So, are you faking it now? I mean, like, acting? Living in an upscale house, with all of these luxury amenities. All of this is like a performance to you?
I'm not sure about how I should answer this, in fact. But I just accepted this as a moment in my life. A moment with a date to end, that is to say, in 48 hours, when I return to the action in Liventia. It has a few things that are a little different about this short-term housing. I don't have a lot of things in my wardrobe upstairs. If you were a female reporter, I think I could come up and show you around more comfortably.

I could swear she looked at Mae, our intern, for a moment before turning her attention to the interview once again.

So... living here, for me, is just a moment, like, I'll get my stuff and return the keys in two days. But until then, whether it's welcoming you or simply having a glass of wine while enjoying the pool with my favourite music, I can make the most of what this "moment" offers me. Acting like a socialite, even if I'm not one, is still fun. Isn't life a performance, if we look at it? I once spent an entire interview talking like Alicia Littledoer, the cockney flower girl from that musical. Maybe we can say that this is her final form? I'm a good girl I am! she said, letting a laughter escape.

After that somewhat philosophical moment, we turn our attention to the WGPC season.

ΛIR:With the departure of Bitten Heroes, you are now Lisander's only representative in the category. Do you feel more pressure?
I'm not the only one, my whole team is from Lisander. Carolina Lasseps is the engineer, my car's team of mechanics are all from here. The support staff, both mine and the team, is Lisanderian. I might be Lisander's only person out there on the track, driving, all right. But there are many people behind me. Not having a team is temporary. There are many interests at stake, many people working behind the scenes. For example, my teammate, Adriana Ela Kowalski Lillian. Adriana, if you read this, know that you are a beauty! Let's kick some asses this season!

She stopped the interview for a moment and looking at the camera recording everything, sent a message to her teammate, complete with waving to the lens. While we were editing the content, we thought about cutting it, but out of respect for her, we decided to keep that part, since she was talking to her friend.

As I was saying... It came out that Valentine Z had a candidate team to join the WGPC. But like I said. It's a complex thing. Even though I have a seat on the board, having been raised to a prominent position, a position that I only have for the moment, I still cannot speak for Motorsport Lisander. Even if I could speak on its behalf, I couldn't simply snap my fingers and say, "I want the team now." This has to go through a lot of people, it needs funding, an adequate structure and crew, and people to drive and manage technical, sporting and corporate affairs. I know that there are people preparing to push this for the next WGP2, to put more Lisanderians on the grid. But it's not just wanting. And that's why I don't feel under pressure. Because there are a lot of people generating buzz, a lot of people are involved in this, now and in the near future.

ΛIR:And your preseason? What did you get out of it? Of the four test days, you were in top positions on two of them. Do you think this is a good sign?
Most certainly not... People nicknamed me "Practice Lioness". Being alone on the track, without worrying about overtaking, pace, tires, or all that, is very easy. I'm fast, and I know how to get the best out of the car, that's what I've learned over all these years. In the ideal scenario, where I don't have to worry about people chasing me, with endless gas and tires that don't wear out, I win every race. But it's not like that, it never was and it never will be. Be sure, Liventian Grand Prix is going to be a bang. Everyone is missing the WGPC. Everyone will want to do their best. If you look at the results, the cars are all in the same hundredth of a second, practically. We will only know when the red lights go out. Will take some of the season for us to know who will come in better or worse, for the title, for podiums or for points.

ΛIR:What is your goal for the season? Championship, podiums or points?
At the beginning of the season, the championship is always a dream. But being realistic, I think the ideal would be to score points in every race. Finishing the season in the elite eight would be a huge step forward for me. I feel that I'm having the time of my life. Enjoy all of these opportunities, the "socialite life", the travel, the cars, the adrenaline. All of that is so unique, so special... I feel great to be here.

ΛIR:One last question, on behalf of our poor Fashion Editor, Lara Cartier, who would have loved to have dressed this socialite Anneliese in designer clothes for the interview and photoshoot: Would you return to AIR, to do that photo shoot, sometime in the future?
Yes, it would have been great, I would have felt like the real Beatriz Laurent, even if I am more Brianna. (Brianna Mathis and Beatriz Laurent are twin sisters, two characters that are co-protagonists of a famous novel in the country, called A Outra, "The Other One") Well... At the moment I need to give visibility to my sponsors, so I really can't. But I loved the interview with Arturia Nero. I actually love how beautiful Arturia is, she looked so cute in that Gothic dress. But mark my words: If I win a race this season, you can call me and cover me for this photoshoot. Hopefully, they don't rent this house to someone else. I feel that if I win a race this season, I will be totally feeling myself.

---

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Race 1—Liventia

Shelly Brandywine was a bit surprised, and also not really surprised at, when Batu asked if she would be his media handler for the upcoming season.
As Sammi Carter's sidekick during the AOGP series, she knew that the drivers—Batu, Carter, Nick Unger and Jordan Crowe—had forged a close bond over the course of the season; Nick and JC went back further, as both had been the initial test drivers for Orange Cow before the first season, while Sammi and Batu were the 'outsiders', and were closer to one another in age—she was about 14 months older—so Shelly had learned a lot about TJUN-ian, plus she admired his work ethic and humility.

Shelly could be said to be working at a job beneath her qualifications, but no one would say that to her face; she had grown up in Belle Haven's far west side where the demographics among families ranged from comfortable blue-collar middle class to upwardly mobile white-collar middle class. [a lengthy dissertation about the Classified Labor & Wage Scale where the distinctions could be made is a topic better suited elsewhere]

She had grown up as a racing fan thanks to her dad Gary, with the Brandywine clan—mom Angie, older brother Neil, younger sister Julie and youngest brother Rob—traveling to weekend race meetings across the Commonwealth to watch Formula BP, touring cars, sprint cars, midgets, and even dirt track late model events.

She'd been recommended to the city's Math, Science and Technology High School West aka West Tech because of her potential and graduated 11th out of 593 in her class, then accepting a preferred admission (think scholarship grant) at the University of Endborough; she became interested in media communications and graduated with a double major in Applied Sciences and Communications.

The chance to get in on the ground floor of the Orange Cow team motivated her to aggressively pursue any role within the organization; Director of Media & PR Rebecca Paulson eventually offered Brandywine a part-time job writing daily generic press releases as well as working in the merchandising tent at race weekends.

After the Drummond Vale round of the WGP2 season 4 Grand Prix of Baker Park, Shelly was brought on as a full time employee and worked anywhere she was asked; when the season concluded she was given a formal interview by Paulson, Commercial Director Jill Franklin and Deputy Team Principal Vic Marzetti, at the conclusion of which she was informed that she would be offered a two-year contract within three months time when the planning for the next season got underway, the position to be determined.

She was naturally enthusiastic, optimistic, knew the sport and most importantly was what is often called in Baker Park a “subtle assassin”, “fatal wordsmith”, and especially in reference to a female “a lady of distinction”. She could insult anyone with a quip or a short reply, knew how to shut down a line of questioning cold, and had a sense of humor along with a quick wit that disarmed journalists.

Batu had spent enough time with Sammi to get a good impression of Shelly, and really didn't need much thought about his choice; Robin Markham, who was Nick's media handler, was also someone he was familiar with, liked a lot on a personal level and obviously met Hella's standard or else she wouldn't have suggested her, right?

There was a small pep rally feel when the transporters, motorhomes and merchandise trucks pulled away from the OCR Center on their way to Osheana International Field ahead of the flight to Liventia; the non race-team employees, team members next of kin, and a lucky group from among the first members of the Official Scuderia Orange Cow Supporters Club made up the send-off crowd. The Supporters Club guests were given a brief tour of the facility, plenty of exclusive team swag and a chance to sign two pieces of body work (one for each car) that would be used in the race that had been signed by the entire OCR work force.
______________________________________________________________________________
Steph Crowe had gone through some therapy to overcome her fear of flying where she learned a few coping skills to employ; their honeymoon trip had built up her confidence in those routines and the flyaways to Turori and Mertagne had also gone smoothly.
When the plane carrying the team personnel and the equipment had leveled off and the seatbelt sign had been turned off, she leaned over the back of the seat in front of her.

"Batu, come back and sit with us for a bit."
The drivers were each allotted their own three seat row, and at Jordan's insistence Batu had been given the first row while he and Steph sat behind.
Once he was settled in between the couple, Steph began.

"I hope you know we are your friends and we are always here for you. You and Jordan are going to be in the same situations throughout the season, and we will get through them together. It will be awkward for a bit, with me being here. I know the two of you leaned on one another last season but I'm not going to be a wedge in between your partnership, your friendship. If you need to hear a different voice other than Hella, him (she pointed at Jordan), Vaughn, Shelly, whoever--you can talk to me. I will be as supportive of you as everyone on the team is because you are a good person and you have been supportive of Jordan in equal measure. We're gonna turn you into a proper Parker this season!" She gave a mischievous smile and JC laughed.
"I'm at her mercy Batu, she's gotten this into her head since right after the wedding!"
______________________________________________________________________________________
Where there'd been a lot of nervous tension in Haskins before they'd packed up, on arrival at the Talbott Autodrome everyone were in high spirits as the garage was set up, the equipment unpacked and the rhythm of a race weekend got underway.

[Togonistan]

Gernarche Circuit
WGPC 2nd pre-season test

''Okay Darian, that's the end of the session. End of the session, return to the pits,'' a voice speaking with a smooth Kassegrochian accent told Darian as the latter had just finished driving yet another lap a few moments prior. Finally, Darian thought as he slowed the T190 down to cruise speed and rubbed his aching neck. What did he think of his new car now that he had been driving it for some time? Pretty cool. The T190 was surely a fast machine, seemed to pick up it's pace quicker than the old T180 which Darian had the luck to drive numerous times last season and it clearly wasn't even comparable to the sh*tbucket called KD-1 which had been his main ride that he drove in WGP2. However... the vibrations on long straights. Man, had he been put into this car with no prior experience with no prior WGPC experience like a number of his fellow rookies on the grid, Darian surely would've puked into his helmet. Every time he floored it, it was a matter of milliseconds before his view became blurry and Darian ended up looking like a bobblehead driving a WGPC car.

With these thoughts in his mind, Darian pulled into the pits and as soon as he managed to get out of his car, he walked over to his race engineer Vladimir and told him about his dissatisfaction: ''Look, we need to do something about these vibrations. I feel like I'm on a funfair ride on these straights.'' Vladimir, running fingers through his long hair that would've made any metal guitarist envy him, nod a few times. ''You know that the team is doing their best to give you the best car we can. Of course our engineers will look into all the issues and try to smooth out the rough edges.'' Rough edges? Was that what they called it? Darian squinted and crossed his arms: ''That's not really a rough edge, it's more like a f*cking nightmare. You guys can't expect me to overtake someone on the straights when all I can see is blurry blobs.'' Letting out a soft sigh, Vladimir opened his mouth again to repeat his earlier thought: ''Of course Darian, we will do what we can to mend the issues with vibration.''

While not thoroughly satisfied with the standard we do what we can type of answer, Darian decided to leave it at that for now. Having changed a few more words with Vladimir, he went on to take a walk around the paddock. So, there he was. WGPC, the absolute pinnacle of motorsport. No longer was he a mere reserve driver but a fully righteous full time racer. That was the dream he had been fighting for all these years. Growing up in Hwoarang surely gave him some sort of an edge, but to say it had been easy would be a massive lie. Just like most youngsters, Darian had started his career in karting, entering his first races when he was six years old. Back then, it had been nothing but competing in some amateur series and driving a rental kart because, unlike some, Darian did not have the privilege of having a wealthy family nor did he know anyone really in the racing scene just yet. Sure, it wasn't like they were counting breadcrumbs every day and the apartment Darian lived in with his parents and sister was definitely worthy of being called at least middle class, but his family was not keen on the idea of putting big sums of money into Darian's hobby and buying him his own kart. Therefore, he had to make do with what he had, spending his early years driving rentals and competing where ever it was possible and affordable enough.

Things however started changing over the years, as Darian climbed up the karting ladder and at the age of 11, started competing in the 115cc engine category for the first time. All this was made possible due to Darian's fellow driver Miles Tulau, whom he had befriended on a karting track. Miles's dad was a relatively successful businessman, investing into his son's career and after Miles had put in a good word for him, also agreed to help Darian out with training and equipment, despite Darian's own father not being too happy about the idea and thinking Darian should focus on his school studies rather than spending time messing around on the karting track. However, Darian had started dreaming about becoming a professional driver at this point and soon enough proved he certainly has the talent needed for it. His first full season in the new category saw Darian finish 5th in the championship, two places ahead of Miles. With the training he started receiving, Darian kept on improving his speed and racecraft, allowing him to sweep the tables next season and bring himself his first title.

Perhaps he was just in the right place at the right time, as that title win had grasped the attention of Niko Ausage, head of Kaylan's driver development program who gave him a call one Sunday afternoon and extended an offer to Darian to join their program. From there on, things really took off. Perhaps it had also shaken some sense into the heads of his family, who from there on started showing more support to Darian in his racing endeavours. Darian went on to compete in the domestic top tier 125cc category in karting, spending the following years fighting for titles while proudly wearing the green and orange Kaylan colours and developing sort of a rivalry with his fellow Kaylan junior Isaia Fanene. While having a hard time to match the pace of at the time more experienced Fanene, Darian was certainly making a name for himself around the local motor racing circles.

Once Kaylan announced their participation in WGP2 and Fanene went on to become their driver in the series, Darian really started to see a chance of making it into the big game. With Fanene out of the picture, he went on to win the Ariki Karting Challenge, the top tier karting series in Togonistan, before heading on to jump into the big machines by driving for Kaylan Junior Team in the newly formed WGP3 ENZ Championship. He went on to acquire three race wins over the season and finish on the podium in six out of the seven races that season, securing him the title with 18 points ahead of his closest rival Sasha Thornsk.

When the news of Fanene leaving Kaylan reached Darian, he felt positive about a chance of making it to the WGP2 next season. In a way, he did... as a test and reserve driver for the team, while Pressley and Melani went on to occupy the race seats. Clearly it wasn't what Darian had been hoping for, but it did give him a chance to work with WGP2 machinery and have first hand experience in the team getting their constructors title. Patiently, he kept on waiting for his chance in the main team, while going on to compete in WGP2 for the next season, driving for the Kaylan-branded Domerton team. While the Domerton name was prominent amongst Togonistani domestic motorsports scene, in a world scale competition such as WGP2, the team was clearly lacking experience and it showed. Despite that, Darian was determined to do whatever he can to prove his worth and that he did, finishing the season in 2nd place after putting on a brilliant drive in the final round. If that wouldn't be enough for Kaylan to look at him to occupy that WGPC seat, he did not know what else would.

Well, the chance he had been hoping for was now here. With Anola Melani out of the picture, Darian was here to jump into the seat and show everyone what he can do. So far, things had felt pretty positive. Pre-season tests showed that the T190 can be driven, and driven well. It looked competitive, although it could be even better. Darian was ready to do whatever it takes for the team to give him the car he can fight for points in. While his attitude might be a bit too straightforward for some, he didn't care about it too much. He cared about the team treating him fairly and giving him a fair ride. And if the car feels like a hunk of crap on the straights, they better do something about it.

[Hapilopper]

TECHNICAL BULLETIN
From: Shawn Hammer, Director, Preston Performance Products
To: Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing, Sivaleinen LCR, Urotovsky-Gatutin
Re: Updates to Skychief V6 engine
We would like to make it known to your attention that we have made some updates to the Skychief V6 engine in time for the season-opening race in Liventia. These updates primarily are in the plenum chamber of the engine as well as the intake manifold. During dyno tests on the engine, we felt that there were some slight issues with both parts, both in terms of power and reliability, that we felt we could resolve with some minor changes.

You will receive these new parts for the first race in Liventia. We feel that the new parts will be worth an extra 35 horsepower in total, and should ease any concerns you may have had with the reliability of your engines. After performing tests on the engine, we felt that these two parts would have been the most likely culprits for any engine failure that may have happened with the Skychief V6.

We wish you all the best of luck as we embark on this World Grand Prix Championship season together. Should you have any questions or any concerns, please feel free to contact me. And if you have any issues with individual parts on the engine, please feel free to contact us. We win and we lose together.

-Shawn Hammer
Director, Preston Performance Products
Phone: (935) 2025-3078-0596
Email: shammer@preston.co.hp

--
Andrew’s Pub, Hapilopper City
The night before leaving for Liventia
There was a certain sense of excitement, and a certain sense of apprehension going through Rudy Edwards’ mind as he bellied up to the bar at Andrew’s, the night before leaving for Liventia for the start of the World Grand Prix Championship season. He was at Andrew’s, the popular haunt for the auto racing community in the Hapilopper City area, a place where you could have a cold one with a racing driver or two.

And it was here that Rudy was sitting at the bar, quietly spending some time to himself as he got ready for the start of the season. He knew that the upcoming season was going to be difficult. No matter how Preston had tried to spin it, the fact was there was so many drivers and so many teams that had a shot at winning races, and that he and William Archer were going to have a difficult time contending every week. It wasn’t because Preston hadn’t done their homework – far from it, and it wasn’t because Preston hadn’t produced a good car or a good engine – far from it. It was because everyone else had, so it seemed.

Michael Petree, Rudy’s race-day strategist, the guy that Rudy heard from most on the radio, walked in and spotted his driver quietly having a beer for himself. He went over, sat next to his driver and ordered himself a beer for himself.

“You good, Edwards?” Michael asked.

“Kind of, sort of,” Rudy said. “I mean, we’ve got a hard slog ahead, and god knows how many guys we’re going to be contending with. You saw how we did in testing. You saw how tough everyone else was.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Michael replied.

“Why not?” Rudy asked. “I mean, we were really low in the time sheets, and you’re telling me not to worry about it? You’re telling me to be OK with being, what, 15th? 25th in the times? I’m not going to be OK with that, Petree!”

“OK, first of all, calm down,” Michael responded. “There’s a bunch of guys doing a bunch of different programs during those test sessions. Some guys were probably trying to outfox us by running qualifying banzai laps. We were doing race trim setups. Of course we’re going to be slower than those guys. But those guys are going to be exposed once it all comes down to it. I just need you to have a little faith in us. The guys have worked their asses off trying to get that car ready, and I think we’re going to be just fine.”

“I sure hope so,” Rudy said.

“You hope so?” Michael said. “Listen to me, Rudy! This team has worked for god knows how much trying to get this car ready, trying to get us ready. So we weren’t on top of the time sheets. Big deal! What matters is what we do when we get to Liventia. Did you get comfortable with the car?”

“Yes.”

“Did you feel like you could run well with the car?”

“Yes.”

“Did anything go badly wrong with the car?”

“No.”

“So there you go,” Michael responded. “I think, once we get to Liventia, you’re going to be just fine. Archer’s going to be just fine. There’s a lot of guys out there that are going to be exposed for what they really are once things start to count and you can’t just run balls-out laps all the time. We weren’t that far off the leader’s pace during those test sessions, anyway. So we’re going to be just fine.”

[Tropicorp]

Vialiv trails Fitzpatrick in second Pre-Season Test

Gernarche Circuit, Mertagne :: For one the airplanes weren't the only thing flying around the Gernarche Circuit, the Mertagnian track with an airfield in the middle of it, but it was time for the World Grand Prix Championship teams to get in their final official testing session before the start of the 20th season of competition. It would be the first time that all 26 cars who will take the grid in Liventia would be on track together and there would be two separate sessions for teams to assess their vehicles for the final time in trim. As with the first session, the cars were up against their technical limits and most drivers were set by indistinguishable amounts of speed on their fastest laps. However, despite most drivers having about the same speed on their fast laps, the real differences would come about in race setting - particularly as some of the more experienced drivers could repeat their fast laps in succession without mistakes. Atop the leader board for the first session would be none other than reigning World Grand Prix champion iBen Toralmintii. With a newly re-colored Livery that couldn't be missed from anywhere on the circuit, Toralmintii and the Colourworks team signalled their intent to be the team to be once more by topping the morning time charts. Of course, with Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir just 0.003 seconds behind Toralmintii's fast time, the reality was the lap times from the session could mean anything - or nothing at all.

After running well in the first test at the Eelandii Grand Prix Course, Tropicorp's newest World Grand Prix driver Skiia Vialiv was once again putting in solid lap times, 11th on the morning chart but just 0.031 seconds behind Toralmintii. In the afternoon, Vialiv would drop down to 15th on the chart with a lap about 0.030 seconds slower. Notably, however, Vialiv's times were slower in both session than her new UrGa Motorsports teammate, Adonis Fitzpatrick. The Fleftic driver had driven for UrGa Motorsports last season in the second tier World Grand Prix 2 circuit so it was no surprise when the team announced that he would be Vialiv's teammate for World Grand Prix Championship Season 20. Skiia and Donny would be two of nine drivers in total making the jump from World Grand Prix 2 while UrGa Motorsports itself would be one of two teams that would make the jump along with WGP2 Constructors Champion Scuderia Orange Cow. Orange Cow would also be one of just three teams who did not change their driver lineup from last season, retaining both Jordan Crowe and Batu Tüvshinbayar from their World Grand Prix 2 Championship campaign. The other two teams with both of their race day drivers returning for WGPC Season 20 are Preston Autos Grand Prix with the hottest driver on the circuit at the end of WGPC 19, William Archer, and Eminent GP with both Adriana Kowalski Ela Lillian and Anneliese Devereux returning for a second consecutive season.

Among the changes on the grid would be a new home for Fast Cocoabo. When the Fireline Motorsports team powered by Tropicorp was merged with the Bitten Heroes team prior to WGPC Season 19 it left Cocoabo #23 without a ride and ultimately the Cocoabo would wait until Week 2 of the season to secure a seat for the WGPC Motorworks team. As the top performing Motorworks driver, Fast Cocoabo out-paced teammates including Race Eelandii VTGP test driver Daryl Mizushima who was also driving for the Motorworks team. Perhaps that direct comparison was influential in Race Eelandii naming the Cocoabo as their new second seat driver over Mizushima and other challengers when Gregori Krupin decided not to return to the seat. While everyone else was doing hard line qualifying runs at a ten second deficit to the track record in the morning session, Race Eelandii VTGP was doing something entirely different with both Cocoabo #23 and Lane Carter comfortably half a second behind the pace of the field for their fastest lap around the Gernache Circuit. That would all change in the afternoon however as Cocoabo #23 got right into the thick of things and would find themselves sandwiched on the scoresheet between defending series Champion iBen Toralmintii, and the winner of the last two Grands Prix, William Archer. The speed 'Fast Cocoabo' showed in the second session will certainly be a comfort to Race Eelandii VTGP going into the opening round of competition in Liventia, particularly as teammate Lane Carter wasn't fast in either session. Of course, once the teams arrive in Liventia, the testing results will just be a figment of the past and the only thing that will matter is what happens on race day.

SKIIA VIALIV ✓

@Skiia

Was great to have the whole team out there with us at the Gernache Circuit. For us it was more about getting used to the race day rhythm, practicing the interactions between the two teams and how we will be communicating changes over radio and between sessions. Got to run a few laps in tow with @donnyfitz74 just so we can get comfortable with each others style out on the track - we certainly don't want to be taking each other out if we are running close. So excited for my first Grand Prix start! #WGPC20

[Auruna]

Karalinne, Auruna
Before Pre-Season Test 2

Among the sounds of a modern city, the screams of a high-revving motorcycle engine pierces through the city's ambience. Running through the streets is a black and orange Livanen L770R Kiuru sportbike (IRL equivalent: Yamaha YZF-R6) being ridden by Laura Haukanna during her brief time at home before the second pre-season test. Whenever she has nothing to do at home, she can always be seen riding her motorcycle around Karalinne aimlessly, something that she always liked to do in her spare time. It was oddly soothing to her as it helped deal with the stresses of being a WGPC driver.

After a quick break at a cafe, she was then on her way to the Karalinne Train Station as for some reason, she was told that a visitor was arriving. Who could that be? She thought as she rides her motorcycle, not expecting anyone but is willing to have a look.

A few minutes later, Laura arrives at the station and parks at the front. As she stands stationary, she looks around to look for a familiar face. Unsuccessful, she takes off her helmet to get a clearer view of her surroundings. Still no one. She decides to wait for a bit, checking the entrance every once in a while to see who her visitor is.

After minutes of waiting, she would find out as she hears a familiar voice calling for her. "Lauraaa!" And as she turns to look, it finally registered who her visitor was and it was none other than Haru Jukkenna.

Haru runs towards Laura when she gestured him to come closer, panting after he got close. "Did I make you wait?"

"A bit, yeah." Laura said, teasing Haru.

"A-ah... r-right.. then..."

"Heh, so... why didn't you tell me you were visiting?"

"Uh, I only told Juno as I plan on surprising you."

"Ah, so that's what it is."

"Yeah, I kinda failed on that part."

"It doesn't matter anymore but why today?"

"Apparently, today is my last day before going back to testing with KZV for the next E-Series."

"What about WGP2?"

"No new as of yet. Although I have a feeling that something interesting will happen."

"Huh..."

"What about you? How's WGPC?"

"Going well, that's all I have to say."

"I've heard about your new teammate. Getting along well?"

"Sam? Ehh... we're kinda busy with our own separate things for now. I'm sure things would get competitive when we get to the first race."

"Alright."

"Now... I know you want to take a look around Karalinne so do you have your helmet?"

"Yeah, as Juno told me."

"Great, now hop on."

"Can I even sit anywhere here?"

"Yeah, that small seat at the back."

"A-alright."

After putting on his helmet, Haru then clumsily climbs onto the passenger seat of the motorcycle. "Oh shit... this is a bit terrifying."

"First time?"

"Y-yeah."

"Alright, hold on tight so you won't fall off." Immediately after Laura said that, she puts on her helmet and starts her motorcycle. She revs it a bit before setting off. As they set off, Haru instinctively holds onto Laura.

"I-is this alright?!"

"Yeah! Koittomavaa!" ("Just hang on tight!")

Then upon reaching the exit of the station's parking area, Laura accelerates hard onto the Karalinne streets causing Haru to tighten his grip with Laura giggling at his inexperience with being the passenger of a motorcycle even at a reasonable speed. As soon as they reach the city centre, it marked the start of their adventure around Karalinne, a day of taking Haru around Laura's home place. It was something enjoyable that broke the monotony of the serious pre-season of data gathering.

While there's another test coming up, she figured that she could use a bit more time with Haru before getting all serious in her second WGPC season.

Something that she was looking forward to.

---

Viska Garage
Gernarche Circuit
Pre-Season Test 2
A Kuyonnen Look into WGPC Pt.1

My name is Johan Räveller, a journalist of the Kuyonnen Motorsport Association specially assigned to accompany upcoming Kuyonnen driver, August Maast, a young and talented driver who recently competed in the Aurun WGP3 Championship and MNA's AtMA. He was quite unfamiliar with WGP racing leading to his regrettably dismal performance with Kuyonnen team Krazivaran during the inaugural season. And so, after the conclusion of the season, we have struck a deal with the MNA to observe Sterlennau's Viska Racing during certain events of WGPC20 for familiarisation and an exclusive inside look at what goes on behind the scenes. And of course, it was thanks to August's status and his father's Maktenberg-Maast Oils company.

We were at Gernarche Circuit in Mertange for the second pre-season test. We were told to observe from the back of the garage so we cannot interfere with their operations. Anyway, the morning session consisted of further optimisation of the cars as we were informed. Important data was gathered from tyre degradation to engine performance. It was intense testing, something that caught the interest of August as he liked the idea of just driving around whenever he wanted to but this is serious business as missing something here would mean missing a race win.

Now, the drivers. We heard that Viska was exclusive in their driver choices so when Mr. Maast offered Viska a huge sum to let August race with them in the Aurun WGP3 Championship, it was declined so we ended up with our current arrangement. First Viska driver up is a big name in WGPC, and it's Sara Luna who ended up with the team after certain events that I won't go into detail. After chatting with the mechanics, we were told that for this test, she would continue with adapting to the car as Viska's car concept was different to what she previously drove. Her times were around tenths of a second slower than the leader but hopefully it is not representative of her actual performance.

The next Viska driver is someone similar to August with a large oil company backing him, and it is Aaron Deering. He was a test driver during WGPC19 and he competed in WGP2 before being promoted to an official driver. He is a promising talent under Viska who helped develop the current WK-03H which meant he was very familiar with the machine. He was faster than his teammate for this test and even setting the 5th fastest time in the afternoon. This says a lot about Viska's confidence in him and we couldn't wait to see him in an actual race.

Overall, for a test session, Viska concluded that it was successful. Meanwhile, we got a lesson from current Viska test/reserve driver Kinu Luminna on how WGPC works and how the car is different from the other classes. It was an interesting lesson but I had to make August focus on it as it barely interested him even though we had to do PR work with the KMA later on which he hated doing but had no other choice.

Unfortunately we wouldn't be present in the first race due to Viska giving us a strict schedule to ensure limited interference from us which mildly annoyed Mr. Maast but there's nothing we could do. Although we would be attending the third race as Viska's home race in Auruna as per the current schedule of our WGPC insight tour with the team.

---

Veratuna Circuit
Veratuna, Auruna
Official Viska Car Launch

As with Viska tradition, the official unveiling of the cars occurred after the two pre-season tests. The event was held at Veratuna Circuit in front of the MNA Motorsport Museum to a large crowd of local fans and journalist. It was a straightforward unveiling following a presentation from Viska Technical Director Hori Nÿkkänö. Both Sara Luna and Aaron Deering were present alongside Artur Iljakov and Jöna Ekeränna who briefly gave their thoughts on the car and on the team's expectations of the season.

The livery had small differences from the previous iteration but the car received significant development. The details are currently unknown but it was believed to be in the aero department which helped improve Viska's focus on handling instead of top speed. As usual, the iconic Viska eagle can be seen on the car being the primary feature of the livery albeit with a few modifications to the design.

The Sponsors

Aurunair

Viska Title Sponsor. Flag carrier of Auruna and it is the oldest state-owned Aurun airline. During the late 2010s, Aurunair has expressed interest in motorsport eventually leading to them sponsoring many Aurun teams including the MNA Big Three -- Viska, Schkeska, and VSK.

---

Studio Mikuren

It is an Aurun animation studio based in Nisko that uses Sport Mikuren in motorsports to promote their works and products from animation to games with notable liveries on their cars. They are also open to sponsor other teams in series that Sport Mikuren doesn't compete in.

---

Zorten

An Aurun oil and tech company which supplies all teams in the MNA with high performance engine oil and fuel. Their subsidiary of Zorten Computers makes custom electronic components for the teams. They sponsor one race of the AEC at Novinaya where they are based in.

---

MattariOil

Another Aurun oil company that specializes in engine oil. They partnered with Zorten in high-performance oils for the domestic MNA series. They are known for their special endurance oil for the AEC.

---

MNA

The national governing body for motorsport in Auruna that helped with the rise of motorsport in the country. They handle everything motorsport-related with their own news site, messaging app, forums, and other various things. They also fund the teams and circuits in Auruna.

---

UAOil

The United Adaikes Oil Company is the premier petroleum company in the United Adaikes, which has also ventured into other fields in business and oil. As key personnel in the company, the United Adaikes Oil Company is expected to heavily support Aaron Deering and the team where he currently is, Viska.
Logo and description from United Adaikes

---

LVA Esports

An Aurun esports team that is closely associated with Viska in racing simulators. Most Viska Juniors nowadays move to LVA to keep training their skills and still be able to compete before they are chosen by the Big Three in their choice of motorsport.

The Car

An evolution of the VK-02H, the VK-03H is Viska's fighter for the WGPC20 season. Pushing the already tested concept of the VK-02H to new heights. It features an improved aero packaged that suited the improved design of the car in which optimises Viska's prime focus of handling. It is also a test bed of many Viska technologies notably featuring the "Talon" suspension system and "Mäki" pseudo-AWD system. Most of the technologies are kept a secret.

The Engine

The Re:Genesis VT-160F/H-III "Kiiruja", an evolution of the H-II version used in Viska's VK-02H in WGPC19 which helped the team take 4th in the championship. It is a 1.6L V6 turbocharged dual hybrid engine outputting ~988hp at 10500 rpm. The unique aspect of the engine is the dual hybrid system that is a conventional battery hybrid system combined with an electric flywheel system first pioneered by Schkeska in AEC but perfected by Viska, this system allows for the unit to combine the instant action of the flywheel system and the long-term storage of the batteries.

Engine Specs
Re:Genesis VT-160F/H-III "Kiiruja"
Configuration: V6 turbocharged dual hybrid engine
Displacement: 1.6L
V-Angle: 90° cylinder angle
Valvetrain: 24-valve DOHC
Fuel Delivery: Direct injection
Aspiration: Single turbocharged (if permitted, Viska Dual Turbo System/ VTDS)
Turbocharger Model: Viska ST-72/200X (2x Viska ST-65/200X for VTDS)
Turbocharger Manufacturer: Viska Internal Turbo Technologies Unit
Max revs: 15.000 rpm
Hybrid Systems: Dual hybrid / hybrid x hybrid - Viska Systems Electric Flywheel x Battery Hybrid (VSEF-BH / VSEF-B Hybrid)
Engine Management: Zorten-Viska ZTV-440
Power: ~988hp @ 10.500 rpm*

*The power output is currently estimated based on WGPC technical regulations as Viska doesn't officially reveal the engine's actual power output.

Viska Racing VK-03H
#28 - Aaron Deering


Viska Racing VK-03H
#50 - Sara Luna

[Trans-Dniesters]

There was still a relatively thick layer of snow on the ground in and around the closed city of Myrilsk, headquarters of both the Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division and the UrGa General Machine Building Enterprise in general. Snow still blanketed the streets and buildings, but the staff had done a good job of clearing away the snow from the Myrilsk Test Track, UrGa’s own private test track built inside the company grounds. The crews had cleared away the snow just in time for what would be UrGa’s one and only pre-season test to determine who would occupy the team’s second seat after they had already offered the first one to Tropicorp’s Skiia Vialiv. Or at least the test would have been for UrGa’s second driver had it not been for the fact that Adonis Fitzpatrick, the team’s lead driver back when UrGa was still only in WGP2, had returned from his test with Scuderia Orange Cow without a contract offer from the Baker Parkian team to show for it. Now, Adonis was back in the fold, and though he had said that he was going to give the Eelandi test a try, it didn’t appear that that had worked out well for him too, so now UrGa had a bit of a problem.

Team principal Vasily Semyonovich Gatutin had already promised Adonis that there was going to be a place waiting for him in UrGa if his exploits abroad didn’t work out, and that was exactly what had happened to Adonis. Although the only thing really stopping it from making it official was an announcement, once Adonis had returned to Myrilsk it was now assumed by everyone else in the team that he was going to be their second driver for this season. But now what were they going to tell the drivers that had come all the way to this cold and dreary corner of Rushmore for the hopes of securing a race seat of their own? Nobody really had the heart to admit the truth to the other drivers just yet, but that didn’t mean that the test session itself had to go to waste. There was no provision for reserve or test drivers in the current WGPC season, but that wasn’t stopping some teams from offering such positions to other drivers who failed to make the cut but nevertheless impressed enough in their showings to warrant locking them down to a contract. And there was always the chance that someone could be fine with spending a season in WGP2 before returning to the top tier with perhaps a season’s worth of experience under their belt.

None of the drivers attending the test had yet been informed that they were now auditioning for a reserve/test driver role instead of the second UrGa seat, and that particular bit of information would be kept from them until after the test itself. UrGa didn’t want anyone to phone it in because a reserve driver role isn’t really what these drivers wanted to have for this season. That was why some of the team’s top officials were standing in the lobby of the UrGa headquarters waiting to welcome the drivers who had stated their intention to join. Two of those officials were none other than the team principal himself, Vasily Semyonovich Gatutin, and the wily and fiercely opinionated “financial advisor” of the team, Yakov Leonidovich Yurievsky. “I know that we’ve both had our disagreements with each other from time to time, Vasily Semyonovich,” Yurievsky said as they prepared for the arrival of the visitors, “but I believe this is the second time in this year that I’ve found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with a decision that you’ve made.”

“Don’t celebrate too much about it,” Gatutin muttered. “I’m sure that we will find more differences between ourselves soon enough.”

“I have to admit though that I am enjoying seeing this more ruthless side of you compared to previous seasons,” Yurievsky continued. “First, getting Adonis to gather as much data as he could on Orange Cow’s car and then squeezing it all out of him when he came back, and now you’re pretending as if this test is still for the second seat and not for a reserve role. Sometimes I hope that you will continue doing this for the rest of the season, but something tells me that you’re not really interested in playing the ruthless team principal unless it is vital to the continued successful operation of the team itself.”

“I’d rather not be as ruthless and cold-blooded as you are, Yakov Leonidovich,” Gatutin muttered, “but if that’s what it takes to be successful here in WGPC then so be it.”

The first driver to arrive at the HQ was Sandro Perez of Delaclava. Neither Gatutin nor Yurievsky really knew what they were expecting when they finally met Perez, but it was safe to say that they weren’t expecting a muscular man with a rugged look and the squarest of all jaws to pop up. “My goodness,” Yurievsky muttered. “What a specimen that man is.”

“I don’t really know how good this man is going to be out there on the track,” Gatutin added, “but it’s safe to say that many of our female fans would be salivating at the prospect of Perez joining our team. Heck, throw in some of our male fans in that category as well. If we land this guy, Marina Vladislavovna is going to have a field day managing all of those… what was it that she called them? Thirsty twiis? Da, she will have a field day taking care of all those thirsty twiis coming our way if Perez is as good as the data suggests he is.”

The next driver to arrive was Nepö Kinder of Hülkenberg. When she arrived, she loudly greeted each and every single person by calling them “comrade.” Both Gatutin and Yurievsky smiled and greeted Kinder back, but as soon as she left, Gatutin turned to Yurievsky and said, “Another one of those people who just look at our flag, see the hammer and sickle, and think that we’re still communist.”

“Can you blame them though, Vasily Semyonovich?” Yurievsky asked him back. “The hammer and sickle has become as integral to our national identity as the colors red and green. It doesn’t matter that we’ve given up all pretenses of being a communist nation almost thirty years ago. Besides, if we drop the hammer and sickle, where will the Western college liberals look to for an example of a ‘successful’ communist state?”

“Bah, it still bothers me that some people still think that we call ourselves comrades to this very day,” Gatutin muttered. “I will never understand why the late President Stepanenko was so insistent on keeping hold of these symbols of a bygone era.”

Kinu Luminna from Auruna was third to arrive. He was humming a tune to himself when he got to the HQ, and he seemed like he was looking forward to taking part in the UrGa test. “Imagine if Luminna turns out to be a great fit for the team,” Yurievsky said once he and Gatutin had greeted Luminna. “I can see a partnership between him and Fitzpatrick working out very well for us. If only you and Taras Gavrilovich hadn't jumped the gun and offered Vialiv that second seat without consulting with me then we wouldn't be stuck in this conundrum, would we?”

“Are we really going to argue about Skiia Vialiv again, Yakov Leonidovich?” Gatutin said as he shook his head. “Remember the last time that I allowed you to have the final say in choosing our second driver? Sure, we might have recovered one of our country's most important historical artifacts and saved it from a most terrible fate, but at what cost? Taras Gavrilovich retired from racing because of Major Zoomtwat. And the Major was planning to turn the Scepter of Saint Bogdan into golf clubs! Golf clubs, Yakov Leonidovich!”

“But we did recover the Scepter of Saint Bogdan when all was said and done, da?” Yurievsky retorted.

“Don't patronize me, Yakov Leonidovich,” Gatutin said. “You were ready to jump out of your skin when Zoomtwat said he was thinking about turning the Scepter into golf clubs.”

The fourth driver to arrive at the HQ was Atheara's Maximiliano Asphari. He was cordial with the UrGa staff, although both Gatutin and Yurievsky noticed that he seemed to have a stutter. “That's not optimal, Vasily Semyonovich,” Yurievsky said once Asphari had gone off to the drivers’ area.

“You didn't need to tell me that, Yakov Leonidovich,” Gatutin muttered back. “Yes, Asphari's stutter isn't necessarily a good thing. But it's not yet a bad thing either, not quite yet. If he can communicate with his engineer despite the stutter, I think we've got a gem in our hands. I mean, he clearly has some speed despite being in a backmarker team for his local series. The stutter hasn't affected him there clearly.”

“But what about here?” Yurievsky pressed. “How is Asphari’s stutter going to affect his performance in either WGPC or WGP2?”

Before Gatutin could reply, he was approached by an UrGa staffer wearing the customary red-green-red uniform of the team. The staffer walked up to Gatutin and said, “Sir, I'm afraid I have some more bad news.”

“Oh, what could it possibly be now?” Gatutin asked.

“Lilly Nattmordsdottir won't be coming to the test anymore, sir,” the staffer reported. “It appears that she has signed with Sivaleinen.”

Yurievsky locked eyes with Gatutin and said, “Too slow.”

“Sure, Yakov Leonidovich, I was the slow one this time,” Gatutin sneered. “I'm sure our guests would appreciate having their talents tested in the middle of a bloody blizzard.”

“But you have to admit that it would have been near-perfect conditions to push our guests to the limit if we were recruiting for a potential rally racing team,” Yurievsky said with a smile.

Quebec's Alejandro Rusegara arrived at the scene a few minutes afterwards. Much like Kinu Luminna earlier, Rusegara looked like he was happy to be here. It wasn't that surprising though as according to Gatutin's sources, Rusegara hadn't received a lot of offers to test drive as well. Rusegara was a bit of a wild card as there was little information on his racing background before taking the leap to WGPC, but Gatutin wasn't really concerned with that. He wanted to know what Rusegara had in his tank once he was placed in UrGa machinery.

And then came the driver that practically everyone in the team was waiting for: Olivia Stone. Vasily Gatutin was still in disbelief that UrGa had managed to get Stone to take part in a test session for their team. The assumption within UrGa had always been that Stone would go to her own country's team Nexus Racing or perhaps Viska in Auruna. But it appeared as if no one had made any offers for Stone this preseason, and had the cards fallen another way, UrGa could very well have been in pole position to sign her.

“I still cannot believe that we managed to land Olivia Stone, even if it's just for a test,” Gatutin said once Stone had joined the other drivers taking part in the test. “Olivia Stone in UrGa. Imagine that!”

“Yes, I can indeed imagine,” Yakov Yurievsky nodded. “And that's all that we’ll be doing because you pulled the trigger on signing Skiia Vialiv before we had even confirmed whether Adonis was going to Orange Cow or not. If you hadn't been so insistent on signing Vialiv then perhaps we would have already settled on a team of Fitzpatrick and Stone before the first test had even started!”

“Oh, get over it already, Yakov Leonidovich!” Gatutin said. “Skiia Vialiv is one of our two drivers this season, and there is nothing that you can do about it!”

Both Gatutin and Yurievsky were about to walk away from the lobby in order to give a more in-depth welcome to the drivers taking part in the test when they both heard high-pitched laughter headed their way. “Oh, of course,” Gatutin muttered. “I almost forgot about them.”

“Who?” Yurievsky asked. “Who in the world are they?”

“Danielle Bugatti Johnsilvaturr,” Gatutin replied. “She was a last-minute addition to the test roster. She's also the video game champion,” Gatutin added in a whisper.

“The video game champion?” Yurievsky repeated. “Have you lost your fucking mind, Vasily?! You're about to let a bloody teenager with literally no physical racing experience get into a race car! With no simulator time to boot! I have seen you make some headscratching decisions before, Vasily Semyonovich, but this one takes the cake!”

“Once again, Yakov Leonidovich, we see things in very different ways,” Gatutin said. “Where you see nothing but a waste of time and resources, I see an empty vessel waiting to be filled with knowledge and experience. That, my friend, is the biggest difference between the two of us. You are only focused on how useful someone is to you in the here and now. I am focused on how someone can be useful for the team for years to come.”

---

Due to time constraints brought about by both the blizzard that had swept through the Myrilsk area in the previous week as well as the rapidly approaching second test weekend, UrGa had been forced to curtail their test program this season. Instead of an in-depth test across three different tracks in three different locations in Pridnestrovia, the test would be confined to only the Myrilsk Test Track. Throughout the year-long offseason between Seasons 19 and 20, UrGa had expanded and rebuilt the track in order to give it three possible configurations that would allow the team to test a driver's ability in both aggressive and technical circuits. The Myrilsk Test Track's main configuration though was one that was balanced between aggression and technique, and that was the configuration that UrGa was going to use for this test.

The seven drivers taking part in the test were each given a WGP2-spec chassis with a CGPRA-standard UrGa engine fitted in the back. The test started off with a 90-minute practice session during which the drivers were free to do whatever they wanted. After a short one hour break, the drivers were then instructed to set the fastest possible time that they could in a one-shot qualifying session to set the grid for the short 18-lap sprint race that would conclude the test. Once the grid was set, there was another hour-long break before the drivers finally took to the grid for the sprint race. The results of the sprint, as well as the qualifying session, would be the primary criteria by which UrGa would choose their reserve driver.

---

Myrilsk Test Session Qualifying

Conditions:      	Dry
Predicted Optimal Time:	00:01:49.456
Qualifying Type:	One Shot
Nation:         	PDN
Circuit:        	Myrilsk Test Track

POS #  DRIVER                                   FASTEST LAP     GAP TO LEADER		
 1 63 ▍Nepö Kinder                           	00:01:49.462	00:00:00.000
 2 85 ▍Olivia Stone                          	00:01:49.549	00:00:00.087
 3 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                          	00:01:49.652	00:00:00.191
 4 57 ▍Maximiliano Asphari                   	00:01:50.845	00:00:01.383
 5 10 ▍Alejandro Rusegara                    	00:01:52.308	00:00:02.846
 6 76 ▍Danielle Bugatti Johnsilvaturr        	00:01:56.682	00:00:07.220
 7 68 ▍Sandro Perez                          	00:02:02.421	00:00:12.959

Myrilsk Test Session Race

Conditions:      	Dry
Laps:              	18
Nation:         	PDN
Circuit:        	Myrilsk Test Track
Event:	UrGa Myrilsk Test
Safety Car Deployed on Laps:	
Cars on Grid:	7

POS DRV Name                     Team	Time
  1 85 STO Olivia Stone                  ▍UrGa Motorsports Division        	00:38:10.438
  2 63 KIN Nepö Kinder                   ▍UrGa Motorsports Division        	00:00:03.735
  3 82 LMN Kinu Luminna                  ▍UrGa Motorsports Division        	00:00:04.031
  4 76 JOH Danielle Bugatti Johnsilvaturr▍UrGa Motorsports Division        	00:00:16.629
  5 10 AMR Alejandro Rusegara            ▍UrGa Motorsports Division        	00:00:30.098
  6 57 ASP Maximiliano Asphari           ▍UrGa Motorsports Division        	00:00:51.083
  7 68 PER Sandro Perez                  ▍UrGa Motorsports Division        	00:01:04.087

“So how shall we go about this, gentlemen?” Vasily Gatutin asked the others in the conference room with him. Those men were Taras Matviyenko, chief driver relations officer of UrGa, and the two head race engineers of the team, Vladimir Kripchak and Illarion Osipov. “How shall we look at the results and see who we shall invite to the team for this season?”

“I say we start with the bottom of the standings for our little sprint race and then work our way back to the top,” Matviyenko said. “And while we’re doing that, we compare our drivers’ finishes to where they started by virtue of their qualifying performance.”

“That sounds good to me,” Gatutin said. “Is everyone in agreement, or does anyone else have their own ideas?” Both Kripchak and Osipov nodded their agreement with the current plan, and Gatutin said, “Very well then. Let’s start with seventh place, Sandro Perez.”

“This has not been a very good test for him,” Matviyenko said. “Perez was the slowest qualifier in our test, almost thirteen seconds off the pace of our polesitter. And in the race itself, he fell away from the rest of the pack quickly and never really clawed his way back. One minute and four seconds away from P1… If we are going purely by only the raw numbers, Sandro Perez is most definitely not a good fit for our car. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that he is the antithesis of our entire design philosophy.”

“So much for the dream of attracting more fans to our team, or at least increasing our social media engagement,” Gatutin muttered. “But I have to admit that seeing this performance come out of Perez is, to me, most mystifying. From what I had seen on his dossier, he was quite the successful driver back home, wasn’t he?”

“Indeed he was, sir,” Vladimir Gennadyevich Kripchak nodded. “Last season, he became champion of the local Deleclav series, I believe it’s called Prix del A. However, before that, Perez apparently has a reputation of being unable to string together results to form a proper title campaign. And he also has extracurricular issues that meant that he had only been able to complete four out of the seven possible seasons that he could have competed in Prix del A. He was arrested twelve times in his home country and had numerous affairs with both men and women.”

“Ah, a real Leo Baxter then,” Gatutin, referring to the Fleftic basketball star who made a brief foray into stock car racing with UrGa in NSSCRA and was also notorious for stacking up a high body count of his own.

“Yes, but the big difference between Perez and Baxter is that I don’t think Baxter has ever hit on a man,” Matviyenko said. “Well, except for that one time he reportedly mistook Kai Qiang for a woman due to the Chinese driver losing some sort of bet,” he added with a chuckle.

“That doesn’t sound like his proudest moment ever,” Kripchak agreed. “In any case, getting back to Perez, I’ve also heard some rumors that he’s feeling disheartened by the fact that his countryman Kingston Walcott has gotten a seat in WGPC before Perez did. Walcott is younger and won 13 of the 15 races in the junior Deleclav category, Prix Silver. However, there’s the cloud of his funding and parentage hanging over him. Some are saying that Walcott only got a good seat because of his father, and now it appears that Sivaleinen wants to take advantage of all that money for their team.”

“What was it that the Westerners called this again?” Matviyenko asked. “A ‘Daddy’s Cash’ situation?”

“I couldn’t have said it better,” Gatutin nodded. “But, in any case, it’s clear via looking at these test results that Sandro Perez in UrGa would have been an absolute bust. It is unfortunate for him, but I believe we should steer clear of him for the time being. Now, who’s next?”

“Maximiliano Asphari,” Matviyenko replied after looking at the timing sheet on his clipboard. “His qualifying pace was decent and right down the middle. 1.3 seconds away from pole does not look good no matter which way you look at it though, especially if we are expecting the field to be quite bunched up when it comes to one-lap pace. However, just like Perez, Asphari fell away from the rest of the group at the start of the actual race, and he also was unable to catch up.”

“Also, even though you had already told us, sir, that Asphari had a stutter, it was still hard for my trainee engineer to understand what he was saying,” UrGa’s other team engineer, Illarion Arkhipovich Osipov, reported. “Granted, that may be because English is not his first language, but none of us here speak English as well as a native, da? In any case, the point I was trying to make was that it was hard for my engineer to understand what Asphari was trying to communicate to him. It turned out that there was an issue with the front wing of Asphari’s car, but because of his stutter, it took my engineer longer than it should to understand and realize what exactly was wrong. And we all know how important seconds and even just milliseconds are in racing, sir.”

“That is indeed unfortunate,” Gatutin muttered. “I was almost hoping that Asphari would do well in our test because I wanted us to extend our partnership with Atheara after the success of Nathaniel Van De Soubre in NSSCRA, aided in no small part by Prince Bismillah of Oontaz, of course. So Asphari is off the table as well, then?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Matviyenko nodded sadly.

“Very well,” Gatutin nodded back. “Let’s move on to the next driver, shall we? Who do we have up next?”

“Alejandro Rusegara,” Matviyenko replied. “Quebecois driver. The data suggested that he might have been a good fit for our second seat had it been still available, but once we actually put him in the car itself, he didn’t light up the track as some of us thought he would. He qualified in fifth place, 2.8 seconds off the pace, and he remained in 5th place from start to finish. No movement at all to the back or the front. He finished where he started, which is perhaps a bit of a credit to his consistency in our equipment, but how useful is consistency if it isn’t to fight at the sharp end of the grid?”

“Indeed,” Gatutin muttered. “Vladimir Gennadyevich, Illarion Arkhipovich, anything else to say?”

“None, sir,” Kripchak said, while Osipov merely shook his head.

“That consistency of his has to count for something, though,” Gatutin said. “If we were to make a list out of these seven drivers with the first name on that list being the best possible candidate for a seat in our team, where would Rusegara place in that list?”

“Honestly, I would put Rusegara where he is right now,” Matviyenko replied. “There are other drivers in the test whom I believe to have a higher upside compared to him. If none of these other drivers agree to sign with us then Rusegara will be a good fallback option simply for his sheer consistency. But I won’t expect him to be quite the mover on track, if you know what I mean, sir.”

“Indeed I do,” Gatutin muttered. “Moving on now, who finished in fourth?”

“It’s the video game champion,” Matviyenko replied. “Danielle Bugatti Johnsilvaturr, or Nini for short. Her qualifying time wasn’t the best; she was seven seconds away from pole position. That said, she did make a respectable climb through the order, and had the race gone on a little bit longer, she could have found herself in the lead pack instead of in her own little area in between the frontrunners and the backmarkers. I guess all of those hours in that karting game paid off somewhat for her.”

“Vladimir Gennadyevich, Illarion Arkhipovich, anything to report?” Gatutin asked.

“She will not shut up, Vasily Semyonovich,” Kripchak said after a moment. “She just wouldn’t shut up! And it wasn’t just because of her car as well. More often than not, she was talking about things that were not even tangentially related to the race. And she was also talking faster than a bloody WGPC car! I already raised the issue of our engineers being unable to understand Maximiliano Asphari because of his stutter, but that is nothing compared to a teenage girl yammering away about things that only she probably cares about!”

“I think that’s just part of being a teenage girl,” Illarion Osipov said with a laugh. “A niece of mine is the same age as Nini, and she is literally the same way when it comes to chatting with her friends. She’s always on her phone talking about whatever comes through her mind at any given moment. I don’t know how she manages to eat and sleep while doing all of that!”

“That’s because you’re becoming an old man, Illarion,” Kripchak said.

“If I’m an old man then that must make you ancient then,” Osipov retorted.

“Gentlemen, let’s keep our focus on the test, shall we?” Gatutin cautioned the engineers. “As I was saying, despite not having been inside an actual kart or race car before this point in her life, it would appear that some of Nini Johnsilvaturr’s skills in video games are directly transferable to on-track performance after all. However, her age and lack of experience are not helping her at all. If we were still picking a second driver to back up Skiia then I would not even consider Nini.”

“Yes, I agree with that, Vasily Semyonovich,” Matviyenko said. “However, I think that she would benefit highly from spending time under our tutelage. She may have won only video game championships, but I do believe that we can mold Nini into an actual racing driver, and maybe even a future champion at that. I propose that we offer her a place in the team as a reserve or test driver and have her take part in either WGP2 or AOGP. At the very least, let us have her as an option on the table while we determine our next course of action.”

“Very well then,” Gatutin nodded. “And now, we move on to our top three. Two of the three drivers up there were ones that we expected. Olivia Stone and Kinu Luminna were undoubtedly the class of this field. Luminna started in third and finished in third, but not without battling Stone for the lead of the race. As for Stone herself, she missed out on pole position by just eight hundredths of a second, and once she got past her first opponent, you could almost say that she was sailing clear of everyone else. But it’s the driver in second place that’s really got my attention. What do we know about Nepö Kinder?”

“She’s the first woman to win the Hülkenberger national karting championship,” Taras Matviyenko replied, reading through a list of Kinder’s accomplishments printed out on a sheet of paper attached to his clipboard. “Then she went over to actual cars such as hatchbacks, apparently snubbing open wheelers while dominating in the series where she actually wanted to be. And then she beat Dario Nülkeschlager, and that got all the eyes of Hülkenberg on her. And now she’s decided that this is the perfect time for her to make the leap into WGPC.”

“It might well be the smartest decision she’s ever made,” Vladimir Kripchak said. “Some drivers see an open wheeler and they want to jump into one almost immediately, and then the reality of the whole thing sets in for them and they realize it’s not as easy as they thought. I like to think that Kinder saw that and thought, ‘I’m not going to do that.’ She took her time in something she actually wants to do, honed her craft, and now she’s coming into WGPC knowing that she’s actually capable of mounting a challenge and keeping that challenge going all the way.”

“I agree with what Vladimir Gennadyevich is saying,” Illarion Osipov piped in. “However, I have to advise caution for this one. Yes, Nepö Kinder was successful in her home nation. But WGPC is a massively different beast from all of the national series that have ever been established. Yes, she is young and has all of the talent in the world. But personally, I would want to keep her in the oven and let her cook for a little longer, so to speak. Yes, Nepö appears to be a perfect fit for our car this season, but I wouldn’t want her to take to the field immediately this season. Between her, Stone, and Luminna, I would definitely pick those two over Kinder.”

“Very well,” Gatutin said. “Now it’s time for us to make a choice. The purpose of this test was originally to find a partner for Skiia Vialiv. But now Adonis Fitzpatrick has come back without an offer from either Orange Cow or Race Eelandi despite taking part in their tests. And we already promised him that a seat would be waiting for him if he didn’t get any offers, and I am not a man to go back on my word. So that means that the only position that we can give our prospective drivers is a reserve role, perhaps a place in the Oontaznik team in AOGP. And while I would love to have either one of Olivia Stone or Kinu Luminna becoming part of the Urotovsky-Gatutin banner, I don’t know if they will accept what is practically a demotion. These two drivers deserve to be out there with the rest of the field, driving Tropicorps or Carvenlos or Nexuses, not languishing in the reserve driver role of some new upstart team. Therefore that leaves us only two choices for a reserve driver, Kinder and Johnsilvaturr. And I believe that we are all in agreement on who between the two of them performed better out there.”

“Agreed, sir,” Matviyenko nodded.

---

Urotovsky-Gatutin renews its offer to Nepö Kinder to become the team’s reserve/test driver for the season.

Urotovsky-Gatutin offers the test/reserve driver position to Danielle Bugatti Johnsilvaturr on the condition that Kinder does not accept her offer.

[Vilita and Turori]

InfoInternet Grand Prix of Liventia presented by Liventia Airways, Talbott Autodrome, Liventia :: R.L. Cruisin sat in the paddock staring at the #51 Carvenlo-Portland machine. It was a familiar feeling. It would be Cruisin's third season with the team - making Carvenlo the team that Cruisin had made the most of their record 111 World Grand Prix Starts with. It also marked just the first time since Cruisin was a rookie that they would compete for the same team in two consecutive Grand Prix seasons. Was this a bookend for their career? Or was it the start of something new and special? Cruisin has made a career getting the most out of mediocre equipment. Winning for Frontiere; Winning for MSA-Sinval and out-pointing their teammate by nearly 50 points on the season. The Vilitan driver only had one real shot at a title - their rookie season when it was just the two Carvenlo drivers and their teammate Stang Crax ahead of them in the standings. 4th place with 82 points. Now, it wasn't just Cruisin who was getting familiar with Carvenlo, but the locals who were getting familiar with Cruisin. With no local driver on the grid, the locals have increased their support for Cruisin, twice a winner at the Talbott Autodrome. While there may be some debate as to whether Cruisin truly is the #1 driver on the team with last seasons third place finisher Dom Falepeau sitting just a few feet over, there is no doubt which driver has the support. With that, however, comes an added pressure for Cruisin. Not only the desire to perform not knowing what the future will bring with youngsters like Skiia Vialiv, Jordan Crowe and Adonis Fitzpatrick looking set to make an impact on the circuit - but the knowledge that this race might be Cruisin's best chance, only chance, for a victory this season.

Of the 5 career Grand Prix victories R.L. Cruisin has attained, four have come at just two race tracks: The Eelandii Grand Prix Course and the Talbott Autodrome. Of course, the World Grand Prix Championship will not be hosting a points race at the Eelandii Grand Prix Course this season, having already conducted pre-season testing at the Turorian circuit. That leaves only the Talbott Autodrome as a track which Cruisin has won at before that is on the WGPC 20 calendar. Yet still there is much working in Cruisin's favor. The veteran has shown throughout their career an ability to jump straight into the season and perform from the outset. While other drivers are making mistakes just getting settled into their new teams or their new cars, Cruisin just goes. Fast from the start, and perhaps slower as the season goes on when the opponents sort out their stuff. In fact, R.L. Cruisin has won the last two World Grand Prix Championship season opening races. If they could win this week at the Talbott Autodrome they could put their name in the record books yet again becoming the first known driver to win the opening round of a World Grand Prix Championship across three consecutive seasons. Velog GP's Joe Allon currently shares the record with Cruisin having won the season opener back to back during WGPC Season 9 and 10.

Whatever the outcome at the Talbott Autodrome, R.L. Cruisin is still out there to prove they can compete at the highest level. With new teammate Dom Falepeau there is optimism that Carvenlo-Portland Racing could return to their form from WGPC Season 11 when the duo of Matthew Portland and Jai Kardaeri defeated an upstart Vilita and Turori Motorsports Team with rookie driver R.L. Cruisin for the World Grand Prix Constructors title. If they could do it again this season, it might close the chapter on that long standing hole in R.L. Cruisin's resume.

[Diarcesia]

Carnatica Standard

TECHNICAL REPORT - TRACK DETAILS

Gernache Circuit is one of the more aggresive-style friendly WGPC-grade tracks, with three DRS zones that require drivers to take a risk and carry enough speed through the corners. Once drivers have reached the end of Sortie Straight, they can brake late into the left turn and carry some of their speed through the technical section until the hairpin. The track surface is smooth with no bumps or kerbs in most parts, but there are some rough sections in The Quad that can cause slight understeer if taken too hot.

TRACK LAYOUT
Sector Notes
Sector 1 The start of the track is a gentle left turn with almost no elevation change. The exit leads directly into an ess and then the first DRS zone.
Sector 2 The long second sector is the main technical section of the track. Drivers need to carry speed from Sector 1, taking care of a bump near the hairpin apex, before going full-throttle in Base Leg
Sector 3 The final sector features two more quick corners with elevation change up until the final corner

In the bustling paddock of Gernache Circuit, Sam was busy reviewing the technical report and session data on her tablet, analyzing her performance from the morning session. There, Laura struck a conversation with her. Sam looks up from her tablet, smiling politely but still immersed in her thoughts.

Nice lap, Sam, Laura said. The Aurun was holding her helmet in one hand while patting the other on Sam's shoulder. She was sure that they can keep up this form and be ready for race one.

"Thanks, I did my best," replied a still somewhat lost-in-thoughts Sam. "We have to keep improving if we want to avoid being caught off guard during the first race." She then closed her tablet, placed it into its bag and stood up from the seat she had been sitting at for some time now. "I'll go back to our garage now and get ready for this afternoon session." The team would do more tests with aero set ups as well as test new parts before...

The mechanics and engineers diligently worked to make the necessary adjustments, meticulously preparing the car for the testing program. Meanwhile, determined to extract every ounce of performance from them, Sam and Laura engaged in deep discussions with the engineers, seeking insights and suggestions on optimizing the aero setups. They carefully analyzed the data from the morning session, identifying areas for improvement and brainstorming potential solutions. Once the afternoon session started, they had decided that they would focus on aero setups to find a good balance between speed and consistency.

Laura explained to an engineer that the mid-corner speeds were still too low. "We need more downforce for this track, but we don't want it at all costs that are top speeds are dragged down." She looked back at Sam who was sitting next to her, arms crossed and eyes half-closed as she listened carefully. "Can you make some adjustments based on that?" The engineer nodded affirmatively before getting back to work...

"I know that you can do it." Sam said matter-of-factly...

Under the watchful eyes of their respective engineers, Sam and Laura took turns pushing the car to its limits, exploring different aerodynamic configurations and assessing their impact on handling, top speed, and overall lap times. Each lap provided valuable feedback, allowing the team to make real-time adjustments and gather crucial data to inform their decision-making process. After each run, they would discuss with the engineers which setup had worked best and why. The afternoon session was an exercise in trial-and-error methodology where team members were given the opportunity to try out different changes like front wing modifications or revised side pods during a live race simulation. Each component was scrutinized for its potential to enhance the car's overall performance and provide a competitive edge in the upcoming races.

As it often happens with such methods of decision making, some of their initial hypothesis about car performance proved to be wrong after all data had been analyzed. They found that one particular aerodynamic configuration allowed for greater mid corner speed but severely impaired handling in low speed Sector Two corners as well as reduced top speeds down through the Arsonhouse. Ultimately this led them towards finding a compromise between both setups that struck a right balance between consistency across various sectors while still pushing hard around high speed corners, a meet-halfway situation locally called in Diarcesia as the Carnatica Standard, named after one of the Barathean diereses in the southeast portion of the mainland...

Niche Joe

Gernarche Circuit
Pre-Season Test 2

It was time for Miss Sara Luna to take over the wheel of the Viska Racing VK-03H. The woman who has been to three WGPC teams in as many seasons! With the experience she had, expectations were huge this year and everyone liked to see if she can help elevate the team to a very good place in the constructors' standings. Historically, her runs were impeccable with times worthy of several pole positions, but at this point, Viska doesn't really care about lap times as long as Sara's clocked times in the second test session weren't indicative of her true performance during races. Therefore, data is more important than fast laps alone. She seemed comfortable behind the wheel as usual and it looked like nothing could stop her... until the moment that the session concluded and she ran out of physiological fuel and was forced to pause for a bit in the break room.

"I need a refill," she requested for a cup of Aurun coffee. It wasn't anything unusual. One of Sara's indulgences is trying out multiple kinds of the beverage depending on the locality. And this time, it was Aurun coffee. While waiting for the refill, she sat down and started typing something on her phone. "I can say drinking niche joe is part of my ordinary life," she said without thinking.

Once the drink arrived and she began consuming it, she processed her new understandings of the VK-03H's behavior under different conditions. She felt inching closer to figuring out how the car works in a deeper level. The only thing that she needed to try and do is apply what she had learned with the feedback from Viska's engineers.

Veratuna Circuit
Veratuna, Auruna
Official Viska Car Launch

The car was launched on a sunny day in the city of Veratuna. It was a great turnout and it seemed as if every single Aurun attended this event. Hori Nÿkkänö thought that Sara might just walk away from all these people, but she was actually fine. Her sun allergy is public knowledge, but she was well-prepared for it. Almost her entire body was clothed and she was wearing a headscarf. Only her face was exposed to the elements. She was actually enjoying herself as she mingled with the crowd.

Sara found herself surrounded by enthusiastic fans and sponsors eager to capture the moment and engage with her. It was a massive moment for the team and she felt like she had to be there. Not just because of her contract with Viska, but also out of respect. Members of the media also approached her to ask a few questions.

"How does it feel to be a part of the Viska team and be involved in the unveiling?" one asked. "Exciting," Sara replied. "I'm happy to be involved in this project."

"How do you think the car will perform?" another asked. "It looks good and I believe it can compete with the best cars out there." She didn't say it in public, but she was still getting used to the Imagination-forged Blackbirds that definitely work differently from the Sifakas last season's Tropicorps used.

The car itself is, appearance wise, nothing special in Sara's eyes as it looks similar to what most teams have done before. As long as it keeps up its pace at least with the field, no doubt she would enjoy the season.

[Nico Hulkenberg]

TL;DR
Dario Nülkeschläger accepts the test and reserve role at Pressley.
Nepö Kinder accepts the test and reserve role at UrGa.

---

’IS THIS SEAT TAKEN?’ - HÜLKENBERGERS LOCKED OUT

EMMERICH - With the announcement of Fleftic driver Adonis Fitzpatrick taking the final seat on the WGPC grid, the fears of many were confirmed; there would be no Hülkenberger. Not in any practical sessions, anyway. The news has shocked many of Hülkenberg’s motorsports enthusiasts, as Dario Nülkeschläger and Nepö Kinder have been consigned to testing roles for the foreseeable future. Whilst both drivers had spoken at length about potential opportunities, test and reserve roles had not been previously touted, and this unexpected development has been met with disappointment from the fans, now left lamenting the absence of their heroes on the grand stage. (Editor’s note - we use ‘heroes’ loosely here.) One fan in particular, the head administrator of SüssOderNüss.com.hb, voiced their concerns to us. “Y’know, it’s a tough one to take. Not seeing either of them on the grid is gonna have to be something to get used to - well, I mean, Nepö wasn’t there anyway, but still. Point stands. Who else on the grid can nail that glasses look aside from Dario? Darian Vilau? Someone else? The public need to know, this is a need to know matter, and I’ve already written to my local representative to voice my concerns.” The Herald swiftly made the choice never to contact them again.

Another point of view on the situation came from unknown-but-dashingly-handsome member of the public and Dario-superfan Nario Dülkeschläger. “It’s not all bad, I’m sure I- I mean, [Dario] would be pretty happy with the arrangement, considering the reserve role he’s got lined up. They do things differently at Pressley, and Dario’s a different guy. I’m not one to really comment, but if he was chocolate, he’d eat himself.” Referring to Nepö, he continued: “Similar arrangement there, right? Narrowly miss out; get put on speed dial in case someone takes ill; throw the car around on a test track, the usual. Difference is, a little birdie told me there was a teeny weeny caveat in that which might possibly perhaps involve the chance of a drive elsewhere. Don’t ask me how I know that, though. And don’t put that in the article.”

While Nülkeschläger and Kinder will both still play a part in the development of their respective teams' cars, it’s vital that Hülkenbergers adjust their expectations for the season ahead; instead of seeing their drivers battling it out against the world's best - well, some of them - they’ll have to settle for glimpses of them behind the scenes, fine-tuning the Pressley and UrGa machines that will take to the track at the Talbott Autodrome. It’s not all bad, though, as both drivers will have more time for their real favourite pastimes, whether it’s streaming grand prix reviews, looking at themselves in the mirror, or posting childish dance videos on ShujuQiequZhe.

Whatever the case, there will be a distinct lack of moustaches on this year’s grid. Here at the Herald, we’re mourning this with the solemn and deep respect it deserves… by offering every reader a FREE moustache trim at any branch of Arnie Zimmler’s Schnurrbart Trimmers! Whether bushy, curly, or downright messy, Arnie’s got you covered.

Dario

---

Millsburgh International Airport, Tumbra
Arrivals

Having accepted Pressley's offer to become a reserve after narrowly missing out at Tropicorp-Colourworks, and having reluctantly rejected Kaylan's generous offer, Dario quickly made his way to his new team, ready to get acquainted quickly. Strutting his stuff with a roller case in one hand and an HMG-emblazoned tote bag in the other, he looked and felt like a decadent townie. Not that he really cared, now that he could finally stretch his legs after the flight. With an aim of getting to Pressley’s base in Grantfelt - but without a clue on how to get there - he made his way through the airport whilst trying to search up how to hail a taxi, before receiving a call from his agent.

[bzzzzzt]

”Pascal? The fuck you want?”

“Charming. Just checking to see that you’ve actually made it, I don’t get any commission if my clients sit on their asses and miss their flights.”

“Well, thank you for your concern, but I don’t need babied.”

“If you knew how to book a flight, I wouldn’t need to - but you pay me to do that, so I don’t particularly care.”

“On the topic of flights, I ain’t flying on one of those tiny, shitey FlyHülkenberg minijets again, not unless I want arthritis. I mean, I know it’s not the most popular route, but does that REALLY mean that we need to be packed like sardines into a tiny metal tube? Christ, man. Only way I’d have more legroom is if i was bitesized!”

“You do know that you need to fly back home on that.”

“And why’s that, huh?”

“I booked a return.”

“Why the hell would you do that?”

“Because MAYBE someone needs to get home, eh? Ever think about that? Is it above your paygrade to think about more than your appearance, wise guy?”

“Hey, hey, don’t get uppity. I pay your wage, Pascal.”

“Oh yeah? I run a talent agency, dozens of uptight, entitled folk like you pay my wage. I could cut my losses and lose you right now, but that wouldn’t benefit either of us.”

“Uh huh? And why’s that?”

“Look in front of you.”

Dario scanned his eyes across arrivals before spotting a man dressed in some particularly dapper formal attire. In his hands was a piece of paper with ‘BAWBAG’ written on it.

“Is he my ride to Grantfelt?”

“The very same.”

“Much appreciated, Pascal. You may be a dick, but you sure know what you’re doing.”

“Just get your ass to Pressley and sign the deal pronto, time is money.“

[click]

Reluctantly, Dario approached the man, who also happened to be wearing sunglasses indoors - what a twat. He also seemed to be avoiding eye contact - even bigger twat.

”You ‘Bawbag’?”

“Apparently so.”

“‘Mon then. Intae the car.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Before I do that, I’ve gotta ask… why the sunglasses?”

“You got suhin against the disabled, pul?”

“Disabled?!”

“Aye, disabled! Ah’m blind, ya dick!”

"How's this gonna work, then?"

“Am no drivin’ the car, ya stupid cow. The fuckin’ ‘hing drives itsel.”

“Ah, right, my mistake. Lead on, MacDuff.”

“Shut it."

The line 'they do things differently at Pressley' rattled around Dario's head at the sight of a blind man guiding him into a self-driving car. If this was their approach to chauffeuring, he couldn't wait to see the sort of things they did at the factory.

Nepö

---

Having felt like she had done well in UrGa's tests by going toe-to-toe with much higher-rated and respected drivers, Nepö couldn't help but be hopeful about her chances of making it onto the grid. With the folks at UrGa seemingly visibly impressed with her performance, and the team being in its relative WGPC infancy, she had plenty of reason to be hopeful - that was, until she had seen the announcement of Adonis Fitzpatrick taking the seat. To say she was livid would be an understatement, and her mentor would be the first to hear of it.

"So, you're telling me I came all the way to Myrilsk, freezing my hypothetical BALLS off, and busted my ass throughout the test... for a RESERVE drive? What's that all about?"

"Well, you ARE a rookie."

"So's Adonis, what difference does it make? I can't be any less of a rookie, can I?"

"You can! Just take the reserve drive, y'know, get your name out there, and hey presto! Next season will be written in the stars - as well as in ink - before you can say Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung."

"I suppose you're right, but I'm still pretty miffed."

"They've got an AOGP drive, not many other teams can offer that."

"So what? I've never even heard of that, never mind taken an interest in it. Is it any better than, say, HMG Challenge GT?"

"Let's just say more teams have eyes on that rather than, well, Hülkenberger sportscar racing, yes."

"Are you sure? I mean, HMG Challenge GT is a well-respected championship..."

"Who told you that?"

"The organisers, duh."

"They were lying."

"So were UrGa, what difference does it make?"

"UrGa didn't really lie, per se. They just dangled the carrot, so to speak. More of a mistruth than a lie."

"Look, that's not the point, do you think I should accept their offer or not?"

"Well, you sound angry, but do you have any other choice?"

"...nope."

"Then go for it! You've already got sponsors lined up, best not to disappoint them by vanishing for a year. Besides - how bad can AOGP be? I mean, it's something to dip your toes into. You haven't touched a single-seater in, oooh, a few years?"

"Suppose you're right. I'll get back to them when I can."

"Sounds like a plan."

[click]

From: kindernepö@hülkenmail.hb
To: [Urotovsky-Gatutin]
Subject: RE:- offer.jpg

To whom it may concern,

I have much to ponder when it comes to your offer.

- Firstly, may I say that I am extremely disappointed in your sudden, and quite frankly unjustified, method of sneaking me and several drivers to your team's facilities by dangling a second seat over our heads only to yank the carrot away at the last minute. I understand that promises must be kept, and I understand your reluctance to seat someone who's been racing domestically from a nation such as mine, but I do hope that this sort of thing does not become a recurrence at UrGa.
- However, the option of fine-tuning a car which I feel compliments my abilities is very hard to pass up. The machinery holds a lot of promise, and I hope my testing times will be able to, let's say, sway your decision later in the season. ;)
- Additionally, your offer of a further AOGP seat, whilst it is not something I was originally willing to accept, intrigues me. I will look into this championship further, for sure.

Taking all of this into account, I am ready and willing to accept your offer and become a test and reserve driver for Urotovsky-Gatutin. I am excited to test your machinery further, and even more excited to see what progress can be made as the season continues.

Yours,
Nepö Kinder

[TJUN-ia]

WGPC20
2nd Pre-Season Test
Gernache Circuit
Gernache, Mertagne

The Gernache Circuit is a place that is the perfect place to host the 2nd test of this WGPC season, a track that showcased both speed and technical ability with its three DRS zones and a keen emphasis on those high-speed corners. The first test was very tight regarding the time sheets, but each of the 14 teams was doing different things across that session in Eelandii. Many expected things to be similar here in Mertagne, but how would both TJUN-ian drivers feel heading into the first proper weekend next week?

LC
For the Galarian Lane Carter, his teammate has indeed been decided - with that battle within the boardroom and the sponsors being won by Cocoabo #23, better known as Fast Cocoabo. Of course, Lane had no qualms about having the Cocoabo as a teammate for Race Eelandii - the Cocoabo are lovely creatures and he knew just how well the Cocoabo can be during his time in WGP2 - but was also a bit of...social awkwardness that made them feel a certain way. Of course, Fast Cocoabo understands what he is saying and he's seen first-hand that it can communicate back, but it just...felt different to talk to Fast Cocoabo without talking to a fellow human. In that way, he felt awkward - but he also knew that this matter didn't mean shit in terms of being an actual racing driver. He had to do what he came here to do - even though he knew this season may become a bit lonely on the VTGP side of things.

In terms of the on-track action, iBen Toralmintii would lead at lunch ahead of the colonial relic known as Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir and Sophie McCreary while his racing team...occupied the rear, with Fast Cocoabo ahead of Carter. This was because that VTGP was focusing more on race runs than on the qualifying runs other may've been trying out but even with that fact, Lane was only down on his boss' time by half a second. Anneliese Devereux led the way after lunch over Bryce Yannec and Kingston Walcott and improvements would be made on the timesheets with Fast Cocoabo up to P13 while Lane climbed up to P24 - but still only a quarter of a second off the top time. It will only be qualifying next week when the full pace of the car will be known...and that is both a spot of inspiration and a place of fear for the experienced Galarian.

BT
For Batu Tüvshinbayar, the WGP2 Champion, the internal fears surrounding the Mongolian were starting to be put to the side. Shelly Brandywine was his new media handler, a position she seemed surprised to be nominated for but one that Batu felt she was perfect for, and he could certainly feel the benefits of being with his friends from the Commonwealth. On the flight to Mertagne, Steph Crowe would make herself available as another voice that batu can turn to across the season - her conquering of her fear of flying bringing confidence that she will make Batu into "a proper Parker".

While that will certainly take time (Batu doesn't even know what would count as a Parkerism), Batu had to focus on getting the best out the Orange Bullet that he has been provided with. SOC focused more on getting some good pace out of the car during morning session and that would certainly show in the times, with Batu ending up 8th (0.012 off of Toralmintii) and Jordan Crowe in P14 (0.054 down). After a productive lunch, the two drivers would split abmissions - with Batu continuing the work from the morning to end up in P8 again (this time 0.014 off the time of Devereux) while Crowe went back to race runs and would end up in P27 (0.463 down). In the end, some valuable data will be taken in over the next few days in preparation for Talbott and Liventia next weekend.

Donny was here after all...which certainly eased the worries for a little while. He would end up P4 in the morning and P9 in the afternoon, just behind Batu at the end of the day by 0.003 seconds. He wanted to go over to UrGa and see how his good friend was doing...but Batu didn't know if Adonis was even going to be comfortable around the Mongolian. That word Lambert used to describe his friend, "distracted", continued to rack around his head...and he didn't know if that was just going to impact things more greatly than initially thought. If Adonis was going to be "distracted"...then could Batu really strike a conversation with him? He didn't want to fuck him up, fuck up his career at this critical, but maybe Batu did despite not being in Baker Park at all. Donny was still is friend, until anything changes on that front, but if Batu is going to be a distraction for him...then what does that say about Batu?

[Ethane]

Test pace is strong, but work to do

Eminent have come out of pre-season testing feeling a little more confident in their overall package, after some solid results by Anneliese Devereux saw her top the final session. Anneliese did a 1:38.117 at the Gernache Circuit, exactly matching iBen Toralmintii's time in the morning. The result comes after Anneliese finished second in the morning pre-season session at the Eelandii Grand Prix Course, her 1:29.162 only 0:00:002 off the fastest driver of the day. Jordan Crowe. It is a clear sign that the design philosophy, trying to balance the two sides in the aerodynamics vs straightline speed debate, has been successful for Anneliese as she has adapted to the car.

The team are feeling positive after what are some excellent pre-season testing results for Anneliese and the team at Eminent, who were lacking confidence heading into pre-season testing. However, it appears the changes over the off-season have had a positive impact on the development of the car, with a clear design philosophy and work ethic taking root in the team.

However, it is clear that Adriana Kowalski Lilian still has a way to go until she feels comfortable with the car. The leaderboards have appeared very night-and-day between the two Eminent drivers in pre-season testing, but the results themselves are misleading. Anneliese did put in some incredibly fast times for the testing sessions, but she did have multiple fast-lap runs to replicate qualifying for the races and provide some data to the team. Adriana did not have the same run plan as Anneliese, and this reflects the fact her times are slower overall - she did focus on long-run plans much more heavily. This should hopefully provide some consistent solid data to the team for when they run those long stints on harder tyres.

Adriana has been more unlucky as well. It is clear she does not feel quite at home with the car yet, as on her fast laps there were multiple snaps and oversteer moments as she tried to wrestle the most out of the car. It's a sign that Adriana is still building confidence with the changes in the design from last year, and the new car is different enough to need adapting too. More time in the simulator will probably be needed before the start of the season. Adriana has also faced reliability issues though, which has hindered run-time. Adriana's car had multiple issues throughout the pre-season testing sessions, including a brakes issue which took out an hour and a half of running, and a system glitch which required a hard reboot of the car, taking another hour out of the second test. Despite feeling confident about their pace, there is still clear targets to work on and improve in preparation for the first race, and some adapting needed ready for the season.

[Chromatika]

Talbott, Liventia

It was the night before the Practice Session for the Grand Prix of Liventia, and So-Yeong was feeling far more prepared for the task at hand than she had previously. Tropicorps-Colourworks was a rather experienced team that knew how to run a tight outfit; they had no problem helping a new blood like her learn about what to expect on the WGPC circuit. they were all cautiously optimistic about her prospects in the season to come.

Instead of spending the time going over her notes about the car, looking at footage of her handling to think about ways that she could improve, or clearing her mind, Ji So-Yeong was instead spending her time in front of her computer screen, making sure that her webcam attachment was working properly. It had been a month since her last appointment, and it was very important to not keep the person on the other end waiting.

Sitting there, as pristine as ever, was a middle-aged woman with graying hair and sharp, cut features. Possessing a pointed nose and piercing green eyes that were always probing, Jaylan Beckmeier greeted Ji with the exact same demeanor that she had greeted the racer in their last nine interactions - with a curt nod.

'What is the latest, Mrs. Beckmeier?" Ji inquired after the two had exchanged pleasantries, trying to keep her disposition as plain as possible. Getting justice in any legal system took a long time, and she was determined to not be the person that was impatient toward others - especially not those that didn't have any say in how long something would take.

"Your being accepted at the WGPC circuit has complicated things slightly," stated Jaylan in her usual tone. She had been told her entire professional career that she was someone who could either intimidate or comfort someone on a dime, and she made full use of that. As a law counsel for Death Templars Law Firm, it was her responsibility to make sure that DTLF's clients would know how to carry themselves in the courtroom. Sometimes, that required a firmer hand, while others, it required encouragement; when it came to Ji, all it really took was brutal honesty.

"Both the defense counsel and the State have agreed to let you testify over a secure, encrypted connection. They will be sending personnel over to you in the next weeks to come to get you set up. After that, you will have your day in court through a computer screen. They are fully aware that without your testimony, there isn't much to go off of; everything else is circumstantial, yours is the only damning evidence that we have to try to put those responsible behind bars."

Ji nodded solemnly, before replying, "I am glad that they are willing to work with us in that capacity. If the court sees it fit to make sure that these things happen between races, I'd be even more honored."

"They are aware of your status as an international symbol," Beckmeier answered, "And will give the same kind of grace that they would give any other Chromatik sportsperson if they were in your shoes. Don't worry about that - that's my job, my firm's job, and the State's job. You remain a key witness, and as such, you are due some privileges that others don't get."

Ji gave a murmur of gratitude. "I look forward to when this will be behind me," she admitted, "I am very adamant to give my testimony and see justice done, but it's like a dark cloud over my head. It hasn't been easy."

"Are you sure," asked Beckemeier, "That you don't want to be assigned bodyguards? Especially with you not being on Chromatik soil, it would put all parties on your side more at ease if you were to have some security. I know that secrecy was a tool that we've been using, but with you getting in the public, and with the fact that some drivers on the circuit knew Anola, there is only so much going unnoticed will do for you."

"I haven't discussed it with my team yet," Ji responded, "But if they agree so, then perhaps, that should happen. As for Kaylan and Pressley, well... How much should they know?"

"Who you choose to tell is up to you," responded Beckemier, "It would be best if it didn't get leaked to the public, though."

"I understand," sighed Ji, "I will make sure to talk to my team, and fill them in. When do you think I'll testify?"

"In the next few months. I'll be sure to fit it on your calendar, and keep you posted," was the reply.

As the call ended, Ji absentmindedly looked at the bracelet on her wrist. It was a titanium piece, intricately made - thin, yet stylish, not spectacular, but intentional.

It was the last memory that Ji had of one Anola Melani, and a daily reminder of why she had to make sure that she would be able to provide testimony.

Yes, the time for secrecy was over between her and her team. As hard as it would be, it was time to spill some of the truth.

As she set up a meeting with the higher-ups of Tropicorps-Colourworks, her resolve set in once again.

There weren't many things that she was willing to overcome discomfort for. Racing was one of them, friends was another. Anola Melani had been a true friend. Therefore, she deserved justice - no matter what discomfort that would cause Ji.

True friends did that for each other, even past the grave.