World Grand Prix Championship 20 [RP/Results Thread]

[Tropicorp]

SKIIA VIALIV ✓

@Skiia

Seemed like it was going to be a good day in Diarcesia after a Top 5 effort in qualifying, but we got caught out on the lap 30 safety car and could never really catch back up from that point. Not really much the @UrGa team could do. Our @TropicorpRS Tyres were good enough surely as they made their way to victory "Lane" but we weren't the only ones caught out as we crossed the line right behind the pole winner. Oh well, can't wait for Crossbay, had the fastest lap there in WGP2 last season! I wonder if I can be just as fast in the RC Car Challenge...

VILITA & TURORI RACER ✓

@VTRacer

For some context surrounding the viral image of protestors at the Streets of Alikki-Corra Grand Prix Circuit holding up "No Ransom, No Pirates" signs near the Tropicorp Engineering paddock, as far as we can tell it was actually just two persons who brought a few different outfits with them and have been taking pictures throughout the day then posting in bunches for dramatic effect. Will continue to monitor if the protests grow but they don't seem to be effecting the team currently as they prepare for the AOGP.

#AOGP : #AOPIC : #Khanabjah

TROPICORP RACING SUPPLY ✓

@TropicorpRS

Big weekend here for the whole Tropicorp Racing Supply family as we head to the very backyard of In-Motion tyres just one week after stealing the spotlight at the Phoenician home track. The Engineers invested a lot into making the perfect compound for this race and now it will be up to the drivers to put it to the test in Free Practice and Qualifying!


#WGPC : #Tyres : #Crossbay

[Aboveland]

CUTOFF

for Practice and Qualifying at Crossbay Circuit

[Aboveland]

Week 7: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:26.018
Session Length:	75 minutes
Nation:         	NIM
Circuit:        	Crossbay Circuit

Drivers have 75 minutes to complete as many laps of the track as they like

POS # ▍DRIVER                           	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:33.116	00:00:00.000
 2 88 ▍Ted Pressley                     	00:01:33.135	00:00:00.019
 3 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                  	00:01:33.170	00:00:00.054
 4 12 ▍Darian Vilau                     	00:01:33.223	00:00:00.107
 5 91 ▍Kingston Walcott                 	00:01:33.243	00:00:00.127
 6 33 ▍Sam Blaatschappen                	00:01:33.313	00:00:00.197
 7 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick               	00:01:33.351	00:00:00.235
 8 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                     	00:01:33.388	00:00:00.272
 9  1 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:33.411	00:00:00.295
10 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                     	00:01:33.415	00:00:00.299
11  9 ▍Batu Tüvshinbayar                	00:01:33.420	00:00:00.304
12 50 ▍Sara Luna                        	00:01:33.423	00:00:00.307
13 96 ▍William Archer                   	00:01:33.468	00:00:00.352
14  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux               	00:01:33.471	00:00:00.355
15 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                     	00:01:33.490	00:00:00.375
16 71 ▍Brendan Faloe                    	00:01:33.508	00:00:00.392
17 13 ▍Ji So-Yeong                      	00:01:33.580	00:00:00.465
18 24 ▍Jordan Crowe                     	00:01:33.655	00:00:00.539
19 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                   	00:01:33.705	00:00:00.589
20 40 ▍Adriana Kowalski Lilian          	00:01:33.777	00:00:00.661
21 11 ▍Lane Carter                      	00:01:33.934	00:00:00.818
22 42 ▍Sophie McCreary                  	00:01:33.956	00:00:00.840
23 87 ▍Bryce Yannec                     	00:01:34.340	00:00:01.224
24 28 ▍Aaron Deering                    	00:01:34.454	00:00:01.338
25 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                      	00:01:34.555	00:00:01.439
26 84 ▍Angela Tan Fang Ling             	00:01:34.744	00:00:01.629
27 10 ▍Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir            	00:01:35.063	00:00:01.947
28  5 ▍Rudy Edwards                     	00:01:35.211	00:00:02.096

Week 7: Qualifying

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:26.018
Qualifying Type:	Elimination
Nation:         	NIM
Circuit:        	Crossbay Circuit

POS # ▍DRIVER                           	FASTEST Q1	GAP TO LEADER	FASTEST Q2	GAP TO LEADER	FASTEST Q3	GAP TO LEADER
 1 13 ▍Ji So-Yeong                      	00:01:27.048	00:00:00.546	00:01:27.656	00:00:00.093	00:01:26.955	FASTEST : Q3
 2  5 ▍Rudy Edwards                     	00:01:26.743	00:00:00.241	00:01:27.679	00:00:00.117	00:01:26.978	00:00:00.023
 3 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:27.069	00:00:00.567	00:01:27.856	00:00:00.293	00:01:26.981	00:00:00.026
 4 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                  	00:01:26.767	00:00:00.265	00:01:27.617	00:00:00.054	00:01:26.994	00:00:00.039
 5 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                   	00:01:26.673	00:00:00.171	00:01:27.597	00:00:00.035	00:01:27.015	00:00:00.060
 6  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux               	00:01:26.697	00:00:00.195	00:01:27.562	FASTEST : Q2	00:01:27.050	00:00:00.095
 7 71 ▍Brendan Faloe                    	00:01:26.806	00:00:00.303	00:01:27.656	00:00:00.094	00:01:27.056	00:00:00.101
 8 42 ▍Sophie McCreary                  	00:01:26.502	FASTEST : Q1	00:01:27.564	00:00:00.002	00:01:27.061	00:00:00.106
 9  1 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:26.635	00:00:00.132	00:01:27.653	00:00:00.091	00:01:27.165	00:00:00.210
10 40 ▍Adriana Kowalski Lilian          	00:01:27.241	00:00:00.739	00:01:27.889	00:00:00.327	00:01:27.183	00:00:00.228
11 33 ▍Sam Blaatschappen                	00:01:26.731	00:00:00.229	00:01:27.762	00:00:00.200	00:01:27.196	00:00:00.242
12 87 ▍Bryce Yannec                     	00:01:27.096	00:00:00.594	00:01:27.937	00:00:00.375	00:01:27.201	00:00:00.246
13 88 ▍Ted Pressley                     	00:01:26.625	00:00:00.122	00:01:27.691	00:00:00.129	00:01:27.252	00:00:00.297
14 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                      	00:01:27.286	00:00:00.784	00:01:27.835	00:00:00.272	00:01:27.342	00:00:00.387
15 84 ▍Angela Tan Fang Ling             	00:01:26.949	00:00:00.447	00:01:27.944	00:00:00.382		
16 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick               	00:01:27.011	00:00:00.509	00:01:28.090	00:00:00.527		
17 96 ▍William Archer                   	00:01:27.490	00:00:00.988	00:01:28.103	00:00:00.540		
18 28 ▍Aaron Deering                    	00:01:27.312	00:00:00.810	00:01:28.164	00:00:00.602		
19 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                     	00:01:27.628	00:00:01.126	00:01:28.192	00:00:00.630		
20 10 ▍Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir            	00:01:27.147	00:00:00.645	00:01:28.200	00:00:00.638		
21 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                     	00:01:27.200	00:00:00.698	00:01:28.263	00:00:00.701		
22 24 ▍Jordan Crowe                     	00:01:27.784	00:00:01.282				
23 50 ▍Sara Luna                        	00:01:27.859	00:00:01.357				
24  9 ▍Batu Tüvshinbayar                	00:01:27.962	00:00:01.460				
25 91 ▍Kingston Walcott                 	00:01:28.136	00:00:01.633				
26 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                     	00:01:28.268	00:00:01.766				
27 12 ▍Darian Vilau                     	00:01:28.890	00:00:02.388				
28 11 ▍Lane Carter                      	00:01:29.067	00:00:02.565

[Lisander]

<< Previously | Next >>

XVII. 7DEV-REVOLUTION RC TEAM: HOW TO DEVELOP A TEAM IN THREE DAYS.
Exclusive post by Miro Waltham, Revolution RC Team, owner, for Anneliese's Blog on FT_DEV Fan Site

On Sunday afternoon I got a call from Anneliese Devereux. When we were at Politechnica, I remember she was in a younger class. Since then, and even earlier, as everyone knows now, she was interested in everything to do with racing. She even turned up to watch some RC races back then. However, I never imagined I would get the call from her, who is now a WGPC driver, let alone asking if I couldn't put together an RC team with the best cars I could build in three days, to race in an event at Nexus Wardship, with, shall we say, unlimited budget. Of course, this is all thanks to you guys who support her career with FT_DEV. That same night I was already looking for everything. From necessary parts, NCRU regulations, and interested people, to airline tickets to the Nimbus System.

By Monday morning, she was already in my shop, discussing what the car would look like, asking things like "If I call Carolina Lasseps and get the 3D model of car such and such, can you do that bodywork?" "Do you think we can use real carbon fibre on them?" Working with the top of the automotive industry simply for an RC event? You could tell she's become a bit of an eccentric person. Well, everyone who gets involved in speed is a bit eccentric anyway. In the end, after some phone calls, we decided to go with "three different cars" in standard competition scale, 1:8. I used the best materials I could get on that run, the best parts.

If any of the readers of this blog are interested in RC, I imagine they'll be excited about this car, because I dare say it's the best I've ever put together. The specs are top of the line. We combined the standard frame of a 1:8, from a 3D model of the new Camden Ira, custom 3d-printed, with a brand new Narentuoya combustion engine, WAV tyres and Horsch electrics. I'd say the noise and smoke might annoy Nimbans a bit. I have nothing against electric RCs, on the contrary, but there is no better feeling than sticking the nitro syringe in an RC and throwing it back on the track. I really hope they pass the check, but if it goes wrong, I'll take some electric Narentuoya in the bag as well. The chassis are polycarbonate, while the bodyworks are extralight nylon (I managed to demote her from carbon fibre, which would make the car even heavier, painted with a livery inspired by the Gendarmerie de Lisander cars. "I even tried permission to use their branding, but it was refused, so it might be a bit of a generic paint job," she said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to race a police car. I did the best I could on the Design, but it's an improvised painting... I hope the Gendarmerie doesn't file an arrest warrant against us.

It took 14 hours of work a day over three days, from 3D modelling and printing to assembly and testing, to assemble the four cars we are taking to Nimbus. Just as Anneliese requested, she wanted at least one spare car and one extra bodywork for each of the three models. According to Anneliese, she might need an extra one, after all, she didn't have the experience of the others and might end up damaging one. And even though I assured her that on a vehicle of that size, any repair would take less time than repairing a WGPC challenger, she didn't settle down until I had four cars. I must admit it was a fucking awesome experience. I pushed my work and that of my staff (my two teenage brothers) to the limit.

For the controllers, I called two of my best clients. The RC scene in Lisander is not a huge thing... I'd say we're about 100, 150 guys who take the business more seriously. We're a lot less than the ones who race real cars, that's for sure. That's a good thing, in the end. When Anneliese said to me, "Call the best people you know," I already knew who they would be. Lucas Anfarge, or as he is called because of the thickness of his glasses, "Bottley" is a mechanical super-nerd. He is a controller and mechanic of his own RCs, with the potential to open his own shop one day. Sergio Auger seems like the opposite of him, an athletic guy who is always hanging out with his girlfriend, Millie. A master at concentration, so much so that people can pass in front of him and he doesn't move because he is so fixed. Anneliese, who you all know already, spent a whole day training in the back of the shop, first with what I had there, then with the first model ready, still without bodywork, she is also among the controllers. To give support, I, Miro Waltham, and my younger brothers, Matthew and Andreas.

I am super happy to have embarked on this journey, this crazy rush. I don't know if our technology and experience will be enough to beat professional drivers, but we will do our best. It's not a WGPC, but Anneliese will be on the track, and if so, I know everyone will be rooting for her! Follow us, she told me that Eminent's channel on WhoTube will broadcast it, after all the two drivers of the team will participate in the special event.

[Diarcesia]

TT's Peculiar Experience: Azure Breeze

Phoenician Tires HQ
Diarcesia

"I'm sorry, I have no idea," the young engineer replies almost condescendingly to his superior's question. "There are so many variables that it could be anything." He stands up from where he was seated and points at an area of workshop with a couple of tools still in hand; "The only thing we know for certain is that there is some sort of problem here. That's all." His boss, Théotime, nods as he rubs his eyes with both hands before resting them on top of his head; "Okay then," he sighs heavily prior to scratching behind one ear, scanning what little information they had gathered so far: Théotime returned to Diarcesia from the Nexus Wardship for a short stop. He had gone over the incident report together with Theodora and - despite their best efforts to understand what was happening, they were both left with a huge question mark on their faces.

"We're on a cusp of a breakthrough," Théotime announces after a couple of minutes of silence, turning around towards his engineer. "It's counterintuitive, but there's insights to be gained on the byproduct of Imagination-forging of the tyre material. We've never seen anything like it before. It's almost… as if the magic involved in this process has turned against itself."

"So you think it could be a bug?" asks the engineer, seemingly aware of what he is implying but unable to put his thoughts into words properly. Théotime nods slowly; "A mythopoeic bug. Lots of things point towards that direction and I can't think of any other explanation." His face lights up with excitement. "We need to find out where exactly this 'bug' lies! And how do we fix it!" He pauses for a moment as he places both hands on top his head again while closing his eyes tightly: "This is just so frustrating," he whines before moving one hand onto one leg and tapping nervously on his head with the other; “The entire development seems normal at first glance, then there’s an off-putting problem such as this – even though theoretically nothing should have gone wrong…”

Théotime turns around and looks at the engineer again, who is still standing awkwardly in his spot. The young man’s face is a mixture of confusion and concern, with a hint of pity for his superior. Théotime shakes off the feeling: he had to be cool-headed if he wanted to figure this out. He takes a deep breath before addressing him; “I need you to go back over that report again…”

He stops mid-sentence as one particular detail catches his attention: “Wait! What did we just talk about with the Nimbans?” The engineer starts stuttering; “Um… well, they said that the Wardship’s imaginative systems were operating normally. They couldn’t find anything wrong with them either. That's what made us think it's a yet-undiscovered bug... or even a rule of Imaginations”

Théotime nods as he places both hands on his head again; “That would make sense! Some sort of self-correcting tendency within their physiology! The Nimbans are working tirelessly to figure out what exactly is going on… we just need to focus on fixing this problem here. And I think I know how we can start doing so: go back over everything one more time, then contact the Nimbans again – as in those that are in Diarcesia, for away from any sources of Imagination. See if they have found something yet or not. In any case, send me a copy of their findings immediately after you do so." Théotime stops for a moment as he looks around: "Where did my coat go?" He asks himself before remembering that he had left it hanging by a hook near an exit door. He heads over to it and picks it up, slinging his right arm through the sleeve as he continues; "Once you've done that, check if everything is in order here. I have a feeling we'll need to move this entire operation somewhere else soon."

The engineer nods anxiously; "And where will you be?" Théotime grins sarcastically while tapping on his head with an index finger: "Back in the Wardship!" He stops for a moment before continuing again: “And one last thing…” The engineer prepares himself for what he is about to say next. “Don’t tell anyone about any of this yet! We don't want word spreading around Diarcesia until we know more! At least not until we have more definite information – so keep your phone close by at all times. That way, if anything comes up during the day or night, let me know immediately."

Violet's Overgarden

Sara Luna's Residence
Chiyginia City, Diarcesia
During the Ramngardian GP Week

12:15pm

Violet Luna sat at a table with her "guests" on her floral terrace. As was always usual during her afternoon teas, the weather was perfect for it. The sun was shining, yet no one seemed to get too warm from it. A pleasant breeze flowed through the air and kept everything feeling comfortable and peaceful.

It had been a while since she last held such an event with her mother; usually all she was with would be her dolls and the occassional inclusion of her stepfather or older brother, but today, they are all with her.

"It's so nice to have you all here!" Violet said, beaming. "I hope that your stay in Chiyginia has been pleasant and relaxing."

The others present echoed the sentiment. Sara Luna nodded at her daughter as she sipped on some tea. "Yes, I'm glad we got to see each other again," she replied, setting down her cup onto its saucer softly as she added: "and I've arranged for a little something special for us after this event - if you're up for it?" She winked at them playfully; clearly referring to one of Violet's long-sought-for requests.

The young girl giggled. "I'd love to!" she said excitedly, clapping her hands together like a five year old. She was always so happy and bubbly these days... it's almost as if Sara Luna could still see that littler version of her daughter trying to get out after all this time. But of course, the 'little' part seemed long gone now: Violet had grown into such a beautiful nine-year-old - intelligent, charming and polite; though there were some things about her which would never change...

"I don't think I've ever seen you with your hair down before," Sara Luna said, looking towards her boyfriend who sat next to her. "You're usually so into dressing formally and keeping things neat, but today..." she continued, gently patting Violet's head as it lay against the side of the table. It felt soft in between her fingers; even though it was a little unkempt compared to how she liked having it usually be styled... there was something quite endearing about this new look on such an adorable young lady.

Tom Bennett smiled back at his lover: "It's been so long since we last spent time together - or longer still since I had the chance to spend some quality time with our daughter." He wrapped one arm around Violet and gave Sara a kiss on the cheek: "I thought it'd be nice to do something together which didn't involve me being all coiffed and decked out in dress shirts." He then turned towards Violet and continued: "Today, I want to spend some time with you as the little girl who used to tag along everywhere I went when we first met. You were so adorable back then!"

Violet blushed at Tom's comments. She looked like a regular kid - messy hair aside - but... was she that cute? Even Sara Luna couldn't help but giggle a little at his comment: "You're quite the charmer," she said, before kissing him on the cheek too. However, her attention was soon diverted by what Sara had told them earlier about making arrangements for after this event... Did they really mean what I think they meant? Violet wondered silently as her head spun around looking for any signs of such an idea becoming real; sure enough though, there did seem to be something going on between mother and daughter that seemed awfully familiar...

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
Nimban Grand Prix Weekend

NRCU Open Radio Car Challenge Tournament

OPEN QUALIFYING
Conditions:      	Dry
Nation:         	NIM
Circuit:        	Downscaled imitation of Crossbay Circuit

POS  DRIVER                                  	FASTEST LAP
 1  Lucas Anfarge                           	00:00:34.106
 2  Anneliese Devereux                      	00:00:34.205
 3  Victoria Light                          	00:00:34.264
 4  Hayden Walcoln                           	00:00:34.287
 5  Sergio Auger                            	00:00:34.294
 6  Olivia Stone                            	00:00:34.356
 7  Skiia Vialiv                            	00:00:34.393
 8  Adriana Ela Kowalski Lillian            	00:00:34.449
 9  Naiomi Echell                           	00:00:34.459
10  Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha           	00:00:34.459
11  Stacie Houston                          	00:00:34.498
12  Ern Brockley                            	00:00:34.515
13  Honour Wellen                           	00:00:34.518
14  Aldin Lane                              	00:00:34.518
15  Paige Jarls                             	00:00:34.561
^ QUALIFIED ^ -------------------------------- ^ QUALIFIED ^
16  Virgil Swordspark                       	00:00:34.574
17  Cocoabo #28                             	00:00:34.594
...
33  Tsering Chu                             	00:00:34.937
...
48  Baxen Aurora                            	00:00:35.393
...
50  Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds              	00:00:35.416
...
53  Wang Anjiao                             	00:00:35.475
...
56  Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine 	00:00:35.594
57  Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling             	00:00:35.650
...
59  Shuzhen Zhu                             	00:00:35.719
60  Ryker Lane                              	00:00:35.729
...
71  Kai Qiang                               	00:00:36.049
...
75  Ray Nearu                               	00:00:36.307
...
93  Jeremiah Brooke                         	00:00:36.703
...
307 Gertrude Thompson                       	00:00:38.171
...
341 Anita Furino                            	00:00:38.481

RACE
Conditions:      	Dry
Laps:            	46
Nation:         	NIM
Circuit:        	Downscaled imitation of Crossbay Circuit
Cars on Grid:		15

Start           After 11 Laps           After 23 Laps           After 34 Laps
 1 ANF       	 1 ANF +0           	 1 ANF +0           	 1 ANF +0
 2 DEV       	 2 DEV +Laps: 1     	 2 DEV +29.987      	 2 STO +31.618
 3 LIG       	 3 WAL +Laps: 1     	 3 STO +Laps: 1     	 3 WAL +Laps: 1
 4 WAL       	 4 STO +Laps: 1     	 4 WAL +Laps: 1     	 4 AKS +Laps: 2
 5 AUG       	 5 AUG +Laps: 1     	 5 AUG +Laps: 1     	 5 BRO +Laps: 3
 6 STO       	 6 AKS +Laps: 1     	 6 BRO +Laps: 3     	 6 AUG +Laps: 3
 7 VIA       	 7 HOU +Laps: 1     	 7 HOU +Laps: 3     	 7 CAS +Laps: 3
 8 AKS       	 8 VIA +Laps: 2     	 8 AKS +Laps: 3     	 8 DEV +Laps: 3
 9 ECH       	 9 LIG +Laps: 2     	 9 LAN +Laps: 4     	 9 HOU +Laps: 4
10 CAS       	10 BRO +Laps: 2     	10 CAS +Laps: 4     	10 LAN +Laps: 4
11 HOU       	11 ECH +Laps: 2     	11 JAR +Laps: 5     	11 VIA +Laps: 6
12 BRO       	12 CAS +Laps: 2     	12 VIA +Laps: 5     	12 JAR +Laps: 6
13 WEL       	13 LAN +Laps: 2     	13 ECH +Laps: 6     	13 ECH +Laps: 9
14 LAN       	14 JAR +Laps: 4     	14 LIG +Laps: 8     	14 LIG +Laps: 10
15 JAR       	15 WEL +Laps: 7     	15 WEL +Laps: 11    	15 WEL +Laps: 12

POS  DRV Name                                    Time      	Fastest Lap	
  1  ANF Lucas Anfarge                           00:30:34.496			
  2  WAL Hayden Walcoln                          +00:00:32.881			
  3  STO Olivia Stone                            +00:00:38.278			
  4  AUG Sergio Auger                            Laps Down: 1	 0:35.018	
  5  AKS Adriana Ela Kowalski Lillian            Laps Down: 1			
  6  BRO Ern Brockley                            Laps Down: 2			
  7  CAS Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha           Laps Down: 2			
  8  DEV Anneliese Devereux                      Laps Down: 2			
  9  LAN Aldin Lane                              Laps Down: 2			
 10  HOU Stacie Houston                          Laps Down: 3			
 11  VIA Skiia Vialiv                            Laps Down: 3			
 12  JAR Paige Jarls                             Laps Down: 4			
 13  LIG Victoria Light                          Laps Down: 6			
 14  ECH Naiomi Echell                           Laps Down: 7			
 15  WEL Honour Wellen                           Laps Down: 8

[Lisander]

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XVIII. Sharing some advice

"So, what about that rumours you're into girls?"

The question by Lucas Simonyan raised Anneliese's brow. Who would imagine a 17-year-old would be so intrusive? She had accepted the FSA request to show the team around to one of the F4 drivers every weekend, just as Athan Lille and Meliné Agrakian in AstyF1, but teenagers say the darndest things, don't they? They were talking at the paddock, in the structure Eminent had prepared. The sound of visitors walking around was kind of loud but wasn't enough to disrupt the chat.
.
"So, what kind of question is this? You should ask things about WGPC, the cars, the events, not my personal romantic preferences. Focus on related stuff, please."

"But this is related. I mean, you're racing around the world. How do you deal with the fans? Especially those who try to get really close? Are you okay if they're girls?"

Totally teenager hormones speaking, she giggled inside. Anneliese has been a petrolhead since a young age, so her hormones probably had tingled more to a Camden Ira, a Harlean Lightning, any of those fast cars, than to any boy or girl. Living among girls in hockey and among boys in karting, the time of discovering her romantic interests was funny.

"I prefer to date women, but probably my true love is reserved for cars only... So there's no way I would need some crazy fan lay their hands on me, whether is it male or female - she smiled for a second then turned serious again.- So, Have you seen the pride flags in the mirror? I try to make this the most discreet I can, after all, is a private question. But yeah, I'm not a "straight" person when it comes to personal, intimate relationships. Does that by any chance diminish my value as a person to you? I still have time to dispatch you back to Soria with your ass kicked."

"No, not at all. I mean, That's not like that. In fact, I do get it. I mean, I'm also into girls too... It's more like, I don't want a certain person to get interested in you." Simonyan's words became nervous, and his face flushed.

"Oh... So what you're saying is you're smitten by a rival driver. If I remember that list of drivers I'll be showing around the things in the next weeks, it should be Venelana Lemos or Beatrix Seidl, huh? I wish I could have easier drivers to babysit. I thought you would be the calmer one, Simo... But come to think of that... You must be a strong-willed guy to be in love with one of them. Love a racing driver isn't easy, probably. Even more when you're inside a rival cockpit. Don't forget about it. You must not make things easier for the girl just because she's a girl. It's part of respecting her. If you think you'll get closer to her if you let her overtake you on the track, you're wrong. This is not being "a good guy". This is being a fool. For Lana, I think no introductions are needed. Niece of Juliano Lemos, and by extension, part of the Wiel Motorsport dynasty. I'd hate to be the bringer of bad news, but she already came...

"No, no! I know she and Thea Maud are very... close, like longtime sweethearts."

"So, it's Bea Seidl. I know her father and stepfather run her operations together, but other than that I can't say much. I'll Now that I think of that, all three of you moved from bikes, huh? Don't tell me you made this just because..."

"No. F4 is something most of us in Junior 300 wanted to do. We didn't have the opportunity before, because F4 was only for drivers 18 and older. Bikes were the only category that accepted us in that age grade when Karts are not that attractive anymore."

Anneliese thought about his words for a second. She had kept in Karts until age 17 and even had one season with Superkarts in the College team before joining Formula 1000/F4. There was a possibility of joining through Superbikes, but she couldn't afford it by that time.

"Oh, it was that. FSA started Formula 2.0 to move all of those older drivers from F3, to open the International Path again, leaving the 18~21s to F3 and lowering the F4 age to 16 as a minimum. Now, with the options appearing, it may be easier to run elsewhere. There are six championships in Tier 2 happening or expected to happen. That's plenty of options. AstyF2, WGP2, Tumbran Super Formula, AOGP, Formula Hinode and Formula 2.0. Unfortunately, I have no info on Formula Endurance. I highly recommend anyone that can go to somewhere, go to Hodori. You asked me how I deal with those fans. I don't deal with them. Only people that know how to take proper distancing. It doesn't include you, kids. Do you need a hug? Come on, bring it. I'll hug your beloved Miss Seidl too but don't get jealous. Think of it as an indirect hug, as they do in the Anime you guys watch. Good, more questions before we end for today?"

The boy was red once more when confronted with the possibility of the hug, but when informed he still could ask, he turned serious again.

"So... I've been watching for the weekend, since yesterday, but what's your secret to keeping so composed? Earlier today, in the RC event, you were P2 until lap 26, and then hell broke loose. You hit the wall, the car got a little bent... Yet, even after losing a lot of positions after the crash, it didn't move you a bit. You didn't look sad or angered. Are you a monk? Was it some spiritual experience in Hodori?"

You have to know how to separate. It was all fun and games for me. I mean, of course, I can't afford to control at Lucas Anfarge level. For him, it was the main event. I'm a racing driver, not an RC one. Yu can call my performance beginners' luck, not his. Had you seen the level of care Anfarge dedicates to his RC Car, you'll get. When NRCU vetoed our nitro engines, he already had a perfect plan for the electrics and already had all the necessary modifications set in his head. It's like me with Eminent, that's my focus when it comes to work. I wasn't around in the final stages of development of the E20, but when Lasseps sent me the "Users Guide", I mean all the regulations and details pertaining to the car, I put all my dedication and focus into understanding it. By the way, even if it was downscaled, it still was the Crossbay Circuit there, haven't you noticed? You can just say it counted as an extra training session, to help me learn the circuit. I mean, there's no way I'll hit the walls just after the turn 17 in the race. I had to do an entire lap with a loose axle after that. If that happened in WGPC, I'd be immediately out. Thanks to Waltham, it was solved with a little bit of wringing. Do you get the point? You should give your best in the goal you set. The rest might be good and fun, but should never worry you more than your goal. For me, is to finish WGPC in the highest possible position. I don't talk about winning the championship yet because this season is completely unpredictable. It looks like a SuperF4, with all cars very close when it comes to raw power... So-Yeong at the Pole is the biggest proof of it. Well, I do a lot of beating around the bush when I speak, but I think you get the picture. Keep pushing on what really matters, and leave what's trivial on the trivial level of dedication.

"I get it. Focus. So, how do you feel about tomorrow? Starting from P6, very close to Lane and Haukanna, which are your direct rivals in the table. There's also McCreary right behind you. Do you plan or think about something for the start already?"

No, nothing specific. When I start outside, as is the case in Crossbay, I just want to push to get the inside line as soon as possible. We could say Haukanna is my first obstacle then. I'd say she has the closest car to ours, with both the same PU and tyres, so with that in mind, no way that an overtake before turn 1 will be easy, judging only by the cars themselves. If it was iBen with that problematic Tropicorp, I'd be more confident. Well, good for Adriana, that starts by his side. Hope she could take some advantage of this.

And what about the table, how do you feel being the leader? Does it go like the RC event? Do you feel it's less important when it comes to racing? Or is there some pressure coming from it?

There's always some pressure. To cope with this before, I used to count the points as money, like a golfer, because I was hardly at the top before. I'm sure you know FSA sponsors offer us ten thousand Lys per point in a Grand Prix, so I made 390 thousand Lyss in four races. It's already my best season in the top echelon. But to compare with how much iBen Toralmintii would have done, it's still somewhat behind. He scored 127 points. With that money, he could easily buy a team in F3 and run it for almost an entire season without even searching for a sponsor. So now that I have enough points to be a little richer, I need that logic won't work anymore. I'll need to re-think about it, to find another way to divert this pressure. That's why I'm devoting some time to other ventures, like RC Cars or appearing in TV shows. By the midseason break, I'll probably get another invitation from Air Magazine to a Photoshoot. So, if you feel pressured by results somehow, just divert your attention to something different. Like asking Miss Seidl out. Don't worry, the worst it can happen is her giving you a no. Maybe some... 'kay, she could also badmouth you or call you names. But that is a risk you have to be considering since you started to feel that way about her. I'm not saying you should be rejected, but even if it is, don't let your mind deviate from your career plans.

[Tumbra]

former nimbus whatever nexus thingy

And of course the one week she was told she couldn't smoke she was going through a withdrawal. Obviously. 'No nicotine allowed'. Party-poopers. Sophie McCreary needed a smoke, and she needed it now. She was a rebel, but not so much a rebel as to risk getting kicked out of the country entirely for trying to smuggle some smokes into the country. So here Sophie McCreary was, now, angry at this country for not allowing her such basic liberties as 'being able to smoke and kill myself before the age of 45 because of latent lung cancer'.

She was out past team curfew again, an angry nineteen year-old with lots to prove and a desire to do and little that she was able to do to make good on that anger. Again, she was wearing that snow grey hoodie that had become sort of a clutch for her; it was vaguely comforting for her — she'd owned this for quite a long time, and hey, it was comfy, and fit. Out here, it was practically the only thing she owned that wasn't team-branded, anyway.

Sophie sat down on a bench on the side of the road, seeing cars glide by. She needed this break, but everything she saw just reminded her of her future in WGPC. They were soon approaching the midpoint of the season; and while things were still very much in the balance, Sophie McCreary had found herself in the midst of a burgeoning title fight. It was someplace she frankly didn't expect to be; it was someplace she frankly didn't deserve to be. Or so she felt. Ted in the Kaylan was struggling; she could feel his frustration at both himself and the team, whose second season evidently wasn't going better than their first. In her lofty position — just behind Anneliese Devereaux — she felt like she didn't really deserve to be there.

The lack of her vice was making her even more irritable than usual; her on-radio communication style could at best be described as "snippy", and she knew she'd garnered a fair few who disliked her because of that. She'd straight-up lashed out at Jack Brook after she'd taken a lengthy trip through the gravel at turn 14, and shredded one of the precious sets of tyres that she'd been allocated that week; he told her to be careful and she'd told him to "f***ing give her better f***ing brakes." A lengthy dressing-down had followed, but nothing had happened; she got the feeling Brook would rather be rid of both her and Bryce Yannec, and have started their adventure in WGPC with Dario Nulkeschlager and Olivia Stone. At least they were two safe pairs of hands.

She wanted a smoke. She wanted a smoke so fucking bad. She wanted to — she stood up, headed over to the nearest kickable object and oh look, a fucking streetlamp, that should suffice — and she sank her entire shoe, sole and force into the streetlamp. She expected it to hurt, but she didn't know it would hurt this bad, and she spent the next two minutes hopping around, holding her right leg, willing the pain to fucking stop. Okay, she kind of deserved that.

Once the pain had been replaced with a more dull throbbing, she sat down again and contemplated her future in the series. Did she really want to be here? She knew that as long as Charlie Pressley was at the head of the team, she was guaranteed a seat as long as she wanted to. But she felt alone, once more; with a boss that didn't like her, a team-mate that was only begrudgingly giving way to her (or at least, that was how she felt — Bryce's bad luck meant she had virtually been fighting alone on track most of the time) and with only Ted as the only person she really knew. Add that she was horrified at the prospect of trying to get to know some of the others on the grid — a robot? a bird? — and she figured that she'd best keep to herself and the people she knew.

She wanted to go back to Tumbra. At least that was coming up soon. But she wanted a goddamn smoke —

Okay. Maybe there were better alternatives than kicking the streetlamp again. She still had to push pedals on Sunday, after all.

[Abanhfleft]

For the first time in what had felt like a long time, William Archer was actually feeling good about himself.

He had every reason to feel good about himself. Not only was he starting in third place for the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix, but after twenty or so laps of running, William Archer was now in the lead of the race itself. It was exactly the kind of thing that he needed after two consecutive weekends in which he had failed to score points, which was already putting a dent in his campaign to become a World Grand Prix champion. This was where William was supposed to be, meant to be: running up in front of the rest of the field in a grand prix race. Failing to score in two races had stung the young Fleftic driver deeply, and given that there were only ten races on the current WGPC calendar, William couldn’t help but feel that there was a ticking clock inside his clock running down the seconds that he wasn’t at the top of the standings and holding the WGPC drivers’ championship trophy over his head.

WGPC Season 20 really was supposed to be William’s season. He had all the momentum in the world on his side going into this season, had it stayed on schedule. After all, he was only the driver who had taken pole position in both Hapilopper and Vilita and converted both of those poles into wins. He had been mathematically out of contention for the title by that point, but those two wins propelled William to second place in the championship despite everything. None of it was enough to dethrone iBen Toralmintii, but no one could deny that William was the driver to watch come next season. Everyone knew that, even William. So one could only imagine his disappointment and perhaps even the anger bubbling underneath the surface when William found out that, for some unknown or undetermined reason, the 20th season of WGPC wouldn’t be going ahead when it was supposed to be. And William knew deep down inside that losing that year of his career could have cost him not just his momentum, but perhaps his best chance at winning the championship.

But William couldn’t think about any of that anymore. He was finally leading a race for the first time this season, and he had almost forgotten about the feeling of running in clean air without trying to catch up to anyone else or fending off someone to his rear. William had (through some fault of his own) not been able to get as far up the field as he would have wanted in the previous two races. He turned in the slowest time in the first ever qualifying session of the season in Liventia, and he didn’t move far forward despite his attempt to overcut the rest of the competition. Meanwhile, in Togonistan, William’s engine had suffered a terminal failure that had taken him out of the race after only eight laps. The broken part had been removed and a new one fitted into William’s engine for the Cocoabo Park leg of the calendar, but even then, there was a part of William’s mind that couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of his car, his engine, quitting on him once again for some indeterminable reason. It would be the ultimate insult to injury as far as William was concerned, especially now that he was leading an official grand prix once again.

William's path to the top wasn't as clear-cut as one would have expected, however. William had once again started on the hardest compound of tires available to him for the weekend, and though he started the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix in P3, his choice of compound would result in him getting a poor start and losing a handful of positions once the five red lights had gone out. However, once he got the tires fired up to their optimal operating temperature, William was able to reclaim some of the positions that he had lost at the start. And he was aided further in his exploits when the safety car was deployed in response to Laura Haukanna's early retirement from the race. When he asked his engineer what happened to Haukanna, William was informed that the driver had suffered some sort of engine or gearbox problem. And when William passed by the location where Haukanna had parked her car due to her retirement, he didn't really see anything that would warrant bringing out the safety car. Nevertheless, many people decided to take advantage of the safety car to get a cheap pit stop, with both of the drivers in front of William (Bryce Yannec and R. L. Cruisin) opting for the early stop. William didn't box in this period because it simply was the opposite of the strategy that he was running, and he was also confident that he was still going to be as fast on his worn hard tires as the rest of the people around him. Once the drivers in front of him went into the pits, William finally had the clean air and the clean run that he had been looking for since the start of the season, and he immediately got to work building up his gap to the rest of the field in preparation for his one and only pit stop late in the race.

It was a great time to be William Archer… until it wasn't anymore.

By lap 22, William had managed to build a 12-second gap to the rest of the field on his hard tires. Some of his earlier competitors for the lead had gotten mired in their own squabbles in the middle of the field, and those that had managed to put themselves in the upper half of the points-paying positions couldn't really make a dent in William's gap, at least not consistently. William thought that he could see a slightly familiar red and green car behind him somewhere around lap 10 or so, but it soon disappeared from his mirrors in a couple of laps. But little did William know that his own chances of winning the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix were about to disappear as well.

“William, I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you again,” his engineer called out just as the Fleftic driver was one-third of the way through lap 22. “We're seeing another issue or two in your engine. We're working on it right now though so just calm down and focus on your driving.”

“How am I supposed to focus on my racing if I'm worried about my engine dying on me once again, man?” William shot back angrily. “You guys better figure out what the fuck is going wrong because I don't wanna lose this damn win!”

“Copy, William, we're working on all possible solutions,” his engineer responded calmly. Maybe too calmly, because only a few seconds later, he came back with the news that William was absolutely dreading. “I'm sorry to be the one to tell you about this, but we tried all options, and none of them have worked out. I'm afraid we have to retire the car.”

“FUCK!!!” William cried out into his helmet. “You can't do this to me! Don't do this to me! I'm leading the damn race! Let me keep going. I don't feel anything wrong. I think I can still do something with this car!”

“It's not as easy as that, William,” his engineer explained. “This is not the kind of issue we or you can work on throughout the race. Box this lap, William. We are retiring the car.”

“Putang ina!” William spat out. No, no, this wasn't happening, he tried to tell himself. It's just a very bad dream, William. In a few moments you're gonna wake up in your bed in the Preston GP HQ and the race hasn't even started yet. The engine failure isn't real. You can still win this race later today!

But William didn't wake up from the nightmare as he was rolling slowly down pit lane. He didn't wake up when the crew rolled him back into the garage. And no matter how many times he pinched himself inside the cockpit of his PGP-03, William Archer didn't wake up from his living nightmare. SHIT! he yelled out one final time. After that, William slowly and deliberately climbed out of his car, and he also deliberately took off his helmet and earphones in order not to damage them. All sorts of thoughts were brewing and boiling inside of him. William knew that sooner or later, he was going to have to release these thoughts by any means possible, because he knew that if he kept them bottled up inside, they were going to manifest themselves into a more corporeal form once again. It had already happened once before in Togonistan when William had been forced to retire from that particular race in just the 8th lap. The entity that William called 'the doubter' had reared its ugly head back then to taunt William yet again about his decision to renew his contract with Preston Autos. However, that was as far as the doubter had gotten before he disappeared due to the sudden presence of William's friend Adonis Fitzpatrick. This time though, there was no guarantee that someone else would pop in and give William a reprieve from his own intrusive thoughts, hence why he needed to vent his thoughts before they became too much for him to keep to himself.

William slowly and calmly approached Marty Lewis, team principal of Preston Autos Grand Prix, while the race was still going on. Once he was within earshot of the Hapiloppian, William asked him, “I thought we had a deal, sir. I thought you had given me your guarantees that the team was going to support me throughout this season. I know that I haven’t been pulling my weight when it comes to getting the car in the top 10 in qualifying, but that’s two times now that I’ve had to retire from the race because of an engine problem. I don’t know if there’s something going on behind the scenes that I don’t know, or if there’s something happening behind my back, but I just want to remind you and the team of what we agreed on at the start of the season. If my car quits again next race, I can’t promise that I’ll be coming back here again.”

It wasn’t quite the ultimatum that William imagined that it would be while he was thinking about what he was going to say, but at least he had finally said what he had wanted to say to Preston. These thoughts dated back to the stormy times of Season 19 when William had been fully convinced that Preston had thrown all of their support towards one of their own, Rudy Edwards. Rudy, after all, was Hapiloppian like most of the team, while William was a foreigner, a Fleftic, and the son of Guillermo Archer, a man who hadn’t really endeared himself to the Haps or to any other nationality in NSSCRA in general. There were some inside Abanhfleft who believed that all of that talk about William Archer being the man who saved Preston GP due to his performances in the mid-season non-points races back in Season 18 was merely a lure to make William keep coming back to Preston and keep him out of the hands of the other teams.

On one hand, William felt like a massive weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders. He had finally been able to say what he wanted to say to the leadership of Preston GP but hadn’t been able to before because he didn’t know if the team would ever want to have anything to do with him after that. On the other hand, William was still somewhat afraid that there was some truth to what he had said, even if he didn’t know it, and that Preston would make the first move and cut him from the team before he could do further damage to their challenge for the constructors’ championship. And William couldn’t really blame them. If he was in their place, he would most certainly be—at the very least—contemplating getting rid of himself, not only because of William’s less than stellar performances at the start of the season, but also because of the accusations of favoritism that he was basically levying against the entire team. No team worth their salt would want toxicity of that level to be anywhere near them. Any parts failure, any pit stop error, any upgrade that took the car backwards instead of forwards, would now be looked upon with suspicion by the driver that had made the accusations, and that was a surefire way to create division and dissent within the team. The team would be better off just getting rid of the driver and bringing in another one who actually believed in the process.

William didn’t bother with answering any press questions this time around. Frankly, he just wasn’t in the mood to interact with anyone else at the moment. He had just said his piece to Marty Lewis, perhaps hoping that Lewis would carry it up the order towards the management of Preston Autos in the hope that they would make a decision about him sooner rather than later. In that context, William didn’t want to speculate on anything about anyone or anything. He just wanted a break. He wanted a break from the circus, he wanted a break from the media, he wanted a break from himself. But unfortunately for him, his own mind wasn’t done with playing with him just yet.

William went into his room in the Preston GP HQ, stripped out of his firesuit and the fire retardant bodysuit underneath in order to take a bath, and once he was done with that, he went out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist to maintain his modesty. However, he wouldn’t even bother putting on some underwear underneath his towel, and William flopped down onto his bed and let out a long and deep sigh that felt like it emanated straight from his soul. William had hoped that he could fall asleep quickly and forget about the second race in which he had retired due to an engine issue, but just as he closed his eyes, he heard soft and slow clapping from his right, followed by a sneering cackle.

“You finally did it,” the doubter said to William in his trademark dismissive voice. “You finally said what I’ve been trying to tell you for two years now. Took you long enough to figure out that Preston are never going to let you become a world champion before their golden boy, didn’t you?”

“Really, bro?” William asked angrily as he refused to get up from the bed. “You really want to do this again? You really want to turn this molehill into yet another mountain?!”

“What molehill? This whole thing has been a mountain ever since you got those wins in the middle of Season 18!” the doubter shot back. “They all thought they had shit the bed with their design in that season, and then you won those races, and they suddenly realized that they’ve actually got a race-winning package! So now it was time for them to push their golden boy Edwards to the top, and all you’re going to get from them is a pat on the back and the constant reminder that you’re the man who saved the team so they can keep pushing Edwards to the title.”

“How many times do we have to go over this?” William shouted back. “How many times are you going to make the same point over and over again? Until I finally break down and shove my head into my Preston’s gearbox?”

“I mean, if it’s the only way for me to knock some sense into you,” the doubter shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s what you want me to do, don’t you?” William taunted. “Well, guess what, bro? I do that and you’re gone too! I’m not the only one who dies if that happens. You’re going to bite the dust as well!”

“At least I’ll go away with the knowledge that I finally got through to your fucking thick skull,” the doubter said with a wry chuckle.

“Why the fuck are you back again, bro?” William asked. “You already showed up once before in Togonistan, and if it hadn’t been for Donny coming in to ask me about the get-together with the TJUNs and the Tumbrans, I’m sure that you would have talked my ears off, just like what you’re doing right now! What the fuck do you want from me, man?”

“The same thing that I’ve wanted from you time and time again, William,” the doubter replied. “I want you to finally see the truth and see Preston for what they really are. Yeah, you’re the guy that Jim Preston wanted to break the bank just so he could keep getting your signature. You got guarantees from Marty Lewis that Preston are going to back your championship challenge. But all of that means jack shit when you’re not challenging for the championship at all! And you know when they decided that? When you qualified dead last in Liventia, that’s when. They took one look at that and said ‘This boy isn’t challenging for shit!’ You really think that it’s a coincidence that your engine started crapping itself the race right after Liventia? Or are you really just that naive?”

“Jesus Christ, man!” William shouted. “Maybe you’re the one being thick here! I already told Lewis everything you wanted me to say to him! What else do you want me to do? Walk right up to Jim Preston's office and tell him the same things that I told Lewis? Walk up to the whole team and tell them to focus only on me, me, me!? Is that really what you want me to become?”

“It might be the only way to save your career if you keep deciding to stick with Preston instead of another team like, oh, I don't know? Tropi-Colourworks?”

“Colourworks?” William raised, eyebrow raised skeptically at the figment of his imagination which was the projection of his own doubts as to the true focus and allegiance of his side of the Preston garage. “Seriously? The same Colourworks that's currently at the bottom of the standings without a single point to their name? That Colourworks? Are we talking about the same team here?”

“Heck yeah I am!” the doubter nodded his head. “I'm sure you know that there was interest in you from Colourworks at the start of the season. I wouldn't know about it if you didn't. Anyway, just imagine where you could have been right now if you had decided to be brave and jump ship for Colourworks instead of this Preston outfit that's gonna take you fucking nowhere!”

“Yeah, I can imagine where I would fucking be if I'd decided to go Colourworks instead of Preston this season,” William replied. “I'd still be in the same fucking place! I'd be nowhere on the table, I'd have no points to my name, and I'd be driving a piece of shit junk car that hasn't been updated since I was a baby!”

“At least you're not floundering in Preston!” the doubter said triumphantly. “Besides, I know that you're going to be a beast in that AGP005 of theirs! Toralmintii doesn't care about anything anymore except for the paycheck. He's already won his championship; there's literally no more reason for him being here other than defending the crown, and by the looks of things, he doesn't even care about that anymore either! As for Ji So-Yeong, she's a bloody rookie! But you're not. And I'm sure you can drag that hunk of junk of theirs to places it doesn't deserve to be in without even breaking a sweat.”

“I’m glad you think so highly of me, bro,” William snorted. “I really don’t want to think about what you would want for me if you actually hated me.”

“Don’t listen to him, man!” another voice suddenly piped up. “Don’t listen to anything that he’s saying. He just wants to bring you down to the same level that he is.”

William turned around and saw, to his shock, that the other figment of his imagination, the supporter, had also decided to show up. “Oh, no,” he muttered to himself. “This isn’t supposed to happen.”

“Hey, why are you trying to sabotage his career, huh?” the supporter asked as he walked over to confront the doubter. “You keep saying that you think that William is such a great driver, but everything that you want to make him do is going to make every single team want to avoid him because of the toxicity that you want to make him display! Anyway, why should I be surprised? That's pretty much been your M.O. this whole time! You're not gonna stop until you've ruined William's career! There's a reason why he calls you what he calls you.”

“And you think you're doing William a favor by constantly blowing Preston's dicks?” the doubter countered. “You really think that letting him stay in Preston so they can keep sabotaging his career while they keep propping up their golden boy that probably doesn't even want to be anymore? Bro, you may have conned William into calling you his supporter, but you and I both know that the only reason that you're supporting him is to support yourself. You think this guy's some hotshot racer whom every team will trip over each other just to get his signature on their contract? Talk about having a massive fucking ego!”

“You're one to talk about egos!” the supporter retorted. “But I guess that only makes sense because you know a thing or two about that. If I've got a massive ego then I can only imagine that you've got at least ten times the ego that I do. And you talk a lot about thinking that William is the best driver that WGPC has ever seen, but I've seen the things you've been trying to make William do. And I'm telling you right now, man, that's a quick and surefire way to derail this career of his that you claim to be so protective of. You really think that straight up accusing the team that William is driving for of sabotaging him is actually going to make them rethink their strategy?”

“And you think that your way is any better?” the doubter asked skeptically. “You think that making William raise his ass in the air and saying, ‘Thank you sir, can I have some more?’ is better than what I'm suggesting? At least I'm fighting for his career over here. You just want it to get royally butt-fucked!”

“You are so shortsighted, man,” the supporter muttered while shaking his head. “And you really think that Preston is sabotaging William's career? For what? Why would they do that? What's the reason?”

“I don't care about the reason!” the doubter shouted. “All I care about is that they're damaging my boy's career, and I'm not gonna just sit here and take it! I want the entire grid to understand that nobody screws with William Archer and gets away with it!”

“Yeah! Yeah, you tell ‘em!” the supporter shouted. “You tell them all that nobody messes with William Archer! Because every single time he fails to score points is because the team is sabotaging him, and he’s not gonna take that shit anymore! And guess what’s gonna happen next? No one wants to even come close to William with a ten-foot pole because he’s a toxic bastard who won’t hesitate to blame the team when even the smallest thing doesn’t go his way! That’s not just damaging to your boy’s career; it’s gonna outright fucking end it!”

“All right, everybody shut up!” William shouted. “That’s it! I have had enough with the both of you! You two best hope that you disappear right now or else I’m going to make you both disappear permanently!”

Both the doubter and the supporter turned to face William with their heads tilted to the side. “You don’t wanna do that, Willy boy,” the doubter said. “If you’re not here anymore, then where the hell am I gonna go? Whose career am I going to advise when you’re gone?”

“Don’t listen to him, bro,” the supporter retorted. “You don’t want to get this guy, this bastard, out into the rest of the world! Not everyone out there has a supporter just like me. The asshole to your left is going to work his way into someone else’s ear, and he’s going to convince them that the team that they’re driving for is sabotaging them because of whatever reason he’s cooked up in that messed up head of his.”

“This blind optimist is the one guy you shouldn’t listen to, William,” the doubter responded almost immediately. “I’ve got only your best interests in mind and in heart. This dumbass dimwit over here is the one who wants you to keep sucking Preston’s dick because they’re the only team that gave you a chance in WGPC after you flopped so hard in WGP2 and Bitten Heroes.”

“Not everything has to have malice behind it, man!” the supporter shot back. “There’s another team or driver out there, in Pryfors or Viska or whatever, I think it might be Sara Luna or Laura whatever, they’ve been having trouble with their engines or gearboxes or whatever too. Do you hear them complaining or implying that their team is sabotaging their equipment every time it happens? I don’t think so!”

“Enough!” William cried out. “I don’t wanna hear another word from you anymore!” he said to the doubter, only for him to immediately turn to the supporter and add, “The same goes for you too!” when the supporter looked like he was about to gloat in the doubter’s face. “You two have done nothing to help me at all! NOTHING! All you two do every time you show up is yap-yap-yap in front of and not give me anything to actually help with my situation!”

“That’s not true!” both the doubter and the supporter said at the same time. “I’m the one who told you to take a chance and reach out to the other young drivers, right?” the supporter said, just barely managing to cut off the doubter. “I’m the one who told you to reach out to Lane and Ted and Anola and Anneliese for that absolute shot in the dark that at least one of those guys would like to actually work with you in making sure that time’s finally up for the old boys of the sport.”

“Yeah, and what good did that do to William?” the doubter asked with more than just a hint of skepticism in his voice. “Have you ever seen one of those drivers you mentioned actually help out William in a race situation? I mean, the girls didn’t even bother showing up for him! And the actual guys are too busy with their own issues and fighting for their own chances for the championship to help out. Meanwhile, I just watched as William over here finally grew a set and told Preston that he knew that there was something fishy going on with his engines, and if another one quits on him next week, he’s going to leave the team right then and there. That’s what I call taking action.”

“I said ENOUGH!!!” William yelled at the top of his lungs. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! For the love of God, please shut up! I can’t take it all anymore!” William then threw his head into his pillows and screamed into it as loudly as he could, hoping against hope that he could finally drown out the thoughts in his mind that had taken on lives of their own.

[Valentine Z]

Part 9 – Conduct Unbecoming.

Zastępca Strażnika Adriana Krystal Desiree “Cudowny Manipulacja Światłem” Venus Kowalski Faith Stanisława Engelse I. Cherise Krystyna Zaborowska Sztormowska Pamela Alina Re. T. Lillian felt like she could cause a minor tremor in the local area, especially near the garage areas after the races are done. She could, in theory, raise her hands, ball her right hand into a fist, and slam onto the unforgiving asphalt, giving the earth a good pounding, and causing a minor disturbance around the vicinity without harming anybody, as well as to not cause seismic instabilities in the region. Her hands, naturally, would be left intact with not even a single scratch after that ground slam. Then, there would be attention from everyone around her, perhaps wondering as to what was that in the first place, then all their eyes would lock onto Adriana, with one of the two things in mind – that Adriana understandably had a bad day, or that she was getting way too temperamental and angry over a loss, especially coming from that of a Valentian. She could challenge someone to a fight and then sit on them, pulling some wrestling move onto them.

Adriana, of course, did no such thing, and instead simply let the rage and other scenarios play out in her head, then cleared her RAM and there was that. She held her helmet low, walking and sulking along as she wondered what has been happening to her. It is one thing to get a not-very-good finish or one without points, but to get a DNF once again? She feels that it was embarrassing – to have the drivers on the course, the audience, the engineers, the staff, and just about everyone witnessing a crash, an engine failure, or a combination of many. A mediocre finish is a much better fate, since all you might get is typically a review and discussion with the team, and perhaps a few nosy journalists and reporters asking you why you did not make it as far as you thought. A DNF and a crash is much more attention-grabbing, and not in a good way. Adriana sat down on the seat together with the rest of the team on that one evening, including Anneliese who scored a nice 3rd placement on the podium and got 14 points for it. Adriana was a little envious (but not jealous), wondering as to if she would get the same placement and scoring as hers anytime soon. They shook hands, Adriana congratulated her, and there were many cheers and congratulations had for Anneliese, even from Adriana herself who took it in stride and was simply happy for her teammate. For the rest of the debrief and discussion, Adriana simply listened to what they have to say regarding her performance, and what can be done for further improvements. Any changes, any decisions to be made, they had to be done and tested as soon as possible, and time is unfortunately not the luxury that the non-Valentians have on their side. Still, she thought, it was not as bad as the hell her other Valentian friend on another team have been going through.

1st Cpt. Angela Stella Trista Josephine Natalie Rv. E. Tps. “The Eternal Explorer” Bethany Alyssa Valeska Payton. Mikayla Gosling Josie Rowan Serenity Chelsea Lynette Hannah Tan Fang Ling was sitting, slumped on the floor and letting out a rather audible groan, helmet still on her head. With the race more or less over for her, it was perhaps a little surreal to see a large tall woman in the corner of a Cygnus’ garage, her helmet still on and perhaps tearing up a little bit in there, the privacy all given to her thanks to said helmet. There were a thousand thoughts in her mind, but there were two that stood out to her in the most offending ways possible. First and foremost was the DNF. She did not crash this time, luckily so because the first crash and DNF was already more than bad enough. No, it would appear so that her car’s engine started having problems, and blew up on her as soon as she started to try to gun for that DRS section. There was an increasing amount of frustration on her face, and for the entire meeting, she was sullen and tired, perhaps a little too concerned about her finishes. That lead to the second problem, which she believed that she was having. Carol has been nothing but absolutely swell to Angela, and she was more than happy for that. As a result, it was Cole that she was worried about. Angela was not one to care too much about what the others think of her, but when that other is an engineer that Brendan is attached to, for example, or any of the staff members and people in Cygnus, Angela learned that she had to indeed see and hear what these people think of her.

Dr. Emerson, in particular, has been very tolerant of the errors, having the optimism that is as close to that of a Valentian. Despite all of the failings and shortcomings, he believes that both Brendan and Angela can still make a lot of difference, and even to the point where Angela did not have to go for the tryouts and trial runs. And yet, here she is, not giving the team any points, and already having suffered two DNFs. There was the general discussion of the engines needing to be replaced, the repairs, and just about everything else down the line. It was going to cost someone, Angela knew, and she did not want to be the main cause of them haemorrhaging money. She thought of paying them back for the damages that she caused during the races, or that she would give them NSD 5,000,000 in return at the end of the season both as gratitude and compensation for the aforementioned damages. That, of course, will come another time, so for the time being, with the meeting down, she simply donned her helmet once again and brisk walked back into her lounge, the one that she was provided for and fully furnished by good folks.

She lied down on the bed, still in her firesuit, but her helmet now neatly on one of the chairs. She stared at the ceiling, wondering what she can do in order to shake the feeling of dread, guilt, anger, and disappointment. She turned on the local channels, but there was nothing much going on for her, at least not in her interest. She thought of watching one movie in particular that she got from another world, from another Earth entirely. She already converted it into a format that the Valentian devices can accept and playback, and so she opened her laptop, making sure to close the doors for a bit of a me-time for herself, and then opened the movie. The movie, for clarity sake, is very PG.

The movie was set in the 1990s, in a relatively large town that resembles America, but in a way, not exactly. Compared to the America that Angela has seen and experienced in Valentine Z, along with the many other worlds, this one felt a little odd, like the flag was not parallel and consistent, the people’s features were a little bit off, and the English was kinda awkward. Still, Angela was able to understand most of what they are saying, and thus her break time is on, watching this movie. Going back to the movie, it was about this little girl – around 9-10 years old – as a protagonist who was interested in the world of dirt cars and she always wanted to race one. In a surprising twist of events, both of her parents were supportive about it, and thus she was able to participate in many of the smaller scenes and courses first, including go-kart tracks and events. As her parents, along with many of the audience and the other people found out, the girl was a natural at racing these cars, acing and was above everyone else consistently. In a way, Angela was impressed, and kinda wished that it was her behind the wheel, or do as well as her.

Though of course, just like a typical movie with conflicts, climaxes, and resolutions, this one also have a fair share of its own. The protagonist in particular started having problems with her car, particularly an engine problem. “What a concidence!” is all Angela could think of at that moment, wondering as to if this movie was going to hit a little too close to home for her. Still, she continued watching the movie, the one where the protagonist was told that her car’s engine cannot be salvaged, but the situation still could… well, kind of. She may have a difficult time winning the race, but she could quickly do an emergency repair to have the engine be replaced by a footpedal system. In other words, the girl would have to ride it like a bicycle, except that this is her dirt car. She accepted, knowing full well that this was going to be difficult to her, owing to the fact that the other cars would not get tired but she would. The first few laps after that on the final race were laughable, the protagonist constantly failing at it and ending up at the last place. That was, however, after she realised that this also meant something else, a blessing in disguise.

Unlike the other cars, she does not need to change her tires or refuel and as a result, she could go indefinitely if she is determined, which she definitely was. With this new found motivation, she found herself eventually back at the second place, just one spot ahead of the rival (antagonist) that really, really wanted her gone. Come the last few laps, the protagonist girl’s engine was fixed and she was soon ready to get it back into her car, to not have to use her legs to pedal once again. With the engine replaced, she gunned it, coming towards the antagonist and the two of them having a fierce competition. However, the antagonist played dirty, trying to crash her and smack her onto a wall. Angela was fully rooting for the protagonist, “Come on, you can do it!” she said quietly to the movie and to herself, to which the girl did – pulling a manoeuvre where she braked, causing the antagonist to crash not onto her, but onto a wall and then knocking her out onto a DNF. “Yeahhhhh that’s what you get!” Angela exclaimed at the movie, giving a small clap to the protagonist girl as she crossed the finish line, winning 1st place, her smile and joy plastered all over face. Cheers and jubilations were had, and then only at the ending then her name was revealed, in the form of a reporter asking her name. “Congratulations! Girl, what your name is? Are you possibly to consider going for the next races up ahead?” The girl replied back, “Well, I shall see about that! For now, let me enjoy just victory of mine, and spend time with my family. Oh yes, anyway,” she trailed off, “Name is Angla. Don’t forget it!”

[Tropicorp]

Sifaka's Prevail in Sigurd Ring Sprint Finish

WGPC20 Supplier Performance Standings (After Race #4)
[1] - 93 :: Tropicorp Racing Supply
[2] - 71 :: Phoenician/InMotion
[3] - 33 :: Brústeinn
[4] - 20 :: Tabtac

Ramngardian Grand Prix, Sigurd Ring, Diarcesia :: One potentially overlooked aspect of the first half of the World Grand Prix Championship Schedule for Season 20 was the fact that the calendar would have the series heading in back-to-back-to-back weeks to the home circuits of the two biggest tyre suppliers for the series, Tropicorp Racing Supply and Phoenician-In Motion. It would all get started at the Cocoabo Park Circuit with the logo of Tropicorp Racing Supply and its Tropicorp Sifaka brand well present throughout the course. While the local brand missed out on the pole position which was won by Rookie Driver Bryce Yannec of Pressley Racing using Brústeinn Tyres, Tropicorp would still find their way to the top of the podium on Sunday with a victory by Tropicorp flagged driver Skiia Vialiv of UrGa Motorsports. It was a huge boost for the supplier after a slow start to the season in what many have expected to be one of the hardest fought tyre supplier battles in some time after seasons of dominance at the top by the Tropicorp Racing Aelund team getting disrupted by Abovian scandals and poor decision making both in the front office and in the wind tunnel.

When the World Grand Prix Championship moved on to the Sigurd Ring in Diarcesia, however, many expected that the Phoenician-InMotion contingent would have the upper hand. While there was just one race this season that Tropicorp Racing Supply could consider a home event, the World Grand Prix Championship was beginning to embark on a two-week tour of tracks emblazoned with the Phoenician-InMotion logos. While the Sifaka Tyre showed plenty of speed in practice with half of the Top 10 competitors using the Tropicorp Racing Supply Tyre, the speed charts were topped by local driver Sara Luna and her Viska Racing machine powered by Phoenician-In Motion Tyres who was certainly looking to prove something after being dropped as a driver by Tropicorp Racing Aelund in the offseason. Luna could not carry the speed over to Qualifying, however, as the One Shot format fell nicely into the hands of the Tropicorp Racing Supply drivers who took four of the top 5 positions on the grid and 8 of the Top 10 thanks to the short run speed inherent in the Sifaka Qualifying Tyre offering. Tropicorp's newest and perhaps most impressive partner the Cygnus Motorsports Team of Esmerel put on an outstanding performance in the Qualifying Session locking out the front row of the grid with rookie drivers Brendan Faloe and Angela Tan Fang Ling.

Race Day would be a different story at the Sigurd Ring, however, as the Rookie Drivers would have to take a back seat to the experience in a grueling day that saw 7 drivers fail to finish including Tropicorp's Cocoabo #23 - the series leader in positions improved from the start who, when considering the order with which drivers retired from the race as unique finishing positions, actually lost positions from the start for the first time on the season. At the front of the field, the seas parted for TJUN-ia's Lane Carter who stole the victory for Tropicorp Racing Supply thanks to the stop-start nature of the race which included a late safety car that left a 5 lap sprint to the finish. Carter was able to speed away from the local team GPA Pryfors Bilar and driver Laura Haukanna to take the checkered flag with a 7 second margin. The victory would extend Tropicorp Racing Supply's lead in the WGPC20 Supplier Performance Standings, but more importantly still it was a fortunate show of speed for the supplier to be able to win in their competitors own back yard.

---

SKIIA VIALIV ✓

@Skiia

Well if nothing else that was certainly different. Just finished running RC cars on a mini version of the Crossbay Circuit. Didn't do too bad, The car turtled for a bit and lost a few laps but gained a whole bunch of them back at the end. If we ran it again I think I could win it, was just getting the hang of it.

AOPIC backed driver Jaasim el-Rafiq posts strong run amid protests

Streets of Alikki-Corra AO Grand Prix, Alikki-Corra Street Course, Alikki-Corra, Vilita :: While twii.tur was abuzz with the news of a ransom having been paid to pirates for the release of the Akhdari flagged tanker ship Khanabjah that was destined for Tropicorp as part of an Oil deal that is rumored to have been forged as part of the deal to have Jassim el-Rafiq drive one of the Tropicorp Engineering entries on the Atlantian Oceania Grand Prix Circuit, the Akhdari driver continued their strong start to the Atlantian Oceania Regional motorsports season with 6th place finish worth 8 Championship points marking a total of 18 for the season for the inexperienced newcomer. el-Rafiq reportedly was a skilled driver on the sands of Jabal Akhdar before making the switch to the asphalt open wheel cars but few would have projected the Akhdari to be just one point behind Marfield Racing's Roy Marshall after three races in the AOGP season.

Neither the Tropicorp Engineering AOGP team nor the quasi-governmental entity of Tropicorp itself has made any formal statement regarding either the pirate raid on the tanker Khanabjah or on the suspected ransom that was paid by AOPIC to secure the release of the ship. Informally, one Tropicorp executive was quoted as being grateful that no one was hurt in the exchange and that "Life is what matters above all else - Money, Oil whatever it is in the end it doesn't matter that much". While the ransom protests are likely to fade away in the short term, there are still lingering questions for Tropicorp Engineering regarding their performance this season with the #99 of newcomer Jassim el-Rafiq vastly outperforming the #00 of Tropicorper Lilo Adinora on race day. Adinora had earned pole position for the Streets of Alikki-Corra AO Grand Prix but the car fall apart on lap 7 leaving debris on the track that would puncture a tyre on Rokksin Lavalhi's Vilaye EnergySport AOGP machine causing an accident which dislodged a barrier just beyond the Alikki-Corra Academy of Sciences resulting in a 4 lap safety car period. The incident left el-Rafiq to once again fly the flag for Tropicorp Engineering, progressing from their 13th placed starting position to a Top 6 finish 25 seconds behind surprising race winner Vertti Kortajarena of upstart team Hellebuck-Ribbing of the Squornshelan Remnant States. The AOGP circuit will get a reprieve from the Vilitan Cove as it packs its things and moves on to the Rowell Salcedo Commemorative Racing Circuit in the Sultanate of Oontaz for the next round of action where it is hoped that the Tropicorp Engineering team will be clear of the protests that interrupted their paddock set-up activities in Alikki-Corra.

[Delaclava]

OOC: Credit to Above for selecting the film.

"See, this is why you just need to do the deed," Sandro Perez said to Kingston Walcott as they watched the second act of Worldvision Song Contest: The Story of Bonzer Baby, a musical comedy about the fictional Electrumite pop duo Shane Warne and Helene Dingobaby, where the two main characters were in the middle of a lover's quarrel. "There's no way you can focus with all this tension. Better to just say how you feel."

The two were watching the film on separate queen beds in Walcott's hotel room in Nimbus. Sandro Perez was wearing a large, soft hoodie and gray sweatpants that made the pop culture sensation seem both welcoming and delicious at the same time. Kingston Walcott was wearing a white tank top and short teal shorts that tastefully showed off his fuzzy athletic thighs and arms.

"But then you wouldn't have a movie," Walcott reminded him.

"Well, you could, it would just be a different film. Probably more realistic too. Those WorldVision contests get wild, this is all just watered down."

"Not too watered down. They've got 'Nah Yeah Ding Dong' as the Electrum national anthem."

"That's just being historically accurate though." Sandro turned to Kingston. "Hey, how are you getting on with that Eminent groupie?"

"Oh," Kingston chuckled and blushed. "Yeah, we're good, I think. I know she thinks I'm a breath of fresh air. I don't just talk about myself all the time."

"Well, sure, a few weeks ago you wouldn't have been able to say anything to her."

"Shut up," Kingston laughed abashedly.

"So when are you going to ask her out."

"Soon. Actually, I might have asked her out today if I hadn't done so poorly in qualis."

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about that. My experience? These girls have no idea what's even happened on the track. If it weren't for the post-race champagne cummies, you could tell them you'd won and they'd believe you."

"So you're telling me that you didn't have more girls coming up to you after you won your championship," Kingston pressed him.

"Well," Sandro thought. "No, that was a wild night. I actually don't think you're ready to hear that story."

"Haven't I heard that story?"

"Oh no, what's in the tabloids wasn't the half of it."

"Wow," Kingston replied.

They watched for a few minutes in silence until Sandro's phone rang. Sandro paused the movie. "Sorry, one sec."

"Oh that's fine, I've gotta use the bathroom," and Walcott went away. Sandro answered the phone. "Yeah?"

"Dude, you gotta keep me in the loop," his manager, Marco Ciccone said. "People are gonna think you're gallivanting around with the Walcott kid."

"Ha, very funny. What do you want?" Sandro stood up from the bed.

"The fuck do you mean, what do I want? I want some updates! Have you made any progress?"

"I mean, what do you think I've been doing here? Snooping around the whole paddock trying to find people to take down?"

"Well, I'd have thought you could seduce Ji or McCreary, someone mid you could clear off the grid."

"Look, that wasn't what you suggested, but I'm more than happy to do that."

"You fucking moron, dude. Fine, well I know you've been spending a lot of time with the kid. Any progress there?"

"He's scored three of four races, there's no way he's losing a spot."

"That doesn't mean anything! Whoever gets podiums is basically a roll of the dice and Walcott hasn't gotten one yet. I'm sure you could break him."

"I thought I was here for intel! You didn't tell me to break anyone?"

"Do I have to think of everything or will you use your last two brain cells to figure something out."

"Whatever. Let me just get back and I'll tell you what I know." Sandro rubbed his hair and fidgeted slightly in place; as he turned, he caught something in his periphery. It was Kingston, standing there, pale, lips quivering.

"I gotta go." Sandro hung up the phone.

"What was that?" Kingston asked, quietly, shakily.

"It–look, it's not what you think," Sandro replied nervously.

"Oh, I think it's exactly what it sounds like. What are you doing here?" Kingston asked more intently.

Sandro shook his head and sighed. "Alright, here's the deal, and this is not why I'm here, but after you called me the first time, my manager thought it would be a good idea if I spent some time around the paddock to see if there were any vulnerable seats on the grid."

"Okay, but you haven't been spending time around the paddock, you've been spending time around me!" Kingston began to shout. "That's what you think?"

"No, that's not—"

"Get the fuck out! Get the fuck out!" Kingston shouted, striding over to Sandro and trying to throw him by the hoodie in the direction of the door. Owing to Sandro's relative bulk and Kingston's twink strength, this was extremely ineffective. "Seriously, get the fuck out of here!" Kingston tried a bit more in vain, before stopping and turning away from Sandro, trying to restrain himself as he began to sob.

Sandro stood there in surprise, feeling helpless. Hesitantly, he reached his hand towards Kingston's shoulder. Kingston didn't shake it off, but he muttered, "I wanted to trust you."

"What do you mean?" Sandro asked softly.

"I don't get to trust anyone," Kingston said, sniffling. "Because everyone around me, my father put there. When I called you, I wanted to trust you."

Sandro pulled him into a hug, Kingston leaning into him as he continued to cry. "I'm sorry," Sandro said, for once in his life meaning it. "I want you to trust me...Honestly, I wouldn't have done anything to screw you over."

"Why wouldn't you?" Kingston mumbled.

Actually, there were a few reasons for that. For one, Sandro thought it was kind of a dumb idea and it wouldn't actually work. Sandro wasn't the businessman, but he knew that these big contracts weren't going to get interfered with by a rogue driver and his meddling manager. Another reason was that Kingston Walcott was actually too good. His rookie reason was off to a consistently phenomenal start and Sivaleinen seemed invested in his success.

Sandro didn't pick either of those reasons. "Because I like you, dude. You're a cool guy, I... I just wouldn't."

[Mlima Kijani]

Selection of articles from Kijani news media.

War of words escalates but no shots fired, yet, as second AOPIC vessel released, Græntfjaller yacht still held

Græntfjaller Foreign Minister Brynjúlfur Brynjarsson has escalated his criticism of Akhdari energy company AOPIC for paying out ransoms after a second AOPIC vessel, captured by Kijani pirates while delivering oil to Tropicorp, was released. AOPIC has not confirmed payment of ransom in either instance but did issue a statement welcoming the release of its cargo and personnel. Brynjarsson said the company was “breaking ranks” and that by preventing a “unified international position that we do not negotiate with terrorists” it was “putting more international shipping at risk”. Brynjarsson confirmed the White Winter Queendom would not pay the ransom demanded by the pirates currently holding the Græntfjaller yacht Hnúa but would not be drawn on whether a military rescue mission had been ordered. In Mlima Kijani, pirates returning from their recent successful missions were treated to a warm reception in the port city of Kisekoni, where many of the pirates hail from, with colorful paper birds, a common Kijani party favor, lining the streets. The Kijani government has disavowed associations with the pirates but is accused by Græntfjall of not doing anything to bring them to justice or address the ongoing threat.

Miners fired on after protesting over working conditions

There are reports of casualties at the Musagama Grand Valley mining complex after private security forces and police cadres fired on striking miners following a week of industrial action. Following a cave-in killed 5 at the anthracite mine, workers went on strike, claiming that they had brought previous safety incidents to pit bosses’ attention but no action had been taken. The nationalized Kijani Mining Consortium has struggled as global demand for coal has decreased in recent years on account of concern over climate change and diversification towards nuclear, LNG, and renewables, and is rumored to be running large debts. Earlier this year it turned down workers’ demands for a cost-of-living adjustments to keep up with the Bank of Mlima Kijani’s inflationary monetary policy which has seen printing of billions of new shillings, destroying the real value of wages. Kijani workers at Græntfjaller and Schutzenphalian mining concerns demand to be paid in foreign currency, but that is not an option for KMC. Strikebreakers were called in after reports of strikers damaging heavy earth moving equipment to prevent pickets being crossed. Casualty figures are unknown at this time. Deputy Energy Minister Wangai Mũkami has promised an investigation, saying she is “deeply troubled” by reports of damage to the earth moving equipment.

Also in the news:

• New species of carnivorous giraffe discovered in Mlima Kijani in what scientists say is a “world first” and “utterly terrifying”
• Dan Abong’o, “Genius of the Kijani Guitar”, dies; highly regarded exponent of characteristic Kijani Swing was 82
• Injuries reported as KijaniAir plane overshoots runaway, blamed on workers stealing end of runway
• GANAX satellites observe “unusual weather phenomenon” in Kijani Sea
• Náttmörðsdóttir on modest ambitions for Crossbay: “I’m just here to chew gum and smash some Nimbussy… and I’m all out of gum”

[Hapilopper]

PRESTON REVIEWING OPTIONS, FUTURE OF TEAM IN QUESTION?
By Sandy Peters, the Hapilopper Television Network

NIMBUS BAY, NEXUS WARDSHIP – Marty Lewis explained this morning that he is open to letting his drivers seek other options for the next World Grand Prix Championship season.

Lewis explained that Preston Autos is already starting to look past this season, which he has said is “one of the most frustrating” of his career.

“Plain and simple, this year just hasn’t worked,” Lewis said. “This is a good team, good drivers, good crew, but we’re frustrated with our results. We’ve tried to do everything right but unfortunately things aren’t going our way. William deserves better than that. We promised him that we would fully support his World Championship hopes and, well, his results do not reflect the kind of driver he is. Plain and simple.”

Lewis said that because of this, the team is, for the first time, open to changing personnel in the future.

“Let me point out that we are very loyal to our men,” Lewis said. “We are very loyal to William Archer and we are very loyal to Rudy Edwards. But if William feels he can get better results elsewhere, I’m not going to stand in his way. He’s a World Championship-caliber driver. So is Rudy. And I want both of them to be contending for the championship. So if they feel they can get better results elsewhere, we’ll support them all the way. I’d like to keep them, and in a perfect world they’d be running 1-2, but right now, just by looking at who's leading the championship, it's obviously not a perfect world.”

In fact, Jim Preston, president and CEO of Preston Autos, made a very rare statement concerning the performance of the team, and suggested that the automaker could be considering withdrawing from Grand Prix racing.

“Our results aren’t there,” Preston said. “We are a race winning operation. We contend for championships. We aren’t supposed to be the middle of the pack or failing to finish races. We put hundreds of millions of dollars into this organization, and we spend thousands of man-hours trying to put ourselves up front, and this is what we’ve got in response. At this point, we may question if whether or not this project is a waste of everyone’s time.”

Preston, who at the start of the season indicated the full weight of the Preston brand behind both William Archer and Rudy Edwards, said that he has been extremely disappointed with the results shown by both men.

“In the coming weeks, Preston Autos is going to be making some serious decisions concerning the future of this racing operation,” Preston said. “The fiscal year is coming up and we need to make hard decisions concerning where our funding will go.”

Preston did say, however, that he was not opposed to offering a personal sponsorship offer to Archer or Edwards should they choose to move on to other teams.

“It’s important to point out that this team became a success because of William Archer,” Preston said. “We put him on a pedestal for a good reason. He’s a damn good racing driver and so is Rudy. We would have folded the team in the first year if we had anyone else. So if they feel they can win races elsewhere, we’ll offer them a sponsorship to take them anywhere they want to go. And we hope they do win.”

[Chromatika]

Crossbay Circuit
Post-Qualifying

Somehow, against all odds, Lily McCloud and Ji So-Yeong had not talked about what happened in Diarcesia since the spinout; it was too awkward for Lily, and she could tell that Ji was avoiding it like the plague. She was okay with that - it had been a risk, after all - but she'd wished that she knew why. It was putting a bit of strain on their relationship - although Ji was still treating Lily with professional courtesy, there was a distance between them.

So, she did what anyone reasonable would - she approached the topic directly and with dignity. Well, it was after the most successful qualifying that Ji had had - she'd finished in first place - but Lily could tell that it was bothering Ji, but that Ji would not be the one to bring it up. So, she did.

"Ji, I -" she began, but it was the racer who spoke next.

"Lily. Sorry to interrupt you, but if I don't, I won't speak my mind, and we'll go back to being awkward again," Ji began, and Lily motioned to her to continue.

"I had a lover once. She was great... But we broke up. Then, when we were just about to meet to potentially make up, she died," Ji explained, trying to keep her voice from faltering, "It's not your fault, you see. It just hasn't been that long since she died... I just need more time."

That was the furthest from what Lily had guessed possible. She mentally kicked herself as she saw the pieces fall into place. Of course, that was why Ji had looked so confused, so lost in the middle, so mortified!

"I swear I didn't know," Lily responded softly, putting a gentle hand on Ji's shoulder, "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," responded Ji, "And it's not that I don't enjoy your company. Just... Give me some time, all right?"

Lily nodded solemnly.

"The ball's in your court, then. I'm okay with us being friends, I'm open to us being more. I'll let you decide if and when the next step happens, all right?" she offered.

Ji smiled a genuine smile despite her weariness.

"Deal," the racer responded.

Before getting up to leave, Lily did add, "Congrats on the qualifying, by the way. Go kill it out there - I'll make sure that the only thing that can hurt you is the things of the track."

Then, Lily was out of there to process this new development in her life - with an obvious looming possibility.

And if that possibility was truth, it was going to be very hard to replace one dead Anola Melani.

[Auruna]

Jukkenna Residence
Livonsk, Auruna

Livonsk, a cold and large northern city home to Auruna's naval heritage, endurance racing, and is competing against Nisko for being the MNA's hub for rally. It has a decent amount of motorsport heritage behind it and as such, many drivers hail from the city as well as some that now call it home. While E-Series and WGP2 driver Haru Jukkenna was born in Körvelinne, Livonsk is where he is raised at his family house near the Livonsk Circuit. This time, during the Nimban Grand Prix weekend, while minding his own business, he waits for his visitor. Apart from the sound of a private booking at the circuit, there's not much going on until his dog, Dana (an Aurun Lumihund), started barking at the door. This alerted Haru so he rushed towards the door expecting his visitor and after opening, and finally confirming, he greets. "Juno! Welcome!" As he lets Juno Haukanna inside his home.

"If I didn't know it was you, I would've mistaken you for Laura." He jokes as Juno makes her way towards the living room, patting Dana on the head on the way.

"Yeah... I get that a lot." She says before sitting at the cough, letting out an exhale of relief. "Aah... finally, somewhere to sit."

"Anyway, what brings you here?" Haru ask, sitting across Juno in another chair.

Juno hesitated to bring up the topic at first, avoiding eye contact for a moment. She then sighs. "It's... er..." Mumbling her words for a bit before quietly confessing. "I'm quite jealous of Laura."

"Hm?"

"I know being jealous of my sister is... normal, I think." Juno then looks at Haru. "But seeing her successes while I did nothing apart from taking care of Kata and my studies... something clicked... like... I want to keep up with her."

"And that's why you came here?"

"Don't tell her this though."

Leaning closer with his hand on his chin, Haru asked. "Hm.. in what way you want me to help?"

"Well... I think I should try my hand on racing again. I know I tried a bit of karting before but only Laura took it seriously." Juno paused to think about it more. "I'm probably too late for it anyway."

Haru also gives into that though. "No..." He said. "I think it's not too late."

"What do you mean by that?" Juno asked.

"You might still have the chance." Haru said after coming up with an idea. "While you still need time to prepare for actual races, you can still sign up for a special junior programme by a few select teams that would happily offer it. You can go for either a sim racing course, karting/open wheelers, or off-road and they will help you start your career in racing. No prior experience required."

"I... I'm quite interested."

"Great!" Haru grabs Juno by her shoulders, his face shining with excitement. "I know what to do to help you now! Think of me as your agent while I help you get started." He then lets go of Juno, returning to his seat. "Now... do you have any idea on where to go next? Which team will you choose?"

""Ehh,, eheh,,, for both, I guess my answer is no."

Haru takes out his phone. "Alright, let's weigh in the options for now." He then makes a few notes with a list of potential teams for Juno to start off. "First, avoid Schkeska for now until things start to get better for them unless you want to do some rallying as they have a great rally programme. I know it first hand."

Juno nods as she listens.

"VSK are good choices if you want to start with endurance or E-Series. They can be your window into their WGP2/3 programme which takes you close to Laura. They have a great potential although their junior programme is quite lacking. Next is Viska, they have a great junior programme with a diverse range of disciplines to go for from touring cars to open wheel. You have the best chance in starting off with them but they are quite exclusive in their driver choices for their official race teams unless you are still unsure and want to keep training. On the plus side, it opens a lot more options as they have many partnerships with different teams." He then looks at the girl infront of him, looking slightly overwhelmed but still deeply interested. "And that's the big three done, I'll give you two more options to give you some idea."

Even after the info dump, Juno just nods. "Okay... keep going."

"Two notable but relatively smaller teams... well, one is actually a small team but--- anyway! Krazivaran is a good choice if you want something different. They're a Kuyonnen team that recently entered MNA, they have good development and performance, adapting to every discipline available but their WGP3 team hasn't matured yet. Also, they only want the best and primarily prefers Kuyonnens. A bit nationalistic but they're still open to others. And lastly, Sport Mikuren. If you prefer a more casual environment, they're your best choice. Smaller compared to other teams but they pack a big punch. They are also currently partnered with Viska so you have a chance of getting into Viska with Mikuren."

Juno leans back, thinking about it well before giving her decision. "I feel like Sport Mikuren would be a good choice for me."

"You're in luck as a Viska partner, they have a thing where they take new recruits to WGPC events to show them what happens and such and they would get a chance to talk to the personnel there including the drivers. So after I get you into Mikuren, you might get access to the Viska garage for the mid-season test and the Aurun Grand Prix."

"W-well then.. where do I start?"

"I'll be doing most of the work, it's a boring off-season for me so I wanted something different to do."

"Alright then..."

"I'm going to send out a few emails and we're well on our way."

"Oh, okay."

"Now..." Haru stands up. "I want to see how you drive." He says, while gesturing to Juno to follow him. "I'll let you have a go at my simulator so that I can get an idea on how you would perform."

"I can't say I'm good but I'll give it a shot."

"Heh, then come with me." As Haru heads to his room where the simulator is located with Juno following close behind. Dealing with a Haukanna was nothing new, helping one out is a different experience however but Haru is prepared and determined to help out the other twin with both their goals aligned. And maybe, just maybe, through working with Juno, he would get a chance to keep up with Laura in a different way.

And now, a new driver is in the works.

---

Schkeska Motors Factory
Livonsk, Auruna

A rare visit has occurred and it's not something that anyone, not even Schkeska, would expect after the takeover. Viska Technical Director Hori Nÿkkänö visited the Schkeska Motors Factory to have a tour around and meet up with a few engineers that the personally knows in order to have an idea on what to work on the Re:Genesis engines. She came with an exhausted expression alongside a tablet and notebook after a long journey from Sterlennau to Livonsk. It was something she wasn't looking forward to but necessary for the sake of R&D. After being greeted by the staff as she entered, she eventually met her tour guide in the form of a wheeled robot. Possibly as a result of their E-Series research. It certainly changed the mood as she was fascinated by it. She reaches over to try touching it and gets shocked when it beeped and then spoke.

Beep. "Tarvellanet Schkeskaan Tehäjään, vierukoajaa!" ("Welcome to the Schkeska Factory, visitor!")

Hori found it amusing having a robot as a tour guide but it eventually made sense to her. While she stood there, she greets the robot then it spoke again.

Beep. "Järjÿkavja!" ("Please follow me!")

Hor then obliged and started to follow the robot guide through the Schkeska factory. It stopped at various points, talking about the history and such. Some were irrelevant to Hori but she couldn't do anything as it was a set guide. She kept following the robot and what caught her interest was the engine department. Bingo. That's what she's there for. The robot talked about the Schkeska engines and their reliability as well as their racing pedigree, all of which Hori already knew but scoffed at the reliability part. Hori took a closer look around to find the engineers she knew but couldn't find them. Maybe they're on their break? She thought before begrudgingly continuing with the tour.

After going through the several sections of the factory, with her newfound robotic friend she named Valkinu because of its white body, she felt relief when they finally reached the guest area of the factory. It's finally done!

Beep. "Vierukaan kiitan!" ("Thank you for coming!")

Hori waved at the robot and soon after, Valkinu returned to its designated waiting area. Hori took a seat after walking a lot. She nearly dozed off in her seat before one of the engineers she was looking for eventually arrived at the guest area. The two greet each other, shaking their hands before taking a seat. Hori started to talk about every single issue she found on the specific engine block they are using for the Re:Genesis engines based on a Schkeska model. The engineer had a dumbfounded look to his face. How did they managed to do that? He thought as Hori went on with her list. It was a reliable engine albeit a bit underpowered in the previous season which surprised the Schkeska engineer. Maybe it was an underlying problem from when it was a Schkeska or maybe it was from Viska's modifications to it but one thing was for certain: they still didn't know which is the cause.

The Schkeska engineer offered to help as he grew curious at the situation Re:Genesis was in. Hori appreciated it even though she tried to avoid consulting Schkeska, they were her only chance to figure out the issue. And after several minutes on the topic, they finally made a deal. Maybe it was just in time so that they could get a newer spec at the mid-season. In any case, Hori was just relieved. Finally, we can find out what the hell is wrong with us. The Re:Genesis programme can still be saved.

"Thanks for the help, I really mean it."

"Don't mention it, we'll see what we can do."

Beep. "Vierukaan kiitan!"

[TJUN-ia]

WGPC20
Round 4
Nimban Grand Prix
Crossbay Circuit, Former Citizens of the Nimbus System

Last week in Diarcesia ended up being one of the most historic in TJUN-ian Open Wheel Racing as Lane Carter came from P9 to claim his 2nd career win while Batu Tüvshinbayar came up from far down the grid to earn some points in P9. Safe to say, both TJUN-ian drivers were feeling good about themselves and their seasons so far entering what is the halfway point of this season - but both also didn't want to be standing still either. Lane was now deep in the title hunt, crazy as that might sound, and he was hoping to carry the immense high into the end of this 1st half of the season. Batu had now scored points in back-to-back weekends and was now hoping to keep the good times flowing in his debut season. All in all, both had hope...but would that last?

Crossbay Circuit needs no introduction - a track as synonymous with the WGPO as Tundra Falls is to NSSCRA, a place where both WGPC and WGP2 regularly frequent and a place that was also the home of the NRDAS (where Batu got his international start). It seemed like a fitting place to host the end of the 1st half of this season and Practice certainly ended up being a lively affair, with local driver Ryker Lane taking the fastest time for Nexus Racing over Ted Pressley and teammate Janne Laukkanen. Batu ended up in a competitive P11, 0.304 off the pace, while Jordan Crowe was half a second down in P18. Lane ended up in a low P21, 8 tenths off the other Lane, while Fast Cocoabo was P25 and 1.4 seconds off the pace of the Nimban driver. Lessons would certainly have to be taken from this session, but there wasn't too much concern either.

And then Qualifying happened. It was Elimination style but it wasn't going to matter for the TJUN-ians at all as an increase in pace meant that they were left out in the cold...big time. Sophie McCreary ended up fastest in Q1 but both TJUN-ians couldn't catch up at all as Batu ended up 1.4 seconds down in P24 and Lane 2.5 down in dead last, P28. Jordan Crowe was the 1st one out in P22 so all in all, it wasn't a good Saturday at all for those who support the Blue and Orange. Anneliese Devereux ended up fastest in Q2 as Cocoabo #23 made it through, but the bird could only manage P14 in Q3. In the end, the battle for pole would end up being quite surprising as Ji So-Yeong took the top spot for the only pointless team so far over Rudy Edwards and Ryker Lane. Tropicorp-Colorworks desperately needed that result and they will certainly be hoping to get on the fucking board before this 1st half comes to a close.

Later that night, both the TJUN-ians were preparing to try and move up the field tomorrow...and all of them using different tactics to prepare. For Lane, he took time to look into the data and see what needed to be improved from his quali run before simply...going to bed, contemplating what he could possibly do from the back of the grid. For Batu, he took to his meditation to try and clear his mind before the long battle ahead. He likes to put a message on a whiteboard above his meditation space so he can focus on one topic in particular during the session. One message was still on there, one that has been on there for about a few weeks now, and while he did contemplate changing it to something more specific...the more he thought about it, the more it fit. And so that's what he focused on...both in the old reading relating to him and in this new reading relating to a potential mindset to head into tomorrow with. It was a message that kept him going deep down inside...and now, it would be partly repurposed. It reads as follows:

Тэвчээр бол бүх буяны эх юм.
(Tevcheer bol bükh buyany ekh yum.)
Patience is the mother of all virtues.

[Vilita and Turori]

Carter Takes the Checkers in Diarcesia

Ramngardian Grand Prix, Sigurd Ring, Diarcesia :: It was a massive strategy call and the short run performance of the Tropicorp Sifaka Tyre that gave Lane Carter the victory at the Ramngardian Grand Prix in Diarcesia. After pitting for the fastest tyre compound available late in the race, Lane Carter was rewarded coming out in front of their competitors when the extended safety car period ended. It had already been a fortunate start for Carter after the inexperienced leaders had already taken each other off the top spot and allowed the TJUN-ian to advance from their 9th starting position. When the race re-started with just 4 laps to go, however, it was a sprint to the finish. Lane Carter was perfect on the restart getting perfect traction with the Sifaka Tyres and great Acceleration from the Tropicorp Engineering power plant. While it may not have been doing so great in the long run, Carter only needed 4 laps and turned all the dials up to 11 - matching his car number, and set sail leaving Laura Haukanna and the rest of the field in the dust. Over the final 4 lap run, Carter would open up a 7 second gap to cross the line for their second career World Grand Prix victory.

The win would move Carter up to a tie for 3rd in the World Grand Prix Drivers Championship just 11 points behind Eminent Grand Prix driver Anneliese Devereux who returned to the top of the charts after a podium finish in Diarcesia. Race Eelandii! Vilita and Turori World Grand Prix Motorworks are chasing the Eminent Grand Prix team in the Constructors Standings with Carter's victory allowing the Eelandii outfit to close to within 7 points of the joint Lisander-Ethane entry.

Now the World Grand Prix circuit will move on to a familiar venue, the Crossbay Circuit in the Former Citizens of the Nimbus System. The favorite for the race may be Auruna's Laura Haukanna who won pole position one season ago driving for Grand Prix Pryfos Viska. The top two finishers in the Nimban Grand Prix during World Grand Prix Season 19 will not be competing this season with Olivia Stone the defending champion and Rustom Ibuna the defending runner up. It would leave a struggling William Archer for Preston Autos Grand Prix as the only podium finisher from the Crossbay Circuit one season ago who will be on the grid for the race this season. Gregori Krupin put in a strong performance for Race Eelandii finishing 5th last season while Lane Carter was in the points in 8th position. Cocoabo #23, who was then driving for the World Grand Prix Motorworks team, did not make it to the grid for the Nimban Grand Prix after being the slowest of the three WGPC Motorworks drivers in the qualifying session - and slowest of all drivers in the field. Of course, Fast Cocoabo will be looking to turn things around now that they will have the chance to actually compete on race day at the Crossbay Circuit.

Ramngardian Grand Prix, Sigurd Ring, Diarcesia :: Early in the race weekend at the Sigurd Ring in Diarcesia it seemed as if the Toys '4' All Rookie of the year class was once again well on their way to a strong showing across the board, high on the speed charts and ready to claim their second race victory of the season. However, in a race that required both strategy and poise with late safety cars closing up the field, the Rookies were ultimately shoved back in the field as the veterans began to show their class for the first time all season. After back-to-back-to-back first time winners to start out the 20th World Grand Prix Championship season, Lane Carter would become the first to make a return visit to the top of the podium with the TJUN driver having won last season as well. It was a strong day for Local Driver Sara Luna and Viska Racing whose rookie driver, Aaron Deering, scored the first points of their World Grand Prix career in 7th place. Deering had worked hard for the opportunity to get a drive in the World Grand Prix Championship series, competing in World Grand Prix 2 while serving as the Viska Racing test driver during World Grand Prix Championship Season 19. While rookie drivers were shutout of the Top 6 in Diarcesia, they would make up each of the remaining points positions from 7th on back with Kingston Walcott of Sivaleinen and the reigning World Grand Prix 2 Champion Batu Tüvshinbayar claiming points for the second consecutive week. Togonistani rookie Darian Vilau would tag in right beind Walcott and Tüvshinbayar to finish in 10th to claim their first ever World Grand Prix Championship Point. It was an incredible drive to watch for the trio of Walcott, Tüvshinbayar and Vilau as the three rookies would start the race in 25th, 26th and 27th position on the grid, cautiously working their way up through the field bumper to bumper for much of the race and crossing the line with just over one second separating them.

With the top rookie drivers shut out of the points it meant there would be virtually no change in the Toys '4' All Rookie of the Season standings other than the addition of first time points-earners Deering and Vilau to the standings. With them on the board it now means that 9 of the 14 Rookie Drivers on the World Grand Prix Championship Season 20 Grid have found their way into the points while five of the six drivers yet to score a point on the season are Rookies - the sixth and final driver yet to finish inside the Top 10 is reigning World Grand Prix Champion iBen Toralmintii of the struggling Tropicorp-Colourworks team.

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  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar         Scuderia Orange Cow [Tropicorp]                      Tropicorp                8
 6 91 ▍WAL Kingston Walcott          Sivaleinen [Preston]                                 Tropicorp                7
 7 33 ▍BLA Sam Blaatschappen         GPA Pryfors Bilar [Sidus]                            Phoenician-In Motion     6
 8 28 ▍DEE Aaron Deering             Viska Racing [Viska]                                 Phoenician-In Motion     4
 9 12 ▍VIL Darian Vilau              Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                          Phoenician-In Motion     1

---

[Aboveland]

CUTOFF

for the Nimban Grand Prix at Crossbay Circuit

[Aboveland]

Week 7: Race

Conditions:      	Dry	
Laps:              	64	
Nation:         	NIM	
Circuit:        	Crossbay Circuit	
Event:	Nimban Grand Prix	
Safety Car Deployed on Laps:	27, 28, 38, 39, 40	
Cars on Grid:	28

Start       	POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     	Time      	Pts		
 1 ▍JSY       	  1 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen          Nexus Racing             	01:51:56.289	25		
 2 ▍EDW       	  2 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23              Race Eelandii VTGP       	00:00:12.366	18		
 3 ▍LAN       	  3 13 ▍JSY Ji So-Yeong              Tropicorp-Colourworks    	00:00:14.682	14		
 4 ▍LAU       	  4 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv             Urotovsky-Gatutin        	00:00:15.158	10		
 5 ▍HAU       	  5 71 ▍FAE Brendan Faloe            Cygnus Motorsports Team  	00:00:17.723	8		
 6 ▍DEV       	  6 50 ▍LUN Sara Luna                Viska Racing             	00:00:25.195	6		
 7 ▍FAE       	  7 33 ▍BLA Sam Blaatschappen        GPA Pryfors Bilar        	00:00:28.487	4		
 8 ▍MCR       	  8  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux       Eminent                  	00:00:34.854	3		
 9 ▍TII       	  9  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards             Preston Autos            	00:00:44.788	2		
10 ▍AKS       	 10 84 ▍ANG Angela Tan Fang Ling     Cygnus Motorsports Team  	00:00:56.097	1		
11 ▍BLA       	 11 24 ▍JCR Jordan Crowe             Scuderia Orange Cow      	00:01:08.330			
12 ▍YAN       	 12 28 ▍DEE Aaron Deering            Viska Racing             	00:01:32.368			
13 ▍PRE       	 13 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley             Kaylan Racing Team       	00:01:33.092			
14 ▍C23       	 14 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna           GPA Pryfors Bilar        	00:01:39.893			
15 ▍ANG       	 15  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar        Scuderia Orange Cow      	Laps Down: 1			
16 ▍FTZ       	 16 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin             Portland-Carvenlo        	Laps Down: 1			
17 ▍ARC       	 17 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau             Portland-Carvenlo        	Laps Down: 1			
18 ▍DEE       	 18 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter              Race Eelandii VTGP       	Laps Down: 1			
19 ▍CRU       	 19 96 ▍ARC William Archer           Preston Autos            	Laps Down: 1			
20 ▍NAT       	 20 12 ▍VIL Darian Vilau             Kaylan Racing Team       	Laps Down: 1			
21 ▍VIA       	 21 87 ▍YAN Bryce Yannec             Pressley Racing          	Laps Down: 1			
22 ▍JCR       	DNF 74 ▍FTZ Adonis Fitzpatrick       Urotovsky-Gatutin        	Ret. lap 49			
23 ▍LUN       	DNF 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Lilian  Eminent                  	Ret. lap 1			
24 ▍TUV       	DNF  1 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii         Tropicorp-Colourworks    	Ret. lap 5			
25 ▍WAL       	DNF 91 ▍WAL Kingston Walcott         Sivaleinen               	Ret. lap 8			
26 ▍FAL       	DNF 10 ▍NAT Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir    Sivaleinen               	Ret. lap 49			
27 ▍VIL       	DNF 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane               Nexus Racing             	Ret. lap 37			
28 ▍CRT       	DNF 42 ▍MCR Sophie McCreary          Pressley Racing          	Ret. lap 26

Drivers' Standings after Race 5

Pos # ▍DRV Name                      Team [Engine]                                        Tyres                    Pts
 1 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23               Race Eelandii VTGP [Tropicorp]                       Tropicorp                44
 2  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux        Eminent [Sidus]                                      Phoenician-In Motion     42
 3 14 ▍VIA Skiia Vialiv              Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                          Tropicorp                35
 3 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen           Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                          Phoenician-In Motion     35
 5 42 ▍MCR Sophie McCreary           Pressley Racing [Kaylan]                             Brústeinn                32
 6 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna            GPA Pryfors Bilar [Sidus]                            Phoenician-In Motion     28
 6 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                          Phoenician-In Motion     28
 6 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter               Race Eelandii VTGP [Tropicorp]                       Tropicorp                28
 9 74 ▍FTZ Adonis Fitzpatrick        Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                          Tropicorp                24
10 40 ▍AKS Adriana Kowalski Lilian   Eminent [Sidus]                                      Phoenician-In Motion     22
11  5 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards              Preston Autos [Preston]                              Tropicorp                20
12 71 ▍FAE Brendan Faloe             Cygnus Motorsports Team [Tropicorp]                  Tropicorp                18
12 50 ▍LUN Sara Luna                 Viska Racing [Viska]                                 Phoenician-In Motion     18
14 13 ▍JSY Ji So-Yeong               Tropicorp-Colourworks [Tropicorp]                    Tropicorp                14
15 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin              Portland-Carvenlo [Carvenlo]                         Tabtac                   12
16 96 ▍ARC William Archer            Preston Autos [Preston]                              Tropicorp                10
16 33 ▍BLA Sam Blaatschappen         GPA Pryfors Bilar [Sidus]                            Phoenician-In Motion     10
18 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau              Portland-Carvenlo [Carvenlo]                         Tabtac                   8
18  9 ▍TUV Batu Tüvshinbayar         Scuderia Orange Cow [Tropicorp]                      Tropicorp                8
20 91 ▍WAL Kingston Walcott          Sivaleinen [Preston]                                 Tropicorp                7
21 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley              Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                          Phoenician-In Motion     6
22 28 ▍DEE Aaron Deering             Viska Racing [Viska]                                 Phoenician-In Motion     4
23 84 ▍ANG Angela Tan Fang Ling      Cygnus Motorsports Team [Tropicorp]                  Tropicorp                1
23 12 ▍VIL Darian Vilau              Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                          Phoenician-In Motion     1
25  1 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii          Tropicorp-Colourworks [Tropicorp]                    Tropicorp                0
25 87 ▍YAN Bryce Yannec              Pressley Racing [Kaylan]                             Brústeinn                0
25 24 ▍JCR Jordan Crowe              Scuderia Orange Cow [Tropicorp]                      Tropicorp                0
25 10 ▍NAT Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir     Sivaleinen [Preston]                                 Tropicorp                0

Teams' Standings

Pos NAT ▍Team [Engine]                                        Tyres                    Pts
  1 V&T ▍Race Eelandii VTGP [Tropicorp]                       Tropicorp                72
  2 ETL ▍Eminent [Sidus]                                      Phoenician-In Motion     64
  3 NIM ▍Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                          Phoenician-In Motion     63
  4 PDN ▍Urotovsky-Gatutin [Preston]                          Tropicorp                59
  5 DCS ▍GPA Pryfors Bilar [Sidus]                            Phoenician-In Motion     38
  6 TMB ▍Pressley Racing [Kaylan]                             Brústeinn                32
  7 HAP ▍Preston Autos [Preston]                              Tropicorp                30
  8 AUR ▍Viska Racing [Viska]                                 Phoenician-In Motion     22
  9 LEN ▍Portland-Carvenlo [Carvenlo]                         Tabtac                   20
 10 ESM ▍Cygnus Motorsports Team [Tropicorp]                  Tropicorp                19
 11 ABL ▍Tropicorp-Colourworks [Tropicorp]                    Tropicorp                14
 12 CBP ▍Scuderia Orange Cow [Tropicorp]                      Tropicorp                8
 13 TGN ▍Kaylan Racing Team [Kaylan]                          Phoenician-In Motion     7
 14 MRT ▍Sivaleinen [Preston]                                 Tropicorp                7

[Trans-Dniesters]

Cocoabo Park Circuit
The weekend of the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix

If Skiia Vialiv had any idea, inkling, or suspicion at all that she was under consideration for an early midseason exit from the Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division (or more specifically just one man high up the UrGa totem pole) then she wasn't showing it at all as the WGPC circus arrived at the Cocoabo Park Circuit for a grand prix weekend for the first time in a long time. If anything, Vialiv actually seemed excited for the chance, the opportunity to be racing in front of her family as a bona fide WGPC driver. It sounded like a cliche but it was most likely that racing in the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix was a dream come true for Vialiv. And if Yakov Yurievsky had been allowed to have his way, Vialiv would have never gotten this opportunity in the first place.

It was no secret among higher-ups in UrGa that Yurievsky had no love at all for Vialiv. It was also no secret to literally everyone else, not just in UrGa but in the rest of WGPC as well, that Vialiv had not helped out her case at all in the last two races. And it also didn't help that her teammate Adonis Fitzpatrick was showing everyone else that it was indeed a skill issue on her part since he was able to take UrGa's challenger, the GPC20-1, not only into the points paying positions but onto the podium as well. The onus was most definitely on Skiia to show that she could still contribute to the team through driving the wheels off of her car, but whether she actually knew the reason why she had to do it was still unknown to the rest of the team. In fairness to her though, she didn't really have to deal with the impossibly tall task of finally impressing Yurievsky. He would never ever be convinced to look at Skiia in a positive light, and that was the end of the conversation as far as he was concerned. However, it was everyone else on the board of directors whom Vialiv would have to convince of her skills. Yes, the board had agreed with UrGa's team principal Vasily Gatutin that the team should sign Skiia at the start of the season, but her performances had become a bit of a concern for them, and if they didn't improve, Yurievsky could definitely talk the board into cutting short Vialiv's contract with the team.

The practice session at the Cocoabo Park Circuit didn't really help Skiia Vialiv's case in staying with UrGa. At least that was the case on paper. The whole team knew that trying to extrapolate the running order on Sunday was simply an impossible task, especially when light showers had hit the track during the practice session and slowed down everyone on the track. In any case, the team was unable to run the tire wear test program that they wanted Skiia to run in order to determine why she seemingly went through her tires quicker than her teammate in the last two races. And they couldn't really run long on the intermediate tires as well as there was little if any chance of rain falling on the track on race day, meaning any data that they would have gathered in that session was for all intents and purposes useless on Sunday afternoon. Hence no one was really unduly surprised at the fact that Skiia only finished P18 in practice (no one except Yakov Yuriesky, that is), but the team also knew that if she ended up replicating this woeful practice session positioning in qualifying then she was only adding fuel to Yurievsky's fiery demands, and she could end up kissing her seat goodbye.

Once again, one shot qualifying would be used to determine the starting grid for Sunday, and with the order of qualifiers going by reverse championship position, Skiia Vialiv was one of the first drivers to take to the circuit to set her one and only lap. There was still some water out on the track left over from the previous rain shower so Skiia was already at a disadvantage due to how green the circuit was, thanks to the rain washing off all of that rubber. Nevertheless, she was able to find enough of a dry line throughout the circuit to give herself at least a fighting chance of setting a decent-ish lap. Only a couple of other drivers had set their times, and they weren’t looking too good so far. Times in the 1:45 and 1:46 mark looked to be the norm, and UrGa was confident that they would be able to beat that both with Adonis and Skiia. However, Skiia still had to show that she could indeed do it.

“It’s your turn, Skiia,” her engineer Illarion Osipov said on their radio. “Soft tires, one lap only, lots of wet and damp patches still out there. But there’s a line that’s forming out there, and we can use it to our advantage. So let’s go.”

Vasily Gatutin pushed a button on his console to activate the radio channel between him and Vialiv. “Skiia, this is Vasily Semyonovich,” he said. “Before you go out there, I just wanted you to know that the team still believes in you. The last two races have not been good for you and the team, I know, but this is as good of a time as any to finally show us all why we signed you. Good luck out there.”

Skiia went out onto her out lap, dancing around the wet patches on the track and sticking to the dry line as closely as she could in order to keep her tires warm and toasty and grippy for what was to come. She rounded the tight hairpin leading into the main straight, and then once she got on the end of the last sweeping turn, Vialiv got on the throttle and shot down the straight. All eyes in UrGa were glued to the timing sheets and the delta counter as Vialiv went on her one and only qualifying lap in Cocoabo Park, as well as the eyes of most if not all of the Tropicorp natives watching the race weekend. Skiia went through the first sector, and the bar went purple. Minus seven tenths of a second. Then she went through the second sector and the bar went purple once again, another seven tenths of a second faster. 1.4 seconds up on the current fastest time. Now all eyes were on Vialiv's delta as she went through the third and final sector, waiting to see if she could set one more purple sector and claim provisional pole position both for herself and for UrGa. It would also be a feel-good story for all of Tropicorp, seeing one of their own take such a historic achievement in her home track and in front of her fellow countrymen. And, most importantly, it would prove to many at UrGa that they were making the right choice in signing Vialiv to their second seat.

Come on, Skiia, Vasily Gatutin said to himself. Come on, Skiia. Show us what you can do.

Skiia went through the first part of the third sector quickly. The mini-sectors were all showing either purple or green, something that pleased everyone in UrGa except for one man. And then as Vialiv entered the tight hairpin leading up to the final high speed section and the finish line, a puff of smoke appeared from her front right tire. She had locked up coming into the hairpin. UrGa hearts immediately jumped into their throats; a lock-up was never a good thing for anyone, least of all a driver aiming for provisional pole position on her one and only hot lap. However, Vialiv didn't look like the lock-up had fazed her much, if at all, and she rounded the hairpin just as if she hadn't just put a flat spot on her tire. Gatutin chanced a look at the delta sheet, specifically the mini-sector associated with the hairpin and its entry. The bar still showed green, but the gain there was nowhere near as large as what she had been getting in the other areas. “Damn,” Illarion Osipov said to Gatutin. “I hope that doesn't affect her time.”

“It shouldn't,” Gatutin said calmly. “She already has almost two seconds over everyone else who's already set a lap.”

Vialiv got through the rest of the hairpin, finally releasing her for the final push to the finish line. She opened up the DRS flap on her rear wing, giving her an additional twelve kilometers per hour to her top speed, and the GPC20-1 became a red and green blur as it sped down the main straight and across the finish line. Gatutin, whose eyes had been glued to the main screen on her console, immediately turned to look at the delta. Three purple sectors, 1:43.757. Provisional pole position for Skiia Vialiv.

“Mother of God,” Osipov said softly. “She did it, sir.”

“Indeed, she did,” Gatutin nodded. “Now let's see what the rest of the field has in them.”

UrGa's pride and joy proved to be short-lived however as just a few minutes later, William Archer, currently of Hapilopper's Preston Autos Grand Prix and a graduate and former member of the Urotovsky-Gatutin driver academy, set a lap time that was three-tenths faster than Vialiv. Archer had taken away the provisional pole from his former team. Eventually, Archer would also lose provisional pole position, and he would lose it to a most surprising driver: Bryce Yannec, the Mertagnian driver currently signed to Tumbra's Pressley Racing. Yannec had beaten Archer's time by 0.381 seconds, a literal chasm given the parity between all of the constructors that the preseason tests had shown everyone. Despite all of these, Skiia Vialiv was still the fifth fastest driver in qualifying for the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix, her highest qualifying position yet this season. It was Vialiv's best chance at finally opening her account in the drivers' championship, and everyone in UrGa (except for one man) hoped that she would finally take full advantage of it.

Matters were unfortunately not helped by the fact that Vialiv’s teammate Adonis Fitzpatrick was unable to take his car as fast as she did, qualifying down in P14 and looking like he would be unable to help out Skiia in moving up the field. However, Vasily Gatutin knew that Fitzpatrick was more than capable of bulldozing his way through the field and wasn’t worried at all. A potential double points finish was most definitely in the cards, and for Vialiv, a podium or maybe even a race win was also a distinct possibility. It was just a matter of finding the opportunities and taking advantage of all of them.

The first opportunity came when the safety car came out following Laura Haukanna’s early retirement from the race. Many of the frontrunners opted to take advantage of the free pit stop, with the only exception being William Archer, who was known for choosing to go long on his first stints in order to build gaps to the drivers nearest to him before finally pitting for soft tires and taking advantage of their speed on track to make up places or even overtake those in front of him before the stop. UrGa also decided to take a gamble by not ordering either Vialiv or Fitzpatrick into the pits as well, resulting in Vialiv taking up second place behind Archer. However, despite the best efforts of both Vialiv and her pit wall, William Archer simply got a better launch compared to Vialiv once the green flag waved again, and the Tropicorp driver was unable to catch up to Archer as he continued building a larger and larger gap to the rest of the field with his hard compound tires from, of all places, Tropicorp Racing Supply.

It appeared as if Skiia would have to settle for second place in the race given how consistently William Archer had been running on his hard tires for over twenty laps, but then around lap 22, Illarion Osipov came on the radio to say, “It looks like there might be a problem with Archer’s engine once again. There looks to be a problem with Archer’s engine again. This looks like your chance to take the lead. Go and take it.”

Vialiv didn’t need any encouragement. She immediately got to work, using up both her battery and her tires in order to narrow the gap that Archer had built up to her. In the end though, Vialiv didn’t even need to overtake Archer on track as the unfortunate Fleftic driver pulled into the pit lane on lap 23 on the orders of his team, thus putting an end to what was supposed to be the race in which he finally got back into contention for the drivers’ championship. Vasily Gatutin felt sorry for Archer, not only because of his previous connection with Urotovsky-Gatutin but also because Gatutin also understood the pain of missing out on a race win due to a mechanical failure after having dominated a race for so long. However, he didn’t let the emotion of the situation get the better of him; UrGa after all was the beneficiary of Archer and Preston’s misfortune. It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Pridnestrovian outfit yet though; both of their drivers still needed to come in for at least one pit stop to put on a different tire compound for the rest of the race.

The opportunity would come on lap 25. Or at least UrGa thought that the opportunity would come on lap 25. Viska Racing’s Aaron Deering fell victim to an ugly shunt that made Vasily Gatutin wince as he watched the incident unfold live before his eyes. As soon as the purple Viska machine had come to a rest and the nearby marshals started waving their yellow flags, Gatutin called out to the pit wall, “Bring them in. Double stack.”

Double stacking was not a thing that UrGa normally did for its drivers during races, however, due to the possibility that they could get both of their drivers into the points for the rest of the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix, Gatutin had decided that the risk would be worth it and he made the call. Skiia Vialiv, as the driver in the lead between the two UrGa cars, went in first. Her stop went off without a hitch, mediums to hards in just 2.6 seconds. Vialiv went out of the UrGa stall just in time for Donny Fitzpatrick to come in unimpeded and without waiting for a single second. However, when time came for the crew to replace Fitzpatrick’s tires with his own brand new set of hards, the crew suddenly suffered a problem with trying to remove his rear right tire. The tire getting stuck by itself was already stressful on its own, but then add to that the fact that race control had chosen not to deploy the safety car for Deering’s accident and suddenly Fitzpatrick started dropping down the ranks at a rate of knots. The crew was eventually able to remove the sticky tire and replace it with a new one, but the damage had already been done. Adonis Fitzpatrick had dropped out of the points, and it would only be further downhill for him from then on.

When it became clear that Fitzpatrick would be going nowhere in the race, most of UrGa’s attention was redirected on making sure that Skiia Vialiv would hold on to her lead. Or at least that was the plan, but Vialiv seemed to be doing fine all on her own without their help. Vialiv was just like Archer when she had finally gotten into the lead and into some clean air; she started building up a substantial gap between her and the rest of the field, and by the time she took the checkered flag, she had an unassailable sixteen-second lead over the next driver in the order, Nexus Racing’s Ryker Lane. Vasily Gatutin had kept his fingers crossed under his console as he watched the lap counter tick slowly towards lap 47, the final lap of the race, hoping that Vialiv wouldn’t fall to the same fate that had claimed William Archer’s race earlier. But no such problem struck Skiia Vialiv’s car, and it was plain sailing for the Tropicorp driver as she claimed her first ever WGPC victory in front of a jubilant home crowd.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Skiia’s engineer Illarion Osipov called out on the radio once she had crossed the line. “Fantastic job out there, Skiia. Congratulations on your first ever WGPC win! And in front of your home fans as well! I cannot imagine how much this moment must mean to you right now.”

“Skiia, this is Vasily Semyonovich,” Gatutin said through his own radio channel to the driver. “Congratulations on the win. It was well deserved by you and by the whole team. You have no idea how much this means, not only to me but to the whole UrGa organization as well. Again, congratulations on the win, Skiia. You deserve it.”

The Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division never really expected to be challenging either for the constructors’ championship or even just a race win in their very first season in WGPC, so it was fair to say that Skiia Vialiv’s win came as a welcome if unexpected surprise for the whole team. The crew were jumping around their area of the garage and the paddock celebrating Vialiv’s victory, and hidden caches of vodka were opened up as the crews toasted each other. It was fair to say that a lot of the red and green-clad personnel that made their way to the podium to celebrate Skiia’s win had imbibed more than just a sip of vodka, and their over-eager enthusiasm in singing the Pridnestrovian national anthem was just one sign of that. One crewman even brought with him a framed picture of Galdar Rodionovich Umayev, the first president of post-communist Pridnestrovia, and held it up over his head during the playing of the Pridnestrovian anthem and the awarding of the winner’s trophy to Vialiv and the winning constructor’s trophy to the UrGa representative. Some of the crew thought that it was a waste seeing all of that champagne being wasted, but others quickly assured them that there was more vodka back in the factory in Myrilsk that they could drink to their heart’s content.

Meanwhile, while all of that was happening, a stern-faced and steely-eyed Yakov Yurievsky watched the proceedings with a cold and calculating eye before slinking back into the shadows, like a predator who had just been outwitted by his prey.

---

UROTOVSKY–GATUTIN MOTORSPORTS DIVISION ✓

@URGA_Motorsports_ENG

We are aware of rumors surrounding our WGPC team's lineup going into the second half of Season 20. These are rumors which we aim to disprove right now. @donnyfitz74 and @Skiia will both remain with Urotovsky-Gatutin for the rest of the season, as per the contracts that both Adonis and Skiia signed in the preseason.

#WGPC : #WGPCSeason20 : #MidSeasonTest : #AstenaAsterwynthCircuit : #AContinuingPartnership

UROTOVSKY–GATUTIN MOTORSPORTS DIVISION ✓

@URGA_Motorsports_ENG

Nepö Kinder will take the place of @donnyfitz74 in both sessions of the midseason test in Atheara.

#WGPC : #WGPCSeason20 : #MidSeasonTest : #AstenaAsterwynthCircuit

[TJUN-ia]

It was that time again...and this time, the final time before a well-earned break. WGPC's 20th Season has felt like a long-awaited return, one filled with drama and intrigue from the very first wheel turn. Everyone knew that things have been pretty entertaining already but now, we had one more race before the summer break and the fans were very excited indeed. The Nimban Grand Prix was always going to be a great event, no matter what actually happened, and both TJUN-ian drivers entered this event looking to try and make some serious inroads once those 5 lights went out. Both Batu Tüvshinbayar (P24) and Lane Carter (P28) would be starting far down the grid after a disaster of a Qualifying and both of them were hoping for better...but would that come to pass?

This race would be chaos right from the off as Adriana Kowalski Lilian retired on the very first lap, with iBen Toralmintii and Kingston Walcott following suit on laps 5 and 8 respectively. Then things calmed down for a bit as moves were made, pitstops occurred and everyone tried to get into a stable rhythm on this famous track. Then Sophie McCreary retired on Lap 26 and brought out the SC, causing chaos with the strategies and the like, a feat that would be repeated when Ryker Lane's DNF on Lap 37 brought out the 2nd SC. After that, the rest of the race played out with Lillý Náttmörðsdóttir and Adonis Fitzpatrick retiring on the same lap out of circumstance and that's that.

In the end, it would end up being Janne Laukkanen who claimed the race win over Cocoabo #23 and Ji So-Yeong with Skiia Vialiv, Brendan Faloe, Sara Luna, Sam Blaatschappen, Anneliese Devereux, Rudy Edwards and Angela Tan Fang Ling rounding out the Top 10. Jordan Crowe ended up just outside in P11 with Batu and Lane both a lap down in P15 and P18 respectively. After that, it would mean that Cocoabo #23 leads the Championship by 2 points with Lane in Tied-6th and Batu in Tied-18th while Race Eelandii VTGP leads the Constructors by 8 points with Orange Cow in 12th now that Tropicorp-Colourworks finally got off the board. The overall situation wasn't the best for Lane, but Batu seemed happy to just be on the board if nothing else.

Now the grid will head out to Astena Asterwynth Circuit in Atheara for the Mid-Season Test and due to all the chaos that has been flown around, especially with some Test Drivers being involved and some drivers not performing at their best, Lane felt it best to try and pull some magic out of a hat and produce a trick that he learned from Will Archer - hospitality. The Impromptu Bash from WGPC18 helped Will put a spring in his step and the performances showed...so maybe Lane should do something similar in order to give everyone a well-earned break. He hoped Will would be fine with him taking his idea but at the same time...he knew it had to be done.

An Invitation, Sent Out To All Drivers/Test Drivers On The WGPC Grid

Dear _________,

To celebrate the Mid-Season Break,
you are warmly invited to the

WGPC Impromptu Bash II: TJUN-ian Boogaloo

At a venue near the Astena Asterwynth Circuit, Atheara.

Bringing your own food may be required, but drinks will certainly be provided at my expense.

Any Inquires, please pass down to lcarter@jagwire.tj.un

[Esmerel]

CHAPTER 9
It Took Some Imagination

Probably the only issue with Jean Mercer-Daly’s semi-retirement was that there were no clear high moments left for him.

What it meant was that things seemed to move by at a constant pace, leaving little time to focus, to improve, to… Well, it wasn’t clear what it meant, and that was also a problem. It wasn’t unnatural; the living mind wasn’t always a perfect extension of intent. If someone didn’t do much in their life; didn’t make many impressions or have moments to make impressions of, it was obvious that it would feel different, and… perhaps unenviable. That was what Jean felt now. He still believed it was right for him to hang up his helmet (for the most part), especially after the trauma caused to him and how he was never the same afterward. Even as he needed time to get settled into the seat, Janne Laukkanen was proving himself a worthy successor, both to Jean and to his fellow countryman Terho Talvela.

Yet as it would to anyone, it stung that Jean had decided he was through with his greatest life dream for the last 20 years and had no idea where to go next. He had left his mark; three domestic GT championships and several worthwhile efforts in the WGPC, counting to six wins and many other close calls. But the clock seemed to be ticking, and Jean felt that he had to find an answer to his question. He wasn’t huge on philosophy, wondering what the point of life was or anything like that. But with good fortune, he could expect to live for another 60 years or so. That was longer than he’d done so far, and it had already felt like an eternity. What could fill the void in the future?

It was something about the Nimban Grand Prix weekend that made him think about these things a little more. One reason did come to mind, even if Jean wasn’t sure it was the answer. He could sympathize with them. The same way that he and others would start to lose memory of inconsequential events, the Nimbans had had the same happen to… well, all events, at least in a comparable fashion. The atmosphere in the First City and the Wardship beyond felt like the people were all still “waking up” from that condition. Some were more awake than others.

It was equally possible that Jean’s mental state the last few years had been a part of this, but he didn’t know. It wasn’t important for him to dwell on it, anyway. He was looking to the future, even if that scared him just as much. Doing that still seemed to accomplish little, either. All throughout the weekend, Jean had tried to keep up appearances, sitting in with Nexus at the concert, the lectures, and trying his hand at the radio car tournament (he assumed it was a mistake his name wasn’t on the scoring sheet, though he had failed to qualify anyhow). All throughout the weekend, those appearances had made little impact. It was interesting to hear of all the potential of Imagination, its applications in Nexus Racing, and the Nimban take on economics and other commercial events such as the GP itself. But, having worked with this culture for years now, Jean heard little that he hadn’t already.

At the same time, he didn’t know how much other people were remembering and thinking of him, now that he had stepped out of the driver’s seat. Not that he cared, but the question was always there, and it never hurt to look your best. What was Jean doing that made an impact? He had stuck with the team to test all their upgrades and setups and provide feedback, but did it matter? Max had seamlessly become Janne’s race engineer, providing far more support as a mentor than Jean was- even Ryker Lane could claim to be doing more if he wanted. There had been countless possibilities for Jean, and not all of them had to come true, but it felt like almost none of them did.

Eventually came the race, held around the scenic Crossbay Circuit for the fifth time, and Jean entered the experience with an almost empty mind. Ryker and Janne had both qualified spectacularly, but Jean wasn’t looking at that. He just felt… present. Sleepwalking, even. Everything just felt like a cluster of words and sounds, none of which slipped past him, of course, but it was almost purposeless at first glance. There wasn’t really a start or an end to his thoughts, or his attention.

Yet it started to change as Jean watched the TV feed, always peeking at the timing tower to see Janne’s gap to the cars behind hold firm. Car #17 had passed its competitors, and was proving its worth, using all of the knowledge and power it had been given by a caring team. It stung, then, to see its sister car, #94, fail to finish the race in a major incident just past halfway. But its driver was alright (or so Jean interpreted it anyway), and fortune still favored Nexus in a partial yet still generous manner.

The laps continued to wind down, and Janne maintained his lead, constantly guided and praised by an ecstatic Max. As everything came closer and closer to a finality, Jean saw it more and more. He started to understand again. What it was that made this team work before, and why it had helped them again now. It took Imagination to get the car moving, but it took imagination- not the Nimban one, the pure concept- to believe and see a desire through. To focus on the best outcome, and how nice it would feel, and wanting to fuel that desire ever further to actually achieve it.

The last lap came, and Jean stood up from his seat, watching the monitor as Janne still casually drove his Chase Cutter around the circuit. Turn after turn, he continued his task, the same way Jean could remember doing in days of old- better days, at least in his mind. Everyone in the Nexus garage kept cheering on the Abovian as he pursued his first victory in a Grand Prix. Jean hadn’t understood the feeling of progress, of victory, for a long time. Yet it washed over him as it once did, almost forcibly returning him to his senses. This was a moment that Jean would remember. That he felt he had played a part in- what its true impact was, he didn’t know. But it was something.

He didn’t yet know if he was truly back. But he wasn’t sleepwalking anymore.

As Janne rounded the final corners, Jean and several members of the crew leapt out of the garage, across the pit lane, and onto the fencing to cheer the eight-wheeled Chase Cutter across the finish line. The team had done it. They were back for the first time in a long time. It wasn’t just one person.

It felt like everyone had woken up- fully awake.

-

After the race, the media corner was abuzz, with drivers and team members alike speaking to the camera and to the viewing audience, giving them more glimpses into the world of the WGPC than simply watching the cars compete. Jean simply stood nearby and watched Janne give his post-race interview- in which he was clearly elated, or so Jean heard, to have finally made it this far. After a minute or two, Janne finished his interview, but then waved over towards Jean- signaling him in for one.

While Jean hadn’t been expecting, he wasn’t entirely averse to an interview. Janne stepped out of frame as the interviewer and cameraperson turned their attention towards one Jean Mercer-Daly.

“Jean Mercer-Daly, the weekend for Nexus has resulted in a strong and what many would say is a deserved victory for the team. Tell us, what’re you thinking?” was the interviewer’s first question.

“It’s honestly… I can’t believe I’m standing here, talking about this,” Jean started. “Like, in a good way. I feel incredible about the performance gains Nexus have made to catch back up, I’m really proud of Janne and all his efforts to get into a competitive seat on the grid, even if I made it a bit harder… I felt an excitement I haven’t felt in a long time seeing his car take the checkered flag first. Proud of everyone.”

“As the team’s test driver and reserve, do you think you’ve played a part in helping get to this point?” was the next question.

“I think… Yeah, I think I’ve done a good job helping,” Jean replied. “I do what I can with my input and helping Ryker, Janne, and everyone else understand where it is we need to focus on to improve. I don’t know how much I’ve helped, I’ll always be honest about that, but… I know without a doubt I have. We’ve all done a great job saving the team from disaster.”

“The team definitely has been saved. After a finish of 10th in the constructors’ last season, you’ve climbed back up to 3rd at the halfway point of this year, 9 points behind the leader. Do you think the team could do two better and earn their first Constructors’ Championship from here?”

“...I’m not one to make speculations,” Jean said. “But the odds look good, there’s a lot of tracks that favor a good engine coming up in the second half; we can push hard knowing that we’ve got the car to compete, and I might know a thing or two about the last track on the calendar. We’ve got to have a chance to fight this year, absolutely.”

“One more for you before we move on, we were wondering if you had any comments about a particular other team in the field… Cygnus, from your home country of Esmerel. Anything to say about them?”

__________

“The team is great,” replied Brendan Faloe to a very similar question, later during the interviews. “I really think this is where we should be competing, and where we can. We had some beginning teething issues, but now that we’ve ironed those out, and learned from our mistakes, we’ve found our place in the pecking order. We can get points when they’re in our favor, and if we have a really good chance we can get even more of them.”

“And adding onto that, Cygnus was the only team to walk away from this race with both cars in the points; your teammate Angela Stella finished in 10th for her first World Championship point, any thoughts on those?”

“My engineer told me on the radio,” Brendan replied. “I am seriously proud of everyone, and of Angela especially. These past 3 weeks have been really special for us, even through the challenges… First points, then a front row lockout, and now double points. It’s all very good.”

“Any last thoughts on what the team might have in store for the second half?”

“Saw us today? There’s more where that came from,” Brendan proudly stated.

-

Brendan proudly walked back to the motorhome and into the debriefing room, where he met a jubilant team celebrating their work for the day.

Dr. Elerson, Lianna, Cole, Carol, and a few other team technicians sat at the table, waiting to all discuss the race and what came next. Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling entered the room some time after, as well as Olivia Stone and Baxen Aurora.

“Angela!” Brendan tried to approach his teammate, as the rest of the room also celebrated her achievement. “Nice job on your first point; it’ll only get better from here.”

Angela, however, seemed to only just acknowledge Brendan’s comment, continuing to walk to her place at the table and sitting down. Out of respect, Brendan didn’t pursue the matter.

“It’s official now,” said Dr. Emerson, as the entire major team sat down to debrief. “We have survived the first half of the season.” He paused. “Nineteen points so far, 10th in the Constructors’ Championship, and even a pole position. The sponsors have not yet given me their opinion, but… We are at least well on track for my goals this season. Let them think what they like.”

“Brendan, Angela, you both did great out there,” Lianna spoke. “Any comments on how the cars felt? Ideas where to improve first?”

“...The setup worked like a charm,” Brendan said. “We’ll probably just be aiming for the usual with the rest of the tracks. As for performance, nothing exactly wowed me, to be honest… But it was still good; it kept me running near the front all race. Cole had some good ideas from practice- and, of course, Olivia was a big help. She knew how to translate her experience here in a way that I just clicked with.”

“...What of our future prospects, Brendan?” Lianna asked.

“Tracks ahead of us suit our car a little, don’t they?” Brendan noted. “Aggression’s the key, but I don’t know if we can do much better with that. The car already rockets forward. I think we should cover our bases.”

“That’d be the aerodynamics and the reliability departments, right?” Lianna asked. “Alright. We’ll get researching on any small improvements we can, and do what we can legally manage with our engine supply in regards to that section. Any objections?”

The rest of the team agreed with Brendan’s idea- he knew as much about the field as many of them did.

“Very well. We have upgrades almost ready to be tested at the midseason test in Atheara,” said Lianna, “which will then be race-ready for round 6, but we’ll see what else we can fit, and what comes after that.”

“Yes, we’ll take our development in that direction,” Dr. Emerson confirmed. “Given that the seasons here are short and far apart, we’ll have enough time afterward for development of the next chassis. So long as we manage our funds well, which I will say… is looking good right now. I’ve been looking to delegate more of my current tasks to new team members, and they have been working well to manage our sponsor and investor relationships. Next on the list… Cole, Carol. Have you been settling into the job? How are things?”

“...Bit late to be asking that, but what do I know?” Cole commented. “Right now I feel like I have some disagreements with how this team works, but don’t pursue me on those.”

“Why shouldn’t we?”

“I don’t know, I just… I can’t really put them into words,” Cole explained. “Guess I’m just hoping things go better than they’ve threatened to end up.”

“You can do us well, Cole, and so long as that happens, we won’t let you down in return,” Dr. Emerson stated. “We haven’t had a single conscious thought to play it safe or relax. It is, unfortunately, sink or swim here, and we do need to sharpen up as you’ve wished.”

“It wouldn’t do us good to ignore how the team’s morale is, right?” Carol noted. “I pay attention to that, and some members certainly do have low morale. We should do what we can to mitigate that.”

“There’s only so much we can do with morale, Carol,” Cole said.

“And only so much we can do by endlessly pushing,” Carol countered. “If you want to compromise, we can, but it can’t be all you.”

“I hear you both, I have been hearing you both,” Dr. Emerson interjected. “We’ll find a solution to all our issues. We’ve found a few already. Even if it’ll still be challenging to keep going, we will find more. Now… Are we all feeling good? Better that we’ve done our part to help the team’s cause this weekend?”

Most everyone in the room agreed with Dr. Emerson.

“Good. Now, for what’s fast approaching. I trust that most if not all of you have been introduced to miss Olivia Stone,” Dr. Emerson said, nudging the room’s view towards Olivia. A few team members smiled and waved. “We’ve signed her on as our reserve, giving her the opportunity to keep her skills sharp as she missed a race seat this season. Additionally, I have reached out to the WGPO and successfully lobbied to make test drivers officially scored, with the discretion of their teams, at the mid-season test in Atheara. Unfortunately, the hosts would not budge on one important condition.” He paused. “Any test driver would have to replace a single race driver for both the morning and afternoon test sessions. With that in mind, I had to make a difficult decision. …Brendan?”

“Yes?”

“I’m afraid you’ll be sitting out the mid-season test in favor of Olivia,” Dr. Emerson announced.

Brendan thought of a reply, but couldn’t find one. “...Okay, so… Anyone have anything extra to ask? Comms questions, media questions, anything else?” he asked the room.

“...It doesn’t appear so. Thank you, everyone. You’re dismissed; let’s get packing up for HQ,” Lianna declared.

-

Brendan waited outside the debriefing room for a few minutes. Eventually, Dr. Emerson emerged, noticing his driver.

“Brendan… Anything you wanted to ask?” he said.

“...I wanted to say I’m not mad,” Brendan began, “but I am confused. I thought you hired me because I could be like a test driver in the race. Wouldn’t I be a better fit?”

“Your race seat is still secure, as is Angela’s; it was just the decision I came to,” Dr. Emerson noted.

“Alright, but that tells me nothing,” Brendan retorted. “I… I guess in this situation, it makes sense to prefer the driver with more actual race experience, but… Well, never mind that, really… I need to ask you something else. Is… Is there anything wrong with Angela? She barely celebrated scoring her first point.”

Dr. Emerson waited a few seconds to reply. “From what I and Carol understand… she’s quite desperately feeling the pressure of her seat,” he said, making sure only Brendan was listening. “You’ve scored eighteen points, and she’s scored just one. I’ve tried to tell her it’s just poor fortune, but… Well, quite justifiably… She's torn. She doesn’t like losing all these opportunities to do more.”

“I’d feel the same in her position,” Brendan acknowledged. “Are you sure you’re reading her right? …Not that I’d be the expert, but…”

“I can’t say. But I’ve tried to help where I can,” Dr. Emerson admitted. “I have had media questions regarding her, asking if I’ve considered replacing her, especially with signing Olivia as reserve. But I’ve rebutted every one of those questions. Her seat is secure, and Carol’s trying as well. So… I admit that bringing her to the test and not you is an act of good will towards her. I have reason to believe it’ll bolster her spirits coming into the second half of the schedule. That, and perhaps refresh her on just driving a well-working car and learning how to utilize it. Like anyone should, I believe what she’s shown so far is not what she can actually do in the right place at the right time. So we’re going to keep working on it, and by the time we reach the next race weekend we’ll be a team refined and ready to go.”

“Alright, yeah. I guess I can still help interpret the data at the test, can’t I?” Brendan asked.

“No regulations against that from the hosts, no. Just… I think we should give Angela her space, just for now,” Dr. Emerson said. “I am nervous to say some of this. I hope I’m not intruding too deeply. But I wanted you to know, and I still have faith that it’ll work out. She just needs a break from the pressure- and this week will provide that. Possibly even beyond.”

“...Does that mean you’re giving Cole to Olivia?” Brendan asked. “I… I don’t know if that’s the best fit.”

“She’ll have Baxen with her, too,” Dr. Emerson clarified. “And you can help as well. But yes, Cole should work with her at the test. Trust the process. He’ll know what to do and what not to do.”

“...I wouldn’t have agreed at the start of the season,” Brendan said. “But I think I can trust in this now.”

“Trust is all we need right now, Brendan. All we need.”

[Diarcesia]

Ted Love

Ted Youngman, Team Operations Manager

After the first few races in WGPC 20, Pryfors Bilar had come a long way from their humble beginnings to where they were now; a competitive team with high hopes of winning a race within this season. Last season was somewhat of an eye-opener for Diarcesian motorsports fans, who witnessed how far the domestic scene could go when pushed to its very limits by an ambitious squad like the one under Aldauren Ginintella's stewardship. In addition to that, new internal controls and a greater degree of transparency in the team's operations had helped to lift their profile and boost their popularity even further.

Pryfors Bilar was one of those teams who were considered favourites to win races within this WGPC campaign. However, that didn't mean much when you consider how competitive the field is right now as well as other factors like tyre management during races and weather conditions playing against them at times. That said, it was clear that they've put together a solid car this time around which gave them enough potential to challenge for race wins throughout their campaign if everything goes according to plan on race weekends. So far however, results have been mixed with a double points finish being elusive after the inaugural race.

All of that was on the minds of the team's staff members as they waited to see how their drivers would fare this weekend. It wasn't yet clear whether they were going to convert their good starting positions to points, nothing is guaranteed. That said, it was important for them to keep up with their current pace and capitalise on opportunities where possible during Sunday's race. There were near the midseason after all which would give both Laura Haukanna and Sam Blaatschapen a wide berth in the championship fight if things went well in the Wardship

''How are we looking so far?'' asked Aldauren as he walked over to Ted Youngman who had just stepped out from his office at the moment. "So far so good," replied Ted with an optimistic smile. "The forecast looks pretty stable according to our meteorologists." "That is always reassuring," continued Aldauren while making hand gestures towards his eyes which signified that he had readjusted his (cosmetic) glasses back onto his face, "I will be heading into race control now before it starts. Will you be joining me later?" "I will join you shortly once I have made sure everything is alright here first," answered Ted while also fixing his hair using both hands. "Have a good time then," said Aldauren while making his way and leaving Ted behind.

Once he had left, Ted made sure that everything was in order back at his desk before walking out of the team area and joining other members of staff as they were waiting for cars to start coming through Parc Ferme. He looked around himself, taking note of certain things such as how people interact with each other here or there... it was hard not to be impressed by Pryfors Bilar's operations even though he had been working with them for multiple years now. It wasn't just about having great drivers either; you need an all-around effort put into place from your management, engineering and operational staff along with sponsorship deals done right if you want any chance at succeeding in the WGPC level. All those pieces fall together very well this season which is why Pryfors Bilar have become more reliable in a results perspective thus far compared to previous years where their performance had been more erratic overall.

Sam Blaatschapen's Lap Times
Lap: 7 | Time: 01:28.746 | Fastest Lap 01:27.691 by Laura Haukanna (GPA Pryfors Bilar)
Lap: 14 | Time : 01:28.547| Fastest lap by Ryker Lane (Nexus Racing)

Spice and Wolf

The Nimban Grand Prix is a recherché event in the Nexus Wardship, where the most versatile drivers are tested and scrutinized. It is one of the few races where you can find almost every type of driver, from those who try to overcome their shortcomings with brute force to the masters in finesse, who will try to show that it's not about how much horsepower your engine makes but what you do with it.

Sara took her position in 23^rd place. She would have to fight hard through the field.

She wasn't worried, though. She had fought her way from deep in the back in the grid to well within points range before and she was going to do it again today. As the lights went out, she moved away from her spot as if shot by an invisible slingshot and rocketed past a few cars. By lap eight, turn one, she was in 14^th place.

She had a strategy in mind and stuck to it, until lap 34. Her tyres were getting worn out too fast for her liking and she was having trouble keeping up with the pace of those around her. She decided that, instead of waiting for the end of the race as planned, she would pit before lap 40 so that new rubber could be put on her car. Lap 38 went by with a Ryker Lane-triggered safety car; Sara pitted immediately. She was not happy with her pit stop, and swore to herself that she would have a word with the mechanics afterwards.

Her strategy worked again as she shot past more cars as soon as the green flag came down. She didn't allow herself to get too excited by then though, knowing full well what challenges lay ahead before crossing the finish line. Lap 59 saw her with an all but guaranteed points finish. Additionally, she was behind Sam Blaatschapen once again: a rematch of their duel in the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix.

Täitä etteremät. I'm going to overtake the hotshot this time.

Sara, the Chiyginian-Diarcesian, kept close behind the Odrioyan-Diarcesian until turn seven, where the Viska car made a move on the inside of the Pryfors Bilar. Unlike last time, Sara overtook Sam before the latter registered what happened. She was certain that Blaatschapen would try to retaliate, and retaliate she did. To no avail though; Sara, the more experienced driver, saw through each of the younger one's moves.

Sara drove the last few laps with a massive, smoldering plume of smoke trailing behind her car.

"Sara, do you need to retire the car?" Jan asked.

"Nie. At this point, pray that the engine holds to the finish line. No loss on performance."

Running the risk of imminent failure, Sara and Pleiades persevered all the way to the checkered flag. By that point, the car's speed and engine RPMs were certainly not at full potential, but her gap to Sam was way more than enough for her to secure P6. She was promptly instructed to stop the car at the earliest opportunity.

In terms of points, Sara Luna's Nimban GP performance would mean that her points extends to 18 and with 5 more races to go, the Diarcesian driver is in the middle of the WGPC Drivers' Championship standings.

After a long and exciting first half of the season, the time had come for the teams to go back home for some well-deserved R&R after months of work. While it's looking like an uphill climb at this point, anything can happen with 9 points separating 1^st from joint-3^rd places in terms of standings... and that means that there's a lot to fight for as we move into what should be an interesting final five rounds. Stay tuned to find out what happens next as the second half of the season unfolds!

---

It was hoped Sara would be able to make it to Lane Carter's impromptu bash. She didn't really know him that well but she did hear that he was a good guy and just wanted to celebrate the mid-season break with everyone... something that could hopefully bring some positive energy into things as well. Lane knew Sara's prowess in both driving skill and her ability to get along with others, so it would be interesting indeed to see how she fares in this event.

[Lisander]

<< Previously | Next >>

XIX. Gaming Girls

Hey, hello. I'm so sorry, but I won't be able to appear at the event you invited me. I know I'm a very difficult person to attend stuff and that I have missed other events before. But this time, unfortunately, I wouldn't even be in Atheara. Eminent will have a driver testing at my #7 in my place. Anyways, thanks for remembering me.
Cheers,
Anneliese

"I wish these people wouldn't invite us to events so close to the date. Sorry for leaving the lobby, I had to answer an invitation" - LadySeven opened her mic again, excusing herself for leaving.

"Don't fret over it, my dear. They are aware you're a professional and have other events to grace with your presence." - the young female voice through the headphones was verbose in a different way. That was Arturia Nero, or better saying, QueenNero.

"Yup, Liese, don't worry. It could be worse, they could have searched you in paddock. However, they would only find Arturia there." - a third female voice, with a peculiar accent, also talked to her. That came from lalaina_merina, that was, in fact, Lianna Rasianoara, AOGP driver.

All of them were in the lobby of ProRace, a famous Online Racing Sim. ProRace, a new title, was the evolution of ProDrive, a famous Open-World Racing Sim, a successful game that has thousands of fans in Lisander and is one of the flagships of Frontier Games, along Nautika, the famous sailing game. And as expected, having three top-tier female drivers in a live stream was some big advertising from the developer.


"But it's quite sad the guys in Frontier Games could find a time that would match both ours and Meliné Agrakian's schedules. Would be great to have all of us racing together." - Anneliese let a sigh escape.

"Well, she's probably sleeping, so there's no way she would lose it to play some Sim. We have to remember the difference in time from Valkea to Lisander. It's morning in Alice Bay right now, in case you don't remind. I just had breakfast while you were dining.

"Yup,time zones. That's why we've been able to watch WGPC and AstyF1 on Sunday mornings instead of afternoons. I failed two tries at First Communion classes because I spent my Sunday mornings watching races instead of going to biblical lessons. Grandma was pretty religious, I think I disappointed here by never finishing it 'in proper age', probably". - Arturia said, remembering some of her childhood.

"Back at home, no one was religious. I had nothing between myself and the TV. Father was also a racing lover, so I could indulge without worry. However, St. Marian is a religious school, so I had to attend all masses and prayers as well as classes."

"Dad's an Atheist, and Mom follows aboriginal beliefs, so I have nothing to say about Aristotelic Church things, sorry." - Lianna said, holding a giggle. She knew that wouldn't be good to talk more about religion, even less be seen of heard laughing about it. "Let's talk about a different thing. So, Arturia, how do you feel about your first test with a WGPC car? I can relate, when I remember of my brief stint at WGP2 two seasons ago, but judging by the cars' differences, I believe you're very excited. Even you, that acts inexpressive most of the time, should be a lot excited about it.

"I've tried both Bitten Heroes and Sidus simulators, and I've been studying the Sidus engines for some time, from the guides and regulations. I'm adamantly sure that I'll be around to get some good results in Atheara. By the way, people sometimes say I'm the 'cool beauty'. I don't feel like that, for me, it's like being more serious. That's the result of fencing training, lots of books and plenty of Sim Racing." - Arturia said, while driving a lap around a virtual version of the Ramgardian Grand Prix.

"If someone had said you're the lost young sister of Darius Castellammare, I'd not doubt. you look so proud-spirited sometimes. It's like you're a queen."

As soon as Lianna finished that sentence, there was a sudden torrent of emoji including "crown" "queen" and sword". Talk about loyal fanbase.

"So, you're quite the reader." - Arturia giggled, pointing the bottom left of the screen, where her username could be read.