World Grand Prix Championship 21 [RP/results]

by **Diarcesia** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 7:55 pm

Grand Prix Auto Pryfors Bilar Announces Livery Reveal, Diarcesiac Erogram Title Sponsorship

Ahead of the Abovian Grand Prix, speculation of the PF-3s' final appearance were put to rest when team principal Aldauren Ginintella pulled the covers to reveal the official WGPC 21 livery of Pryfors Bilar. Whereas all PB's appearances in the test events had the cars clad in camouflage, the revealed cars were in the usual black and orange. One major detail is the prominence of the Diarcesiac Erogram (Diarcesian Latin: Diarcesiaces Aerogrammes) decal in the sidepods, simultaneous with the announcement of the full name of the team for the season: Grand Prix Auto Pryfors Bilar Diarcesiaces Aerogrammes.

As the Monarchy Diarcesian's flag carrier, the Diarcesiac Erogram operates four main hubs distributed in the mainland. The Erogram flies to numerous destinations internationally and multiversally, showcasing the Diarcesian golden experience to travelers local and foreign alike. In addition to the airline's retro wordmark adorning the PF-3s, its iconic Hespera mascot decorates the cars' rear wing.

Number 37: Laura Haukanna, of Auruna

Number 33: Sam Blaatschapen, of Diarcesia

In the press conference during the livery reveal, Sam Blaatschapen was asked what she thought of the car: "It has a new engine, it has a new chassis, it's simpler to operate. It's an ambitious gamble for us and almost cost us our participation in this season. But the tests we had so far, it's some of the best I've been through. Car is very nimble around corners and it is very fun to drive. I have high hopes that we will have a competitive season." Then, she added with a chuckle, "...I like the livery too. Even the drivers were kept in the dark until the last moment."

"Aposdosa os Paradosa" ("Performance as Tradition")

The Phoenician Tires company specialises in high-quality, high-performance rims and tyres for road and track use. They were founded in 1922 and are still in business to this day. Its founder is Ǧnziza of Kos, the grandson of the great general and statesman Pippin of Kos, who was heavily involved in the making of the Phoenician Road and Tread Light traditions. His partner is Herculex Catsar, who specialised in producing rim-tyre variations on the classic designs. As a test of its craft, their products handled the rigour the races required and saw success in consecutive World Grand Prix Organization-sanctioned events.

In Motion is a specialist manufacturer of performance race tyres and the first to use Imagination-forged materials in their products. Established by young spousal team Celia and Grace Speck in the First City of the Nexus Wardship, their insightful and bold approach to racing tyre design has won them contracts from Nexus Racing and Viska Racing and seen them consistently compete with the most successful tyre suppliers in World Grand Prix competition.

Starting with WGPC 19, Phoenician and In Motion have collaborated to produce tyres that bring the best of both of their work to the grid. As part of this partnership, In Motion recognizes the proficiency and expertise present in Phoenician's products and personnel and have drawn upon their latest discoveries and insights in the Imagination-imbued, characteristically frustal "Bluebird" racing tyres under the joint Phoenician-In Motion brand. For teams opting for more conventional rubber, the "Blackbird" is available for use, with similar performance characteristics as the Bluebirds and using In Motion’s Imagination-forged rubber.

Conventional Tyres

The standard of motorsport rubber, the Phoenician-In Motion Blackbirds originate from the proven Phoenician Wanda performance tyres and are combined with In Motion's Imagination-forged material. This slick tyre delivers the ideal balance between staying power and surface grip in a given situation. The product provides five compounds with colour-coded labels, ranging from the orange Hi-Rel (hardest, longest-lasting) to the heliotrope Hi-Trac (softest, grippiest).

Where slick tyres fail in wet weather, the new Starfield product line is there to help keep the race cars running. Wet-dry intermediate and full-wet variants are available choices to cover light or heavy rain situations. The cutting edge Starfield's A.I.-assisted development made use of the latest in Diarcesian engineering and generative A.I. technology to produce a range of rain tyres with superior grip, safety margins, and longevity. The specially-designed tread features seven "starburst" grooves that channel water away from the contact patch while maintaining solid grip.

Frustal Tyres

Phoenician-In Motion’s proven frustum-shaped 595 mm tyres continues in presence in WGPC 21. Glowing with Imagination for self-repairing properties and equipped with most advanced array of sensors in any WGP racing tyre, this slick tyre offers everything a team needs to steal a march on the competition. Tyres will come in ultra, super and regular hard and soft compounds for a total of six, offering incredible strategic versatility for any on-track situation.

Nebula-brand tyres offer all the mechanical advantages of frustal tyres for wet-weather driving. These tyres now use Imagination-imbuing to maintain optimal temperature through the cold of the rain, extending their life and keeping them glued to the track. Intermediate and wet tyres return, joined by a new tyre designated ‘Changeable’. This tyre has a full contact patch in dry conditions but sections of its rubber are Imagination-imbued to expand in response to moisture, opening up grooves in the tyre during rain; this makes it ideal to avoid being caught out by light showers or a drying track.

RP Credit: The Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System

by **Aboveland** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 9:33 pm

Terve til Fjellutfordring!
The city of Avsidesliggendevuoret returns for a second consecutive year on the WGPC calendar, with the renovated Fjellutfordring circuit slated to place Aboveland as the season opener for the first time. The new-look Fjellutfordring evokes the original circuit layout, which made its debut as the first-ever WGPC sprint weekend, sacrificing some top speed to offer a shorter, more competitive layout — and rumors suggest that another modification could be on the cards for WGPC22.

Fjellutfordring has hosted the Abovian Grand Prix twice before, with then-reigning and eventual world champion Terho Talvela taking an emphatic pole position in his WGPC14-throwback liveried Tropicorp Racing Ælund machine in the WGPC18 weekend's one-shot qualifying session — the first time ever the drivers had taken to the tarmac. Talvela would go on to swap places with an inspired iBen Toralmintii in the feature race, trailing the Turorian in a 1-2 finish for the Abovian outfit, while Nimban Ryker Lane took top honors in the subsequent sprint to become the first back-to-back winner of the Abovian Grand Prix, with his maiden victory in Lintulahti coming the year prior.

The circuit's location in central Aboveland in the medium-sized city of Avsidesliggendevuoret means that it's straightforward to reach via air or road, from either Vankkavalta or Iskajärvi. The city is smaller than other urban centers in Aboveland, but larger than the large town of Lintulahti, previously host to the grand prix. Visitors will find a city sprawled across the rolling hills and rocky outcroppings of the Abovian taiga, with an ample selection of central and off-the-beaten-path accomodations.

Circuit width representative of real layout
A lap of Fjellutfordring

The circuit widens as the start/finish straight leads into turn one, a prime overtaking spot with a wide gravel runoff at the end which assures that first-corner heroics turn costly for the over-ambitious. The track opens up again towards turn two, as it begins to rise across the fast and bumpy esses at three and four. Turn five is a flat, hard-braking right hander, where drivers will have to make a move and force it to stick through the kink at six and cement it at turn seven. Towards turn eight, the circuit rises again, before the off-camber right-hand sweeper leads off onto the highest part of the circuit, onto the sweeping crest of the also off-camber and grass-runoff turn nine. With drivers accelerating back out towards turn ten, the circuit begins to drop near its apex, as it falls across the follow-through of ten to its lowest point, the tight, walled hairpin at 11. On exit, drivers rise sharply into turn 12 towards the start-finish straight, where the circuit levels off to complete the lap.

Additional notes

The unusually early calendar slot offered to Fjellutfordring circuit means that the Abovian Grand Prix will likely take place in ambient temperatures hovering around freezing. Teams are advised to take special precautions with engine cooling and tyre warming devices, and should be aware that existing computer simulations and calculations for cooling and aerodynamic efficiency might be unrepresentative of real-world conditions. The circuit surface will be periodically warmed and maintained by specially-equipped snowplows with heating elements and heating lamps, especially in the event of liquid precipitation, which may freeze over, or snow. In addition, early morning and late-evening sessions may be held in dawn or dusk conditions, further lowering temperatures and visibility on track.

Iskajärvi, Aboveland

"So first, we have the garden — the realtor started off here, but disclaimer, I might not follow the original tour plan —; heated pool and cold plunge, can you believe it?"

Ted's eyes gleamed as he turned away from his backyard to face Janne, eyes squinted as he stepped out from the living room onto the stone tile and into the bright overcast noon. Just as they'd agreed in Auruna, it was finally time for Janne's tour of the Tumbran's new million-turkki home. For starters, the Abovian had kept to himself that he loathed where he'd bought the house. The Jäkäläharjanne suburb of Iskajärvi was a far cry from his own centrally located, riviera-based loft; though it had started life as a high-class haven, it had recently boomed with a crass nouveau riche crowd with a burning desire to be far away from everything and absolutely dependent on their cars to buy a carton of eggs. It seemed that whoever had strung Ted along — he wondered whether Ted had seen any other houses before settling on this one, in this suburb — had mercifully decent taste, though, because the house, though brand new, was tasteful in Janne's preferred way: well detailed and rife with local accents in birch, pine, and granite stone.

"There you have the sauna — you might need to help me set it up... is any setting up to do?"

Ted walked around the entire garden while Janne stood just outside of the sliding glass doors. Vapor wisped gently off of the surface of the pool, and it swirled as the Tumbran walked beside it, clinging onto his fleece and jeans. The cold plunge to the side burbled with the spray of the jets of water underneath the surface. As he showed the sauna off and opened its door, he glanced inside and then looked back complicity, smirking, at Janne. "All to ourselves, this one. Isn't it great?" Janne grinned back and nodded, hands cupped together behind his back. He didn't return the smirk, or clamber into his arms with a pouty stare.

"Okay, come," Ted panted, snapping back into tour mode, almost as if overcome with excitement. He scurried past Janne back into the house — "sunken living room, pretty cool," he quipped, stretching a hand out over the large sofa — and turned on his heels to hop up the staircase. "The bedrooms are upstairs," he beamed from between the floating steps, one hand on the railing as he fell on one knee to peek at the Abovian below him. Janne had never seen him so pure, so brimming with joy, and so cute. Sometimes, he wondered whether he just fell really easily for conventionally attractive and emotionally unavailable guys, only to then wonder whether that was just what conventionally attractive meant.

"So, there's the three guest bedrooms up here, and if you come along this hallway..." The walls of the staircase gave way to shining large windowpanes on the top floor hall, which bathed the wood floors and soft gray walls in the skies' glow.

"Lots of natural light," Janne quipped. It was the first remark he'd really said, and it wasn't even an opinion more than a reality regurgitation. "Love it." There we go. His eyes followed the Tumbran as he stepped into the equally bright suite bedroom.

"The most important room of the house," Ted smirked. "Look at this bed!" He leaped from the end of the megaplusking size and stretched his limbs out like a flying squirrel, flopping onto the thick, luscious duvet with a springy bounce. Janne's eyes drifted towards the seat of his jeans for an instant, before the Tumbran flipped himself over onto his back and turned his head to look over at Janne in the doorway. He patted the empty spot beside him. "Room for two," he quipped.

It didn't take him more than two steps from the door for Janne to fly onto the bed just like Ted had done, landing with one arm on the duvet and the other striking Ted's stomach. He growled at the impact and giggled as the Abovian turned his head to face him. He smiled at him to meet his gentle brown irises and the faint crows feet on the edges of his eyes. In the pause, Ted closed in, and Janne sealed the deal with a peck, scraping his own chin on Ted's invisible stubble. He basked in the moment for a fleeting instant, before the Tumbran, with a squeeze of his right ass, pushed himself off of the bed. Janne exhaled sharply through his nose into the duck feather duvet before pulling off of the bed, but he didn't fight back with a tap or play along with a suggestive giggle. "Full kit in the bathroom, too," Ted continued, his voice trapped in the stone-walled echo behind the door. He paused until Janne had made it to the doorway. "Huge rainfall shower, jets all over the place, jacuzzi..."

The Tumbran winked and looked at him through his eyebrows before running out of the bathroom to head back downstairs, but in the pause between his wink and him leaving he caught Janne and his face of bemusement red-handed. It was because he was doing it again, the same thing he always did. Mr. Stoic and his "displays of affection": butt tap, cheek squeeze, lip bite, fuckboy smirk. Sometimes, if he got lucky, a kiss on the cheek while he felt up the flesh underneath his ribs or the cut of his abs at the rise of his jeans. And Janne, well, he couldn't lie to himself. He fucking melted for it like some sort of desperate touch-deprived teen, until he dared give it an ounce of thought. Can't say "I love you"; gets sweaty palms when he clutches his hands in public; has to shut and lock the front door before he can allow himself to get lost in his eyes; but can flirt in the paddock by running his fingers down his spine and resting them at the dimples of his lower back to get a rush in his chest and to his groin.

He followed him back down to the kitchen next to the living room lost in thought. He was being slightly unfair to Ted, pretending as if he had been captivated by his coy smiles and gentle voice instead of it being him who made the ludicrous first move in a public sauna, but it was frustrating all the same. Janne had always secretly vowed to himself that he'd help Ted through his own journey of self-discovery — an enticing premise in theory —, but in the long run, it felt like he was looking for an expressive, loving, nurturing partner, and Ted for a release valve or a clandestine escape.

"Janne? You there?" One of Ted's hands rested on his hips, the elbow on his other arm perched on the kitchen countertop, his features softly diffused under the hanging bar lights. He seemed to have been talking for a while, but none of it had reached the Abovian's working memory. Janne nodded back blankly, and when Ted pushed himself off of the wooden plank to circle around and wrap his arms under Janne's and around his torso, the sinking feeling hit him again. What was he going to fondle this time, or what naughty nothing would he whisper in his ear to get him to collapse away and somehow up into his bed or into the uninaugurated sauna at half past noon?

The Tumbran nestled his chin in the nook under the Abovian's jaw and stretched his lips to plant a noisy kiss just under his ear. He sighed as he squeezed his torso tightly, his clenched fists inviting images of his toned, lightly veiny arms into Janne's mind. He complained, but he was but a man as well.

"I'm so, so happy you're here," Ted whispered, half-pouting and smooching him again as punctuation. He let the weight of his head and upper body sag on the Abovian to pull him off and away from the bar and, through careful stumbles, to the couch behind them. Tangled in each other, the Tumbran playing the big spoon, Janne brought his hand to his chest to caress Ted's, who simply breathed peacefully, latched onto him with his arms and with his face buried under his earlobe. And for all that Janne wished to hear the magic words, he wasn't certain that they could make his heart flutter like it was doing then.

Almost sleepily, Ted kissed Janne again in the same spot, and the Abovian chuckled back at him, bringing his own lips to the back of one of his hands. "I love you," the Abovian said — spontaneously, erratically, and if he was being really fair, perhaps for the first time, as much as he berated the Tumbran in his thoughts for delaying exactly the same thing. Mr. Stoic Big Spoon exhaled deeply in response, and gave him yet another kiss in the middle of his ear. The ringing sound he induced quieted his thoughts for a blissfully long while.

by **Recuecn** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:19 am

Abdoulaye shivered and wrapped his arms tightly around himself, trying to hold in what little warmth he had. In the sharp cold he could see his breath forming a cloud, and as he watched it rise into the air, snowflakes began to fall. Abdoulaye shook his head. It was hard to believe he’d once chosen to live here in Auruna for a whole year. He’d enjoyed his time in the nation—after all, it had been his first WGPC season—but the weather had not been a positive for him.

On the other hand, now he’d decided to live in Aboveland for a year, and surely that wouldn’t be much better. Oh well. Abdoulaye tried to push the thoughts of the many cold days to come out of his mind, and focus on the present.

Not that the present, here in Akresna for the last official WGPC preseason test, wasn’t also cold. But at least the preparations for the test gave him enough to keep his mind busy. Plus, once he got in the car, he’d be warmer.

For now, Abdoulaye stood in the paddock, examining the AGP007 as Edvin, with the efficiency characteristic of himself and every other WGPC team principal, ran quickly down the list of adjustments since yesterday’s test session. There had been a slight update to the aero; “You won’t feel it, but the numbers from yesterday say this should be quicker,” said Edvin. Some other small tweaks had to do with Abdoulaye’s seat fitting changing: the team doctor had put Abdoulaye on a more regular diet at the start of the season, and he’d already lost several pounds. And a few of the changes, Edvin explained, glancing at the sky, from which snow was now falling more steadily, were due to the weather.

The race director had assured the teams that with the precautions taken to protect the surface of the track, the light snowfall would melt under the tires of the cars and cause no more trouble than any regular wet weather testing session. The only exception was the visibility, which was markedly worse than even driving in the rain. However, despite the poor visibility and weather conditions, the testing session was still scheduled to go ahead unless the snowfall unexpectedly became much more substantial.

Abdoulaye stamped his feet like a racehorse champing at the bit. The similarity occurred to him, and he smiled at it; after all, he too was a racer raring to go, even if his stamping and pacing had more to do with the temperature than his nerves.

All the same, Abdoulaye was happy to finally be out on the track once the session began. It was a circuit he was familiar with, after spending a year driving for Viska Racing. He tried to remember that and convince himself that he felt at home here.

“Feeling at home” proved a bit of a struggle. Abdoulaye had had only mediocre results in the first couple test events in Crpostran and Hodori, and even yesterday here in Akresna, his time had only been twenty-third fastest out of the thirty-two drivers on the grid. Abdoulaye’s Ælund handlers had been very gracious, finding excuses for him and talking about the time it would take to adjust to the car, but Abdoulaye knew that he needed to be doing better.

The snow bounced off Abdoulaye’s visor as he raced around the track. Although from a stationary perspective the snowflakes drifted lazily downward, at Abdoulaye’s speed they flew toward his eyes and face as if he were driving through a blizzard. He blinked instinctively behind the visor.

After a couple laps, Abdoulaye began to warm up—metaphorically, but literally as well, I suppose—to the circumstances. His characteristic caution and careful risk-assessment served him well on a track more treacherous than usual, and he began to feel more comfortable, more in control. “It’s just water,” he told himself, “Just water, even if it is frozen.” He tried to tell himself it was just rain and drive the way he normally would in the wet.

Soon enough his muscle memory of driving the circuit back during his VSK days began to come back to him, and Abdoulaye began to put on a little more speed. He found that knowing what the risks of the conditions were allowed him to push the limits. The feedback on the radio began to be more and more positive. The Ælund voices in his ears sounded more and more cheerful as his deltas continued to improve. By the end of the session he’d set the eighth-fastest lap time; after yesterday’s performance, he was happy with that.

It was a good place to be, as the last test session wrapped up. After all, this had been the last moment to prepare for what was to come. With the first race kicking off the season next week, it was going to be chaotic.

That night, Abdoulaye called his father, Moussa.

“Fa, I’m back in Auruna right now! It feels kind of weird to be back here after so long.”

“That’s nice, have you gotten to see all your old friends?”

“Well I’ve been pretty busy, but actually I did reach out to Jan.* Hopefully I’ll get a chance to meet up with him tomorrow.”

“Wonderful. It’s important to maintain those connections. I’m sure he’s glad you can visit him.”

Abdoulaye smiled. His father’s sense of one’s duty as a guest was quite strong, and Abdoulaye could have known Moussa would say something about it.

“I’m looking forward to it, if it works out. I think he might be busy too—I haven’t stayed in touch, but if he still works for Viska, then Jan will have plenty to do tomorrow just like me.”

“But you’re not racing?” Moussa was enthusiastic in his support for what he viewed as his son’s hobby, but he had yet to understand the finer points of the WGPC calendar. It didn’t make sense to him that the entire WGPC would descend upon Akresna for an entire weekend in the snow, and not race.

“No, we’ll have our first race next week,” said Abdoulaye, “but we’ve been driving every day, testing the cars… we have to get them ready for the races.”

“Ah, I see,” said Moussa. Abdoulaye didn’t think he sounded very convincing.

“The weather here is so cold, fa,” said Abdoulaye. “Colder than I remember, even. I always put up with it fine before when I lived here, but today I thought it was unbearable. It made me feel kind of unexcited about spending a year in Aboveland. I guess I’ll be traveling a lot anyway. But the cold didn’t use to bother me quite like that. You must have rubbed off on me.”

Moussa laughed. “Yes, you were always better in the cold than I was,” he admitted. “Maybe because you were younger when we came to Reçueçn. I was already used to the desert. You were still young enough to adapt.”

The desert… Abdoulaye had indeed been too young. He could hardly remember the desert at all. Even that word, desert, conjured up fantastical images of huge rolling sand dunes stretching out to the horizon. Maybe a caravan of camels silhouette atop a ridge of sand, making their way to an oasis dotted with palm trees, but other than that… nothing, just wilderness and searing heat.

Yet Abdoulaye knew he’d grown up in Bamako, a bustling city of a million people. More, now. In any case, it was not the Sahara, and it was not a wilderness. “What was the desert like, fa? You promised me you’d tell me your stories again when I started racing.”

“Ah.” Moussa paused. A moment passed—enough time Abdoulaye held the phone away from his ear to check that the connection hadn’t dropped. “I remember the day we left for the desert,” Moussa continued.

Moussa could feel himself sweating. He pulled at the fabric of his boubou, trying to get at least a little airflow. It was hot, and he had been working hard, but Moussa knew that it wasn’t the labor that was making him sweat like this—he was used to working in the heat. No, he was just plain nervous: a feeling he wasn’t used to, and certainly one he didn’t like.

All of Moussa’s furniture was arranged before him in a pile—all that was left of it, anyway. This was the last load. He’d pushed it here, to the market, in a cart he’d borrowed from a friend. He needed to sell it for as much as possible if his plan was to have any chance of working out.

Moussa’s accident, a week before, had totalled his taxi and put him out of a job. He’d always dreamed of something bigger than his life in Bamako, a shantytown of a million people, but suddenly he was left with no choice. He would have to emigrate, not to follow his dreams, but merely to survive.

Funding the journey for himself and his family would not be easy. Having made an estimate of how much money was required, Moussa was deeply stressed. Now he looked the potential buyers up and down as they eyed his furniture. He would have to bargain shrewdly.

If only it wasn’t so hot! Moussa wiped the sweat from his brow for the millionth time, cursing silently. A seller had to remain cool and collected, in control of the situation as the haggling began. Letting the heat get to him like this made him seem weaker, and worsened his bargaining position. Damn this heat!

One man greeted him. Even before the haggling could start, the ritual greetings must be performed. Then followed an equally obligatory conversation in a situation like this: Moussa describing how wonderful the craftsmanship of the furniture was and how well it had served him, while the customer feigned uninterest and claimed that he hadn’t really needed a table at all—it had only caught his eye randomly.

“50,000,” the man said finally.

“My friend, do not joke with me like that!” protested Moussa. “This table was brand new not long ago and it cost twice as much.”

“Then you were overcharged,” said the man. “Even at the department store, the tables are not more than 70,000.”

“But this is better than those tables at the department store,” Moussa insisted. “This is good wood, hand carved.”

“Even a good one like this is worth 70,000,” said the man, shaking his head.

“My friend, I am going on a trip soon and I need the money to pay for it. I cannot take less than eighty-five.”

The buyer gave the table another look, and decided he didn’t want to haggle. “Eighty,” he said.

“Ok, come,” said Moussa, and he took his hand. The deal made, they began to sort out how to get the table moved to the buyer’s house.

Moussa spent the whole afternoon at the market. He tried to drive a hard bargain, but he couldn’t afford to turn away too many customers. He had to sell everything as soon as possible—every day spent here was only costing more money, especially with Fanta and the boys to feed.

Soon he was down to one last item—the beautiful carved bed frame that had been a wedding present a few years ago when he and Fanta were married. Moussa stamped his feet impatiently. He wanted to sell it and be done. The stress and anxiety of the looming voyage hung over him. He knew those feelings would vanish once they were on the road, but the anticipation was terrible.

Losing his livelihood as a result of the crash had been stressful, too. Only making a strong, decisive choice—to move out—had resolved that. But now, sitting and thinking while he waited for customers at the market, Moussa had time to look even farther into the future. What if the trip did not go as planned? The heat in the desert would be treacherous. Perhaps the journey would be more dangerous than he foresaw—the Sahara was not forgiving.

Oh well. Moussa tried to push the thoughts of the many hot days to come out of his mind, and focus on the present.

Not that the present wasn’t also hot. And the way his mind was racing now, envisioning different scenarios, made everything feel worse. He just couldn’t wait to be back in a car, driving north.

Finally, another buyer approached, eyeing the bed frame. Moussa leapt into action, putting on his charm.

Things worked out better this time; even though Moussa had only had mediocre results with his first couple sales, he felt more at home now while haggling. Feeling a bit more comfortable, he was ready to push back a little bit more, and take more risks. It worked out for him; when the deal was finalized, he was quite happy with the final price.

With everything sold, Moussa was ready to return home. After all, it was still home, even if only for one more night. This had been the last moment to prepare for what was to come. It was going to be chaotic.

by **Auruna** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 11:00 am

Akresna, Auruna
Aurun Pre-Season Test

WGPC returns to Akresna for another big event but this time, it's not a race but a pre-season test across the entire weekend and to the Auruns, they didn't mind it as long as they get to see cars go around a circuit in Auruna. And this weekend will be business as usual for Viska and their new lineup. The track may be familiar to many, but the car is entirely untested on Akresna's snowy hills. Expectations were mixed, Hori and the VRG team are quite nervous as to how the engine would perform in higher altitudes and on Akresna's long straights. Meanwhile, Jöna and Artur are confident in the VK-04HS that during briefing, Jöna permitted the two drivers to simulate qualifying runs at their discretion. Race engineers Esko Mirošu Viruvahtta and Jan Mikkeli Kovalenna discussed with their respective drivers about their test programmes for the upcoming session.

The first test session starts and both drivers were immediately sent out to do their laps with William Archer's car still testing the feasibility of the variable-sweep front wing for the entire weekend with Ron Sommer moving on to getting a large number of laps in. It was relatively dry and the track was clear of snow so there shouldn't be much of a problem later on but the team is still looking out for the weather as Akresna was known to throw in a few drops of rain or snow whenever it wanted to.

After the first few laps, both drivers were starting to push faster and faster times, getting a hang of the car's performance through the hills. Even their Fleftic driver who has intense hatred of the circuit was doing quite well.

"For someone that hates Akresna so much, his times aren't bad compared to the rest." Artur remarked, looking at Jöna by his side.

"Well, you told him to not think about it and just drive." Jöna said, bringing up what Artur told William during briefing. "Although he might have some thoughts about it once he gets back in the garage."

"Ehhh... yeah, I had to." Artur justified his words. "He looked sick when he saw the circuit diagram."

The two drivers continued their laps. Both VK-04s were being pushed to their limits with the high-pitched screech of the engines and turbochargers working to their fullest echoing through the hills alongside the sounds of the other cars. By about halfway, both racked up a lot of laps and gathered a ton of useful data. Especially data for Hori and the VRG team who were nervous throughout the session as they couldn't help but be paranoid of any engine failures at this point.

Hori sat at the back of the garage with her tablet in hand looking stressed and rambling to herself as she watched both cars do their laps. She quickly switches between the garage monitors and to her tablet, somewhat making her dizzy. The engine troubles of the previous seasons, the intense testing of the engines they undertook before, she just couldn't get it out of her mind. Her rambling continued until she felt a hand on her shoulder which made her jump.

She looked over her shoulder to see the cold and serious look of Viska Chief Engineer Nils Karvanta who is usually at the pit wall but this time, he offered a hot cup of coffee to Hori. "Raunamaa." (tl: "Calm down.") Nils said with is thick rural Sterlennau accent.

Hori accepted the coffee. "Thanks." She said before taking a sip with her eyes returning to her tablet. It seemed to calm her down but Nils still sensed something wrong.

"Don't worry." Nils tried to reassure Hori. "So far, the engines showed no faults. The transmissions are working fine. VelFire is going strong and so is VRG. Our focus for now are the aerodynamics."

"Yeah but I'd have to expect a failure at some point." Hori argued back. "There's no knowing what will happen in an actual race after all the problems of last season. I even had to visit Schkeska because of that! And there's a lot to go wrong with our---"

"If you want, tell the drivers to speed it up." Nils suggested, cutting her off before she could continue rambling. "That way, you'll know."

Hori took a deep breath before drinking the rest of her coffee. "Fine..." She conceded as she went on to radio the pit wall. "Cleared mode 7+, hybrid 5, mix 3 for quali or race sim. Go wild."

Not long before she said that, Hori received confirmation from Artur and the race engineers. She looked at Nils who just nodded at her before walking back to the pit wall with a large jug of coffee. She sighed as she leaned back on her seat with her eyes not leaving the tablet. "They better make it worth the trouble."

And now, she is hoping for the best.

After receiving clearance to turn up the engines for Jöna's pre-approved qualifying simulations, Ron was called in first for refueling and setup changes and shortly before he was sent out, William was called back to the pits for similar changes. Then both of them were let loose, with Ron sent out first and William about 10 seconds after to at least avoid much traffic and not interfere with each other's runs.

With careful direction from Artur, the two drivers eventually started their simulated qualifying laps. Their engine settings were turned up and as they approach the redline and shift up to a higher gear, a loud bang from the exhaust was heard which was followed by smaller crackles and pops. Nils immediately reminded everyone worried that is was supposed to happen because of the engine settings for the Kiiruja. It was inefficient but more power was the point of the higher engine settings especially for something like qualifying.

The two cars speed through the circuit with everything turned up to the max as both drivers were focused on their current task. The white Viskas ascend and descend on the snowy landscape, fighting the circuit, the elements, and especially the "unrestricted" cars. They were giving it their all. The flames that follow them melt whatever snow the was unfortunate to be in their way as the twin turbo V6s scream as loud as they possibly can.

Everyone in the pit wall watched closely, Jan and Esko working with their drivers throughout their lap, and Artur is monitoring the entire situation. Meanwhile, Jöna just observes his team and chiming in every now and then whenever Artur turned to consult him. Everything seemed to go smoothly for this session without much of his input.

Then within two laps, the drivers finally clocked in their times. The race engineers report the times to the drivers during their cooldown and Nils immediately radioed Hori at the garage about the engines. The cars held up and both drivers managed to put their Viskas at the top of the timing sheets with a 1:46.230 from Ron and 1:46.251 from William.

Artur then turned to Jöna who was still looking at the times on one of the monitors. "You know what this means?" He asked, already anticipating a realistic but hopeful answer from Jöna.

"This might be our only highlights for now but I can see us performing well based on our previous test sessions." Jöna said. "We need to do well this season. I want to see this team be successful after our weakest season to date. It was a struggle but we still fought even it was hopeless."

Artur just nodded. "Yeah, let's do our absolute best. I also want to see this team succeed but we still have a lot to do since we're basically starting from scratch once again." He then stood up, patted Jöna's shoulder before heading off to the garage for a quick break, leaving Jöna to contemplate by himself.

The tests continued and after the three hours of testing for the first session, Viska was quite satisfied in the end. Obviously, they had to impress the local crowd and they were successful with a 1-2 placing. It wasn't much of an achievement but the locals were happy to see something from them in Akresna. Other than that, the engineers were happy with the data gathered and Hori could finally rest easy for the remainder of the weekend. Debriefing didn't take too long and most of the team immediately went to the several saunas around Akresna.

Täitä VIska...

Test Session 2, Aurun Pre-Season Test
"Come on Kuumi, I believe in you." Kinu muttered as he speeds through the Uphill Run on a wet and slowly freezing circuit.

His PGP-04 felt alive this time which shocked Kinu as he wasn't prepared to be around the bottom of the time sheets in the first session. Maybe it was still messing with him, or maybe it's finally showing its true pace, Kinu wasn't sure which it was but knowing how his car is, he was still somewhat suspicious, already expecting something to happen in the most challenging parts of the circuit.

"Kinu, you good?" Kinu's race engineer asked.

"Yep, all fine." Kinu answered but his race engineer remained skeptical of his condition.

"I suggest to come back in for setup changes."

"No, no, I can handle it. I know the wet setup we got from Hodori should work this time. Just let me get some laps in."

"Alright."

It was a bit of a struggle uphill but Kinu and Kuumikaho made it without incident. The circuit was nearly clear of traffic after an earlier incident between a Nexus and HiTEN and so there was some room for error but that room was quite small after considering Akresna and the weather. To Kinu, this was no problem as his car is what he's wary of. It's just an unpredictable one and it's why Kinu was drawn to it. He wanted a new challenge.

During the descent, the car was sliding with Kinu trying to correct everything as well as changing some settings on his steering wheel. Soon afterward, it wasn't too noticeable. Alright, it only needed a few tweaks. He thought to himself, boosting his confidence in the car as it drove normally throughout the rest of his lap.

Just before he rounds up his lap at around Entenalla, he tells his race engineer. "Alright, let's try a 'Beer Run' next lap."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yep, I'm confident I can do one."

"Copy, Mode 6 whenever you're ready."

Kuumikaho, I can tell that you want to go fast. I can give it to you so just cooperate with me this time. Kinu whispered off the radio before setting his engine to Mode 6 at the straight before Entenalla. He felt a surge of power unleashed by the car as he rounds the final corner with his foot down. He sped through the main straight to start his flying lap. He already conquered this circuit once but he might as well try again.

Full throttle, he reached the first corner in seconds, braking hard but not locking up. The car slid as he accelerated but it was instantly corrected, continuing flat-out through the second corner and into the uphill run, holding his line well through the slippery surface. Kolantalla wasn't that much of a challenge, putting the car's performance to good use as he never lifted off the throttle until he reached the fourth corner which marks the second sector.

S1 lit up purple.

The higher areas of Akresna mimicked a rally stage with its slight crests and dips especially in the snow. The subtle elevation changes somewhat unsettled the car but it wasn't too serious as Kinu remained in control. There were some loss of traction when he drove over the icy parts of the track but it didn't bother both Kinu and the car. The two continued on in harmony through the second sector. However, Kinu made a mistake at Politov, running wider than expected, nearly going into the tunnel which messed up his line and momentum through the following corners. It didn't affect his time that much and as he reached the third sector, his race engineer spoke to him.

"Sector two green."

Kinu then continued on and now, he's at the fastest part of the circuit. He pushed further and further through the straights of the Valley Run, leaving behind a large wake of cold spray and dodging any slow traffic that he came across and Kuumikaho was strangely being cooperative this time, maybe it complied to Kinu's demands for just this once. Again, Kinu wasn't too sure but he didn't let it trouble him during his hot lap. For the final straight, he briefly sets the engine to Mode 7, going wide then bringing it back to Mode 6 before entering the braking zone for Entenalla. He only needed to brake for a bit, keeping most of his speed by the middle of the corner and as he accelerated, he did a controlled slide through the rest of the corner, straightening out just at the exit and opening the taps on the main straight to cap off his lap.

Just as Kinu pulled off to the side and slowed down, his race engineer came to congratulate him on the radio. "Good work, your time for that lap was 1:55.835. That makes you second fastest of the session."

Kinu responded with an exhausted laugh. "Hah... I knew it."

"About a hundredth of a second off Pressley. Still, that was a good one and it's in wet conditions."

"Hope that you guys got something useful from that."

"Yep, you showing off got us some good data."

"Alright, I'm pitting this lap. Let's talk about it at the garage."

"Copy that."

Even with the new car and the new engine, most aspects of PB remained the same and Laura still felt at home, even more so than any other team she has been with. As a result, she has been trying to up her performance out on track to solidify her place on the team. While it's just the pre-season test, her times were seen as competitive from Montelago to the snowy Akresna and in the latter is where she shined. It was perfect for her as the snow-covered circuit triggered her Karalinnen rally instincts and she would not disappoint all throughout the weekend.

The first session saw her and her teammate Sam set quick times, only to be beaten by the two Viska that had the same idea as them. Still, Laura saw that the V10 powered PF-3 could possibly challenge whoever it is at the top. Her times were reported to be consistent but there was still more to come. Then the second session came with Akresna's precipitation special as the clouds covered the sky above the circuit. Sam's session ended prematurely due to her engine and Laura was left to simulate certain scenarios. Laura had a bit of trouble with the slippery surface as the handling was quite different than what she expected even if she used most of her rallying skill to get her through the session but being fast isn't their goal for the session.

But then came the third session and Laura was free to do some simulated qualifying laps. The skies were mostly clear and the circuit was relatively dry, good conditions in Akresna. Laura just couldn't wait to set a fast lap and not long after, she was granted an opportunity to do so and she unsurprisingly took it and showed off which was uncharacteristic of her but still understandable since it was still her home event. It took several laps but she eventually did a 1:46.249 which was even faster than her time in the first session. After that, she was called back to the pits afterward for some checks on her engine and transmission. She enjoyed her time spent at the garage with several cups of hot coffee while watching the session using the TV monitors around the garage.

Grand Prix Auto Pryfors Bilar Livery Reveal
In the press conference of the reveal, Laura was asked after Sam about her thoughts on the car. "It's an interesting change from previous cars that we drove. Everything is new and I had to unlearn some of the habits I got from driving the last PB cars which had hybrid systems. It did feel nice to drive, nimble through the corners and it was really responsive but I had some trouble with it at the low-end which I am still working on. Overall, it was fun and the livery is quite sleek. Oh and before I forget, I have to comment on the sound which was beautifully pure for what it is. I think no other engine in WGPC could rival the sound it emits."

by **Sharktail** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:13 pm

Akresna Circuit, Auruna

The last 180 minutes to test the WGPC machines officially ended. The third session that took place at Akresna Circuit drew the curtain and officially marked the first race's approaching face. Hazrin looked at the circuit one last time before walking away.

In the 5 test series, he participated in with Piers Ivchenko, 1 place, barely occupying the top 10, will be his best highlight in this test. Of course, we don't know if it can be considered worse or not. It was achieved in the first test at Ikasamo Speedway, and after that, he never repeated that again, well, not for now.

Back to Akresna Circuit for the final 3 testing sessions; let's start with a banger. Yeah...banger. 21st, 19th and finish with 17th. If in Ikasamo, he saves himself from crashing, well, here he doesn't. All his test sessions also included three off-track and one crash into the wall that ended his first test early. Very first lap heading to the 1st turn, Valantov, a first off track in his WGPC career. Well, his career just started, so, well, count that one too. After a few laps carefully at the corner of Valantov and Kaulinta, which he set at 1.47 minutes, he tried to set a better time to catch up to his teammate, Cruisin. However, it turned out to be a reckless decision and sent him another time off the track, and this time it was worse than the first one, and he walked away, finishing his first training session.

Overall, to sum up his performance to his teammate, Cruisin, the vet won every session, if you want to mention it in numbers, 4-1, and the only time Hazrin beat his teammate was last session, who looks more like an unserious testing, as Cruisin consistent placing into Top 10 each session. So, he should be thankfull that Cruisin data will be worth for the season cause his data will pretty much not.

There are just a few weeks left before the official season starts in Fjellutfordring Circuit for the Abovian Grand Prix. As the clock is running short, Hazrin needs to put in more effort to "tame" the machine he will drive or Sharktalian may once again have to repeat the horrible memory of Syaqirin's failure, who ends the WGP2 with 0 points after running a full season.

by **Katzeburg** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 5:56 am

27 Stump Hill, Penntop

Gil Langdon creaked the door open to the grand entrance hall of his home in Penntop, flicking the lights on to reveal a home which had been barely touched over the last few weeks. Gil had decided to fly back home to Katzeburg after the testing sessions in Auruna for a quick stop over to chat season marketing tactics with his agent Don Hundmeister, who he was due to meet in the morning. But for this evening, Gil would be alone, with just his thoughts for company.

He quickly turned his eyes towards the smattering of letters which had been shoved through his mailbox and found their place on the floor - mostly fliers for local pizza places and restaurants along with the few Penntop FC letters he would get as a season ticket holder and a small selection of fan mail which had been sent on by Don as a way for Gil to engage with the fans in a controlled manner.

Nothing he needed to worry about now though, and he trudged his way towards the living room to just crash for a moment. He was exhausted. It had been a lot for him to go through the last week - from that car crash of an interview on KBC to the awkward tension he thought filled the air at the KISMO livery reveal in Auruna - mostly as he had heard through back channels (the accuracy of which he didn’t bother to look into) that his fellow teammate Shuhei Kamado wasn’t happy that Gil had secured a spot and outperformed him across the pre-season so far.

Gil did his best to play off the paddock rumours, but it lingered in his head - what if he wasn’t welcome in the team? Is he only here because of his money?

It was something Gil was for the most part able to dodge during the testing sessions in Auruna - mostly finishing in the middle of the now 30-strong pack, but most importantly well ahead of Kamado at the end of each session. His Kissan teammate looked well off the pace, even finishing more than four seconds behind Gil at the end of the third and final testing session. For now, I think I’m safe, Gil thought as he jumped out of the car at the end of the final session.

But it was a series of performances Gil still wasn’t overly happy with, particularly given his Katzeburgian compatriot Ron Sommer had dominated at the top end of the standings across the three tests in Auruna. But Gil put it down to blind luck for the most part - everyone gets at least one track they ace, Ron was just unlucky it wasn’t one any points are given for.

As he flopped down on the couch, he heard a lock twist and the front door open. Gil leapt to his feet and fired out into the main living room to see who had entered his home without his knowledge. Only then, did he come face to face with his father.

“Dad.”

“Son. I.. I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought you were in Aboveland?”

“That’s next week, the first race of the season is over there. I’ve just gotten back from Auruna.”

“Ahh that explains it, I saw the results as I was leaving the office yesterday. Quite a poor showing from you, I think.”

“There’s a lot of work we need to do with the car still, but I think it’s getting there. Hopefully by the time the season rolls around, I’ll be able to get in the points with ease.”

“It better. I didn’t agree to put our family name against a shitbox.”

“I know, dad. Why are you here?”

“Your mother has been a pain in the backside about dropping off this.” Archie pulled his hand from behind his back to reveal a lush basket full of goodies with a small banner saying Congrats on the Drive, Gil! And a card directed to the young driver.

“That’s nice of you! Thanks dad.”

“I’m just doing this to shut her up.”

“Right. Well, thanks anyway. Hey, are you going to be watching the first race?”

“Why would I do that?”

Gil was taken aback. Just once, he wished his dad would care even the slightest in what he was doing and provide the bare minimum of support.

“W-well, it’s the first time a Katzeburgian is on the starting grid in WGPC history. I thought you’d want to see your son out there.”

“You might not even be out there if you perform like you did over in Auruna. And I have no interest in watching some poor kid from the west outperform my son.”

“You won’t, dad. I promise you that.”

“Don’t promise anything you can’t deliver, son. I need to get going.”

And with that Archie stepped out of the home and shut the door. Gil was alone once more. He looked at the basket lovingly crafted by his mother and nodded. He was going to show his dad. Show him that he was someone worth being proud of. And he was going to do it on the racetrack.

A hotel in Akresna, Auruna

Ron Sommer was quickly falling in love with the snowy city of Akresna, as he sat resting against the side of his bed in his hotel room overlooking the city’s racetrack. As snow slowly trickled down from the skies over the city, Ron took the view in and breathed a sigh of relief - it had been a long weekend in the city, but one which to him was a weekend he won’t be forgetting any time soon.

As the WGPC swung into town to host the final batch of pre-season tests, Ron had the weekend he felt he had been building to over the course of the pre-season. In his new home away from home, Ron dominated the track in the first session, finishing with the fastest time overall, albeit only .021 seconds ahead of his Viska teammate William Archer. But the gap didn’t matter to Ron, only the end result. He had topped a field full of WGPC drivers heading into the season.

Sadly, it wasn’t two sessions at the top for him though, as he’d slip to a seventh place finish in the second testing session. A recovery to fifth for the third and final testing session was a step in the right direction though, and it was something his own father was overjoyed about as they talked through the weekend over the phone that evening.

“I can’t believe it, my own son - the testing session winner!” said Trevor Sommer, trying his best to ignore the loud clangs and hissing coming from his kitchen as his wife cooked. “Plus top ten finishes in the other two sessions; son, you are in with a shout if you keep up this level of form!”

“Come on now Dad,” Ron laughed. “It was one weekend and one course. We’ve got so many more to go, and now the actual racing starts - it’s going to be a lot tougher to get anywhere from here!”

“Only with that attitude. You’ve done brilliantly so far son and with the first race coming up you just need to carry over the mindset you had during the testing sessions, and I know in my heart that you can do that and more.”

“Here’s hoping,” Ron said as he followed along with his eyes the trail of snow falling outside his window. “You should come over and see me in Auruna at some point, it’s a lovely spot and gorgeous weather we’d never get back home - you should see the huge amount of snow we’re getting at the moment!”

“Only if you’re willing to sneak me in for a session on the Viska simulator,” Trevor laughed. It was a hearty laugh Ron had heard many times before, a laugh which to him represented a vicarious living of his life and goals through his son, a laugh which to him, meant he was doing his father proud.

“Maybe once we score a few points then in that case,” Ron chuckled. “Are you going to be watching the first race?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world! I’ve invited everyone on our block to come and watch along, the whole city is so proud of our new hotshot rookie on the WGPC grid.”

“Lots of pressure then, gotcha.”

“You’ll be fine! Get out of your own head and just enjoy the fact you are an WGPC racer, and a damn fine one at that. Go and have a night out celebrating; you’ve got a busy, busy week of prep ahead of you.”

“That’s fair, I best get going in that case! What is mum cooking for you tonight?”

“Oh it’s this brilliant thing she found at the shops, a literal gravy burger. All gravy, all battered. It’s breathtaking.”

“Sounds like a lot. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself, dad.”

“I’m not the one racing a car at deadly speeds, son! Oop, that’s her yelling - tea’s ready! Love you lots son, go and smash it!”

“Thanks dad, love you lots too.”

And with that, Ron hung up. He was alone again. But as he continued to watch over the falling snow, he was strangely content. He had a lot to do ahead of the trip to Aboveland, but he was ready. Everything in his life so far had led to this moment - his WGPC race weekend debut. And Ron Sommer was out to impress.

by **Doubeia** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 9:14 am

Nini didn't have many friends. Over the course of her life, she'd made as many friends as she'd lost, but if there was someone who was by her side the entire time, it had to be Lucia. Nini and Lucia had been friends since before Nini dropped out of school. Even though the two drifted apart as their live got busier, they still managed to find time to talk together. Though, now that Lucia was a full-time model, she didn't really have the freedom of time to talk to Nini, who herself was busy with her racing.

Still, the two had managed to meet up at a cafe to, well, update each other about their lives. That was all they talked about during their sporadic meetups, but hey, it was good to know how the other's been doing, right?

In the somewhat quiet cafe, Nini was sitting at a secluded corner when she saw Lucia walking to her.

To the tune of DENIAL IS A RIVER — Doechii

"What's up, Nini?" Lucia quipped as she sat down opposite her.

"Hey, girl," Nini replied, grinning now that Lucia was here.

"You know..." Lucia said, "It's been a lil' minute since you and I have had a chat."

"Has it really?"

"Probably since, like, the Jonjastani race last autumn?"

"Oh wow, it's been a minute, yeah," Nini said, shocked. That race had been a year ago. They'd been away for that long?

"Well," Lucia shrugged, "I've been gettin' some DMs."

"Oh?" Nini asked, confused.

"People are..." Lucia hesitated "...a little bit worried about you." Nini scrunched her face in concern.

"Not worried, okay..."

"And I know that I was kinda that outlet for you, so—"

"You were—"

"Why don't you just tell me what's been goin' on?" Lucia asked.

Nini heaved a deep breath.

"Okay."

- Remember old dude, Kane Lugovsky?
Nice, clean guy did me dirtier than laundry
Took a scroll through his gallery
Just to see some nude pics of... Tati?
- What the fuck?
- I was so confused, what should Nini do?
I didn't know about the pics and I was creeped out too
Confronted him about this just to try and find the truth
Turns out he "didn't have a damn clue"?
- Damn!
- He thought he could fool me 'til I hit back
Got the last laugh, gave his head a nice old whack
I dropped him, raced a couple of laps
And then I went and got signed, I'm in WGP2

"Okay, I just feel like... This is the perfect opportunity for us to just take a second and kind of unpack what's happened to you," Lucia said, "You know, this guy... he was pretty weird, and—"

"Mm, nah, fuck it."

- "Pole position" this, "fastest lap" that
I'm makin' all these moves, I'm all over the track
I'm drivin' so fast, no time to process
And no, I'm not in a gang, but I'm always on set (Yeah)
Criss cross, lately my form's looking tip-top
Now I'm winning races, I mean what the fuck?
Needed a break, need a breather
But I just kept going on, I'm locked in here

By the way, Nini lied. She never won a race, but she got a handful of seconds.

The Tropicorp feature race was Nini's first podium finish. It should have been a great night for her, but she felt oddly... empty. As if her success meant nothing.

As she stood on the second-highest step, she tried to force herself to feel jubilant about her feat. It was her first podium, for fuck's sake! Still, she didn't feel much at all. The excitement and ecstasy that should have been coursing in her veins were absent. Maybe she was just tired. The race did take a toll on her after all, but was it just her fatigue? As she looked at the other podium finishers and the crowd that had formed below, she forced a smile onto her face.

Look happy, Nini. Look happy, she reminded herself. She wasn't, in fact, very happy, but she had to suck it up for the time being.

After the seemingly labouriously long podium ceremony, Nini retreated into the Pressley garage. Her engineers were very, very euphoric about her podium as the euphony of high fives and hugs ricocheted about the garage. Not wanting to dampen the mood, she played along, happily cheering with her gang. She received many praises and compliments that day, but as she went back to her sleeping quarters, she couldn't help but feel that it all meant nothing.

"Frick, man," she mumbled to herself, "I just need someone right now." She slumped onto her bed as she basked in her loneliness. Sometimes, driving was tiring. The start to the season was probably one of the most difficult periods of her life. Struggling to adjust to a foreign environment, enduring the extreme stress on her body in the car, bearing the high expectations set on her... driving hadn't been fun for a while. It felt like a chore. She wanted someone to lighten her load, to sympathise with her, to share her burdens, but ever since she broke ties with Tati, no one was there to fill in her gap.

Nini continued lying down on the bed for a while. She let her thoughts simmer for a while.

"Y'know what? Other people have gone through worse," she sat up on her bed, "It's not like I can't do this either." She stared at the wall for a while.

"Although having someone would be nice."

Fast forward, me, Rawa Grand Prix
I'm stackin' lots of points and makin' money
My grass is really green, and—

"—honestly, I can't even fucking lie no more, that was a really dark time for me. I was fucking lonely," Nini admitted.

"And, you solved it by drinking?" Lucia guessed.

"Um, not really—"

"Clubbing?"

"No, I'm not"

"Really?" Lucia probed. Nini felt like she was being interrogated.

"It was only a couple times..." Nini said.

"No, I'm not judging."

"I'm not a drunkard," Nini continued defending herself.

"I'm just saying."

"I don't think—"

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Uh..."

- I mean, fuck, I like drinks, I like clubs.
I like gettin' wasted, I like soju and all that stuff!
I like day-drinkin' and day parties in Pruxxé.
I like doin' Pruxxé shit. Fucking? Probably would!
What can I say? The shit works, it feels good,
And my self-worth's been so damn done.
And just when it couldn't get worse,
A crazy bitch assaulted me in front of everyone.

Whoopsie, made a oopsie!
One viral video — "Oops!" — made me loopy.
I'm not a killer, but don't push me.
Not in the mood for this, don't bother me, please!

"Woah! Woah, woah, woah, woah! Okay, Nini," Lucia was on edge as Nini's tone seemed to get more agressive, "Slow down, we don’t wanna crash out now." Nini looked sheepish.

"Sorry, okay."

"So, we're gonna try a breathing exercise, okay?" Lucia loved breathing exercises. It helped calm her — and others — down.

"Alright, sure."

"When I breathe, you breathe."

"Okay, okay."

"Alright? Let's go"

Uh-uh-uh, uh-uh-ah
Uh, uh, uh, ah
Uh, uh, uh, uh, ah
Uh, uh, uh, uh, ah, woosah...

by **Tumbra** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 11:47 am

Straton, Tumbra

Things were, as usual, somehow on edge at Pressley Racing. They'd finished their testing regime with a bang — Dario in the #27 had finished with the best average finish per session across all seven sessions, while Nini in the #22 wasn't that far behind — and the hype was slowly building around them. The Tropicorp tyres and engine were performing exactly as well as expected, and perhaps even better than they did; the bodge job of engine integration on the zero model of the PRE-025 would hopefully get smoothed out with updates planned for Doubeia and Aji no Moto.

But there was still an underlying tension. And it was felt even during the supposedly feel-good event of the Pressley Racing car reveal, where the team would finally show off their challenger in public. It was meant to be a huge event — the Straton Indoor Stadium had been rented out, and its exterior bathed in the purples and pinks of the team — but there was a sense of palpable discomfort as the event began.

"Good evening and welcome to what must be one of the most anticipated events of the year for motorheads out there..."

Was it the fact that their team founder and supposed CEO, Charlie Pressley, had been basically ruled out of everything by his stroke, which had necessitated his long-term recouperation in the southwest of Tumbra? Perhaps it was. Old Pressley, as he'd been called by his staff, may have been a hard taskmaster and miser, but he, to use the slavish defence often employed on CEOs, had not been like other CEOs. On the surface, at least; there would always be the Tukarist [read: Marxist] analyses about the accumulation of capital and how Old Pressley fell afoul of that; but Old Pressley earned the respect of his workers. He joined the engineers on the ground, he did coffee runs, he encouraged everyone to think of him as "one of the boys". Nevermind that the Pressley name was old money in the northwestern state of Grantfeldt, where the team was based; that was how he got the start-up capital to run the team in the first place. Old Pressley was just that.

And now he was gone, mostly — everyone knew that he'd probably resign in April or so. Who would he pass it on to? He wasn't on speaking terms with his only son, Ted, the Once And Future Prince of Pressley Racing; but he was the only and natural successor to the 40% that Charlie still held on to. Jack Brook, the team principal, was the other natural choice; perhaps a split between him and the other members of the Operations Department, which handled racing operations, could settle that; give them a long-term stake, keep things running. Brook would never accept the 40% as a whole; in his own words, he didn't want to be tied down to questions of capital.

And there was the second tension.

Looming by far and above them was the man who'd become widely known as the Devil amidst Pressley Racing; multi-billionaire, techno'progressive' and the man who'd become the second richest man in Tumbra in a remarkably short amount of time: Thomas Kim. He began as a relatively benign investor, but over time had gained more and more control over the team; and with that control came meddling, and with that meddling came a desire for more control. If Charlie died — which wasn't entirely out of the question at this point — and Kim managed to strongarm the board into giving him Charlie's 40%, then that would be it. Kim could do whatever he liked, and nobody particularly wanted to hear him out on what he wanted to do. There were vague mumblings of "an electric car brand," but that was it.

"Our team principal, Jack Brook, here to deliver a few words to you all."

The third tension? Expectations. Pressley Racing, as a whole, had come out of the testing sessions with as many questions as it had answers. Sure, Nini and Dario had done well, but there was the question of whether the other teams were sandbagging. Article after article had come out listing Pressley at the top of teams to watch, with Ælund, Viska, and UrGa, but Pressley were concerned about the stalking horses. One in particular worried them. Preston, whom they'd shunned for an engine deal, had looked thoroughly unimpressive in both how they'd dispensed with a proven lineup and how they'd played off their poor times in testing; but the Hapilopper-based team had a groundedness, a grit, that Pressley seemed to lack still. Plus, they always had the expectations.

"And now, without further ado, our 20XX challenger, the Pressley PRE-025!"

But all that could be forgotten for now. Swept under the rug, like every unhappy family; there were many who were sure that every unhappy team was unhappy in its own way, and very few teams were perfectly happy.

Onwards.

by **Nico Hulkenberg** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 12:59 pm

THE GRUNEBUCH by Josef Wortsagen

Cold. The only word that has been on my ever-quivering lips since I set foot in Auruna, the wrinkles of both my brain and my forehead filling with ice as I trudged onwards. This was not the coldest I had ever experienced, nor will it be the coldest I experience whatsoever - not with a trip to Aboveland coming soon - but the rather unwelcome feeling of a variety of appendages shrivelling up reminded me that if I did not wrap up warm I’d be spending the tests in the fetal position, attached to a tyre blanket. Certainly not suitable for taking notes, written or otherwise! All of these thoughts flashed through my mind before I had even reached the bottom of the airstairs as I disembarked, clearly showing that I had too much to think about. Perhaps I’m losing it. Who am I kidding, I am losing it. I’m very aware of the privileged position I’m in as a motorsports journalist, especially one that gets to travel as much as I do. Many of you have written to me to complain about my carbon footprint, which I understand perfectly. I can’t exactly stop flying - it isn’t exactly simple to get from circuit to circuit by car, boat, or bike - but I do feel a sense of duty, to give back to the environment. That’s why, starting from today, I will plant a tree for every flight I take. Indeed, I tried such a thing on the flight to Auruna, but the cabin crew were not best pleased when I started to open the bag of soil I had ready. It really is such a shame that airlines are so hostile to those who seek to give back to Mother Earth, but what can you do. At the end of the day, I tried. Alas, I had more important matters to attend to - car hire. On previous tests, as some of you may know, I elected either to take a taxi or the train to the circuit. This time, however, I arrived in Auruna fully aware of the natural beauty that awaited me, and I was going to experience that for myself. A cute little Schkeska hatchback would be my chariot, and myself the charioteer. Not exactly something that would carry me gloriously into battle, but a nifty little thing nonetheless. As long as it could trundle its way across Auruna’s surprisingly well-organised road system, it would be absolutely perfect. Indeed, there are some things that take a bit of getting used to - particularly since I drive at a relatively leisurely pace compared to many Aurun drivers - but apart from that, all was well.

Eventually, I arrived at the Akresna Circuit with a few minutes to spare before the start of the first session, and after a needlessly long period of time spent arguing about the validity of my paddock pass (entirely due to the age of the photo on it), I made my way through the gate and towards the garages, where I caught up with a few members of team personnel - a few of whom being surprisingly reluctant to talk. I no longer have the connections in this industry that I used to, many having retired, moved on, or passed away. Still, a few faces recognised my own, and we chatted away about things that were freshly on the mind. Weather, temperature, jet lag, all that good stuff. It would take a while before I got myself some closely-guarded information, but I did find out from a nice fellow at VTGP that a second-tier series will run concurrently with WGPC. The series is not WGP2, but a revival of AOGP (albeit under a new name due to many, many reasons), thus making it quite a good prospect for anybody seeking to make their way up in motorsport, or indeed retain their place in the sport - much like the drivers from TJUN-ia. I asked the good folks at HMG if they intended on participating, but they weren’t aware that such a series was becoming a thing, preferring to maintain their vested interest in Tumbran Super Formula. Whether this is an indication of closer links between Pressley and HMG or not, I’ll let you be the judge.

The tests themselves confirmed a few suspicions - both good and bad, but particularly bad for HMG - that many pundits and fans alike had held since the beginning. For starters, the problem is the car. I haven’t even named a team yet, and I’m sure you’ve already named a few in your head, but that does show the extent to which that such a thing is thought. I am, of course, referring to HMG, who only seem to be able to get the H01.1 working for one car at a time, and in very tricky conditions. The working window of the car is extremely tight, and despite the efforts of the talented boys and girls at the team - many of whom in their first season employed at this level - they simply can’t seem to get the setup right. This naturally means that when the car works, it works, with Vialiv managing to place her car in the top three in one session, but otherwise it can be a handful. The work goes on at Emmerich to make the car less difficult, and more co-operational to the requests of the drivers.

Urutovsky-Gatutin have also struggled to get off the line across the tests, with the odiously wealthy Vincent Von Visp getting more performance out of the GPC21-2. Nepö Kinder hoisted the car as high as 15th, but overall lagged behind her Reçueçian teammate. The young Hülkenberger had also been pictured scowling alongside her trainer as Von Visp left the pits, but she refuted this in a press conference, stating that the sun was in her eye. Notably, it was a cloudy day. Nevertheless, the reigning constructors’ champions appear to be in for a difficult season with their all-rookie lineup.

Following on to another all-rookie lineup, it was mixed fortunes for Hodori’s HiTEN.gpt outfit, as Hanna Berezowska found the real potential of the car, whereas Ankei Souzare found the barrier. To Ankei’s credit, he miraculously managed to set timed laps throughout the test - albeit pitifully slower than anyone else managed. The 107% rule might get a lot of exceptions this year…

Over to Preston, where things are finally looking up. Kinu Luminna, perhaps inspired by being closer to home, found a lot of pace from his Preston machine, whilst his Valentian teammate ran unspectacularly, but consistently.

Team Woke - sorry, Ælund, have arrived on the scene with a particularly luminous hunk of metalwork. With Ted Pressley topping another session and Goita running in the top ten, there is a strong chance that viewers across the world will have to adjust the picture on their television set to accommodate the somewhat blinding AGP-007. Licence To Kill (your eyesight).

Most other teams did very little of note, so I shall skip over a few and move onto perhaps the most interesting team - Pressley. After finishing 8th last season, the team from Tumbra seems to have taken a massive stride forward, with the experienced hands of Dario Nülkeschlager cementing his position as the lead driver in the team - albeit, with young Nini Johnsilvaturr not too far behind. Hopes are high for the PRE-025, particularly due to the team's standings in a so-called 'testing championship' - something that doesn't actually exist - which has at least boosted the team's morale. The origins of this 'championship' are that few boffins in a Tumbran basement have ran the numbers over the course of all the testing sessions, and they’ve somehow worked out that Dario was the best driver of them all. Definitely not to be taken as gospel, but something to ponder while we all haplessly laze around in wait for the first grand prix. Indeed, I came to a similar conclusion earlier on which, due to my immense experience and brain power, you absolutely should take as a given.

That was the last of my team summaries from Auruna, and it brings a close to one of the most interesting and entertaining pre-seasons I've been a part of. One Hülkenberger team, two Hülkenberger drivers, and your fair share of chaos and controversy. Speaking of chaos, it would be rather uncouth of me not to thank the many airlines and airports I've travelled with for consistently keeping my suitcase away from me - I have now learned to travel light, as I cannot be bothered being questioned about the contents of my bags. They're my bags, not yours! Moreover, a special thanks goes out to the bartender I met on the night of the final test, when myself and a few other people - who shall remain unnamed until my autobiography comes out - poured me one of the most fantastic pints I've had in my life. The night itself was immemorable apart from a few off-the-record comments that would be rather jeopardising to reveal, but I consumed far too much alcohol to remember the gist of most of it. Shameful, I know. Nevertheless, the next Grunebuch will come to you from the first race in Aboveland - and whatever happens, it's certain to be an exciting season for all of us.

by **Former Citizens of the Nimbus System** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 2:40 pm

(OOC: With thanks to Aboveland for providing Janne's dialogue for this scene!)

Nexus Racing HQ, Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
17th of February

“We knew that this was coming.”

That is a fair (and characteristically blunt) assessment from Lucia Vanderbilt. Said fair (and characteristically blunt) assessments are part of why Lucia Vanderbilt has slotted quite so neatly into her role as Nexus Racing’s Head Designer.

That does not, Gertrude notes, pressing her lips together as she leans over the head of the horseshoe-shaped meeting room table surrounded by Nexus Racing’s performance-focused personnel, mean that it’s terribly good for morale. Lucia is blessed (and Gertrude with her) with an experienced team used to that, and able to parse it, but human psychology only goes so far.

“We made a deliberate choice,” Lucia continues, “to place focus on the integrity of our vehicles’ systems and their collective functioning, as a platform for further development. It was understood at the time that this choice might result in compromises being made on overall weight and weight distribution, which might leave us shorthanded at tracks like Akresna and Ikasamo. It’s unfortunate that Montelago left us with so little data to compensate but that is just that – a bias in the data.”

“If you would permit speculation, Gertrude?” A nod; dutiful, Lucia continues. “I believe that we have seen the worst of these characteristics. In ideal conditions, with the setup optimisation we brought to Akresna, we are perhaps two to three tenths off the pace in qualifying trim on new S3 tyres when compared to teams focused on mechanical grip at tracks suited to those characteristics, which is better than we were anticipating. It is only on harder tyres, older tyres or when abnormal surface characteristics intervene that the Imagikinetic force on either end of the car starts to outmatch what our mechanical grip can cope with, and those are issues that we are working on. I am confident that we are on track to hit our scoring targets for our disadvantaged circuits and, much as we cannot be certain, I have a great deal of hope for our advantaged circuits.”

Huh – need to apologise to you, Lucia! Gertrude nods again, turning to the left wing of the table and the drivers and race engineers sat there. “Janne, Ryker – does that bear out with your feeling on-circuit? Do you think you’ll be able to manage in Qualifying?”

Janne bites the edges of his lips as he curls them inwards. He scrunches his nose, rubs his eye, and looks to the side at Ryker for a non-existent complicit glance. “Yeah… yes, I think so,” he mutters, settling into his seat, neither entirely truthful nor certain what it is that’s bugging him in the car. “The high speed is fine, the bumps are too, but the slow bits – it’s a lottery. It’s impossible to put the power down mid-corner, because either end snaps and it’s hard to tell which.” He gulps, his teeth dry and his tongue rough like sandpaper, as Gertrude’s gentle eyes bear on him. “So I’m having to go very deep into corners to exit straight out, and that hasn’t worked for the times so far.”

Gertrude smiles encouragingly, making a mental note to chat with him later, then turns to Ryker. “Similar story, I’m afraid. Happy with the balance in the high-speed too, especially now, but if anything I’m edgier in the slower stuff – the car just doesn’t want to settle. You’re right, Lucia, over a lap on fresh tyres you can manage it, but that kind of thing gets exhausting over a race distance.” He hums, half in frustration, half in contemplation. “Tried pushing through the instability on corner exit and that works maybe about a third of the time, but when it doesn’t you ruin your acceleration phase… Which isn’t ideal when that’s what we’re meant to be good at.”

Nexus Racing’s Head Programmer clears her throat. “We’re working on a solution,” Victoria says, “but it’s not going to be quick or easy to manage. Until now we’ve been modifying traction control code that was never originally designed to account for most of the car’s power not going through the wheels. Worked just fine until now, passed muster on the inter-season review, but we’re clearly past some critical threshold on car weight and kinetic power. Alex is seeing if there’s anything we can salvage but it’s possible that we’re going to have to tear the whole thing down again and start from scratch.” She shrugs helplessly. “Can’t be sure when we’ll be ready.”

“Good work, in any case – keep doing what you can. Anything else, Lucia?”

“Having looked at the tyres with Celia, those don’t appear to be of concern, so besides any radical solutions to reduce weight our major lever will be the suspension system. I’m beginning work to assign a project to investigate our dynamics in that regard and see if we can take any lessons into a new package. The geometry hasn’t changed a great deal since our switch to internal motors, so it is possible that there are gains to be made.”

“Got it. On the weight front, I’ll see if I can drag in Verti, too – maybe he or one of his students has a miracle for us that he hasn’t told me about.” Gertrude smirks at that, then claps. “Alright – know we’ve overrun and I won’t keep you from lunch any longer! See what we can do this afternoon.” She stands, collapsing her chair into disc form to be stacked with the rest, then begins the walk down to the canteen.

Even if my afternoon’s going to be a bit different than most… She smiles to herself. Different but… Satisfying in its own way, planning these things.

Good that we’re just a few minutes’ walk from the venue this time, too.

Previous Chapter
2. Faltering, Rallying

Next Chapter
4. Unveiling

Back to Hub

by **Esmerel** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 3:00 pm

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

-

SPORTS:
“WE’RE BEHIND THE 8-BALL”, SAYS BOSS OF CYGNUS, THOUGH TEAM APPEARS READY OTHERWISE
________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Cygnus Motorsport Team took the motorsport world, and the greater Verse, by storm during the last season of the World Grand Prix Championship.

What started as a plucky if innovative team spearheaded by a college program rapidly shot up through the ranks to deliver themselves the Drivers’ Championship, given to lead driver Brendan Faloe, despite his lack of previous motorsport experience. While the team’s other driver, a Valentian astronaut by the (shorthand) name of Angela Stella, scored only a single point throughout the season, the team generally considered their overall performance a resounding success- and they likely had every right to do so.

“As I said at the very beginning, our goal was to get our foot in the door, and we did that and then some,” said William Emerson, Cygnus’s Team Principal. “While Angela’s performance was regretful, and we have invested greatly into finding why, securing a championship with our other driver did tell us we were doing something right in the end.”

Cygnus was often noted for its tight budget last season, owing to a much-delayed entry into the series that threatened to ax the entire team if it did not come to fruition. With their performance, few are- and while by all means they are making greater demands of the team at this stage, Emerson asserts Cygnus is willing to deal with all that.

“We had an expectation to defend what we won in the previous season, whatever it was. And that’s what we’ll aim to do,” Emerson recently commented during a broadcast of pre-season testing at the Akresna Circuit in Auruna.

Though whether Cygnus is willing to deal with it, and whether they are ready to do so, may be two separate things.

“We’re behind the 8-ball,” Emerson continued. “We don’t yet have many upgrades in the pipeline, and we’re still working more than a few things out in terms of how all our new components, both in the car and on the team, will synthesize. Personally, I will admit I’ve felt overwhelmed setting things up for this season, but it’s nothing my team and I haven’t encountered before. This won’t be anything more than a speed bump. It can’t be.”

Some have assessed the minor struggles the team is anticipating have to do with teething issues in the team’s management structure. Others have commented on the fluctuating support offered by Cygnus University itself- expanding its programs, both undergraduate and graduate, has left the university busy with its primary focus, and less able to devote resources to motorsport, despite all the fame and resources Emerson’s team has provided the university. Simultaneously, the university has been hit hardest by Esmerel's recent student visa influx, thanks to the continuously deteriorating foreign political climate and the nation's willingness to take on those looking for new opportunities to weather the storm.

William Emerson is much more inclined towards the formermost of these assessments.

“This isn’t the team that we started with, I can agree with that much,” said Emerson. “We’ve hired to fill numerous new positions across the board, a process which I am still working on thanks to new contacts. We’ve also shuffled around our suppliers, and had to maintain all our other sponsorship relations. All of which are expecting the most out of us this season, something that we can never guarantee- no team can, especially in this sport.”

At the same time, the team’s defending champion, Faloe, has appeared by and large unavailable for comment. All evidence points to him being physically well, and his performance in preseason testing has not raised too many questions (though given the series and the fact that it was testing, not much may be answered until the first race rounds), but his as-of-late quiet attitude has unnerved onlookers.

Emerson defended his driver within moments.

“I’ll always stand by Brendan. He’s a good driver, and I take care of him the same way I take care of all my coworkers,” he said. “As before, when Brendan was only just starting out, anyone reserves the ability to make slanderous or libelous statements- and I reserve the ability to shoot them all down. Few know as much about the inner mechanics of driving a WGPC car like he does. He couldn’t have won the championship otherwise. And he is fully capable of doing it again.”

Cole Schmied, Faloe’s race engineer, also commented on his driver. “I’ve seen Brendan improve like no other driver I’ve ever worked with,” he added. “He’s willing to be pragmatic without sacrificing everything else. When the chips come down, and you know they will come down later, Brendan’s going to be in the right place at the right time.”

Outside of minor concerns for how the team may be doing internally, there seem to be few problems for them to cover. Logistics-wise, there have been no issues for the team to suddenly overcome as it’s traveled between the pre-season test sessions. Devin O’Brien, the team’s newly-hired Chief Mechanic, confirmed as such when asked for comment:

“I’ve settled into my new role under Dr. Emerson,” said O’Brien. “It’s my job to direct how parts get built, how they go onto the car, and how we move them all around. All of that’s going good so far- we haven’t had to worry about anything getting lost in transit, and we haven’t had any teething problems assembling the cars. I can rely on Lianna [Alphonse, the team’s Lead Designer] to design me some nice parts, my crew to help put things together, and Cole, Carol, and Baxen to work with the drivers to give us feedback.”

O’Brien also commented on the status of the team.

“I don’t agree with Dr. Emerson, not here,” he said. “I’ve known him the entire time I’ve been at Cygnus University, and he’s a great teacher and leader. I’m not here to deny his feelings, either. But I’d say they’re overblown. We’re all ready to fight this season, the same way Cygnus was last season.”

In other news, Cygnus recently unveiled their challenger and its coat of paint for the season; by and large the same as it was last season, but with some adjusted sponsorship logos to reflect the team’s new suppliers and supporters after their previous campaign.

Ariel DuBois, Cygnus’s new Commercial Manager and designer of the livery, was happy to speak for herself on the matter.

“I took a look at what we had, and decided what it represented and how it represented it was good enough,” said DuBois. “You have the three colors of the Esmerelian flag- deep blue sky, verdant green surface, vast black foundation- pockmarked with our most ardent supporters, the university among them, of course, and plenty of indicators to who the drivers are. It might not be especially flashy, but it communicates what it needs to. We don’t have to stand by any one sponsor and their colors- a nation, united, is how we present ourselves to the Verse, especially on the track.”

The C102, as the chassis is named, may not have many differences on the outside to its predecessor, but underneath the hood is where its advantages lie. A new, custom-built engine by Sturmburgher- one which the company has confirmed will be arriving in its road cars soon- has been inserted into the car, in place of the Tropicorp engine that powered Cygnus in the previous season. The publicly-revealed specifications of the engine, a 2.3L twincharged crossplane V8 producing around 900 brake horsepower, haven’t turned many heads, but the team says it’s no cause for concern.

“Lianna and I have worked on this, and we know how the engine will work with the rest of the car. Last season’s C101 was really designed with this engine in mind,” explained Devin O’Brien. “That 900 brake horsepower figure is achieved without any other components. Once you factor in the supercharger, our drivers can deploy almost 1,300 brake horsepower. Sure, that boost might not last too long at full power, but it recharges quickly when you hit the brakes. Not to mention our car is lightweight and nimble. We had to add ballast to it last season to meet the minimum weight, and this season isn’t too different. Once you get past the raw numbers, you have a car that’ll get the job done.”

The team also traded its tire supply contract to Brimstone, a Hapiloppian company with great success in other motorsport categories. “Dr. Emerson and I chose Brimstone to try and balance things out, as well as to be bolder,” added Ariel DuBois. “I’ve seen the tracks we’ll be racing at- each of them very nice, but too many of them aren’t set up for our car. We can try and adjust, but that’ll only get us so far compared to the teams that are set for downforce as a baseline. So either we try and close the gap another way or we don’t close it. That’s what Brimstone will do for us.”

With all these considerations in mind, while Cygnus Motorsport Team does appear to have some minor worries- valid ones, at that- it shouldn’t slow them down too much.

“And that’s something I can see happening,” mentioned Dr. Emerson when asked a similar question. “We had a slow start last season, and look where we ended up. We just have to hope this season’s start isn’t as slow.”

Many eyes will be on the team as they seek to improve on their results from the previous season, starting with this weekend’s events in the (most likely) frozen destination of Aboveland. With the largest grid in WGPC history taking to the track every weekend, and the threat of failing to qualify hanging over all the competitors’ heads, it may be difficult for all involved to stay cool when put under pressure.

But, ultimately, if any team can accomplish that, there are few to no doubts it will be Cygnus.

by **Turori** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 3:15 pm

twii.tur set to anchor special support series for reserve drivers?

Cednia Beach, Turori :: Rumors are hot out of Turori this past week that twii.tur has been in negotiations to bankroll a sub-tier level support series to run in conjunction with WGPC Season 21 which would allow official WGPC Team reserve drivers and some additional drivers meeting certain qualifications to compete in an Overflow Grand Prix series. Such a series would give drive an opportunity to put their skills and performances on display in front of the World Grand Prix Championship paddock. A potential list of drivers planning to compete in such an overflow grand prix series has been found and is available at the following Sign Up URL. Among those believe to be competing in the series include former Race Eelandii driver Lane Carter.

While it is expected to run alongside existing WGPC Season 21 events there is also a rumor that a Walrus is somehow involved in the series as well More to come on this new as we receive it out of Eelandii

by **Liventia** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 3:17 pm

CUTOFF

for Practice and Qualifying at Fjellutfordring

by **Liventia** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 3:25 pm

Week 4: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:07.451
Session Length:		75 minutes
Nation:         	ABL
Circuit:        	Fjellutfordring

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

POS # ▍DRIVER                                               	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER		
 1 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschlager                                  	00:01:11.399	00:00:00.000		
 2 88 ▍Ted Pressley                                         	00:01:11.483	00:00:00.085		
 3 22 ▍Nini Johnsilvaturr                                   	00:01:11.501	00:00:00.102		
 4 40 ▍Adriana Ela Kowalski Lillian                         	00:01:11.523	00:00:00.125		
 5 89 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                                      	00:01:11.527	00:00:00.128		
 6 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                                      	00:01:11.535	00:00:00.137		
 7 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                                         	00:01:11.567	00:00:00.168		
 8 58 ▍Shuhei Kamado                                        	00:01:11.586	00:00:00.188		
 9 95 ▍Hanna Berezowska                                     	00:01:11.607	00:00:00.209		
10 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                                       	00:01:11.617	00:00:00.219		
11 94 ▍Ryker Lane                                           	00:01:11.634	00:00:00.236		
12 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                                         	00:01:11.650	00:00:00.252		
13 12 ▍Ron Sommer                                           	00:01:11.701	00:00:00.303		
14  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux                                   	00:01:11.706	00:00:00.307		
15  1 ▍Brendan Faloe                                        	00:01:11.708	00:00:00.310		
16 33 ▍Sam Blaatschapen                                     	00:01:11.723	00:00:00.325		
17 96 ▍William Archer                                       	00:01:11.746	00:00:00.348		
18 55 ▍Gil Langdon                                          	00:01:11.760	00:00:00.362		
19 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick                                   	00:01:11.813	00:00:00.414		
20 18 ▍Giancarlo Rahel                                      	00:01:11.873	00:00:00.475		
21 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                                     	00:01:11.903	00:00:00.504		
22 13 ▍Pierre-Louis Archer                                  	00:01:11.997	00:00:00.598		
23 66 ▍Vincent Von Visp                                     	00:01:12.027	00:00:00.629		
24 84 ▍Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling                          	00:01:12.139	00:00:00.740		
25 16 ▍Azalia Kawakai                                       	00:01:12.383	00:00:00.985		
26 85 ▍Olivia Stone                                         	00:01:12.506	00:00:01.107		
27 63 ▍Nepö Kinder                                          	00:01:12.686	00:00:01.287		
28 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                                          	00:01:12.713	00:00:01.315		
29 21 ▍Nik Hazrin Lutfi                                     	00:01:13.071	00:00:01.672		
30 30 ▍Otto Markul                                          	00:01:14.280	00:00:02.881		
31 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                                         	00:01:14.940	00:00:03.541		
32 10 ▍Ankei Souzare                                        	00:01:20.406	00:00:09.007

Week 4: Qualifying

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:07.451
Qualifying Type:	One Shot
Nation:         	ABL
Circuit:        	Fjellutfordring

POS # ▍DRIVER                                               	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER		
 1 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                                      	00:01:06.494	00:00:00.000		
 2 85 ▍Olivia Stone                                         	00:01:06.562	00:00:00.068		
 3 95 ▍Hanna Berezowska                                     	00:01:06.569	00:00:00.075		
 4 94 ▍Ryker Lane                                           	00:01:06.573	00:00:00.079		
 5 84 ▍Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling                          	00:01:06.590	00:00:00.097		
 6 66 ▍Vincent Von Visp                                     	00:01:06.600	00:00:00.106		
 7 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick                                   	00:01:06.646	00:00:00.152		
 8 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschlager                                  	00:01:06.646	00:00:00.152		
 9 88 ▍Ted Pressley                                         	00:01:06.647	00:00:00.153		
10  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux                                   	00:01:06.721	00:00:00.227		
11 96 ▍William Archer                                       	00:01:06.750	00:00:00.256		
12 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                                     	00:01:06.779	00:00:00.286		
13 33 ▍Sam Blaatschapen                                     	00:01:06.923	00:00:00.429		
14  1 ▍Brendan Faloe                                        	00:01:06.959	00:00:00.466		
15 55 ▍Gil Langdon                                          	00:01:07.050	00:00:00.557		
16 12 ▍Ron Sommer                                           	00:01:07.160	00:00:00.667		
17 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                                          	00:01:07.322	00:00:00.828		
18 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                                       	00:01:07.353	00:00:00.859		
19 63 ▍Nepö Kinder                                          	00:01:07.388	00:00:00.895		
20 58 ▍Shuhei Kamado                                        	00:01:07.400	00:00:00.907		
21 89 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                                      	00:01:07.445	00:00:00.951		
22 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                                         	00:01:07.669	00:00:01.175		
23 22 ▍Nini Johnsilvaturr                                   	00:01:08.091	00:00:01.598		
24 13 ▍Pierre-Louis Archer                                  	00:01:08.270	00:00:01.776		
25 21 ▍Nik Hazrin Lutfi                                     	00:01:08.701	00:00:02.207		
26 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                                         	00:01:08.874	00:00:02.380		

27 40 ▍Adriana Ela Kowalski Lillian                         	00:01:08.982	00:00:02.489		DNQ
28 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                                         	00:01:09.272	00:00:02.779		DNQ
29 30 ▍Otto Markul                                          	00:01:09.635	00:00:03.141		DNQ
30 16 ▍Azalia Kawakai                                       	00:01:10.045	00:00:03.551		DNQ
31 18 ▍Giancarlo Rahel                                      	00:01:10.401	00:00:03.908		DNQ
32 10 ▍Ankei Souzare                                        	00:01:32.352	00:00:25.858		DNQ

by **Trans-Dniesters** » Sat Feb 22, 2025 11:23 am

OOC: The following takes place immediately after the UrGa preseason tests, which took place in between the first and second WGPC official preseason tests.

“Good afternoon, Comrade Minister,” Yakov Leonidovich Yurievsky said as he attempted to hide both his surprise at the new arrival and the briefcase full of money in his hands. For the first time in a long time, Yurievsky had been caught in an unambiguously compromising position, and he was at a loss at what to do.

“Good afternoon to you too, Yakov Leonidovich,” Minister of Finance Boris Borisovich Tokarev said as he sat down across the desk from Yurievsky.

“What brings you down here to Myrilsk, Boris?” Yurievsky asked. “Surely it can’t be the weather. If you thought it was piss-poor back in Tiraspol, it’s way worse up here.”

“I thought that I should take a look at the business that brings in at least two percent of the total finances of the Pridnestrovian Republic, Yakov,” Tokarev replied. “Yes, yes, I know that this is actually more up the alley of Dmitry Sergeyevich,” he added, referring to the Minister of Trade and Industry Dmitry Sergeyevich Atolov. “But he’s busy being wined and dined by your friend from Dnistrotel so he’s not available. Besides, I’ve decided to take up an interest in this motorsports thing after that meeting that we had with the President back at the Kremlin all those months ago.”

“What meeting?” And then Yurievsky remembered, and he nodded his head. “Ah, yes. That meeting. I have to say, I am incredibly disappointed in how the Hapiloppian government dealt with the fallout of their attempted electric vehicle ban. I say attempted because, thanks to an outdated law that even the boyars would not have used against the Tsar, the ban’s veto was not overturned. Our campaign to ensure the ban goes through did not achieve the original aim, so now I think it’s time to move the goalposts.”

“Funny that you should mention that disinformation campaign, Yakov,” Tokarev said. “If I’m being completely honest with you, Yakov, and God knows that that is a very grave mistake, that is actually one of the real reasons why I came down here to Myrilsk.”

“I knew it was too much to believe that you had taken up an altruistic interest in motor racing,” Yurievsky shook his head. “What is it that you want from me?”

“This disinformation campaign of yours has turned into a very costly one, Yakov,” Tokarev said. “It was already expensive enough when we actually had to pay the useful idiots to go on social media and spread the messages that we want them to spread, but this artificial intelligence thing has moved us forward by leaps and bounds. One of these AI programs can do the work of a hundred thousand of our trolls, but that one program takes up so much server space! Now imagine ten of those programs conducting the disinformation campaign just as you wished. Imagine all of the servers and computers that have to be used just to power those programs. That’s a lot of power. That’s a lot of computers. That’s a lot of servers. And all of that is expensive to maintain.”

“How expensive?”

“Two trillion rubles,” Tokarev replied immediately. “Two billion NSD if you can’t be bothered to convert. The government’s pockets are deep, Yakov, but not deep enough to hold two trillion rubles. Someone has to pay for the bills, Yakov, and this whole operation was your idea, it’s only fair that you should pay for it.”

“Now hold on just a minute!” Yurievsky cried out as he clutched the briefcase containing Vincent Von Visp’s bribes closer to his person. “Your predecessor did not have any problem finding the necessary funds to maintain the previous campaigns I had asked our government to initiate!”

“And that is exactly why I have to come out here and collect!” Tokarev retorted. “My predecessor had no problem pulling funds from other projects and sources in order to maintain all of your disinformation campaigns, and that’s why the Ministry of Finance was in such dire straits when I took charge. I’m trying to turn that ship around, and the first steps to doing that is making sure that you’re now holding up your end of the bargain. The current disinformation campaign against Hapilopper and TJUN-ia was your idea, and it’s time that you began paying for it.” To prove his point, Tokarev stood up and reached out for the briefcase which Yurievsky was still clutching to the point that his knuckles had turned as white as the clouds outside his office.

“Wait!” Yurievsky said. “Can’t we come to some sort of agreement?”

Tokarev withdrew his hand from the briefcase handle. “Very well,” he said as he sat back down. “If that is your wish, then I’m willing to indulge you. It would appear that you’ve made some very rich friends during your time ‘financially advising’ Urotovsky-Gatutin, Yakov. And I have to say that I’m really interested in that friend of yours who just signed a contract with UrGa. The Recuecian, Von Visp. From what I understand, Von Visp is from a very wealthy family. And from what I heard, there is a possibility that there might be blood dripping from the Von Visps’ money.”

“What are you talking about now, Boris?” Yurievsky asked.

“The fascists, Yakov,” Tokarev explained. “I’ve heard talk and rumors that the Von Visps have a not insignificant amount of fascist gold in the family vaults. Which fascists did they come from? I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m not interested in redistributing that gold back to their ‘rightful’ owners. I only care about redistributing that gold into the national coffers to pay for all of that server space and computational power that the AI bots have been consuming. Do you know how much your friend Oleg Sergeyevich is charging for all of that server space? And that is with the usual discounts for government business already applied!”

“What do you want me to do then, Boris?” Yurievsky asked. “Walk up to Von Visp and tell him, ‘Hey, the government just told me that I need to pay the bills for my latest idea for a disinformation campaign so I need to borrow some money. Can I ask you for your family gold?’ Is that what I’m supposed to say to him?”

“I don’t care what you say to him, Yakov,” Tokarev retorted. “You’ve been leeching off of the state for far too long. It’s time to give back to your country, and time for your country to actually get a tangible benefit from your friends, starting with Von Visp. You figure out a way to get Von Visp to hand some of his fascist gold over to us. It doesn’t even have to be all of the gold, just a small fraction from him will be enough because you’ll be the one footing the vast majority of the bill for the disinformation campaign yourself. In the meantime, I’ll be taking this.” Once again, Tokarev stood up and put his hand on the briefcase, but this time Yurievsky didn’t fight back, and he let Tokarev take the case away from him.

Tokarev slid the case closer to himself, and then opened it and took a look inside. Satisfied with the contents, he closed the briefcase again and said to Yurievsky, “Pleasure doing business with you, Comrade Yurievsky,” and then he walked out of the “financial advisor’s” office.

Yakov Yurievsky sank back in his seat, unsure of what had just happened. It wasn’t normal for him to be this flustered. He always thought that he always had enough mental and emotional control over himself to not betray any of his own thoughts while the person across from him laid out theirs for the whole world to see. But things appeared to be different now. Yurievsky did not know Boris Tokarev, or at least he thought he knew about Tokarev to deal with him appropriately. But the man had just thrown him a new curveball, and now Yakov would have to balance dealing with Tokarev with all of the duties that came along with the special racing operation. And of course there was the matter of trying to bring up the matter of the fascist gold to Vincent Von Visp. Yakov understood that the matter was a sensitive one for Vincent, but there was simply no way of bringing it up in conversation without it seeming too contrived, and besides, Vincent was going to see right through Yakov’s attempts and probably demand to know how or why Yakov came across that information.

The best option then would just be blunt and ask for the gold straight to Vincent’s face. The man didn’t care for any sob stories about restoring the gold to its “rightful” owners, but then again, Boris Tokarev himself had said he also didn’t care about redistributing the gold to anyone else. He was just asking Yakov to pay for the costs of the latest disinformation campaign in both Hapilopper and TJUN-ia that sought to stoke the flames of conflict between the two nations now that the original aim of making sure that the Hapiloppian electric vehicle ban was moot thanks to a filibuster of all things. Yakov wanted nothing more than the politician who performed the filibuster to be ousted from his office by whatever means necessary, from impeachment to outright assassination. But before he could propose that to the government once again, he would have to pay his way back to their good graces. And for some reason, they wanted his bribe to come in the form of Vincent Von Visp’s fascist gold. It would be a difficult task, but Yakov figured that he had all of the current WGPC season to work on getting it done. At the very least, the gold wouldn’t get melted down into a golf club like what one Harry Zoomtwat had intended to do with the Scepter of Saint Bogdan.

by **Diarcesia** » Sat Feb 22, 2025 5:13 pm

New World Grand Prix Season First Race Weekend: PB Drivers Qualify P13 and P18

AVSIDESLIGGENDEVUORET, ABOVELAND — Diarcesian outfit Pryfors Bilar braved the chilly weather of Aboveland to participate on the first race of WGPC season 21. Using the now V10-powered PF-3 cars, a smaller and simpler machine compared from its predecessors, drivers Laura Haukanna and Sam Blaatschapen negotiated a treacherous session. Combined with a one-shot format and a requirement to finish within the top 26 to even participate in the race, both drivers appeared to be more intent on finishing their allocated lap than securing pole position. The Diarcesian Blaatschapen took more risks in the final sector. A wider-than-ideal execution in Turn 11 cost her a few hundredths of a second from her lap time that was good enough for P13. Social media reactions included memes that Ms. Blaatschapen intentionally arrived at the result so that she can qualify in "Position B" i.e. P.B. [Number 13 looks like a B, making her starting position look similar to the team acronym]. She denied such a plan when asked by ACTO after the session.

The lead driver Ms. Haukanna approached her qualifying with little change on form from practice. While she continued getting used to the different driving characteristics of the PF-3, she focused on maximizing the car's traction. The conservative brake bias and relatively sluggish low-end acceleration contributed to a P18 finish. In spite of the middling results, team principal Aldauren Ginintella expressed optimism on projected race performance: "It'll be nice if we win, but what's more important is for both drivers to score good points to build our season-long momentum. I believe that these are very achievable, especially with the potential chaos the cold temperatures could bring. If chaos does ensue, the demonstrated agility of the PF-3s could be a breakthrough, a potentially spectacular one at that."

Article by: Periander Brontony
(Visited 100,000 times, 10 visits today)

by **Tumbra** » Sun Feb 23, 2025 12:14 am

Ted

There was a certain spring in his step as he made the short journey across the country from Iskajärvi to Avsidesliggendevuoret. For Ted, perhaps it was the fact that he'd not only gotten his quasi-boyfriend, Janne Laukkanen, to come over to his house; but also because they'd taken the rare opportunity when it was just them to engage in all the carnal activities they wanted. Janne felt good to hold; perhaps it was the way that the driver simply melted in his hands, or perhaps it was his visceral reactions whenever Ted touched him. Or how he seemed to gasp, eagerly awaiting whatever came next whenever Ted pressed his mouth on Janne's skin. Regardless, being together with his...more than friend, much less than boyfriend seemed to renew him with energy; being able to look at Janne's satisfied face after going for pretty much the entirety of Thursday evening made him feel something, too.

He caught a look at baby blue race suit having cameras shoved in his face; it was definitely too thin to be Ryker Lane, so it must have been Janne. He let his eyes linger for a bit on the rear of Janne's race suit, under the pretense of photobombing what was meant to be a joyous interview for the polesitter. The racesuit didn't flatter Janne's rear much — they were far too baggy and filled with flame-resistant material to flatter any part of anyone's body — but the thought of Janne struggling to walk after their dalliance amused him slightly.

Then he was reminded of what Janne had said near the end of their session together. In the afterglow of their heated love, Janne had let slip the three words "I love you"; Ted didn't know if Janne meant them, or if they were just a response to his skill in bed. He didn't respond, merely kissing Janne as a response; but he had so, so wanted to respond to Janne with those three words of his own.

But he didn't feel just ready to say them yet.

Sure, he'd had romances as a teen, but they were always short-lived because Ted was constantly jetting around the country, racing karts, small open-wheelers and what not. Teenagers, for all their wants and whims, seemingly couldn't deal with that; nor could he, it turns out, because more than once a junior college romance had asked him whether Ted would choose her or his racing cars. And every time, he'd chosen the cars.

Committing now? That felt like a tall order. Sure, him and Janne were doing the dirty on the regular, but there was still some unseen mental block within him that was stopping him from saying the words back, from allowing Janne from feeling that his feelings were reciprocated. And the happiness at seeing Janne soon faded slightly; he had a decision to make soon. This would be the last time in the season for a while that Janne and him would be in Aboveland, unless he could convince the Abovian to come home for the mid-season break for another romp.

He ended his camerabombing with a cocksure wave before walking off. Things with Ælund were going fine; as expected, the car was performing the best it could in these cold conditions. A second place in practice had translated to a ninth in qualifying; with the Nexuses sweeping the pants off everyone going first and fourth. A little over a tenth and a half separated him and Janne; he put that down to his exit from turn ten, but in a series where margins were this fine, a tenth and a half sounded alright. And he knew what to do in the race, anyway.

Pressley

Pressley Racing had been Found Out.

Well, they hadn't been found out has hard as, say, the Eminent or the HMGs, but there was still a palpable sense of disappointment in the garage as a first and third in practice translated into an eighth and...twenty-third. Nini's result seemed to hit the young Doubeian hard; she looked visibly crestfallen as driver after driver overtook her, and near the end she was starting to even fear for her place on the grid for Sunday's race. It seemed she'd not gotten to grips with the PRE-025 as well as the man in the other garage had; but overall the Pressley team were still confident of at least points for the young lassie to get her confidence up. It seemed that she was being treated with kid gloves this year; but after what had happened to their last young female driver who'd shown tons of promise, everyone seemed to want Nini to stick around for more than one year.

Dario's confidence seemed to have carried over from the pre-season testing; he'd topped the timesheets and had followed it up by leading the one-shot timesheet for a while until the cars that went later in the day overtook him. But being within the top ten was still fine; and privately, him and his race engineer Sonia Fairbairn had been aiming for at least a top five finish. By now, Dario had a year of testing experience under his belt; and with little to no restrictions on in-season testing in WGPC, Pressley had put their once-reserve driver to work doing laps on laps on laps around the various Tumbran circuits (there were a surprising amount of them), and the results had showed. Even in somewhat unfamiliar conditions, Dario and the car were perfectly synced.

There were expectations starting to build up on the experienced Hulkenberger; time would tell whether he would pay off. But the sense in his half of the garage was that Dario was ready; his year on the sidelines, while chastening, had given him an additional year to prepare for his grand return with Pressley. There were murmurs that they should have just given him the seat over Bryce Yannec in the first place — a veritable dud both in WGP2 and WGPC, two years had shown — but the tradeoff of actually participating in a race between near-unlimited testing time was something that the team didn't really want to address.

Still, confidence was contagious; and Dario's confidence certainly put a lot of the team at ease as the hours counted down to the start of the next WGPC season.

by **Patriotlandia** » Sun Feb 23, 2025 1:48 am

Testing did not go quite as well as Pierre-Louis had anticipated. Months removed from his last outing in anger the Patriotlandian found himself a little over a second off the pace at the third test of the season.

He got to meet the team. It was weird to be in a 4 car team, let alone in the most prestigious series in motorsports. He was used to smaller programs back home when most of his funding came from his father.

The WGPC Motorworks team was great and he could feel all the experience in each and everyone in the paddock but still felt like the team was very clinical and lacking any sort of identity compared to the other teams on the grid. In a way though this could be the best platform for Pierre-Louis to show his worth. On a team where the driver is the identity and there were three teammates to compare off of.

Speaking of teammates, Pierre-Louis hadn't quite had time to properly meet all of them yet. The last minute flight into the final test of the pre season and a single week to get ready for the first race left little time for socializing. Azalia and Giancarlo are his age and seem to be of similar background. On one hand this could mean they could easily find common ground or that they could become rivals.

Qualifying went as went as well as a the first week of the season could have gone after missing two of the three tests. Pierre-Louis out qualified his teammates, unfortunately, this also meant that they would have to cheer him on from the box stand. With 32 entrants and 25 spots the margin for errors were very small. "I don't really know how it makes financial sense to cut so many, but I'm happy I made the field. Hopefully we can build off of this while I get experience at this level", he said to a member of the media. The idea of investing millions into a racing program only to be turned away on the first day felt foreign to him. Back in Patriotlandia, series often had trouble finding teams willing to participate. Now here there were too many?

Now onto the race. The circuit was fast and flowing but presented only limited passing opportunity. Turn 1, 5 and 10 would be the best to make a move but Pierre-Louis needs to be aggressive if he wants to pass most of the 22 drivers ahead of him.

by **Sharktail** » Sun Feb 23, 2025 3:59 am

Fjellutfordring, Aboveland

"What might be the worst thing you don't want and hope doesn't happen to you at WGPC?"
"Maybe try hard not to have DNQ in stat page in my first ever WGPC race."

At the time Hazrin was interviewed, he laughed and smiled. But today, he can only sigh and be happy because he is just two spots away from the first DNQ in his first official WGPC race. How did his WGPC 21 career start? Well, as he gears up for the season, his pre-season starts from up to down, down, down and a bit up. So what he expects to start with is a bit of a comeback. A bit...hmm, maybe a lot of comebacks. But as someone said, the sky is not always clear; yeah, that's what we should say here.

Practice, a car goes fast, clean no crash, no out of bounds, perfect. If he just can be faster, he will not end up in 29th out of 32 drivers in free practice. Is he the problem or the car the problem? Maybe he should see how his teammate is cruising, and set a good lap time sitting at 7th place. So, in conclusion, as how many times we already mention, please keep the rookie beside Hazrin's name. Pretty much, please. So, what is the last thing he can hope for is to at least up three positions to 26th?

And come the qualifying. One shot. And wonder how he sees his teammate at 22nd at a glance. He's cooked. If that low is achieved by his mate, then maybe he can achieve greater, might as well put 32 in mind. Just joking. Whatever. As he did with qualifying, the last hope is not qualifying for the main race. Pretty much please let it not happen. And thankfully, the result of qualifying was a bit chaotic, and his time was pushed up to the 25th. Hooray, he qualified.

Sadly, tomorrow, with 26 competitive cars out there, everyone might be shocked when he gets points rather than end up not having any points. So, one crucial thing is done: tomorrow, the first mark of his step into WGPC either straight out of fantasy or down drowned deep.

by **Nico Hulkenberg** » Sun Feb 23, 2025 6:18 am

HMG Garages,
Fjellutfordring

The team had plenty of knowledge going into the weekend that the HMG H01.1 was both a mouthful to say and a handful to drive, so when both drivers flashed up in the top twenty during practice there was a slight sigh of relief. Both Team Principal Jöhan Turbringer and Head of Driver Development Adrian Kinder (but effective co-Team Principal) were on-site, as they would be for all of the season’s race events.

”Thank god.” said Jöhan. ”The car seems like it’s working for both of them, that’s rare!”

”Yes,” replied Adrian, ”but the car clearly lacks something. I’ve instructed both sides of the garage to adjust the setups based on the feedback, so hopefully we get something out of that.”

Jöhan’s brows furrowed.

”Adrian, mate, it’s a one-shot qualifying session. If we even get the slightest thing wrong…”

”Ap-pap-pap-pap!” Adrian interjected. ”As far as I’m concerned, the only changes we make will be for the betterment of the car. As things stand, we are relatively far away from the points, so going a bit radical can’t hurt.”

“Skiia’s twelfth?”

“This is a two-car team, Jöhan. We have to make it work.”

Reluctantly, Jöhan relented, and allowed the team’s engineers to tweak the cars right up until the start of qualifying. With Skiia having the smaller number, she would be the first HMG to head out on track. One installation lap later, the first and only attempt began - but after a dodgy first two sectors, the call came from Skiia’s engineer to prematurely end the lap and return to the pits, suggesting that not competing at all was better than being at the rear of the pack. Just along the pit wall, Jöhan’s head was in his hands.

”I fucking told him.”

The team couldn’t afford to linger on it too long, though, as Adonis Fitzpatrick headed out on track. Multiple drivers before him had already set a time, with Dario Nülkeschläger’s 1:06.646 looking strong towards the front. With fingers and toes crossed in the garage and on the pit wall, the entire team was willing Donny onwards, hoping that one of their cars would qualify, never mind qualify well. Two impressive first sectors got the team’s heartbeats racing, and there was sheer elation as Adonis crossed the line in fifth, matching Dario’s time, but ultimately ending up ahead by three thousandths of a second. Fitzpatrick’s lap time would be dropped to seventh as two cars went quicker than him still, but the team were delighted that they seemed to have finally found a setup that worked for both the car and Donny. High fives all around in the HMG garage - apart for Skiia, who gave Adonis a conciliatory fistbump.

Pressley Garages,
Fjellutfordring

Dario and Pressley had continued their strong showings from testing in the practice session, with both cars finishing in the top three. However, when it came to qualifying, the cars didn’t fare quite as well, with Nini getting scarily close to not qualifying, and Dario in the top ten by the skin of his teeth.

”Damn, only eighth? I thought we had a bit more pace than that.” said Dario, conversing with his engineer once the chequered flag flew on the session.

”We do, but the car’s better-suited to race conditions than in one-strike-and-you’re-out sessions like this.” replied Sonia. ”With any luck, we’ll get ahead of them during the pit cycle, knowing how kind you and the car are on the tyres.”

Dario’s eyes lit up.

”Is it time for softs and inshallah to make a grand return?”

“No. Perhaps something less batshit would cause less problems for you later on. Don’t worry, we’ll cook something up. Just think of the overtakes.”

by **Zalivinia** » Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:27 am

Berezowska leaned against the garage wall, her arms crossed and her helmet tucked under one arm as she watched the screens displaying the qualifying results. Her eyes flicked to the bottom of the screen, where her teammate’s name sat in an embarrassing contrast to the rest of the field with a 25 second gap to the leader.
Souzare put in the slowest lap she had ever seen. At least this time, he didn’t crash.

She glanced over at Ankei, who was standing a few feet away from her. They didn’t talk much, their interactions were limited to the occasional glance, a forced smile from her, and a thumbs-up she didn’t really mean.
It was more out of pity than anything else but she really tried to be nice to him. She didn’t know how he’d even made it this far without getting himself or someone else killed.

Her own performance had been solid, qualifying P3, sandwiched between two seasoned Nimban drivers: Olivia Stone of Cygnus and Ryker Lane of Nexus Racing. Both had more experience than her, and she knew she had to stay focused to keep up with them.
Racing itself wasn’t the hard part for Hanna, it was everything else that was getting to her.

She was starting to feel homesick. Her family would visit her in Hapilopper for the race, but it still felt like a long time to wait.
She tought that her dream just came true but in this team everything felt off. The team atmosphere was poor, but at least she was putting in good results and it seemed like it was the only positive thing HiTEN had to offer.

by **Turori** » Sun Feb 23, 2025 10:13 am

Toralmintii On Track for Final Abovian Grand Prix

Abovian Grand Prix, Fjellutfordring, Avsidesliggendevuoret, Aboveland :: And so it begins. The end of the World Grand Prix Championships' greatest "Dynasty Era" was already set in motion with the retirement of Terho Talvela following World Grand Prix Championship Season 18 and now continues in its finality as the 21st World Grand Prix Championship kicks off its first points-paying race of the season. Of course, it is fitting in a way that iBen Toralmintii's farewell campaign will begin in Aboveland. It was a long time partnership with Abovian World Champion driver Terho Talvela that thrust iBen Toralmintii from the all-time list of World Grand Prix Championship drivers, to the list of the World Grand Prix Championship's all-time Greatest Drivers. Driving for Tropicorp Racing Aelund, Toralmintii accomplished things that no driver may ever match in terms of total points earned, top-2 finishers in the drivers championship and, perhaps most impressively, consecutive race victories. It was that magical stretch to close out World Grand Prix Championship Seaosn 17 - nine finishes in the points, five victories including winning the final four races of the season consecutively that forever put Toralmintii's name in the record books despite falling just five points short of the Driver's Championship that season. While they were unable to extend that record to five consecutive wins, being bested by his own car on his own track, Toralmintii would still go on to win an additional three races during WGPC Season 18 including the Abovian Grand Prix Feature Race right here at the Fjellutfordring, Toralmintii's only home-track victory in Aboveland driving a World Grand Prix Championship car.

While the celebration of Toralmintii's accomplishments in Aboveland might have been slightly more extravagent if they were still driving for the local team, and perhaps if the memory of 10+ Grand Prix victories were still more fresh than the pains of World Grand Prix Championship Season 20. Yet for all the struggles that the Tropicorp Colourworks team experienced one season ago, there was still a bright spot in Aboveland where Toralmintii dazzled the crowd storming from the back of the pack to finish in the points - something they accomplished just twice over the course of the season.

There is no doubt set to be plenty of requests for interviews, and Toralmintii themselves already has a press conference scheduled after the conclusion of the Abovian Grand Prix - regardless of where they finish, to give one final assessment of their career in Aboveland and an opportunity to say Thank You once more to the local fans. It will also be a reflection for Toralmintii who will step up to the microphone having experienced the unfamiliar process of going through a race weekend with a different team altogether. For a time, it seemed as if the #77 Paddock might stay assigned to the Ælund Grand Prix team and their new driver Abdoulaye Goita - themselves a former Reserve driver for Race Eelandii who was hand picked as a future star by Toralmintii. Ultimately, however, the team decided to relinquish the #77 back to Toralmintii for one final season on the grid - back to the number that saw Toralmintii four times place in the Top 2 of the Drivers Standings. While Toralmintii has retired once before and then returned to the track, the Turorian has made clear that even if he is crowned World Grand Prix Champion again this season, it will be nothing more than a redemption and validation before hanging up the helmet and gloves for good - at least as far as the World Grand Prix Championship is concerned. Toralmintii is also expected to stay in Aboveland after the race with hopes to swing to the shop of his former team and host a fan day at the Lintulahti circuit as well before heading onwards to Doubeia for the second round of the season and the first of just two Grand Prix tracks that Toralmintii will compete on for the very first time in their farewell season.

As a season of both competition and celebration kicked off, there was one variable that had not been there in any of Toralmintii's previous seasons of competing in the Abovian Grand Prix: The threat of failing to qualify for the race. With 32 drivers and only 26 spots on the starting grid, the six slowest drivers in Qualifying inclusive of two WGPC Motorworks drivers would find themselves watching the Feature event from the Paddock. Considering the performance struggles Toralmintii had one season ago with Tropicorp Colourworks, failing to qualify was a real threat that would put an instant damper on the weekend plan. Needing to Qualify in the Top 26 to be assured a spot in the race, things were sitting on the hairy edge for Race Eelandgii VTGP after the Friday practice session with Toralmintii just 21st fastest and teammate Cocoabo #23 struggling to find the pace in 28th.

Thankfully, Toralmintii's experience and Fast Cocoabo's icey calm demeanor would prevail in the other-wise nerve-wracking One-Shot qualifying session. Toralminii will hit the lights from the 12th position on the grid, a much better position then they had to work with last season before cutting through the field to take home a spot in the points. Toralmintii will still have work to do to crack the Top 10 but they will start right behind the target position and have the whole race in front of them as they attempt to cut through and make up the spots. It will be a much tougher challenge for Cocoabo #23 who will start the race from the 17th position but the team will likely attempt to under-cut the strategy and steal a spot in the point to start off the season strong.

Cruisin Propels Piers Ivchenko with Strong Pre-Season

It was an unexpectedly strong pre-season for R.L. Cruisin and the upstart Piers Ivchenko team. The veteran Cruisin would place in the Top 10 in five of the seven testing sessions held and showed that there was a promising starting point for the team to work from. While it was expectedly more of a challenge for Cruisin's teammate, the rookie driver from Sharktail Nik Hazrin Lutfi, the team would arrive in Aboveland hoping that the data they gained in the pre-season coupled with Cruisin's mentorship would be enough to see both of the team's drivers into the starting lineup.

With 75 minutes on track for the first practice session it was looking very much like things did in the pre-season. Once again, R.L. Cruisin was able to get the very most out of the car, posting a fastest lap less than two-tenths of a second slower than the fastest lap of the day posted by Dario Nülkeschlager in an all-Pressley Top 3 on the timing sheet. However there was concern throughout the paddock surrounding the #21 of Nik Hazrin Lutfi. The Sharktailian was 29th fastest of the 32 cars in the practice session. While the team were expecting some difficulties and nerves for Lutfi's first proper Grand Prix, they also knew how important it would be to get the #21 car into the race and to get Lutfi the experience of a full Grand Prix under their belt early in the season. Failing to qualify could be an absolute disaster for Lutfi and the team as it would only compound the pressure on the rookie driver at each subsequent event - which would only be made worse by the fact that the next event on the schedule would be the teams own home race at the Queensland Street Circuit.

After the practice session was over, R.L. Cruisin and a few of the team strategists sat in the most comfortable room in the team hauler and pulled up the data from the practice session. They sat there for hours with the engineer identifying Lutfi's fastest sub-segments throughout the session, and Cruisin reviewing and walking through those segments to identify exactly what the Sharktailian did right to squeeze out those time intervals, and how to put all those things together to make the fastest lap possible. Then, they went over to the simulator and worked on it some more. The dedication would pay off. While neither of the Piers Ivchenko machines was particularly fast at the top end, they did just enough to get both cars in the field. Cruisin was about a second off the pace of pole winner Janne Laukkanen, the home track driver and defending champion of the Abovian Grand Prix. Nik Hazrin Lutfi was about a second slower than Cruisin but the fall off at the bottom of the field was severe enough that it would allow the Sharktailian to post the 25th fastest lap, just narrowly qualifying for their first ever Grand Prix.

R.L. Cruisin ✓

@Cruisin
Well, the big weekend is upon us. Ready to start up another #WGPC season! I've really enjoyed getting ready for this campaign, my 11th season of World Grand Prix Competition. It has been an honor to be able to use my experience to help set up a new team and get a rookie driver prepared for the grueling season ahead. Of course, once the lights go out, it's Cruisin time!!

#WGPC : #PiersIvchenko : #Fjellutfordring

Support Series for Reserve and Overflow Prospect drivers set to run along-side WGPC 21

twii.tur have partnered with the Partnership for All Internationstatal Drivers (PAID) to acquire the licensing assets of the AOGP to continue the legacy of the series with the upcoming twii.tur Support Series for World Grand Prix Championship "Overflow" drivers. The proposed Overflow Grand Prix events will follow a schedule loosely mirroring that of the World Grand Prix Championship with additional circuits mixed in for drivers who may be on the fringe of the World Grand Prix circuit to demonstrate their skills. Already a number of drivers who were unable to secure a seat on the World Grand Prix Championship 21 Grid have confirmed their participation in the series including multi-time WGPC Grand Prix winner Lane Carter and former WGP2 champion Batu Tüvshinbayar. World Grand Prix Championship teams have been invited to send their official Reserve drivers to compete with both of the UrGa Motorsports reserve drivers, Carter and Zsanett Bokor, expected to compete in the full Support Series campaign and the Aji No Moto AutoRacing Alliance is expected to field a team for Tüvshinbayar to compete alongside newcomer Ringo Kawagishi.

The series will also give an opportunity for unproven drivers Ajari'i Okomo, Renn Trigen and Gajek Mäsïlïčuk to showcase their talents to the multiverse after having been left out of the World Grand Prix Championship 21 field with their only performances having been a handful of trial opportunities. The Support Series expects to run a 7-9 race schedule that could begin as soon as Aboveland followed by a frigid trip to the land of Ice and Walruses. The Overflow Grand Prix is finalizing its side-by-side schedule and is currently eying alternating combination weekends with the World Grand Prix Championships in Aboveland, Eelandii, Aji No Moto and Hapilopper. Those interested in partnering in the support series can contact @OGP on twii.tur while drivers and teams can sign-up and apply for their Support Series license to participate using the following form.

One Possible Schedule for the Series has suggested 7 potential races with an option for up to 2 additional events to complete the season. Additional circuits rumored to be under consideration by the committee include the Oontaznik Rowell Salcedo Commemorative Racing Circuit in Kota Nibabalu, home of the series reigning Constructors Champions the Oonaftco Oontaz Team though @OGP is rumored to be willing to listen to any proposals that help the series fulfill its primary obligation of providing a high quality development and marketing platform for prospective Grand Prix drivers.

1. ?Aboveland (Fjellutfordring)
2. ?Nykipiflugpuu (Iskohtrinkyy)
3. ?Doubeia (Demetris Dome)
4. ?Turori (Eelandii)
5. ?Tropicorp (Tropicoast)
6. ?Aji No Moto (Serizawa)
7. ?Gergary (Wiesenblumering)
8. ?Hapilopper (Hapilopper City)
9. ?

twii.tur Support Series ✓

@OGP
It's Happening! It's Happening! [PAID] is here and we've taken over the AOGP account! We're opening things up - no more fixed chassis. There will be plenty of pre-fab parts to go around to keep things on a level playing field, but its time to return some freedom to our engineers as well. We'll see you on the track. But bundle up, the first few races might be a bit on the cold side... Don't forget to fill out your license requests before the first race!

#WGPC21 :: #SupportSeries :: #FrozenTest

by **Katzeburg** » Sun Feb 23, 2025 10:19 am

Fjellutfordring, Aboveland

Several weeks of a nervy pre-season. The highs and lows of finding a seat, testing, the oddly intense yet bubbling rivalry with his own teammate, and then the pressure of the first practice session of the season had all led to this. A one-shot qualifier for positioning in the first race of the season.

Gil was gunning it as fast as he could down the sweeping first sector of the course - times clocked by other racers had already been tight, with a surprising amount breaking the in-race lap record. I need to be perfect, nothing less than that will do, he thought to himself as he whipped around turn five.

“Where am I position wise?” he shouted into the car mic. If there was one thing he hadn’t yet figured out during his adjustment to life in the top circuit, it was how to speak openly and calmly to his pit team.

“Currently P4 Gil, you’re maintaining pace well and are within striking distance of a top spot. Maintain pressure,” came the soothing reply from his chief engineer.

As he swung his Kissan car onto turn nine he continued to push everything he could into the vehicle, almost willing it to speed up. It’s not enough, he screamed in his head. I need to go hard or go home - and go hard he did.

Gil opted to cut the racing line, in his mind a move which would be just enough for it to shave off some time heading into turn 10 of the Fjellutfordring, but he was unprepared for the sharpness of the track’s right-hand turn. The turn was deceptively harsh, just enough that the angle Gil was taking would backfire horrendously had he not opted to realise a split-second before committing to the turn. He released the accelerator and quickly thinking, opted to swing the car the tiniest bit back towards the racing line. But mistakes like this at the top level create chasms, and as Gil finally navigated turn 10 and pushed into the penultimate turn of his qualifying lap, he had blown it. Any chance he had of a start at the top of the grid had gone up in smoke, because of an error he had pushed himself into. As he crossed the line, his time of 1.07.050 was good - in fact, it too would beat the in-race lap record; but it would fire him down the qualifying ladder.

“That’s P15 Gil, a good enough effort there, but we’ll get them on race day,” came the pit response over his mic as Gil proceeded around the track for his cooldown lap. Gil silently fumed under the hidden gaze of his yellow helmet as he continued towards the pit lane entry.

He wanted to explode. Nothing about that was good enough, he thought to himself. The racing tactics, the car, the track; everything was below the par he expected of himself - strictly choosing to push the fact that it had been because he was gunning it too hard and trying to be the best that he had messed up a good time to the side. Don’t promise anything you can’t deliver, son. The words from his father echoed in his head as he turned back onto the pit lane. He wanted to be up there, at the top of the ladder for his own reasons - to show his dad someone to be proud of. 15th was alright, especially given the struggles the Kissan car has had in the pre-season, but to Gil - it felt like a hard slap across the face from his father, a ramming home of the fact that his dad was right once more.

As he arrived back in the pits and got out of the Kissan car, he threw a novel glance at the leaderboard - his one saving grace was that his partner, Shuhei Kamado, had been even further off the pace. Ending down in 20th, Langdon sat at least five spots above him, if he maintains that gap over Kamado at the end of the first race, he’ll be a happy man, if only for a moment. Trudging towards the seats at the back of the Kissan garage, Gil slumped down in an empty chair and threw his head towards the ceiling. He had to make race day count. It was all he could do from here.

After one fierce lap of the Fjellutfordring, Ron Sommer had ended up qualifying in 16th, and his dance partner opposite him on the grid for the first race of the WGPC season would be none other than his Katzeburgian compatriot - Gil Langdon.

Ron was thrilled with his performance - it marked a step down from the heights of the results he got at Akresna, but just avoiding the non-qualifiers was a result in and of itself for him. He had done that with relative ease - his time of 1.07.160 was solid and good enough to put him over a second and half from the start of the non-qualifiers. But as he ran his eyes down the leaderboard to see the cars ahead of him for the upcoming race, a frown started to form across his face. He had no idea how in the hell he was going to get past a lot of these racers - many of whom were established drivers with years of WGPC experience. In the immediate row in front of him sat the reigning world champion, Brendan Faloe, while his own teammate William Archer had qualified on the precipice of the points positions in 11th. Archer had shown an experience Ron simply did not have at this level during his qualifying lap - seemingly taking corners Ron had struggled on with ease.

At the end of the day, he had finished within half a second of his teammate, which was nothing to scoff at. But Ron had spent the evening before raceday in his hotel room, racking his brain for how he would work his way up the field - a skill he had shown many times before on the Katzeburgian circuit, but one which would need to be on another level should he want to end up in the points. It was approaching 11pm when Ron heard a short tapping on his door. He almost would not have noticed it had he not muted the blaring ad which was playing during a break in a video he was watching on last season’s WGPC drivers, but as he jumped up and approached the door, his mind wandered as to who could be here at this hour so close to race day.

Ron swung the door open to reveal a short but bulky man, with a shining bald patch which Ron had recognised the second he took it in.

“Dad!” Ron threw his arms around his father in a great bear hug, squeezing him tightly as if to never let go and address the building sense of panic which was starting to mount as he prepared for raceday.

“Hiya son, good to see you too - Do ya mind releasing me a little? You’ve gotten a lot stronger since you’ve started training!”

“Oh my, sorry!” Ron stammered as he released his father and stepped back a little. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to come see my son in his first ever race as a WGPC driver, didn’t I? What kind of father would I be?”

“B-but what about the block party tomorrow? Didn’t you invite everyone over to watch the race?”

“And your mother will be a very gracious host,” Trevor Sommer chuckled. “She gave me her blessing to come over and watch you. It may have taken a few extra shifts at work, but it will be worth every barin to see my son on the track.”

“I can’t believe this. Have you only just gotten in? Where are you staying? How long are you here for?” Ron’s worries and doubts had been completely washed away, he was now totally focused on exploring all facets of his father’s sudden appearance.

“Woah, woah, calm down. I’ve got a room in a hotel a short trip from here, just over for the race tomorrow then I’ll be flying back. I know you’ve got a lot to do ahead of the race tomorrow, so don’t worry about me, I just wanted to come and say good luck! You’ve done so well to earn this chance, and I am so proud of you for taking it.”

Ron looked down as a big smile crept across his face. “Thanks dad. Do you want to come in for a quick drink and watch a bit of last season’s WGPC with me? I’m trying to figure out how to attack some of these drivers tomorrow.”

“I’d love to. Have you gotten to Laukkanen yet? A brilliant racer and a tough nut to crack, just watch their win in Aboveland last year,” said Trevor as he made his way in and grabbed a seat on the bed.

Ron smiled and nodded. It would be a moment he would be eternally grateful for.

But finally raceday would arrive, and after making sure his dad had found his seat in the main grandstand, Ron mentally prepared himself for what he was about to experience. Lowering himself down into his Viska car, he turned his mind towards the track and the mental notes he made about it both over the course of the weekend and during last night’s rewatch session with his dad. Keep it calm, he thought to himself. There’s pressure on you to hit the ground running, but just survive the first few laps to begin with. Never Give Up. Never Say Die.

“Hey Sommer!”

Ron turned his head in the direction of the faint echo of his name. It had come from the black, red, and grey car opposite him on the grid. A car helmed by a driver he was all too familiar with. Car number 55. Gil Langdon.

“No need to get familiar with my tail, it’ll be disappearing up the pack as soon as we start.”

Ron turned his head back towards the cars in front of him - a huge grid on the verge of lights going out. He tried his best to shut off the screaming fans which had packed along the starting line and focus on what he needed to do. Ron Sommer was about to become a WGPC racer and he had done everything he could to start the season off on a positive note.

Here. We. Go.

by **Auruna** » Sun Feb 23, 2025 10:30 am

Fjellutfordring
Abovian Grand Prix
Qualifying

From one cold place to another and it felt like they haven't left home until Viska was hit by the challenges that Fjellutfordring offered. The new chassis and engine proved to be capable in testing but it was time for a live demonstration in an actual race weekend. This time, both cars were noticeably lacking the variable-sweep front wing that was tested and many speculate that it was forbidden technology and they weren't allowed to field it but in reality, the concept is still being tested behind the scenes. The two drivers then have a more conventional car to work with.

The team aren't expecting anything exceptional at the start as practice showed. While Viska is fully confident in their drivers, the track conditions and layout seemed to be a trouble for the cars even if it's at least similar to what they experienced in Akresna. Still, this didn't stop them to try and mitigate any shortcomings they had. This resulted in them placing somewhere in the midfield which wasn't bad but everyone hoped for more and so they got to work before qualifying.

Looking into the long-term performance and after some computer simulations, the team believed that they still have a change if they play it right with the setup and strategy. Artur immediately went on to work with the race engineers and drivers to come up with a strat that could land them some points. Meanwhile, with backing from Nils and input from the drivers, the cars were setup in a way that maximises their speed and acceleration and with the cold temperatures, cooling wasn't that much of an issue and it was a risk that they are willing to take for the sake of performance. Hori figured that this was a perfect time for the variable-sweep wing but they had to work with what they have.

After a few tweaks to suit each driver's personal preferences, both cars were ready.

And as the team prepared for qualifying, Hori approached Nils. "So, is this actually going to work?" She asked. "I just needed to make sure before we send them out for qualifying."

"It'll be fine." Nils answered. "There's only a small decrease in cooling so the engines should be fine when running higher modes. It'll only be a problem if they run it high for a long time."

Hori nodded along as Nils continued. "We also optimised both setups for the race so our single-lap performance will not be the best. There's no point if we're only good at qualifying. I believe that this is the best compromise for this weekend considering our new chassis and engine. We also told both drivers about it and I'm sure they understand."

"You're right." Hori said, still worried. "I'll take your word for it. I'm just so worried about what could go wrong."

"There's really nothing to worry about." Nils said as he turned towards the pit wall. "Get some coffee and something to eat at the back, that should calm you down."

"Oh, alright..." Hori sighed. "Thanks for reminding me."

Later on in qualifying, the results were as expected. William Archer qualified P11, an alright starting position but nothing too spectacular as the aim wasn't to qualify high but his time was actually within half a second to those that qualified above him. Ron Sommer also tried his best but only ended up 16th as he was quite conservative with his lap even after some encouragement from his race engineer, Esko Mirošu Viruvahtta. Still, with Artur's guidance, wherever they qualified, there's still a chance that they could bring home some points.

To the surprise of no one, not even Kinu, his car started acting up. Maybe it was the cold weather, Kinu initially thought but Akresna had similar conditions and he didn't have any trouble. He was worried that it was him but as someone who managed to win a race and several podiums before and is still believed to be in his prime, no one can be sure. He also thought that maybe the car was setup wrong but in the end or it isn't that good in this specific circuit but he couldn't figure out what it actually was.

Kinu fought the car through the four kilometre circuit. He compared it to what he first drove in the AEC before which was thought to be a death trap of a car because of the way it handled. It was a similar experience. Kinu nearly started to regret going for a lap as he regularly loses any traction through the corners and even if there was any grip, the car felt sluggish. His only hope was at the straighter parts of the circuit but even that was a struggle.

Ah fuck, why now of all times. Kuumi, please be normal for a second.

In the end, Kinu barely made it out of the chopping block as he qualified 26th, the lowest of all qualifiers as only the top 26 are allowed to race. Meanwhile, his teammate qualified 5th and way ahead of him. He has no idea what is going on but he has to make do with what's given to him. He didn't expect to struggle in the first race weekend, but at least he still made it in and was able to race.

Maybe he could pull something off in the race. That is if Kuumikaho even allows him to do so.

Laura always had some trouble adapting to something new, her driving style has always been a double-edged sword when it comes to her performance and when paired with the PF-3's new driving characteristics, she had to play it safe at the start. She just couldn't throw it around like a rally car and hope for the best. She also couldn't drive it like previous season's car. She basically had to start over. And there are some habits that still stuck to her.

In the cold Fjellutfordring and its one-shot qualifying format, Laura only qualified P18 for PB. She wasn't that confident at the time, opting to maximise traction throughout her lap, she was careful in the corners but the fast and high-revving V10 wasn't too keen in helping her accelerate out of the corners. At the end of her lap, Erik. her race engineer, only heard a dejected sigh from the radio as she rounded the circuit once more to return to the pits.

It wasn't the start that she was hoping for but she was still optimistic especially when it came to the race itself. Laura wasn't known to qualify well, her one-lap performance leaves something to be desired and there's only one instance of her qualifying in pole in WGPC. But when it came to her race pace and strategy, it was something that she is quite good at and hopefully in the following day, she could turn things around.

After debriefing, Laura elected to stay and review some of her on-board footage. Erik was about to leave until he noticed Laura and decided to stay and accompany her. The two then analyse the on-board footage, sharing their insights to each other with Erik adding on some in-depth technical explanations. It was a good use of their time until it eventually derailed into some nonsense conversation. Noticing this, the two decided that it was enough and before leaving, Erik told Laura something that he had heard about.

"Oh right... Laura, I heard some news that the Aurun WGP3 is finally getting its second season."

"That's... interesting. But why tell me about it?"

"I'm not sure if this is true but your sister, Juno Haukanna will be racing for Sport Mikuren there."

"Wait what?"

Just as Erik was about to repeat what he said, Laura stops him. She was surprised at how much progress Juno made and that jump was something that she didn't expect. No words came out of her mouth, she doesn't know what to say about it. Then, she just sighs, seemingly accepting the fact.

"Well... I guess we might see another Haukanna in an international series the future. It's still quite a shock to me that she made a lot of progress but it's inevitable." Laura paused for a moment which was then followed by a sudden change of topic. "Anyway! Let's go get something to eat! Quali was exhausting and I am craving for something. Maybe we could find some Aurun or even Sámi food here."

"Alright." Erik shrugged and just followed along.

by **Former Citizens of the Nimbus System** » Sun Feb 23, 2025 1:42 pm

Hospitality Village Lecture Hall, Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
19th of February

Silence and darkness.

Light. Radiant blue beneath twists into the shape of WGPC 15’s original UHSGV-1, as projected video above recalls its first victory under Marika Pedanovic and its Championship at Ryker Lane’s hands. Flowing, hammering piano weaves upon itself as the form becomes that of the UHSGV-2 and the images show Mercer-Daly at Mount Salt and Forest Cross – then 3, Lintulahti and Dropsol; 4, Hodori and Crossbay, wheels dividing in two; 5, Janne Laukkanen at the Fjellutfordring, now so near again.

Then: fading. The projections darken and a soft vocal line rises through the quiet simmering of electronic pulses as the cerulean hologram falls away from the outside in, wheels and panels and fans and radiators and piping vanishing one by one, until all that remains is the famous Paragon Warp array. Four Imagination convertors, wiring and signals to emulate the brain’s conceptualisation, sit pressed to a central, spherical chamber holding its power source: a single orb of Imagination, drawn from the Nexus, pressurised far beyond its normal limits and held to be released over a race’s course. Light traces across its pathways in a simulacrum of its normal operation, not merely in Nexus Racing’s car but across the Wardship – a standard-setting influence for the technology steadily permeating through Nimban life.

Just like that, it flies apart, its conduits whirling in the air… And then, as technical diagrams, equations, designs play across the wall – they interweave. Components fly in from beyond the scene, components for a fifth convertor – the new heart of the array, to maintain the separation of the flow of power between the filaments that now braid themselves together, reassembling into a single, compacted form as piano and strings stab at the soundscape.

And into that saved space: a larger chamber. Broader fans and radiators. More robust servos for the movable aerodynamics. The glowing assemblies return, now new, gathering as they form into subtly different shapes than before. Insistent synths demand anticipation; emblems flash across the projection.

Then, from beneath the image: a blaze of light prismatic.

And upon the auditorium floor is a Chase Cutter, its side panels shining with pearlescent gleam.

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World Grand Prix Championship 21 [RP/results]

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