World Stage Rally Championship | RP Thread

[Togonistan]

Kantaris Automobiles Tour de Nékoni
Day 2

The second day had started relatively successfully for Naomi and Heriko. Firmly holding onto their second place in overall standings, they managed to more or less match Axel's pace in front, even though the latter always seemed to find a second or two to further increase his gap. However, as the afternoon came, it was time for one final push. The 36.41 km long Morpienne - Derneo stretch was going to be one of the, if not the most demanding stage of the whole rally. Starting with twisty mountains roads, leading through vineyards and a forest before finally ending right in the heart of the town of Derneo. For a diverse stage like this, Naomi and Heriko had gone over the legend multiple times before coming to an agreement on where to play it safe and which parts of the stage would be good for pushing and gaining some time.

The engine roared as the Kokko flew through the road laying in the forest. Having gotten through the mountain pass and vineyards in one piece, Naomi had finally started testing the car's limits in the forest section of the stage. Following Heriko's guidance, Naomi cut the corners where ever it was possible and felt alive. More alive than she had felt for the whole weekend. Crowds by the side of the road started cheering heavily as the colourful livery of Naomi's Kokko made it's way through the forest and to the outskirts of Derneo. Accompanied by loud noises from the fans and some pyrotechnics, Naomi took the car through the final few city road sections and eventually crossed the line in front of the city council building. She took off her helmet, shook hands with Heriko and parked the car by the side of the road. Their work was done.

With her heart still pumping due to the adrenaline, Naomi looked through the car's windshield at the flashing lights coming from the crowd taking pictures of them. Heriko, having opened the door on his side, had just finished discussing something with one of the marshals and poked Naomi to wake her up from her thoughts.

''Huh?'' Naomi almost jumped and turned her attention to Heriko.

''Axel apparently had some sort of issues on the final stage and gave away 37 seconds. So...''

''So we won?!?''

''I believe so.''

A massive grin appeared on Naomi's face as she put in the gear and did a burnout which was greeted by loud, encouraging noises from the spectators around them. ''WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!'' Naomi shouted out loud as she took off from the spot and started heading towards rally park. Their third rally win, that needed celebrating. And celebrate they did. When it was time for the podium ceremony, Naomi and Heriko jumped up onto the highest step to receive their trophy. With smiles on their faces, the two posed for the photographers, before shifting their focus on spraying as much champagne over Axel, Heinrich, Roberta and Balen as they possibly could.

[Aboveland]

World Stage Rally Championship: Season One

SEASON REVIEW

Seven years on from the sole season of the Nordic Rally Championship, the regional competition based in the Nordic Lands which attracted interest from around the multiverse, the inaugural season of the World Stage Rally Championship—the first multiversal rally championship of its kind—began deep in the central Abovian valley of Brukkifordet. Flagged away at the ceremonial start on their way to the opening special stage of the championship, seventeen drivers made their way up into the massif to make motorsport history. Retired grand prix aces, up-and-coming youth stars, gentlemen drivers and national heroes lined up behind Hodori's Marisa Inyuseo at the start of Pienihøikealampi, and launched one by one under the midnight sun into the first ever competitive section of the WSRC.

Now, after 1,219 competitive kilometers and 73 special stages, the WSRC prepares to come to a close at the iconic, abridged, mixed-surface Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa, run in and in the vicinity of the WGPC host city of Yakumicha. Despite initial budget reservations and a fear of having come into the championship unprepared, the constructors' trophy was sealed in favor of Aboveland's Ælund Racing run Iskabil-Ælund World Rally Team with one rally to go after victory for Novikov in Auruna. The final round will serve to crown the very first World Stage Rally Drivers' and Co-Drivers' Champions, in a two-horse race between Iskabil-Ælund's own Axel Novikov and Henrik Baardsen, and Naomi Keretene alongisde Heriko Karaka of Togonistan. Let's take a look at how the season unfolded up to this point.

---

Round One | Nordenflyg Rally Aboveland | Winner: Naomi Keretene (Iskabil-Ælund World Rally Team)

---

The inaugural round of the WSRC could not have been held anywhere else. Nestled in the mountains of central Aboveland, the event began with a ceremonial start in the city of Brukkifordet, 50km away from the start line of the loop of stages of the first day. Following a pre-season shakedown held by Iskabil-Ælund in Nurmikenttälampi, all eyes were on the local team and their flamboyant lineup of Hodoran Rally Champion Axel Novikov and his often-berated teammate Naomi Keretene, who'd taken a close victory in the invitational event.

With team seats being confirmed even past the shakedown stage, won by Keretene ahead of a motivated local Sakke Pajari, the event began with SS 1, Pienihøikealampi, early Saturday morning. The Togonistani hotshot was immediately on the pace, blitzing her opposition and leading the rally by almost 20 seconds following the opening loop, which saw the first retirements of the event in the form of Kälö Aurinen and Sakke Pajari. She maintained her dominance over the mammoth 37.7km test of Væltaamasikk, taking another ample victory over her nearest challenger, the icy Francis Carpenter of Schutezenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland's EHF-Motospiel, to extend her overall lead to over half a minute. Notably absent from the top times was Axel Novikov, who'd struggled with pace on the morning loop, but managed to cling on to fourth place with a steady drive throughout the leg.

As leg two moved into the fast, flowing, tree-lined forest tracks of the Brukkifordet foothills, Axel Novikov prepared for a fightback. A slow start on the point-and-squirt Kettulampi stage quickly became an all-out attack on Toivojärvi, and the Abovian maintained his pace to blitz his rivals over Iskfjellrevendanssi, the final stage of the loop, setting a stage record in the process. Returning drivers Dario Nülkeschlager and Sakke Pajari were heavily hampered by their high starting positions following their leg one retirements, while Ruck Sutcliffe struck a tree and spelled a premature end to his rally.

Alas, the race of attrition had not yet finished. Though Novikov's deficit to the leaders was significant, with a podium also looking unlikely, the Abovian continued to press hard in the closing afternoon of the event. Keretene pipped the Abovian driver on the opening stage of the loop by half a second, but their battle was cut short on stage nine, as Tumbra's Carpenter rolled and blocked the road as the third car to strike trouble on the stage, prompting its cancellation and giving all drivers a nominal time for the stage. On the closing Vansipeili stage, Keretene again trumped the Abovian by less than a second, extending her lead of the second loop and coming home well clear of Mertagne's Roberta Fipps to take her first ever WSRC victory. Novikov, benefiting from Carpenter's misfortune, rounded off the podium in third.

---

Round Two | Hygolje Rally Audioslavia | Winner: Franklin Egar (Anitun Tabu Multiversal Rally Team)

---

Round two saw the WSRC circus arrive in Audioslavia, one of the nations of the multiverse most renowned—and infamous—for its motorsport heritage. Based in Laivana, the event was the first all-tarmac round of the season, held across winding hillside roads criss-crossed between villages and bordering the Strait of Champions. Rally Aboveland winner—and gravel specialist—Naomi Keretene was exepcted to struggle on her first outing on tarmac, but her teammate Novikov and the Hodoran crew of Marisa Inyuseo and Sawano Mizeyuki, alongside WGPC regular Sara Luna of Schkeska Rally and HMG's Dario Nülkeschlager, were the favorites going into the event for their tarmac experience.

However, it would be shock shakedown winners Franklin Egar and his co-driver Tyra Tabuso (of WGPC fame) of Filindostan who would snatch an early lead going into day one of competition at the hands of his Anitun Tabu ATI01 "Alapaap", leading ENSADRINK's Inyuseo and Luna by half a minute after a clean sweep of the leg's stages. Luna had managed to stay among the leading times after placing second in shakedown, but not as much could be said for third and fourth placed Leora Hargis of Lisander and Dario Nülkeschlager. The Camden TSK driver slid off the road on the second stage of the day, while Nülkeschlager battled technical gremlins in his Hülkenberger machine to finish the first loop well off the pace in tenth. Another casualty was Axel Novikov, who split the steering on his Iskabil Kokko after an overly ambitious cut on the opening stage. Despite a rather inconspicuous start to the previous event, ENSADRINK Tarogama Mazaregi's lineup of Inyuseo and Valentian Augustine Lorenzo put on a strong day one effort in Audioslavia, to lie second and fourth overall overnight.

A comfortable lead enabled Egar to back off on the opening loop of day two, still held on the winding mountain roads above Laivana. Sara Luna finally bore her her teeth and the full grunt of the Schkeska machine on the opening loop, trading top honors with Inyuseo and a later-embattled Nülkeschlager to prove the fastest driver on the morning of leg two. However, the Hodoran was far from backing down her efforts to claw back lost time. Her hybrid Tarogama S244TZ Ephinea RX.S was well dialed in going into the final four stages of the event as the roads approached the historic city center. Though a 24 second deficit seemed unassailable, victory soon became a very real possibility, as longtime leader Egar struck trouble with two stages to go. A flawless drive saw Inyuseo rocket ahead of her rivals to finish the last four loops of stages 21 seconds clear of her teammate and nearest rival Augustine Lorenzo, though even her masterclass was not enough to steal victory away from Egar. The Filindo's early lead was enough to secure victory in the shadow of defeat, leaving Inyuseo to collect second place under a second adrift. Sara Luna was third after a smart drive, enabling her to lead the drivers' championship standings by a point ahead of Inyuseo. Naomi Keretene, who crashed out hard on the final stage, still held on to third.

---

Round Three | Rally Ribovia | Winner: Marisa Inyuseo (ENSADRINK WSR Team Tarogama Mazaregi)

---

The WSRC made a quick stop in the ethereal kingdom of Orthornavirae for the season's sole rallysprint event. Despite a high chance of rain, the weather began to close in on the city of Ribovia only as the event was coming to a close. Audioslavia winner Franklin Egar was again quickest on shakedown, ahead of Sherpa Shuzhen Zhu and an increasingly demotivated Axel Novikov, with Marisa Inyuseo a further place back.

Despite being a rough gravel event, however, it seemed for the first time that road order would not dictate the fate of the rally before it had even begun. Though late runners Roberta Fipps and Sara Luna saw themselves out of the treacherous event across its four stages, a very victory-hungry Inyuseo finally stamped her name in the WSRC history books with a convincing win over unlikely podium sitter Hong Seunwoo, running the single car for Harmonik Racing Team of Amenria. Shuzhen Zhu brought a smile to herself and her Mertagnian employers, scoring a closely fought podium for What You See is What You Get WRT ahead of Audioslavia's winner. The misfortune continued for the Hülkenberger team and Kälö Aurinen of Auruna, the former's Sakke Pajari again failing to score in his shoddily built machine and the latter racking up zero points of their, thus far, total of four.

Full points on offer in Ribovia meant that Inyuseo's snap victory propelled her and her team to the top of both championships, leading Franklin Egar by over 14 points and a surprise third-placed Hong Seungwoo by 15. Early season leader Naomi Keretene dropped to sixth with no points since her victory in Aboveland, though teammate Novikov's consistency kept the team second overall in the standings.

---

Round Four | ZX-FLOW Energy Rally Togonistan | Winner: Francis Carpenter (EHF-Motospiel)

---

ZX-FLOW Energy Rally Togonistan proved to be the most vibrant event of the season to date, with fans lining the rural backroads in the tens of thousands as the WSRC field, supported by a massive national category, made their way through the home nation of local star Naomi Keretene. After a string of unfortunate results yielding no points since her debut victory, Keretene was starting to feel mounting pressure from her team boss Konrad Puntila, and her rich-girl image had begun to creep back into the public's collective conscience.

Unfortunately for Keretene, her performance lull would be sustained in her home event. Tenth in shakedown effectively slashed her hopes of climbing up the order as the event began, while her teammate netted second on shakedown to start penultimate on stage one. Leora Hargis and Sakke Pajari, two drivers who'd shown promise at times but had ultimately failed to deliver, were third and fourth in shakedown, ahead of EHF-Motospiel's late signing An'ue Shuadakei in fifth. The shock winner of shakedown, however, was the point-less Tumbran, Francis Carpenter.

Novikov's starting position would propel him to an early lead after the first two stages, to lead Carpenter by just three seconds after the morning loop. Camden's Leora Hargis maintained her good pace to clutch third, 15 seconds adrift of the lead, while Shuadakei clung on to fourth. Pajari, his H16R having held together for two stages, lay in fifth after a solid start on his favorite surface. Local star Naomi Keretene did little to quench the hopes of her compatriots with a lousy tenth place, just ahead of the dynamic ENSADRINK duo of Augustine Lorenzo and Marisa Inyuseo. Audioslavia winner Franklin Egar was the first casualty of the blisteringly quick Togonistani backroads.

The event would soon prove to heat up come the afternoon of the first leg. A three-way battle at the top, between Novikov, Hargis and Carpenter, saw the Abovian fall back after a slow puncture on the second stage of the day lost him around 20 seconds. The winner of shakedown made a statement of intent following the attrition filled first two stages, which saw four retirements, braving the treacherous roads of the fifth stage to snatch back the afternoon win ahead of Hargis by just half a second. Novikov regained some lost time with a final stage win over Carpenter to lessen his lost time to just under 16 seconds, while Rick Sutcliffe managed a decent fourth on the afternoon loop ahead of Naomi Keretene. Carpenter's blistering pace and Novikov's misfortune propelled the Tumbran into first to hold the overnight lead over Hargis and Novikov, with Pajari and Sutcliffe closing off an unusual top five.

As the stages dug deeper into the Togonistani rainforests near the host city of Metavira for day two, the previous leg's front-runners resumed their onslaught. Leora Hargis was the quickest driver off the bat, taking 11 seconds from the leading Tumbran and closing the gap ahead to just over a second, positioning herself in prime position to steal the rally win in the final two stages. Keretene improved on her previous day's pace, finishing morning third quickest, while Pajari also continued his upward trajectory to finish ten seconds further back. The biggest scare of the morning, however, would go to Axel Novikov, who swiped a tree on Kirkiriroa to cripple his rear aerodynamics and spin around on a narrow section of road. The loss of high-speed stability and the time lost getting the car back pointing the right way lost the Abovian over 50 seconds, and any chance at reclaiming the rally lead; his advantage over fourth placed Pajari, however, was big enough to keep third.

In the afternoon, Carpenter showed the rest of the field who was the unlikely boss of Togonistan, winning his first set of stages since the afternoon of the first leg to clinch his maiden WSRC victory by 23.5 seconds over Camden's Leora Hargis, who dropped time on the final two stages with engine trouble. Another shocker was Sakke Pajari's pace, with the young HMG Abovian pipping Anitun Tabu's Pedro Aguiar to finish the afternoon loop in second. Novikov's encounter with a tree in the morning loop carried over into the final two stages, but despite losing half a minute to Carpenter over the afternoon, his deficit, and Pajari's pace, were not enough to lose him the final podium spot, taking third ahead of a glassy-eyed Pajari by just over a second.

An uneventful ninth place for Marisa Inyuseo, just behind her teammate and Naomi Keretene, still saw her retain her drivers' championship lead ahead of Novikov, but ENSADRINK WSR Team Tarogama Mazaregi's teams' advantage was quickly narrowing to Iskabil-Ælund. Victory for Carpenter launched him from last and nil-pointed to eighth in the drivers' standings, while his ailing Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnlander outfit EHF-Motospiel closed in to within two points of the single driver Camden TSK squad—Harmonik Racing Team and Hong Seungwoo still prevailed over full-occupancy teams HMG, EHF and Schkeska with 29 points in fifth.

---

Round Five | Snjórhlaup Græntfjalls | Winner: Naomi Keretene (Iskabil-Ælund World Rally Team)

---

Arriving at the sole full winter rally of the season, the WSRC was ready to witness the rise of an unlikely star on the snow-covered alps of Kyrkdorf, southern Græntfjall. Augustine Lorenzo was the driver most tipped to take home a good result, after she and Sakke Pajari had been the highly coveted second driver picks for ENSADRINK WSR Team Tarogama Mazaregi's snow rally offensives, while Auruna's luckless Kälö Aurinen was believed to have a chance at redemption, both for themselves and their team, on a surface they ought to have felt well at home at.

Alas, shakedown would throw another curveball at the WSRC's pickems enthusiasts, as Naomi Keretene, herself admitting she felt well out of her comfort zone on snow, topped the times in an joyfully Abovian session ahead of HMG's Sakke Pajari, with Axel Novikov, another snow-averse driver, finishing in third ahead of Augustine Lorenzo. Latest winner Francis Carpenter finished sixth, in front of a Marisa Inyuseo whose championship lead was quickly slipping away, while the revolutionized Leora Hargis again found herself languishing in last place.

As the event began on Saturday morning, the wrath of mother nature blanketed the stages. Blizzard conditions greatly reduced visibility and nullified the road order advantage for Keretene. However, it would prove to be none other than herself who would lead the times after the first morning, trumping a closely matched Shuzhen Zhu and Rick Sutcliffe after two stages by just over three seconds. Pedro Aguiar and Marisa Inyuseo rounded off the top five, while Sakke Pajari struggled with no power steering—despite this, he and teammate Dario Nülkeschlager finished sixth and seventh with little time lost to the leaders. Axel Novikov, despite his initial optimism, was eighth after a trip into a snowbank, while Augustine Lorenzo's early hopes of a result fell by the wayside with a distant 14th after the morning loop.

With the weather clearing up come the afternoon, Lorenzo regained her lost confidence to net her first WSRC stage win and top the times of the evening loop ahead of leader Keretene. Axel Novikov also gained some momentum in the clearer weather to finish the loop third and remain third overnight, as Shuzhen Zhu and Franklin Egar again struck trouble and were caught out on the tricky alpine roads. A dejected Leora Hargis retired after stage four to put an end to a torrid start, a huge slap in the face after her incredible pace the previous rally. Keeping his speed consistent, it was Luisitanian Pedro Aguiar who finished the day second overall behind Keretene, with Sutcliffe holding fourth and Lorenzo a razor-thin fifth over Sakke Pajari, who'd taken a stage win to Lorenzo's two.

The second leg spelled disaster for Lorenzo, who retired from fifth on the gargantuan SS 6 where An'ue Shuadakei took a surprising stage win ahead of Roberta Fipps and Rick Sutcliffe. Sakke Pajari was fifth on the stage in an intact H16R—having had better fortunes than his teammate—in a top five separated by less than two seconds. Keretene, comfortably in the lead, managed her pace to stay out of trouble and keep first in front of a promoted Sutcliffe and third placed Aguiar. Sakke Pajari's excellent pace kept him five seconds from the podium in fourth, while Axel Novikov again clobbered the scenery to lose 22 seconds in the latest of his ragged drives. The Abovian's fortunes would change on the final two stages, however, taking a clean sweep of stage wins to close in to Sakke Pajar in a bid to steal fourth place. However, heartbreak for an impressive Pedro Aguiar saw the Luisitanian drop over 24 seconds on the closing loop, and his time loss was enough to drop from third to fifth in the closing stages of the rally. A perhaps overly level-headed drive from Keretene enabled the Togonistani to take her second victory of the season after a string of unimpressive performances, pipping Rick Sutcliffe by 2.4 seconds to get her drivers' championship hopes back on track. Pajari, long trailing in the bigger names' footsteps and beginning to struggle with self doubt, was propelled to third following Aguiar's demise, collecting fifteen points to add to his strong result in the previous round. Victory for Keretene did little to knock Inyuseo off the top spot in the drivers' standings, but propelled Iskabil-Ælund to first in the team's championship by 21 points—even if Novikov's sloppy drive seemed not to warrant a big points haul for fourth.

---

Round Six | Aurunair Velanhimaa Rally Auruna | Winner: Axel Novikov (Iskabil-Ælund World Rally Team)

---

Rally Auruna was the WSRC's first of two forays into mixed-surface events, and the arrival of the teams in Livonsk, host city of the Aurun Grand Prix, was slated to be the faltering local team's biggest surefire chance at proving their worth and turning around an absolutely torrid season. Local car, local drivers, and the Aurunan's favorite surfaces on the breakneck-quick roads of Northern Livonsk sounded like a recipe for success.In fact, first and second in shakedown for Schkeska Rally, led by none other than local hero Kälö Aurinen, immediately set the mood among the crazed Aurunan fans who longed to see their rally idols, their national pride, climb out of their deep slump on the world scene. Schkeska's glory, though, would prove to be the only dose of joy across the paddock, as while Iskabil-Ælund's hopes still remained high with fourth and fifth, snow specialists Pajari and Lorenzo struggled to make an impact in shakedown.

And even then, the Aurunan public's festering anticipation was met with the blunt blow of reality. Heartbreak for Kälö Aurinen on the second stage of the rally knocked them out of the lead with barely a foot in the door, their accident violent enough to see the rest of the stage cancelled, and being the second retiree after Sakke Pajari on the same stage. It was Leora Hargis, the quick Lisanderian who struggled to translate pace into results throughout the season, who held the early lead after the morning loop, over a confident Sara Luna and clear of third-placed Roberta Fipps. Axel Novikov and Naomi Keretene swapped their shakedown classifications to round off the top five.

As the stages moved into mixed surface territory, with the roads turning muddy and snowy—and the drivers given the choice of running studded or gravel tyres on the loop—consistency king Axel Novikov sustained his quick pace to go quickest over the two stages, clear of Sara Luna and Roberta Fipps in a top three separated by ten seconds. An'ue Shuadakei of EHF-Motospiel clung on to the leading pack with fourth, while early leader Leora Hargis fell down the order in the changeable conditions. Naomi Keretene's early speed vanished into the Nuokkanjänneverttä B test, lacking confidence into the slippery sections and dropping 50 seconds to the leaders. Novikov's efforts paid off with second overall overnight ahead of Fipps, but snow novice and WGPC regular Sara Luna—most importantly, driver of Schkeska Rally—was the driver in front going into leg 2.

Come day two and the start of the full snow leg, the Diarcesian was not prepared to let the lead slip from her hands, managing to take three seconds from Novikov in the first three stages after trading fastest times on the slick snowy roads. Luna's nearly eight second lead looked solid, judging by her pace and stage-end self-assurance, yet it wasn't unassailable, and the Hodori Rally Champion was not prepared to settle for second either. The demise of Roberta Fipps on the opening stage of the leg was an encouraging breath of fresh air for the Abovian: as he put it, "one less obstacle."

Into the final two stages of the rally, Novikov was flying, even despite the treacherousness of the Artavena stage. Sliding through the trees, the Abovian was fastest on the unforgiving mountain roads, but not without resistance: third on the stage behind Hargis for Sara Luna kept her in the lead, with four seconds in hand and a stage to go. And yet, tragically, heartbreak would strike once more for Schkeska Rally on the final stage: engine failure knocked Luna out of the lead and out of the rally with just 10km to go, leaving the Diarcesian pointless after a massive effort all weekend. Thus, it was Iskabil-Ælund's Novikov who took top honors at the end of the rally, prevailing over an elated podium sitting Leora Hargis and a third-placed An'ue Shuadakei. Keretene's fifth place hampered her drivers' championship aspirations, while sixth and tenth for ENSADRINK WSR Team Tarogama Mazaregi continued the team's string of not-quite results. Schkeska Rally, after first and second in shakedown, got a single car to the finish: Kälö Aurinen's #87 machine, fifteenth and over twelve minutes behind the winner.

---

Round Seven | Kantaris Automobiles Tour de Nékoni | Winner: Naomi Keretene (Iskabil-Ælund World Rally Team)

---

The penultimate round of the WSRC saw the drivers arrive in Derneo, Nekoni, another mecca of motorsport of the multiverse and home to WGPC13 champion Alexandra Mayari. The full-asphalt round would be the last single surface event before the curtain-closer in Hodori, and its abrasive tarmac tracks laid upon the mountainsides of south-west Nekoni would prove to be one of the most technical events of the season, rather dissimilar in character from the fast, crested roads of Audioslavia. The dedicated shakedown stage saw Iskabil-Ælund immediately lay down the gauntlet, with a 1-2 classification placing Naomi Keretene first on the road into the opening day. Kälö Aurinen, defying expectations, finished third, while fresh face Ivan Poldov of Kassegrochia finished an exciting fifth for Camden TSK.

Novikov was first to take the lead on the cliffside trails of the Route d'Heritage, dominating Fipps and Keretene by over 16 seconds—and proving his tarmac expertise wasn't there for nothing. The treacherous roads, lined with sheer drops on one side and sharp rock faces on the other, immediately caught out Rick Sutcliffe and—again—Kälö Aurinen, while Hong Seungwoo and Pedro Aguiar followed on stage 3, caught out on the rapid roads of Cabéstan.

Having lost a chunk of time, Keretene fought back on the evening leg on their way to Mugella Park, but the Abovian WGPC race winner didn't back down. Trading fastest time, it was advantage Novikov by the time the rally arrived at the day-ending superspecial, as the pair held first and second overnight over third-placed Fipps, with Ivan Poldov retaining a strong fourth, eight-tenths ahead of Marisa Inyuseo. Luna and Nülkeschlager, the other two WGPC stars slated for a strong result on tarmac, held eighth and ninth, respectively.

Unlike previous events, the battle for the victory didn't cool off into day two, with Keretene having to make up a large 14 second deficit for a chance at victory. Novikov, however, was fastest again over the opening three stages of the second leg, as the rally headed south away from the cliffs, into the forest and the vineyards of Sorbonne and Morpienne. Though Novikov began the day with a stage win, Keretene fought back on the narrow tracks of Sorbonne Traduce, only for Novikov to reclaim top honors on the road to Morpienne.

With his lead extended to almost 20 seconds, victory seemed secured for Novikov before the final reverse stage of Morpienne-Derneo, but the rallying gods were not content with a formation finish. Disaster struck Novikov in the closing 5km, as his front right tyre punctured over a cut, then delaminated, on his way to the finish. The bodywork on the front of his Kokko tattered and torn, the Abovian lost 37 seconds to stage winner Roberta Fipps, who beat Keretene to the scratch time by just over a tenth of a second. Thus, the Abovian's 20 second advantage trickled away by the meter, cementing Keretene as the winner of the legendary Tour de Nékoni to take her third career win—and perhaps, silence her critics. Novikov managed to cling on to a "worthless" second to claim an Iskabil-Ælund one-two finish ahead of a very solid Roberta Fipps, with Poldov and An'ue Shuadakei rounding off the top five.

Victory in Nekoni sealed the team's championship with one rally to go, and narrowed down the drivers' title to just three drivers, with Inyuseo able to take the championship on countback should she win the rally and tie Novikov on points. For 19-year-old Naomi Keretene to take the drivers' championship and seal the first ever World Stage Rally Championship for her own, she must score 12 points more than Axel Novikov in the season finale in Hodori: that is, in the best of cases, win the rally with Novikov finishing fifth—no result from Inyuseo would manage to beat Keretene's three victories.

[Aboveland]

CUTOFF

for Shakedown at Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa

[Aboveland]

Conditions:      	Cloudy
Average SS Time:      	00:11:50.171
Nation:         	HDR

Drivers had up to five runs of the shakedown stage to set the fastest time.

POS # ▍DRIVER                             	TIME	GAP TO LEADER
 1 14 ▍Marisa Inyuseo                     	00:12:08.211	00:00:00.000
 2 57 ▍Ivan Poldov                        	00:12:08.233	00:00:00.022
 3 16 ▍Augustine Lorenzo                  	00:12:08.297	00:00:00.085
 4 28 ▍Pedro Aguiar                       	00:12:08.303	00:00:00.092
 5 71 ▍An'ue Shuadakei                    	00:12:08.695	00:00:00.484
 6 50 ▍Sara Luna                          	00:12:08.800	00:00:00.588
 7 37 ▍Roberta Fipps                      	00:12:09.269	00:00:01.058
 8 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschläger                	00:12:09.410	00:00:01.198
 9 18 ▍Franklin Egar                      	00:12:09.626	00:00:01.415
10  4 ▍Leora Hargis                       	00:12:09.724	00:00:01.512
11 87 ▍Kälö Aurinen                       	00:12:09.848	00:00:01.637
12 68 ▍Sakke Pajari                       	00:12:09.901	00:00:01.690
13 22 ▍Axel Novikov                       	00:12:11.792	00:00:03.581
14  5 ▍Shuzhen Zhu                        	00:12:12.422	00:00:04.211
15  9 ▍Rick Sutcliffe                     	00:12:14.091	00:00:05.880
16 88 ▍Hong Seungwoo                      	00:12:14.324	00:00:06.113
17 34 ▍Francis Carpenter                  	00:12:14.581	00:00:06.370
18 23 ▍Naomi Keretene                     	00:12:15.665	00:00:07.454

Running order is reverse shakedown classification as this event is mixed-surface gravel and tarmac. See Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa's offical stage guide for more details.

[Aboveland]

CUTOFF

for Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa: Leg 1

[Aboveland]

Conditions:      	Cloudy	
Stages:              	2	
Nation:         	HDR	
Leg:        	Leg 1 | Morning (Asphalt)	
Rally:        	Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa	
Stage(s)		 cancelled on safety grounds
Starters:	18

Parital results:

POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     		Time      
  1 57 ▍POL Ivan Poldov                Camden TSK WRT             	29:43.866
  2 14 ▍INY Marisa Inyuseo             ENSADRINK WSR              	0:01.701
  3 71 ▍ASY An'ue Shuadakei            EHF-Motospiel              	0:04.758
  4 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger        HMG Rally                  	0:14.858
  5 28 ▍AGU Pedro Aguiar               Anitun Tabu MRT            	0:20.709
  6 16 ▍AUG Augustine Lorenzo          ENSADRINK WSR              	0:20.736
  7 68 ▍PAJ Sakke Pajari               HMG Rally                  	0:28.116
  8 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                  Schkeska Rally             	0:29.697
  9 37 ▍FIP Roberta Fipps              WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	0:31.817
 10 87 ▍AUR Kälö Aurinen               Schkeska Rally             	0:32.711
 11 88 ▍HSW Hong Seungwoo              Harmonik Racing Team       	0:34.753
 12  9 ▍SUT Rick Sutcliffe             Rick Sutcliffe RP          	0:34.895
 13 22 ▍NOV Axel Novikov               Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	0:37.568
 14 23 ▍KER Naomi Keretene             Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	0:38.913
 15 34 ▍CAR Francis Carpenter          EHF-Motospiel              	0:48.066
 16  4 ▍HAR Leora Hargis               Camden TSK WRT             	0:51.994
 17  5 ▍ZHU Shuzhen Zhu                WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	0:58.099
 18 18 ▍EGA Franklin Egar              Anitun Tabu MRT            	1:23.472

Conditions:      	Dry	
Stages:              	2 (SS 3, SS 4)	
Nation:         	HDR	
Leg:        	Leg 1 | Afternoon (G&A)	
Rally:        	Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa	
Stage(s)	2	 cancelled on safety grounds
Starters:	18

Parital results:

POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     		Time      
  1 14 ▍INY Marisa Inyuseo             ENSADRINK WSR              	28:50.298
  2 28 ▍AGU Pedro Aguiar               Anitun Tabu MRT            	0:25.888
  3 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger        HMG Rally                  	0:26.068
  4 71 ▍ASY An'ue Shuadakei            EHF-Motospiel              	0:28.239
  5 16 ▍AUG Augustine Lorenzo          ENSADRINK WSR              	0:28.376
  6 57 ▍POL Ivan Poldov                Camden TSK WRT             	0:32.348
  7  5 ▍ZHU Shuzhen Zhu                WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	0:32.513
  8  9 ▍SUT Rick Sutcliffe             Rick Sutcliffe RP          	0:35.913
  9  4 ▍HAR Leora Hargis               Camden TSK WRT             	0:38.613
 10 18 ▍EGA Franklin Egar              Anitun Tabu MRT            	0:39.864
 11 88 ▍HSW Hong Seungwoo              Harmonik Racing Team       	0:52.552
 12 22 ▍NOV Axel Novikov               Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	0:58.224
 13 23 ▍KER Naomi Keretene             Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	1:09.027
 14 34 ▍CAR Francis Carpenter          EHF-Motospiel              	1:09.661
 15 68 ▍PAJ Sakke Pajari               HMG Rally                  	1:13.891
 16 87 ▍AUR Kälö Aurinen               Schkeska Rally             	1:27.488
DNF 37 ▍FIP Roberta Fipps              WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	Ret. SS 2
DNF 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                  Schkeska Rally             	Ret. SS 2

POS	 # ▍DRV Name                     Team				Time		Gap to lead
1	 14 ▍INY Marisa Inyuseo             ENSADRINK WSR              	58:35.865	—
2	 57 ▍POL Ivan Poldov                Camden TSK WRT             	59:06.512	+0:30.647
3	 71 ▍ASY An'ue Shuadakei            EHF-Motospiel              	59:07.161	+0:31.295
4	 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger        HMG Rally                  	59:15.090	+0:39.225
5	 28 ▍AGU Pedro Aguiar               Anitun Tabu MRT            	59:20.761	+0:44.896
6	 16 ▍AUG Augustine Lorenzo          ENSADRINK WSR              	59:23.276	+0:47.411
7	  9 ▍SUT Rick Sutcliffe             Rick Sutcliffe RP          	59:44.971	+1:09.106
8	 88 ▍HSW Hong Seungwoo              Harmonik Racing Team       	60:01.469	+1:25.603
9	  4 ▍HAR Leora Hargis               Camden TSK WRT             	60:04.771	+1:28.906
10	  5 ▍ZHU Shuzhen Zhu                WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	60:04.775	+1:28.910
11	 22 ▍NOV Axel Novikov               Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	60:09.955	+1:34.090
12	 68 ▍PAJ Sakke Pajari               HMG Rally                  	60:16.171	+1:40.306
13	 23 ▍KER Naomi Keretene             Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	60:22.104	+1:46.239
14	 34 ▍CAR Francis Carpenter          EHF-Motospiel              	60:31.891	+1:56.026
15	 87 ▍AUR Kälö Aurinen               Schkeska Rally             	60:34.364	+1:58.498
16	 18 ▍EGA Franklin Egar              Anitun Tabu MRT            	60:37.499	+2:01.634
17	 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                  Schkeska Rally             	63:31.350	+4:55.485
18	 37 ▍FIP Roberta Fipps              WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	63:33.470	+4:57.605

---

---

[Hodori Motorsports]

SHAMEIMARU Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa
The final round of the World Stage Rally Championship will take place on the roads and trails of the Toudekan region in southeast Eshigoa. The first half of the event will utilise portions of the first three special stages in the domestic Eshigoa Rally, with the third and fourth WSRC special stages using those segments in the reverse direction. The special stages for the second half of the finale are routes original to the event.

Hodori
Hodori is a tropical island nation. The climate year-round is generally hot and humid with pronounced wet and dry seasons as the Intertropical Convergence Zone moves over the archipelago.

Yegitou
A town built around an inn and bathhouse run by the Kiegi Shrine, Yegitou serves as the main hub of the SHAMEIMARU Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa WSRC finale. Following the opening ceremonial start, the shakedown stage and both morning legs will depart from Yegitou.

Saturday’s stages will be held along Historic Route 1093, a narrow and winding two-lane road connecting Yegitou with the fishing town of Hakuzao to the southeast and Yakumicha to the west.

Sunday’s stages take place on an old dirt biking trail running parallel to Historic Route 1102, connecting Yegitou to Jechiru to the northwest.

Teams transporting equipment to and from the temporary service parks may want to use National Route 890 connecting Yegitou and Yakumicha and either HR 1102 or NR 887 connecting Yegitou and Jechiru.

As the central hub of the event, the rustic inn and baths at Yegitou will be the primary option for lodging with breakfast and dinner provided by the staff. As the building predates the introduction of electrical infrastructure to the archipelago, the inn’s guest rooms are not wired for electricity and wi-fi is not available. Teams preferring more modern amenities may instead stay at one of the chain hotels in Yegitou or seek more luxurious accommodations in Yakumicha or Jechiru.

Yakumicha
The first half of Saturday's leg runs from Yegitou to Yakumicha, stopping at a service station outside the city. After the gravel third stage, starting and ending on a small ring road near the city, the fourth stage returns to Yegitou by running the first stage in the reverse direction.

Jechiru
In addition to hosting the exhibition event held on Friday night, the Jechiru RallyCross Arena and its parking area serves as a temporary service park between Sunday’s stages. The first half of the leg run from Yegitou to Jechiru splits the trail in two, with 600 meters between the fifth stage flying finish and sixth stage start, while the second half returning to Yegitou uses the entire length.

Road Regulations
Road traffic in Hodori drives on the left (left-hand traffic), with the driver typically seated to the right (right-hand drive). Left-hand drive cars made for right-hand traffic markets are permitted for road use, provided the vehicle meets Hodoran emissions standards. Racing cars are exempt from emissions regulations only if they are not to be driven on public roads. For rally cars, the transit engine maps must meet these regulations or they will not be issued number plates.

The minimum age to receive a driver’s license in Hodori is 19. Foreign driver’s licenses issued by countries with a lower minimum driving age will be honoured if the holder is below the Hodoran driving age and demonstrates competence in observing Hodoran road safety laws.

All vehicles in Hodori must have Hodori Transit Authority-provided front and rear number plates with colouration conforming to regulations set by the Hodoran Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety. These regulations also apply to rally cars if they are to be driven on public roads. Rally cars owned by either the driver or co-driver must have green letters and numerals on a white background (White Plate cars), while vehicles owned by the team use plates with an inverted scheme of white text on a green background (Green Plate cars).

Number plates within Hodori are numeric, with alphanumeric plates reserved for diplomatic vehicles and rally cars. Plates assigned to WSRC competitors will be in the format of “WSR1 ##”, where “##” is replaced by the car’s two-digit racing number including a leading zero if necessary.

Within urban areas and in the twisting mountain roads, the speed limit is 40km/h. Most other roads vary in speed limit between 60 km/h and 80km/h. National Routes have speed limits up to 120km/h.

During transit stages, speed limits are strictly enforced by Yakumicha Metropolitan Police Traffic Safety Division and Jechiru Metropolitan Police Road Safety Department within their respective city limits and Toudekan Road Safety Patrol outside of Yakumicha and Jechiru. National Routes and Expressways use systems of radar speed detection and cameras to enforce speed limits, with tickets and fines mailed to the offender’s registered address. Fines for road safety violations levied by Hodoran police must be paid by the owner of the vehicle.

Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising
Alcohol advertising is permitted only within establishments that sell or serve alcoholic beverages. Similarly, tobacco products can only be advertised within stores selling such products. Cars carrying sponsorships from alcohol or tobacco companies must have those decals removed or they will not be provided plates, and thus cannot be driven on public roads.

Podium Ceremony and Alcohol
For the podium ceremony, unbranded bottles of sparkling rice wine will be used if all the podium finishers were at minimum 19 years of age at the start of the season. If persons who were 18 years of age or younger at the start of the season finish on the podium, sparkling water will instead be used.

---

---

Staying at the Kiegi Shrine
Making use of the Keigi Shrine’s inn is not mandatory; other establishments for lodging may be used.

Inn Staff
The inn and bathhouse are staffed by the maidens of the Kiegi Shrine. While the permanent staff have a limited grasp of English, some of the part-timers enlisted tend to be more proficient in the language.

Written Hodoran
Similar to how Japanese kanji is derived from Chinese hanzi, modern Hodoran machi and mazo are derived from Japanese kanji and katakana respectively. Menus and instructions at the inn and bathhouse are written exclusively in Hodoran.

Rooms
A maximum of eight guests will share a room, with efforts made to avoid having drivers, co-drivers, and team personnel of differing teams sharing rooms.

Meals
Breakfasts served typically consist of fried eggs, a bowl of steamed white rice, and smoked fish.

The lunch and dinner menus have breaded and fried pork or chicken cutlet or smoked fish as the main protein, with sides of vegetables, rice, and soup.

While requesting seconds is generally acceptable, leaving food uneaten is considered rude and in the case of protein disrespectful to the animal in question.

Alcoholic beverages are available as part of the dinner menu, but will not be served to those below the legal drinking age of 20.

Bathing
Rooms do not have individual baths. There is a communal bathhouse built around hot springs available for vehicle crews and other team personnel. The baths are segregated according to the archaic male/female binary, but are otherwise identical in terms of supplies and both with a single large bath fed by the hot springs.

Those preferring more privacy should coordinate their bathing times with others.

When using the baths, it is expected for one to cleanse their body before soaking in the hot spring water.

[Aboveland]

CUTOFF

for SHAMEIMARU Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa: Leg 2

[Aboveland]

Conditions:      	Cloudy	
Stages:              	2 (SS 5, SS 6)	
Nation:         	HDR	
Leg:        	Leg 2 | Morning (Gravel)	
Rally:        	Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa	
Stage(s)		 cancelled on safety grounds
Starters:	18

POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     	Time      
  1 16 ▍AUG Augustine Lorenzo          ENSADRINK WSR              	25:48.656
  2 22 ▍NOV Axel Novikov               Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	0:03.950
  3 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger        HMG Rally                  	0:06.520
  4 57 ▍POL Ivan Poldov                Camden TSK WRT             	0:06.571
  5  9 ▍SUT Rick Sutcliffe             Rick Sutcliffe RP          	0:07.329
  6 28 ▍AGU Pedro Aguiar               Anitun Tabu MRT            	0:12.115
  7  5 ▍ZHU Shuzhen Zhu                WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	0:17.003
  8  4 ▍HAR Leora Hargis               Camden TSK WRT             	0:22.713
  9 23 ▍KER Naomi Keretene             Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	0:24.238
 10 88 ▍HSW Hong Seungwoo              Harmonik Racing Team       	0:37.103
 11 14 ▍INY Marisa Inyuseo             ENSADRINK WSR              	0:38.322
 12 71 ▍ASY An'ue Shuadakei            EHF-Motospiel              	0:44.224
 13 34 ▍CAR Francis Carpenter          EHF-Motospiel              	0:46.242
DNF 18 ▍EGA Franklin Egar              Anitun Tabu MRT            	Ret. SS 5
DNF 87 ▍AUR Kälö Aurinen               Schkeska Rally             	Ret. SS 5
DNF 37 ▍FIP Roberta Fipps              WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	Ret. SS 5
DNF 68 ▍PAJ Sakke Pajari               HMG Rally                  	Ret. SS 5
DNF 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                  Schkeska Rally             	Ret. SS 5

Standings after 6 stages:

POS	 # ▍DRV Name                     Team				Time		Gap to lead
1	 57 ▍POL Ivan Poldov                Camden TSK WRT             	85:01.739	—
2	 14 ▍INY Marisa Inyuseo             ENSADRINK WSR              	85:02.844	+0:01.105
3	 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger        HMG Rally                  	85:10.266	+0:08.527
4	 16 ▍AUG Augustine Lorenzo          ENSADRINK WSR              	85:11.932	+0:10.193
5	 28 ▍AGU Pedro Aguiar               Anitun Tabu MRT            	85:21.532	+0:19.793
6	 71 ▍ASY An'ue Shuadakei            EHF-Motospiel              	85:40.041	+0:38.302
7	  9 ▍SUT Rick Sutcliffe             Rick Sutcliffe RP          	85:40.956	+0:39.217
8	 22 ▍NOV Axel Novikov               Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	86:02.561	+1:00.822
9	  5 ▍ZHU Shuzhen Zhu                WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	86:10.434	+1:08.695
10	  4 ▍HAR Leora Hargis               Camden TSK WRT             	86:16.140	+1:14.401
11	 88 ▍HSW Hong Seungwoo              Harmonik Racing Team       	86:27.228	+1:25.489
12	 23 ▍KER Naomi Keretene             Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	86:34.998	+1:33.259
13	 34 ▍CAR Francis Carpenter          EHF-Motospiel              	87:06.789	+2:05.050
DNF	 18 ▍EGA Franklin Egar              Anitun Tabu MRT            	DNF	—
DNF	 37 ▍FIP Roberta Fipps              WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	DNF	—
DNF	 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                  Schkeska Rally             	DNF	—
DNF	 68 ▍PAJ Sakke Pajari               HMG Rally                  	DNF	—
DNF	 87 ▍AUR Kälö Aurinen               Schkeska Rally             	DNF	—

Conditions:      	Dry	
Stages:              	1 (SS 7)	
Nation:         	HDR	
Leg:        	Leg 2 | Afternoon (Gravel)	
Rally:        	Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa	
Stage(s)		 cancelled on safety grounds
Starters:	13

POS  # ▍DRV Name                     Team                     	Time      
  1 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger        HMG Rally                  	25:25.779
  2 57 ▍POL Ivan Poldov                Camden TSK WRT             	0:16.707
  3 14 ▍INY Marisa Inyuseo             ENSADRINK WSR              	0:22.400
  4 22 ▍NOV Axel Novikov               Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	0:36.099
  5 16 ▍AUG Augustine Lorenzo          ENSADRINK WSR              	0:48.792
  6 28 ▍AGU Pedro Aguiar               Anitun Tabu MRT            	0:49.704
  7  9 ▍SUT Rick Sutcliffe             Rick Sutcliffe RP          	0:50.971
  8 71 ▍ASY An'ue Shuadakei            EHF-Motospiel              	1:07.313
  9  4 ▍HAR Leora Hargis               Camden TSK WRT             	1:12.812
 10 88 ▍HSW Hong Seungwoo              Harmonik Racing Team       	1:26.870
 11 23 ▍KER Naomi Keretene             Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	1:38.871
 12 34 ▍CAR Francis Carpenter          EHF-Motospiel              	1:40.127
DNF  5 ▍ZHU Shuzhen Zhu                WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	Ret. SS 7
DNS 18 ▍EGA Franklin Egar              Anitun Tabu MRT            	DNS
DNS 87 ▍AUR Kälö Aurinen               Schkeska Rally             	DNS
DNS 37 ▍FIP Roberta Fipps              WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	DNS
DNS 68 ▍PAJ Sakke Pajari               HMG Rally                  	DNS
DNS 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                  Schkeska Rally             	DNS

POS	 # ▍DRV Name                     Team				Time		Gap to lead
1	 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger        HMG Rally                  	110:36.045	—
2	 57 ▍POL Ivan Poldov                Camden TSK WRT             	110:44.225	+0:08.180
3	 14 ▍INY Marisa Inyuseo             ENSADRINK WSR              	110:51.023	+0:14.978
4	 16 ▍AUG Augustine Lorenzo          ENSADRINK WSR              	111:26.503	+0:50.458
5	 28 ▍AGU Pedro Aguiar               Anitun Tabu MRT            	111:37.015	+1:00.970
6	  9 ▍SUT Rick Sutcliffe             Rick Sutcliffe RP          	111:57.706	+1:21.662
7	 22 ▍NOV Axel Novikov               Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	112:04.439	+1:28.394
8	 71 ▍ASY An'ue Shuadakei            EHF-Motospiel              	112:13.133	+1:37.089
9	  4 ▍HAR Leora Hargis               Camden TSK WRT             	112:54.731	+2:18.686
10	 88 ▍HSW Hong Seungwoo              Harmonik Racing Team       	113:19.877	+2:43.832
11	 23 ▍KER Naomi Keretene             Iskabil-Ælund WRT          	113:39.647	+3:03.603
12	 34 ▍CAR Francis Carpenter          EHF-Motospiel              	114:12.695	+3:36.650
DNF	  5 ▍ZHU Shuzhen Zhu                WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	DNF	—
DNF	 18 ▍EGA Franklin Egar              Anitun Tabu MRT            	DNF	—
DNF	 37 ▍FIP Roberta Fipps              WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        	DNF	—
DNF	 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                  Schkeska Rally             	DNF	—
DNF	 68 ▍PAJ Sakke Pajari               HMG Rally                  	DNF	—
DNF	 87 ▍AUR Kälö Aurinen               Schkeska Rally             	DNF	—

Drivers

Pos # ▍DRV Name                        Team                       Pts
1 22 ▍NOV Axel Novikov                Iskabil-Ælund WRT          88  Wins: 1  World Stage Rally Champion 
 2 14 ▍INY Marisa Inyuseo              ENSADRINK WSR              79   Wins: 1
 3 23 ▍KER Naomi Keretene              Iskabil-Ælund WRT          72   Wins: 3
 4  4 ▍HAR Leora Hargis                Camden TSK WRT             49
 5 28 ▍AGU Pedro Aguiar                Anitun Tabu MRT            44
 6 27 ▍NÜL Dario Nülkeschläger         HMG Rally                  34   Wins: 1
 7 18 ▍EGA Franklin Egar               Anitun Tabu MRT            33   Wins: 1
 7 37 ▍FIP Roberta Fipps               WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        33
 7 71 ▍ASY An'ue Shuadakei             EHF-Motospiel              33
10  9 ▍SUT Rick Sutcliffe              Rick Sutcliffe RP          32   Ahead of Lorenzo on countback: 1 2nd place
10 16 ▍AUG Augustine Lorenzo           ENSADRINK WSR              32
12 88 ▍HSW Hong Seungwoo               Harmonik Racing Team       30
13 50 ▍LNA Sara Luna                   Schkeska Rally             29
14 34 ▍CAR Francis Carpenter           EHF-Motospiel              28   Wins: 1
14 57 ▍POL Ivan Poldov                 Camden TSK WRT             28
16 68 ▍PAJ Sakke Pajari                HMG Rally                  27
17  5 ▍ZHU Shuzhen Zhu                 WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        20
18 87 ▍AUR Kälö Aurinen                Schkeska Rally             6

Teams

Pos NAT ▍Team                       Pts
  1 ABL ▍Iskabil-Ælund WRT          160   World Stage Rally Teams' Champion
  2 HDR ▍ENSADRINK WSR              111
  3 FID ▍Anitun Tabu MRT            77   Ahead of Camden TSK WRT on countback: 1 win
  4 LIS ▍Camden TSK WRT             77    
  5 HÜL ▍HMG Rally                  61   Ahead of EHF-Motospiel on countback: 1 4th place
  6 SWR ▍EHF-Motospiel              61
  7 MRT ▍WYSIWYG-Staunch WRT        53
  8 AUR ▍Schkeska Rally             35
  9 XAN ▍Rick Sutcliffe RP          32
 10 AMN ▍Harmonik Racing Team       30

[Togonistan]

Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa
Day 2

The whole weekend in Hodori had been an uphill climb for Naomi and Heriko. First, there was the general lack of pace during day 1, combined by running wide in a few corners here and there as well as hugging a roadside barrier once, resulting in some body damage for the car. Eventually, the first day had ended with them being 13th out of 16 finishers. The second day had started relatively well, with Naomi managing to drive a top 5 time in Stage 5, followed by a tyre puncture on the front right wheel after they somehow managed to hit a rock by the side of the road during Stage 6. Even after Heriko had replaced the wheel, the sound coming from it seemed anything but healthy and a quick service break afterwards hadn't been enough to fix the problem completely.

Hence, the final stage went for Naomi and Heriko at a cruise speed, with them praying the wheel will stay on and paying extra attention to not wreck their Kokko any further. Going through the final corner, Naomi let out a sigh of relief when Heriko next to him said: ''Left four, keep middle, into finish!'' That whole event had been a battle to make it to the end.

By the time Naomi and Heriko made it back to the service park, the final results had been set in stone. After getting out of her car, one of the first things Naomi did was find Axel and give him a hug: ''Hey, Axel... well done. You really deserve it!'' Having changed a few words with him, she moved on and thanked Konrad and the rest of the team for being there for her during the season. Those were sincere words from Naomi and if she had learnt anything during her time in WSRC, it was that you can't achieve anything without a great team behind your back. The beautiful evening sun in the sky was laying it's rays on the podium as the top three got up there, with Dario pulling his hand through his smooth hair as he received his trophy. ''You okay?'' Heriko asked as he was standing next to Naomi and watching the podium ceremony with her. Naomi nod with a smile on her face: ''I'm okay.''

---

Tushlark International Airport
Tushlark, Togonistan

''Before anything, I would like to thank the whole Iskabil-Ælund family for giving me a chance. Without them, I wouldn't be here right now.'' Marcus Keretene smirked and fold his copy of The Tushlark Times in half. Sitting in the waiting room for arrivals, he had spent the past fifteen minutes drinking coffee and reading a newspaper. Indeed, the news about her daughter's accomplishments in WSRC had made it to the paper, even if it was just a small article on the sports pages. Just as Marcus was checking his watch, the announcement from the speakers came: ''Flight 406 from Aboveland has now arrived.'' Marcus got up from his seat and took a spot in the line of people waiting to greet their close ones. Paying close attention to the flood of people walking through the door, he soon noticed two familiar faces in colourful Iskabil-Ælund teamwear. A smile appeared on both Marcus's and Naomi's faces as their eyes met, with the latter rushing to hug her dad. ''Daddyyyy!''

Marcus laughed and spent a good two minutes hugging his daughter, who he hadn't seen for months. Meanwhile, Heriko had also spotted his relatives and hugged them one after another. The whole atmosphere in the room was joyful and full of genuine happiness.

''Naomi, what are you planning to do tonight?'' Marcus asked his daughter.

''I... honestly, I haven't thought about it. Probably take a nap before anything, hahaha. Why?''

''I was just wondering, perhaps you'd like to go and have a dinner with your old man? You know... I booked a table at The Queen's Palace for tonight.''

''Wait... really?!?'' Naomi asked with excitement. The Queen's Palace was one of the greatest and most expensive restaurants in Tushlark, and also one of Naomi's favourite ones. She absolutely adored their cooked salmon.

''Really. I mean, I absolutely understand if you had other plans or would rather spend your evening with someone else, I just...''

''What, are you kidding? I would love that! Of course I will have a dinner with you.'' Naomi laughed and hugged her dad again. She was so happy to see him again.

''I have my car waiting outside. I can give you a ride home first, you'd probably want to change your clothes, I assume.''

''Yeah, of course, it might be a bit inappropriate for me to show up there wearing this.'' Naomi looked at Heriko, who was still stalking to his relatives further away. ''Look... I just need to have a few words with Heriko first, okay?''

''I understand. Been quite a while since you two saw each other.'' Marcus smirked, ''I'm just joking. No rush, take your time.''

Naomi laughed and told her dad she'll be right back, before making her way to Heriko. The latter, seeing Naomi coming, asked his family to excuse him for a moment and the two took a moment to exchange their last words in private.

''So... this it is, I think?'' Naomi said, looking at Heriko.

''I guess so, heh.''

''What you're going to do now?''

''Go home, take a few days to relax, maybe go see some rallycrossing...''

''You know... if you feel like, I don't know, hanging out or something sometime... give me a call, okay?''

''Of course. Don't you even think you can get rid of me that easily.'' Heriko laughed.

''Until next time, then?''

''Yeah... wait, I almost forgot. Can I get your autograph?''

''Huh?'' Naomi was baffled by Heriko's sudden request.

''No, no... It's for my little brother. Samuel, remember him? He will kill me if I don't get him your autograph.''

''Oh...'' Naomi burst out laughing, ''right, lemme see... do you have a sharpie?''

Heriko searched his pockets for a sharpie, while Naomi opened her luggage and brought out the helmet she was wearing in Hodori. Having taken the sharpie from Heriko, she signed the helmet and gave it to Heriko. ''Here. I think he'll love it.''

''I'm sure he will adore it.'' Heriko looked at Naomi again before bending forward and giving a kiss on her cheek. ''I'll see you later.''

Naomi started blushing and somehow managed to say a quick ''bye'' before turning around and going back to Marcus. The clouds in the sky were an indication of rain starting to pour down soon as Naomi and Marcus got inside the car parked outside. As they drove off, Naomi looked at the airport through the car's window as the events of past months flashed through her mind. After all this, it felt weird being back home again.

[Kassegrochia]

Shameimaru Cameras Hodoran Rally Eshigoa
Day 2

Ivan shook hands with Vitaly as they crossed the line on the final stage. Overall, it had been a very solid weekend for the Kassegrochian duo with constant top five stage finishes throughout the whole weekend. With a smile on his face, Ivan calmly took off his helmet and opened the door for the post-stage interview while Vitaly took a moment to adjust the papers in his hands.

''Great work Ivan, very solid pace throughout the whole weekend. What are your thoughts after the final stage?''

''Yes, it has been a very good weekend for us. The roads here have been a pleasure to drive on and we have enjoyed the weekend here a lot.''

''With the time gaps being how they are, I believe it is safe to say that you have secured yourself your first WSRC podium here. You must be quite happy about it?''

''I am happy, it has been amazing to drive here and I am very thankful to Camden for giving me the opportunity to do it.''

''Thank you, enjoy your evening!''

Back in the rally park, Ivan and Vitaly received a lot of congratulations from the Camden crew before taking in their spot at the second highest step on the podium. They waved at the crowd gathered around them and felt quite pleased with themselves. Had someone told Ivan two weeks ago he'd end up on the WSRC podium, Ivan would've questioned their mental wellness. However, now, it had become very much a reality. Having sprayed some liquid around and celebrated, Ivan stood down and took a look at his trophy. That neat little piece will definitely take in a spot on top of his fireplace back home.