World Grand Prix Championship 20 [RP/Results Thread]

[Hapilopper]

Sigurd Ring, Diarcesia
The morning of the Ramngardian Grand Prix
“So, certainly, the start of this season has got to be a massive disappointment for you, right?”

Sandy Peters of the Hapilopper Television Network was sitting in one chair, Marty Lewis was sitting in another. It was an uncomfortable feeling for Marty. He had been a bit frustrated with the way the season had gone after the first few races, and understandably so, with Preston Autos sitting 7th in the constructor’s standings, Rudy Edwards 8th in the driver’s points and William Archer without a single point to his credit. There had been some mitigating circumstances that had prevented Archer from scoring points when he was supposed to, and there had been mitigating circumstances that had prevented Rudy from scoring in races when he was really supposed to.

And now Marty was having to answer some very uncomfortable questions to HTN. Questions he didn’t want to answer, but questions he had to answer.

“That’s a nice way to put it,” Marty said. “We’ve had bad racing luck in the first few races this season. William has had some parts break on him and that has really cost him big time. Rudy had gotten a little overambitious trying to battle lead drivers. It has really cost us, to put it mildly.”

“What will that mean for the future of Preston Grand Prix moving forward?” Peters asked. “Certainly your bosses at Preston are looking at the results shown this year and have to be less than pleased.

“Yeah, they are less than pleased,” Marty said, shifting around in his seat. “You know, the thing is, this is a highly competitive business, and I think my bosses know this. You have a former World Grand Prix Champion unable to score points because his team didn’t get the car right. You’ve got teams and drivers that have gotten it right. So it’s a logjam up at the front of the grid.”

“But they’ve certainly got to be displeased with the results, right?” Peters asked.

“Look, anyone would be displeased with the results,” Marty responded, a little put off by the question. “But it’s not as if we produced a bad racing car. It’s not as if we have two bad racing drivers. We have two great racing drivers, drivers that are capable of winning the World Grand Prix Championship. We have a great racing car too. The problem is, there’s a lot of teams that produced great racing cars as well. I think my bosses at Preston know this. And on top of that, it’s not entirely as if Preston has been having problems this season.

“In the last race in Cocoabo Park, a Preston engine powered the winner,” Marty explained. “I wish it was our car, but for us, a Preston engine winning a race is just as good for us. Our company is delighted that Skiia Vialiv won in Cocoabo Park, and we know it won’t be the last win for Preston this season.”

“Do you think your team – we’re not talking about the customer teams running the Preston engines, but your team. Do you think your team is capable of winning races this season?” Peters asked.

“Of course they are,” Marty said. “We’ve been working on upgrades to the car. We’ve got major upgrades coming when we go to the Nexus Wardship in a few weeks. We feel those upgrades are worth a good bit of speed on the race track, and I think we’re going to be contending. I know we’re going to be contending.”

“But if you’re not?” Peters asked.

“I’m not going to think about that,” Marty said.

[TJUN-ia]

WGPC20
Round 4
Ramngardian Grand Prix
Sigurd Ring, Diarcesia

Three races down...and so much has already happened across this grid. Both championships still seemed to be up in the air and no one had any great idea as to who the 'favourites' are in either - and that made things all the more interesting in the eyes of everyone who watches this series and everyone who take part in it. Both TJUN-ians were now on the board after Batu's performance in the chaos of Cocoabo Forest but now that they both are, the situation turns towards building those total up and making their employers proud. There was no meet-up with the Fleftics as that was cancelled due to the struggles that Will Archer was going through - a mood they understood and also sympathised with - but they had to move past those issues and focus on the real task at hand...climbing up those chaotic leaderboards as best as they can. So how does it look like it's going this time?

The Sigurd Ring looked...oddly familiar to the TJUN-ians as they arrived in Diarcesia for the Ramngardian Grand Prix but they couldn't really focus on that right now as the One Shot format of Saturday meant that all focus was going to be on Practising the absolute fuck out of this circuit. This circuit certainly felt a little bit technical, but it also emphasised throttle control at certain points and that made for an interesting overall test. You'd expect both Pryfors Bilar and Sara Luna to perform well on home turf and it ended up being Luna who took the practice over Ji So-Yeong and Skiia Vialiv. Batu did very well to end up in P5, 0.126 behind Luna, while both Jordan Crowe set the exact same time - 1:41.421, 7 tenths off - with Croew getting the nod as he set that time first. Cocoabo #23 was about 3 tenths off Carter but only 1 position off in P20. Lessons learned indeed...but what about tomorrow.

Considering the last round was also a one-shot event, Saturday being a one-shot wasn't too much of an intimidating factor...but it was still an obstacle that had to be dealt with. As it was in Championship order, Batu would end up going first out of the TJUN-ians but he certainly fell into trouble as the Gauntlet messed up his lines a bit and he went a bit wide at Sydkattegat which would force him to start in P25 - 3.107 down on pole. Lane would go next and he would be more on the money, taking things easy around the Gauntlet, and while he was 1.17 seconds down, that was still good enough for P9 on the grid. Brendan Faloe would end up claiming pole over Angela Tan Fang Ling and Jordan Crowe, a fact that cause a celebration in the SOC garage, while Cocoabo #23 starts down in P22.

So that's the setup...tomorrow will certainly be interesting.

[Esmerel]

Chapter 7
Other Sides, Other Stories

June 7 - Midweek Preparations

It was another busy day at Midwood.

Morale was finally starting to climb for the Cygnus Motorsport Team. The team had come through and scored their first championship points- ten of them, at that- and moved into 9th in the Constructors’ Championship- acceptable for their lack of presence before the season. Of course, there was room to grow. Of the 5 rookie teams that entered the championship, two were behind Cygnus: Orange Cow in 11th and Sivaleinen in 13th- but the other two were well ahead: Pressley in 4th (and one of their drivers leading the Drivers’ Championship), and UrGa going so far as to lead the Constructors’ Championship after 3 races.

Dr. Emerson stood contemplating his team’s fortunes. The start had been rough, only in front of Tropicorp- and that team was beset by a malaise beyond their control- but a miracle drive by Brendan Faloe had lifted them off the bottom of the table. After this, there remained seven races- seven more chances to increase that points total. Many of those chances involved race circuits the Cygnus C101 was, in theory, better suited for. Better results were sure to come.

Of course, the team had blown their chance at Togonistan, and that was the most aggressive track on the calendar. So in truth, there was little to be certain about.

As she usually did, Lianna Alphonse overviewed the rest of the team as they worked to undo any issues brought up at the last Grand Prix weekend so as to enter the next weekend with maximum potential. “It’s hard to deny… that this isn’t quite as hectic as a Grand Prix,” she said to Dr. Emerson. “It’s good to let off the pressure, but it can be fairly idle if nothing different occurs.”

“I’m glad we’ve handled it so far,” Dr. Emerson replied. “And we’re still feeling good about those points. We scored as many as Obey did in a single stroke, and there’s much more room to go.”

“...I’m not surprised you’re thinking about that,” Lianna noted. “I don’t believe you’ve said it aloud- where you hope to finish the season, I mean. Tell me if you’ve an idea.”

“Realistically? I’ll take a top 10, given there’s 14 teams,” Dr. Emerson said. “And thirty or so points. If I wanted to reach higher, though, it’d be top 7, right in the middle- with a podium finish somewhere.”

“...Those sound like achievable goals, certainly,” said Lianna. “Brendan’s points weren’t paltry, they were 4th place points. We should be able to do one or more better, provided all goes well.”

“I would certainly enjoy that. It’s just good to see us giving it our honest attempt,” Dr. Emerson mentioned. “I feel that this way, even if we struggle, we’ll have tried. There’ll be no… for lack of a better word, half-assery, from us, and the fans will respect and enjoy us for that. We’re in this for the long haul.”

“...What of your thoughts on Angela?” Lianna asked.

“She’s still a good driver; I trust her to perform well given the right chance,” Dr. Emerson noted. “Her crash last weekend may have been the result of inexperience- plus worn tires, of course- but it could have caught anyone out. I don’t doubt for a moment that she’ll recover. I believe she’ll score a points finish at least once, maybe twice.”

“...You could say we had some differing fortunes,” Lianna said. “One driver scores our first points, the other driver completes only a third of the race distance. It’s quite a juxtaposition- we might all have our heads held high, but then there’s… the other side.” Lianna pointed to the garage bay adjacent to the main telemetry station, where a team of mechanics worked on the chassis of car #84- taking apart broken parts, mounting new ones, and repairing what damage could be undone. “It’s far from obvious, but we’re walking a tightrope,” she continued. “We have spare parts, but not as many as the large teams; nor do we have a nine-digit budget. If we have a major failure, it may affect our future performance. At least the damage was minor. Given time and effort, we should be able to use it as a backup.”

“We have a good team; they’ll handle it shiningly,” Dr. Emerson confidently said. “The best that Esmerel has to offer- former EGTC mechanics, years worth of Cygnus graduates as far back as 2010, and a passion few can match.”

“It is phenomenal when you put it like that. Of course, you could say the same for many other teams,” Lianna commented. “...I suppose I may as well ask something of you regarding that, given our lack of other duties. Has anything managed to progress between you and Olivia Stone?”

“...To my understanding, the plot has rapidly thickened.”

“Your meaning is…?”

“You know we were in correspondence with her, offering a role as a test driver,” Dr. Emerson explained. “She initially declined- waiting for openings anywhere she could, though it was hardly on poor terms. However, things have changed since then. She was unable to secure an AOGP seat, and we’ve re-entered negotiations about her role as a reserve driver.”

“I understand, that sounds fine,” Lianna noted.

“Yet as I was drafting an offer to send to her, I became aware of another team’s plans with her,” Dr. Emerson continued. “Olivia took part in the driver test for Urotovsky-Gatutin, the Pridnestrovian team- and while she wasn’t given the seat, she did well in the test. Now, they’re considering sacking one of their drivers, Skiia Vialiv- to hire Olivia for the final five rounds of the season.”

“...Concerning.”

“This apparently happened as early as Togonistan. Olivia informed me of an informal offer sent to her- the door certainly looks to be peeking open,” Dr. Emerson said.

“I see. Of course, I’m a lead designer, not a manager, that’s your job,” Lianna said. “But for my insight into this… I know you were hoping to sign Stone, just to give her time in a car in some way. The same would be true of a race seat- and she would obviously be inclined to accept any offer of that kind.”

“That is true. If UrGa wanted to give her a seat, she’d be a fool to take a reserve role here,” Dr. Emerson noted.

“Then again… You said that ‘informal offer’ was sent around Togonistan, correct?” Lianna asked. “Yet Vialiv then won the next Grand Prix. She’s ahead of her teammate in the Drivers’ Championship. They would be making a mistake firing her now.”

“...Which would settle things nicely. But of course, it could still happen,” Dr. Emerson said. “...I still think we could make this work, though.”

“How so?”


“In my negotiations with Olivia, she mentioned a quick-release clause would be ideal,” Dr. Emerson explained. “If she signs as our reserve, then another team makes her an offer, we would be obliged to let her go.” He paused for a moment. “Of course I have every faith in Brendan and Angela. But I do seek to offer someone else the chance to gain experience driving. I believe Olivia Stone could use that experience- she won a race even in the midst of the Nimban blip.”

“As should be obvious, it’s your decision,” Lianna noted.

“Indeed it is.”

FROM: William Emerson, DoE
TO: Olivia Stone, Baxen Aurora
SUBJECT: Contract Offer

To Olivia Stone,

After considering all possible outcomes, I have come to the decision that you would be a great member of the Cygnus Motorsport Team.

I would like to offer you the position of Test/Reserve Driver on the team. In this role, you will provide useful data through driving the C101 at our test circuit in Midwood, as well as aiding in vehicle setup and traveling with the team to Grands Prix.

Following this e-mail’s sending, I will attempt to get in touch with the WGPO to allow you to run the car in two Free Practice Sessions, at the Nimban and Esmerelian Grands Prix, as well as the mid-season test in Atheara.

As you have requested, a quick-release clause will be in effect for this contract. It is my understanding that you have been informally offered a position at Urotovsky-Gatutin, and should an actual offer be made to you that you wish to accept, you are free to do so.

It is my wish that you receive useful experience in a Grand Prix car over the course of this season, regardless of who you are driving for. To that extent, I eagerly await your reply.

Yours sincerely,

William Emerson, DoE
Team Manager, Cygnus

__________

Located outside the city of Ramgardia, the Sigurd Ring combines several straights of different lengths with slow- to medium-speed turns. With the track being designed for endurance racing, runoff areas are large, and there are many ways to make a mistake without losing too much time, leading to many chances to go all-out, all race long. This event could truly have what a WGPC weekend needs to be special, so we'll have to see just what one driver can claim the Ring.

-From the Lapiz Point Post’s Pre-Weekend Rundown

June 9 - Practice in Ramgardia

Jean Mercer-Daly hadn’t set foot in a car beyond the confines of Nimbus Bay, and yet the season was feeling so far, so good.

The UHSGV5 was a solid step up from its predecessors, successfully building on the eight-wheeled frustal concept introduced in the previous seasons. After the first three rounds of the championship, Nexus had successfully recovered from the malaise of 2021: they were in third place, and Ryker had scored a podium. It left time to struggle, but time as well to excel.

As most people would, Jean still did have his worries. Janne Laukkanen, the man he had left his seat for, was doing acceptably- a marvelous 4th place in Togonistan had left him within arm’s reach of his first podium. It was better than the aging Jean- who had celebrated his 41st birthday in May- would have been able to reliably accomplish.

Jean, however, didn’t see the same magic he had seen in his once-rival, and Janne’s predecessor, Terho Talvela. And it hung in the back of his mind that it was Jean’s (partial) fault, leaving Janne in the oven for so long that by the time he got out- by the time he had the Nexus seat he was building up to since 2017- that magic had missed its chance. It was a tall order, trying to live up to the legacy of the most successful WGPC driver of all time.

Now, it was up to Jean to watch over his overcooked pupil. At this, he assured himself, he wouldn’t do so poorly.

The atmosphere in Ramgardia was a stark contrast to the racing circuits Jean had experienced this year- the heat of the Folenisa Desert, of Togonistan and of the Cocoabo Forest was not nearly as strong in Diarcesia. Instead, a cool, yet mild breeze blew through the air, which meant more opportunities to push the cars to their limit. It was equally easy to overtake at Sigurd, and mistakes meant little punishment which, like it or not, meant even more going all-out.

Together, it made Jean feel excited for the weekend. And he wasn’t even in the car.

Max was nearby as usual, guiding Janne through the practice programs. “Fancy conditions we’re having, aren’t we?” he asked Jean.

“Should be, yeah. I’m liking our chances. Don’t have a lot to say, but I know I’m sure,” Jean replied.

“Same feeling here. Guess even if qualifying goes poorly, we have room to improve in the race,” Max noted. “...Well, Janne’s out doing busywork, he won’t be in for another several laps. So… how have you been feeling as of late?”

“Just fine. It’s easier to feel the sense of speed when there aren’t any competitors,” Jean said, referring to his constant testing at Nexus HQ. “And it makes Ryker and Janne’s jobs easier, definitely- makes me feel like I get to contribute.”

“How about… what you might do in the future?” Max asked. “I know there must be a lot of possibilities. You could hang up the gloves, sure, but I still think you might do well if you tried.”

“...Honestly, I’ve not been thinking about that much,” Jean admitted. “Just trying to get through this season. I know I’ll start thinking about my decision by the end, but it’ll take time.”

“Fine by me.”

“...I’ve actually got some activities on my to-do list for the next week or so, though,” Jean said. “Next weekend is our home race, and I’m sure the Wardship will have something for us to do- press conferences and other public appearances, maybe.”

“Right, that’s to be expected… I guess it’s nowhere near as scary as trying to manage a race weekend,” Max said.

“Well, it’s a bit scary to me. But I try to keep up appearances; I know I’m a public figure with public expectations,” Jean added. “...I guess it’s a lot to manage. One part of me does want to leave most of that behind again… Quietly retire home and enjoy watching the world from afar.”

“...Jean? As long as you figure it out, I’ll stand by what you choose for your future,” Max firmly said.

“Thanks. But that’ll be then, and now’s now. How are the cars doing?” Jean asked.

“On the right track, Jean,” Max declared, “because of your insights. Remember that.”

__________

June 10 - Qualifying in Ramgardia

There was another atmosphere four garages down the pit lane.

After a middling practice session, the time had come again for Cygnus to qualify its cars. For the second week in a row, the session was one-shot- a risky but exciting premise. In the first three races, the team had below-average qualifying success, though it didn’t stop a P4 finish from P24 in qualifying.

Yet that couldn’t happen every weekend. It was time to build off the past and towards the future, however that would end up. Cygnus was in luck, too- they had brought some improvements, and hopefully could gain a few tenths on their previous performances.

As the session began, the first few drivers went out to set their lap times, leaving the other teams to watch and wait for their one chance to do better. This included Cygnus, though they wouldn’t wait long; the cars set their times in reverse championship order. This left Angela fourth in the qualifying order, and Brendan eighteenth.

At the telemetry station, Cole and Carol watched the international feed, as the first few drivers began their laps.

“Carol… I wanted to say that your words last weekend meant something to me,” Cole mentioned.

“Oh? And where’s this coming from?” Carol questioned.

“It’s coming from the fact that I knew better than to question you, and you proved that,” Cole answered. “You’ve only ever been too positive for your own good. I wasn’t going to get through like I am.”

“...Is this admitting defeat, Cole? I’m confused.”

“Hardly. But… Well, I guess I don’t know. I still refuse to believe you, that optimism alone can fuel a team,” Cole said. “But a bit of it did seem to work… for Brendan, anyway…”

“...You’ve got to figure yourself out, Cole,” Carol noted. “Now, I’ve got to send Angela out. I’ll be busy.”

“Sure you’ll be busy…”

-

As the previous driver finished their flying lap, Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling headed out of the pit lane.

The Sigurd Ring was easily the most lenient of race circuits on the WGPC calendar. However, that mostly applied to making mistakes. Leaving the track could still lose time on the one important qualifying lap, or worse, constitute a track limit violation. The one-shot format absolutely provided thrills for the fans, and it wasn’t as if qualifying sessions otherwise had more than a few laps anyway. But one chance could be unnerving for the drivers that it was each given to. One mistake and it would be that much harder to save anything worthwhile.

“Angela, don’t be afraid to go all-out here,” Carol directed over the radio. “You can do great, I know you can. Current fastest time is Archer, a 1:36 flat; we can do that. Good luck, Angela.”

From the garage, everyone watched as Angela took on the Sigurd Ring, from the heavy braking at Hastighetslagen, to the slow, crawling turns at the Gauntlet, to the medium-speed zones at Österhörn and beyond. Nobody expected too much. The track was better suited to cars favoring handling over power, if only just.

But throughout each corner, Algela started to truly prove that she was more than just another racing driver. She was proper WGPC material. Little by little, she carved her way through the course, cleanly hitting almost every apex without fail. Throughout it all, Carol kept admiring her work, giving her tiny tips to make the most out of the power she had.

One purple sector. Two purple sectors. And then… three. While it was only out of 4 cars, a Cygnus car had just taken provisional pole by over half a second. And the team loved it. The garage erupted into cheers and clapping.

“That! Is! Awesome, Angela!” Carol cheered into the radio. “You are P1, that was a monstrous lap! Set 1, remember, set 1, and watch for the next car behind on their outlap.”

At his station, Cole smiled at Angela’s performance, but at the same time, he felt an air of unease around him. So far, Carol had given Brendan key advice propelling him to a P4 finish, and now he had guided Angela to an excellent qualifying lap. Perhaps he wasn’t wrong about passion. It was just hard for Cole to tell- was that passion helping bring out the best the team could manage? And why did so much of the team seem to agree with Carol’s doctrines, if they had joined for the sake of pushing every boundary imaginable?

A few minutes later, Angela returned to the garage to the celebration of the team- regardless of what was to come, she had done her task. Cole, meanwhile, made a decision. He would turn up the heat.

“Brendan… would you mind talking, for just a moment?” Cole asked.

“Um… Sure? Just remember I have a qualifying lap soon,” Brendan replied. He then went over and sat down next to his race engineer.

“I was wondering something… Well, let me rephrase; I wanted to ask some questions and understand what it is that makes you tick,” Cole explained. “I joined this team because I thought we were all going to push for new possibilities. Take a ragtag group of underdogs and work our way to the top, like I did once at home.”

Cole was interrupted by a short cheer from the team, happy that Angela’s time was still at the top after the latest driver’s lap.

“It just felt like the moment anything actually began- and I caught up on all the pre-season things before I joined- we settled into accepting our position,” Cole continued. “Like, maybe there was still an effort to do well, and move forward, but it was much slower than it could have been. It confused me. Not to mention my twin brother became your other race engineer. I knew he was being hired, but still… I wondered if I had gotten here by mistake.” Cole paused. “So what is it that you enjoy? How’d you get from A to B, from… slightly above-average college student to a WGPC driver?”

“...I guess I just got lucky,” Brendan responded, after a few seconds to think.

“Lucky?”

“Well… I had a tiny advantage, being such a popular peer reviewer in my engineering class,” Brendan explained. “And at home, I enjoyed racing games and simulators, though it wasn’t everything I was. You know I was one of the lead designers for Cygnus’s very first WGP car?”

“You were? How did that happen? …When did that happen?” Cole asked, dumbfounded.

“...It feels so minor, I can’t easily remember the date,” Brendan admitted. “It was… 2018 or 2019, I think. As I was at the end of secondary school. Cygnus wanted to enter a car in the Nimban WGP3 series, the i-League- and they wanted a designer at or around university age to help. That was me, I guess; I was born in Midwood, and I’ve lived there all my life, so of course I wanted to go to Cygnus University. So I took the regulations and built a car to them, and I guess they liked it.

“Once I got into college, I became an engineer because I thought it was close to what I enjoyed, racing and cars, et cetera… I didn’t prefer mechanic-based work. Still, I didn’t know what would happen after I graduated. I’m sure I would have found something, since there’s always opportunities, but it could have been anything. So in the end… right place, right time, right engineering professor who happened to be starting a racing team.”

“...Well, I guess I’ve heard stranger things,” Cole responded. “Does that mean anything towards… ‘passion’ or ‘contention’? Do you have an idea yourself as to why this team seems to enjoy punching above its weight… but then it backs off when it can?”

“I… I don’t know where you’re getting that from,” Brendan said. “I think we’re all just trying to be realistic; taking small victories when we can. Dr. Emerson’s said the team doesn’t have the same resources as the biggest teams usually at the top, so we can’t constantly go all-out yet. It’s going to be a multi-year plan, and I think most of us have fully accepted that.”

“...Well, it’s just different from how I usually do it. Maybe you could blame me, then, for not noticing the fine print when I agreed to join the team,” Cole admitted. “Maybe you want to know more about me, then. Well… my brother Carol got his start in EGTC engineering much earlier than I did. He joined the ranks of the Woodson team, an old, plucky underdog organization that was best known for just staying afloat. The fans loved that they kept showing up, even if they didn’t place high often.

“I decided to become an engineer some years after Carol,” Cole continued. “The team that hired me was Pevensey, from the city of the same name, and their flailing reputation. I stayed strong. I told the team they needed to work harder, to fight for every single possibility of improvement. A few years later, we were competing at the top of the championship. After that, they fell into the same… hedonism that some other top teams in sports might share. I mean, Tropicorp went from three times in a row the champion- well, just the Drivers’ in 2021, but close enough- and now they can’t finish any higher than 19th. I left Pevensey because I wanted something new. I thought this’d be it.”

“And is it?”

“I might not know yet. Just that I hope things don’t go the same way they did before- not just being happy to show up, nor reaching the top and then stopping entirely,” Cole replied. “And… listen. Maybe I still believe my methods are better, because I do believe that- but I hope that we can understand each other a little better. I do want what’s best for us. Whether or not we can reach the top… is it unreasonable to at least want to get there?”

Brendan, not really being big on philosophy, shrugged. “Good question.”

-

Time continued to pass in what had become the most nerve-wracking qualifying session in history. For the young Cygnus team, anyway. Car after car went out to post their time, and each time Cygnus waited with bated breath, hoping Angela’s time stood at the top of the table.

Miraculously, each time a new ranking was added, it could not take provisional pole away. And each time, there was jubilation. Eventually, seventeen drivers had set their times, and at the top of those seventeen was still Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling, at the moment +0.029 clear of second-placed Jordan Crowe.

Now, it was the other Cygnus driver’s turn, to see if he could come anywhere close.

Brendan’s practice around the Sigurd Ring had been fairly conventional, and nothing too flashy- he had ended that session in 23rd, +1.256 behind the fastest time. Still, now that the team was running their newest parts and upgrades, as well as the best setups they knew of from the practice session, he could probably do much better than that.

”You’ll be passing Haukanna on track; she’s on her inlap,” Cole warned. ”Should be after the Gauntlet; she’ll let you by but be careful at that part of the track. Warm the car up and get the switches primed to full, please.”

“I copy all of that,” Brendan replied. “And, Cole- thanks for earlier. I think we’ll do better like this.”

”Don’t rest on your laurels yet, you’ve not even set a time,” Cole replied. ”But yes, I think you’ll interpret how I work better. Now get interpreting. Go fast!”

Brendan did plan to go fast. How fast? He was about to find out. He carefully exited Sydkattegat, the blind crest leading to a steep downhill, and rounded Nordkattegat flat-out to begin his lap. The rear wing came flying open (under his control) and the boost went to full power, sending Brendan thundering down the pit straight, every rev of the twin turbo Tropicorp V8 giving it its all.

He first arrived at Hastighetslagen, standing hard on the brakes and turning right, then left into a slight incline. What followed was the Gauntlet, the slowest section of the course. Brendan approached at high speed, then slowed to a crawl as he rounded the hairpin and the short left after it. Then came another opportunity to go at full power down the back straight, approaching Österhörn with a short brake and a quick twist of the wheel. The corner led to another’s approach. Heading towards Helsingfors, Brendan quickly glanced at his time so far- and he was doing well. A bright green sector 1, and an approximate delta within a tenth or two of Angela’s time.

Now came the rest of the lap. Rounding Helsingfors, then came two straights of similar length and shape split by a long hairpin. Brendan handled them all with aplomb. Still the lap continued, and next came the Stockholm Syndrome complex- a rather blunt name for a track section. Yet perhaps it was accurate, as Brendan found its fast left-right to medium left flow much more enticing than the rest of the course, and he wanted to ensure he mastered it. After so much time spent in practice, he essentially had. Minimal braking into turn 12 led to a slight bit more into turn 13, and then more in turn 14, all while still navigating the apexes.

The Sector 2 time had already shown on the MFD, and Brendan glanced at it as he took to a short straight. Another bright green sector. And still very close to the top. The lap was coming to a close. Once more he shot past turn 15, barely keeping the car’s grip in check, before getting hard on the brakes one last time into Sydkattegat.

”You’re close, Brendan… Oh, my gods, the delta… Keep going, come on!” Cole barked in his earpiece.

It sounded like a good sign. Brendan floored the power early out of the corner, barely remaining steady through the steep downhill drop towards the finish line. It had to be good. A few seconds later, he crossed the start/finish line, bringing his qualifying session to a close.

He only realized what he had managed to do when he peeked at his MFD timing. A purple third sector. The delta read… -0.207. Not plus. Minus.

”Brendan? You’ve… you’ve beaten Angela’s time,” Cole radioed in dumbfoundedly, amidst gargantuan cheers that the earpiece picked up. ”1:35.279. You are on provisional pole.”

“You’re kidding… You’ve got to be kidding! I just… I didn’t think anything would feel better than last week, but this… If it’s not ahead, it’s close behind! Wow!” Brendan exclaimed. “Thank the team for this car… Whether or not we keep it, I’m proud.”

”You know what, Brendan? I think I’m proud, too,” Cole said. ”Bring it in carefully. Watch for Laukkanen behind; stay off the racing line.”

What an experience.

-

Brendan returned to the garage and patiently waited with the rest of the team, with the same bated breath they had. Ten drivers were yet to set their time.

Yet as each of them did, they failed to best what had already been set. Laukkanen. Cruisin. Edwards. Kowalski. Lane. Fitzpatrick. Vialiv. Devereux. Cocoabo. McCreary. Every single one of them set their lap times, only to fall short of Brendan- and Angela as well.

In just their fourth Grand Prix, Cygnus had managed a front-row lockout. The garage erupted into cheers once more, though more steadily than when the individual laps were set. It was less of a “Wow, did we just do that?!” and more of a “We did it… and we held on. Wow.”

Brendan sprung into the air, pumping his fist in celebration- even as a newcomer to sports, he knew what it was like to accomplish something that only one driver could do at a time. Pole position by two tenths.

In everyone’s mind now was the wonder- and the worry- about whether or not they could follow through on Sunday. It was a colossally important moment, with colossal implications should the team succeed or fail. But there was always a chance- if there wasn’t, the team wouldn’t be anywhere near where they were now. The Sigurd Ring was equally easy to lose ground on and forgiving to mistakes, and anything could happen in the WGPC. But the front row did provide the best start possible.

The best chance yet for an Esmerelian team to break the shackles and do what they set out to do, once and for all.

[Auruna]

Aikura, Auruna

Somewhere in the northern parts of the province of Veratuna above Akresna lies a small, quiet city called Aikura. Surrounded by forests and lakes, providing serene and scenic views just like any other small urban communities in the middle of the country. As of now, there's nothing motorsport related inside the city and it has been like that for quite some time - no circuits, no local racing scene, no MNA sanctioned events, just a peaceful city. Although that statement was a bit of a lie as there are still some elements that are related to motorsports. Due to its distance from any large city, it is the preferred place for many drivers to live which also includes a few drivers who originated from Aikura, and one of the most notable is Jöna Ekeränna who calls this place home after retiring from driving duties. He, along with his family, are just living their everyday lives outside of racing, every week.

It was another usual day for Jöna before he returns to Sterlennau the next day, spending it well back home with his family after being busy as the team principal of a big racing team. It was a refreshing break from his usual routine. Sometime in the afternoon, Jöna was watching his daughter, Aira Ekeränna, race with his home simulator while coaching her in certain areas. "Do this there... do that here..." He tells her as she races tp the mild annoyance of her daughter but he just couldn't help it.

As Jöna continues on, the quiet ambience of their neighbourhood was broken by the roar of a straight-six Schkeska which soon went silent as it seemed to park infront of his house. He immediately knew who it was, being at the door before any knocking and opening it as his guest steps into the vicinity of his home, greeting him. "Artur! Tärvella!"

"Küve päivün." Artur Iljakov greets back as he was welcomed into Jöna's house. "Thanks for the invitation."

"Don't mention it, I just figured that we could spend some time outside of Sterlennau, you know?" Jöna said while handing over a gift to Artur. "Open it when we get back." He said before gesturing Artur to follow him.

"No Kiiro?"

"Couldn't invite him. He was too busy working on some stuff. Probably he heard about certain development issues so he had something in mind but that's none of our concerns for now."

"None?"

"Yeah, we have other things to worry about but we'll discuss them when we get back. For now, take a seat and have a drink."

"Thanks, but no drinks, I still need to drive home."

"No worries, I can get you some coffee."

"Thanks again."

After taking a brief look around, he notices Aira using Jöna's simulator and curious, he walks over to the station. "Nearly two seconds faster, nice." He said as he observed the data on the monitors. "Have you ever tried open wheelers?"

While focused on her laps, Aira still answered Artur. "I did the Aurun WGP3 with Schkeska."

As he didn't follow it when it first ran, he was surprised. "Wow, and have you experienced the pain with them?"

"Well, it was indeed a painful experience. What are you suggesting as I know what you might be thinking of when you asked me."

"Clever one..." He said, impressed. "I was about to suggest driving for Viska in the next one. Maybe there, you could get a chance."

"I'm listening."

"Maybe you could even get promoted to WGP2 and eventually WGPC, partnering with either Sara Luna, Kinu Luminna, or even Laura Haukanna."

"I'm not sure if I could reach that."

"It surely takes time. What do you say?"

"Err.."

Out of nowhere, Jöna places his hand on Artur's shoulder before speaking up. "Are you poaching her from Schkeska?" He asked but his tone indicated that he was amused by Artur's antics outside of Viska.

"Probably." Replied Artur.

"Well, you need to do more convincing to get her to defect."

"Oh I would absolutely try."

"Good luck." Jöna said as he hands Artur a cup of coffee. "And I think you'll need this as well."

Their afternoon together continues as Artur tried to convince Aira to defect to Viska, being the one handling drivers, to Jöna's amusement. They overall had a fun time together. From the afternoon snacks and even Artur joined the Ekeränna family for dinner later on. It was something the broke the monotony of managing a racing team, dissipating all the stress through fun times. Later that night, as Artur prepares to leave, Jöna asks him about something.

"This has been on my mind lately."

"Go on..."

"Do you think we can impress in the following races?"

"I do believe that we can do something amazing. Points, podiums, even a win... I can see that happening."

"I trust you on that. I really do."

"I can tell that good fortune is among us. We just need to realise it."

"Well then, kijo öönä Artur."

"Küve öönä."

---

Viska Factory
Sterlennau, Auruna

News broke out in regards to the entire power unit as Hori scratches her head over several other issues at hand. Oh no... not another one. She thought worriedly as it soon kept piling up. Her team encountered several overlooked issues and are still trying to resolve it but due to Viska's inexperience with their own engines, she had to enlist some help.

AHI-Livanen came to the rescue for one more time, being one of the only engine manufacturers that could rival Schkeska, they were a perfect choice to look into the Re:Genesis engine's problems. Hori bit her nails as she listened to what they could find and what they could do. She felt a mix of worry and relief and soon, dread as they fired up the test unit to test several parameters in a running engine. The overwhelming information she had to take in was difficult to keep up as she attempts to write everything down in her notes.

After hours of intense testing, nearly blowing out the test unit, the volunteers from AHI-Livanen had conclusion that Hori hadn't even thought of. As the head engineer of the AHI-Livanen volunteers spoke, Hori nods at every sentence. This continued on until the head engineer's final remark. "This is built upon a Schkeska unit so you should try to contact them about this." To which Hori had to do a double-take to make sure she heard it right.

"Schkeska?"

"Correct, you should consult them about this engine as it was based on the Schkeska V130T. This also includes the hybrid system that is based on their concept."

"I hadn't thought of it... but you're right."

I hate to concede to them but it's probably our only viable choice this time.

---

Sigurd Ring
Qualifying

Is The Right Way Up? Or Down?

With the local being their top driver for this weekend, Viska believes it could have a chance at redeeming itself. They just had to nail down a good qualifying. Aaron Deering qualified first for Viska. He, along with his race engineers Esko, cooperate to the best of their abilities to try and get a good qualifying after being outperformed by his teammate in the following race. It was a huge ask for him and the pressure continues to build up as he started his one-shot qualifying. After successfully getting through Hastighetslagen, he almost carried too much speed as he approaches the series of corners called the 'Gauntlet'.

"Easy there Aaron, you don't want to crash out of your only attempt." Esko reminded Aaron. "And think of your tyres as well." He soon added after looking at the telemetry of Aaron's car as he exits Turn 6.

"You can engage the motors here. Mäki to HL Mode." As Aaron accelerates through the straight, engaging the hybrid system alongside the pseudo-AWD system to assist him with his top speed.

Upon reaching the following corner. "Mäki to N Mode, you don't want to understeer here."

Esko continues to guide Aaron, as well as helping him with the optimal usage of the car's systems. It helped to minimise Aaron's mistakes throughout his lap, something which he struggled before. And this time, things are looking to be positive. From Helsinfors onward, Aaron was completely in control of his own qualifying while remembering what Esko taught him. He was smooth through the corners, fast through the straights until he reached Sydkattegat. After nearly losing all control at the corner, he manages to save it before he could even crash out. He pushes it into the flat-out section at the end of the lap and he crosses the line.

"That's a 1:37.832. You did good there. Keep it up and you'll get your first points in this race."

Later on, it was time for Sara's qualifying. Being one of the two local drivers here, she has prior experience in this circuit which should help with her qualifying run. Working alongside Jan, the two aimed for a high qualifying spot but knowing the Viska, it will take a lot to get their desired outcome. "Cleared for HL Mode on all systems. I'll let you and Pleiades handle it. Good luck." Jan said over the radio as Sara starts her lap.

Big expectations come with big pressure and Sara brushed it off as she focused on her qualifying lap. The Viska crew back at the garage watches her lap, some are anxious, some are excited, but it is truly a nail-biting experience to watch especially in a one-shot format. Only Jan, Artur, and Jöna were calm throughout the entire lap. They believe in their drivers. They knew she can do it.

It was shaping up to be a great lap for the Diarcesian, utilising the strengths of the VK-03H and the Re:Genesis engine to her advantage, using everything available to her at the moment to grab a spot in the upper half of the grid. The tension that the team felt was immeasurable as they could only watch. Green sector to green sector, but the result is still unknown. After rounding the penultimate corner for a final flat-out push, Sara firewalls the throttle on her car, pushing it to its top speed, revving it high as she crosses the line.

But all their efforts weren't enough.

"1:37.623. You did good out there." Jan said. "Looks like our tunes to Pleiades worked out fine. But not to worry, since you've previously reached 8th from 22nd and 10th from 25th, who knows what you can achieve from P16."

...

"Niikuikko... ükastaa onneaa, siinelin je Seikolin." ("Anyway... good luck once again, to you and Pleiades.")

[Vilita and Turori]

Toralmintii Drops NSSCRA Schedule to Focus on Colourworks Fix

Reigning World Grand Prix Drivers Champion and WGPC's winningest driver of the modern era iBen Toralmintii has spoken for the first time about the Tropicorp Colourworks teams struggles to score points thus far during the World Grand Prix's 20th season. Through three races of the World Grand Prix Championship season, Toralmintii and rookie teammate Ji So-Yeong of Chromatika have combined for exactly zero points - the final team on the grid to have failed to place in the Top 10 in what has otherwise proven to be a well balanced Grand Prix field.

Of course while the expectations for So-Yeong were minimal having never driven a vehicle of this caliber before, no one could have projected the struggles for the #1 car on the grid. Tropicorp Colourworks reverted back to a more stable chassis for the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix hoping that the familiar feel of the car and the veteran skill of Toralmintii could provide an easy combination to finally put the team in the points. However, Toralmintii only lasted a single circuit around the Cocoabo Park Circuit, potentially collecting damage in the first lap fracas that may have cascaded into power train issues that could not be repaired, though no official statement was released to confirm.

While naturally there would have been little Toralmintii could have done to prevent their early exit at the Cocoabo Park Circuit, it didn't take long for pundits to begin to link Toralmintii's poor performance to start the World Grand Prix season with their decision to compete in another major motorsports series, the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series, at the same time. Toralmintii's race schedule has been packed between running three World Grand Prix Championship events, six races in the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series as well as the first round of iROS and the Rumble in the Rice Fields. Many suggest that Toralmintii just isn't focusing on the World Grand Prix Championship and that is why the results have been so poor.

Toralmintii Agrees. Despite not issuing a formal announcement on the matter, Toralmintii chose not to follow the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series when the series moved on to the Garden of Radiance to start the Round of 8 in the Chase for the Multiversal Cup, instead sending another former Tropicorp Racing Aelund driver, Juracai Klianiota, to compete instead. Klianiota would immediately take over driving duties of the #77 Team Tropicorp Colourworks Hybrid Dart in the Multiversal Cup Series, abandoning the remainder of the AOCAR Stock Car Series schedule and letting Toralmintii return to the Tropicorp Test Track to renew their focus on helping the Tropicorp Colourworks WGPC team figure out how to put a competitive car on the track and score points for the first time.

While Tropicorp Colourworks are the only team left on the grid to not score a point in the first three races, it is a much different story on the drivers championship side of things. Although Toralmintii and So-Yeong have struggled to the start, they are still just 32 points behind the series leader - a rookie - Sophie McCreary. If the team can get things turned around and put together back to back Podium Finishes they could still find themselves atop the standings by the seasons half way mark, and all the woes of the first three races would be forgotten just as quickly. For iBen Toralmintii, there was certainly an admission that they may have been more focused on achieving that elusive NSSCRA Race Victory but now, realizing that the struggles of the Tropicorp Colourworks team were real, that NSSCRA dream would have to wait... at least for now.

Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix, Cocoabo Park Circuit, Cocoabo Park :: Over the first two races of the World Grand Prix Championship 20th season, just four Rookie Drivers had finished in the points. Adonis Fitzpatrick and Sophie McCreary were far and away the most succesful earning 24 and 18 points respectively in the first two rounds while Kingston Walcott and Sam Blaatschappen had both done enough to cross off "First ever World Grand Prix Points" from the to do list. With a very deep rookie lineup featuring almost half of the starting grid, it was certainly expected that as the season progressed more rookie drivers would find their way into the points, however it is likely that few expected a Rookie to end up in Victory Lane quite so soon.

One of a handful of teams with two rookie drivers, Urotovsky-Gatutin had already shown speed throughout the season with Adonis Fitzpatrick who came into the Cocoabo Park race weekend atop the Rookie drivers standings. It had been very much the opposite for teammate Skiia Vialiv, another graduate of World Grand Prix 2 Season 5 who had bad stratey in the opener and was just downright slow in Togonistan. That would change in a major way at the Cocoabo Park Circuit. With friends and family in attendance, Vialiv once again would use the local track as a motivator for a strong finish. When Vialiv took advantage of perfect timing at the Yellow Flag on Lap 32 to move into the lead and open up a big gap on former World Grand Prix champion Ryker Lane.

Vialiv would hold on to become the first Rookie driver to take a victory in Season 20, though she would not quite make it to the top of the Toys '4' All Rookie Drivers Standings. While Vialiv cruised to victory at the Cocoabo Park Circuit, Pressley Racing's Sophie McCreary also found her way to the podium to move to the top of not just the Rookie Driver's Standings, but also to the top of the overall World Grand Prix Driver's Standings after three races. It was a strong performance on the day for the rookie drivers with three earning points for the first time. In addition to the Race winner Vialiv, Brendan Faloe of Cygus Motorsports just missed the podium with a 4th place finish while reigning World Grand Prix 2 champion Batu Tüvshinbayar who finally put Scuderia Orange Cow on the board for the first time.

Pos # ▍DRV Name                      Team [Engine]                                        Tyres                    Pts
 1 42 ▍MCR Sophie McCreary           Pressley Racing [Kaylan]                             Brústeinn                32
 2 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv              Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                          Tropicorp                25
 3 74 ▍FTZ Adonis Fitzpatrick        Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                          Tropicorp                24
 4 71 ▍FAE Brendan Faloe             Cygnus Motorsports Team [Tropicorp]                  Tropicorp                10
 5 33 ▍BLA Sam Blaatschappen         GPA Pryfors Bilar [Sidus]                            Phoenician-In Motion     6
 6  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar         Scuderia Orange Cow [Tropicorp]                      Tropicorp                6
 7 91 ▍WAL Kingston Walcott          Sivaleinen [Preston]                                 Tropicorp                4

---

Ramngardian Grand Prix, Sigurd Ring, Diarcesia :: For the third week out of four in the 20th World Grand Prix Championship season it would be a rookie driver topping the charts in Qualifying earning their first career World Grand Prix Pole. After a big run and a first ever points performance at the Cocoabo Park Circuit, Brendan Faloe used that momentum to put Cygnus Motorsports on the top spot in the grid for the somewhat unpredictable One-Shot Qualifying session in Diarcesia with teammate Angela Tan Fang Ling starting right along side in the 2nd position.

After the Cygnus Duo there would be little in the way of team chemistry in the qualifying session, with 10 of the next 11 drivers on the grid representing a different World Grand Prix Constructor's entry. Only Preston Autos Grand Prix with drivers Rudy Edwards and William Archer were also able to place both of their drivers inside the Top 10 on the starting grid. It will be a welcome change for Archer who has struggled so far this season with an average loss of 10 positions from the start to the checkers. Only Angela Tan Fang Ling is averaging more positions lost from the start per race this season, averaging a loss of 12 positions per race from her starting position. Of course, with her 2nd place run in the one-shot qualifying session, the Cygnus Motorsports Team driver from Valentine Z has set herself up almost perfectly to continue that streak of dropping positions from qualifying in every race thus far, unless she can hold off the entire field behind her for the full distance at the Sigurd Ring

---

VILITA & TURORI RACER ✓

@VTRacer

As Tropicorp Colourworks test driver @Skiia celebrates her first ever World Grand Prix Victory, the teams race drivers still search for their first points of the #WGPC20 campaign. Will their luck change in Diarcesia now that @iBen77 has stepped out of their NSSCRA seat to focus on defending their Drivers Championship title?

#WGPC :: #SigurdRing :: #Colourworst

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Cocoabo Park Circuit, Cocoabo Park, Tropicorp
Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix; Lap 32

Ryker is profoundly thankful for the web of miniature pipes woven through his race suit today. The humidity this morning was bad; he can only imagine it in the full heat of the afternoon. Fortunately, the air circulating through the fabric alleviates him (and, he hopes, Janne) of much of that heat.

He had asked Lucia before, incidentally, when the new suit feature was first being trialled during the team’s Driver Academy Series, whether there was any loss in efficiency from its introduction; after all, it drew on the car’s existing cooling systems (in turn utilising its fan setup). She had told him that Virgil, who had led the design work, said that any loss was minimal – but, more importantly, that any loss would be more than offset in performance elsewhere. She had noted that from a purely systemic perspective, a driver was a part of the car too – possibly the most important part. “We can’t,” she had said in that calm, sure way of hers, “let our Chase Cutters’ most important subsystems perform at anything less than their best.”

It’s perhaps good that he isn’t thinking too much about that conversation right now. He has other things to focus on.

“Alright, Ryker – the virtual safety car is coming to an end.” The whirring of the platform beneath him doesn’t quite drown out Martin’s voice. “Don’t push your new tyres too hard – you’ll be taking them to the end.”

“Understood!” Coalescence pulls from Nexus Racing’s pit spot, suspension softly clu-clunk clu-clunking down onto the tarmac under pure Imagikinetic power before the electric motors engage. Ryker chances a look backwards; two, three others round the pits’ entrance in his HUD’s rear view. He winces. “How’s Janne?”

“Pitted three laps before you. He’s lost out, I’m afraid.”

Ryker hums, frowning. Really need to talk to him. Soon. He blinks, rounds the corner towards the pit exit, sights the track ahead.

Focus.

“Where are we?”

“Third – Lilian on harder tyres behind you. She will be close.” As ever, Martin’s voice is soothing. Ryker readies himself.

Coalescence passes the pit exit line – and surges. Imagikinetic power, imbued in the UHSGV’s frame all the way down the pit lane, unneeded then, triggers now with a glorious impulse. Blue blazes around him, and ecstasy shoots through Ryker’s form, tinged now with Victoria’s familiar pride in her and her team’s work. Experience lets him harness it rather than be overcome; another glance back shows him the Eminent car behind, nimble, bearing down after passing through the minor kink after the start-finish straight, pointing inexorably forwards compared to his angle away from the pit lain; Ryker draws Coalescence onto the first stretch of the course, letting it swing out to where the inside for Turn 1 to defend will be while preserving all his momentum. He grins despite himself.

The corner approaches in a flash. The opening kink is deceptive, he knows, he has felt, hiding a much faster corner past it; he doesn’t brake yet. Another check behind; Adriana is too far back for even most aggressive of lunges. Ryker breathes; Coalescence sweeps again to the outside, brakes just enough. His tyres, already up to temperature from the thermal convertor aboard his car, grip the road beautifully as he swings through the corner. The HUD updates his time to the driver behind – a gain of slightly over two tenths in that corner alone.

Okay. Onto the next. “Who are we targeting, Martin?” he asks, darting left, right, brake, left through 2 and 3.

The response is immediate, clear and calm. “A win isn’t out of the question; for now, though, we’re focused on McCreary in P2. We’ll need mid-one forty fours.”

“Can do!”

Lap 42

Red flashes in Ryker’s visor as the Pressley of Sophie McCreary him once again closes off all opportunity of an attack, swinging out just enough through the Turn 5-6 bend to hedge out the Chase Cutter. He lets out a breath, resetting. Imagination, she’s good! Got quite the instinct on her…

Keep pressing.

Turn 6 passes, the car beneath him shouting approval in its high-pitched voice as it blazes forward. Turn 7 flashes past, Coalescence scything through; then the turn back to the right. Ryker’s mind intuitively recalls the approach to Turn 12 at Crossbay, knows it, uses it, closer, closer…

Not enough. The red car ahead takes the corner, unbothered. Ryker follows; swings out, maximises the exit. Forward.

Cocoabo Forest has many sections like this; fast corners that are almost straights but unforgiving if even one is taken wrong. It’s an exhilarating feeling to take 9, 10, 11, the speed and precision demanded of mind and those so many minds whose machine this was, all in harmony. The ecstasy bubbles up again. Again, he uses it. Readies a dive…

Sophie blocks the inside of 12, as she ought.

Ryker switches back to the outside, then cuts in again. Take the apex late; gets the drive, Coalescence bursting with life and power. Through 13, the long corner, just where he likes to overtake, they press closer, closer, pull alongside on the outside, to be 14’s inside, Imagination’s might and the grip of his tyres outstripping anything that the Tumbran has left to defend!

Brake, already slightly ahead. Turn. And accelerate away.

Ryker smiles. It won’t be first, not today – a hard defence and Skiia Vialiv’s superlative driving have made sure of that – but it will be enough for a podium.

It’s quite good to be back in his place. Not everything is right yet – but this is one more that is again.

Post-Race

In the cooldown room, Ryker is sure to congratulate Sophie as well as Skiia. They both well deserve it. His tone is warm, almost proud.

Skiia is as jubilant as she should be. Sophie… Is withdrawn. Gives a mumbled thanks, eyes distant and unfocused, before near-starting and offering one again, seemingly out of obligation. Even to Ryker, barely acquainted with her, her expression is forced.

He almost asks if she’s alright before podium procedure calls them up, and his own happiness and the cheering of his team come to the forefront of his mind, capacity limited by tiredness. Afterwards, when he remembers and thinks to check, she is already gone.

And so, instead, he ensures that he remembers for next time.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Jordan had been really pleased with his time in qualifying so as the rest of the field went out to set their single lap times, he paid close attention to the scoring monitors as some others got close while others were well off the pace—Batu made a couple of bad mistakes, which highlighted the relative unfairness of this quali format—but when the last car came through, he found himself on the second row pipping Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir to the third spot.

On the morning of the race, as the drivers are in the final briefing with the engineering staff, Crowe asks Sunil his opinion about a minor change to his car.
“Can we loosen up the front slightly, especially the right?”
“How much is 'slightly' Jordan? What are you looking to achieve?” Paul Valentini asked as a reply to the query.
“There are so many right handers, I just feel like a bit less stiffness on the right would work for me. If it's going to affect the rest of the setup, then forget I asked. I was just wondered if there was an adjustment to the damping that could be done.”
Choudhary said that if they could sim some data between now and the grid, they could discuss it in the garage, which Jordan signaled was a perfectly reasonable compromise.

[Tropicorp]

SKIIA VIALIV ✓

@Skiia

I feel like we should still be partying. I know Lillý had some booze in the paddock. But its time to get serious. Our #14 @UrGa machine has been fast again in Diarcesia. @TropicorpRS seem to be the right Tyre for this course and we are starting 5th. Hoping we can pick off a few spots at the start and hold on for back to back podium finishes, what do you think?

TROPICORP RACING SUPPLY ✓

@TropicorpRS

What an outstanding performance by all of our Sifaka Family of Drivers in Qualifying at the Sigurd Ring! The Top 5 on the Grid will all be using Tropicorp Tyres and 10 of the first 11 on the grid. Tropicorp, #1 in Tyres in Diarcesia!


#WGPC : #Tyres : #Diarcesia

[Aboveland]

CUTOFF

for the Ramngardian Grand Prix at Sigurd Ring

[Aboveland]

Week 6: Race

Conditions:      	Dry	
Laps:              	54	
Nation:         	DCS	
Circuit:        	Sigurd Ring	
Event:	Ramngardian Grand Prix	
Safety Car Deployed on Laps:	30, 31, 32, 48, 49	
Cars on Grid:	28

Start       	POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     	Time      	Pts		
 1 ▍FAE       	  1 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter              Race Eelandii VTGP       	01:42:40.377	25		
 2 ▍ANG       	  2 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna           GPA Pryfors Bilar        	00:00:07.523	18		
 3 ▍JCR       	  3  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux       Eminent                  	00:00:13.036	14		
 4 ▍NAT       	  4 96 ▍ARC William Archer           Preston Autos            	00:00:15.224	10		
 5 ▍VIA       	  5 50 ▍LUN Sara Luna                Viska Racing             	00:00:17.822	8		
 6 ▍YAN       	  6 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane               Nexus Racing             	00:00:22.561	6		
 7 ▍EDW       	  7 28 ▍DEE Aaron Deering            Viska Racing             	00:00:23.218	4		
 8 ▍ARC       	  8 91 ▍WAL Kingston Walcott         Sivaleinen               	00:00:27.004	3		
 9 ▍CRT       	  9  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar        Scuderia Orange Cow      	00:00:27.461	2		
10 ▍JSY       	 10 12 ▍VIL Darian Vilau             Kaylan Racing Team       	00:00:28.197	1		
11 ▍CRU       	 11  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards             Preston Autos            	00:00:36.988			
12 ▍AKS       	 12 71 ▍FAE Brendan Faloe            Cygnus Motorsports Team  	00:00:41.760			
13 ▍FTZ       	 13 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv             Urotovsky-Gatutin        	00:00:44.259			
14 ▍LAN       	 14 24 ▍JCR Jordan Crowe             Scuderia Orange Cow      	00:00:45.418			
15 ▍DEV       	 15 33 ▍BLA Sam Blaatschappen        GPA Pryfors Bilar        	00:00:48.810			
16 ▍LUN       	 16 42 ▍MCR Sophie McCreary          Pressley Racing          	00:01:00.635			
17 ▍MCR       	 17  1 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii         Tropicorp-Colourworks    	Laps Down: 1			
18 ▍BLA       	 18 10 ▍NAT Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir    Sivaleinen               	Laps Down: 1			
19 ▍DEE       	 19 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin             Portland-Carvenlo        	Laps Down: 1			
20 ▍TII       	 20 74 ▍FTZ Adonis Fitzpatrick       Urotovsky-Gatutin        	Laps Down: 1			
21 ▍FAL       	DNF 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Lilian  Eminent                  	Ret. lap 28			
22 ▍C23       	DNF 84 ▍ANG Angela Tan Fang Ling     Cygnus Motorsports Team  	Ret. lap 17			
23 ▍HAU       	DNF 87 ▍YAN Bryce Yannec             Pressley Racing          	Ret. lap 46			
24 ▍PRE       	DNF 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23              Race Eelandii VTGP       	Ret. lap 18			
25 ▍TUV       	DNF 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau             Portland-Carvenlo        	Ret. lap 21			
26 ▍WAL       	DNF 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen          Nexus Racing             	Ret. lap 20			
27 ▍VIL       	DNF 13 ▍JSY Ji So-Yeong              Tropicorp-Colourworks    	Ret. lap 47			
28 ▍LAU       	DNF 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley             Kaylan Racing Team       	Ret. lap 32

Drivers' Championship

Pos # ▍DRV Name                      Team [Engine]                                        Tyres                    Pts
 1  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux        Eminent [Sidus]                                      Phoenician-In Motion     39
 2 42 ▍MCR Sophie McCreary           Pressley Racing [Kaylan]                             Brústeinn                32
 3 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna            GPA Pryfors Bilar [Sidus]                            Phoenician-In Motion     28
 3 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                          Phoenician-In Motion     28
 3 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter               Race Eelandii VTGP [Tropicorp]                       Tropicorp                28
 6 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23               Race Eelandii VTGP [Tropicorp]                       Tropicorp                26
 7 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv              Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                          Tropicorp                25
 8 74 ▍FTZ Adonis Fitzpatrick        Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                          Tropicorp                24
 9 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Lilian   Eminent [Sidus]                                      Phoenician-In Motion     22
10  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards              Preston Autos [Preston]                              Tropicorp                18
11 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin              Portland-Carvenlo [Carvenlo]                         Tabtac                   12
11 50 ▍LUN Sara Luna                 Viska Racing [Viska]                                 Phoenician-In Motion     12
13 71 ▍FAE Brendan Faloe             Cygnus Motorsports Team [Tropicorp]                  Tropicorp                10
13 96 ▍ARC William Archer            Preston Autos [Preston]                              Tropicorp                10
13 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen           Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                          Phoenician-In Motion     10
16 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau              Portland-Carvenlo [Carvenlo]                         Tabtac                   8
16  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar         Scuderia Orange Cow [Tropicorp]                      Tropicorp                8
18 91 ▍WAL Kingston Walcott          Sivaleinen [Preston]                                 Tropicorp                7
19 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley              Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                          Phoenician-In Motion     6
19 33 ▍BLA Sam Blaatschappen         GPA Pryfors Bilar [Sidus]                            Phoenician-In Motion     6
21 28 ▍DEE Aaron Deering             Viska Racing [Viska]                                 Phoenician-In Motion     4
22 12 ▍VIL Darian Vilau              Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                          Phoenician-In Motion     1
23  1 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii          Tropicorp-Colourworks [Tropicorp]                    Tropicorp                0
23 84 ▍ANG Angela Tan Fang Ling      Cygnus Motorsports Team [Tropicorp]                  Tropicorp                0
23 87 ▍YAN Bryce Yannec              Pressley Racing [Kaylan]                             Brústeinn                0
23 24 ▍JCR Jordan Crowe              Scuderia Orange Cow [Tropicorp]                      Tropicorp                0
23 13 ▍JSY Ji So-Yeong               Tropicorp-Colourworks [Tropicorp]                    Tropicorp                0
23 10 ▍NAT Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir     Sivaleinen [Preston]                                 Tropicorp                0

Teams' Championship

Pos NAT ▍Team [Engine]                                        Tyres                    Pts
  1 ETL ▍Eminent [Sidus]                                      Phoenician-In Motion     61
  2 V&T ▍Race Eelandii VTGP [Tropicorp]                       Tropicorp                54
  3 PDN ▍Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                          Tropicorp                49
  4 NIM ▍Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                          Phoenician-In Motion     38
  5 DCS ▍GPA Pryfors Bilar [Sidus]                            Phoenician-In Motion     34
  6 TMB ▍Pressley Racing [Kaylan]                             Brústeinn                32
  7 HAP ▍Preston Autos [Preston]                              Tropicorp                28
  8 LEN ▍Portland-Carvenlo [Carvenlo]                         Tabtac                   20
  9 AUR ▍Viska Racing [Viska]                                 Phoenician-In Motion     16
 10 ESM ▍Cygnus Motorsports Team [Tropicorp]                  Tropicorp                10
 11 CBP ▍Scuderia Orange Cow [Tropicorp]                      Tropicorp                8
 12 TGN ▍Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                          Phoenician-In Motion     7
 13 MRT ▍Sivaleinen [Preston]                                 Tropicorp                7
 14 ABL ▍Tropicorp-Colourworks [Tropicorp]                    Tropicorp                0

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

The Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System bids you welcome to the WGPC 20
Nimban Grand Prix
!



Track Information

Circuit Name: Crossbay Circuit
Location: Nimbus Bay, Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
Lap Record: 1:26.018 (Ryker Lane, Nexus Racing UHSGV-1)
Lap Length (km): 4.83
Qualifying Type: Elimination

The first World Grand Prix-rated track with a section that runs above a large body of water, Crossbay Circuit continues the long and proud Nimban tradition of race circuits built in areas of astounding natural beauty by running across, through and below the stark dolomite rock cliffs of Nimbus Bay. It combines sections from three famous courses of the Nimban origin universe, Vertigo Loop Racetrack, Keelhaul Canyon Raceway and Dragonmaw Chasm Raceway, and combines them with often fearsome elevation changes to form a track that demands both driver ability and daring to perform well.

A Lap of Crossbay Circuit

A lap of the track begins in Sector 1 with a short run down the end of the start/finish straight to Turn 1, a long and smooth left-hander that is deceptively tight in the middle of the turn and falls by a few metres over its course. A short dash separates Turn 1 from the gentle Turn 2 before the car enters the first of the two tunnels on the course. Cars then descend rapidly into an underground stadium section that most analysts agree is the circuit’s most finicky, featuring the relatively mild Turn 3 and the hairpin of Turn 4 which, like Turn 1, tightens towards the middle; neither of these, and particularly Turn 4, would be nearly as significant of a challenge if they did not each feature drops of several metres. The track then passes under itself before shooting down and out of the cliffs into the water-crossing Sector 2.

Immediately drivers are forced to deal with the esses of Turns 5, 6 and 7. While 5 does demand some braking, the latter two can be taken surprisingly quickly, in part the result of the increase in grip caused by the track levelling out; the measure of a good driver here will be how much momentum they can retain into the following straight. That straight runs up to the nudge that is Turn 8 and the sweeping, banked Turn 9. After that, the chicane of Turns 10 and 11 provides another momentum-holding test into Turn 12, which technically begins immediately after Turn 11 and gradually tightens up to the beginning of the third sector while also presenting drivers with the track’s first rise.

Sector 3 is by far the fastest of the sectors. Drivers dart into the cliff tunnel after 12 to face a long, climbing straight broken only by Turn 13, a left-hander that may as well not exist for all of the change in speed that it necessitates but does create an obstruction to the driver’s vision. This drastically increases the difficulty of Turn 14, a tighter but still fast right-hander immediately after the tunnel exit; not only does the flattening of the circuit after the tunnel mean that it is taken near-blind but it also substantially destabilises a car just before the run to Turn 15, the sector’s slowest corner and where that stability is most needed. Overtaking through this section, though attractive due to the heavy braking zone, thus takes substantial daring and skill. A short run and the chicane of 16 and 17 bring drivers back to the far end of the start/finish straight and the finish line.

Safety

There are obvious safety-related challenges involved in high-speed racing above water. The organisers of the Nimban Grand Prix fully appreciate this and have taken steps to ensure that Crossbay Circuit is a paragonal track for motorsport safety, featuring:

• Traditional belt-and-tyre barriers;
• Imagikinetic force field technology to prevent cars or car parts from leaving the bounds of the racing environment;
• Imagikinetic recovery of crashed cars and car parts within Sector 2.

Environment

Motor racing typically has a significant environmental impact; all efforts have been made to minimise that impact at Crossbay.

• Significant care was taken before construction to relocate vulnerable wildlife away from the circuit to other areas around the cliffs of Nimbus Bay;
• Roman-style concrete, used in part for its reduced carbon footprint, has been employed throughout the construction of the circuit and its facilities;
• Harmful pollutants and greenhouse gasses created over the course of racing remain sealed within the confines of the Imagikinetic safety force field, whereupon they are scrubbed from the air by industrial-scale machinery housed underneath the track.

The Nimban Grand Prix - A Survival Guide

‘Need-to-Knows’

Language: Universal (English) (Higher [glyphic, formal] and Common [Latin, informal] Scripts)
Currency: Universal Standard Coinage (USC, commonly referred to as ‘coins’; symbol ‘ပ’) – 1 ပ worth approximately $1.8 NSD
Climate: Temperate Maritime
Time Zone: -10 AMT (Arcadian Mean Time)

Warning

Please refrain from taking items into the country where doing so is illegal. This particularly applies to drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, and firearms. Such items will be seized upon entry and may be either destroyed or confiscated for collection upon your departure.

Getting to Crossbay Circuit

By Air:
Most attendees of the Nimban Grand Prix will arrive by air at First City Airport in the First City. From there, take the inbound Airport Terralev Line to Tower Station, then transfer to the outbound Seaport Terralev Line. Be sure to board a service that specifically lists Crossbay Circuit as the penultimate stop. Alternatively, if you wish to land at Second City Airport, take the inbound Airport Terralev Line to Harmony Station, then take the Ultrarail to Tower Station in the First City, a journey which will take no more than half an hour, before taking the outbound Seaport Terralev Line in the same manner. If you require help, staff in white and blue uniforms will be on hand; information can also be found in both the Higher and Common Scripts and in a variety of other languages on boards around all Nimban Rail facilities.

By Sea:
A few attendees of the Nimban Grand Prix may arrive by sea at Nimbus Bay Seaport. From there, take the inbound Seaport Terralev Line directly to Crossbay Circuit. Be sure to board a service that specifically lists Crossbay Circuit as the second stop. If you require help, staff in white and blue uniforms will be on hand; information can also be found in both the Higher and Common Scripts and in a variety of other languages on boards around all Nimban Rail facilities.

Accommodation

In Situ:
Accommodation at Crossbay Circuit will be available in the Hospitality Village attached to the main race facility. Staying here is recommended for those who only wish to attend the Nimban Grand Prix and related events around Crossbay Circuit during their stay.

First City:
A huge variety of accommodation is available in the First City, from lodgings in the hospitality sector, including state-run NimbInn hotels offering three-star lodging at market price, to individual room-sharing. Staying here is recommended for those who wish to combine their attendance of the Nimban Grand Prix with more general sightseeing in the First City, featuring such attractions as the famous New Nexus Tower, home of the Nimban legislature and executive alongside the world’s only Imagination Nexus.

Events

Main Events:

Drivers’ Parade: Thursday, 12:30 p.m. (22:30 AMT)

Feature NSSCRA Drivers Showcase: Thursday, 16:00 p.m. (2:00 AMT)
See some of the most famous names in NSSCRA, including Jeremiah Brooke, Cocoabo #28, Stacie Houston and Kai Qiang, and both Nexus Racing Driver Academy graduate Shuzhen Zhu and former Nexus Racing WGP2 driver Drake Stevenson, try their hand at driving a modern Nexus Racing Chase Cutter!

WGP2 Practice Start: Friday, 8:00 a.m. (18:00 AMT)
WGPC Practice Start: Friday, 10:00 a.m. (20:00 AMT)

WGP2 Qualifying Start: Saturday, 8:00 a.m. (18:00 AMT)
WGPC Qualifying Start: Saturday, 10:00 a.m. (20:00 AMT)

WGP2 Race Start: Sunday, 7:00 a.m. (17:00 AMT)
WGPC Race Start: Sunday, 10:00 a.m. (20:00 AMT)

Concert:
A concert will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Friday in the Hospitality Village, including a performance of the Nimban national anthem ‘Together Unto Possibility’ by the Nimban Symphony Orchestra and a reinterpretation of classic Fleetwood Mac song and unofficial World Grand Prix theme ‘The Chain’ by performers to be revealed during the concert itself.

Lectures:
A series of lectures from guest speakers will be held in the Lecture Hall within the Hospitality Village during the race weekend.

• Friday, 13:00 p.m. – Gertrude Thompson, Project Manager for Nexus Racing and Regular Speaker (with special thanks to Lucia Vanderbilt, Head Designer for Nexus Racing) – ‘UHSGV Powertrains as a Developmental Case Study’
• Friday, 16:00 p.m. – Hugh Tussle, Lead Data Analyst for Crossbay Circuit – ‘Broadening Horizons in WGP Fan Demographics’
• Saturday, 13:30 p.m. – Tana Erdengard, Graduate Student in Policy and Economics for the University of the Second City – ‘A Public Good? Domestic and Private Teams in WGPC and WGP2 Racing’
• Sunday, 13:30 p.m. – Solya Furino, Professor of Organisational Planning for the University of the First City – ‘Nimban Motorsport – Recovering from Dullness’

World Grand Prix Experience Centre:
The Crossbay Circuit World Grand Prix Experience Centre in the Hospitality Village will be open throughout the weekend. Visitors will be able to participate in a sequence of activities explaining and simulating some of the key events of a World Grand Prix team’s race weekend, such as formulating race strategies, performing last-minute repairs on a car, changing tyres at a pit stop and competing in practice, qualifying and race sessions, while their progress is tracked throughout by keycard so that each simulation adapts to their previous decisions and performance. After completing the experience, visitors will receive a full race report of their activities, allowing them to test their skills on repeated visits. Should they wish, they can also enter their final race time on a public leaderboard for others to see and compete with.

New for WGPC 20 – NRCU Open Radio Car Challenge Tournament

• Thursday, 9:00 a.m., to Saturday, 13:00 p.m. – Qualifying
• Saturday, 16:00 p.m. – Race

In association with the Nimban Radio Car Union, the centre of the Hospitality Village will host an all-comers-welcome radio car tournament. Racers may enter the tournament while the Time Trial Qualifying is open, using either their own radio-controlled car (subject to the NRCU ‘Circuit Midi’-class regulations; see ‘www.nrcu.nim/regs’ for details) or use one of a selection of cars available for the duration of the tournament. Multi-racer 15-minute qualifying sessions will run continuously for competitors to participate in (each entrant may only participate in one session per day) from the circuit opening on Thursday to 13:00 p.m. on Saturday; the fastest 15 racers will then be invited to participate in a 30-minute + 1 lap race. WGPC team members are encouraged to join the competition!

[Lisander]

<< Previously | Next >>

XVI. MATERIAL GIRL AND SMALL CARS

"Good, Anneliese. Bring it home, P3, and back to the top."

That words by Carolina Lasseps were the best after two worried weeks. They echoed in her head during the post-race interview, the podium celebration (another cap and bottle for her collection), the travel back to the hotel and the bath. "Back to the top" was a great thing to hear. Both sporting and financially.

Since that quasi-DNF in Togonistan, her mind lacked peace. Maybe that has been some god punishing her for living a false life? Flying to Saint Ianina with her fake identity of Laura Werner, changing the route of her receipts to avoid paying taxes, through tax havens. Apparently, after the poor girl had become a rich woman, that was the first time she actually felt it. The week spent in the modern two-story house in Soria Port was the first time she experimented actual luxury. The prizes from his first three international seasons before had been spent on necessities and possibilities. The remaining twelve years of the mortgage on her parents' house were paid off with the money Anneliese earned from TAS-Alliance, and with what remained, various parts of her own simulator (at least the ones that weren't gifted by fans of the lisanderian team).

The offseason made season with WGP2 and the half of last year at Hodori provided it with some maturity and helped stabilise plans. There wasn't much expenditure, after all, PrismRiver guaranteed him a lovely stay. So virtually all the money that season went into the flat in Kasandora, a state-of-art flat in a middle-class neighbourhood. Eminent's first year was the beginning of the turnaround. Anneliese started to save more, to have money. However, since her previous contracts had certain bizarre clauses, such as "no driving Camden cars", she never got to buy a car. Even the red sportscar, the red Camden Ira that triggered the whole story with the fake LSiD, did not belong to her, but to Ms. Werner. As Miss Werner, however, she had bought a little house in Brax. It was a shy little house, as low-profile as its owner, a young housekeeper who moved abroad in search of better job opportunities. Soon Laura would sell that house to a certain person's construction company for L$390,000, interestingly the same amount of money that Anneliese Devereux would receive from the FSA for her 39 points in the WGPC season so far. Although, following Anneliese's good performance aboard the E20, the house could appreciate even more.

"These coincidences are quite curious. The parallels between house prices in Brax and the performances of Lisander riders in international open-wheel categories are something I had never thought of before." she said, with a smile on her face, to her personal assistant, Anne Siebler, who had stayed at Lisander this time. "I'm feeling so good financially that I'm even thinking of sponsoring something. Do you know of any karting teams in need of investment? Maybe a hockey team doing crowdfunding for new uniforms or a tour in Alice Bay?" - Anneliese basked her commercial skills as a marketer, searching for a new public appearance.

"Nothing like that, but have you seen the program of the next Grand Prix?"

"Nexus Wardship? Meh... It's a sad place with dangerous driving and no alcohol. Just right now that I'm getting used to sparkling wine... What's going on?"

"They will have a Radio-Controlled Cars event. You could..."

"I could sponsor a team to join this event!"

"Thank god you're so quick in understanding things. Do you know how to race one of them?

"In college, I knew a guy that was a fan of RC Cars. His name was Mario, Maron, something like that. I'll try to find him on Inspiregram. By the way, I'm a Grand Prix Winner, there's no car I can't drive. Okay, now I need to go, we'll get the plane in one hour or so. I need to find a way to fit this trophy in the bag. It's too big to carry it around like a baby."

"Talk about a material girl you're becoming. See you soon, kisses to you. By the way, I'm looking at it at the moment. The name seems to be Miro. He seems to be building his own RC Cars now. He has a shop in Cidade de Lisander, and wow, he's quite handsome."

"Good for you. mind getting me his number? Don't worry, I won't be hitting on him. Unlike you, I'm pretty sure what I do not like."

"There's no such thinking as "don't like". I say yes for love. Gender is a detail. Now take note of the website, revolution dash rc dot co dot azh."

"I'll have a team racing in this RC Event, just wait."

[Diarcesia]

Kierä Haukanna and Afternoon Glories

During the Ramngardian Grand Prix at Sigurd Ring, several incidents occurred that affected the race. First of all, on Lap 2, a collision between Jordan Crowe and Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir resulted in slight damage to Jordan's front wing, affecting his aerodynamics and causing a loss of downforce. This was however not enough to bring out the safety car. However, on Lap 28, Adriana Kowalski encountered a mechanical failure at the Stockholm Syndrome corner. She wasn't able to park the car outside of track limits and a safety car was finally brought out two laps later. It took several drivers complained of the dangerous placement of the disabled Eminent car in the fast bend for that to happen.

After the safety car period, drivers were able to continue their race and a restart of green flag conditions was given. Yet, on lap 48, the safety car deployed again for debris on the track in the wake of Bryce Yannec's retirement. This led to a bunching up of the field and intensified the battle for positions in the closing laps. Eventually, after a few laps of intense battles, the chequered flag was waved. The last safety car was unfortunate as it robbed Laura Haukanna's advantage and cost her a maiden WGPC race win for Pryfors Bilar. She had to settle for second place. Her teammate, Sam Blaatschapen, managed to keep her cool during the last laps despite being under immense pressure from mechanical troubles that bedeviled her car. She insisted to to finish the race and was classified in 15^th place.

---

The race in Sigurd Ring is unending. Appropriate, since this circuit is a (if not the) mecca of Diarcesian endurance racing. Who has the faster pace? Who spends less time in the pit lane? And, who will ultimately win?

The answer to all three questions is Lane Carter, to Laura Haukanna's slight disappointment. He turns out to be more prepared, more composed, and more fitting to stand on the top step of the podium. As the loser in this battle of supremacy, Laura congratulates him and considers him a worthy rival, despite her feelings of defeat.

How will the story turn out in the very next race? Now, with both at joint third in the driver's championship (also sharing with Ryker Lane), can Lane Carter continue his dominant run? Or, would Laura Haukanna be able to prove that she has what it takes to stand on top in a race of this caliber? Everyone will find out next week.

But for now, let's take a look at the goings-on in Pryfors Bilar in the aftermath of their first podium this season.

"By Azura, by Azura, by Azura, Laura! We did it!" exclaims Aldauren like an adoring fan as he pats his driver on the back.

Laura nods in agreement and turns to face her team principal: "Thank you so much for believing in me, Aldauren." The latter smiles and shakes his head with a hint of melancholy: despite being a veteran of the sport, there are still moments when he gets emotional about having achieved success with new teams or drivers who have already proven their worth. This was one such moment for him; after all these years spent trying to build up an entire racing team from scratch at relatively short notice... It's not every day that someone like Laura Haukanna comes around and saves what could've been an already lost cause with their abysmal qualfying positions. In fact, while technically Anneliese Devereux and her team are still leading both championships by some margin (and would likely remain ahead), Sigurd Ring marked more than just another good result for the emerging Diarcesian team this season; it symbolised hope that the championship falling in their hands may not be lost after all. Could they go further and take home victory later down the line? Perhaps...

Sam Blaatschapen snaps out of her reverie, and then turns to look at Laura. Of course, she prefers to be the one leading in the team, but the race result is reason enough to cheer for her teammate. She smiles, gives a thumbs up and claps her hands. "All right, Laura! This is amazing! Let's go for the win next week!" she exclaims. A few murmurs of approval follow after that statement, but the team members begin to disperse little by little as they head to the podium celebration. Sam, however, stays put and waits for the others to leave. She then takes out her phone and dials a number she knows by heart. As soon as she hears a voice on the other side of the line, Sam speaks: "Hi ma! Yeah... I didn't have a good race, but my teammate is second at Sigurd Ring!"

"Oh? You mean Laura?" replies Cynthia Blaatschapen as she tries to recall what Sam told her before. "That's great! Diarcesia needed some more good results, and you and your team are doing well so far!"

"Yeah... we're working on it." Sam smiles. "I'll call you later, ma! Love you!" she then ends the phone call before her mother can say anything else. She stands up after putting away her phone in a pocket of her jacket, makes sure that all other members of the team have left by now, and then sits back down at her seat. She takes out a small plastic container, opens it up, and starts munching on one of the chocolate balls inside. Before she joins the crowd watching the podium, she wants to sate her craving.

Sam has always been proud of being one of the Odrioyan ethnicity in Diarcesia who is able to compete in international motorsports events - something that most people from her dieresis cannot do due to their lack of physical strength (or so they say). For this reason alone, Sam has never felt particularly connected with her ancestry; but not feeling connected isn't the same thing as hating them altogether... In fact, there are times when she feels like taking a trip down memory lane by visiting some places where she used to race as a kid in karting events. The thought crosses her mind now: perhaps after this season is over and done with, she could visit and live in distant Yechia, where his paternal grandfather's ancestors lived...

The podium celebrations are about to begin. Sam finishes off her chocolate, sets the container aside and gets up from her seat. She stretches out for a moment before heading towards the pitlane exit.

---

After the race, PB's research department analyzed how their drivers performed during this event:

Laura Haukanna:
+ Very consistent in race pace, able to make up places from grid positions. Partially helped by the first safety car.
- Not very aggressive during the race and possibly failed to win due to this.

Sam Blaatschapen:
+ Able to keep her cool under pressure and maintain a calm mindset despite intense battles with other drivers.
- Sometimes fails at keeping her head straight while overtaking cars, resulting in less effective passing attempts.

Everyone was scattered around and each member seems busy by their own matters. Creusa, Sam's engineer, tapped on a laptop while discussing something in hushed tones with another colleague who scribbled down some handwritten notes onto what looks like an assembly manual for one of the components that gave Sam trouble during the race. A few others were sitting at workstations, also studying data from a number of sources. Aldauren, older and wiser than the rest, was sitting on a stool in the corner with his back turned towards everyone else. He seemed to be lost in thought as he looked at an intricate piece of machinery on the table which had been pulled out and disassembled for easy access to certain parts inside it: perhaps this is why he wasn't looking elsewhere...

At that moment, Sam walks past by him and stops for a few seconds to look at what he's doing. "Hey," she says quietly yet loud enough so that her voice can cut through the silence between them without seeming too rude; she doesn't want him getting startled when someone comes close by him while working on something delicate like a critical vehicle component! "You did really well today." She turns around after saying those words - but not before taking another glance at Aldauren's face smiling.

"I appreciate that, Sam."

---

Note: Kierä Haukanna = Miss Haukanna in Aurun (Provided by Auruna)

[Chromatika]

OOC: Many thanks to Tumbra for giving me the go-ahead for this RP.

Former Citizens of the Nimbus System

Since the fateful incident scarcely a half year ago, Ji had been dreading this moment. She had walked through it time and time again, trying to figure out what the response of the Tumbran would be, trying to prepare for any and all potential questions that he may ask, rehearsing the answers, trying to figure out how much to disclose... All the while trying to account for the unknown variables of how much he already knew or what his relationship with Anola had been like. All the iterations and permutations hadn't done their job in preparing her for the real thing, though, and she found herself starting to sweat as Ted Pressley sat across the table, facing her.

It had been her idea to meet at a local café during the hours of settling into a race's venue. It was neither the most crowded nor the most sparse; you could have a conversation with your companion while making certain that you wouldn't be the one conversing (for the threat of being overheard) nor being drowned out by the crowd. The waitress had long since come and gone, having delivered their drinks and picked up on the fact that the conversation that was about to be had wasn't for the wandering ear.

There Ji So-Yeong was, facing the teammate of her once friend and lover, Anola Melani. As read from descriptions and glimpsed from afar, Ted Pressley wasn't the most... well, anything. He wasn't very tall, nor very small. He wasn't very domineering, nor did he look soft. If she didn't know him from racing, she would just view him as an ordinary man minding his own business. He had always struck her as more of a "let the results do the talking for me" kind of guy, which fit the Kaylan model very well; just two minutes of being with him in private confirmed the suspicion as one being true and correct.

Of course, she wasn't truly alone - Lily McCloud was just around the corner, within earshot. Ji's face flushed as she remembered the night before the last race in Diarcesia, the way that her heart had leapt into her chest, the way that she had both simultaneously loved the interaction while also dreaded it, and the way that she felt about it now, knowing that another, even more difficult conversation would have to be had later about...

Ted was rather patient, but Ji could see that even he was reaching his limits. She had been the one to contact him, after all. So, gathering her thoughts and feelings to the best of her ability, she began.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," she started, and he nodded in assent for her to continue. "As you've probably gathered, I'm Ji So-Yeong, and you're Ted Pressley, Anola Melani's teammate at Kaylan through the WGP2 title and through the last WGPC season. You've probably been wondering why she isn't here this season. You've probably realized that something must have happened to her - our news outlets carry that much at least - and you're probably mystified by just how little detail there is about her disappearance."

"There really isn't that much," the Tumbran agreed, "They won't even say if she's all right, disappeared, or worse. Is Chromatik news always like that? From what I remember from talking to Anola, I know that there were hard times in the past, but it seemed like it had been getting so much better."

"Not all Chromatik news," Ji responded, "But in this aspect, yes. Truth is... What happened to Anola and her parents is highly political, and a matter of national security. Given the tremendous amount of pressure and turmoil there is around the event, the media has been kept at bay while the judicial system is sorting out exactly what happened. It's why everything is so vague, why there isn't that much detail."

Ted's brows furrowed. Then, understanding what was implied, he sighed deeply. Sorrowfully, he inquired, "So, she's not all right, then?"

This was one of the gentlest ways that she had imagined him taking the news. Somehow, he had reached the correct conclusion himself - and it was far easier to agree than to tell outright. Taking the opportunity, she simply nodded, and added in a voice that was barely a whisper, "She and her family were murdered. Made examples of, I think. Set up to take the fall... I don't know how much you want to know, nor how much you want to get involved. I just wanted to have you hear the news from me, instead of having to pick it up on the news once the media ban has been lifted. As someone who worked with her for almost two years, you deserve that much."

Ted sat there in shocked silence, his mouth agape, before he caught himself. An edge crept into his eye, and when he spoke next, it was measured, filled with sadness but also with a bit of anger. "Do you know who killed her? In fact, how do you know all this if the entire thing is so kept under wraps?"

"I was there when it happened... Or, precisely, right after it happened. I saw the perpetrators leave. I was the one that found their bodies. I reported it to the police, and then it got escalated to where it is today. That's how I know," Ji managed to answer, not meeting Ted's eyes as hers watered once more, "It was horrible. But yes, that is how I know."

"I didn't mean to..." Ted's voice was compassionate once more, as if he didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry," he added, "I don't know how much to add other than that."

"It's not your fault," Ji stated, "You couldn't have known, and it's a legitimate question. As for justice... I'm working on it. I'm involved in the court case to bring the perpetrators to justice - although we haven't officially named a suspect yet. There is going to be a public hearing where I make my accusations, and then the entire process will begin. I know what I saw, and the people in my corner are helping me out as the facts come to light. I won't stop till the killer is brought to justice."

"A public hearing where you can accuse... That's fascinating," Ted responded, "Do you know if the killer knows you are onto them?"

"They know I'm alive," Ji couldn't help but smirk, "And that's something. It won't be easy, but the Chromatik court system is working with me to help bring justice to the Melanis' killers, while also making sure that it won't impact my racing career that much."

"I wish you the best of luck in that," Ted stated, "Not only in the racing, but in the whole justice thing... Perhaps even more on the justice thing than the racing." He paused for a second, before continuing, "I didn't know her very well. She was very private, as was I, but we got along, and she loved to race. She was a natural, too, especially at Sprint Races."

He then asked, "Is this a secret? How much do you want me to tell or not tell if people ask?"

"You now have the information," Ji responded, "And it's for you to do as you see fit. I'd rather you not spread it on the tabloids or let any media team get their hands on it, but if there was anyone that Anola was really close to at Kaylan, you can tell them if you want to. The rest of the world will find out about it sooner or later."

"I appreciate you trusting me with this," Ted said, "And I wish you the best in the rest of your races this season."

"You too," she said back, "Especially good luck against your Dad's team."

Ted raised an eyebrow at that. "Thanks," he replied.

Then, as if it was too awkward to be there after learning such news, Ted stood up to leave.

"I'm sorry about your friend," he said once more, "See you out there."

"Thanks for meeting me, and good luck," was her response.

With that, he was gone.

Ted Pressley was very easy to talk to, and it had gone well, all things considered.

Realizing that it was the first time that she had voluntarily told someone of Anola Melani's fate - the last time she had done so was to the Chromatik police - she sat at the table a while longer, absentmindedly staring out the window.

No wonder she wasn't faring so well on the track. How could anyone, when they were privy to such news?

[Aboveland]

Cocoabo Forest, Tropicorp
Cocoabo Park

Janne watched the Tumbran intently, his look crossing solidly into "gaze" territory, undoubtedly obvious to the journalists before them but impossible to resist. He spoke slowly and clearly, his impeccable media training and almost dishonest discipline proving so desperately magnetizing. Janne didn't let himself perch his head on his hand, keeping a degree of composure in the face of the Tumbran, but good God — what an unhealthy obsession, with every bend of his lips and twitch of his nose and bob of the hairs standing loosely in tufts before his forehead, and the glassy reflection of his icy irises in the side of his corneas. Halfway through his answer, the Tumbran pulled his knee away from Janne's, snapping his leg cleanly away as he got to the part in his answer where he replied about his future career prospects. The sudden change of heart caught Janne off guard, but it wasn't shocking enough to make him focus on the rest of the world again; it was only immediately after he finished speaking, that he threw Janne a sly glare — at last acknowledging his presence! —, and the screeching feedback from the microphone of the voice-over was the slap which brought him back to the present. As Ted looked away, Janne briefly looked inwards at himself with contempt while the press conference coordinator called the end of the media session — this guy had him in the fucking palm of his hand without even trying; if he wasn't even a hundredth as reciprocally longing... then maybe Janne was just making a blithering, horny, teenage fool of himself. Whatever he would say after this — if he had been serious at all with his half-menacing 'talk later' hiss — would be the final word.

As they were led out of the conference room, Vialiv, ahead of them, stumbled on the steps leading off of the podium, and as she stopped for a moment, Janne ran into the back of Ted. The Tumbran didn't flinch; he shook his head and sighed, quietly enough to not cause a stir to the unsuspecting viewer but clearly destined for him. Was he angry, then? Or maybe... maybe he wasn't ready yet? Had he been too upfront; the leg hair rendezvous a soul-piercing limit for his am-I-am-I-not journey of self discovery?

He hadn't much time for rumination, though, as Ted thrust his hand back at Janne's wrist — he missed grossly enough to fail to cling on, but the glancing grasp was enough to send the message across. The brush against his skin sent a blurring rush up Janne's spine; blinded by the anticipation, he resorted to following the neon-clad Tumbran as he dipped left away from the line piling out of the media room. His shuffle became a walk which became a strut, determined and decisive as if he knew where he was going — though it was painfully obvious, by the look on his face earlier and his reluctance to look back, that Ted was just as terrified as he was. Before long, the green glow of an exit sign caught the Tumbran's eye, and as he pushed against the crash bar the glaring overcast glow from outside shot Janne's eyes. The Abovian stretched out a hand to feel the Tumbran's polo shirt on his way out; as the door slammed shut behind them, echoing against the close walls between wherever they'd just come out of and the close container walls opposite them, Ted stopped in his tracks. Janne, dazed, leaned back against the container wall in front of the exit — the Tumbran threw twitchy nervous looks in every direction before coming onto the Abovian, his face a dizzying mix of perplexion, anger, and sorrow.

"What is it, Janne Laukkanen? What do you want with me?" he said, grasping the slight Abovian by the shoulders, and waiting for his response.

This time, the contact wasn't intoxicating, so much as petrifying. Pinned against the cold corrugated steel wall — the damp breeze uncovering Ted's eyes, fluttering his eyelashes; his breathing, heavy and irregular, pulsing the front of his shirt; the grip on his shoulders, severe but prudent; the veins on his forehead and the side of his neck, bulging more than usual — he stared just slightly up at the marginally taller Tumbran, his mouth ajar. Before sputtering a bunch of nonsense, he had to regain his composure, no less before Ted started to feel the thunderous boom of his pulse rippling across his body or the heat welling up under his arms which would soon start to draw sweat. His lower jaw trembled; Ted's mouth stayed shut like a vice.

What did he want? He could write a manifesto.

He could be coy and stick to his erstwhile plan: all he wanted was to talk, to start over again, to pretend nothing had ever happened, to build a friendship or an emotional connection, oblivious to the lingering smell of him locked under an altar in his memories. He could be harsh and catastrophic, smothering whatever sparks they had left between them, lashing out and gaslighting him for misconstruing a friendly advance which was no longer his wish to pursue. Or, he could be honest — that he wanted him, and for him to want him back; to bask in the touch of his skin and the smell on the cuffs of his shirts, not scratching and bursting at the seams to sneak a peek of him from across the paddock or cherishing an accidental brush or a fleeting moment of accidental and awkward eye contact. That he wanted to know him better, inside and out; that he wanted to rekindle and flourish, not kill, the embers they had left behind in that God-forsaken sauna in Avsidesliggendevuoret.

Or, he could forgo the fanfic melodrama and lean into an even worse alternate-universe work of fiction trope, as if he were living far behind in time in a temporal freeze at the climax of a contrived, spotty, and long-winded love story, between two hopelessly awkward idiots with no idea how to make of their relationship anything other than a heap of cloying angst and brazen innuendos — a big damn kiss. That would really tilt the tables.

And so, gathering the last of the audacity he’d left on his soppy towel in central Aboveland, under the thick, salty blanket of steam billowing from the rock stove beside Ted’s bare legs — that with which he’d uttered the words “I’ll always be here for you”, against all possible odds and precedent — Janne reached out to pull the Tumbran in from the sides of his back, and just slightly raised himself up with his feet, to plant a solid, wet, pillowy kiss on the Tumbran’s rough lips. The Abovian fell back onto the wall behind him and raised a hand to the corners of his mouth to pull some leftover saliva onto his fingers. Ted, lingering before him, was frozen, his eyebrows overcome with perplexion; his cheeks flushed, blotchy, and red.

“So, uh,” Janne muttered. “That was supposed to be the first step.” He dropped his head, the aforementioned audacity expended in one pivotal decision. “You’re supposed to kiss the person before y—”.

It took Ted all the willpower in the multiverse not to stammer, cutting him off. “You didn’t answer my question,” he interjected; his glare had mellowed, and his voice was quiet and reverent. The coral color on his cheeks betrayed his demeanor, but it no longer felt to Janne like he was on the verge of disaster — rather, it was as if he’d let his guard down and opened his emotional floodgates.

Janne sighed, raising his eyes again through his eyebrows. “Okay,” he began, pausing and glancing to his side before looking back up at Ted. “Let’s do this properly, then.” He caught his words before he let himself quiver, then continued. “Ted, I’m Janne. We should get a coffee sometime.”

[TJUN-ia]

Race 4 was going to be interesting no matter what went down, especially with One-Shot Qualifying once again causing the grid to get a bit chaotic. Both TJUN-ians entered this Race looking to try and collect more points for the Championship battles to come. Lane Carter had the better qualifying and would start in P9, hoping to charge as high up the field as possible, while Batu was down in P25, hoping to try and survive the expected chaos and get into the Top 10 one way or another. It was expected that considering we had a Cygnus 1-2 at the front, Jordan Crowe in P3 and Fast Cocoabo in P22, shit was going to go down...but how much and how would it affect these two nice dudes once those five lights went out?

Well, this race would end up being another chaotic one as 8 drivers failed to make it home. Angela Tan Fang Ling, who started 2nd in this race, would be the first to go on Lap 17 with Cocoabo #23 sadly going a Lap later - leaving Lane on his own in this race. Janne Laukkanen would be next to go on Lap 20 before Dom Falepeau followed him on a lap later. It would be the retirement of Adriana Kowalski Lilian on Lap 28 that eventually brought out the 1st Saftey Car - one which saw Ted Pressley pull in to retire as well - and once that was done, we had a little bit of calm before another storm hit as the retirements of both Bryce Yannec and Ji So-Yeong on back to back laps would bring out the 2nd SC, which would only be brought back in with 6 laps to go. It was within all this chaos that Adonis Fitzpatrick ended up last of the runners in P20 and Crowe ended up in P14...but Batu managed to make his way through the chaos to come home in P9 in the #9 to add 2 more points to his tally.

But towards the end all eyes would be on the Galarian...which may have made sense considering off-track events. During the long break between S19 and S20, Lane learned to fall back in love with his Galarian culture which he technically "dropped" when he was forced to emigrate to TJUN-ia after the Great Calamity. That included the language (akin to Scots Gaelic) that he spoke as a 2nd language, the kilts of his people in Postwick and the Southern Galar region and the mythos of his former homeland - of Eternatus and the Darkest Day and of the beings that originally stopped that event but couldn't stop the Great Calamity, Zacian and Zamazenta, and who instead collaborated with the other Legendaries to seal the Pokéverse away from the rest of U3 in order to protect everyone else. All of these beings, including those TJUN have as representatives, are highly revered by the Pokéversians - and to him, Zacian and Zamazenta (like his parents, in absentia) - made the ultimate sacrifice to protect him and his fellow peoples. Before this weekend came around, he took a trip to his local Shrine of Swords and Sheilds in order to pay his respects and ask them for good fortune in the future...but he also asked a personal question as well, one that only he could care about. "Tha mi air mòran charaidean a dhèanamh bhon a dh'fhalbh e...ach carson a tha mi fhathast a' faireachdainn falamh?" I have made many friends since he left...but why do I still feel empty? It was a question he had to keep to himself, one that he had to push aside for the sake of his career, but it also... lingered in the back of his head from time to time. He didn't receive an answer to that question back then...but he did receive some piece of mind, a thought that one day the hole in his heart would be filled at some point.

He started this race from, of course, P5 and would make it through to the first pitstop window unscathed and around the Top 5 as well, but he would take advantage of the 1st SC period to make a stop for fresh rubber...and that would end up being a good call overall. From that point on, he was just passing and passing until he made it past Will Archer to take the lead on Lap 39...a position that seemed to be unchallenged for a while. When the 2nd Saftey Car came out, he pitted again and managed to end up in 2nd behind Laura Haukanna for the restart...which set up a duel for the final 6 laps to decide. As the SC came in for the restart, it was clear that both Lane and Laura had the pace to pull away from Anneliese Devereux and the rest of the field that remained but it would take until the next lap for things to feel decided as Lane managed to make it past Haukanna at Helsingfors and then proceeded to use Gauntlet to push as far away as he could. He was counting down the laps in the back of his mind but didn't let his guard down lost, only letting the relative gap to the GPA Pryfors Bilar behind him sink into his mind. When the final lap came, he allowed himself to be more and more aware of the situation...and once he had reached Sydkattegat, he knew that this was over. He could feel a tear streaming down his face when he crossed that line...and for good reason at that. Lane Carter had taken the 2nd win of his career - the Ramngardian Grand Prix - and after all of this time, the Galarian would be covered in gold.

LC: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! A SMAOILEADH NAOMH!
VTGP: Brilliant, Lane, absolutely brilliant! Well done! What a drive!
LC: Thank you guys so much....dear lord, I almost forgot what this felt like...I love it...and I love you all. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
VTGP: No worries! Top 10 is yourself, Haukanna, Devereux, Archer, Luna, Ryker Lane, Deering, Walcott, Batu and Vilau. Fast Cocaobo DNFd on Lap 18, as already stated. Now bring the car home!
LC: Will doooooo!

To say the scenes in the paddock were emotional would be an understatement as Lane Carter celebrated with his team after a hard-fought race win for the team in brown. Batu would come over and the two would celebrate with a big ol' hug before Lane shook hands with both Laura and Anneliese before taking to the top step for the 2nd time ever. Hearing the Rivers and Seas and then the anthem of Vilita and Turori again was a memory they didn't think they would get to have...and it certainly brought the tears again. The spraying of champagne was just glorious...and it certainly made them feel alive again. Lane was now T-3rd in the standings and 2nd with VTGP - and it certainly did feel good and will do so until we head to the Nimbian Grand Prix. What a good week, huh? What a good week!

[Esmerel]

CHAPTER 8
There Goes Gravity

Race day in Ramgardia already felt like it was going to be the most important day of Brendan’s life. More important than his college graduation. More important than his first race in the WGPC, or his third, where he scored his first points. And as much as it was a chance in the WGPC, there was little hope that Cygnus could win either World Championship in its debut year.

So maybe a chance to win just one race was the most important they could ask for.

The weather at the Sigurd Ring was fairly temperate, but the atmosphere was hectic as the grid and all their technicians waited for the signal to start getting ready for the running of the Grand Prix. Brendan stood next to his car, as the team went through final checks and maintenance to make sure the car that put him on pole could keep him fighting up front. As he waited, the TV feed turned its attention to him, brought by an interviewer and their camera operator.

“Brendan, it’s got to be a huge moment for you today, your car is sitting on the pole for your and Cygnus’s first time,” the interviewer said. “Tell us, how did you get here, and what you’re feeling now as you wait for lights out.”

“Well, I’m as surprised as just about everyone else is,” Brendan began. “Honestly, it just came together. We had a few small upgrades on the car for the weekend, and we studied everything we could after the lessons from the first 3 weeks of competition. I felt confident to really push it to the limit, and we’re here now. It’s a bit scary, being in front of a hungry pack, but I think we’ve proven we can compete when it matters, so there’s that.”

“And what are you expecting for the race? Do you think you can win from pole? What about your teammate Angela? Could she compete as well?”

“I don’t really like putting words in anyone else’s mouth, or making assumptions. Too much can happen in this sport,” Brendan explained as he continued. “I think a points finish should be all but guaranteed, but I’d rather wait and see what happens. You can guarantee we’ll be competing, Angela and I both, but again, we’ll see. Still feeling good for the team and for the fans, and I know we won’t be giving up without a fight.”

“One more before we go- Having scored your first points, do you think you can keep up that pace? What’s the situation to come for Cygnus, at least how you see it?”

“I think we’ve punched a bit above our weight in terms of the competition,” Brendan began to finish. “I mean, you can see how we did yesterday, so we’re getting somewhere… It’s just a good feeling that the team’s work paid off, going for so long to build a race-worthy car and compete with the best of the best. I don’t think any of us would have imagined being here a few months ago, but we are. We’ll keep surprising you.”

The interviewer smiled as she walked over to talk to Angela. Brendan smiled as well, though not at anyone in particular. Here he was, in front of a six-figure crowd, standing in front of his own pole position.

All that was left was to defend it with his all. The fans deserved that much.

-

After the race, however…

Brendan quietly drove his worn-out C101 to the pits, quietly parking in the box and quietly undoing everything in the cockpit to step out. It seemed that the moment there was a chance of fate being delivered softly, it had to come down with a sickening crack.

Angela had suffered an engine failure on lap 17, while around the same time, Brendan had lost 50 horsepower or so from the engine, though it still ran. He had fought with everything he could just to keep his car in the points, but he had failed. P12 was all he could keep in the end- no points after starting on pole. No points for the team after both starting on the front row.

Few others could say they failed to capitalize on a change that badly. Cygnus was still where they expected to be- P10 in the Constructors’- but it hurt. Without the issues, double points would have been all but assured. They were on the right pace for it.

Brendan didn’t have a career in sports to fall back on- to know what losing such an opportunity was supposed to feel like. He assumed it just made sense- that anyone would feel broken after such an event. He didn’t lash out, or place the blame on anyone. The most blame that could be placed were the people at Tropicorp that had built the engine- but even then, that was minimal. There could also have been blame for overcooking the engines during qualifying. It just happened. The world, and Cygnus with it, had to move on.

Brendan took off his helmet and balaclava again, walking right by the telemetry center where some of the team still was; most had been working hard on packing equipment up to take to the factory in Midwood and figure out where to go from here. He passed by Cole, who was just as quiet as Brendan was, sitting with his hand over his forehead. At this, Brendan realized silence could either be beneficial or harmful here- and he chose the latter.

“...Are you mad?” Brendan asked.

“...Well, if I am, it’s not at you this time,” Cole replied. “I just… I hate that what I was worried about before has a hint of coming back.”

“What, specifically?”

“...The hedonism, specifically,” Cole clarified. “Reaching new heights and then falling behind because you get too egocentric. We score our first points and follow that up with a front-row lockout, and then what?”

“If it was that, though… we wouldn’t have lost the opportunity due to an engine failure,” Brendan speculated. “At least if I’m understanding you.”

“Well, we would have looked and noticed the problem. We could have replaced the engine before the weekend, or if all else failed, taken a grid penalty,” Cole said. “At least we might have learned a lesson here. We can’t rest on our laurels. Now morale’s gone down the toilet again.”

“...I suppose there’s more time still to go,” Brendan said, with a hint of melancholia.

“True. Look, just… Go and cool off in the motorhome. I’ll get the data sorted and the cars ready to take back to HQ,” Cole directed. “I’m trying to fit in. Trying to make it all make sense. A clearer head for us all will help that.”

“Cole, you’re a lot better than I thought you were,” Brendan admitted.

“I can say the same about you.”

__________

Tuesday, in Midwood

Dr. Emerson stood overviewing his hard-working team.

A few months ago, most of the people he saw in front of him hadn’t yet become part of the project. There were only a handful of tried-and-true mechanics and engineers. Now, he had a team full of eager manufacturers, brand partners, and designers, working hard to find Esmerel’s place in the international pecking order. Given so long in isolation, they weren’t destined to be high up. But the distance they had yet to make up was still staggering.

...If we had begun in WGP2, like the first plan laid out… Where would we be now? he wondered. Cygnus hadn’t at first intended to enter the WGPC in this way. The plan was to secure an entry in the much more open WGP2 series, earn experience there, then if all was well, enter the WGPC. Of course, that plan had been abandoned, along with almost every other plan Cygnus had.

Truth be told, nothing about Cygnus’s entry was fully planned. At first, there was WGP3, where Cygnus entered the Nimban i-League (as the Esmerel Collegiate Motorsport Team) and the WGP3 Atlantic Division, held in Esmerel and the neighboring countries. The former went poorly, while the latter resulted in both series championships. But after that, neither series was held again the following year, stunting Cygnus’s growth and cutting short their driver program. At that point, the dream was to find a driver from the EGTC or elsewhere similar willing to go to WGP2. But few wanted to, and Cygnus didn’t enter the 2021 championship.

And then, 2022 happened, with no WGPO-sanctioned championships held, all while Cygnus still struggled to develop any new plans to what they were going to do from there. At last, with 3 years spent developing the team and a car, the team’s investors clamored to enter the WGPC immediately in order to make a return on their investments.

It wasn’t the same as examples before it, such as the 1990s, where many a racing team went to the top too quickly and collapsed, but it was risky. If Cygnus couldn’t perform adequately enough, there was a chance of sponsors leaving the team. Funding drying up. Fans growing apathetic. The central government had money for a bailout, but they wouldn’t give it to a sports team that had no justification.

Few outside the team- in fact, few within the team- knew about the whole situation Cygnus was in. They could manage the rest of the season, but during that time, they would have to overperform or else. It was in moments like these that Dr. Emerson wished he had delegated some of his tasks to others. But he was simultaneously the Team Principal, the Commercial Manager, and the Media Manager. And it was a bit too late to change some of that.

At least he had Lianna as his Chief Designer. That was one role he didn’t have to worry about. As it happened, Lianna came into the room, complete with data on a tablet.

“Brendan and Angela have been doing well at the test track,” Lianna told Dr. Emerson. “We’re still collecting new data about performance with the new upgrades and newly-installed engines.”

“Good. Have we analyzed the data from the failures to see what happened?” Dr. Emerson asked.

“It was just wear and tear- though it was a miracle Brendan’s engine didn’t fail altogether,” Lianna explained. “There was little we could do about it in that regard.”

“Well, the issue is solved, then,” Dr. Emerson said. “What will we need to do in order to finish the season with our remaining engines?”

“We’ll need to replace the engines more often as we continue- that might mean we’ll need an extra set or two from Tropicorp, I’m afraid,” Lianna confirmed. “With our remaining engines, we would have to limit our running and conserve performance in the races, which would cripple us. We’ll have to make do with spending a little more if we’re to stay competitive.”

“...Investors won’t prefer that, but I suppose they knew what they signed up for,” Dr. Emerson said, disappointed in the situation. “And about the upgrades?”

“Our upgrades in Ramgardia were to expectations, beyond the engine issues,” Lianna confirmed. “The designers have told me we should have more upgrades in time for the mid-season test in Atheara. We can run them at the test, and make any changes we need to in time for the race the following week.”

“That’s a good thing to hear,” Dr. Emerson noted. “I’ve also managed to work things out with Olivia Stone, thankfully, as well as the WGPO. To my understanding, she’ll be allowed to run the car at the mid-season test, though not at any free practice sessions.”

“I understand.”

“...Lianna, it feels like we’re on a tightrope walk, managing this team,” Dr. Emerson commented. “But we’re all walking it with as much confidence as we can. I know that’ll matter when the chips come down.”

“As someone who knows the situation, I believe the same,” Lianna added. “Here, have a look at the testing data. I’ll go and check on our drivers again, and see if we can improve production of any new parts.”

“Good to hear you’re such a lifesaver, Ms. Alphonse,” Dr. Emerson said.

Lianna chuckled. “I’m afraid I can’t go that far, Doctor. Not quite sweet or hollow enough.”

__________

Thursday, at Nexus HQ

Elsewhere in the Verse, in a team recovering from a different malaise, Jean Mercer-Daly sat quietly in his quarters, planning his itinerary for the Nimban Grand Prix weekend.

He was to be present at effectively every event held, beyond just the normal Practice, Qualifying, and Grand Prix. There was a drivers’ parade just after noon to oversee, an NSSCRA showcase to watch, a radio car tournament he was planning to represent the team in, the Friday evening concert, and then the lectures all through the weekend- it was much more full than he had grown used to over the last couple of years, that was for sure.

He considered it his role to keep up appearances for the team- it gave him things to do, and ways to experience another world for what might be his last time.

Outside, a knock on his door rang out. “Come on in!” Jean called.

Max entered the room with a jovial grin on his face. “Good to hear you sound perky today,” he said to Jean.

“Well, perky’s not the right word. I’m just good. Liking it right now,” Jean clarified.

“It’s pretty similar. So, you ready for the weekend?” Max asked. “Think you can honestly keep up with it? I can easily tell Gertrude and the others you might need to back out if you do.”

“No need, but thanks… It gives me a purpose,” Jean told Max. “And in some ways I feel like I owe them for giving me such a long chance at the team. …Hard to imagine that’s how it went down, all those years ago.”

“How so?”

“...Back when it was me, Talia, Darrell… and all the hijinks we got up to trying to punch above our weight,” Jean reminisced. “Considering an Esmerelian team in the WGPC well before we had a real chance, ideas that went nowhere, calls and responses with Maria and… being way too foolhardy to my bad luck. My performance ended up speaking for me, and lucky that.”

“We all started somewhere, right?” Max noted. “And life can be full of plans that go nowhere. We can have stories, but not always stories with clear definitions.”

“I guess so. Still, you’d’ve probably cringed a little,” Jean said. “It felt so hastily thrown together, cobbled from secondhand ideas and basic concepts, even if it was a valiant effort. …Pretty sure the reason I even got signed to Nexus the following season was because I got stuck in a love triangle.”

“You… what?”

“Well, I, um… I wasn’t loving anyone in the triangle; wasn’t a part of it,” Jean hastily corrected. “But I was tangentially involved with both Maria and Ryker. There was that, and there was also winning 3 races in a row, which nobody had ever done before… And the Vilitan Defense, where I held off Ryker for half of the race to win… I can still claim those, at least.”

“...I like hearing you reminisce, you know. Makes me feel like I could’ve been there,” Max said. “Like I would have wanted to be there, messy or not.”

“Thanks… Of course, the only reason you’re here is because…”

“Because you needed a new engineer,” Max finished.

“Darrell never told me why he jumped ship after my crash,” Jean said, referring to the near-mortal blow he suffered at the 2018 Audioslavian Grand Prix, resulting in a double amputation and cybernetic replacement of his left limbs. “But he did. Talia left a season or two later; she had other projects and callings she wanted to do more… My old EGTC team folded, Rebecca Darlington tried WGP2 but busted out… I’m the last of a pretty old era, aren’t I?”

“You could at least stop calling yourself old when you’re just 41,” Max claimed. “And hey… you survived when others didn’t. You stuck it out when things kept taking turns for the worse. Much as you struggled, you tried. Not everyone can say they did that.”

“Guess it never hurts to hear words like that,” Jean said. “You’re right, I did survive- and I guess even fewer people can say they were second best in the WGPC. …I might be all that’s left, but I don’t think I can just up and leave. I thought that before, but not now.”

“...Cheers for the chat, Jean,” Max said. “Didn’t expect it to get this nostalgic, but I’m glad it did.”

“I can say the same about you.”

[Liventia]

PORTLAND–CARVENLO RACING TEAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Team technical director Darren Franklin to leave Portland–Carvenlo with immediate effect for personal health reasons
FOLENISA— It is with great regret that the Portland–Carvenlo Racing team confirms that team technical director Darren Franklin, founder of the Franklin Racing team and a long-time partner to the Carvenlo Motoring Company, has submitted his resignation from the team with immediate effect and that it has been accepted by team CEO Matthew Portland.

Darren is a dear friend to all in the Portland–Carvenlo family and a familiar face and warm smile to many in the World Grand Prix Championship paddock, and this news is a devastating blow to everyone at Portland Racing and the Carvenlo Motoring Company.

At the start of the season, Darren informed senior team management including the team's CEO, Matthew Portland, and team Consulting Director and CEO of the Carvenlo Motoring Company, Mark Marsh, that he was dealing with minor health issues that would not affect his ability to perform his duties.

However, as has been noticed, Darren has been absent from the paddock for a majority of the season so far after developing pneumonia which required a longer-than-average hospital stay.

While he is on the road to recovery, Darren has decided he is unable to fulfil his obligations to the team. Team CEO Matthew Portland offered Darren the opportunity to take the remainder of the season on sabbatical leave, but Darren – in his usual hardworking style – declined to do so.

In a short statement for the media, Darren said: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank team CEO Matthew Portland and team Consulting Director Mark Marsh for giving me the wonderful opportunity to be involved with the Portland–Carvenlo project, and to spend another season working in the World Grand Prix Championship.

"However, I have decided that my health and family come first, as well as my own Franklin Racing project which I would like to put more attention into once I have fully recovered. Both Matthew and Mark have been incredibly understanding of my position and for that I will always be grateful."

Team CEO Matthew Portland said: "We at Portland–Carvenlo would like to wish Darren all the best as he continues his slow, painstaking recovery and returns to full health. He will always have our support and we know he will be cheering the team on from a distance."

Team principal Troy Wilkins will take on the additional duties of technical director for the remainder of the season.

ENDS

[Hapilopper]

First City Airport, First City, Nexus Wardship
Upon arrival to the Nexus Wardship for the Nimban Grand Prix
Another day, another nation, another race. That’s all that was going through Rudy Edwards’ mind as he got off the plane that took him to the Nexus Wardship for the Nimban Grand Prix. The WGPC season had gotten to be particularly frustrating. Preston Autos was 7th in the Constructors Championship and Rudy was 10th in the Drivers Championship, falling more and more behind drivers that he felt that he really should have been far in front of. And he was starting to get discouraged with his season.

To his surprise, not far behind him was Drake Stevenson and Taylor Henderson. Rudy turned around to see the two and he waved to get their attention. Drake looked a little different. The long hair he used to have was gone – replaced with a shorter cut, and he was sporting a goatee.

“What brings y’all here?” Rudy asked. “Wanting to get back in the fold?”

“Not really,” Drake said. “Nexus is doing a deal where we can try out the Chase Cutter. I was invited and it’d be fun to see how I can do with it. But nah, not wanting to change. If anything I’m looking for a way to cut down on my schedule. How are you doing?”

“Fine,” Rudy said sadly. “I’m… I’m fine.”

“Are you?” Drake asked. “Let’s find a place to get a beer, let’s talk about it.”

“I don’t think we can here,” Rudy said. “Not here.”

Drake rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Aw, fuck!” Drake exclaimed quietly. “I forgot about that. Forgot about a lot of things here. But yeah, let’s find a place to talk.”

The trip to Crossbay Circuit, between First City and Nimbus Bay
Not long later
“It seemed like there’s something bothering you, Rudy,” Drake said. “Care to talk about it?”

“Well… I’m just pissed about how the year’s going,” Rudy said. “I’m just pissed about how it seemed like we were in great shape, but now, it’s just like it’s all imploding. Either I’m fucking up or the team’s fucking up and I just don’t know if I want to keep going in this series. I don’t know how this weekend is going to turn out and for all I know it’s probably going to be another shitshow. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot and I’m tired of it.”

“Why is that? Why are you thinking this is going to suck?” Drake asked. “Because with that attitude it most likely will.”

“Drake, we go to every track on the schedule thinking we’re gonna win,” Rudy said. “We go to every country with the mindset that we’re going to beat everyone. But all season? It’s like… I wreck one week, I’m fine the next and the other two races have been, we either can’t get the handle of the car or my pit strategy is screwed up. So what’s the use? I feel like we’re going to fuck up again this weekend, so what’s the point of coming in acting like we’re all high and mighty? I just don’t get it.”

“Rudy… Rudy… no,” Drake said. “A negative attitude can kill you just as much as anything. Acting like you’re the big man on campus won’t help if you can’t back it up, but a negative attitude isn’t going to do you any favors. I can see you dreaded coming here. And I can see you want a change. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” Rudy said. “Maybe go back to the Champ series back home, maybe run NSSCRA, HASCAR, I don’t know. What do you think I should do?”

“Do what makes you happy,” Drake said. “Does Marty know about this?”

“No,” Rudy responded.

“Do something about that,” Drake said. “Marty needs to know that you’re not happy because chances are he’s not happy. Preston Grand Prix is a much better team than 7th in the Constructors. You guys are championship contenders, god damn it. And I bet anything that if he knows your frustrations, he can try to make it right.”

“Yeah, will do,” Rudy said. “Because if this doesn’t improve, I’m going to look for other things to do. You ever thought about coming back? Maybe think about that dream you had?”

“Nah,” Drake said. “That dream was a dream I had in a past life with someone long since gone. I’ve got a new life coming. Taylor and I have a child on the way. She doesn’t particularly care for racing anymore and I’m thinking of cutting back on my schedule. Maybe I might retire next weekend if I win the title. Maybe Taylor and I might move to the Hampton Cities and, you know, start a life near her family. I haven’t decided yet.”

Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, Nexus Wardship
Later that day
Marty Lewis was sitting on his chair on the pit gantry at Crossbay Circuit, watching his crew unpack for race weekend. There wasn’t much he needed to do at this point: Everyone knew their roles and everyone knew what tasks they were required to perform. If Marty went out there and tried to help, all he’d do was get in the way. Typically, drivers would go on walks of circuits to try to understand the ins and outs of the circuit, and Marty figured that Rudy Edwards was with the Preston crew walking around the circuit. At the very least, he had seen Drake Stevenson go out with his old legal pad trying to figure out the circuit – a track he hadn’t been on in years. So Marty was a little surprised when he saw Rudy come out of the garage.

“Marty?” Rudy asked. “I need to talk to you. In private. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“Yeah, sure,” Marty said. “I think I might need to talk to you too.”

So the two walked back to one of Preston Autos’ many motorhomes, away from crew members, mechanics, members of the media, drivers and fans to discuss what was the problem.

“Marty, I feel like this isn’t working right now,” Rudy said. “I’ve just… I dreaded coming here. Because shit just hasn’t gone well and I’m questioning whether or not we’ll get another good result.”

“Why’s that?” Marty asked.

“Because we keep having more problems every single week than I’d like to have. Either I crashed or we have bad pit strategy,” Rudy started. “I mean, we’re a championship team and we’re not acting like it. I’m just wondering if I want to do something else with my life than race WGPC anymore. Because I wonder if I’m holding back the team. You know, I saw Drake here earlier and he looked as happy as ever, and he’s running stock cars.”

“I promise you, Drake doesn’t want to come back,” Marty said. “And I also promise you, Drake driving that stupid fucking Chase Cutter, I don’t necessarily want to talk to him unless he can get something for us out of it.”

“Huh?”

“He’s not driving for us. That’s all you need to know,” Marty said. “But the fact is, Rudy, you’re a wonderful racing driver. When you’re on it, there’s not many other drivers in the world better than you. You’re letting bad results get to you. You’re letting problems get to you. You’ve been spiraling since you wrecked in Liventia. Stop. Breathe.”

“Maybe I am holding back the team,” Rudy said.

“Well, maybe you are. You just want me to hire someone else and have you sit on the sidelines the rest of the year? Is that what you want?” Marty asked, a little aggravated at the idea that Rudy completely ignored what he had said.

“I just wonder if I’d be happier running NSSCRA,” Rudy said. “I mean, at least…”

“At least you’d be running away from your problems, that’s it,” Marty snapped. “Listen to me, Edwards, you are one of the finest drivers in the world right now, but you are your own worst enemy. You are sabotaging yourself. You keep doing this to yourself and you keep spiraling out of control. Stop it! You need to address why you have this self-doubt about things. You come here thinking the weekend’s gonna suck, well guess what, dude? It’s gonna suck! I’m not going to let you tear yourself down like that. Either you improve your attitude or I’m going to remove you for the good of the team. And if I have to do that, I’m going to let our other teams know why I did. So change your attitude, PLEASE.”

Meanwhile, Drake Stevenson is mentally - and emotionally - preparing himself for his final drive in a WGPC-spec car.
viewtopic.php?p=40679998#p40679998

[Auruna]

Sigurd Ring
Ramngardian Grand Prix
Pre-Race

A familiar scenery surrounds them, similar to that of Sterlennau or even Livonsk, the Viska team felt like they were back at home as they prepared for the eventual race at Sigurd Ring in Diarcesia. A result of a sudden change in the entire team's mindset, they were looking forward to the race, whatever result may go their way but the desire to win still remained. Artur and Jöna felt this and noticed the rest of the team followed suit. Oskuitte... (Have faith...) Artur kept in mind. Täitä etteremät... Jöna reminded. The pair kept repeating their thoughts as they enter the garage. As they approach, they hear a tune grow louder and soon they find out the team singing Mun Aurimi, an Aurun folk song as they worked on preparing the cars for the race. Artur looked surprised as he never came across this before and as he turns to look at Jöna to ask about it, he saw him just enjoying the performance.

"Airekka laulattesaa." ("Let them sing.") Jöna said to Artur, figuring out what he was about to ask.

It was a welcome morale boost for the team after a troubled start. It was different than what they used to do to recover from anything undesirable. Even so, it didn't happen all of a sudden as it started with one mechanic then it soon spread to the others as it gradually built up. And their choice of song was appropriate as well. A song known for the Aurun spirit, the concept of "suikatta". They want to invoke it upon the team with glee and in unison, they slowly build up upon the end.

Lentaru... lentaru...

They repeat.

Lentaru... lentaru...

And in a loud cheer... Lentajaamme!

Jöna smiles at the sight, it's something that was missing and now finally realised. Then, wanting to continue hyping up the team, loud and clear he yells out. "Viska! Etterää!"

Enthusiastically, everyone replied. "Täitä etteremät!"

Artur just stood there in disbelief, having not seen something like this until Jöna patted him at the back then his thoughts came out of his mouth. "That's one way to handle a team."

"I'm sure you'll see more of it soon." Jöna said before heading off to his post at the pitwall with Artur following close behind.

"I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to it... but it works if it works and I can understand."

---

Race

Mixed expectations were laid upon Viska for the race as people were divided if they could perform where it's important or not based on their qualifying performance. Others were harsh on their criticism but many still believed that Viska can make something happen and there's a possibility that the team could perform well in Sigurd Ring. They only needed the perfect moment to strike.

"Radio check clear. Hevänpaivu Sara je Seiko (Pleiades)." Jan said over the radio as Sara was lined up on the grid. "I'll keep it brief - this is your home race, so show 'em what we got. Good luck and I'll be here."

Lined up three places behind, Aaron had Esko in his ear, trying to be helpful to the rookie. "Alright, calm down and look after your tyres. Pick your fights and make it to the end. I want to see you shine out there so just focus on your race, let it be your only concern for the entire duration and I'll be in your ear whenever necessary."

And after that wordy affair, the drivers went on the formation lap doing their best to warm up their tyres for the start. As they round the final corner, Esko thought of something to help out Aaron with his start so immediately he goes on the radio. "Aaron, for a good launch, keep it to around 5000 rpm and take it easy so that your wheels don't spin which hurts your start and your tyres. So calm down and focus. You can do it." He said just in time for the actual race start.

The lights go out and keeping in mind what Esko has said beforehand, Aaron manages a better start than his usual, keeping up with both Sophie McCreary and Sam Blaatschappen ahead of him although his teammate way ahead fared better as usual. It didn't matter as there was a long way to go. "Focus on what's ahead." Esko reminded him as he battles alongside his competitors throughout the first few corners of the first lap before the gap gets stretched out through the straights. Meanwhile, Sara was up around P10 already, utilising every advantage she has for this race aiming high in the standings, giving hope to the fans of the team and to anyone else that was rooting for them as the MNA commentators said.

And soon enough, as the first wave of pitstops came, the team stuck to their usual routine with less fuck ups than before. Aaron went in first and with a deep breath, the mechanics prepared for what is to come. As quick as they possibly could, they managed to pull off a respectable stop complete with a front wing adjustment alongside the tyre change. They tried to process it before returning to their seats, unsure if they could pull it off again when Sara would eventually pit.

With fresh tyres, Aaron was given the go ahead to push to make up several places in overtakes and as the others came in to pit. The team couldn't believe that Aaron managed to be within reach of the top ten, only a few more and he'll get his first points. That is if he finished and Artur hoped that the engine would hold up and Aaron would not make a mistake. Good thing Esko is there with him. "Come on, you can do it kid! Gaps to front and back are about four seconds each so you can ease off the aggressiveness and survive up until the end. Let's go!" And in reply, Esko got a cheeky laugh.

Meanwhile up ahead, Sara breached the top ten to the cheers of the local crowd. On her way for another points finish from the back with the help of her own decision making on top of Artur's strategy built upon the plan of taking Sara to the podium. It was a long way and everyone put a lot of their effort in their work for this race. Maybe this time...

Then the safety car was deployed which threw a wrench to the strategies of many and decisions had to be made for three laps before racing could resume. Sara and Aaron were in a good position for points and using everything that they have, they pushed as hard as possible. Jöna, with a cup of coffee in hand, observed at the intense coordination of the pit wall and the drivers. He smiled and uttered a few words that no one noticed. "I can see it already. We're getting close." Before taking a sip of his coffee. And by lap 45, Sara and Aaron are P5 and P7 respectively. Sara against William Archer and Aaron against Ryker Lane. They were on the way for a crucial overtake when the safety car was deployed once again. They had to hold off until it ends.

"It seems that our timing's not quite there yet." Jan said after the safety car was deployed. "I doubt that we would have enough laps to get Archer but I believe that you can do it. Mode 7 Sara and HL+ for overtakes, let's bring it."

Two safety car laps passed and racing resumed once again and to the best of their abilities, both Sara and Aaron try to keep up with their competitors ahead of them while the top two of Lane Carter and Laura Haukanna pull away from the rest of the pack. Sara was all over the back of Archer, staying within a second of him as she tries to setup an overtake. Once the right opportunity came at Nordström, Sara engages all the car's might for the overtake for it to be blocked which put her wide. Meanwhile, Aaron is managing to keep up with the Nexus, being within one second but not risking any moves that could get him in trouble.

Even after all that, they had to settle for P5 and P7 after crossing the line. While they were so close, this was the first double points finish for Viska which was still an achievement from outside of the points at the start. The Viska garage broke out in cheer, celebrating on what they were able to get. And it was a nice change of pace.

"That's P5 Sara, great work. We're getting close to what we want. And Aaron is P7. This is a great day for us!" Jan excitedly said on the radio, seemingly breaking character under the background of the team's cheers at the garage. "Next time, we'll be seeing either of you at the podium."

Oskuitte.

---

---

Sigurd Ring
Ramngardian Grand Prix
Race

Laura still couldn't believe it... she managed to reach second after getting through intense battles and strategy calls from her lowly start in P23. While in her disbelief, she is still determined to continue, using her newfound confidence in her skill in this somewhat of a miracle drive. And gently, at the dying stages of the race right behind Lane Carter, she whispered to her car. Aina, stay with me.

Keeping up with the TJUN-ian ahead in an intense duel after the brief safety car, she has her sights locked onto the position ahead of her after it was taken from her by Lane Carter at Helsingfors. For the remainder of the lap, she was about a second behind him, doing everything she could to retake the position from him. Even Erik is giving her an option for a more aggressive engine map to aid her for moments like this. It felt like it wasn't enough as they reach the main straight. Laura could feel the gap increasing. Aina, don't slow down now! I need you! Come on! Just like what we did before! By the time the pair reached Hastighetslagen, Laura got close to Lane Carter in the braking zone but the Eelandii was quick to accelerate away from her at the exit and with what looks like a better setup, Lane Carter used the Gauntlet to further increase the gap to the Pryfors Bilar.

Laura, knowing that she had no other chance, seeing the Eelandii pull away, she dials back the engine mapping on the cooker knob on her steering wheel making sure that the car survives until the end and settling for second. Taking a deep breath at the straights, she composes herself. No mistakes, bring it home. Seven seconds behind from the eventual winner but the brief duel got her blood pumping. Next time, we'll be prepared.

After crossing the line, Laura breathes a sigh of relief before celebrating her podium finish over the radio with Erik. The two Auruns spoke in their native language in sheer excitement, causing the others to not understand what they were saying apart from those who have knowledge of the language. But still, based on the emotions on their voices, it was a happy end. From 23rd to 2nd, it was something to celebrate. A candidate for Driver of the Day? Probably but that is for the fans to decide.

Before getting out of the car in parc ferme, she pats the top of the steering wheel. You did your best Aina. But let's take it all in... second place. It was still worth it. Then she celebrates after climbing out, running towards her team, congratulating her including Aldauren and her teammate, Sam. Then at the podium celebration, she triumphantly raised her trophy even after losing out on the win, to the massive cheer from the crowd. She congratulated both Anneliese Devereux and especially Lane Carter, shaking hands with them and exchanging a few words to each other before Laura left the podium to continue the celebrations with her team.

From the Silver Hawk, a miracle drive to the end.

[Mlima Kijani]

Posted on the In Brief section of the KijaniNewsNow website.

AOPIC condemned for paying ransom as Kjiani piracy activity escalates

The Akhdari energy company AOPIC has been criticized after being reported to have paid a ransom for the release of the tanker Khanabjah to Kijani pirates. The vessel, which was boarded last week, went free, with all crew reported safe and unharmed, and delivered its full cargo of oil on time to Tropicorp. Analysts say given the lack of military or police action to retake the boat, AOPIC "almost certainly" paid the bounty. Græntfjaller Foreign Minister Brynjúlfur Brynjarsson was fiercely critical of the decision, saying that: "Paying the ransom merely proves to pirates that their tactics work, and will encourage similar criminal activities in the future." Seemingly bearing out his warning, there are reports of three further ships being seized in the Vilitan Bay, including a Græntfjaller civilian yacht, another AOPIC supply ship, and a Verdean-flagged cargo ship. Græntfjall indicated it would not pay any ransom for release of its boat and would take "necessary measures" to ensure the right of innocent passage, though the specter of the Græntfjaller Navy returning to Atlantian Oceania's waters may stir up unpleasant memories from their last visit, during their attack on Jabal Akhdar.

Asked for comment, Kijani racing driver Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir said: "I don't understand what this story has to do with me, the WGPC, or anything," but admitted she "couldn't think of anything else to write about". She added "piracy is bad".

Also in the news:

• Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir donates to ProFundMe account of coffee shop manager "fired for being white"
• 8,000 Kijani soldiers deployed to "ensure fair elections"
• Protests over Quran desecration in Southern Mlima Kijani escalate
• International Commission on Brief Headlines When RP Juice is Lacking recommends Kijani economy diversify away from cotton
• Online funding campaign nets goal: 100,000 malaria nets to be delivered to Mlima Kijani

[Nico Hulkenberg]

A KINDER APPROACH TO THINGS


(Pictured: Nepö, in UrGa testing gear, perched on a makeshift pit wall)

It’s safe to say that Nepö Kinder is exceeding expectations. Leading both the rookies’ and overall championship standings in AOGP, things couldn’t possibly be going any better for the young Hülkenberger - that is, unless you ask her. The Herald’s exclusive interview with Nepö is bound to answer your questions, as well as leaving you with more to ask.

> Nepö, hello! How are things?

“Eh, things are good, it’s quite tough being part of a new entourage and adapting to totally new time zones but I’m starting to get the hang of it.”

> Of course, a new team environment, a new competition, a new LANGUAGE in some cases… it must be a bit of a challenge?

“I’ve found it really accepting, to be honest. At the end of the day, everybody at the team’s all in the same boat when it comes to one adjusting to the other, so we all got used to each other very quickly. And besides, the folk at Oonaftco Oontaz could be speaking Wingdings and I’d still be giving 110% effort every tome. That’s just not a barrier for me.”

> Speaking of barriers and effort; you’ve really been giving it your all. Does your team not try to warn you?

“Well, first impressions matter, don’t they? You wear a hoodie on the first date, and you might not even make it past the entrée. Racing’s a bit more forgiving than that, but ultimately, no matter the level, the team just really wants to see what you’re made of. No matter how often I get the occasional ‘keep it cool’ or ‘bring it home’, my mentality of a couple of centimetres from a wall here being several hundredths of a second there prevails. That sort of impact doesn’t go unnoticed, especially across a lap - or a race.”

> A win in your first race, a good showing on your first oval run. You must be ecstatic! Is this the sort of thing that helps to build confidence, or does it just come naturally?

“Yeah, it’s been a good start to the season, by most conventional measures at least. In terms of myself, though - am I ecstatic? Nah. There’s more to do, and it’s my job to make sure that it gets done. I’ve got my duties at UrGa, of course - that car won’t test itself - and I’ve got to keep this run of good form up. The guys and gals at Oonaftco Oontaz have been doing an amazing job, and I couldn’t be more glad to be working with them, day in and day out. Confidence-wise… it’s just something that comes about, really. Either it does or it doesn’t. It’s not much of a big deal for me, though. I think that confident driver can still make mistakes, and an unconfident driver can still deliver the performance of a lifetime. It’s not confidence that’s the real driver of motivation, it’s just knowing your skill level. Once you know and come to accept yourself, your level, your ability - it all just falls into place.”

> Have you got any other words of wisdom for us, or would you rather get back to prepping for the next race?

“If I answer truthfully, you might never want to hear from me again. But yes, I have a couple of words in mind - depending on how this weekend goes, I’ll let you know what they are.”

> Well, thanks for your time, and best of luck!

“I’m not really one for ‘luck’, but I’m grateful for your support!”

Well, there you have it, folks. A driver that doesn’t subscribe to the concept of ‘luck’ or ‘confidence’, and yet oozes both of them seamlessly. We can’t really be sure what Nepö’s got in store for us in future, but we can guarantee that our eyes will be glued to the screen in any case! Oh, what’s that? You glued your eyes to your television LITERALLY? Well, for one, you’re a very silly goose, but on the other… it wouldn’t be a Herald article without some helpful and specifically relevant product placement! Unfortunately, we really can’t solve this problem… but the Hülkenberger Luxury Krakenwagens can! For a low, low subscription fee of 99 Hülkenmarks per month, you too can be saved from life-threatening situations - and look just as opulent and dashing as you did before your little incident. No VIP should have to go without the Luxury Krankenwagen’s world-famous gold-plated stethoscopes, or 4D heart monitor (now with surround sound cardio-bass boosting action!), so why should you? Just dial 1-800-LUX-KRANK during your next traumatic injury and use the code ‘NEPÖ’ for 10% off your next misadventure!

Dario

---

Dario has stolen the Pressley social media admin’s phone, and has elected to post “oh my god he’s witewawy hitting the gwiddy in a pwesswey testing session” onto the team’s ShujuQiequZhe page. Generational.

[Vilita and Turori]

WGPC Stars Born on the Streets of Alikki-Corra

While the World Grand Prix Championship teams head to the familiar venue in the Crossbay Circuit of the Former Citizens of the Nimbus System, the Atlantian Oceania Grand Prix teams will have a much easier transportation journey heading from Lopinka in South-Eastern Vilita to the Vilitan capital of Alikki-Corra, deep in Vilita's own Cove to compete on the streets. The race will be notable as it will all but certainly end Bismuillah Untas' streak of consecutive runner-up finishes at the Temporary Vilitan circuit that currently stretches for three consecutive major races at the track - each race of which has had its own unique winner.

The Streets of Alikki-Corra provide a unique challenge to all drivers and those who have conquered the streets in the past have done well for themselves. As it stands currently, the three podium finishers from the biggest race to be held at the circuit to date, the Feature event from World Grand Prix 2 Season 4, have all found their way to the World Grand Prix Championship circuit. In particular, Skiia Vialiv who earned Pole Position in that first major event on the Streets and Adriana Kowalski Lillian who are both now World Grand Prix Championship race winners with Adrian picking up her first victory in Race 6 of Season 19 and Vialiv having won earlier this season at the Cocoabo Park Circuit. For the Abovian Laukkanen who is still chasing that inaugural World Grand Prix podium, it could certainly be on the cards at the Crossbay Circuit, the home track of Laukkanen's Nimbus Racing team who will be looking to impress the home fans after an abysmal performance in World Grand Prix Championship Season 19 that saw Ryker Lane barely sneak in the points in 9th position while teammate Jean Mercer Daly finished last on the field. The defending winner at the Crossbay Circuit, Olivia Stone, will not even be on the grid opening the door for Laukkanen to potential take advantage and make it 3 for 3 among Streets of Alikki Corra World Grand Prix 2 Feature podium finishers to have progressed onward to World Grand Prix Championship Glory.

Of course, for the drivers of the Atlantian Oceania Grand Prix series, there will still be a number of levels of advancement required before they could potentially catapult from an Alikki-Corra victory to a WGPC superstar, but the first test is performing on the track and that is what 23 drivers will look to do as the AOGP circuit returns to the left and right turns on the street after a leisurely day turning left on the Lopinka National Oval during the previous round.

There will be plenty of momentum for the Race Eelandii! Vilita and Turori Motorworks team heading into both the Crossbay Circuit and the Streets of Alikki-Corra, as the they will be heading into both events with the hangover of celebration still fresh from victories the week before. TJUN-ia's Lane Carter won their second event for Race Eelandii by taking the checkers at the Sigurd Ring in Diarcesia while rookie driver and future Race Eelandii prospect Triiki Mokalrisa stunned the field at the Lopinka National raceway to take a first career AOGP Victory putting the Race Eelandii AOGP team in victory lane in just its second ever race.

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AOGP Preview: Streets of Alikki-Corra

Event Description: AOGP Season 2: Round 3 - Streets of Alikki-Corra AO Grand Prix
Track Location: Alikki-Corra, Vilita, Atlantian Oceania
WGP2 Lap Record: 1:49.681- Laura Haukanna - Wet Conditions
AOGP Lap Record: 1:37.554 (Niklas Schonbaum)

Track Lap Length: 4.61km (Track Layout)

Overview:
The 4.61 km course traverses through different zones of Vilita's Capital City including the business district, downtown Corra park and through the Alikki-Corra Academy of Sciences. While much of the course utilizes pre-existing road surfaces, two sections were added specifically for the street course including the "esses" built through the grounds of the Alikki-Corra Academy of Sciences.

The team paddocks were constructed as the only permanent feature of the track, funded by the Alikki-Corra Academy of Sciences the paddock area doubles as Laboratory and Research space for the Academy when there is no ongoing racing session with any equipment brought into the spaces to be movable and non-permanent to facility the potential re-use of the designated Paddock and Pit area for future Grands Prix on the same or similar course layout within the capital city.

The Streets of Alikki-Corra Grand Prix Course is the first ever World Grand Prix sanctioned non-permanent course in the Vilitan Cove region. All Fans with tickets to the Streets of Alikki-Corra AO Grand Prix will also be granted free admission to the Alikki-Corra Academy of Science Galleries and Exhibit Halls.

Racing Line:

Drivers will determine the best racing line during the initial practice sessions on the Street Course which will only have just been completed in the weeks leading up to the WGP2 Season Opener. With it being the first ever event held on the course, there is little more than simulation data and educated guesses as to how rubber will wear into the racing surface and effect the preferred entry and potential overtaking zones.

While there will be small sections of the course where drivers will be able to accelerate to high speeds, many of these sections also come with low to moderate elevation change. The most difficult section of the course is likely to be the Academy esses which are non-uniform and drivers will have to choose to sacrifice speed and entry into one corner to set themselves up for another. It could offer unpredictable opportunities for overtaking throughout the event.

Previous Race Results at the Alikki-Corra Street Course:

WGP2 S4: 1. Adriana Kowalski Ela Lillian (VEZ) | 2. Skiia Vialiv | 3. Janne Laukkanen || Pole: Skiia Vialiv

WGP2 S4: 1.Chiruno Hakusoe (HDR) | 2. Indra Vartak | 3. Heinz-Otto Junker || *Sprint Race

AOGP S1: 1. Roy Marshall (HAP) | 2. Bismillah Untas | 3. Niklas Schonbaum || Pole: Niklas Schonbaum

NSGP S5: 1. Khalid Musa (EFL) | 2. Bismillah Untas | 3. Tinni Kight || Pole: Khalid Musa

NSGP S5: 1. Tisthe Season (V&T) | 2. Bismillah Untas | 3. Olavi Vile Ruusuvuori || *Sprint Race

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[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

The accident at the start between Jordan and Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir wrecked the strategy laid out for him to earn the first points of the campaign, but showed the crew at its finest, as the nose replacement switch to the harder compound tires lost less time than might've been expected and played out to an advantage after the first round of pit stops; to bring the car home in 14th after starting third was a disappointment, but the fight back through the field had the team feeling a bit more positive. Batu's run to 9th also boosted spirits in the SOC garage.

The next race was finally at the track that the team knew and had good data on having run on the Crossbay Circuit in both years of WGP2; the end results in both races were uneven but it would help get a better head start on setups that wouldn't take up valuable track time during practice.

It was also true for the AOGP team, as a return to Alikki-Corra's circuit meant more preparation could be done back in Haskins rather than time spent during valuable track time.

The Monday night drivers dinner was Nick Unger's week to choose and as he was the most local, he selected one of his favorite places, The White Ash located on the Kingston High Street; in Mid-Com Baker Park (the agricultural belt that stretches from west to east that is approximately 25-30% of the land mass) what's known elsewhere as 'homestyle' or 'comfort food' is colloquially termed "slop food"--not in a pejorative sense but more in terms of ease of preparation, simplicity of ingredients/recipes, and a general commonality that transcends social-economic differences--and The White Ash presents variations and reimagining of "slop" dishes as a bit more sophisticated cuisine.

With the teams not crossing paths at tracks as they had in the past, generally the conversation consisted more of trading paddock gossip than it had previously.
"There is already loud whispering that teams might be looking to switch drivers after Crossbay."
Jordan had never really been interested in the goings on that made up the "paddock talk" but Steph overheard a lot more chatter involving behind the scenes stuff--although she was not particularly interested in spreading it around--and Shelly was a bit more wired in than Helena had been handling Batu.

"That sounds insane. The field is like 1/3 rookies, right?" Sammi Carter had "surrendered" her friend Shelly Brandywine to Batu as media handler and gotten a new face in the team, Jeff Lansbury as her 'second'; she'd been given the chance to select from three new hires in the PR/Media department and instinctively like Jeff from their first meeting.

"There's so much more pressure on drivers than there was in GP2." Batu still was a bit reserved among the other drivers he knew from different teams, but JC, Sammi & Nick had drawn him out of his shell quite a bit during the championship season so he had a reached a relaxed comfort level that was almost like a different personality. He didn't have to be asked to say what was on his mind in these get togethers anymore, he gave as good as he got in his interactions with the mechanics who considered him one of their own, and he was constantly invited to the homes of plenty of team personnel for dinner, informal gatherings or just a chance to relax and take his mind off racing for a bit.

"It's super weird when you're just making small talk with another driver and you can almost sense by their body language and tone in their voice how much pressure they feel."
Jordan Crowe was one of the most personable drivers in the WGPC paddock; he always went out of his way to congratulate the other rookies he'd run against in GP2 & had a lot of respect for Angela Tan Fang Ling, who could've easily been his teammate on SOC if Batu hadn't been chosen because of his experience.
He was just a typical Parker outside of the rough & tumble world of Top Class Open Wheel racing--respectful, open, friendly.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

(OOC: With thanks to Esmerel for a piece of dialogue towards the end of this scene!)

Olivia and Baxen’s Apartment, Avant Community, the Second City, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
10th of June

“…and other teams might overlook you. Even with our safeguards, is a possibility.”

“Why?”

“Because they might see it as rhetoric mandated by Cygnus to avoid their drivers from becoming overstressed even as they evaluate you as a potential replacement.”

Olivia laughs derisively. “If they think that, they’re only deluding themselves.”

Baxen smiles, shaking his head. “We know that. Only trying to consider how they might perceive the matter.”

“Right – appreciated.” Olivia looks over the rug (newly placed on the floor of the flat, looking just a touch more homely) to the full table drawn on Baxen’s tablet, gaze intent. It’s a three-row, three-column affair. Along the left, ‘Pros’, ‘Cons’ and a single question mark the rows from top to bottom. Of the columns, meanwhile, the last is capitalled with ‘Accept neither’.

The first two have as their headings ‘Potential UrGa offer’ and ‘Cygnus offer’.

The second column is most densely populated in the ‘Pros’ row. The first, though it has some decidedly large lettering in the same row, is fuller in the second – and far fuller in the third.

Olivia hums. “Doesn’t look quite so complicated now.” She glances toward her friend. “As always.”

Said friend says nothing – though he does gain a slight air of pride.

She looks back at the tablet. “I guess I… Imagination.” Olivia closes her eyes. Opens them again, still staring. “It’s still tempting. So tempting. Maelstrom, I don’t like how inconstant I feel these days sometimes.”

“You were robbed of your capability by factors beyond your control, as all of us were, and suffered as a result.” Baxen bows his head. “It’s entirely reasonable that you would be tempted by an apparent offer to restore it all.”

Olivia opens her mouth – then stops. And she considers someone else in a similar place only a few seasons ago, who had decided to give up his dreams to elevate hers despite her own protestations, without any possibility of such restitution.

She shuffles closer to Baxen, leaning closer into his side. “Yes, well. I…” Olivia sighs, tapping the screen in the bottom-left box. “I think this has to be my biggest worry. You’re right to say that email was… Unconventional.”

“A team whose financial advisor is attempting to reconcile their driver lineup, apparently behind their backs, at the expense of a driver currently hired to the team.” Baxen sets his jaw. “I like none of it.”

“Agreed. For any other team, I’d be confident we could make meaningful change. Here…” Olivia smiles, shakes her head. “Part of me still wants to say we should try, but… We’ve galvanised before, organised, with people who are already on board. If that email’s indicative of the culture as a whole…” Another sigh. “We probably can’t fix that. Not on our own. And definitely not with half the team already against us, since we’d be replacing a race winner.”

“And of Cygnus?”

“The meeting was good, after I worked out my nerves. Your follow-ups have been good. They respected our positions.” Olivia inclines her head, smile brighter now, eyes shining. “Plus, they raced in the Wardship in WGPi with us, so they know what we’re about. I think… Even discarding everything else? I think I just want to.”

Baxen nods. “Not complicated at all. I’ll –”

Olivia shakes her head. “No, you know what? I’ll handle this one. Feel free to send something across to UrGa, but… I should do this.”

“Hmm. Well, so long as you do send it off.”

“I know, I know!” She laughs, climbing up off the floor. “I’ll get started now. You wanted to go over presentation at the home race after that, right?” She raises her eyebrows, contemplative. “Never had chance to race RC cars before. Can’t be so different.”

Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
Nimban Grand Prix; Pre-Practice

The Bullhorn ---------------------------------------------------------------- Sport News

OLIVIA STONE CONFIRMS CYGNUS RESERVE POSITION
World Grand Prix Correspondent Sol Yanforl

Nimban driver Olivia Stone has announced that she will be taking on a testing and reserve driver role for Esmerelian team Cygnus Motorsport.

The WGPC race winner was confirmed for the role in a press release delivered by the university-run rookie team on the Friday morning of the Nimban Grand Prix weekend. As part of the deal, it has been announced that she will run at this year’s mid-season test in Atheara.

Stone had previously raced for the Aurun Viska outfit, but was let go after a drop in performance in WGPC 19 coinciding with the general Nimban loss of awareness.

In the press release, Cygnus Team Manager William Emerson praised Stone as ‘a rising star in the WGPC that deserves a second chance after what she’s been through’ and announced that he was ‘hoping that her appearance in the mid-season test might convince the other teams to keep an eye out for her, especially for next season.’.

Cygnus Motorsport Team have exhibited flashes of speed this season, most notably in Brendan Faloe’s fourth place at Cocoabo Park, but have generally struggled to maintain pace with the rest of the grid. In interviews this morning, Stone told press that, “Obviously I want to show the WGPC grid that I have potential for them to tap, but I’m also keen to see [Cygnus] carve out a place for themselves on the WGPC grid. With Baxen [Aurora, Stone’s long-time friend and race engineer] I’ve been through all of the stages of team development, first with my own university’s team and then with Viska. I can see that everyone at Cygnus is passionate in the same ways I am and I want to help make that work on track.”

Asked about rumours linking her to a race seat with Cygnus, or with Trans-Dniestrian team UrGa-Preston, she added, “I’m not here to kick someone who deserves a seat out of it. Brendan and Angela certainly deserve their shots. I want to race for a team who want me and Baxen for us and what we bring to the team, not as a replacement for someone, and a team that we can throw ourselves into wholeheartedly.”

Olivia and Baxen’s Apartment, Avant Community, the Second City, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
10th of June

From: Baxen Aurora <baxen.aurora@questnet.nim>
To: Yurievsky Yakov Leonidovich <leonidovich_y_y@urga.pdn>
Subject: Re: Apologies

Dear Yurievsky Yakov Leonidovich,

Thank you for making us aware of the situation; we will let you know of our position soon.

Baxen Aurora
Race Engineer to Olivia Stone, World Grand Prix Driver