World Grand Prix Championship 21 [RP/results]

[Tropicorp]

Abovian Grand Prix Qualifying, Fjellutfordring, Avsidesliggendevuoret, Aboveland :: It was a familiar lineup in a new place as Skiia Vialiv and the HMG Team prepared to qualify for the Abovian Grand Prix. It was quite a long wait and there was some confusion as to the order at which the qualifying would take place, which could have a great influence on the speeds. With one shot qualifying to kick off the season, reverting back to the results of the previous race to set the qualifying order resulted in much chance and randomness among the lot draw for nearly half the field. Having finished third in the most recently completed Grand Prix, Skiia expected to be one of the last cars to go out on track. So when the call came for her to go out on the track just prior to her teammate Adonis Fitzpatrick, Vialiv was caught unprepared. In fact, the Tropicorper didn't even have her gloves on when the team began pushing the #14 out of the paddock. Just moments ago, the team seemed to have had the entire front end of the car in pieces making last minute changes, then just like that things were buttoned up and supposedly ready to go. Skiia quickly turned on the engine and began wheeling the car with one hand, trying to get her glove on with the other.

"Why are we going now?" Skiia asked over the radio. The call went seemingly unheard over the radio. She made the inquiry again. In fact, it seemed Skiia's radio wasn't being heard at all. She could hear the team but the team could not hear her. By the time Skiia realized, it was already time to make her flying lap. She had past the pit entrance and there was no turning back now.

Too much speed heading into Turn 1. The car washed way wide and the sweeping turns 2 and 3 didn't give her the opportunity to reset, losing critical momentum through the first segment. As she underwent heavy braking heading toward the right hander at turn 5, a wrench flew off the front of the car and after hitting the track, Vialiv immediately drove over the offending tool which caused the rear end of the car to kick out, killing the setup to turn 6 and 7.

At that moment, Skiia's engineer came onto the radio and called for Skiia to end her lap. "Shut it down Skiia, bring it to the paddock." Skiia assumed she must have had some damage to the car, and proceeding with the lap at high speed at these temperatures could potentially result in a major accident. HMG took a major gamble in the offseason to re-unite the drivers from last seasons Constructors Champions in the hopes of instantly making HMG a World Grand Prix Championship contender. However, without any pay drivers on the team, funds were by no means unlimited and Skiia knew that the team would be very careful not to unecessarily tear through their equipment because there was no guarantee any replacement equipment would come at all no less be of the same quality as what they already had.

Skiia had made peace with the decision to have her pull out of her lap - up until the very moment she climbed out of the car. No flat tyre. No broken wing. The confusion was going through. Then she looked up at the board. The defending runner-up in the Driver's Championship was going to fail to qualify for the Abovian Grand Prix. Skiia's acceptance turned to anger and she sought out her team's engineer.

"WHAT THE F*¢K RALF?!?!"

---

After a heated exchange, Skiia went for a long walk through the infield. Even after backing out of the throttle and turning down to the pit lane, Skiia still crossed the line just half a second slower than the time it would have taken to make the race. And she wasn't in that great of company. Behind her in the qualifying rankings would be 3 World Grand Prix Motorworks drivers making their first ever Grand Prix qualifying laps and Ankei Souzare who is the betting favorite to be the first WGPC driver to finish a season on negative points. Thankfully while she was out for her walk, Skiia didn't take any electronic devices with her, and by the time she finally hooked up with her media team, the rage had flowed through and out of her.


SKIIA VIALIV ✓

@Skiia

Ultimately there are still going to be some growing pains with a new team. Ultimately we weren't going to get a good enough starting position to compete in the race and the team felt it best to focus their attention on having Donny earn points this week, while we focus our attention on the Street Course. So that's what we're going to do. See you in Doubeia.

#WGPC21 :: #DNQ :: #Fjellutfordring

INDORI VOLCANASAUR ✓

@IndoriV

Hey @HMG, If you need a Tropicorper who can qualify for a race, give me a call. Perhaps you need a driver for your @OGP team? Let me prove myself for you on track. You won't be disappointed! @OWARS #NSGP champion, in case you forgot!


#Fjellutfordring :: #WGPC21 :: #WGPC

[Aji No Moto]

Akresna Circuit
After the third pre-season test session

As Hiromu opted to have a simple launch of the KSH03, he also chose to defer the press conference at the end of the test sessions at Auruna. As the team wrapped up their equipment at the pits, a conference room was set up for the event, with Hiromu and Shuhei present to answer the media's questions.

Some questions were hurled at the KISMO CEO and a few were directed to the second driver of their WGPC operation.

HS: Hiromu Sugiyama
SK: Shuhei Kamado
M: Media

M: KISMO is returning to WGPC this season, what does your entry this time differentiated from the entry you guys had back from WGPC 16?
HS:We don't associate with the initial entry we had at WGPC16, basically because that had ties with Badai Angin.

M: But you acquired certain Badai Angin assets through international court, what does it make a difference?
HS: It is a different entity from the one we entered a few seasons ago.

M: Any expectations on this season?
HS: As a returning team, we expect nothing this season, just to acclimate ourselves to on how WGPC is run and organized.

M: Your lineup consists of two inexperienced rookies. Any thoughts on why is this your chosen lineup?
HS: I rather not comment on this matter.

M: To Shuhei-san, It seems you are skipping WGP2 and enter WGPC with only your domestic sportscar championship results to show. Will it be more beneficial if you would enter WGP2 prior to making your WGPC debut?
SK: Not relevant. If KISMO wants you to race, you race.

M: How is your working relationship with Gil Langdon?
SK: No comment.

As the next mediamen was to ask the next question, the media representative told the reporters, "No more questions, please." and asked them to leave.

[Recuecn]

Vincent didn’t love spending time in Myrilsk between race weekends. He would show up to put in some time in the car, but in general he preferred to be at his bank office in Reçueçn City’s business district—the top floor of the glass skyscraper was more or less his own private penthouse. Since he preferred to be there, and since he was the kind of person to get what he wanted, that was where Vincent spent much of his time when he wasn’t immediately needed behind the wheel. He didn’t mind the extra flights back and forth that that required—after all, if you have a private jet, you might as well put it to use.

He had some things to take care of here in Reçueçn anyway—he knew Yakov would be expecting the next payment from him any day now, but simply wiring the money would be incredibly unwise. Vincent needed to avoid a paper trail as much as possible, and so he was forced to pay in cash.

Really, it was incredibly inconvenient. Do you know how much space a million guilders in cash takes up?

Well, just one briefcase, fortunately, but even that was already far more conspicuous than Vincent would have liked. It was already tricky just to withdraw too much cash from his accounts without drawing unwanted attention from investigators—or worse, his own family. Vincent was the businessman, the one who made all the decisions, but all the accounts were in the family name, and he knew that if anything fishy started to happen, relatives would start appearing and asking awkward questions.

The good news was, first of all, that a million guilders could go missing here or there without anyone batting an eye. The Von Visps were fabulously wealthy, and they disposed of their income accordingly. If Vincent had gone on a spending spree, that was his own business.

Secondly, Yakov seemed more than happy to accept Reçuecian guilders. The exchange rate was quite favorable, after all; the guilder was strong, somewhere around twelve hundred rubles. Valuable enough to make it a desirable currency, even if converting it all might be difficult (or raise questions). That was good, because Vincent had no idea how he would have gotten his hands on Pridnestrovian rubles.

Today’s errand, then, had been to go to the bank to pick up the cash. Yes, even for Vincent, who owned a banking group and was currently living in its headquarters, a special trip was required to pick up that much liquidity at once. Getting the money in his account was easy—a call to one of his bankers and he could borrow that much against some of his stock holdings, no questions asked—no withdrawal needed. But to actually get the bills required an order placed to the central bank.

Vincent went along with Valérie for the funds transfer, but it was hard for him to take the whole thing seriously. A million guilders was nothing, and yet because it was cash, everyone treated it like it was some big deal. For a wire transfer, a simple phone call would have sufficed. No proof of identity would have been necessary beyond Vincent’s banker recognizing his voice over the phone. But physical bills came with the risk of theft, and that meant badges, gendarmes, signatures, handoffs, escorts, and black armored limousines.

The whole rigmarole made Vincent smile.

In the limo on the way back to the bank—his own bank, not the reserve downtown—Vincent lounged in the back of the limousine, grinning to himself at the picture in front of him. Valérie and a security guard sat side by side, facing backward, toward him. The juxtaposition was deeply ironic. The guard was clearly nervous, sitting bolt upright on high alert, and sweating bullets—the exact opposite of Vincent. Valérie, for her part, was also seated with perfect posture and a totally straight back, but unlike the poor security guard, wore a face so expressionless one was forced to assume this was entirely mundane for her. She did not even glance at the briefcase in her lap. The guard, of course, could not take his eyes off it. It had been almost impossible for Vincent to convince him it was safe to let Valérie carry it.

Vincent loved how well Valérie fit into any situation. Nothing bothered her. She was just as unperturbed in this moment, carrying a million guilders in her lap, as she would be in any other—on a WGPC racetrack, in a high-stakes business negotiation, choosing the perfect birthday present for a nephew Vincent had never met, or bribing Vincent’s way out of trouble with the authorities in some third-world country somewhere (or for that matter, in a first-world much closer to home)—no matter crazy or mundane the situation she found herself in, she would never lose her stoic, laconic demeanor. It made Vincent want to put her in new situations—like this one—not to see how she’d react (that was entirely predictable), but to see how other people would react to her lack of a reaction. She was really the best henchwoman any villain could hope for.

The limousines—there had to be at least two, of course—pulled up to the entrance of Vincent’s bank. A doorman stepped forward to get the car door for Vincent, who nonchalantly climbed out of the limo, suavely buttoning his suit with one hand as he stood up. He looked good doing it, and he knew it. His good looks were part of his charm. Valérie and the security guard followed, close on his heels, as he strode toward the entrance of the building.

From somewhere, a man wearing a black suit and tie appeared in front of Vincent. Immediately, the security guard began to push forward, but Vincent held up a hand as the man began to speak.

“Monsieur Von Visp, you’re not an easy man to get a hold of.”

“I don’t know who you represent, but anyone who needs to contact me is free to schedule an appointment with my assistant.” Vincent glanced at Valérie. She held the briefcase at her side in one hand, as if it was the most unimportant thing in the world.

“I’m here on behalf of the ministère des douanes et impôts,” said the man in the black suit. “I’m sure your assistant is wonderful, but I’ve heard it’s quite hard to get an appointment from her.”

“That’s what makes her so wonderful.”

“I was hoping if I caught you more spontaneously, I might be able to speak with you in person. And you know, at the ministry, we’re used to always getting what we want.” The man smiled sweetly. “I’m sure you know what that’s like.”

Vincent silently rattled off a string of curses. The ministère des douanes et impôts, Reçueçn’s ministry of customs and taxes, was the one entity he knew he couldn’t outsmart. During his career as a businessman, Vincent had outplayed his rivals time and time again, often making off with their assets in some way after making sure they weren’t in a position to blow the whistle or come after him. But the MDI always got what it wanted. It was inevitable.

Death and taxes.

There was no getting away from the ministry. If you had what was theirs, if you owed them anything, they would get it. It might take them a while to go through all the procedures they’d established for themselves, but they would come take it from you. The whole financial system was their system. Everyone else had to play by their rules. The ministry didn’t. Levies, garnishment, accounts in escrow, asset seizure—once they’d made their way past the red tape, there was bite behind their bark.

Vincent swallowed. “Why don’t you come inside.”

They walked and talked. The ministry agent wasted no time explaining why he was there. “For starters, this is not an audit,” he said. “If we were doing that, your secretary here would have heard about it first, and you would have had plenty of time to set up all your loopholes and hide away all your foreign accounts. But we’re hoping you’ll cooperate with us. In fact, this doesn’t have anything to do with taxes at all—unless we discover something we’re unaware of. But some of our agents have discovered unusual and potentially illicit amounts of Reçuecian currency abroad, which of course is of great concern to our douaniers.”

They were in the lobby now. Vincent stopped walking. He gave Valérie a nod. “You may go, I’ll speak with this gentleman alone.”

Valérie nodded and headed toward the elevator. The security guard followed her. Vincent watched her go, still carrying the briefcase as if it were no more important than a schoolkid’s lunch box. Vincent turned back to the ministry agent, but he too seemed to be watching Valérie. Vincent shuddered involuntarily.

“I don’t know anything about Reçuecian currency abroad,” he said. “Most of my dealings are domestic.”

“You haven’t heard any rumors of large international transfers? Perhaps unreported?”

“No.”

“Ah. I see,” said the agent.

Vincent hoped he didn’t, but there was no way to tell. This man’s cheerful grin was just as inscrutable as Valérie’s grim look.

“I may have some more questions for you later,” said the agent. “Our investigation will continue. I’m glad you’re so willing to work with us.”

Vincent forced a smile. “Of course. Anything you need.”

The agent returned the smile, but his eyes had a knowing look Vincent didn’t like. “Bonne journée, monsieur.”

“Bonne journée.”

The man was gone, even before Vincent could return his farewell. Vincent didn’t waste any time either. He made his way to the top floor as quickly as possible.

“Valérie,” he said, almost breathlessly. “That’s it. No more money for Yakov. I know he’s expecting it, but they’re watching too closely.”

“Understood, monsieur,” said Valérie. “What should I do with… this?” She gestured to the briefcase, now lying on Vincent’s desk.

Vincent felt sick. “Keep it safe for now. We’ll need to find a believable investment to put it into soon, or people will wonder what I needed that cash for.”

“Do you want me to contact Mr. Yurievsky and let him know the payment will be delayed?”

Vincent thought for a moment. He wasn’t quite sure how Yakov would take the news. Surely not well. Perhaps better not to tell him for now. “You’d better not,” Vincent said. “Who knows how those bastard douaniers got their information. They could be listening in.”

[Hodori Motorsports]

HiTEN Garage
Abovian Grand Prix
Immediately after practice

“You. All of you.” Ankei Souzare addressed the Mazaregi contingent in the garage as the other members worked to repair his car after he binned it backwards into a barrier yet again. “This is my team, and I do not appreciate outsiders butting in where they aren’t welcome.”
The seven members just glared at him silently.
“And I especially do not appreciate some outdated know-it-alls trying to stifle innovation.”
“What innovation? That nonsense machine you call Jeff?”
“Jeff is not nonsense! Jeff is the future of race strategy!”
“Sure. Meanwhile out here in the real world everyone knows you and your Jeff are frauds.”
This time Ankei fell silent, glaring at the heckler with as much hostility as he could muster.
“You want it your way? Fine. You can have Jeff. We’ll keep working with Berezowska, see which path works out better.”
“What I want here is all of you gone.” Ankei motions to the seven in front of him and the Reitoude-Zenethra coalition wasting time fixing the mess he left rather than preparing Berezowska’s pristine car for qualifying. “All of you, out of my team, out of my garage.”
“And what, so you will have to start paying for a new crew every round?”
Ankei glared at this second heckler.
“Or are you just going to run back to your Neomaris base and stop showing up? I’m sure everyone in the WGPC would love to see that.”
Ankei kept glaring.
The Mazaregi members decided they had no further jabs to share.
“Will that be all then? We have important things to discuss with our other driver.”
“If it will get you to mind your own business, you can have her.” Ankei dismissed the group. I got everything I needed out of her, so she’s of no use to me anymore.

---

---

---

End of qualifying

Dead last. Almost twenty-six seconds off pole. As per his demands, his car had been set up according to Jeff’s suggestions despite the objections from the Zenethra technicians that “That’s not how you’d set up a car for these conditions.”
The end result was 32nd of 32 and a DNQ. 22 seconds slower than Rahel. So that put him in a terrible mood.
The entire lap, he had been scrambling for anything resembling grip in the freezing cold. Putting everything he had into keeping the car pointed in the correct direction. Succeeding only in avoiding the ideal driving line as if it were made of cobalt-60 and still staying within track limits.
And Ankei being Ankei, he denied reality and blamed it all on imagined sabotage by the pitwork team and not his bad setup or lack of skill. So that left him even more pissed off. The unbearable cold of Aboveland in early spring only worsened his mood.

But things get worse, as they always can.

DFCI via Soeshu Metropolitan Police had sent a team of babysitters to keep an eye on him. To top it all off, one of the detectives was one of his distant cousins. She clearly enjoyed reminding him that though they were officially off duty and while overseas had no arrest authority, it was the fate waiting for him if he didn’t show up to every round for as long as the WGPO didn’t decide to kick him out.

Berezowska starting from third didn’t matter to him. The minimum effort bare-carbon-and-bright-blue-sponsor-decals car starting near the front tomorrow brought him no joy. He just wanted to try and formulate an escape from this situation.

[Aboveland]

Avsidesliggendevuoret, Aboveland
Fjellutfordring
WGPC20 Abovian Grand Prix

Janne had seldom done anything as irresponsible as romping around in room A112 the night before his home race, but the spring in his step the morning after bordered on acting as a performance enhancing drug. If he gave it enough thought, he could even justify it, too. The night had been restless up until the point he'd sent Ted the fated booty call bait: the weekend prior in Tumbra had been weird, to say the least. The "will they, won't they" is only fun when the pronoun is the third-person "they" and not an excruciating "we", and with how things had been going between them, he would have been worse off if not for the loose ends they tied that night.

They'd hardly interacted in the paddock in the run-up to the race on Sunday. Though they'd woken up in the same bed, it was Ted who got the nod to freshen up and scurry away to his own room to get dressed in his team kit; they later arrived at the circuit separately, and both decidedly focused on their imminent tasks at hand. Janne had qualified sixth, just behind his carnal malefriend; and with the pace the Chase Cutter had shown in practice, plus the top positions being littered with teams that had only suddenly found a flash of form, a podium was definitely within his reach. He could hardly contain his cheeky little grin when the Abovian summer sun laid crisply on his cheeks. Life was truly well and good.

Avsidesliggendevuoret, Aboveland
Fjellutfordring
WGPC21 Abovian Grand Prix

Janne's scrunched brows could cut through diamond on race day morning. In part, it was the harsh, piercing windchill that had engulfed the circuit all weekend, even as the bitter winter skies had magically cleared up for race week, and left only faint wisps of cirrus clouds hanging high above Avsidesliggendevuoret in its wake. In truth, though, even with an obliterated track record to his name, he could have found himself in a better position.

WGPC20

The power of a million Imaginations thrust Janne deep into his seat as he rocketed off of the starting line later that day. Ted, ahead and to his left, had somewhat managed to keep up, but the sister car of Darian Vilau, and the hopeless Portland-Carvenlo of Dom Falpeau, were all but barely moving chicanes to his Chase Cutter. He dived ambitiously into turn one, going far wide and narrowly avoiding a collision with the Tumbran; but whether it was the air, the proximity to the poles, or the overwhelming plot armor that Nexus Racing enjoyed in the frigid hills of Aboveland, Janne was flying past turn two and barrelling down towards the chicane at 5 in no time at all. Ted held his own throughout the first few laps, even as he caught up to a slowing William Archer to plant himself second for the first eighth of the race, but as soon as the In Motion tyres switched on, Janne became a fiend.

It had been such a dominant, crushing victory come the end of the race that it had almost gone unnoticed in the wider expanse of the paddock. For the first time in a while, everything had clicked on its own: he didn't need a massive accident, a malfunction, or a heartbreaking teammate DNF ahead of him to lurch to, and stay at, the sharp end of the field. Lap after lap after lap, whatever the Abovian demanded of his car, the chassis responded with ease; in the closing stages of the race, his wing mirrors had become redundant.

And just like that, as if it were an everyday occurrence, as if he'd not just snatched his first win out of nowhere at Nexus Racing's home grand prix, he'd etched his own name in the history books. Nearly a minute ahead of old WGP2 rival Skiia Vialiv, and flanked on the opposite side of the podium by a similarly elated Ted, who received a bottleful of champagne down his overalls once the anthems had finished — which Janne later intended to scrub off himself — he was an Abovian Grand Prix winner, and in with a nail-biting chance at the world championship. Life couldn't get any better than that.

WGPC21

There was a steady, expected, but niggling load of pressure that lingered on his shoulders. Starting on pole sounded like a hell of a deal — unless he considered that the only way from there was down, and that the pressure to perform was suddenly a bit higher than if he had to work himself up from a bit further back. With a home win to his name — and the added plus of the Abovian Grand Prix being the season opener — there were two more factors at play, as well: now, he really wanted to defend that title, and one misstep on round one, while far from crucial, would already start his season off on the left foot.

But for the first time in a long, long while, on a weekend where Ted had decided to be weird again, even after having spent the better part of the week sampling and savoring each other like barely related last-minute invitees at a wedding reception, the Tumbran's turmoil was in the back of his mind. He couldn't pinpoint how he'd managed it, to shut off all the noise and anxious burbling at the pit of his stomach, but he resolved not to let the thought linger. Today, and for the next two hours, Ted and his tailor-made Ælund rocket was nothing but a rival.

[Liventia]

CUTOFF

for the Abovian Grand Prix at Fjellutfordring

[Liventia]

OOC host note: I had to change Gil Langdon's driver TLA to LNG. Also, the laps down counter is borked for this race (as part of my edits to the sheet for it to take 32 drivers). I'll fix it for the next race, but you can assume that on average every 1:13 is a lap down.

Week 4: Race

Conditions:      	Cloudy
Laps:              	71
Nation:         	ABL
Circuit:        	Fjellutfordring
Event:                	Abovian Grand Prix
Safety Car on Laps:	68, 69
Cars on Grid:        	26

Start       		POS  # ▍DRV Name                              	 	Team                               		Time      	Pts	Fastest Lap	
 1 ▍LAU            	  1 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen                              Nexus Racing                                 	01:34:45.028	25		
 2 ▍STO            	  2 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley                                 Ælund Grand Prix                             	01:35:07.020	18		
 3 ▍BZW            	  3  1 ▍FAE Brendan Faloe                                Cygnus                                       	01:35:07.887	14		
 4 ▍LAN            	  4 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschlager                          Pressley Racing                              	01:35:09.637	11		
 5 ▍ANG            	  5 95 ▍BZW Hanna Berezowska                             HiTEN.gpt                                    	01:35:15.925	8		
 6 ▍VVV            	  6 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                                   Nexus Racing                                 	01:35:21.623	6		
 7 ▍FTZ            	  7 74 ▍FTZ Adonis Fitzpatrick                           HMG Grand Prix                               	01:35:28.395	4		
 8 ▍NÜL            	  8 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna                               Pryfors Bilar                                	01:36:24.466	3		
 9 ▍PRE            	  9 12 ▍SOM Ron Sommer                                   Viska                                        	01:36:37.843	2		
10 ▍DEV            	 10 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone                                 Cygnus                                       	01:36:40.810	1		
11 ▍ARC            	 11 21 ▍HAZ Nik Hazrin Lutfi                             Piers Ivchenko                               	01:36:49.780	 + 1	1:11.009	
12 ▍TII            	 12 66 ▍VVV Vincent Von Visp                             Urotovsky-Gatutin                            	01:36:56.890			
13 ▍BLA            	 13 58 ▍KAM Shuhei Kamado                                KISMO                                        	01:36:58.734			
14 ▍FAE            	 14 22 ▍JOH Nini Johnsilvaturr                           Pressley Racing                              	01:37:01.355			
15 ▍LNG            	 15 55 ▍LNG Gil Langdon                                  KISMO                                        	01:37:04.605			
16 ▍SOM            	 16 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin                                 Piers Ivchenko                               	01:37:07.396			
17 ▍C23            	 17  7 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux                           Eminent                                      	01:37:10.497			
18 ▍HAU            	 18 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii                             Race Eelandii VTGP                           	01:37:14.811			
19 ▍KIN            	 19 63 ▍KIN Nepö Kinder                                  Urotovsky-Gatutin                            	01:37:16.945			
20 ▍KAM            	 20 33 ▍BLA Sam Blaatschapen                             Pryfors Bilar                                	01:37:52.544			
21 ▍GTA            	 21 96 ▍ARC William Archer                               Viska                                        	01:38:12.599			
22 ▍CRU            	 22 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23                                  Race Eelandii VTGP                           	01:38:53.692			
23 ▍JOH            	 23 84 ▍ANG Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling                  Preston Autos                                	01:39:34.446			
24 ▍PLA            	 24 13 ▍PLA Pierre-Louis Archer                          WGPC Motorworks                              	01:39:43.930			
25 ▍HAZ            	 25 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna                                 Preston Autos                                	Ret. lap 67*
26 ▍LMN            	DNF 89 ▍GTA Abdoulaye Goita                              Ælund Grand Prix                             	Ret. lap 2
*Classified finish (90% of race distance = 64 laps)

Drivers' standings

Pos # ▍DRV Name                                          Team [Engine]                                                                                Tyres                                        Pts
 1 17 ▍LAU Janne Laukkanen                               Nexus Racing [Nexus Racing Paragon Warp]                                                     Phoenician-In Motion                         25
 2 88 ▍PRE Ted Pressley                                  Ælund Grand Prix [Ælund CMYK-T20V8H]                                                         Tropicorp Racing Supply                      18
 3  1 ▍FAE Brendan Faloe                                 Cygnus [Sturmburgher PD02/25]                                                                Brimstone                                    14
 4 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschlager                           Pressley Racing [Tropicorp TRE-2T24V8]                                                       Tropicorp Racing Supply                      11
 5 95 ▍BZW Hanna Berezowska                              HiTEN.gpt [Franklin WGP-X2]                                                                  Brimstone                                    8
 6 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                                    Nexus Racing [Nexus Racing Paragon Warp]                                                     Phoenician-In Motion                         6
 7 74 ▍FTZ Adonis Fitzpatrick                            HMG Grand Prix [Preston Autos Skychief V6]                                                   Tropicorp Racing Supply                      4
 8 37 ▍HAU Laura Haukanna                                Pryfors Bilar [Pryfors Bilar]                                                                Phoenician-In Motion                         3
 9 12 ▍SOM Ron Sommer                                    Viska [Viska RG Motors]                                                                      Phoenician-In Motion                         2
10 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone                                  Cygnus [Sturmburgher PD02/25]                                                                Brimstone                                    1
10 21 ▍HAZ Nik Hazrin Lutfi                              Piers Ivchenko [UrGa Zh-S-1000]                                                              Brimstone                                    1

Constructors' standings

Pos NAT ▍Team [Engine]                                                                                Tyres                                        Pts
  1 NIM ▍Nexus Racing [Nexus Racing Paragon Warp]                                                     Phoenician-In Motion                         31
  2 ABL ▍Ælund Grand Prix [Ælund CMYK-T20V8H]                                                         Tropicorp Racing Supply                      18
  3 ESM ▍Cygnus [Sturmburgher PD02/25]                                                                Brimstone                                    15
  4 TMB ▍Pressley Racing [Tropicorp TRE-2T24V8]                                                       Tropicorp Racing Supply                      11
  5 HDR ▍HiTEN.gpt [Franklin WGP-X2]                                                                  Brimstone                                    8
  6 HÜL ▍HMG Grand Prix [Preston Autos Skychief V6]                                                   Tropicorp Racing Supply                      4
  7 DCS ▍Pryfors Bilar [Pryfors Bilar]                                                                Phoenician-In Motion                         3
  8 AUR ▍Viska [Viska RG Motors]                                                                      Phoenician-In Motion                         2
  9 DOU ▍Piers Ivchenko [UrGa Zh-S-1000]                                                              Brimstone                                    1

[Abanhfleft]

“...All I’m saying is, why get rid of a winning combination? Fitzpatrick and Vialiv led them to the constructors’ title last season, so why can’t they do it again?”

“I agree with the point you’re trying to make, but remember what else happened during the season. Remember the shit that went down with Tropicorp. There’s a reason why Hodori had a ban on all Tropicorp products when WGPC came to test there. Skiia Vialiv is Tropicorp through and through. And as the kids say today, UrGa does not want the smoke.”

“Sure, you can make that argument for Vialiv, but what about Fitzpatrick? Donny is UrGa through and through. Heck, he was supposed to be the next Mr. UrGa once Taras Matviyenko hung up his boots. Now where the heck is he? Nowhere near UrGa, that’s for sure. They dropped him, they dropped Vialiv, and now those two are signed to HMG of all teams. And for who? The champion of a support series and a literal pay driver? Why does UrGa need pay drivers in the first place?! I thought they were literally bankrolled by the Pridnestrovian government!”

“Okay, before you go all doomposting on us once again, let’s just take a step back and look at the big picture, okay? Yes, HMG just signed the duo that won the constructors’ title last season. So what? Have we seen anything that will show that HMG can actually fight for the constructors’ title this season? Drivers are just one part of the equation, man. If they don’t have the car to win, they ain’t gonna win. Plain and simple.”

“Let me just piggyback on something you said earlier, bro. You said drivers are just one part of the equation. Let’s take a look at UrGa’s equation. First, Nepö Kinder. Yes, she won the AOGP championship last season. I’ll give her that. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, AOGP is just a WGP3-level series. Kinder didn’t even have time to get up to speed in WGP2. She’s jumping into WGPC with her only experience in a car in that spec being the test runs she went through during preseason with the team that hired her in the first place. And don’t get me started on Vincent Von Visp! Yeah, he’s got the WGP2 experience I just roasted Kinder for not having, but what the hell did he do over there anyway? Make life a living hell for everyone else on the grid, that’s what! He’s made enemies all over the world, and Von Visp probably knows that he’s not welcome anywhere else on the grid.”

“I just had a crazy theory, guys. Feel free to roast me for what I’m about to say, but hear me out anyway. Vincent Von Visp is nothing special in racing, but you all know what he does best? Wreck fools, that’s what. He took out Kenny Wilson, he tried taking out Volcanasaur, and now he’s gonna take out everyone who tries to get in UrGa’s way!”

“Bro, what do you think this is? Hockey? And Vispy’s some kind of enforcer? Bro, I know you got some hot takes up your sleeves, but that’s a nuclear-grade take, even for you!”

“Okay, okay, everyone knows that UrGa getting rid of both Donny and Skiia is the biggest crying shame of the season. But because of that, certain things have been flying under the radar, and one of those things is the fact that TJUN-ia went from having two drivers on the grid to having none at all! Some would call it a generational fall-off, but others are saying that both Carter and Batu were just victims of circumstance. So which is it?...”

Adonis Fitzpatrick turned off the television, having apparently heard more than enough. He was getting tired of all the speculation surrounding why Urotovsky-Gatutin had decided to drop him and Skiia Vialiv this season despite being the partnership that had won the Pridnestrovian outfit their first ever WGPC constructors’ championship in their first ever season in the competition. Donny knew why he and Vialiv had been let go, but it wasn’t as if he could go out there and tell everyone what it was, and even if he did, no one would believe him. Who would believe that all of this was nothing more than an elaborate revenge plot to prove that UrGa can stand alone and win another constructors’ championship? Nobody, that’s who, and that was why Donny had held his tongue and let the media continue to speculate, even if their guesses were so far off the mark they weren’t even on the same planet.

Going to HMG was the easiest decision that Donny Fitzpatrick had made in his WGPC career, mostly because the Hülkenberger outfit was the only team that reciprocated when he expressed his desire to drive for them. The other teams had offered him test drives, but Donny had to compete against other drivers for those available seats. Those other drivers beat his ass so there was a real possibility that the driver who had finished third in the championship last season, one half of the team that won the constructors’ championship, might not actually have a seat for the next season. Luckily for Adonis, one team that still needed a driver (and perhaps didn’t have the resources to ask the applicants to go on a lengthy test drive) was HMG Grand Prix. HMG had already picked up Skiia Vialiv beforehand, Vialiv having been offered up to them by Tropicorp as part of the deal when HMG picked them to be their tire supplier. It was the same deal that made Yakov Yurievsky resent Skiia’s presence in UrGa last season even though, as far as Donny was aware, Vasily Gatutin had already made the decision to sign Skiia before Tropicorp themselves had even thought of including her as part of their tire supply deal. In any case, the duo of Adonis and Skiia found themselves reunited at HMG in what could be one of the boldest attempts of any team to replicate the winning formula that had taken UrGa to the summit of open-wheel racing.

As was to be expected, Donny took some time adjusting to the new team that he was now driving for. HMG was nothing like UrGa, if he was being honest. UrGa was all about structure; nothing happened without at least one other person knowing about it, and yes, that included the enigmatic inner machinations of the mind of Yakov Yurievsky. HMG was more free-flowing. Donny got the vibes that HMG was more about going with the flow and working off of vibes. Getting the pairing that had won the constructors’ championship last season was definitely a vibe, and Donny had to respect their audacity, even if no one would have expected UrGa to let such a talented partnership go so easily simply on the whims of one man. Because it had taken HMG so long to confirm their driver lineup, Donny was unable to take part in the practice sessions in Crpostran. Instead, Donny had to wait until Hodori before he could finally officially take out HMG’s challenger on the track. HMG’s car had a Preston for an engine and Tropicorp tires, a combination that was very much familiar to Adonis. Credit to HMG; they had really tried to recreate the formula that had led Urotovsky-Gatutin to their first ever WGPC constructors’ championship in their rookie season. Donny wondered if he and Skiia Vialiv would be able to do it again this season for another team.

Now, with the action having shifted to Auruna for the third and final practice weekend before the official start of the season, Donny had found himself watching the latest gossip about the formation of the current grid once again. After the usual faff and fluff about how UrGa had absolutely dropped the ball with both Donny and Skiia, the topic had moved on to the two TJUN-ians, Lane Carter and Batu Tüvshinbayar, and how both of them had found themselves without a seat on the grid this season. Some of the conversation about both men were becoming hyperbolic in Donny’s opinion, such as how the loss of both Carter and Batu was some sort of “generational fall-off that needed to be studied.” In Adonis’s own opinion, these things were normal and sometimes even to be expected. He himself was at risk of not being on the grid as well before HMG decided to bring in the pairing that had helped UrGa win their constructors’ title last season. There was definitely at least one other timeline out there in which both Adonis Fitzpatrick and William Archer were the ones without a seat in WGPC and not the TJUN-ians, and the people would be demanding to study the “generational fall-off” that Abanhfleft had sustained in that universe.

Donny also happened to have the TJUN-ians on his mind (well, one specific TJUN-ian) because of a text that he had just received from none other than Batu Tüvshinbayar himself. The text from Batu, but the point was simple: yes, TJUN-ia was out of WGPC in the meantime, but Batu was still going to be there to support Donny come hell or high water. Heck, Batu had even encouraged Donny to prove UrGa wrong by tearing the house down with HMG. Adonis could only send back a short reply as he was now on a much busier schedule than Batu was, but he still let Batu know how much his words meant to him, and that Donny was going to make the most of his opportunity with HMG to prove all of the doubters wrong. But now that he had some free time before the resumption of practice, Adonis now found himself with some time to himself and some time to think about him and Batu. Donny was still unsure as to how to define his relationship with Batu. They were definitely friends, yes, but what kind of friends were they? Adonis had gotten the feeling early on that Batu might have wanted to be something more than friends, but Donny wasn’t ready for that leap just yet, not after he was still somewhat fresh from the end of what had been his latest relationship. Donny had told Batu that he wasn’t ready, and while Batu looked like he had accepted it without question, Donny felt like the two of them had become somewhat distant after that, and he didn’t know what to make of it. Part of Adonis wanted him to reach out to Batu again and make sure that things were all right, while another part was content to just let sleeping dogs lie.

At least right now, Donny had the time to think about this later. There was a new season of WGPC upon them all, and he was sure that he was going to have more chances to talk to Batu later on.

---

William Archer was having a somewhat easier time adapting to a new team than his friend Donny Fitzpatrick was, even if the language barrier between Auruna and Abanhfleft was larger than that of Abanhfleft and Nico Hülkenberg. Perhaps it was because there was no sign of anything remotely connected to Preston Autos that had William finally feeling at ease with his new environment. Some might argue that the purple of Viska Racing was just blue mixed with red, but William didn’t care. For the good of his own mental health, he had to get away from Preston. Another season of nearly theres, almosts, and what ifs would not have done him or his mind any good at all. He had asked the Hapiloppian team for a promise, a guarantee that they would support him in his campaign to win a drivers’ title, but instead all they gave him was a car with shit reliability, and they had even taken away his best chance at a win in front of their home crowd, just so their fellow Hapiloppian Rudy Edwards could take the checkered flag. And even that didn’t end up happening as the future champion of Season 20 Brendan Faloe ended up breezing past both Prestons to take the win from under their noses instead.

William had toned down his demands once it became clear that the other teams were steering clear of him because of those. No longer did William demand a championship-winning car, as well as guarantees and assurances that the team would give him their unilateral support to his title campaign should he find himself in one. He was just happy that there was at least another team out there willing to take a chance at him. William would be the first to admit that the way that he went about trying to distance himself from Preston Autos when they had been so supportive of him for the entirety of his career up to this point, but if only everyone else knew the turmoil boiling within his head every time Preston messed up then maybe they would understand. But William also didn’t want people to know that he was seeing things and hearing things because it would definitely call into question whether he was actually mentally well enough to take part in one race, let alone a full season, so everyone would just have to think that he was being an obnoxious son of a bitch instead. Somehow, that seemed to be the more appealing option to William rather than admitting that there might have been something wrong with him.

Another thing which might have actually made William’s transition to Viska easier than it should have been was the fact that he didn’t have any prior history with the Aurun outfit. Back in Preston, William had felt like there was some sort of expectation for him to do well because he was, as Marty Lewis had said time and time again, “the man that saved Preston Autos GP.” And maybe he had a point. After all, it was William Archer who had proved that Preston actually had a race-winning car in their hands when he had taken the checkered flag at a non-points-paying race, and that feat would actually save their WGPC operations and keep them going for years to come. William himself didn’t want to rule out the possibility of going back to Preston, but he had felt that he was not seeing things the same way that the Preston people, primarily Marty Lewis, did. And as long as he had that feeling, William couldn’t go back there just yet.

It was almost a relief for William to once again feel like just another cog in the machine, and as far as Viska’s management was concerned, he probably was just one of many parts that kept the team moving forward. And while William would have to get used to the handling characteristics of a new car, as well as the Wankel rotary engine that was the beating heart of Viska Racing’s cars, it was a challenge that William relished. He had wanted a new start, and this was perhaps the best case scenario he could have asked for. His teammate was also a new face. Ron Sommer from Katzeburg, wherever the hell that was. William thought that he had heard of that country before, but he wasn’t sure if that was indeed what he had seen or if it was something that only sounded like Katzeburg. In any case, William got the vibe that Sommer actually looked up to him in one way or another, and the young Fleftic driver didn’t know how to feel about that. After all, William was only 23 years old. It felt weird to him that there was already at least one person out there who was inspired to go into motorsports because of him. And yet that was exactly the vibe that he got from Ron Sommer. William might actually have to talk to the guy and tell him not to expect too much out of his new teammate, who was still getting to grips with Viska’s challenger just as much as Sommer was.

For the first time in a long time, William had made his way out of the shadow of Preston, and he was free of the self-imposed shackles of the figments of his imagination. Both the doubter and the supporter had disappeared after William had signed the contract with Viska, and he had been looking forward to a year in which his mind was not tormented by the manifestations of his own doubts. Or at least that was what he thought until the official livery reveal ceremony for Viska, during which William heard the first rumblings of the rumor that Preston might have made a “substantial financial donation” to the Aurun team for signing William. Will already knew that there was talk that Preston was willing to pay other teams and provide other means of support in order to keep William on the grid. William had been adamantly against that as he believed that it was just another way for the Hapiloppians to keep him on a short leash, and now it would appear that his worst fears had once again come true. He had heard that Viska might not be able to afford hosting their livery reveal at some museum like the team wanted, only for the deal to finally come together almost on the last day. There was only one way that such a deal could have been closed in such a short time.

William wanted to go to the nearest available Aurun and tell them to give the money from Preston back to the Hapiloppians, but it was probably now too late. And while he was smiling alongside Ron Sommer on the stage standing alongside his purple Viska, internally William was screaming. He thought he had finally escaped Preston Autos, at least for this season. But much like the scion of a powerful crime family who didn’t want to live in the underbelly of society, William felt like Preston had found a way to hook him back into their orbit.

You’re never going to escape them now, little Willy, the sickeningly familiar sneering of the doubter whispered to him.

[Doubeia]

"I'm not saying we should go with Plan E... but I'm also not saying we shouldn't."

Lap 65 of the Abovian Grand Prix, and the entire Piers Ivchenko crew was glued to their screens. The race had been a crazy one so far, but did anyone expect Lutfi to climb from the last row all the way to a points position? It was a race of both rookie luck and underdog hunger. Piers Ivchenko might have made the right call with the overall strategy, but Lutfi just had a primal determination that propelled him up the field and into the points. The pit crews' hands were sore from clapping and cheering every time Lutfi made an overtake, and everyone in the garage was in a good mood.

At least, until tyre wear entered the room.

The Brimstone tyres were serving the drivers well. Lutfi kept his pace for a while on the mediums, while Cruisin was holding position with the hards. With the race inching closer to the end, however, other drivers were quickly inching closer towards Lutfi. His tyres were starting to lose thread, and it caused him to lose time to Olivia Stone behind him. For a long while he had tried to fend off Ron Sommer and Olivia Stone, but the former overtook him with ease a few corners back, and Stone was ready to pounce onto him. With Stone having fresher tyres than Lutfi, it was clear who had the advantage.

"Look, Miya, Nik is going to drop out of the points at this rate, so if you want to do something about it, you don't have much time left." The voice of Piers Ivchenko's chief strategist Mika Novakov transmitted into Kokomiya's headphones.

"What if Nik gets caught in the Von Visp train? Just because the pit stops are kinda short doesn't mean it's a guarantee he reenters in front of them," Kokomiya reasoned. It seemed as if everyone was collectively brainstorming the next course of action for Lutfi: pit for the fastest lap or not? Sommer and Stone catching up to him was inevitable, and with the fastest lap not being held by Piers Ivchenko then, they would leave Aboveland empty-handed.

"That's why I'm saying we don't have much time left," Novakov responded, annoyed, "20 seconds is not much of a gap for a pit stop. If Von Visp and gang manages to close the gap to Stone, Plan E won't work, and we won't have points. Even one point is precious, Miya!" The subtle but audible rise in Novakov's tone woke Kokomiya up. The more she thought about it, the more Kokomiya couldn't argue against the decision. Plan E was risky: Lutfi couldn't hang on to points at this rate, but if he pit for a fastest lap attempt he'd risk reentering in the middle of the Von Visp train, ruining the entire plan.

"Just..." Kokomiya hesitated on her words, "Just give it a few more laps. Maybe a surprise safety car will ju—"

Something caught Kokomiya's eye on the screen. It all happened so suddenly. There seemed to be yellow flags somewhere along the circuit. Kokomiya stared at the screen with bated breath. It didn't take long to find out what happened: someone had retired on the circuit.

There's no way it isn't some form of safety car, Kokomiya thought, and just as she finished that train of thought, another notification popped up: virtual safety car. She looked at Novakov. They shared a knowing glance. It was time.

"Okay, Peter," Kokomiya told Lutfi's race engineer, "Tell Lutfi to box. We're going with Plan E."

"On it."

Kokomiya saw everything unfurl before her eyes. It was like a miracle had dawned on them. As the drivers' paces were neutralised, the pit crew hurriedly positioned themselves in the pit box. When Lutfi came in for the ultrasofts, the stop couldn't have been any smoother. 2.4 seconds with no mishaps. That was very impressive, especially for a team with little WGPC experience. As Lutfi drove off into the circuit, the pit crew congratulated each other, and even the usually stoic Kokomiya couldn't help but break out a smile. Still, it wasn't time to celebrate yet. With Stone now having overtaking Lutfi, the Sharktailian driver was effectively out of the points. He had one more task: get the fastest lap.

Lutfi reemerged three seconds ahead of Von Visp, a safe distance away. He spent his outlap warming up his tyres, and when the virtual safety car ended, he set off for the quest for the fastest lap. Kokomiya remained focused on the telemetry. As she looked at Lutfi's onboard, she felt like her excitement for Lutfi's signing was finally justified: he was killing it! He finally seemed to have gotten to grips with the circuit, and he was smoothly manoeuvring the same few corners that lost him so much time in qualifying. Where was this beast during qualifying? As Kokomiya watched Lutfi set purple sector after purple sector, she slumped back on her seat with a grin on her face. The virtual safety car was a stroke of luck, but this level of driving was superb. As he crossed the line, the timesheet was updated with the new fastest lap: Lutfi's 1:11:009.

It was a matter of bringing the car home in one piece as the race entered its final lap. No one else put in times as quick as Lutfi's, and when both him and Cruisin crossed the chequered flag, the Piers Ivchenko garage erupted into cheers. Mechanics and engineers were hugging and fist-bumping each other as smiles spread like a contagious virus. The virus even got to Kokomiya who couldn't hold in a smile; everyone's happiness was too infectious. It seemed silly, celebrating a lone point, but seeing where everything started, there couldn't have been a sweeter way to end the race.

And Kokomiya, for one, was very excited about the incoming sponsor bonuses. Extra money, anyone?

[Sharktail]

Fjellutfordring, Aboveland

"Can I get some water, please?"

Hazrin's face looked a little pale. Not because of sick, but a little nervous. Time is getting closer to the first race, teh debut. He will start in the 25th on the grid. Pressure, 100% plus heavy expectation and hope. As he look back at the grid position for today, somehow shiver and fear kick in, but as fast and as much as he can, he try to push that aside. Here he goes, either back with point or walk away with zero.

...

As they entered the last 10 laps, wondering how it even happened, but yeah, he was in mid-position, yeah, mid. As the race after the top 10 became more intense and heated. At once, Hazrin managed to intercept to the point position but dropped back later. As he feels the tyre is becoming less efficient, he knows a single bit of mistake can cost everything and, just a split second can send him packing for good. So, probably, he will just have to push through in this condition until...

"Nik, Box."

While he entered the pit for ultrasoft tyres, one thing in mind. As he knows outside there, the safety car is out, he is still thinking about the possible mess and the heavy chance he had today might end up with 0 points. Gladly, setting 2.4 seconds during the pit, he was able to catch up but had to give up the 10th spot to Stone. With laps entering the 70 and the safety car left, he sees the gap is a bit too much.

"How much gap of me with stone?"

The answer not looking good at all. Just one reminder and warning from the team;

"Try keep the pace, Von Visk is approaching".

He can feel his heart breathing heavily, all or nothing. He passed the finish line, and yes stone is ahead of him. "Sorry guys, good job overall. Sorry." He was silent for a while then the radio message from the team came in as he set the fastest lap and was ahead of everyone, worth him one point for today. A cheer can be heard from the team paddock.

"Wow, good one. A point for us. Thanks, thanks. Good job to everyone too."

He stepped out of the car and cheered with everyone. What a moment. His first WGPC point. Either this will be repeated or not this season. No one knows what fate lies ahead, but next, there is work to be done before the next race at Queensland Street Circuit, a home of Piers Ivchenko

[Tropicorp]

Laukkanen Dominant in Aboveland, Established as Championship Favorites

WGPC21 Supplier Performance Standings (After Week #1)
[1] - 25 :: Phoenician/InMotion
[2] - 18 :: Tropicorp Racing Supply
[3] - 14 :: Brimstone
[4] - 0 :: Solymok
[4] - 0 :: Blue Sulphurate

Abovian Grand Prix, Fjellutfordring, Avsidesliggendevuoret, Aboveland :: One day earlier, Skiia Vialiv - the reigning World Grand Prix Drivers Championship runner-up, had failed to qualify for the Abovian Grand Prix. It was not only the fact that a driver of her stature had failed to qualify but also the way it happened that was so surprising. Of the six drivers who failed to qualify for the Abovian Grand Prix, four had never made a Grand Prix start before. The other two, however, were former Grand Prix winners. Adriana Ela Kowalski Lillian was in her fourth season of World Grand Prix Championship competition, having started her career alongside Cocoabo #23 as teammates at Fireline Motorsports during WGPC Season 18. It was all struggles for the Rookies that season - Cocoabo #23 leading the way with a pair of 4th place finishes and a pole position in Filindostan while Adriana only managed 5 points on the entire season finishing 25th out of 28 drivers. However, when Fireline Motorsports merged with the Eminent Grand Prix team for WGPC Season 19, it was the Valentian who was able to keep the ride as the new entity was not looking for the added maintenance burden of a Cocoabo driver. The move would seemingly pay dividends as Adriana would win her first Grand Prix in Nekoni that season just one week after scoring her first career podium in Aboveland. WGPC Season 20 started off strong for Adriana who scored a podium in the season opening race in Livetnia while her teammate Anneliese Devereux took victory but there was not much else to celebrate in a season that saw 3 retirements and a 17th place finish in the standings - While former Teammate Cocoabo #23 led much of the championship season until a retirement at the penultimate race in Aboveland. For Skiia Vialiv, two straight podium finishes to end the season catapulted her to 2nd in the final standings and despite trading her UrGa uniform for the colors of HMG, optimism was high coming into WGPC Season 21.

Yet when the lights went out at the Fjellutfordring, two Grand Prix race winners were on the sidelines watching as their teammates competed for the checkered flag, knowing they would have 0 points without a fight on the day. Perhaps, however, it was part of the plan for the cash-strapped HMG team who opted against signing a pay driver like Vincent Von Visp to fund their operation and instead looked to sign the raw talent of the two drivers who combined to deliver the constructors Championship just one season ago. With parity across the World Grand Prix Championships at an all time high over the past 2+ seasons, HMG team strategists knew that they were likely better off focusing their efforts on winning a future race instead of hoping they lucked into one or two points in Aboveland off of strategy. In fact, last season Skiia Vialiv earned her runner up position in the drivers standings with just 71 points - less than what could be earned with just three race victories and no other points finishes. So perhaps the math was accurate for team HMG. Why risk wrecking a car fighting for a fastest lap point at the back of the field when you could pack the car up, re-group and get an early start focusing on the next event? The goal was simple. Podium finishes in half the races and deliver a championship.

Seemingly gone were the days of Champion drivers racking up 6,7 or 8 podium finishes in a season. Last season, no driver had more than 3 podium finishes and no team combined for more than 5 - perhaps an all time low combination for both Driver and Constructor's champions, beating the marks set just one season prior of 4 and 6. Gone were the days of the driver Champion posting 7 Podium finishes and the Champion Team combining for 11 as Terho Talevla and Tropicorp Racing Ælund did during WGPC Season 17 and 18. It was the time of parity in the WGPC and that meant winning was rewarded more than anything else, as while the difference between 1st and 2nd was just a single position, the 7 point gap would be critical in deciding a champion, and any driver who could secure three victories - a feat that hasn't been accomplished by a single driver since iBen Toralmintii's three win campaign in WGPC Season 18 would be all but assured of lifting the championship trophy at the end of the season.

Yet, through all the projections of parity, as the drivers sped off following a late yellow flag and raced to the checkered flag, some doubt was etched into the parity mindset. Sure, the race was in Aboveland, but could we be witnessing the next Terho Talvela like season afterall? Has it been creeping up on us? There were 9 different winners in 10 races during the WGPC 20 season - and the only driver to win twice was Abovian Janne Laukkanen. Now, just like that in an era when no other driver has won 3 races out of a 10 race stretch since WGPC 18, Janne Laukkanen has taken three of the last 7 Grands Prix. With home-track advantage seeming to be the largest on-track differentiator in the modern grand prix, and the Nimban Grand Prix still to come later in the season, could it be possible? Is the Champion-ship already sailed? Is the title heading back to Aboveland? If it is, Laukkanen will need to show much more consistency than last season, with the two race victories being their only podium finishes and having just one points finish otherwise it was perhaps a blown opportunity. Now, the opportunity presents itself again. It is also the second consecutive season that Phoenician-InMotion opened up with a race victory but Tropicorp Racing Supply are close behind thanks to the performance of a new addition to the lineup, Ted Pressley who was runner up for Ælund Grand Prix at the Abovian Grand Prix. It was a tri-shared podium with reigning champion Brendan Faloe finishing third in their first race with Brimstone though newcomers Blue Sulphurate and returning supplier Solymok would be shut out in the season opener.

---

Tropicorp Supplier Performances Standings are calculated by taking the points total of the best finisher of each supplier into consideration each week. Fastest Lap is not a consideration in the standings as presented.

---

SKIIA VIALIV ✓

@Skiia

Was really disappointing and awkward for the first 5 laps or so watching everyone race while I was back in the Paddock. I'm glad I stayed for the race, however, as I got to hang out with the pit team and watch how they prepare and execute the race from the paddock. I don't think I've ever gotten this perspective in all my time as a driver and it really is an experience that I think will help me and the team moving forward as we look to achieve our goals this season. By the end of the day, I felt more happy for the team scoring points than I was disappointed to not be competing myself. Now, hopefully we can qualify on the Street Circuit...

#WGPC21 :: #DNQ :: #Fjellutfordring

INDORI VOLCANASAUR ✓

@IndoriV

Alright, I was skeptical about dropping down into @OGP after spending last season in WGP2 - but then when I heard the Lizard King was going to compete again? Sign me up!!! There should be some real competition there and I'll need to do something to keep my open wheel skills sharp. Maybe I should sign up as an official reserve driver somewhere? Eh, lets focus on the Support Series first. Hopefully I can get a decent crew behind me this season.


#SupportSeries :: #WGPC21 :: #WGPC

[Turori]

WGPC 21 Statistical Data Zone

Abovian Grand Prix, Fjellutfordring, Avsidesliggendevuoret, Aboveland :: At the conclusion to World Grand Prix Championship Season 20, there was little drama or fanfare associated with the award of the Toys '4' All Rookie of the Season award, because the award was vastly upstaged by a different Trophy - that awarded to the WGPC Overall Drivers Champion. Brendan Faloe's title winning drive for the Cygnus Motorsport Team was the first time since WGPC Season 16 that a Rookie Driver was crowned as the Overall Drivers Champion. That season, it was Vannish Motors Racing driver Jessica Franssen who won the title. Remarkably, when Franssen took the top position in WGPC Season 16, there was absolutely no astonishment or surprise at her accomplishment. The WGPC was not a Veterans sport. Franssen was the third consecutive Rookie Champion and the Fifth rookie Driver to win the title in six seasons of competition dating back to Stang Crax in World Grand Prix Championship Season 11. In fact the streak was only broken by a young Alexandra Mayari who won the WGPC 13 title in just her second season of full time competition. Combined seasons of experience of the Champion drivers for the six season stretch from WGPC 11-16? Seven Seasons. Combined seasons of experience at time of winning of the WGPC Champions from Season 17-19? Sixteen. It was Tropicorp Racing Ælund that ushered in the brief veteran era of the World Grand Prix Championship, finding a way to rekindle a past partnership into the most successful driving duo in motorsports history. However, with the unceremoniously pathetic fall from grace in the form of the "Colourworks" Project during WGPC Season 20, the door was open for the Rookie Drivers to take back the World Grand Prix Championship and Faloe would do just that, leading a podium trio of rookies with Faloe, Skiia Vialiv and Adonis Fitzpatrick sitting joint top of both the Overall Drivers Standings and Toys '4' All Rookie Standings.

While the history and the numbers may certainly be in their favor, the bookeepers aren't particularly keen on the possibility of a rookie repeat this season. While Half of the WGPC Season 20 grid were rookie drivers given the class strength in numbers, Just over one-third of the drivers competing in WGPC Season 21 are rookies - and four of them will be sharing just two seats on the grid at the WGPC Motorworks team. Coming into the season, the most highly decorated of the drivers was Nepö Kinder, the reigning AOGP champion who has at least demonstrated championship calibre performance at a lower tier. In the season opening race however it was a different rookie, Hanna Berezowska of HiTEN.gpt that took top honors with a Top 5 finish to take a commanding early lead in the Rookie of the Season battle over Viska Racing's Ron Sommer and the stunning Sharktail for Piers Ivchenko, Nik Hazrin Lutfi who stole a point on the final lap with their fast lap performance to climb above the other nine rookie contenders still seeking their first World Grand Prix Championship point.

Pos # ▍DRV Name                                          Team [Engine]                          Pts
 1 95 ▍BZW Hanna Berezowska                              HiTEN.gpt [Franklin WGP-X2]            8
 2 12 ▍SOM Ron Sommer                                    Viska [Viska RG Motors]                2
 3 21 ▍HAZ Nik Hazrin Lutfi                              Piers Ivchenko [UrGa Zh-S-1000]        1
-- 66 ▍Vincent Von Visp    	
-- 55 ▍Gil Langdon        	
-- 63 ▍Nepö Kinder          
-- 58 ▍Shuhei Kamado       
-- 22 ▍Nini Johnsilvaturr   
-- 13 ▍Pierre-Louis Archer   
-- 30 ▍Otto Markul                  
-- 16 ▍Azalia Kawakai                        
-- 18 ▍Giancarlo Rahel

About Toys'4'All :: The leading distributor and retailer of Toys and Games in the Tropics, Toys '4' All prides itself in providing a positive experience for children and adults alike when visiting its stores. Customers enjoy a wide selection of otherwise hard-to-find Toys and Games with Toys '4' All bringing to market toys from independent toy makers and innovators. The Toys '4' All brand was built being able to consolidate and retain the market share from the independent toy makers using Toys '4' All as a storefront for their goods and has involved into multiversal sales through an online marketplace.

The Racing Collectors line from Toys '4' All features the top Motorsport drivers from around the multiverse in the Nationstates Stock Car Racing Association (NSSCRA) and the World Grand Prix Championship (WGPC). WGPC cars have been sold in collectible boxes at Toys '4' All locations representing cars from Tropicorp Racing Aelund, Mattijana Racing Team and other top drivers on the WGPC circuit. NSSCRA Racing Collectible Diecast have featured the NSSCRA Chase drivers and a selection of NSSCRA Season 8 models in blister packs sold trackside, at Toys '4' All stores and and Toys '4' All partners throughout the multiverse as part of the Toys '4' All Distribution network.

Toys '4' All prides itself in providing a positive experience for children and adults alike when visiting its stores. Customers enjoy a wide selection of otherwise hard-to-find Toys and Games with Toys '4' All bringing to market toys from independent toy makers and innovators. The future of the Toys '4' All brand likely depends on being able to retain the market share from the independent toy makers using Toys '4' All as a storefront for their goods. Toys '4' All has historically been a primary sponsor for NSSCRA driver River 'Shark' Suzgar II and an associate sponsor for Turorian iBen Toralmintii in the World Grand Prix Championship.

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Starting at the midway point of World Grand Prix Season 20, The PaKaMo Outdoor Gear company, a popular provider of Winter Sports Equipment, Gear and Fashion based in the Parra Kala Mountains (Pa-Ka-Mo), has leveraged the synergy between their corporate abbreviation P.O.G. and the performance of a driver in a WGPC race (Positions Over Grid) to track the PaKaMo Outdoor Gear Positions Over Grid (POG PoG) award to the driver who improves their position the most from grid to finish across the entire WGPC 20 Season.

Of course, having a positive Position over Grid tally requires not only a fast car and a skilled driver on race day, but perhaps also provides a benefit to those drivers who don't perform as well in Qualifying, as a driver who qualifies on the pole position but finishes in 3rd place will have a Positions over Grid score for that race of -2 while a driver who qualifies in last position and only improves to 24th will have a Positions over Grid score of +3 for that event.

Like much of WGPC Season 20, the standings in this category were led by the surprising form of Cocoabo #23 right up until the end of the season. Cocoabo #23 had been averaging over 8 positions over grid through the first 8 races of the season but a retirement in Aboveland dropping them 21 places from their starting position, then a strong qualifying run in the Season Finale that could only be backed up with a 10th place finish for another 8 spots lost over grid would ultimately cost Fast Cocoabo the Pakamo Outdoor Gear Trophy. Despite improving just one position from her meagerly 20th place starting spot in an otherwise meaningless and unimpressive race, Diarcesia's Sara Luna would get one piece of hardware to take with her into retirement overtaking the Cocoabo to be crowned POG Champion with a season long average of +6.2 Positions over Grid. Cocoabo #23 was close behind with a final average of +5.8 Positions Over Grid despite the late collapse and TJUN-ia's Batu Tüvshinbayar rounded out the POG-ium with an average improvement of five positions per race over their starting position.

Incredibly, after just one race in WGPC Season 21, Records are already being broken for Positions Over Grid - but in an unexpected way. During the whole ten race schedule of WGPC Season 20, just one race would see more than a single driver end the race in the same position they started - and that was the first race of the season when both R.L. Cruisin and Kingston Walcott finished the race in the exact position with which they started. This season, however, the Abovian Grand Prix would serve up five different drivers finishing in their starting position including the race winner Janne Laukkanen who started on Pole Position. Outside of the local favorite taking the checkered flag, one of the big stories post race was the exciting strategy-fueled performance of Piers Ivchenko rookie driver Nik Hazrin Lutfi. While they didn't quite find their way into the points nearly making their charge irrelevant, they managed to score a point for fastest lap and find themselves the early leader atop the most Improved standings. A breakdown of Positions Improved or Lost compared to Starting Position for the Abovian Grand Prix is shown in the table below:

Movin' on Up! 1 :: HAZ +14.0 2 :: FAE +11.0 3 :: HAU +10.0 4 :: JOH +9.0 5 :: KAM +7.0 - :: PRE +7.0 - :: SOM +7.0 8 :: CRU +6.0 9 :: NÜL +4.0 10 :: LMN +1.0

"I'm good here!" 11 :: LAU 0.0 (S/F 1st) 11 :: FTZ 0.0 (S/F 7th) 11 :: LNG 0.0 (S/F 15th) 11 :: KIN 0.0 (S/F 19th) 11 :: PLA 0.0 (S/F 24th) . . . . .

It's a Long, Way, Down! 16 :: BZW -2.0 -- :: LAN -2.0 18 :: C23 -5.0 -- :: GTA -5.0 20 :: VVV -6.0 -- :: TII -6.0 22 :: BLA -7.0 -- :: DEV -7.0 24 :: STO -8.0 25 :: ARC -10.0 26 :: ANG -18.0

About PaKaMo Gear :: Based in the Parra Kala Mountains, PaKaMo is a popular provider of Winter Sports Equipment, Gear and Fashion and is the primary choice for outerwear and sports equipment for many AOlympians particularly in ski and snowboard sports. PaKaMo got its start in a cabin in the Parra Kala Mountains and has expanded as demand for Winter Athletic Gear and Equipment has risen in the Vilitan Cove region, particularly following the unexpected success of Vilita's performance in the Arcon Olympic Games in Saugeais. While PaKaMo maintains its presence in the mountains they have two locations in downtown Yeaddin in addition to the company offices. Fans in the area for the can visit the nearby PaKaMo build house to view the process involved in creating PaKaMo's handcrafted Snowboards.

PaKaMo is the major sponsor of the Parra Kala Overnight, A Ski-Sports competition traditionally held after the first major snowfall (If it occurs) in the Mountainous region in a given season. The company has sponsored other major sporting events including the XIV Winter Olympic Games, driver Skiia Vialiv at Rumble in the Rice Fields event on the IRACT Circuit in the Sherpa Empire and Vilaye EnergySport NSSCRA Driver Islago Tizilna. PaKaMo was also the official sponsor and gear provider of World Cup 92 Group C Matchday 3 which saw Zwangzug and Farfadillis square off at the Hothi'icei Battleground at Wamtaun Peak in nearby Terrarokka.

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twii.tur Support Series ✓

@OGP

Drivers, to your cars! All drivers have been paired up with an available seat on the grid. We have Six Full-Time teams with WGPC Connections and 3 Motorworks teams to give 18 drivers a chance to prove themselves. Round 1 in Aboveland is up next before we move on with the Motorsports World to Doubeia to keep things moving along! Yes, We've confirmed. the #LizardKing is back for another full-time support series season! The current roster has been posted but license sign ups for Drivers and Teams will remain open!

#WGPC21 :: #SupportSeries :: #GreenFlag

[Deiorus]

Royal Chancellery for Foreign Domains & Emissaries ✓

@DeiorusRCFDE

OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION FROM THE ROYAL CHANCELLERY FOR FOREIGN DOMAINS AND EMISSARIES

His Majesty's government doth hereby grants Sir Igne Spupuo, master of steeds both mechanical and of flesh, royal permission to depart our sovereign borders to represent the esteemed guild of @Tropicorp in the grand tournament of @OGP. May neighbouring realms welcome him with honour.

#SirIgneSpupuo :: #SupportSeries :: #WGPC

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Royal Chancellery for Foreign Domains & Emissaries ✓

@DeiorusRCFDE

It hath come to our attention that many foreign publications have a tendency to refer to Sir Igne Spupuo as "Lizard King". We need to inform you that this is a grievous error, as Sir Spupuo only holds the rank of Knight, not King. Such honorifics can only be bestowed by royal decree.


#SirIgneSpupuo :: #LizardKing :: #SupportSeries

[Recuecn]

Ségou, Mali, about twenty-five years ago

Moussa led his young son Malick by the hand down the steps of the bus. His wife, Fanta, followed behind, carrying their second son, Abdoulaye, who was only a toddler. Moussa led his family to the shade of the broad acacia tree at the side of the road that seemed to serve as a bus stop.

“Wait with your mother,” he said to Malick. “Watch this for me.” Moussa set down the large bundle he’d been carrying under his other arm—a small bale of clothing, wrapped in trash bags and tied with twine. He returned to the side of the bus, where the driver had opened the storage compartment in the bottom and was fishing out belongings for the other passengers who had also alighted here. Moussa laid claim to his luggage—several large items—and brought everything over to Fanta and the kids in a couple trips.

There they all stood, under the tree, with all their worldly belongings in a heap on the ground next to them, as the bus kicked up a cloud of dust and drove off.

Plenty of people had gotten off the bus here at Ségou—one of the many cities along the Niger river whose history was far richer than the town’s current state. Once, Ségou had been the seat of an empire. Now, it was just a dusty desert town with houses made of mud.

The capital, Bamako, where Moussa and his family had taken the bus from, was far larger nowadays, and growing every year, even as the cities to the north dwindled. But although it might be small compared to Bamako, Ségou was still a big city by regional standards. And the Niger flowed here, its water giving life in the desert, wide and flat, a mile across, and full of fish.

The bus had gone to refuel. It would be back, but not until tomorrow. For now, the Goitas and the other travelers were on their own to find refreshment and a place to rest until they were ready to set back out on their journey. They’d only gone 150 miles or so, but the road wasn’t great, and the bus was so old and dilapidated that it struggled to go even as fast as its speed limiter would theoretically allow. They had stopped several times to drop off and pick up passengers, but fortunately all of the stops had been planned; the bus hadn’t had any mechanical issues bad enough to force the driver to pull over.

This first day of travel had been the easy part. The journey had been only a few hours. Tomorrow, Moussa and his family would have to leave early in the morning to catch the bus to Niafounke, then take the ferry across the river and take another bus to Timbuktu, where they would arrive long after dark in a city far enough away that Bambara would no longer be the lingua franca.

They had taken the first step, but it was only one step in a long journey.

---

Abdoulaye twisted the steering wheel back and forth, trying to keep the tires warm as he drove the formation lap at Fjellutfordring. As always, before a race, his mind wandered.

He thought to his father’s story from last night, a tale of setting out on a long journey. In some sense, Abdoulaye felt that he was in the same boat. Perhaps this WGPC season would become a journey for him in some way. In that case, then surely this, the first race of the season, was his departure.

Decades ago, Abdoulaye’s father had set out from home on the shorter first leg of his journey, while preparing for the longer one next. Maybe the short leg was the qualification on Friday, and now the race was the long leg. Abdoulaye pondered it.

Maybe he was just trying to make a connection where there was none. Time to focus on the race.

It was nice to have the first race of the season be at Aboveland. Abdoulaye’s home turf this year, as an Ælund driver. The endless test drives Terho had put him through trying to get him used to the car, used to being in the WGPC again, had familiarized him with the Fjellutfordring, and Abdoulaye was confident he could put that familiarity to use for an advantage in the race.

Hmm. Perhaps that was another parallel to his father’s story. The journey started from home.

Of course, that didn’t make everything a cinch. Abdoulaye was disappointed with his qualification performance. He’d have a lot of work to do if he was going to overtake enough spots on the grid to actually score any points—he needed to make up at least eleven positions if he was going to score any points. A tall order for sure.

He pulled his car into the starting slot. A moment passed, and the lights began to come on. One, two, three, four five.

A pregnant pause, and then the roar of engines filled his ears. His own car’s song joined in the chorus, leaping forward, the immediate torque of the electric motor pushing it forward as the hybrid engine got up to speed.

This was it. This was the moment Abdoulaye had been waiting for for years now. With this instant, his return was complete; he was racing again.

The signing negotiations, the test drives, the practice sessions, all of that had been worth it. The travel, the early mornings, the late nights, the time away from family—all of that paid off in a single moment as he rocketed away from the start line. To race again was pure euphoria.

A battle ensued immediately as each driver jockeyed for position, wanting to go into turn one ahead of the cars around them on the grid. They sorted themselves out and began to string out after the 90 degree corner, pulling away into the winding curve of turn two. Abdoulaye found himself right on the tail of Shuhei Kamado, and he glued himself there, unwilling allow any distance between them. Seventy-one laps, thought Abdoulaye. Seventy-one laps to make up eleven places.

---

The sun rose early in Ségou, glinting on the still water of the river. Moussa and Fanta had found a family willing to host them and their children for the night. Although strangers, the family had opened their house to them, offering their hospitality unquestioningly, in accordance with Malian custom. Before departing that morning, Moussa had found a suitable gift among his belongings as thanks. Then, carrying Malick and Abdoulaye, still asleep, he and Fanta had managed to balance their possessions to hasten to the bus station.

The bus was already there. Moussa could see it from a distance. It was brightly painted, with the words “God is Great” across the top of the windshield. Fellow travelers he recognized from yesterday were already loading their baggage into the luggage compartment, while the driver was standing off to one side, having a heated discussion with someone from the ticket office about something. Moussa couldn’t catch the details. All he saw was the driver gesturing toward the bus.

The bus itself was almost as old as Moussa. It had been hand painted with colorful designs to give it a lively appearance, but it was clear that it had seen better days. The wheels and underside were caked in mud, and the sides were coated in a layer of the same red dust that covered everything in this part of the world.

Moussa and another passenger approached the driver and ticket person, who dropped their argument as they approached.

“Is there a problem?” Moussa asked.

The driver said nothing, but the ticket seller seemed piqued. “No problem at all,” he barked. “Tɔɔrɔ te.” The phrase he used was the same used in response to a customary greeting, but his tone of voice indicated he was not just paying lip service to some formality. He stepped forward and gestured to the door of the bus, ushering the passengers onto it. Moussa glanced back at the driver. He seemed to have given up on the argument, but he shook his head to himself.

Soon they were on the road. The bus rattled along, though the driver did his best to avoid the larger potholes. Abdoulaye, woken by the bumping, began to cry.

“Shhhh.” Fanta comforted him, pressing him to her shoulder. “Go back to sleep,” my baby.

Abdoulaye was past that now, though. He pressed his face to the window, watching the shrubs go past at the side of the road.

Moussa caught sight of the tears that stained his face. “Come here Abdoulaye,” he said. “Don’t cry. Let me tell you about the wonderful place we are going. It is a place where everyone is rich. There will be good schools for you —”

Moussa was interrupted by a loud bang. The bus jerked suddenly and swerved to the side of the road as the driver rattled off a string of curses. He pulled the bus to a stop and got out.

The passengers descended after him in a mob. “What happened?”

“What is going on?”

“Why did we stop?”

The driver pulled himself under the rear of the bus, then extricated himself and got up again, dusting his hands on his pants.

“The bus is broken down,” he said. “You will have to find another way to Niafunké.”

Another round of questions rang out. “What broke?” “Can you fix it?” “How long will it take?”

The bus driver delivered the bad news with finality.

“There will be no fixing it. The axle is broken.”

---

Lap two. Abdoulaye hovered behind Shuhei’s taillights, latched on like a lamprey. The race had hardly begun, but already the Reçuecian was looking for an opening for his first move.

Turn ten, he thought he saw a chance. Hopefully he knew the circuit well enough he could take some calculated risks and brake late going into the right-hander. If he did it right, he could sweep around on the outside.

Abdoulaye saw Shuhei brake to his right and swept past him. As the Ajian turned into the corner away from him, Abdoulaye got ready to hit the accelerator as he turned into his own apex, prepared to demand the same leap forward the electric motor had given him at the start of the race.

He got far too much.

He had hardly touched the pedal when a surge of power poured to the rear wheels. Abdoulaye panicked. He had no idea what was going on. In a fraction of a second, the rear of the car was already sliding out to the left. Abdoulaye didn’t know if something had gone wrong mechanically, or what it could possibly be, but he could feel the rear wheels spinning, the left in gravel now, as he tried to somehow steer his way out of this.

Had he hit the gas too hard? Too soon? Or had it been a bug in the electrical motor? For a moment Abdoulaye’s thoughts were topsy-turvy as his car spun 360 degrees and kept sliding into the gravel runoff at the end of turn 10. The car was smart enough that its instruments could tell it everything was spinning: the car, the tires… it recognized a crash as it bounced into the barrier wall and the engine shut itself off.

Abdoulaye was left sitting in the gravel, wondering where everything had gone wrong, clearing his head as the dust settled.

His race was over. Just a lap and a half into the first race of the season, and he was done already.

There will be no fixing it. You will have to find another way to Niafunké.

Maybe he’d have to get his dad to tell him some stories where the people in vehicles started experiencing good things.

[Katzeburg]

Fjellutfordring Circuit, Aboveland, Post-Race

How the hell had he done that?

Ron could barely remember his first race as a WGPC driver as it had all rocketed by in a blur, but according to his proud father after the race, he had shown incredible tact and a strong determination to climb up the ranks which was unlike anything he had ever shown on the Katzeburgian circuit.

It was a strong showing from the Katzeburgian rookie - Ron had finished up in the lofty heights of ninth - seven spots up from where he started - and secured Viska their first points of the season, and the first points of his burgeoning WGPC career.

“All I remember is cutting inside of Gil on the first corner, everything else after that was just panic and remaining with my eyes glued onto the road,” Ron said after he took a bite into a large chicken burger while sitting at a small fast-food joint just down the road from the circuit. He was sitting in a small booth with his father, having a quick meal before Trevor Sommer jetted back to Katzeburg after having come to see his son participate in his first WGPC start.

“You were brilliant!” Trevor said, lathering his burger with a heavy amount of gravy. “I’ve never seen you drive so determined and you made a lot of those ahead of you look like they were the rookies! How does it feel picking up your first points?”

“A bit weird to be honest! I was just hoping to not immediately crash out, but it feels a little weird being ahead of Will too in terms of points scored. I know it’s only a single race, but given how much further ahead he started, it was weird to see him drop so far.”

“The things a simple mistake can do to you on the circuit,” Trevor mused. “Anyway, I’m sure you’ll be turning quickly to the next race, no?”

“I’ve not even thought about it yet!” Ron laughed. “I’ll be keen to sit down with the team over the coming days and go through the debrief for the race. I think there was probably a bit more I could have done in sections from a strategic point of view, so hopefully it will be useful to learn before we head to Doubeia.”

“I’m sure it will be - at the very least, you’ll be able to hang your head high back at Viska after getting them on the scoreboard for the season! Here’s to the first of hopefully many, many more points!”

Trevor raised his now gravy-soaked burger as if to toast Ron at his wedding. Ron chuckled and tapped his burger with that of his dad’s, before taking another large bite out of his post-race tea. He wasn’t sure if it was the pure artery-clogging taste of the fried chicken burger or the fact he was still high on adrenalin from navigating to a points finish in his WGPC debut, but Ron was feeling good. It would take a lot to come down from this quickly.

Viska Headquarters, Auruna - Three days later

Ron was gunning it hard. Fighting through the simulated rain, he was trying his best to stick to the tight racing line of the Queensland Street Circuit ahead of the trip to the course as part of the WGPC season. He had previously been quite good at navigating the course - at least, he was in the fictional version of it on the game Virtua Racer - but in the full setup of the Viska simulator, it was a bit of a different tale entirely.

As Ron swung his simulated car over the simulated finish line, he put himself through his paces and began to come down from the thrill of racing. It had been a busy few days since coming back to Auruna after the season’s first race in Aboveland. Ron had thrown himself into the data and analytics wherever he could - if anything, his first finish in the points had made him more conscious that while he might have the on-track skills to compete, he knew nothing about the overall strategy and support he needed to provide as a driver.

He was so focused on his own work and getting prepared for the upcoming race in Doubeia that he had barely had any face-time with his teammate following the end of the race in Aboveland - William Archer had fallen well off the pace and finished out in 21st, more than a lap or two behind Ron, which made it all the more odd that the Abanhfleft driver seemed rather content as he paced around the Viska site ahead of the team’s trip to Queensland. But with barely any real time to get to know his team-mate, Ron simply assumed that William knows he’ll be swiftly returning back up the ranks and to not put too much stock into one race or the results you may or may not get.

It was an important lesson to learn, Ron thought as he occasionally saw Archer wander around and have what looked like regular chats with team members about a range of things which seemed to have no real tangential relation to racing. He had heard rumours about the difficulties Archer had experienced behind the scenes over in Hapilopper, but he knew better than to casually walk up to his teammate and pry about his circumstances, especially given the kind of general roles the two drivers took on within the team - Archer, despite only being a few years older than Ron, was already kind of a veteran within the championship, while Ron was the fresh-faced rookie just hoping to not make any massive waves for the wrong reasons.

It was a situation which didn’t really align with Ron fully - Archer at times had looked like he was struggling with the car both of them were racing in as much as he was - but in terms of a team dynamic, it was the closest thing they had for the moment. But it was one Ron was keen to shift, even if slightly. At the very least, he was keen to impress - not just Archer, but the entire Viska team for giving him what he already knows is a rare opportunity. He wasn’t going to just coast on the fact he had secured points already - he was setting his sights next on a podium.

And as the team prepared to head to Doubeia for the second race of the season, Ron was confident he could continue his solid start to the season. He had done everything he thought was the right thing to do - practice, practice, and more practice. He just had to hope it made any impact at all when he got onto the track itself.

---

KISMO Headquarters, Aji No Moto

The tension was high as Gil Langdon made his way into the Kissan Motorsports HQ in the days following the first race of the season. Langdon didn’t have the dream start to his career as a WGPC driver his ego was telling him to expect - after getting cut on the inside by his Katzeburgian counterpart Ron Sommer on literally the first corner of the race, Gil had struggled to get past anyone of note for the entire race.

By the end of more than an hour and a half of racing in Aboveland, Gil had finished where he started - 15th, outside of the points. Even more frustratingly, his teammate who had been well down the starting grid had gotten by him - with Shuhei Kamado guiding his KISMO car to a 13th place finish. It wasn’t a million miles away from where he finished, but for Gil it was a damning indictment of his racing - he needed to be better in Doubeia. KISMO won’t hang around with two drivers outside the points for too long, and he just needed to be ahead of Kamado.

Gil’s agent, Don Hundmeister, had attempted to soothe the rising nerves of the young driver in the immediate aftermath of the race.

“You didn’t fall back down the pack, baby. That’s half the battle,” Don said over the phone as Gil paced up and down his hotel room.

“I wasn’t good enough, Don! If Kamado can start well behind and then get ahead of me, what am I even doing here? KISMO will kick me to the curb quicker than you can say former driver.”

“They won’t baby - don’t forget that your sponsorship is doing a lot of lifting too. They’d be silly to take money off the table just because both of you aren’t scoring points.”

“They might! There’s still some good drivers out there, and with the academy teams starting up for a lower-tier series, my goose could be well and truly cooked if I don’t pick up things quickly.”

“You’ve gotta put it all behind you, baby. If at the end of the next race in Doubeia you still are struggling, then maybe we have a chat with the management and see if we can get a better eye on their thoughts for the rest of the season.”

“Hmph. Maybe. Look, I need to go Don. Talk soon.”

But as Gil returned to action at KISMO, he noted things seemed to slowly becoming icier - but not just for him. It seemed to him that Kamado was also under a fair amount of pressure to get the below-par KISMO car up the ladder and Gil did feel a ping of sadness for his teammate - after all, he had been put in a horrible situation and expected to immediately perform, and Gil coming in robbed Shuhei of any real chance of learning a lot from an experienced driver.

However, racing in WGPC isn’t a right - and Gil had earnt his shot and for the most part performed admirably. But it still lingered in his head that he needed to prove he was good enough on the track, especially as the sharks began to circle the boat.

He hadn’t spent a lot of time with Kamado yet this season, mostly just passing hello’s and some manufactured banter during sponsor events and media meetings. But Gil couldn’t help but feel Kamado was rooting for his downfall. He had been icy whenever he had tried to initiate conversation - as if Gil was inconveniencing Shuhei by simply being there. Maybe it was the fact KISMO had given much more leeway so far to Langdon, but to Gil it made the environment ahead of the trip to Doubeia one which just felt off.

He tried to throw himself into practice, working to lower his time on the simulator and review where he struggled in Aboveland - failing to show that aggression on track he was so used to on the Katzeburgian circuit. He needed to find his fire, fast, if he wanted to get back on track.

[Auruna]

Viska Factory
Sterlennau, Auruna

Among the MNA teams, Viska has always been at the forefront of innovation ever since they were first formed by Schkeska and VSK before becoming independent. Even with their relatively limited resources, they pride themselves in their research and development and in their experimentation regarding motorsport, more so than VSK, which mainly focuses on endurance racing, and Schkeska, which was at a disadvantage thanks to their corporatism. They were the earliest adopters of hybrid power technology which eventually resulted in their own diverse range of unique hybrid systems. Even in the aero department where VSK seemed to be untouchable, Viska managed to surpass them once in the AEC which led to a failed protest from VSK's endurance teams.

Viska's approach naturally comes with huge costs and risk as one ambitious AEC project nearly bankrupted not only the AEC team, but Viska as a whole which forced them to accept a military contract to develop a 4x4 off-road buggy for the Aurun Army. The end result was the Viska Trailblazer which was adopted by the army and mass produced and it is still in use. Thanks to that, not only Viska recovered financially, the drivetrain they developed for the Trailblazer heavily influenced Viska's AWD systems from the dominant Kami-V in the ARC to the Talon and Maki used by the WGPC team and both still have continued technical development.

The risks are always acknowledged as Viska continue to field more experimental concepts that are borderline science-fiction even if such concept has been tried and tested in reality but not on a car. They are mad enough to risk it to gain even an inch of performance whatever it may cost.

---

With the VRG team confident in their work as a portion of them moved on to work on the Inline-6 project, Hori finally felt at ease for the first time in a while. Even though the first race, while they still scored a few points, didn't go as planned, the engines held up and didn't show any significant faults which was good news for the engine department. There were only a few minor kinks that they had to work on but overall, there were no issues, at least for now.

Moving on from that, Hori turned her attention to another of Viska's ambitious projects: the variable sweep front wing. Until now, she hadn't personally worked on the project as she was busy with the engines. She was curious as to what happened since it was last seen in the Aurun Pre-Season Test and while she was still privy with its progress after that, she hadn't looked into it in detail. After leaving the engine department, she headed off to the aero lab to check on the team working on the project. With a long distance to walk, since the aero labs are in a separate building, she saw the opportunity to grab something to eat along the way not realising the actual distance to the aero department's building.

After getting a sandwich to eat at her destination, Hori still had a long way to go, her legs were already aching as she walked down a flight of stairs, hiding her pained and embarrassed look as she walked past several groups of people. Who the hell approved of separating the technical departments. Hori complained in her thoughts, forgetting that she had a say in that decision when Viska was gradually building up their new facilities. After reaching the ground floor, she leaned on a wall as she stopped to catch her breath.

Hori continued, persevering through the large expanse of the Viska factory. As she walked through a hallway, her mind wandered off with jumbled thoughts. It was a habit of her to hopefully keep her awake or entertained through arduous tasks but the consequence is that she is prone to accidents that she may stumble upon. And as far as she knows, the hallway was clear of any obstructions. She continued walking on autopilot, completely straight. It was until the slammed into a glass door like a bird, instantly bringing her back to reality. She rubbed her forehead as she looked around to see if anyone saw her.

Just as she was about to move on, she heard a familiar Sterlannau accented voice speak to her. "Are you alright?"

Hori was instantly startled, she tried to speak but she stammered her words. Nils then placed his hand on her shoulder which made her jump.

"Did it hurt?" Nils asked in his somewhat monotonous voice.

"N-no... I-I'm fine." Hori said as she slowly calmed down. "A-anyway! I thought you'd be at the aero building, what brings you here?"

"I took a quick break." Nils answered. "I was about to return to wait for you but this makes things easier. Shall we walk together?"

"Sure..." Hori accepted with Nils already walking as soon as he heard her answer.

"Now, about the front wing." Nils started off. "The combined results of the wind tunnel, computer simulations, and the pre-season tests proved that the concept is viable, for our car at least. Our aero package will actually benefit from such system as we are quite lacking in our downforce towards the front at high and low speeds as last season's car showed after our departure from our low-speed cornering focus for a more balanced one. It also allows for a more versatile car with more freedom in the setups so we wouldn't have to worry about having several different front wing layouts for different tracks. Ron actually took a liking to the system which aided him greatly in Hodori."

As Hori was bombarded by Nils' explanation, she just nodded along. Nils paused for a moment, expecting a question but Hori hesitated at first as she was trying to process all the information that was dumped onto her. After a few seconds, she asks. "I want to know two things, is this legal in WGPC? Also, what are the estimated running costs of it plus the cost of it per crash."

Nils immediately had an answer for the first question. "There's no mention of it in the technical regulations and it is within the wheelbase rule whether extended or swept back, completely within regulations. Our variable sweep system primarily works on the main wing element and doesn't change the angles of any of the adjustable wing elements and it is manually controlled by the driver using the steering wheel. Although it took a while for us to get approval from the MNA since they still had to 'look into it'. When we did get approval, Jöna and Kiiro pushed for it as an upgrade for, at the earliest, the third race weekend."

"What about the--"

As Hori was about to repeat the second question, Nils cut her off. "You'll see more of it in detail in the reports at the lab so you can look into it at your own pace. I know you prefer more traditional methods." He said, completely avoiding the second question.

"Right..."

The two eventually reach the aero department where they sat down and reviewed the test results and the data they gathered which took Hori by surprise as she was presented by a significant stack of papers that Nils plonked on the table infront of her. Even with his help, the two took nearly an hour to get through all of them while Nils continued with his explanation and completely dodging any question about the costs of the wing design.

Soon, they finally finished and Hori briefly rests her head on the table after being overwhelmed. Nils returned to the table with two cups of coffee. As he sat back down, he set the coffee on the table to which Hori responded with a quiet "kiitan" before lifting her head.

Afterwards, there was an awkward silence, to Hori at least as she avoided eye contact with Nils who sat across her with a serious look on his face. A few seconds pass by, Nils spoke up, breaking the silence. "As you can see, since there's nothing else to do, we're basically done for the day and we have some free time. Would you like to talk about something?"

"Um..." Hori tried to fish through her scrambled thoughts just to try to come up with a topic. After a few seconds of brain activity, she then looks at Nils and asks a question that she wanted to ask him for a long time. "What did you do before you started working here?"

"Good question." Nils said after taking a huge sip from his coffee. "First, after finishing university for mechanical engineering, I served in the Air Force for my compulsory military service. In the Air Force, even though becoming a pilot would be nice, I voluntarily became a crew chief for a squadron in Lähtevara working on S-15s, S-16s, and S-11s. Then after about three years, because I decided to continue, I switched to a squadron here in Sterlennau and worked on VSK-21s and stayed for another three years. After about half a decade of military service, I decided that it was enough and moved on to something different but related."

Nils looked at Hori whose eyes lit up and was listening intently and a slight smile formed on his face. After finishing his coffee, he continued. "I then worked for VSK, the aerospace one, not VSK Motors. There, while I continued working on the previous aircraft mentioned, I decided to branch out to see what I can do, I can't remember what I exactly did there since it was one of the busiest times in my life. Anyway, my last two years with them is at Viroluki Tekniiki as an aircraft maintenance engineer. During that time, I discovered Viska Racing and I personally approached Jöna. I was actually the team's technical director before you and that's as brief as I can possibly make it."

"Wow." Hori was awestruck by Nils' career. "That was really interesting. No wonder you're fit for the job. I have no other words."

Nils chuckled. "It was nothing too out of the ordinary, I just did what I wanted to do. In fact, you're not too bad yourself as you also manage VRG alongside your primary duties."

"T-thanks..."

"Now." Nils stood up and fixed his shirt. "Our free time is up, whether you continue to stay here or not is up to you, but I recommend going home and relaxing. See you tomorrow."

After Nils left, Hori remained at the table finishing her sandwich and pondered about what happened. The day was both exhausting and interesting especially since she learned a lot from someone who she viewed as her mentor. She couldn't contain her excitement as she aggressively chewed on her sandwich. If this is what being at ease felt then she wanted more of it, more of those good wastes of time. Wishing that the engines and the car would hold up so she could enjoy more of it, to not worry about it. But there's still one thing that lingers in her mind.

How much did it actually cost?

[Aji No Moto]

kismo.anm

2h

Pleased to announce that academy driver @RingoK80 will be driving in the Support Series for @ANMARA.anm! He will pair up with Batu Tuvshinbayar which is our main reserve driverfor our WGPC team.#WGPC #KISMO

---

KISMO Headquarters
Serizawa, Aji No Moto

To the surprise of no one in the headquarters, KISMO failed to score a single point in the opening race of the season in Aboveland. Both Gil and Shuhei qualified outside the top 10, but were fast enough to make it to the field of 26 on raceday. Despite the Katzeburgian driver being ahead of the Ajian driver on the grid, it was the latter who had the last laugh in the race, finishing ahead of the former, but were three places off the points scoring positions. What was worse, both KISMO cars finished a lap behind the race winner, Janne Laukkanen despite the track slightly favoring the KSH03 that is very skewed towards engine performance and aerodynamics, so much skewed that deputy team principal Kousuke Kasai already predicting both drivers to struggle at Queensland Street Circuit, a track that is skewed towards technical prowess and cornering speeds.

Hiromu have already asked the engineers to tone down the aggressiveness skew of the next season's chassis as they look to balance out the car's performance in straight line speed and corner speed. They also had to make last minute adjustments prior to the start of pre-season testing as the car initially struggled to pass the WGPO mandatory crash tests for having the car too blistering fast at the straights, compromising the safety of their drivers.

Moves were then made by the organization to bridge the gap between the WGPC-level of racing and the grassroots program the local motorsport organizers are planning to do, as they have confirmed ANMARA to operate a team for the upcoming twii.tur Support Series in order for Batu Tuvshinbayar to have some sort of track time while he takes care of simulator work. They have also secured funding from Kawagishi Steel for their academy driver, Ringo Kawagishi to take the other seat for ANMARA, while Solymok-bankrolled Zsanett Bokor is confirmed to drive for UrGa for the series.

[Tumbra]

Aboveland
Lap 67 of 74

The chase was on. And Ted Pressley was the one being hunted. Janne, fresh off his pole position, had rocketed off into the distance, leaving him to run his own race behind. Bar the blue-flagged cars, he'd been making good pace on his own; after a scrabble on the opening few laps for position, he'd made his way up to second. There was no catching the baby blue Nexus Racing bathtub today, but second at his first race would be a great boon for not just his stock, but also the team's.

The key was whether he could keep it.

In his rearview mirror was the sleek viridian of the Cygnus of Brendan Faloe, the defending world champion. Faloe had turned up and immediately shamed the entire grid when the undergraduate student came through with a late-season rally to power through to the title. His parents, if parents were anything to go by, were probably insufferable at family gatherings; who could better the inevitable boast that their son was both a university student (presumably with top grades — Faloe seemed to keep mostly to himself) and one of thirty-two people who could go hurtling around circuits in huge metal beasts, let alone be the best one in a given year?

But Faloe's familial relations were possibly the very last thing on his mind right now, alongside the fact that his team-mate Abdoulaye Goita had spun off on the second lap of the race; when he probed, about thirty laps back, he was told that the problem was "probably non-replicable" and that he could rest easy. Right now, all that mattered was keeping the other car that didn't look much like a traditional WGPC car off his arse; Faloe had been gaining on him, with Ted tersely asking for updates on the gap every time he passed the pitwall —

— Double yellows. Then, the yellow VSC lettering in a black box. Ted immediately let go of the accelerator, smashing the brakes before he could be dinged for anything; luckily for him, Faloe had done so earlier, because the gap between the two felt like it was less than a tenth. Several times now the defending world champion had tried to dive up the inside, but Ted, showing uncanny aggression, kept closing the door. He had no doubts there would be moaning on the radio; but this was just what he had to do.

"VSC, VSC, fuel mode low, engine mode low," came the voice of Urmo Penttilä, his race engineer for the season. "Gap to Faloe two-tenths, gap to Faloe two tenths." The field crept back onto the main straight as Kinu Luminna's stricken Preston was towed off; evidently Preston's start to the season was about to be even worse than last year's.

Ted crept through the corners, mindful of how cold his tyres were becoming.

Lap 68
PRE 1:25:237
LAU -18.47
FAE +0.224

"Six laps left, not sure how much I've got. Is he faster?"

"Pace about even, Ted, pace about even so far."

"And the tyres?"

"Just do the best you can. Nobody has really gotten the best out of theirs today."

"Urmo. I want to go faster." Ted flipped the dials on his dashboard to try and see if he could surmise see how much fuel he had left. "My delta. Fuel delta. What is it?"

Silence for a few seconds.

"Plus zero point eight."

"Okay, and...the ultimate...it takes how much per lap?"

"Minus zero point three."

"I want to use it. It will matter. What are they saying at Cygnus?"

"We don't know."

"I want to use it. Ask Edvin. Anyone, Urmo."

Another few seconds of silence that felt like forever. A different voice came over the radio.

"Ted, if you blaze up, then there is a risk we won't have enough for the required fuel sample," came the voice of Edvin Perkkanen, team principal of Ælund, over the radio.

"I just need it for two, three laps. Please, Edvin. I won't run it for all the laps, I just need to build something. We can catch him off guard, then hang back," said Ted, almost desperate, as the car made its way back to Turn 10, the evil and intimidating Cygnus hanging back. A literal stalking horse if there ever was one. With the field so closely constructed, who was behind Faloe? A glimpse of purple and pink — it couldn't be that Johnsilver girl he'd lapped, so it had to be the other one. If Ted dropped one position, what was stopping Nulkeschlager from taking advantage? And whomever was behind Nulkeschlager?

"Okay," said Edvin. "Two laps. You get two laps."

Lap 69
PRE 1:30:294
LAU -18.55
FAE +0.238

"Two laps. That works."

"VSC should be ending soon, Luminaa's car is off the track," came the voice of Urmo over the radio. "Ted, this will only be for this race, because the engine will blow itself up if you run this elsewhere. Do you understand?"

Ted gripped the steering wheel tighter as he slowly made his way down to turn five.

"Yeah."

"If he gets you, he gets you."

"He won't."

VSC ENDING flashed up.

"VSC ending in fifteen. Godspeed," said Urmo, who let Ted focus on the restart.

Ted considered turning the engine up in seven seconds; then he would run, run like a jackrabbit. But if he was caught in the turn 6-7 complex, then —

No time to worry. Mentally he counted up seven thousands, then he twitched the dial up. He'd just escaped the turn 6-7 complex when the flag dropped; and he was off. The jolt of power was surprising, but it seemed to have caught Faloe off guard. Cold tyres were always going to be the limiting factor on how good they were going to be; but it didn't matter. All he needed to do was build the gap, then soak up whatever he could take.

And it worked.

[Trans-Dniesters]

The irony of the situation was not at all lost on Vasily Gatutin. A season ago, it was Yakov Yurievsky who was stewing behind the scenes and plotting and conspiring to get rid of one of Urotovsky-Gatutin’s driver for someone whom he believed would be of massive financial benefit, not for the team itself but for both his and Pridnestrovia’s pockets. Now, Yakov had someone who was providing a direct monetary benefit into his own pockets, and Vasily was the one thinking about ways to minimize the possible impact of said driver on Urotovsky-Gatutin’s title defense campaign. Now obviously Vasily Gatutin wasn’t going to talk shit about Vincent Von Visp behind his back to the board; if anything Gatutin was going to tell Von Visp straight to his face that if he had his way, the Recuecian wouldn’t be driving for the defending WGPC constructors’ champions at all. But Von Visp was here in the team, thanks in part to the machinations of Yakov Yurievsky, leaving Gatutin in a situation where he now had to play the cards he was dealt.

As a team principal, Vasily Gatutin had never really put much stock in the results of the preseason test sessions, whatever they may be. Test sessions were never about proving that the team had the fastest car; it was all about making sure that the computer simulations matched up to reality. Yes, there was sometimes a benefit to being the fastest team in the tests, but Vasily had learned from experience that test results did not always match up with the standings at the end of the season. Some of it could be attributed to the test track suiting the test session frontrunners and only that track, and sometimes upgrades dictated whether or not a team actually improved over the course of the season or, in some notable cases, regressed. UrGa had almost always been in the middle of the pack or even in the bottom during Vasily’s time as team principal, which was how he had learned to ignore the test results for most of the time. That was also why Vasily wasn’t too worried that UrGa hadn’t even yet chosen their driver lineup in time for the first test of the season in Crpostran. Some teams were almost too afraid not to show up for the first test without at least one driver behind the wheel, but Vasily Gatutin’s UrGa was not like that. If it wasn’t for a WGPC rule that a team needed to have two drivers by a certain date then he might have actually waited until the final test session to show up with two cars and two drivers and just tell them to have at it on the final day of testing.

In any case, Vasily Gatutin and UrGa showed up to the Ikasamo Circuit in Hodori for the second test session of the WGPC Season 21 preseason with two drivers in tow, Nepö Kinder and Vincent Von Visp. Gatutin had never been one to encourage glory runs during these test sessions after the drivers had completed their regularly scheduled programs, but on this occasion he decided to make an exception. Gatutin called over the race engineer assigned to Nepö Kinder, Vladimir Gennadyevich Kripchak, and told him, “Have Nepö’s car readied for a qualifying run. Minimal fuel and Solymok’s softest tires available. Tell her to have at it.”

“Really, sir?” Kripchak asked. “A glory run? But we don’t do glory runs.”

“Just tell her what she’s supposed to do, Volodya,” Gatutin said, and while he was looking at Kripchak when he said that, he was also watching the other side of the garage through the corner of his eye.

“Of course, sir,” Kripchak nodded. “We’ll get right on it, sir.”

Gatutin thought he saw a look of confusion on Kinder’s face as the young Hülkenberger driver went out of the pits to embark on her glory run. Nevertheless, she went out there and she put in a time which Gatutin thought was decently fast. At the end of the session itself, Kinder’s glory run was only five tenths off of the fastest times on the board, though he also noted that Von Visp on a long run program with full fuel and the hardest tires was only seven hundredths of a second behind Kinder. Vasily understood that Von Visp would have had experience driving an UrGa machine down at WGP2 level, and that Kinder’s own experience only amounted to the quasi-WGP3 level of AOGP, but he had to admit that that tiny gap was disturbing him more than it really should be.

The second test session in Hodori was held under rainy conditions, and because of that Vasily Gatutin knew better than to take any stock out of the results of the day. But even though both of UrGa’s drivers stuck to their respective long run programs once again, Gatutin became more and more concerned as a gap slowly grew in between Von Visp and Kinder. By the end of the session, Vincent Von Visp was practically 1.5 seconds ahead of his teammate, and the Recuecian showed no signs of slowing down at all. There was probably a simple explanation for all of this, that Von Visp was just a better driver in the wet than Nepö Kinder, but for the first time in a long time, Vasily found himself unable to accept such a simple conclusion. There had to be another explanation, another reason, something that was not directly related to the talent and skills of either driver.

“Illarion, come over here, please,” Vasily called out to Illarion Arkhipovich Osipov, the race engineer assigned to Vincent Von Visp as the second day of testing was coming to an end. “I want a complete takedown of Vincent’s car later tonight,” Gatutin ordered. “No one is to touch his car before that takedown. I want every part to be examined, checked and double-checked. And then when you’re done checking then check every part one more time. Check for any possible signs of tampering. I want to be absolutely sure that he was driving an unmodified car out there.”

“Is there any reason why you think his car was tampered with, sir?” Osipov asked.

“Call it a hunch, Illarion,” Gatutin replied. “Something tells me that that wasn’t Vincent’s raw pace in wet conditions.”

“As you say, sir,” Osipov nodded, and then he leaned in closer to Gatutin and whispered, “What are you really suspicious about, sir? Is it the car’s pace or Vincent’s pace?”

“Would you believe me if I said that it’s a little bit of both?” Gatutin said. “I don’t know if I can really explain it, Illarion. I’ve had a bad feeling about Von Visp ever since I first saw him. And you add to that the fact that he is a friend of Yakov’s, or at least is currently the most useful man to the old coot’s plans, and I really think that I have more than enough reason to be suspicious of Vincent’s pace.”

“Very well, sir,” Osipov nodded. “What do you want the team to look for?”

“I don’t know,” Vasily shook his head. “Anything, really. Anything that might point to potential trickery, perhaps. I don’t care if it’s an infinitesimal inconsistency between readings or measurements. If something doesn’t add up, I want to know about it immediately.”

“Understood, sir,” Osipov nodded again. “The crew will look into it, and I will report to you our findings.”

Osipov and his crew didn’t find anything wrong with Vincent’s car after they had taken it down to its components and inspected each and every single part for any possible sign of tampering. In any case, Vasily expected that the crew wouldn’t find anything, and all that the impromptu inspection proved was that he still had a troubling gut feeling about Vincent Von Visp, and that Vasily might just have to learn with that feeling for as long as Von Visp was contracted to UrGa. And he might also just have to get used to the sight of Von Visp’s name above Kinder’s in the standings because Vincent once again finished above Nepö in the first test session at Auruna, and this time there was no adverse weather to affect anyone. As far as anyone was concerned, Vincent Von Visp was better than Nepö Kinder, at least on the first day of testing at Akresna.

All of that said, Vasily had noticed that the man responsible for bringing Von Visp into UrGa’s fold, Yakov Leonidovich Yurievsky, was not rubbing the Recuecian’s successes in Vasily’s face at every chance that he could get. If anything, Yurievsky had become much more quiet and reserved than even his usual scheming self. Vasily would have thought that Yurievsky was cooking up yet another diabolical plot to line both his pockets and that of his oligarch friends, but UrGa’s “financial advisor” was already doing that via the “special racing operation” that had resulted in the ousting of both Adonis Fitzpatrick and Skiia Vialiv from the team that they had led to the constructors’ championship last season. The silence from Yurievsky was unnerving to Vasily, and so despite his brain telling him not to say anything to the old man and let the issue rest, the team principal of the Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division decided to approach his team’s “financial advisor” and ask about the latter’s surprising silence.

“Your Recuecian friend is doing well at the tests, it seems,” Vasily said to Yurievsky, who was watching the proceedings in Akresna while seated on a high stool in the rear of the UrGa garages.

“It seems so,” Yurievsky nodded through gritted teeth. The fact that Yakov didn’t elaborate further or try to spin the events as an apparent success of his “special racing operation” triggered all sorts of alarm bells in Vasily’s mind. This was completely out of character for the normally proud and boisterous “financial advisor.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, and I can’t believe that I’m saying this to you,” Gatutin muttered while shaking his head. “But is there something wrong, Yakov? You have not been yourself lately. Are you hungry? Do you need a chocolate bar or a snack or something?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Vasily Semyonovich?” Yurievsky sneered. “This is no business of yours, Vasily. Do not concern yourself with it. It is my concern and mine alone.”

“Does it have anything to do with Minister Tokarev’s impromptu visit to Myrilsk four weeks ago?” Gatutin pressed. “Because that is the first time that a sitting Finance Minister of Pridnestrovia has paid our company headquarters a visit, and from what I heard, he spent quite some time in your office after his official tour. Minister Tokarev also left your office with a heavy briefcase after your meeting, the contents of which we can only speculate. Although I do have some theories of my own, and they are all connected to your Recuecian friend.”

“I already told you, Vasily, this is not your concern!” Yurievsky almost shouted. “It’s none of your business! The Comrade Minister and I had a conversation about the financial situation of the team and our international operations, and he told me that I had to start paying for some of the ideas that I have proposed to the government time and again.”

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of your own actions finally coming home to roost,” Vasily said. “How many of these hare-brained schemes of yours have you passed on to the government just so you can put more rubles into your pockets? And now it looks like they’ve finally had enough. I warned you about this, Yakov. Raisa Fedorenko and her friends are nothing like the old guard. You’re not going to get the same passes from her that you used to get from Zorkin and Nikovgorodiev and their friends.”

“You don’t need to remind me of that,” Yurievsky spat out. “And like I’ve been telling you time and time again, this is none of your business. You should figure out why your preferred driver is not setting the world on fire. I’ll figure out how I’m going to pay my debt to the government.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch, Yakov,” Vasily said as he made his way back to the pit wall. “You of all people should know that.”

“Oh, save your gloating for when you actually have something to gloat about!” Yurievsky shot back. Once Gatutin had left this part of the garage though, Yakov was once again alone with only his thoughts for company, and once again he was back to thinking about how to solve the problem of the spanner that Finance Minister Boris Tokarev had just thrown into the works of the “special racing operation.”

Yakov Yurievsky was not worried about the fact that someone like Boris Tokarev had finally come to collect his debts to the Pridnestrovian government. In fact, Yurievsky had been expecting it almost as soon as Raisa Fedorenko and her cohorts were sworn in. Yakov had never before encountered a problem that couldn’t be solved by paying somebody, and he wasn’t about to be scared by the current situation with Tokarev and the misinformation bot farms. Everybody had a price, Yurievsky knew, and Boris Tokarev had just named it to Yakov a month or so ago. Two trillion rubles was a substantial amount even for someone with Yakov’s deep, deep pockets, but it wasn’t the amount that truly worried the “financial advisor.” Rather, it was the method in which Tokarev demanded to be paid that actually worried the old man.

The Pridnestrovian ruble was one of the most hyperinflated currencies in circulation. The Pridnestrovian government had attempted to curb said hyperinflation by pegging the exchange rate between the ruble and the internationally recognized NS dollar. Officially, one NSD was equivalent to one thousand rubles, but there were rumors that the black market’s unofficial going rate was now up to ten thousand rubles per dollar. Thus, the ruble was hardly worth more on the paper (or more accurately the plastic and plant fiber blend) on which it was printed, an issue exacerbated by the constant wars and military operations Pridnestrovia had been embroiled in since the turn of the millennium. The situation had made rubles practically worthless to the country’s upper class, so they dealt primarily in foreign currencies. The ever-present NS dollar was one such currency, as was the relatively stable Fleftic new penenk and Oontaznik riyal.

Another currency that had recently found its way into the bank accounts of the Pridnestrovian elite was the Recuecian guilder. With the exchange rate currently hovering at around twelve hundred rubles per guilder, it was an easy way to turn vast stacks of paper into something resembling actual financial liquidity. Pridnestrovia’s oligarchs already had guilders in their accounts before Vincent Von Visp had even made his way onto Yakov Yurievsky’s radar, but Von Visp’s “payments” to the Urotovsky-Gatutin “financial advisor” to secure his seat in WGP2 had introduced more Recuecian money into circulation in Pridnestrovia. Vincent’s latest offering, the briefcase that had attracted unwanted attention in Myrilsk from Vasily Gatutin, Nepö Kinder, and finally Boris Tokarev was the latest installment of Von Visp’s financial contributions to the Pridnestrovian economy, filtered through the pockets of Yakov Yurievsky and his oligarch cohorts, of course. One million guilders, 1.2 billion rubles, and it was still practically a drop in the ocean compared to the two trillion rubles it took to operate and maintain the bot farms sowing discord between Hapilopper and TJUN-ia. And yet Boris Tokarev still took the briefcase of guilders as the first downpayment from Yakov because it was easy money, it was in a trusted currency, and the country apparently needed the money yesterday. But Tokarev himself was no longer thinking in terms of paper money. No, he was already on the next step of financial transactions: precious metals, specifically gold. And for whatever reason, Tokarev was after Vincent Von Visp’s gold.

Yakov could understand why Tokarev wanted his future payments to come in gold. Its value was well known, and it was not particularly volatile to market conditions. Yakov had his own stash of gold hidden away in various corners of the multiverse; which self-respecting oligarch wouldn’t? But Tokarev didn’t want Yakov’s gold; he wanted gold from Vincent Von Visp, and he expected Yakov’s “special relationship” with the Recuecian to come up with the goods. Tokarev had mentioned rumors that the Von Visp family had gotten their family fortune from fascist gold acquired via various means. Tokarev had said that he didn’t care about where the gold had come from, just that Yakov used it to pay for the misinformation bot farms that had been his idea in the first place. And for his part, Yakov didn’t care if Tokarev actually intended for his gold to go into the national treasury of Pridnestrovia or straight into his own pockets. Corruption was practically the national pastime in Pridnestrovia, and it was almost expected of government officials to skim some money from whatever sources they could.

So what difference really did it make that the Finance Minister of the Pridnestrovian Republic wanted Yakov Yurievsky to pay for his debts to the country using someone else’s gold instead of his own? None, really. Yakov would have paid off Tokarev anyway. The real problem for him was the fact that he had to tell Vincent everything about this deal. And Yakov was reluctant to do this because he had no idea how Vincent was going to react to this development. He may be a blackheart just like Yakov, but according to his profile, the Recuecian was a little bit sensitive when it came to the subject of the source of his family’s wealth. If Yakov brought it up, the “special relationship” might come to an end, which would also put an end to the “special racing operation.” And Yakov couldn’t have that, not when he already had the entire Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division at his disposal.

Yakov knew that he would have to inform Vincent about this new development sooner or later. He would prefer that it happen sooner because then it should give both men more time to figure out an appropriate course of action. But one way or another, Yakov was going to get that gold to Boris Tokarev and pay off his debt to the Pridnestrovian government. If only that blasted politician hadn’t filibustered and prevented the Hapiloppian Parliament from overturning their president’s veto of the electric vehicle ban bill, then the bot farms wouldn’t have had to keep going for as long as they were now doing. But Yakov hadn’t thought about that possible wrinkle, and now he was stuck with a two trillion computer server bill. He really needed that gold to placate Tokarev, or else the bastard might not agree to have that troublesome Hapiloppian politician removed from his position by hook or by crook. Ah, the things a man can do just to fatten up his wallet.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

(OOC: Full post can now be found here!)

[Nico Hulkenberg]

HMG

With only one car remaining for the grand prix, Vialiv’s garage was shuttered for the remainder of the weekend was used as an impromptu tea room with a car in the middle, whilst the team took inspiration from HiTEN.gpt and pooled all their resources into Fitzpatrick’s car for the race. Indeed, the rule of diminishing returns would suggest that double the engineers and pit crew would mean a negligible improvement, but any improvement would be good for the fledgling team. Upon the start of the race, Donny was relegated to P8 by a fast-starting Dario Nülkeschläger, and began to settle down comfortably in the lower end of the points. From then onwards, it was rather uneventful - Donny was at the back of a pack which had streaked away from those P9 and below, but were far behind the Nexus of Janne Laukkanen. Fortune came the way of Adonis when Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling's Preston encountered an issue and began dropping through the pack, leaving him in P7. A decent tyre strategy meant that he had been able to eke his stint out for two more laps than expected, putting him in a very good position for the final stint. Adonis had, fortunately, managed to catch Ryker Lane's Nexus, and was within striking distance of P6. His engineer, however, had noticed warnings coming through from some of the car's heat sensors in the engine bay, and relayed the bad news to the Fleftic driver.

"Donny, you've got about a minute to the car behind, so we need you to back off from the Nexus and cool the car. If you could avoid kerbs as well, that would be ideal."

"Aw, what?"

"Just need you to coax the car to the finish and bring it home."

"Copy that."

The one minute gap to Haukanna would become 56 seconds, but it did not matter whatsoever, as Adonis Fitzpatrick crossed the line to bring home a very important four points for the team. HMG Grand Prix's first ever WGPC race had ended rather positively, considering all the pre-season chatter and chaos.


“Yes, Donny! Lovely stuff, that’s P7. Last car on the lead lap, you really eked out as much time as you could."

"Thanks, guys.

"Donny, this is a great starting point for us both. We work on this together, so we can make you the winner we know you are!" Jöhan said, making a rare appearance over the team radio. Shortly afterwards, he hung up his headset in the HMG pitwall and strolled towards the garage, where almost everyone employed by HMG were applauding the team's efforts, with Jöhan making sure to high-five as many people as he possibly could. Once he got to Skiia Vialiv, who had experienced the entirety of the race from the comfort of a fold-up chair, he gave her a few extra words of encouragement.

"Considering the team's teething problems this weekend, I have to say you were a consummate professional as always. With any luck you won't be watching from the garage next race." said Jöhan, comforting the Tropicorper driver.

Post-Race

During a press conference, a journalist from PlanetWGPC.net asked the team principal if the result was relatively underwhelming given the hype that he had given it. He smirked and gave a rather tongue-in-cheek response, before turning serious.

"I'd like to say that we are hiding our pace," began Johan, laughing nervously. "but we have no idea where we hid it. It's true, my heart sank a bit when I saw that Skiia hadn't made the race, but over the next week we'll make the necessary improvements back at the Entwicklungszentrum and ensure that this doesn't happen in Doubeia."

---

Dario

A good start had seen the Hülkenberger rise to P7, and a switch to soft tyres with just twenty laps remaining meant that a podium was in sight for Dario. A VSC towards the end of the race scuppered his chances, however, and he crossed the line 1.8 seconds behind P3, and only 2.6 seconds behind P2.

"Chequered flag, Dario. Fourth place, very well done!"

"Aaaagh! We were so close, man. So close!"

"Don't sweat it, you were more than good enough for P3 or P2 today - they just had a bit of an edge on us. Next time."

This race marked a turn of fortune for Dario's first grands prix of a season, having finished 21st and 17th in Season 18 and 19 respectively. It was also his highest finish in ten grands prix, matching his P4 at the Turori GP of WGPC 19. A sign of things to come, perhaps...?

---

Nepö

By her own admittedly high standards, Nepö had not had a good weekend. From the first moment of practice, it was clear that she was a good bit behind her teammate Vincent Von Visp, and this would continue to be a theme throughout. Qualifying nineteenth with her teammate in the top six felt like a kick in the proverbial teeth, and her inability to make up places in the race left her languishing in the same position by the end, twenty seconds behind her teammate and two laps down. The silence from her engineer spoke volumes.

"Sorry guys, not the way I wanted to start this season at all."

"..."

"I see Vincent was only twelfth. Agh! We are pointless. Again, sorry."

Secretly, Nepö smirked under her helmet at her teammate's lacklustre race pace. If her suspicions that the team were favouring him were correct, he clearly wasn't doing a very good job with it.

[Aboveland]

Avsidesliggendevuoret, Aboveland
Abovian Grand Prix

As Janne slowed to a stop on the first grid spot, his thoughts returned for a fleeting moment. He'd been completely in the zone throughout the morning, the briefing, and the formation lap; the bitter cold, the clouds closing in, and the diffused pearlescent glow that surrounded him in his new UHSGV-6 all came together to channel his mind solely towards the act of driving. But as the Chase Cutter stopped with a hitch, the harsh winds spreading the thickening clouds across the Abovian mountains in the distance, it dawned on him: there had only ever been one other time that he lined up on the grid with just the lights and the distant turn one apex in his sights. All the way back in WGP2, in his last feeder season, on the dropping main straight down to Lintulahti turn one: a pole position he'd converted into a nail-biting win over Skiia Vialiv forever

A wave of warmth engulfed him at the thought: a cozy, comforting warmth, like the comedown from a bout of nervous tachycardia.

And it's an instant from then until the lights go out and he's peeling the paint clean off of the asphalt.

---

Terho gnaws on the insides of his cheeks as the twenty-four engines and two Imagikinetic converters buzz, whirr, wail, and thunder down the main straight. He's out of nails to bite, resorting instead to nibbling sporadically at his knuckles when his own mouth has stopped pacifying him. He's in Abdoulaye's box for the weekend — he'd qualified so far down that he'd needed a significant bit more mentoring and attention than the sister, sequentially-numbered car on the other side — but his eyes are glued to the Tumbran's rise and run down to turn one. From the get-go, Ted had seemed to click with the car — it had certainly been developed with adaptability in mind, but not content enough with that, the two drivers that they'd copped were Mr. and Mr. Adaptable to boot. In the cold, on the grippy Tropicorp rubber, and on half a circuit which had seen Ted scrape a podium last season, it's no wonder he's leaving the guy in 21st out to dry for a lap or two.

Ted is swarmed from all sides — Fitzpatrick, Nülkeschlager, Devreux, and wildcard Archer collect around him as they scramble for position into the apex — but it's Ted who brakes later, turns harder, and powers out quicker than the rest. He holds onto the ragged edge as he accelerates off towards turn two — the car goes skittish as he puts the power down, but it's only for an instant, as the rear end squats, the tyres converge, and the hybrid surges into action. Nülkeschlager, who's hugged the inside of the first corner, barrels down to turn three alongside him, and snatches the faster line from the Tumbran's hands. He's forced to back off to avoid a collision into the left-hander, but he poises himself behind the Pressley and lunges into turn five. Nülkeschlager takes evasive action, but it's the Tumbran with the better traction down towards turn six — just enough to pinch the door closed at the apex to turn seven and emerge ahead into the slingshot between eight and eleven. The Hülkenberger's HMG is nowhere near a match for AGP007 on its home turf, and as the lap counter ticks over to the second lap, the grandstands along the main straight erupt in a wild, crazed roar: ahead of and unbothered by the first lap scuffles, with as much prowess as a year prior, Janne Laukkanen leads the field. The grid thunders past the pits; the tight paddock in Fjellutfordring makes the lights flicker and the walls croak with the bellows of the Preston V6es and the shrieks of the Viska rotaries.

And just as quick as they pass, gasps and groans and pulled hairs fill the Ælund garage. Terho shoots his gaze over to the live feed beside Abs' telemetry screens; a lifeless AGP sits strewn across the runoff.

---

"Keep pushing, Janne. Stone behind, plus three."

Janne holds his breath into the braking for turn one; his Chase Cutter lumbers to a near-halt just in time for the apex, its outside wheels settling as he yanks the wheel into the corner and slams the throttle. It whooshes and whistles, skidding and yawing ever so slightly out of turn two before settling and slowing, its massive weight posing on its four front tyres, at the limit of the entry to turn three. His cheeks puff again into the hard left, but he's past the apex soon and orderly enough to rocket back down towards turn five. In the instant of breathing room he gets, he processes the radio message from his engineer, Max.

Wait... Stone? Six? "What was that?" he barks, before stomping on the brakes into the new fast kink section of the circuit.

"Olivia Stone behind, gap is two point eight now, and she's on good pace. Keep pushing."

Through the slow turn seven, Janne musters up a reply. "It was Ted behind last lap? And he was like six seconds behind?"

"No Janne, Stone overtook Pressley six laps ago; they dropped time battling for second but Stone is making up the gap now."

Janne exhales sharply, his race suit gripping his appendages tightly to mitigate the gargantuan g-forces that attempt to tear his spine in half lengthwise across the turn nine and down into the re-profiled, falling apex of turn ten. As he runs down towards eleven, he sneaks a glance up at the hill above and to his right; Stone's deep green Cygnus looms over the crest at turn nine, and glistens ominously in the sunrays that pierce through the overcast glow. He sips a drink from the nozzle on his helmet to ease the cotton-mouth that starts to loom at the back of his throat.

"Take it easy, Janne," Max reminds, as the Chase Cutter crosses the start-finish straight. "You're losing two tenths a lap at the moment, but it's either her or her tyres that won't be long."

"ICAST?" Janne requests to have his share of the Imagination upped, bracing for the braking into turn one.

"Count on it, Janne."

---

Terho's shoulders rise up to his ears, and Abdoulaye mimics the gesture — helpless, to a point, but also expecting the Abovian opposite him to have come up with an answer. "We won't know for sure until we get it back to the factory, Abs," he admits. Part of him, too, is hung up on and uneasy with the closing stages of the race on the screens around them — immediately relegated in importance with the arrival of the stricken AGP007 after an inexplicably long and arduous crane trip around the seemingly endless service roads of the circuit.

"I'm telling you," the Reçueçian pleads, "it spun on its own. I braked like I've been doing all weekend, went a bit long to try to sneak an overtake... and the rear just snapped on me." He stretches his palms out and lets them fall with a muted clap on the front of his overalls, his head hung low, his body language unmistakably apologetic. "I didn't even feel the brakes lock, it wasn't like I—"

"Abs." The Abovian crouches to meet the driver's eyeline and slaps him on the shoulder. "It's okay." He takes a moment for the pause to settle into his driver's mind, and to shoot his ears at the live feed commentary that's tracking Ted's all-out party mode bid for the win — which is, with absolute certainty, barring an all-too-possible catastrophic Imagination failure, no match for Janne's all-conquering drive at the front of the grid. When the noise of the Viska rotary drowns out the commentary, he continues. "Like always: we win together, we lose together. If it was a mistake, it's part of the process — if it was an equipment failure, all the same." Abs nods as his eyebrows tick upwards in agreement; Terho shrugs again as he rises up and turns his body half back towards the screens. Ted is driving like a man posessed; Urmo Penttilä, his Abovian engineer, had resolved to approve the use of the engine's party mode — that one that had failed them on its first runs in Crpostran, but that had been tuned in the frigid, dense air of LIntulahti. The reigning world champion bears down on his neck in his forest green wheeled spaceship — perhaps the closest conventional car there was to a Chase Cutter on futuristic vibes, if anything. Ted's voice had trembled through the radio a few times in the closing stages of the race; the tension in the paddock was palpable.

"You know," he lingers, looking back at the Reçueçian, his body turning before his screen-pinned eyes followed along, "the way the rears locked, I think the diff must have locked up, or something screwed with the electric motor regen. Shouldn't have failed, the second bit..." His eyes wander off into the distance as he ponders his words. "We're almost back at square one with the team, Abs. After last season, the Echocoin, and now bringing the new engine, new chassis... Whatever it is, we'll pull through — but you always have to expect the unexpected."

On the television screens behind him, the volume seems to surge. "That plume of blue smoke can only mean one thing... and Luminna has ground to a halt at turn nine! Now, we — ah, virtual safety car it is, in the closing laps of the Abovian Grand Prix! A lease on life for Janne Laukkanen, as his Tumbran rival's late charge stops dead in its tracks."

---

The gentle horns and flutes and clarinets of the Abovian Samisyyttansång start quietly, then grow in volume. Far above the podium, the overcast skies have cracked open; faint rays of light splash timidly on the mountains and hills around the circuit, and fall squarely on the three flushed faces atop the pedestals. Hands behind his back, pearlescent accents gleaming against matte gunmetal grey as they reflect the sun's glow and closed-eyes pointing towards the sky to let through the dark orange glare that seeps in through his eyelids. Janne takes a deep breath, with enough care and measure to not occlude the anthem with the noise.

Twice before, he'd been crowned winner of a race in Aboveland — neither time had felt quite as special. His first home win in WGP2 had been a landmark, certainly, but in a season with so many races, so many points, and such a tight title race, the win had been more of a relief than anything else. Last season, his maiden home win in WGPC had felt bittersweet: yes, he'd been the only repeat winner of the season — but when the other eight events had been spent either painfully outside the podium or on a lawnchair in the paddock, it was again more of a relief than a cause for hedonistic celebration.

As he ruminates on last year's Fjellutfordring, chasing the anthem to its conclusion, he beams. Winning a home race, from pole, in the season opener? So much for having been in better places before — this was as good as it could possibly get.

Suddenly, the announcer gives the go-ahead for the champagne celebrations to start — caught deep in thought, he's slower off the line than the men flanking him, and it's Ted — he who'd been weird and distant all weekend — who pounces to his bottle to take first blood. Janne quickly crouches to hoist the bottle up in front of his chest, and as he leaps from the top step, a spray of bubbly materializing into the middle of his trajectory behind the face of a crazy deranged Tumbran — he adjusts his grip up towards the neck of the bottle. He gives the base a solid slam against the balcony as he feels the wine start to run down the valley of his spine and around his ears and into his eyes, and with a chortle, he aims his own emission straight into the probable vicinity of Ted's face. When he dares crack open one of his eyes to peek at him, he confirms that they're sharing their euphoria.

When Ted's spray begins to wither, Janne nearly jumps onto his back to inject the remaining half bottle straight down his overalls — suffering the exact same fate at the behest of a cackling Brendan Faloe from behind.

[Valentine Z]

Part 6 – The Hard-coded Relationship between Machine and Machine. The consistent but harrowing performance that needs improvement.

Zastępca Strażnika Adriana Krystal Desiree “Cudowny Manipulacja Światłem” Venus Kowalski Faith Stanisława Engelse I. Cherise Krystyna Zaborowska Sztormowska Pamela Alina Re. T. Lillian did a quick check around her car, making sure that everything is accounted for. She does not need to do that in all honesty, but it just felt a bit more natural and standard to do so. Knowing Eminent Racing and her being more or less a regular face alongside her teammate Anneliese, Adriana’s car is also waiting for her, in turn. Everything about it was familiar to Adriana – the controls, the steering wheel, and more importantly, the system that she was able to tap into. This does not give her car any physical advantage, but rather, it helped Adriana be able to be a “car whisperer”, for the lack of a better word by a lot of the people around her. She certainly didn’t mind that moniker, for she knows that it was not an indication of shame or embarrassment, and rather something unique about her. The practice sessions spoke for themselves when she realized that she was doing pretty well enough compared to the rest of the competition. As such, Adriana was elated, being happy that she might be able to continue this tradition of being so familiar with her vehicle – it controlled and drove well, so much so that it felt like the car was an additional part of her body, in a purely technical way and the like. This, however, did not stop her from becoming DNS, something that she got blindsided by. “Hmm, well, I did not take notice of the larger group and grid, so that was to be expected. I am a little disappointed that I worked rather hard in the practice only to get the DNS. Still, this is also on me, of course. I think a little bit more aggression is in order, or that I can still be a sleeper hit during the more technical-heavy races.”

1st Cpt. Angela Stella Trista Josephine Natalie Rv. E. Tps. “The Eternal Explorer” Bethany Alyssa Valeska Payton. Mikayla Gosling Josie Rowan Serenity Chelsea Lynette Hannah Tan Fang Ling was unable to show her face that much right after the first race. Sure, she got the meetings to attend to, and that problem with the car definitely needed addressing. However, this was not the best start in the slightest and Angela knew it. While she did make a lot of reasonings and excuses that her teammate Kinu Luminna DNF’ed and that the other Valentian (along with the other drivers) did not make it into the fray, Angela decided to put all of that aside for the time being. “What went on today was my own doing, and I definitely feel that I should be trying my best, trying harder,” she said to the reporters, remembering that she was representing the Preston Autos and not just the Valentians themselves. As a result, unlike what usually happens in NSSCRA, she does not exactly want to speak her mind lest something wrong slipped out. Going back, she said of addressing what has happened on the race and that she would work with her team in order to get back into spot. In particular, what worried her was an existence of qualifications not just being a starting grid, but a chance of her missing out on a race and thus the points for her team. “Little stressed out, I’ll say.”

[Liventia]

CUTOFF

for Practice and Qualifying at Queensland Street Circuit

[Liventia]

Week 5: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:46.278
Session Length:		75 minutes
Nation:         	DOU
Circuit:        	Queensland Street Circuit

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

POS # ▍DRIVER                                               	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                                         	00:01:55.039	00:00:00.000
 2 22 ▍Nini Johnsilvaturr                                   	00:01:55.089	00:00:00.050
 3 33 ▍Sam Blaatschapen                                     	00:01:55.092	00:00:00.053
 4 95 ▍Hanna Berezowska                                     	00:01:55.108	00:00:00.069
 5 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                                      	00:01:55.121	00:00:00.082
 6 66 ▍Vincent Von Visp                                     	00:01:55.124	00:00:00.085
 7 40 ▍Adriana Ela Kowalski Lillian                         	00:01:55.168	00:00:00.129
 8 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                                     	00:01:55.216	00:00:00.177
 9 58 ▍Shuhei Kamado                                        	00:01:55.226	00:00:00.187
10 88 ▍Ted Pressley                                         	00:01:55.248	00:00:00.209
11 21 ▍Nik Hazrin Lutfi                                     	00:01:55.299	00:00:00.260
12 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                                          	00:01:55.358	00:00:00.319
13  1 ▍Brendan Faloe                                        	00:01:55.375	00:00:00.336
14 12 ▍Ron Sommer                                           	00:01:55.406	00:00:00.367
15 85 ▍Olivia Stone                                         	00:01:55.410	00:00:00.371
16 55 ▍Gil Langdon                                          	00:01:55.476	00:00:00.437
17 89 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                                      	00:01:55.571	00:00:00.532
18 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschlager                                  	00:01:55.639	00:00:00.600
19 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick                                   	00:01:55.639	00:00:00.600
20 96 ▍William Archer                                       	00:01:55.663	00:00:00.624
21 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                                       	00:01:55.870	00:00:00.831
22  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux                                   	00:01:55.955	00:00:00.916
23 63 ▍Nepö Kinder                                          	00:01:56.075	00:00:01.036
24 84 ▍Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling                          	00:01:56.085	00:00:01.046
25 13 ▍Pierre-Louis Archer                                  	00:01:56.212	00:00:01.174
26 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                                         	00:01:56.266	00:00:01.227
27 18 ▍Giancarlo Rahel                                      	00:01:56.347	00:00:01.308
28 16 ▍Azalia Kawakai                                       	00:01:57.000	00:00:01.962
29 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                                         	00:01:57.029	00:00:01.990
30 30 ▍Otto Markul                                          	00:01:57.216	00:00:02.178
31 94 ▍Ryker Lane                                           	00:01:57.915	00:00:02.876
32 10 ▍Ankei Souzare                                        	00:02:10.396	00:00:15.357

---

Week 5: Qualifying

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:46.278
Qualifying Type:	Traditional
Nation:         	DOU
Circuit:        	Queensland Street Circuit

POS # ▍DRIVER                                               	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER		
 1 37 ▍Laura Haukanna                                       	00:01:48.388	00:00:00.000		
 2 88 ▍Ted Pressley                                         	00:01:48.443	00:00:00.055		
 3 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                                         	00:01:48.453	00:00:00.066		
 4 89 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                                      	00:01:48.485	00:00:00.097		
 5 30 ▍Otto Markul                                          	00:01:48.571	00:00:00.183		
 6 96 ▍William Archer                                       	00:01:48.649	00:00:00.261		
 7 55 ▍Gil Langdon                                          	00:01:48.657	00:00:00.269		
 8 21 ▍Nik Hazrin Lutfi                                     	00:01:48.665	00:00:00.277		
 9 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                                      	00:01:48.698	00:00:00.310		
10 66 ▍Vincent Von Visp                                     	00:01:48.702	00:00:00.315		
11  1 ▍Brendan Faloe                                        	00:01:48.714	00:00:00.327		
12 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                                     	00:01:48.767	00:00:00.379		
13 14 ▍Skiia Vialiv                                         	00:01:48.921	00:00:00.534		
14 63 ▍Nepö Kinder                                          	00:01:48.925	00:00:00.537		
15 13 ▍Pierre-Louis Archer                                  	00:01:48.940	00:00:00.552		
16 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                                         	00:01:48.987	00:00:00.599		
17 22 ▍Nini Johnsilvaturr                                   	00:01:49.002	00:00:00.615		
18 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                                          	00:01:49.066	00:00:00.679		
19 74 ▍Adonis Fitzpatrick                                   	00:01:49.121	00:00:00.734		
20 85 ▍Olivia Stone                                         	00:01:49.122	00:00:00.734		
21  7 ▍Anneliese Devereux                                   	00:01:49.299	00:00:00.911		
22 12 ▍Ron Sommer                                           	00:01:49.336	00:00:00.948		
23 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschlager                                  	00:01:49.376	00:00:00.988		
24 40 ▍Adriana Ela Kowalski Lillian                         	00:01:49.562	00:00:01.175		
25 16 ▍Azalia Kawakai                                       	00:01:49.586	00:00:01.199		DNQ
26 84 ▍Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling                          	00:01:49.642	00:00:01.254		
27 94 ▍Ryker Lane                                           	00:01:49.983	00:00:01.595		
28 58 ▍Shuhei Kamado                                        	00:01:50.210	00:00:01.822		DNQ
29 18 ▍Giancarlo Rahel                                      	00:01:50.404	00:00:02.016		DNQ
30 33 ▍Sam Blaatschapen                                     	00:01:50.493	00:00:02.105		DNQ
31 95 ▍Hanna Berezowska                                     	00:01:51.252	00:00:02.864		DNQ
32 10 ▍Ankei Souzare                                        	00:02:10.981	00:00:22.594		DNQ