WGP2 6: World Grand Prix 2 Season 6 [RPs/Results]

by **Tumbra** » Thu Sep 14, 2023 9:38 am

Credit to Liventia and Vilita and Turori for much of the structure of this opening post.

Driver signups are open throughout the season, to sign up a driver simply go to this thread to do so. However, they will not have a race seat unless signed by a team.

SEASON 6
RP/Results thread

Season 6 of the World Grand Prix 2 is currently in the
NEGOTIATION PERIOD and DRIVER SIGNUP PHASE
REGULAR SEASON

Welcome to the RP and Results thread for World Grand Prix 2 Season 6. The season is currently in the negotiation period and driver signup phase.

To see how the negotiation period usually works, read below and/or have a look at WGPC 20's RP thread. Once you have signed a driver up, begin writing about them in this thread. The more interesting the story you create, the more chance your driver has of catching the eye of one of the WGP2 teams. There are no rankings. Success is built on good roleplaying by team-owners, drivers and team-mates as well as a big slice of luck, with your driver’s parameters coming into play too.

You may RP however you like. Maybe you'd prefer to tell the world that a couple of teams are interested in your driver via some rumour-mongering in your local newspapers? Perhaps you'd like to set up an interview with a team? Maybe your driver has a big social media presence or can’t keep out of the news for all the wrong reasons? A popular tactic in recent years has been for teams to hold an open-invitation trial for a number of drivers to test their car around a local circuit, with the best driver/drivers being chosen for the team, so look out for those as well. There is no 'right' way to do it, and the only 'wrong' way to do it would be to attempt to confirm your driver is racing with a team before any real negotiations, OOC, IC or otherwise, have taken place.

You may also wish to consider the massive difference in pay between an experienced driver with a good reputation and a newcomer. In RL Formula 1, the best drivers are paid handsomely to drive while the newcomers often have to pay a team in order to secure a drive. Does your driver need to secure sponsorship in order to pay his way into a deal? Or is he a skilled driver with years of experience, upon whom a team can rely to draw money to the team through external sponsorship and win bonuses?

When you wish to confirm that a driver has joined a team, or formally offer a spot in your team to a driver, do so in bold, like this or this or this or simply like this. I would like to request that all confirmations take place at the top of the respective posts.

Finally, as this is the RP thread, there should be no out-of-character chatter here. Take your observations, commentary and complaints to the OOC discussion thread.

A SPECIAL NOTE ON RP LENGTHS IN THE REGULAR SEASON
During the pre-season, there will be no restrictions on RP length. Please take note of the following RP length restriction during the regular season.

There will be two RP cutoffs per week, one on Friday and one on Sunday. However, all bonus accrued for each cutoff will count for that race.
This means that if you write two roleplays a week — one on Thursday and one on Sunday — they will count towards a total for that week's Feature Race.
I will note here that it will be possible to reach the max RP grade with one roleplay per week.
RP bonus will use the standard depreciation formula in TRS.

EACH RP CUTOFF HAS A WORD LIMIT OF 1250 WORDS. Anything exceeding this limit per cutoff window will not be graded.

Cutoffs will occur at 1400 UTC on Fridays and Sundays of race weekends unless otherwise stated. There is very little chance for an extension. You have a deadline, write to it.

DRIVERS & TEAMS
Thirteen (13) teams will be taking part this season. A special fourteenth team, WGP2 Motorworks, will run up to four drivers that have not been signed by any team. These seats will be allocated by the host. Teams will be allowed to sign up to two (2) drivers, with the possibility of also signing up a third driver. That last bit is optional, however.

All teams must have made a concerted effort to offer both seats out before the second pre-season test. Failure to adhere to this may result in the expulsion of the team.
All teams must have an engine supplier and tyre supplier confirmed before the first pre-season practice session. If no indication is provided, teams will be allocated the stock engine and tyre supplier.

Teams are advised against signing two drivers from their own nation, if they have two signed up.

##   Team Name                      NAT     R     A     T     Engine                R     A     T       Tyre                     R        T 
##   Driver                         NAT     R     A     T
##   Amica Racing Team              DOR     3     4     5     Preston Autos        -0.5   1    -0.5     Tropicorp Racing Supply -0.14     0.14
78   Julita Lérida (LER)            DOR     4     3     5
 2   Isabelle Lafleur (LAF)         PTR     5     2.66  4.34

##   Archer Performance             PTR     4.2   3.5   4.3   VSK Motors           -1     0.5   0.5     ChaosChouc               0.5     -0.5
13   Pierre-Louis Archer (ARC)      PTR     2     5     5
72   Luke Ochoa (OCH)               AFT     3     4     5

##   Gajamina-Kartana               PCU     4.3   2.7   5     Gajamina Auto         0.8   0.2  -1       Gajamina                 0.8     -0.8
25   Pande Putu Raka Ganesha (GAN)  PCU     4     5     3
 6   Abigail Wright (WRI)           TMB     3.5   4.25  4.25

##   HMG Grand Prix                 HÜL     3     5     4     Preston Autos        -0.5   1    -0.5     Tropicorp Racing Supply -0.14     0.14
55   Kenny Wilson (WIL)             HAP     2     5     5
43   Pascal Avelardez (AVE)         LMO     4     5     3

##   JMoD Racing                    JON     4     4.75  3.25  UrGa                  0.5   0.5  -1       Tropicorp Racing Supply -0.14     0.14
12   Tatiana Bungschen (BUN)        JON     3.5   3.5   5
 5   Momqud Xonaxonov (XON)         PDN     4     4.5   3.5

##   MeowMeow Racing                VEZ     4     3     5     Preston Autos        -0.5   1    -0.5     Tropicorp Racing Supply -0.14     0.14
 1   Istd Arkenund (ARK)            YSP     3.14  4.91  3.95
79   Olavi Vile Ruusuvuori (RUU)    KIM     4     3     5

##   Nexus Racing                   NIM     4.5   5     2.5   Paragon Warp          0     1    -1       Phoenician-In Motion    -0.81     0.81
18   Haru Jukkena (JKN)             AUR     3.1   4.75  4.15
77   Pietro Crespi (PCS)            CAD     4     3     5

##   Orange Cow Racing GP2          CBP     4.5   3.7   3.8   Preston Autos        -0.5   1    -0.5     Tropicorp Racing Supply -0.14     0.14
27   Samantha Carter (CAR)          CBP     4.1   4     3.9
60   Tracie V. Lindholm (TVL)       VEZ     3     5     4
------------------------------------------------------------
32   Liam McNulty (MCN)             CTI     3.9   4.4   3.7

##   Pressley-Kim Racing            TMB     3.5   4     4.5   Kaylan               -0.75  0.5   0.25    Tread                    0.05    -0.05
99   Antonin Yeats Durand (ADX)     YOK     3     4.5   4.5
17   Nini Johnsilvaturr (JOH)       JON     4.5   4.75  2.75
------------------------------------------------------------
 3   JJJ Gray (JJJ)                 TMB     2     5     5

##   Team Blueforce                 LIS     3.6   4.2   4.2   Camden               -0.4   0.8  -0.4     Tropicorp Racing Supply -0.14     0.14
 4   Lianna Rasianoara (RAS)        GMN     3     4.5   4.5
24   Nick Unger (UNG)               CBP     4.3   3.6   4.1

##   Tropicorp VilBev GP2           TRP     3.5   4.5   4     Preston Autos        -0.5   1    -0.5     Tropicorp Racing Supply -0.14     0.14
44   Indori Volcanasaur (VCS)       TRP     3.7   4     4.3
 7   Juracai Klianota (KLI)         TRP     3.4   4.2   4.4

##   Urotovsky-Gatutin              PDN     5     3.75  3.25  UrGa                  0.5   0.5  -1       Phoenician-In Motion    -0.81     0.81
53   Shalmaneser Kalhu (KLH)        ADB     4     3     5
66   Vincent von Visp (VVV)         RCN     4     4     4

##   VSK-Maarukanna Racing          AUR     3     4.5   4.5   VSK Motors           -1     0.5   0.5     Phoenician-In Motion    -0.81     0.81
58   Iina Konoa (KON)               AUR     3.3   4.6   4.1
49   Jhannis Illykur (ILY)          YSP     4.14  3.82  4.04

##   WGP2 Motorworks                WGP     4     4     4     Preston Autos        -0.5   1    -0.5     Tropicorp Racing Supply -0.14     0.14
98   Pier Brolli (PBL)              JUE     5     2     5

*Tyres and engines will not contribute any RP bonus to the teams that select them. They only affect the R/A/T.

FREE AGENT DRIVERS

DRIVER                  TRI NAT N1  N2  R       A       T
Thomas Monteiro         MON LIS 77   5  3       5       4
Bruno Belgrano          BBG JUE 69  77  2       5       5    
Aatos Kivi              AKI RPA 62  14  5       3       4
Islay Marshall          MAR TLI 19  91  4.5     3.5     4
Lukas Beckham           BAM VEL 43  87  4.5     3.5     4
Axel Mausefalle         AXE HÜL  2  92  5       2       5
Yaradukijije Rutaganda	RUT KIG	99	64	4.3		5		2.7

ENGINES
Teams are free to choose from any of the below engine suppliers. One engine supplier from the signed-up suppliers will be chosen as the stock engine — for teams who have not indicated their choice of engine. WGP2 Motorworks will use the stock engine.

NAME            M   NAT R       A       T
Kaylan          K   TGN -0.75   0.5     0.25
Camden          C   LIS -0.4    0.8     -0.4
GRAN Pavo       P   IDR -1      0.25    0.75
Preston Autos   S   HAP -0.5    1       -0.5
VSK Motors      V   AUR -1      0.5     0.5
Paragon Warp    W   NIM  0      1       -1
UrGa            U   PDN  0.5    0.5     -1
Gajamina Auto   G   PCU  0.8    0.2     -1
Beltra          B   KAS  0.5    0.5     -1
Pryfors-Bilar   Y   DCS -0.4    0.6     -0.2

TYRES
Teams are free to choose from any of the below tyre suppliers. One tyre supplier from the signed-up suppliers will be chosen as the stock tyre — for teams who have not indicated their choice of tyre. WGP2 Motorworks will use the stock tyre.

NAME                    NAT R       T
Phoenician-In Motion    D-N -0.81   0.81
Gajamina                PCU  0.8   -0.8
Tread                   DAN  0.05  -0.05
ChaosChouc              PTR  0.5   -0.5
Toroid                  KAS -1      1
Tropicorp Racing Supply TRP -0.14   0.14

SCHEDULE
Please note that all dates in this schedule are in UTC.

Races 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 will have an additional points-paying Sprint Race during the Friday cutoff.

PRE-SEASON TEST 1 (2 sessions): @ Oceanside Circuit, Dantopia (7A/3T)
Friday 6 October

PRE-SEASON TEST 2 (2 sessions): @ The Peacock Heart of Valentine Z, Valentine Z (2A/8T)
Monday 9 October

RACE 1: The Hapilopper International Trophy @ Hapilopper City Grand Prix Circuit, Hapilopper (6A/4T)
Practice/Qualifying: Friday 13 October
Feature Race: Sunday 15 October

RACE 2: WGP2 Grand Prix of Rawa @ Rawa Street Circuit, Dod Rava (2.2A/7.8T)
Practice/Qualifying/Sprint Race: Friday 20 October
Feature Race: Sunday 22 October

RACE 3: Aurunair WGP2 Race of the Hills @ Akresna Circuit, Auruna (3A/7T)
Practice/Qualifying: Friday 27 October
Feature Race: Sunday 29 October

RACE 4: Tropicorp Grand Prix Deux @ Tropicoast Beach Course, Tropicorp (7.7A/2.3T)
Practice/Qualifying/Sprint Race: Friday 3 November
Feature Race: Sunday 5 November

RACE 5: Nimban Deuxième Prix @ Crossbay Circuit, Nexus Wardship (6.3A/3.7T)
Practice/Qualifying: Friday 10 November
Feature Race: Sunday 12 November

RACE 6: WGP2 BCEL Commonwealth Grand Prix @ Drummond Vale Race Circuit, Baker Park (3.8A/6.2T)
Practice/Qualifying/Sprint Race: Friday 17 November
Feature Race: Sunday 19 November

RACE 7: Twin Shores Grand Prix @ Western Shores International, Patriotlandia (7A/3T)
Practice/Qualifying: Friday 24 November
Feature Race: Sunday 26 November

RACE 8: The Fromisian Grand Prix of Jonjastan @ Fromisian Grand Circuit, Jonjastan (7.3A/2.7T)
Practice/Qualifying/Sprint Race: Friday 1 December
Feature Race: Sunday 3 December

RACE 9: WGP2 Tumbran Grand Prix @ Couno Harbour Circuit, Tumbra (2.7A/7.3T)
Practice/Qualifying: Friday 8 December
Feature Race: Sunday 10 December

RACE 10: Pemecutan Kanginan Grand Prix @ Bongkasa Circuit, Pemecutan (4A/6T)
Practice/Qualifying/Sprint Race: Friday 15 December
Feature Race: Sunday 17 December

HALF 1 A/T SPLIT: 5.04A/4.96T
HALF 2 A/T SPLIT: 4.96A/5.04T
SPRINT RACES A/T SPLIT: 5.00A/5.00T
SEASON SPLIT: 5.00A/5.00T

RULES & REGULATIONS

RP NOTES
You are recommended to read this section in its entirety, especially if you are a first-time entrant to WGPC.

* Due to the nature of the sport, there are no RP permissions in WGPC. You should expect your drivers and/or teams to be mentioned by other players. You may even expect other users to mention things your driver has said.
* In contrast to, say, war RPing, where a user decides which/how many losses to take after an attack, in WGPC a user decides how much blame or responsibility to take after an accident. You may RP that your driver caused an accident through their own poor or overly aggressive driving, but you may not write that another user's driver was at fault for an accident unless you have their permission. In general, making another character look stupid is not usually acceptable. If a driver is in their first season, it's probably acceptable to call them a rookie, or inexperienced, or possibly even naive if you're sufficiently careful, but refrain from calling another driver reckless or stupid or unskilled unless it's clear from the other user's RPs that this is the case.
* If you're going to RP a conversation between your driver and another driver, try to keep to the other driver's established characteristics.
* If another user mentions an action of your driver, or mentions something that happened to your driver, before you have the chance to RP, you may either reinterpret their interpretation of events or, if you really feel you wanted the story to go in a different direction, you may change the events that happened. For example, you had your heart set on RPing your driver as having had a particularly violent and explosive accident, but another user decides that your driver retired in the pits due to engine failure, you may write your own version and ask that the previous RPer makes the appropriate change to their RP.
* Any disputes over RPing will be adjudicated by the season hosts, whose decision is final.
* Team instructions to intentionally cause accidents will result in a penalty for the team.
* Collaboration between users is highly encouraged!

by **Fifth harmony harmoniser nation** » Thu Sep 14, 2023 10:17 am

OOC Note: Tatiana Bungschen has signed a season-long contract with JMoD Racing; she will be their first driver.

“Nini, listen to me, please.”

“And what will you say to me then? Feed me lies and gaslight me?”

“I swear, you’re overreacting, babe.”

A flurry of negative emotion hung over the room: sadness, distrust, anger. The tension in the room was palpable enough to be cut by a butterknife.

Tati took a look at Nini’s laptop once again.

“JMoD’s latest prospect exposed! Bungschen’s remarks resurface within a day of her signing!” read the headline of the online article. In short, Tati had some choice words for the Bratz people while she was in middle school, and they weren't words of praise or appreciation. Her words weren't just your coarse, vulgar, run-of-the-mill stereotypes or mislabelings. Oh, they were much worse. Perhaps it was the gravity of her words that led to the very negative reaction she’d faced to this day as a result.

Clearly, someone within the website that released the article (the citizen-ran gossip column All Ears) had bad blood against Tati and dug deep to find any discriminating evidence against her. Well, whatever their attempt at a smear campaign was, it seemed to work since the article went viral within Jonjastan, and in a nation where cancel culture and paparazzi ran rampant it took no time for it to catch everyone’s attention.

Oh, and it did. Too well, even.

Tati received more death threats and unpleasantly inappropriate (to say the least) messages within the span of a few hours than she had in her life before this all panned out. Her phone constantly vibrated and rang as her email inbox and social media DMs got flooded with the ugliest of words. Now, Tati was feeling down in the dumps about the whole thing. She’d be a liar to say that everyone’s words didn’t hurt her. This was why she found herself at the house of her emotional support, Nini.

However, Tati didn’t think things would get even worse than it did, because she forgot to consider two things: Nini had most likely read the article, and that Nini was a Bratz herself.

“What do you mean by ‘You’re overreacting’?” Nini’s response snapped Tati out of her thoughts, “You said all that shit about my own people and you expect me to feel normal about it? If there’s anything I can’t excuse, it's slander against those I consider to be my own.” Nini’s voice carried a tone of hurt as she looked at Tati with betrayal and disdain colouring her eyes, “You know how much shit I’ve had to endure because of my race? The amount of people who mocked me, treated me like I was a nobody just because I was a Bratz? Of course you don’t know, you’re not a Bratz.” She, clearly affected by Tati’s words, carried a distraught expression, as if she was shocked that Tati would say such a thing.

Tati tried to look for the right words, but in her shallow sea of lexicon it was hard to find any apt words to phrase what she meant to say without sounding offensive. Tati really didn’t want Nini to be more hurt than she already was.

“Nini, listen to me when I say I don’t mean what I said. It was seven years ago,” Tati took a deep breath and composed herself, “I can promise I don’t think of you like that. I’m being sincere with–”

“Cut your fucking crap.”

Nini’s voice suddenly sounded more irate, more vexed than before. Her face contorted into the deepest of scowls as her eyes stared daggers at Tati.

Tati herself was shocked at how Nini was acting. Nini never looked this pissed before, and Tati had to admit that she looked fucking scary like that. Did Tati push Nini to the edge? Was she too clumsy with her words that she unknowingly insulted her? Whatever it was, the fact that Nini was like that only because of her made Tati feel even more shittier about herself.

“So we’re not going to talk about the many times you called me a ‘plastic bitch’? Or just yesterday when you called me a ‘fakey’ because I said I didn’t want to sign with your team yet?” Nini continued her angry rant, “Yesterday, I heard you mutter about how I was fake as hell and said something about me being a Bratz. I’m not deaf, you know. And you’re gonna say that ‘Oh, I was joking!’” Nini stopped for a while to collect her thoughts, so Tati took the time to defend herself.

“Look, I said something awful back then, but I promise I’ve changed my mindset,” Tati pleaded, “Seven years is enough for me to change my attitude, my perspective, babe. Hear me out when I say –”

“You’re gonna pull that excuse now, huh?” Nini menacingly snarled. Tati was set aback. Excuse? What part of her explanation was an excuse?

“What excuse?” Tati inquisitively questioned.

“And you said all Bratz were dumb as fuck! Look at you,” Nini scoffed, “I’m talking about the ‘seven years’ part. If you weren’t aware, seven years is also enough time for your bigoted opinions to proliferate and grow into something even more discriminatory.”

At that point, Tati couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Every time she tried to make her point, Nini would always come and assume the worst about her. If she apologised, she didn’t mean it. If she owned up to her actions, she was admitting she was a horrible human being. How could they come to a reasonable conclusion if Nini was going to victimise herself all the time?

“Look, I’m really not here to make you feel bad or anything,” Tati said, irked, “I just wanna make the point straight that–”

“You’re a liar?” Nini filled in Tati’s statement.

“You call me a liar?” Tati could only incredulously respond. Why was Nini so on edge today?

“What else? You say that you’re definitely not a racist when you’ve been stereotyping me for acting a bit like a dumbass. You pretend you’re my best friend when you hide all this bigotry in your heart,” Nini continued.

“I mean, I- uh- well, it’s not like- urgh!” Tati couldn’t help but trip on her own words. She was at a loss for words. What could she say? She was running out of brain juice to counter Nini, and even if she did, Nini'd still find a way to incriminate her. The back-and-forth the two were having weren’t making things improve in the slightest. In fact, it was probably doing the opposite: widening the chasm that had formed in their best-friendship.

“You know, one thing I’ve noticed about you is that when you lie, you can only lie so much before you start losing excuses to use and words to trick me,” Nini walked up to Tati and grabbed her by her collar, “I was already shocked enough to hear you were a racist, but you know what I really hate about you? You act all fake in my face, pretending to be my best friend when you really have the worst of words to say about what I identify as.”

Tati looked at how Nini was tip-toeing to even reach her height. Heh, shortie. Tati found it very cute, but considering the circumstance she was in, breaking into a smile was the worst thing she could do then. Going back to the situation in hand, Tati took some time to process Nini’s words and formulated a response, “Babe, I know you’re hurt and all, but don’t you think it’s tiring that you’re framing me as this racist monster? Calm down, please. I’ll even leave you if you want to. I’m just hurt that you’d think of me this way.”

“And I’m hurt that my ‘best friend’ turned out to be a racist piece of shit.”

“What?” was the only reply Tati could muster. As Nini pushed Tati away, her eyes started to well up as tears started to fall drop by drop down her soft, pale cheeks.

Nini was crying. She hadn’t done so in front of Tati before. As Tati witnessed the heart-breaking scene that lay before her, she could also feel a sense of guilt and melancholy overwhelm her entire being.

“Fuck, I don’t want her to be like this,” Tati thought to herself, “Why was I so rash with my words back then? Why was I such a racist dipshit? Fuck…” Tati wasn’t sure whether it was worth consoling Nini, but as a best friend it was only right for her to do so. Though, before she could even enunciate a single word Nini interrupted her.

“You know the number *hic* of times I’ve *sniff* ugly cried because of what others have said, what you’ve said to me?” Nini lashed out irately, “But of course you didn’t know. Every time you call me plastic, fake, I’ve cried myself to sleep. But I never stopped you. I never thought to tell you off because I thought you would be thoughtful enough to realise what you were saying. But I guess you never did. You never cared.”

You never cared. Those three words broke Tati. Had she failed the most basic criterion as a best friend: to be by their side? Tati felt like absolute cow dung.

How could she consider herself a best friend when she never stopped to think about how Nini felt? Tati scrambled to find words to apologise.

“Nini–”

“Shut up. Don’t talk to me.” Nini turned away, signaling her unwillingness to communicate.

“Babe, listen–” Tati tried to rationalise, but she was met with Nini putting her hand on her throat, slightly choking her.

“You whore,” she growled menacingly as she tip-toed to keep her balance, “Didn’t you say you’d leave me be? Well, if you consider yourself a friend of mine, I’d suggest you get the fuck out and leave me alone, unless you want me to do something we both regret.” She let go of her chokehold before Tati started to asphyxiate.

Tati, for the umpteenth time, was at a loss for words. As remorse coursed through her veins, tears rolled down Tati's cheeks. There were tears.

She was crying.

Tati promptly left.

On the car ride home, Tati thought of all the snide remarks, crude insults she’d used against Nini, and every time she remembered a new one, her sobbing would intensify.

Maybe Nini was right. Maybe she was just a racist piece of shit.

"It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault..." that was all that Tati could think of. She wasn't even sure what she felt worse about: her insensitive words, or the hurt she'd caused Nini all those years. Maybe this was the moment to end their friendship.

This friendship that Tati cherished the most was going to dissipate due to her own words. How cruel and yet befitting of a person who cared naught about how her best friend felt. How many times did Tati go to Nini to be comforted, and how many times did the reverse happen? Nini was always the one to text "Are you ok?" but never the other way round. Maybe Nini realised thsi earlier, and this was the breaking point.

The friendship was going to be hard to salvage.

When Tati reached home, her father asked what the matter was. Tati didn’t need to speak a word, for her face wrote a thousand.

“You fell out with Nini,” he said matter-of-factly. Tati nodded.

“Well, what can I say? Bratz can be a sobbing bunch. They get too emotional and act like the victim. She’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. It’s just Bratz being Bratz.” he drawled. Tati wasn't sure how to respond. She was inclined to believe him. All the Bratz she knew were emotional like that.

“Mhm, just Bratz being Bratz…” she muttered.

Tati did not sleep that night.

A few days had gone by since Tati and Nini’s falling out and Tati wasn’t sure of her next course of action. She could, of course, just wait for Nini to message her back. It'd always been that way: when Nini got mad, they'd ignore each other for a while, but Nini was always the first to initiate a conversation. However, Tati didn't want to do that. Nini shouldn't be the one who reaches out. She did nothing wrong. Tati wanted to send Nini a message, but constantly hesitated. She'd write a paragraph, maybe vet through what she'd written, and then delete everything. Write a few sentences... wait, scratch that. It doesn't sound genuine enough. Backspace. Tati was stuck trying to formulate an apology to Nini for an hour.

"Ugh, fuck it, I'll just send her whatever. She should be fine by now," Tati mumbled to herself. She scrapped whatever flowery, tear-jerking apology she had sitting in her notes app and quickly sent a string of messages to Nini. She wasn't the one to mope around about an issue for too long, and she'd always feel better after a day or two. She would definitely respond...

…right?

yo, nini

i’m really sorry for everything i said

everything i did

i’m like

so fucking guilty rn

i hope ur feeling better too

since this is all my fault

i feel like i should be the one to initiate a conversation

to clear up the air and all

r u okay with meeting with me tmr?

Yesterday, 7.38 pm
Seen

On Nini’s side, she’d been ignoring every single email and message she got her way since that night. There were about 5 days’ worth of notifications on her phone, all unread. She was too tired to deal with all of them. Oh, how life would be so much simpler with a social media manager.

As Nini was making lunch, she received what was probably the fourth email from JMoD Racing.

From: naganomiya_kokomiya@jmodracing.caratmail.com

To: danielle_bugatti_johnsilvaturr@caratmail.com

Subject: Re: Driver Seat Offer

Dear Miss Johnsilvaturr

I hope you have been doing well. We have not yet received an email regarding your decision to accept JMoD Racing’s offer to be their second driver. We would appreciate it if we could be updated on this matter. If a response is not received, we will have to nullify the offer.

As stated in previous emails, the contract will last for a season. You will have dedicated lodging and fully subsidised travel expenses. We will also arrange for a social media team to aid you in your promotions.

You are one of Jonjastan’s greatest prodigies in motorsport racing, and we would gladly love to have you drive under us and the Jonjo flag.

Have a great day ahead.

Yours sincerely

Naganomiya Kokomiya

Nini read the email. Truth be told, she’d already had an answer to their emails, but it was just that she could not be bothered to reply to them. Although that answer entailed telling a lie, Nini just didn't want anything to do with the team. Heck, jjoining a team with her was the last thing she would do. Though, Nini felt that not replying at all would be unprofessional on her part, so she wrote up a quick email with the skills she’d learned from her time at the AOGP 2.

From: danielle_bugatti_johnsilvaturr@caratmail.com

To: naganomiya_kokomiya@jmodracing.caratmail.com

Subject: Re: Re: Driver Seat Offer

Dear Ms Naganomiya

I would like to apologise for the delay in response. Although I am very honoured to be offered a contract by the JMoD Racing team, I regret to say that I will turn down the offer on personal terms.

I hope that you will find a suitable driver to complete your lineup.

Have a blessed day ahead.

Yours sincerely

Danielle Johnsilvaturr

by **Hapilopper** » Thu Sep 14, 2023 10:27 am

Preston Autos HQ, Hapilopper City
A couple of months before the start of the WGP2 season
With teams looking for engines, someone in Preston Autos’ communications department sent out a release to 12 of the 13 teams signed up to compete in the World Grand Prix 2 Championship. That 13th team was believed to have already signed a deal with Preston. This release was sent out without the knowledge of higher-ups at Preston Autos, nor was it sent with the knowledge of Marty Lewis and Shawn Hammer, who were both trying to get deals with teams finalized. When they found out, nobody at Preston was real happy with it.

When Jim Preston, Marty and Shawn all found out about it – largely due to one team leaking the press release to the media, they about tripped over each other trying to get to the communications people first, looking for whose ass to kick.

“Jesus Christ, you guys,” Marty snapped at the communications people. “Can we go one god damn season without massive profanities in our press material? I mean, it makes all of us look bad, it makes us look unprofessional and low-rent, when we’re trying to sell this engine to both a bunch of teams AND to a racing series as a whole.”

Marty shook his head and walked away. For this season, he was less a team principal and more someone trying to hype a particular driver – Kenny Wilson, an expert of the Hapiloppian dirt sprint car scene. Marty felt that Kenny, perhaps the best sprint car driver in Hapilopper, could bring his exceptional car control skills to the world of international single-seater road racing. It seemed like a tough ask, but Kenny felt he was more than up to the task and he was more than willing to do what he needed to take the plunge.

For starters, Kenny had taken weeks and weeks of testing in single-seaters after the end of the Dominion Outlaw season – just to get used to how to drive one of those cars. First, it seemed as if he was way off the mark, hitting corners at exactly the wrong angle, hitting the wrong marks, missing his braking point, but then he started getting it. He started hitting his marks. His lap times started dropping like a rock and next thing he knew, Kenny was breaking lap records at tracks all over Hapilopper in the nation’s quickest domestic single seaters.

Kenny was blissfully unaware of what was going on at Preston HQ with the profane press release – but he probably would have thought it to be hilarious. What he did know, though, is there was one of a large number of teams that would benefit from his signing.

With his involvement with Preston Autos, though, there came a caveat: A team that signed Kenny had to run Preston engines for the season. So obviously a trip to Nexus Racing was out of the question. A trip to UrGa was out of the question too as they were running their own engines (something Preston’s wiseass PR department was more than ready to dunk on if they flopped). A trip to Gajamina or VSK was probably not going to happen.

On this day, Kenny was sitting in his family’s race shop, where a handful of mechanics were working on a sprint car for his brother Timmy. He figured he’d give Marty a phone call to see if any teams were interested.

“No, right about now I’m about to rip our PR team a new one for this stupid press release they just put out,” Marty snapped.

“But could you put that out to the other teams?” Kenny asked. “That I’m interested?”

“I did that the other day, Kenny, be patient,” Marty snapped. “I hope we haven’t alienated anyone with our press release though. No professional PR team puts the words ‘FUCK THAT’ in huge letters on their work. Fucking morons.”

“They what? I got to see this,” Kenny asked.

by **Dod Rava** » Thu Sep 14, 2023 12:16 pm

Amica Racing Team will use Preston Autos engines for the upcoming season.
Amica Racing Team will use Tropicorp Racing Supply tyres for the upcoming season.
Amica Racing Team confirms signing of #78 Julita Lérida as their first driver
Amica Racing Team invites following drivers for preseason testing:
JJJ Gray, Abigail Wright, Isabelle Lafleur, Pier Brolli and Islay Marshall

Amica secured their debut team spot for this WGP2 season, marking a significant step in their journey into motorsport. As the inaugural preseason test at the Oceanside Circuit in Dantopia drew nearer, Gabriel Miler, an experienced figure in Dod Rava's domestic open-wheel racing scene and a professional engineer, found himself at a crucial moment. He sat down in Krzysztof Zabor's office, the actual head of the motorsport branch of Amica overseeing his work with the team. The Executive, wore a warm smile as he sat behind his desk, hands interlocked.

"A new team, a new series, a fresh start, and a bunch of new decisions to make, Mr.Miler." he commented, placing files with information about potential drivers, engine suppliers, and tire suppliers in front of Miler.

Miler picked up the papers and began looking through them. "Any specific guidelines or preferences you'd like me to follow? Anyone you have in mind to sign?"

"Well, yes, as you're aware, our Academy drivers take precedence. So, you have to sign Julita Lérida," Zabor replied. "Additionally, if another talented Dod Ravian driver becomes available, one who isn't part of our academy, please refrain from signing them."

"Understood... Lérida," Miler acknowledged. While he recognized her name, he didn't hold a strong opinion about her. Ideally, he would have preferred both drivers to hail from Dod Rava, but the constraints made it unlikely to sign another promising talent should one emerge. "Is there anything else that I need to know?"

"Yes, for the second driver spot, we'd prefer someone from a specific Esportivan nation, ideally one of these two drivers," he said, using his pen to indicate the two Tumbran names on the file sheet. "As for the tyres and engines, that decision lies with you."

Miler felt a twinge of disappointment regarding his limited say in selecting drivers, but he held his reservations. After all, he was being generously compensated for his role. Nevertheless, he decided to seek some clarification. "Could you elaborate on your interest in signing a Tumbran driver?"

"We believe that recruiting a driver from an Esportivan nation would be advantageous for our team," Zabor explained thoughtfully. "I also feel that we can provide one of them with an opportunity, similar to how they did with Patryk Racki's entry into the Tumbran Super Formula. And I want to assure you that the language barrier shouldn't be a problem most of the engineers speak decent english and if you really want we can get you an English-Polish translator."

"Alright, a translator won't be needed." Miler acknowledged it, absorbing the information.

"I'll do you a favor," Zabor began, his brow furrowing as he mulled over his next steps. He leaned back slightly in his chair, considering the details carefully. "I'll personally contact Miss Lérida," he continued, lightly tapping his fingers on the desk's surface, "and I'll send out the test invitations to the rest of the potential candidates."

Miler nodded, recognizing the significance of Zabor's commitment to the process. "Thank you for taking care of that, Mr. Zabor."

Zabor's expression softened into a faint smile. "Should you still wish for someone else to fill the test driver role," he said, briefly shifting his gaze to the files on the desk, "or should negotiations with our initial choices fail," his focus returned to Miler, tinged with a touch of concern, "or if they underperform in the tests for the second driver spot, just provide me with the names of potential candidates."

"Sounds good to me, Mr. Zabor," Miler responded, flipping through the driver files. "I'd also like to invite Isabelle Lafleur, Pier Brolli, and Islay Marshall."

"Okay, but I must admit that I'm not particularly enthusiastic about Pier Brolli; I'd say he's a too old by at least 10 years. However, I'll send him an invitation nonetheless. That's all for now, we will talk about drivers back in Koronki." he stood up and shook Miler's hand warmly. "I genuinely hope that we can help this team pick up some trophies this season." "Oh and by the way," Zabor added before Miler left his office, "the tests will be held in Koronki on the short layout in the upcoming days."

Miler quickly noted the location, nodding in acknowledgment then he left the office with the files still in his hand, thinking about wich of many suppliers of engines and tyres his team would use.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lérida

The phone rang, and Julita Lérida picked up.

"Hello?"

A deep, resonant voice on the other end responded, "Hello, this is Krzysztof Zabor speaking."

Recognition flashed across Julita's face. "Ah, yes, Mr. Zabor. Are there any news?"

A warm smile crept into Zabor's voice as he replied, "Yes, indeed, Miss. Very good news. I wanted to confirm that the contract proposition has been sent to your agent, and we're eagerly looking forward to working with you during this WGP2 season."

Alina's excitement was palpable in her response. "That's amazing, thank you, mister."

Zabor chuckled lightly. "The pleasure is ours, Miss Lérida. Tomorrow, you can head to our facility in Koronki. There, the rest of the details will be discussed, and we can get everything set up for the season."

by **Togonistan** » Thu Sep 14, 2023 3:20 pm

Kaylan Racing Technology - Simple, Affordable, Powerful!

Years of experience in motorsports have allowed us to find the balance between simplicity, power and affordability. Having developed 3 different variations of WGP2 engines in the past (including the championship-winning Kaieke 3) as well as provided competitive engines to a number of teams in various WGP3-level series, you can be rest assured that by choosing Kaylan as the engine supplier for your team, you will put your faith in technology that has proven itself on the world scale.

Our Values:

Simplicity - Following a simple and straightforward design language with our engines, our goal is to reduce the struggle of teams needing to adapt to new technology. Ease of maintenance and availability of spare parts is one of the main goals we have aimed to achieve when developing our powertrains. Each engine comes with a start-up guide and video tutorials, allowing teams to install and run our engines on their cars with ease, with no need for additional input from our side. Should some teams still face some struggles, our team of experienced mechanics is ready to provide assistance either via means of modern communication devices or by arriving on spot to help the team get their engines up and running.

Affordability - By using modern top of the line facilities and constantly researching for ways of replacing expensive materials with cheaper, yet durable alternatives, we have managed to bring our manufacturing costs down drastically. This has allowed us to provide a price lower than various other manufacturers on the market while not making any cuts in performance.

Performance - Affordable doesn't have to mean slow! Our engines have proven themselves over the years as very competitive designs, often exceeding various other, more established manufacturers in terms of performance. With our engines, we have worked to find the middle ground between producing enough speed and power while keeping the weight to minimum, in order to produce an engine accessible enough for both established as well as less experienced drivers.

Our Engine:

ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS:

Name: Kaylan Kaieke 3
Spec: WGP2
Type: 3.4l V6 Single Turbo Charged
Power: 620 HP @ 8750 rpm

Kaieke (Translation: Rider) is our family of WGP2 engines that first saw the light of day with it's first iteration, Kaieke 1, powering Kaylan Racing Team's debut in the 2nd season of WGP2. Over the years, the Kaieke family of engines have been developed further, with it's current 3rd iteration being the engine that brought Kaylan their WGP2 constructors title in the 4th season. Throughout the years, we have developed and upgraded the Kaieke 3 further in order to provide a competitive engine that is able to put up against even the most powerful WGP2 machines in the world.

Kaylan is ready to provide the Kaieke 3 to any WGP2 teams looking for an engine supplier in the upcoming season.

by **Sharktail** » Thu Sep 14, 2023 8:14 pm

"Towards the last lap, Syaqirin keep his speed to stay in good position. The distance between Syaqirin and Hazril is not far, but Hazril is unable to catch up. Hazril tried his best to reduce the distance difference with Syaqirin, but the situation was more in Syaqirin's favor."

"Now, only 2 turns separate Syaqirin and victory. He has to stay focused because one mistake could cost him the win. A nice clean drive by Syaqirin, now entering the lap straight towards the finish line. Hazril, what a nice fight by this young man. But for this time he had to admit it, Syaqirin's the one who win. Past the finish line, the Direch Open Wheel Cup Champion is Ahmad Syaqirin Rahman."

"Nicely done Syaqirin. It was a clean victory. First place, good job."

"Nice job everyone. Thank you for the hard work. Thank you to Miss Zahira, thank you coach. Shade Racing crew, thank you."

Syaqirin spent some time with Miss Zahira and Shade Racing crew members and celebrated the victory. Later, Syaqirin and Miss Zahira sit together as they discuss about the upcoming WGP2. This is Syaqirin's temporary stint at the post season of Sharktail Racing Calendar with Shade Racing. This is one part of the sponsorship agreement with Shade Racing, while also coming as the prep for WGP2 season 6. A much needed victory for Syaqirin, as it might attract some interest for a seat.

"A nice victory. You seem fresh out there."

"Probably. Thank to everyone too as there got everything prepared properly. No less than what we expect from Sharktail best racing team."

"You already improving a lot on social skill. Good job. Anyway, how do you feel about WGP2 last season?"

"Challenging. Probably too much challenging. I try everything i could, but nothing worked out. I do want a much better moment this season."

"Last year did not show any results. Quite a bad start in WGP2. The difficulty this year may increase especially to find a seat in any team."

"It's normal lot of team might not look too deep into bottom placement driver. Many mistakes happened, and i also end up more in DNF. It's totally like entering another dimension, too much gap from domestic circuit in Sharktail."

"That why it called international stage. Nothing easy when you try to step up on more big stage. Like how last year going, just try it again and see if you got what it take to be a big stage racer."

"Maybe hoping for any team to offer me any tryout, and work my way from there. I don't take any single step yet, so same to say i have to start from zero again."

"Good. Anyways, we have send a letter to all team in WGP2 Shade Racing agent has sent a letter to ask about tryouts and interviews to all WGP2 teams. Hopefully we will receive a reply soon. Here, take a look."

From: Shade Racing Team
To : WGP2 Team
Subject : Driver Application

Dear Sir/Madam

Greeeting! Firstly, on behalf of Ahmad Syaqirin Rahman, our sponsored driver and also on behalf of Miss Zarina as the main sponsor for our driver, thank you very much for taking the time to read our post.

As stated in the subject, the purpose of us contacting the WGP2 teams is to inform about interest from our driver Ahmad Syaqirin for a tryout, meeting or interview. For information, Ahmad Syaqirin is a free agent and looking for an opportunity to fill seats and drives for the WGP2 season 6 series.

As you already know, Syaqirin performed on the WGP2 stage last year. The result is not what we expected. Although the opportunity may be quite difficult, we on our behalf representing Syaqirin hope that there will be an opportunity for Syaqirin to try to show his performance.

We would appreciate it if any WGP2 teams could give our drivers a chance for tryout. We begin with a thank you.

"It's neat, I hope there is a team that will offer to tryout. I do once again want to say thank you to you, to all staff who help on my behalf and of course Shade Tecno. I just hope I can bring something in WGP2.

"We are also happy with the long-standing relationship and cooperation. Go and bring more better performance, much better than last season."

by **Pemecutan** » Fri Sep 15, 2023 8:55 am

Sukra Wage Wuku Krulut, Pawukon 1785

Introduction, Gajamina-Kartana

Bongkasa, Pemecutan - After a long hiatus, World Grand Prix 2 is on the calendar again. And in this season 6, Pemecutan decide to join again in the competition after a decent result in the last season. However, in this season, Gajamina Racing Team will not be entering the competition alone. For the upcoming season of WGPC2, Gajamina Racing Team welcome their new partner, Kartana Motor Company. The partnership was confirmed with the signing of agreement between two parties and the announcement of the new name for the racing team, Gajamina-Kartana Racing Team. The addition of Kartana to the team is hoped to increase the chance of the team in the competition. "At least we can break into the top 10," said Irfan Rayadi, Director of Gajamina-Kartana Racing Team. Rayadi retain his position in the team while the Vice Director is now taken by Ketut Budi Armawan, who is recommended by Kartana's CEO.

As the competition is about to start, Gajamina-Kartana is taking everything fast. First, they decide to use Gajamina Auto as their engine. A change from previous, The Duke, a Hundredstari engine manufacturer. And for the tire, Gajamina Tyre is contracted for the season. Thus extended their involvement with the team. Rayadi said that the contract of both Gajamina Auto and Tyre is to help local industry and also a free promotion for Pemecutan automotive industry to international stage. The team also decide to extend their partnership with driver, Pande Putu Raka Ganesha. While the second driver is on the search. "We're open for any driver who is interested in partnership with us. Maybe we will contact some of them who interest the management, but anyone is welcome," said Rayadi. He added that like in the previous season, a test drive will be held to determine the second driver for the team.

On the other hand, PARA (Pemecutan Auto-Racing Association) congratulate the management of Bongkasa Circuit after their selection as the main venue of season 6 WGPC2. After previously selected as a pre-season circuit, Bongkasa is now added to the main calendar. Bongkasa Circuit will host the Pemecutan Kanginan Grand Prix which will be the 10th race which also the closing race for the season. "It is a pride for us. This really is a great news for auto-racing sports in the country. We support wholeheartedly to both Bongkasa Circuit and Gajamina-Kartana Team. All the best!" said PARA's spokesperson.

by **Tropicorp** » Fri Sep 15, 2023 9:14 am

Tropicorp Multiversal Campus, Tropicoast, Tropicorp :: As the Tyre supplier for the reigning Drivers and Constructors champion of the World Grand Prix Championship, World Grand Prix 2, Atlantian Oceania Grand Prix and NSGP, Tropicorp Racing Supply will embark on yet another motorsports journey as a major supplier for World Grand Prix 2 Season 6. Tropicorp will be returning to the grid in name as the co-sponsor of the Tropicrop VilBev GP2 team who will use Tropicorp Racing Supply tyres in their quest to overtake Orange Cow Racing in the constructors title this season. There will be new names also added to the Tropicorp Racing Supply family with Dod Rava's Amica Racing Team having already confirmed the use of Tropicorp Tyres while other teams are still welcome to add their names to the #1 in Tyres family.

The Tropicorp Racing Supply brand returns as the leading choice in competitive racing tire for the World Grand Prix 2 series with a durable distance variant, a short run soft and fast "Sifaka" variant as well as an intermediate and "Storm" variant. The 'Storm' variant first saw action in WGPC 19 as a new derivative of the Tropicorp Racing Supply Tyre line and represents a crossover into the personnel transport market through the "Storm" branding which replaces the Sifaka wordmark on the wet tyres only.

Tropicorp is a quasi-governmental corporation created to conduct Research, Development and Production activities primarily on behalf of the Tropics of Vilita. One of the byproducts of Tropicorp's development in a remote location on the mainland has been the removal of native and wild tree species to make way for development space. Tropicorp engineers discovered a dense grove of local rubber trees.

Tropicorp Engineering developed their customized local rubber solutions to create high performance racing tyres for testing purposes. After the tests proved successful, It wasn't long before the tooling was done and Racing Tyres were popping out on an hourly basis from the workshop and Tropicorp Racing Supply was born. Everything on Tropicorp Racing Supply's standard product line from Crew Uniforms to Composite-Material suspension parts will be on offer. - even the potential for advanced product opportunities through Tropicorp Engineering to include Chassis and Hybrid Power systems.

Tropicorp Racing Supply has long been in the business of creating high-quality motorsports tyres but saw a resurgence on the World Grand Prix circuit when they became the official Tyre Supplier for Tropicorp Racing Aelund midway through the World Grand Prix's 16th season after the team struggled to find its form on its debut. When the Unique Tropicorp Rubber was introduced, however, the teams fortunes improved and interest in the Tropicorp Sifaka tyres increased with many orders for sample and small quantity levels of product over the offseason. Tropicorp became the largest Tyres supplier in the WGPC during its 17th season and were the runaway winners of the WGPC17 Supplier Performance Award which recognized the top performing Tyre Supplier of the season.

Tropicorp repeated this performance during WGPC Season 18, WGPC Season 19 and WGPC Season 20 repeating as Supplier Performance champions for the second, third and fourth consecutive seasons. During World Grand Prix Championship Season 20, Tropicorp outfitted each of the Top 2 teams in the Constructors Standings and the top 3 drivers in the Final standings. Tropicorp also outfitted the most recent champions of the World Grand Prix 2 Circuit, Scuderia Orange Cow. Tropicorp has enough production capacity to outfit any willing team with Tropicorp Tyres for the WGP2 Season 6 campaign, with interested teams needing only to confirm their contract with the series top supplier, offering the most balance Tyre on the market with both the Tropicorp Sifaka and Storm variant tyres. The Tropicorp Racing Supply team will be on hand with spare lots of tyres at each of the official WGP2 Pre-Season testing events and tyres may be purchased directly for use in those events without any pre-reservations.

by **Lisander** » Fri Sep 15, 2023 2:32 pm

0. EPILOGUE | PROLOGUE

Two and a half weeks after WGPC20 Final Race
Soria, Lisander

"But that's pretty curious. I never thought I'd see these two people together. We never think that two people from such different worlds will know each other. I mean, as a reporter I met both of them. Anneliese Devereux, the person I interviewed. Laura Werner, the person who served me a cup of tea on the day of the interview. Who could have imagined that this illustrious stranger would be walking around alongside the country's most famous racing driver?" - One of the reporters covering the "New Blueforce Team" presentation event, spoke to another, who was standing next to him. The two watched two women talking. One of them was admittedly Anneliese Devereux, with her brown hair and wearing a pair of jeans and a blue polo shirt with logos of various sponsors. The other was a woman, in an elegant tailleur, with her blonde hair stuck in a tall, very formal hairstyle, wearing thick-framed glasses and a mask that covered her nose and mouth, as she occasionally coughed. The last one was pacing back and forth with a leather briefcase full of papers, stopping occasionally to chat with the racing driver.

"They met through Paolo, I think. This blonde worked here, she was kind of a maid, but she moved to the Caribbean. From what I heard from the gossip earlier, she passed a civil service exam to work at Lisander's embassy in a country there, and sort of became an envoy of the Vetinari group there. So it seems like Anneliese spends her vacation in the same country, so it was kind of a providential encounter. As you know, Anneliese also has modest origins, so it's understandable that they understand each other. They're two women who have won in life, in a way," the other reporter, who seemed to know more about the hosts, replied.

Anneliese Devereux walked to the stage as the big screen started to present a slideshow of different images. Vetinari logo, racing cars, photos of Anneliese in WGPC, and images of the AstyF1 Camden car. The selection seemed random at first, but as the WGPC driver started to explain, the idea was made clear on the minds of the invited people.

"It's an honour to welcome you here. I bet you're full of doubts about me, about my plans for the future, so I'll sum them up in one sentence: I'm on vacation until the next WGPC. Tonight, I'm just going to talk about Blueforce. The team that has been in AstyF2 for three seasons is now under new management. From now on, Camden Motorsport will be focusing on AstyF1, and Vetinari Group is launching a ambitious plan. Vetinari Group wants to reach WGPC and restore the rightful place of Lisander in the major motorsport category in the world."

Applause thundered in the room, after all, all of the invited people had something to do with motorsport. The attendance was plenty of F3 drivers, racing enthusiasts and financial big names.

The goal is big, and it's on its way already. With Blueforce joining the Vetinari group, which had already confirmed four cars in F3, the idea is to create an entire path, from F3, to two second-tier championships, then until the top classes of formula racing. In AstyF2, Arturia Nero and Lukas Horsch are still on their way to the premier class in Astyria, and they are doing very well, thank you. Our priority, from now on, is WGP2. We have a solid project, which, with all due respect, is the best among all. With solid results, Blueforce could even repeat what UrGa did and be promoted from WGP2 to WGPC. And it is to present this project that we invite all of you from the press to this presentation. We are open to welcoming partnerships in this new journey! Whether you want to drive for us or sponsor us, you can be sure this is a very good place to be.

The lights lowered and then the team presentation started.

Later that night

"You're amazing. Who knew you just had to watch me for a day as Laura, and you already seem to be more Laura than I am!" - Anneliese was having a big time. Her plan of dissociating her identity from Laura Werner had been a success, thanks to the actuation of Irina Oxburg-Monlevade, a somewhat famous model and her come-and-go fling.

And I just needed a mask, fake a cough and those horrible glasses. I saw holes in the ground all night with this crap. Now I'm having a horrible headache thanks to them. - the model herself was less pleased with the situation.

And I was counting on you to be my doublée gain. Won't you? Gee, and I was counting on it. Oh, come on... Please... For me... - The brunette looked at the blonde with the eyes of an abandoned puppy, but to no avail.

No way, honey. I can't be your backup girl. I don't care if you get another girl, that's not it. What I'm not going to do is act. I've said several times that I'm not an actress. Participating in that soup commercial was fun, and acting here, off the cuff, too... But from the moment I need to decorate more than two lines, I'm screwed. I'm not good at doing these things. - Said Irina, letting go of her hair and lying down on the couch. His phrase had slight romantic undertones, perhaps. The chemistry between the two was good, but there was something difficult about their relationship, something that ruled out the possibility of a more serious relationship. It could be their conflicting schedules and their very different careers. But at that moment it was just temperaments. Anneliese was very used to getting what she wanted, after all, she had been spoiled by her sponsors and partners. It had been like that with the younger Vetinari at TAS-Alliance, then with her sponsors at Eminent, and now with the older Vetinari, during her time as a "Special Consultant" at Blueforce.

Well... It is no use crying over spilt milk. But then, have you decided what we're going to do tonight? Vetinari said he will lend the plane if I needed it. If we go to Alice Bay crossing the International Date Line, we can enjoy this evening once again. - Anneliese said, with a silly smile. -

Sometimes you say some pretty clueless things, Liese. Time itself isn't going to come back, you know... It's just an arbitrary definition that makes us live the "same" Wednesday night twice. - Irina said, making quotation marks with her fingers.

" 'kay, you win." She smiled. "Forget the time, Let's just date".

START | 1,128 | NEXT

by **Kimi-Suomi** » Fri Sep 15, 2023 3:37 pm

Olavi Vile Ruusuvuori will send his interest to all WGP2 teams and will be available for any tests that may become available.

If he finds a seat, he will be supported by Team Arktinen and a number of Suomen sponsors.

An Interview with Olavi Vile Ruusuvuori
Kimi-Suomi's Next Big Thing?

From Karting to NSGP to AOCAR - if there is one driver the Kingdom of Kimi-Suomi has been captivated by, it's OVR - who has done so much despite only being 17 years old. Now, he is about to begin a new odyssey as he, with the support of KSAjK's Team Arktinen, will be trying to see which series works best for him - doing double duty as a WGP2 free agent and as an HMxArktinen driver in NSSCRA's 2nd Tier. As he prepares for this new journey and the quest for a new WGP2 team, a local journalist sat down with OVR to ask a few questions.

Q1) You've been through a lot over the past year, making history in NSGP and AOCAR. Looking back on that now, what could you take from those experiences into this year?
OVR: Well...I guess when I look back on those series, T4 and T3 I guess, I certainly did learn a lot about how international racing differs compared to what I had to deal with back home. It's a lot more varied and a lot more challenging to try and make a name for yourself out there. Even though I won races in both, I did feel like I was outclassed in some events and I'm not afraid to admit that - but I consider that to be a part of the learning process and I hope to use those experiences to whatever my future holds.

Q2) Speaking of the future, you're going to try and pull off something quite remarkable this year in taking on both WGP2 and NSSCRA T2 in the same season. What made you make this decision, if there was anything at all?
OVR: I knew that WGP2 could be an option for me, but I also knew that a certain Mr. Marx [Daniel Marx, HM Team Manager] was always going to be interested in a talent like myself. I knew that this decision was going to be a tough one, but TA wanted me to ensure that I knew which path was the best for me...and so, they suggested I try both out and see where the chips lie in the end. I know it will be stressful, but I'm hoping for clarity if nothing else.

Q3) Are you feeling the pressure...you know, from the fans? From people like me? How are you coping with it all?
OVR: Uh...well...yeah, It has been a bit stressful. Being in this spotlight doesn't come without its detractions and the pressure is certainly one of them. I know things will be tough, but i just have to fight through it - because once I make it, nothing can stop me from then on out. I know I can make it...all I need is that chance. I hope someone in the WGP2 will see that.

by **Rapaldegia Bagazis** » Sat Sep 16, 2023 12:14 am

"Älä jätä! Ole kiltti! Tulet loukkaantumaan siellä!"

"Pärjään äiti! Ole kiltti ja lopeta murehtiminen minusta!"

"Minun tehtäväni on huolehtia sinusta! Mitä jos kuolet??"

"Mother, please, let me go. I promise I'm not going to die."

"...just come back safe.."

Aatos Kivi, 23 years old, professional driver. I have just left my home, on to a new adventure! The racing world awaits me!

Anyways, i've been quite busy. Things have been, different lately. I've been hitting the gym, studying cars, driving more and more.. the usual. But I want to prove my worth, that I am not just another racer who is just... RACING! Y'know? I want to show the crowd that you can do anything, even if you fail or lose. Never give up. 2 years ago, my father left me a special watch, with the initials of my star racer, Andrew Williams! But, a couple of days after, he died.. My mother hasn't been doing well ever since then. That's the reason I haven't gotten a house yet, I want to take care of my dear ol' mother! My father, Umi Kivi, told me that I shalln't ever stop. I think of him every day, he was a real model to me, he is my motivation to keep going. Okay, let's stop getting into my past now, and get into the present!
I've been improving my driving skills, I am a pro driver whom no one knows about. But I will make sure everyone knows my name, at least 75% of the crowd, haha! I've been saving up to get a new car, which I finally got a week earlier! Unfortunately, 10 minutes ago, I just left home to travel to the first nearby racing track.

"Let's get this show on the road!"

Aatos would start speeding up his car, with country music in the background, traveling towards the large sun in front of him.

"I cannot wait to get drafted! I wonder whose team I will be on! Ohhhh! I hope the Nexus Racing Team chooses me! I would be a great fit on their team!"

Aatos would roll down his window, with the wind rapidly blowing onto his goddamned handsome face.

"YAHOOOOOO!! RACING HERE I COME!"

A few hours later, in Danotopia.

"Welcome to Danotopia Hotels! How may I help you?"

"Room for one person, please? 3 weeks total. The name is Aatos Kivi."

"And.... okay! Head over to R.92 Mr. Kivi! Have a nice night!"

"You too, thank you!"

Aatos would grab the keys from the hotel receptionist, and head over to his room.

A. Kivi would enter his room, and instantly lay down on his bed.

"OH MAN! OH HOW I MISSED THE COMFORT OF BLANKETS! MWAH MWAH!"

"...man I am tired. I think I should start writing inside of my journal... maybe get a plan for the future if I do get drafted.."

Aatos would gain the strength to get up from his bed, and sit down, with a notebook in his hands.

"My Racing Career, 9.16.23, Aatos Kivi."

'Closes book.'

"Time to sleep now, I'll go ahead and start driving all around the city and try finding the racing track while I am at it. For now... s l e e p!"

Aatos would then go to sleep for the night, he would begin his adventure in the new city of Dantopia, and so begins.... the story of Aatos Kivi.

This man is a very determined person, he doesn't give up that easily or oblige to any demands. His dream goal is to be part of the Nexus Racing team. They've had their share amount of wins, but that's where Andrew Williams was when he first joined racing.
Aatos loves racing, his parents were financially comfortable, but weren't rich. But they would do everything to get Aatos his racing future.
He wants to prove to the world, that if something so little can ruin everything, then don't let it bother you. Keep going, keep winning!
And if we are all being really honest, he might pick up some ladies tonight, if you know what I mean ;)

by **Recuecn** » Sat Sep 16, 2023 1:28 am

Vincent was daydreaming again. He pictured his perfect lair. It was dark and brooding, backlit only by a cascade of lava where the rear wall ought to be. A totally open floor plan; no furniture at all save a single, high-backed chair on a swivel in the center of the room. Its back, of course, would be toward the entrance so that when his minions timidly pushed the door open and peered in, he could, very slowly, spin around, building suspense until... They would make eye contact and he would fix them in his gaze, steepling his fingers and twiddling his thumbs--no even better, twirling his long red mustache while he murmured something foreboding. Maybe a classic "Well, well, well..."

"Monsieur Von Visp?" His assistant's voice dashed his reverie to pieces. No more henchmen and lairs, only secretaries and offices.

"Yes? Stop knocking, come in."

Vincent's assistant, Valérie, marched morosely up to his desk where she laid a thick pile of folders facing him. Valérie had the perfect aesthetic to be a villain's chief henchman, Vincent mused as he looked up at her. She was tall and impossibly thin with long black hair that reached her waist, and the perpetually inscrutable lack of emotion she wore on her face was matched only by her wonderful laconicism. Really everything you could want in a sidekick.

"You asked for research on the WGP2 teams this year," she reminded him, directing his attention back to the stack of documents on his desk. "The WGPO just announced the 14 teams that will be competing." Sure enough, Vincent saw around a dozen brightly colored index tabs sticking out of the different folders. "And I also took the liberty of compiling a dossier on some of the other free agents whom you may be competing with for a seat if you decide to go through with this." Valérie piled yet another folder on top of the stack.

"Firstly, I have decided to go through with this. You may stop speaking in hypotheticals. Secondly," Vincent paused and looked down at the immense amount of material Valérie had given him. He knew for a fact that it had only been an hour or two since the WGPO announcement, and this looked like months' worth of research. Valérie had done it again. "Thank you. Impeccable as always, Valérie."

"My pleasure." Valérie walked out without smiling and shut the door behind her.

Vincent stood and walked to the window to reflect for a moment before he dove into the dossiers. He gazed out at the Reçueçn skyline. Reçueçn city was known more for its medieval architecture and antique charm than for its skyline or any impressive skyscrapers, but his family's banking conglomerate did own offices at the top of the tallest towers in the city's modest business district. It was dark already, and late--a little past ten p.m.--and atop the hill at the center of the old city, the ancient castle that still housed the nation's government was brightly lit from below with floodlights. It stood brightly against the night sky with the flag flapping cheerily above. But in the other direction--northeast--only a few specks of light shone in the darkness. Vincent could just barely make out the looming massif of the Alps like a large shadow on the horizon blocking out the stars. He imagined that he could tell where family's chalet must be, perched on a cliff and looking down over the whole country.

That's where he had been, moping about and watching WGPC on TV, when he had had this tomfool idea. Stricken last summer by the ennui of being a young man with a massive fortune and nothing to do, he had taken to racing around the countryside in a beautiful old Magnier with the top down, tearing around blind corners and treacherous switchbacks at screaming speed and terrorizing anyone unlucky enough to be caught in his path. Between escapades, he would lounge in front of the television, mindlessly binging shows or flicking through sports channels. The channel he found himself coming back to was the WGPC broadcast. Watching the cars rocket down the track lit a fire beneath him, dispelling his malaise in a way nothing else could. He pictured himself behind the wheel, and his dangerous sprees in his car became more and more frequent. In the space of a couple weeks, he racked up thousands of guilders' worth of fines blazing past one speed camera in particular not far from the chalet. Money was no object for him, and he found a strange satisfaction in the adrenaline rush each time he broke the law, shifting lanes into oncoming traffic to fly past more responsible drivers slowing down for the speed trap.

At first, when he returned home to watch the WGPC races, it was as though he could still feel the wind in his hair. As he watched the drivers speed around the bends of Cocoabo Park Circuit, he pictured himself as one of them. WGP drivers were modern knights, steering their trusty steeds into battle each weekend. But as the season went on, he listened to the announcers weave their stories about the drivers--the underdogs, the champions--all of them heroes. The narratives built around the drivers and their teams glorified them in the same way he had, but it rubbed him entirely the wrong way. Despite all his family's achievements, no one had ever told the same glowing tales about them that they did about the WGPC roster. In fact, the more the Von Visps had accomplished and striven to get ahead, the more the public decried them, lambasting them for their "stolen fortune". His whole life, Vincent had never seen a favorable news story. He was constantly barraged by strangers online, haranguing him on the ethics of being a billionaire. No matter how he tried to get ahead, he was always made out to be the villain.

Meanwhile, simply because by some stroke of luck they had come into their success through a socially acceptable method, WGPC drivers were lauded wherever they went. Even those with a checkered past became protagonists in the eyes of the announcers, crossing the finish line to cheers and applause.

It made Vincent sick.

He knew that even if he were in their place, the treatment he would receive would be entirely different. His lot in life was to be the villain, a role assigned by society, a part he was destined to play no matter what path he took. As the WGPC season neared its end, his disenchantment had grown, and he began to watch less often. He tuned in for the finale, however, and watched bitterly as William Archer crossed the finish line in Vertress. It was Brendan Faloe who lifted the trophy for the driver's championship, but as the celebrations continued, the coverage began to turn to the runners-up. In interview after interview, drivers had expressed their contentment with their performance, or their hopeful outlook for the next season. There were disappointed faces, certainly, but no defeated ones. Every last driver saw themself as the protagonist.

Here in the present, the lights outside were beginning to be put out, and some cloud cover had moved in, blocking out the stars. The distant mountains were indistinguishable now. There was nothing outside the window but darkness and emptiness, the same nothing that had stared back at him that night after the WGPC championship when he had gone outside and reclined the seat of his convertible. He had stared up into the heartless sky, his heart just as empty. The resentment and melancholy welled up in him. Even turning the keys in the ignition seemed to require herculean effort--that last spark had been taken from him too.

Vincent clenched his jaw, his reflection in the dark window staring back at him with steely resolve as he remembered the moment the idea had come to him. He thought of the life it had breathed into him, the motivation it had given him--an endless ambition that had kept him occupied and energetic every moment since. With a start he had sat up, the plan formulating in his mind. Before he could remember how impossible merely starting the car had seemed just a moment ago, he had been hurtling down the road a hundred miles an hour, the pedal slammed to the floor. They wanted him to be a villain? He could be a villain. They were jealous of his money? He knew how to spend it. If the WGPC had been the domain of heroes and underdogs fo 20 years, that was about to change. This was his time, his day to seize. Nice guys finish last, so he was guaranteed to win.

Vincent returned to his desk, ready to look through the teams. He set aside for the moment the top dossier with files on some of the other free agents, but he noticed that Valérie had helpfully added yet more index tabs to some of the files, helpfully color-coded to match the team colors, to indicate which drivers had known affiliations and were likely to sign with a particular team.

The team whose file lay on top of the stack was Amica. New to the world of open-wheel racing, they were expanding from NSSCRA, where it seemed they'd recently had a disappointing season. Not promising, but it seemed unlikely that they would consider him anyhow. Most likely they would sign one of their own academy drivers, and then try to find another bright talent to get them off to a good start with the new WGP2 team. Vincent, on the other hand, was painfully aware that talent was not what he had going for him. In fact, unless some kind of miracle happened, he would almost certainly be buying a seat if he was going to make an appearance in the championship. He was fine with that, but it certainly wasn't a proposition that every team would look on favorably, and it didn't seem that Amica would be interested.

Next was Archer Performance. This was a smaller team looking to make their debut. Having fewer connections, perhaps they would be more likely to accept an offer for a seat. On the other hand, the lack of connections and history certainly made Vincent hesitate. One could never be sure whether or not they would see eye-to-eye with their engineer, their crew, and the rest of their team. Maybe they would share his vision, maybe not. But either way, even if Vincent were to wind up feuding with his team, it was still important to have support that would be reliable both technically and organizationally.

He continued to flip through the pile. Gajamina-Kartana had a long history, even if their last season of WGP2 had not been particularly brilliant. But experience was important, and the team had done this before. They too seemed likely to re-sign an incumbent driver, leaving only one seat available. Vincent wondered how stiff the competition would be. A quick glance at the free agents dossier seemed to hint that the number of hopefuls lined up fairly well with the number of available spots, meaning competition might not be too fierce. But on the other hand, not all teams were created equal, and certainly the fighting would be fiercer for some seats than others. Vincent wondered where Gajamina-Kartana fell on that spectrum.

HMG's file indicated that perhaps they would struggle more than other teams to catch the eye of a free agent. Valérie's notes hinted that the team's official registration with the WGPO had been rushed and behind schedule, and that the team culture centered more on humor and bravado than seriousness or dedication. Another team with little experience. Vincent raised an eyebrow. Certainly an interesting option.

JMoD Racing, the next team, gave a much more serious appearance--and little surprise, for a team that had originated by its nation's military. There was certainly plenty of overlap with the defense sector in the world of automotive engineering; that was par for the course. It seemed that the Jonjastani Ministry of Defense already had a partnership with a wealthy benefactor however, so perhaps they were not in the market for another. And Vincent questioned whether he would get along well with military types anyway.

If anything could be further from a military experience than "MeowMeow Racing", Vincent couldn't imagine what it would be. The Valentinians, towering blue giants, were utterly foreign to him, but their energy and excitement for everything they took part in came through loud and clear. Honestly, Vincent just couldn't picture driving for them. He couldn't imagine a universe in which these lovable giants wanted to hire his skeptical ass, and he didn't think that throwing his millions at them would solve that problem. Perhaps it was good that they finally were going to have a team in the WGP2. They could stand to learn a few tough lessons about life in the real world. He turned the page over.

As he saw the name of the next team, Vincent sucked in his breath. Nexus Racing. Certainly the most prestigious name on the list, the one with the most name recognition and star power, not to mention technological innovation. Secure a WGP2 contract with them, and you were a shoo-in for next WGPC season--certainly someone would hire you. Interestingly enough, like JMoD, they too, had begun life as a military project, but they had come far since then. Valérie's notes emphasized the team culture only briefly, but Vincent already associated them with some sort of powerful hope--in their technology maybe; in their innovation; in something more and bigger, he didn't know--but there was something philosophical about their outlook, something transcendent almost. More than any other team in the competition, Vincent would love to seem them humbled, brought down to the same earth the rest of humanity was forced to abide on, but how exactly he could make that happen, he had no idea. The thought crossed his mind that if he could snag a seat on the team, by sheer power of personality and defiance of their ideals, any race victory of his must show them how hollow their ideas were. But the odds of that happening were infinitesimal. Most likely he would have to take them down from the outside, driving under another flag... but he could dream. He certainly must make sure that his PR was as good as it could be throughout this signing period, and never breathe a word of his true intentions to any of the team leaders. He could be likable enough when he liked--he was certainly very charismatic--and with his money behind him many things were possible. Maybe later he would send Nexus a letter...

He put the thought from his head and turned to the next page. Orange Cow Racing was another big name. The organization had multiple WGP2 seasons under their belt at this point, and most appealingly, they were the reigning champions. Batu Tüvshinbayar had moved on to the WGPC, but a solid foundation had certainly been built. A driver for the constructor's title defenders was certainly as good as one could hope for. A couple of their past drivers, however, had thrown their hats into the ring as free agents, so competition would most likely be tough. Vincent wondered what their financial status was like at the moment. Maybe an offer of monetary support could help his case...

There were no doubts about the next team's finances. Valérie's research on Pressley-Kim was quite detailed and Vincent wondered how she had gotten her information. But it appeared that the team had recently found itself in quite the hole--a situation that would have been perfect, had not someone else already generously pulled them out of it. The hyphenated team name was a clear sign of a wealthy benefactor who had no qualms about subtlety, and Vincent guessed that his guilders would not be necessary. Of course, there must be some way to arrange a test drive for one or another of these teams and try to get in on skill, but Vincent wasn't sure that putting his driving ability on display would help his case.

Ah, here was something promising. Team Blueforce had apparently put out a statement welcoming "foreign investment." Valérie had included a clipping, and the statement was brief and vague, but it held promise. Although the name "Blueforce" was new, the organization had ties through the Vetinari family to the successful Lisanderian WGPC team TAS-Alliance. Vincent was sure that his understanding of the statement from Blueforce was certainly affected by translation from Portuguese and the unique culture of the principality, but he didn't know if this would be an issue were he to manage to sign with the team. Communication, Vincent knew, was obviously essential for a team to function well and be on the same page, but maybe, even in the long run, he wanted to keep his cards close to his chest anyway. He wasn't sure yet. Probably worth having Valérie look into reaching out about the "foreign investment" statement... Vincent moved on.

The pile was much smaller now. Only a few teams remained. Chief among them was certainly the next file, Tropicorp VilBev GP2. The WGP2 team for the multiversally-recognized Tropicorp conglomerate, the name Tropicorp certainly carried connotations of engineering prowess, experience (both in WGP2 and other competitions, from formula racing to stockcar and beyond), and dependability. They were another big fish in the pond; definitely an appealing option as a potential team, but most likely an equally difficult one to secure.

Beneath Tropicorp was the file on Urotovsky-Gatutin. Vincent felt a little deja vu. The complicated, hyphenated team name reminded him of Gajamina-Kartana. Like JMod and Nexus, the team had military roots. Like Archer Racing, they had begun life as a machine shop. Like many of the other WGP2 teams, UrGa had been around for a couple seasons now, and like Orange Cow Racing, they were currently titleholders--although for the much more prestigious WGPC. The last detail alone kept Vincent's attention. Certainly it would be worth looking into a contract if it were a possibility, but maybe the recent deal with the sultanate didn't leave room for another billionaire... even one who merely wanted a spot on the team.

The last competitive entry was VSK-Maarukanna Racing, another consonant-rich Eastern-European-sounding name. Valérie had scribbled a note in the margins that the only other Reçuecian to ever compete in the WGP, Abdoulaye Goita, had driven for Schescka-VSK Viska racing. But looking at the rest of the dossier, Vincent wasn't sure that she had her facts straight or that this was even the same team. The WGPC team, he knew from watching season 20, was just "Viska" now, and the file said that VSK were their rivals, but it wasn't clear if it meant on the racetrack or merely in the commercial space as two automotive companies. He couldn't fault Valérie for making a mistake somewhere, after all, the sheer amount of information in these dossiers, gathered in such a short time, was outstanding. And either way, VSK certainly had what it took to be a threat for the title. Another strong possibility for sure...

And finally, below all the other documents, was a brief sheet covering the WGP2 Motorworks team. A perennial presence, but one without a strong culture or history, at least that Valérie had bothered to mention. They would certainly let Vincent have a seat if nothing else worked out, but it wouldn't be ideal. The other options all offered more potential, both in terms of support throughout the season, and as a starting base for him to build his campaign against the ridiculous heroic narratives of the WGP.

And that was it. Fourteen teams, fourteen options. Surely Valérie had made at least a couple other mistakes, but that was fine. Vincent sighed and reconstructed the stack of folders on a neat pile. It was late, and he would have plenty of time to make a decision. For tonight, just looking at the different choices available was enough to get his mind reeling with the possibilities. He could feel the energy percolating in his core. His ulterior goal still provided all the drive and energy he needed to work on this. But what he realized now, as the arrival of the negotiation period heralded the imminent start of the season, was that beyond just the ambition he felt to follow through with his plan, his overwhelming feeling was one of excitement. It was not an emotion he had expected of himself. He'd been convinced that his cool skepticism would prevail, even as he began to take personal involvement in putting his plan into motion, but here he was on the cusp of a new season of racing, for the first time about to participate in it himself, and doggone it, he was thrilled! He smiled to himself as once again he twirled his finger in his mustache. Crushing dreams was going to be so much fun.

by **Tumbra** » Sat Sep 16, 2023 9:41 am

Pressley-Kim Racing offers a trial for one (1) seat to the following drivers: Nini Johnsilvaturr, Bruno Belgrano, Antonin Yeats Durand, Shalmaneser Kalhu, Pietro Crespi, Isabelle Lafleur. More details of the trial will be revealed after a while.
Pressley-Kim Racing chooses Kaylan as their engine supplier.
Pressley-Kim Racing chooses Tread as their tyre supplier.

"And I'm saying we break the deal off with Kaylan. Their engines are —", the man at the table said, rufflling through a stack of papers full of telemetry, "— underpowered."

"We have a long-term technical deal with Kaylan, Mr. Kim. Those relationships, once broken, are not easy to rebuild."

"It's not a relationship I want if they're constantly underperforming. You understand. There is no value in a bad deal. Now Preston! Those are winners."

"So who would your alternative be, Mr. Kim?" the team principal of Pressley Racing's WGP2 effort, Kelly Doënowitz, sighed. She was sitting in the seat opposite the multi-billionaire, but she looked more like a woman cowering in fear that her job was in danger more than anything else. To be clear, it was; Thomas Kim now had 35% ownership over the team, and had negotiated his way into having control over the WGP2 effort. Which, he'd assured Charlie Pressley, would be a walk in the park. After all, he'd created a tech empire at the age of 35 — how difficult could running a racing team be?

"Preston, of course."

"Preston are the preferred supplier of, from the intelligence I'm hearing, almost everyone bar those providing their own engines. It's not official yet, either, but there are concrete rumours that they'll be declared the stock engine supplier this season. So they'll be stretched very thin; and we prioritise the factory relationship we have with Kaylan. They're not entering a team this year; this means that we'll get first dibs on all upgrades, and they'll be with us throughout the season to offer their full support."

"And what's the point if our car is so hopelessly slow? Their engine wasn't exactly the most powerful. Poor Yannec kept complaining that the engine was down on power."

"The car is also built to suit the size and shape of the Kaylan engine. Mr. Kim, I feel like for our first WGP2 attempt, we really shouldn't rock the boat. We might need the Kaylan powertrain along the line, even if their engine was a bit disappointing last season."

"No plans for in-house engines?"

"Not enough capital, not enough manpower. It'd also take quite a bit of lead time. We don't have the...state-sanctioned resources of teams like Urotovsky-Gatutin, nor the otherworldly tech of Nexus."

"Not even from Rochester or Hunter?"

"They would never let their secrets come to us."

"We could engage in a little corporate espionage."

"With who?"

"Yes."

"With all due respect, Mr. Kim, Pressley are not about to engage in illegal activities."

"Illegal, shmillegal, Kelly, who gives a shit? You gotta do what you gotta do to win. Survival of the fittest. And if it means stealing some of that blue cow milk from Nexus or whatever to give ourselves a little extra boost, who knows? Their cars...are the future."

"Also wildly expensive, have the turning circle of a truck, and make half the grid worry about whether the place will turn into a nuclear hellhole for the next thirty years every time one powers on. Mr. Kim, we've got the technology we've got, so...we can stick to it."

"Uh-uh-uh. I'm an innovator, a disruptor. I innovate, I disrupt."

You're also a major fucking asshole.

"But I guess we're limited by the technology of our time. So, Kelly, let's make a deal."

"We're on the same side," said Kelly with a hint of exasperation.

"You get to pick the engine," the billionaire said, self-satisfied smirk on his face, completely ignoring the team principal.

"And?"

"I get to pick both drivers," he said with a flourish.

"Have you looked through the dossiers I gave you?" Kelly asked, somewhat more exasperatedly.

"I like them. I like the Kalhu guy. He's got experience. I think he can be a winner."

"So is he your pick?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I haven't seen him drive. Listen, Kelly, you've done a great job with these dossiers, it's just — y'know, these people are young —"

"There's a 37 year-old and a 32 year-old on the field this season if you're interested."

"— No, fuck no, I don't want them near here. This team needs to be oozing youth, zestiness, sex appeal, you know? I wanna see what they're like. Interview them, as you know. And then I have the final decision on these five names you've given me. And then I make my captain's pick."

"And will your captain's pick be from amongst these, or..."

"Shh. Don't ask me. I haven't decided. But is that a deal?"

"...Fine."

"Let me warn you, however, that if Kaylan's engines aren't up to snuff again this season, I'm taking executive charge."

"Fine."

"What about the tyres? We going with Tropicorp?"

"Actually, we're choosing to go with a new supplier. Dantopian."

"That Tread company? Why them? Was this run past me?"

"You missed the date for replies..."

"From now on the deadline for comments on any proposal is after I reply. I'm bankrolling this operation, I get the final say." Thomas Kim's eyes narrowed, betraying his anger.

"Understood."

"But I am to understand it is a similar, ah, factory-esque relationship?"

"That remains to be seen as to who else signs Tread as a tyre supplier. But as first movers, we've got an advantage; we'll be able to build our relationship with them up early, and all that."

"Fine."

"Is that all, Mr. Kim?"

"Yes," he said, dismissing the team principal with a wave of his finger. Evidently, he was still annoyed. "You may go. Just invite the drivers from your dossier to a test session at whatever circuit you like. Grantfeldt, Thornton...whatever. And then they get to have an interview with me."

"Will do."

by **Valentine Z** » Sat Sep 16, 2023 11:59 am

Part 1 – Initiation.

Intelligence Officer Jenny Claudia Joy Lena Linette “Sombra De Kenshutsu Sa Renai Hakkā” Marce Tanya Mayweather Ik. D. Do. S. Morishita Whitney Sakurano Fujima Felice Hoshiko Radiance entered the meeting room with a glee and a smile on her face, while carrying a few stack of papers, a folder, and more importantly, her computer. "After trying for a few seasons, we did it, guys!" she started off, neatly organizing her things onto the table as her eyes scanned quickly around the room, making sure that everyone – from the important leads and managers to the everyday staff and the custodians – were around and present in the room. Confirming that, she was ready to get down to business and talk about the good news. "Well, we made it in! MeowMeow Racing is now officially in WGP2 6, after a season or two of trying!" Many cheers and jubilations were had along the way, with Jenny adding on and giving more remarks and comments, "And it's all thanks to you wonderful folks for trying as well, of course! We really could not have done it without you all and all that good and cheesy but heartwarming stuff, of course, hehe."

"Now, as we have established, calling ourselves a family is such an old-school thing, and you know what, that does not work and it's in fact a bit too clichéd, and reeks of boring business. I believe that we can go above that, and in fact, consider ourselves literally as a sports team; everyone plays a part, for each of you are important. Though, of course, while I am not that cruel to fire anyone on the spot, you will all have to play your part and contribute as much as you possibly can, all right?" Nods and mummers of agreement, and then it was time to really get down to business, Jenny quickly adjusting her necktie, "This tie is a bit of a choker, but hey, got to look good on the screen and for the promotional material! Good, ahh, anyway, we will try to do the tryouts as fast as possible and get the two drivers in. I am aware that we have the engines, tires, and cars of our own, but of course, we are going to get the engines from Preston Autos, right?" the staff agreed, pulling up the email that Jenny has sent (and CC'ed to the rest of the staff) to the guys at Preston. "Ahh, yes. There it is," she started off, "So, since we did not get to use them in the previous season – on the ground that we were not there, agreement should stay the same, right?" many nods but they were still uncertain. "That's all right, I will send an email to them again. We got the engine down, good."

"The next agenda is that, well, the course made it in too! I mean, yes, we can celebrate and all that, I am still completely happy with it. Though, of course, do note that it is only for a Pre-Season Test, and it won't be in the official race schedule," Jenny paused for a while before continuing on, "What I feel and can suggest as the head of the team, is that we can sponsor the Pre-Season, there's nothing stopping us and everyone else is fine with it. We can run the show and provide a lot of helpful data not just for our team's drivers but for everyone that used the course. We can, of course, from my own pocket, even provide a little incentive and a prize for the person who managed to get the fastest time and "won" in the Pre-Season Race, so to speak. Jenny and the team then ran through a few more documents and the checklist that they need to finish, including a tire supplier. "Ahh, another one. Well, there are quite a lot of choices, so we shall discuss that now," and so they did for the next 40 minutes. "If we are going to go with Preston Autos, we have what I believe are the good options to complement our car and the engine. Either Tropicorp Racing Supply, ChaosChouc, or Gajamina." "I do think of Tropicorp, maybe it will work for us. I mean, quite a big name too, no offense to the rest, of course." "Okay I think we can go with that." "Other names are okay."

With the discussion being set, and everything having been finalized and confirmed, MeowMeow Racing has confirmed and are ready to run Preston Autos' engine, and Tropicorp Tires, once they get the green light from both.

3rd Sgt. Tracie Valentina Kat Pauline Sarah Harper Aceline R. Alexi “Merisotilas” Susanna Casey Caylee Rowan Jemina E. Kyllikki Terhikki Annie Elliah Sam. Ilmatar Hyvärinen Lindholm Heinon was at her home, giving her power armour a quick wipe and deep cleaning on some parts of it. She was not that much of a fan towards form-fitting jumpsuits alone, so with another suit on top of it, she would feel right at home. The non-sequitur aside, Tracie was packing a few days' worth of her clothes, her personal devices, and more importantly, rechargeable portal projectors that she was planning to use in case of quick travels back to Valentine Z. "Well, seems set," she thought to herself. With no one else living in her home, she closed the door behind her, not opting to lock it from the outside with the trust towards her subordinates. It was a quiet and breezy 7 AM in the morning, the Valentian Southeast Asian island she was living on soon bustling with activity from the Valentian Armed Forces doing their usual training all over the island. Tracie looked at them with a satisfied nod, then heading over to the portal that would take her to the nearby international airport. "I have put in a few months' worth of leave, as per your approvals – Field Marshal Jacob Dalston Sulli. Mészáros Barnabás and Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Maxwell Constantine. I will be participating in the sixth season of WGP2 (Formula Two) racing and with luck, I should be able to get in and maybe get something out of it. If there is anything that you would need my attention, please don't hesitate to contact me directly, or the persons that I have put in charge with," her email reads, and with that, she was off and away, arriving at the newly established and opened Peacock Heart of Valentine Z, in awe at the pristine nature of it all, unused.

Spoiled for choices, Tracie started to look at the teams – both the names, the country of origin, and more importantly, their backstory and bio. After all, this is not Tracie's first rodeo into the world of international motorsports, and even if the experience of being a crew chief for a NSSCRA driver does not exactly translate 1:1 into Formula Two racing, Tracie knew some ins and outs of the whole business – on the dynamics between the team and the drivers, for instance. "I will probably get a trainer attached to me, and then the car and the tryout," Tracie thought to herself, looking through the teams, "Well, maybe I will start off with a few of them. Not all of them, I'll sound desperate." A few of the teams definitely have had visions or attitude that Tracie feels that she can fit into. The others, on the other hand, while she appreciates them all at the end of it, she was not sure as to what would they think of her as a newcomer. Still, it would not matter as much in the long run, she smirked. Others like Adriana and Angela have had teams that they could work with nicely. Perhaps it's time to show what a relatively aggressive Valentian can do? Aggressive not in terms of attitude, for Tracie knows when someone is her friend, or a foe, or just someone being throwing a bit of snark (which she would gladly throw back all in good fun). No, for Tracie – as someone who handles a car and pushes it to its limit, while also knowing about the technical know-hows for the most parts. "The team, I will be nice to them, of course. I will, however, probably need a car that can handle me to whatever I do."

Looking through the names, Tracie Valentina Kat S H Harper Lindholm has picked and contacted the following teams for interest and tryouts: HMG Grand Prix, Nexus Racing, Team Blueforce, and Orange Cow Racing GP2.

by **Fifth harmony harmoniser nation** » Sat Sep 16, 2023 12:35 pm

“Did Johnsilvaturr respond to our email? Her tardiness is getting on my nerves.”

“Look at your phone, she just sent in a reply.”

“Oh?”

Naganomiya Kokomiya, the team principal of JMoD Racing was at a quiet cafe with Oliveiro Hye, the head of JMoD’s car development team. The team had already signed Tati Bungschen, the daughter of the second-largest stakeholder in the team, as their first driver – no, definitely no nepotism there – and had sent another offer to Tati’s compatriot and bestie Nini to be their second driver. For whatever reason, however, Nini hadn’t been replying to their emails they’d sent the past few days. Did their emails go into her spam folder? Thankfully, though, Nini managed to respond to them before Kokomiya got impatient enough to retract the offer. However, her response seemed to be as useful as not replying at all.

“She… rejected us,” Franz groaned, “There goes that livery idea.”

“She did?! Aren’t Tati and Nini best friends though?” Oliveira quipped, shocked at Nini’s rejection.

“According to Franz they both had a falling out the day we sent the email. Maybe that influenced her decision,” Kokomiya told him, trying not to betray the disappointment in her voice.

“Ah… but it still doesn’t make sense from her point of view. Why reject a guaranteed seat and a familiar environment? And over an argument? Bratz sure are reactionary,” Oliveira mused, “Does she say why though?”

“She apparently has other teams interested in her… Well, I can’t really blame her for choosing more established teams than us.”

“Really? She must have made a name for herself, fucking around to god knows where. Drat… and there aren’t any other Jonjos interested in the series…” Oliveira mourned. JMoD’s whole shtick was to race under a Jonjastani flag with a fully Jonjastani line-up, engine, chassis, everything. However, their announcement to join the WGP2 series came at very short notice, and their engine supplier… Well, Jonjastan never had any car brands interested in making racing engines so homegrown ones weren’t even an option to begin with.

“If all comes to naught, I guess we’ll have to rely on a foreign driver to finish our lineup. By the way Oli, how’s things going about that engine supplier search? And tyres, too.” Kokomiya enquired.

"We have good news. Uru-Urotovsk... Urutovskye? What? Forget that. UrGa for short has agreed to become our engine supplier for the season. They seem to have a good track record, having won the latest WGPC season for constructors," Oliveira relayed the information to Kokomiya.

"I'm pretty sure that season they weren't running their own engine though...?" Kokomiya retorted hesitantly, "Sure, they might have won the championship but it's not like we're running their car. Besides, they've never ran their own engine before from what I've heard"

"You're probably worrying too much. Their engine should give us the horsepower we need to tower down the straights, which compliments the design of our chassis. I mean, it's not like they're some inexperienced team. The fact that they've won things seems to be promising," Oliveira tried to sugarcoat his words, but it didn't help hide some of his doubts as well. As much as UrGa had prestige in the motorsports world, it didn't hide the fact that their engine was untested.

"I mean, the papers have been signed and we can't rescind our offer. Let's just hope this isn't a decision we'll regret," Kokomiya said slightly defeatedly, "Anyways, what about the tyres?"

"We've gotten Tropicorp on board for that. Don't really think there were better options than them," Oliveira said with much more confidence, which inadvertently brought some relief to Kokomiya.

"Well, I'll take your word for it," Kokomiya mused with a smile, "Anyways, we should probably talk drivers. From what I know two drivers have already signed to teams, just like Tati."

"Hmm... speaking of drivers, I was wondering if we could do an open test," Oliveira admitted, "It's a good idea to gauge how many of them are interested in us."

"Right. Perhaps we could send a mass email? That should do the trick— oh!" Kokomiya was about to complete her sentence when she felt an arm on her shoulder. Looking to her right, she saw the towering figure of Franz Bungschen, Tati's father and the owner of one of JMoD's main sponsors.

"Didn't think I'd meet you in this corner of town!" Franz exclaimed exuberantly, prompting most people in the cafe to look at the trio, much to Kokomiya's chagrin. She never really liked him, and it was definitely not because he parachuted his daughter with little motorsports experience other than karting into the first driver's seat, no! He just looked so... intimidating. Bullish, if you will. Have you seen him? Everything about him screamed domineering: his chiseled body, wavy brown hair, his dark blue orbs... or maybe his business casual fit he'd wear every. Single. Time. White button up, black pants, that's it. Someone tell him to get a new shirt though, his current one is way too tight... a sign of a very stubborn and unrelenting businessman who would try to hook up with the married office lady he finds cute despite being married himself. Surprisingly or not, his personality was quite friendly — too friendly, even. He seemed the type who would happily and obliviously be drinking buddies with a criminal kingpin because he was offered a nice pint for free. His excessive kindness and gratitude towards everything you do made it feel like he was trying real hard to pretend he liked you, but then you realise he's actually genuine and now you feel guilty about how shitty of a person you are.

Nope. Kokomiya never liked him. She could tolerate him, though.

"Franz... never knew you liked gelato as well, heh..." Kokomiya tried to exude a tone of friendliness in her voice but it came off more as hesitance.

"Of course I'd be here! The gelato here is the bomb!" Franz exclaimed very, very loudly, perhaps in a bid to make himself heard. A whoop of happiness could be heard form within the kitchen and everybody clapped.

"Anyways, what're y'all up to, huh? Trying to force Nini in?" he tried to joke, but was met by the blank stares of Kokomiya and Oliveira, "... I mean, I jest, of course!"

Oliveira heaved a sigh.

"We're looking for drivers apart from Danielle," Oliveira replied with the faintest of annoyance in his words. He didn't like Franz that much either. It was because he didn't like nepotism. He continued, "Ms Naganomiya and I were planning on hosting an open trial. Interested drivers can apply for it, then we let them driver around the circuit in one of our prototype cars, you know, that sort of thing."

Now, Franz himself wasn't a racer by any means, nor was he motorsports inclined at all. He was more into the social side of things: social media, PR, that stuff. It comes to no surprise, then, that he would very much want a driver who could become an internet personality. You know, so that they can become an influencer if their racing career goes to shit.

"May I suggest one addition?" Franz proposed, inciting raised eyebrows from Kokomiya and Oliveira, "We should have a media segment as well, before and after the trial. Oh, we can make them do all sorts of things! Funny challenges, fake interviews, anything that can let out the charisma and charm in the drivers!"

He was met with silence.

"Ahem, think about it this way: what do people want to see? An exceedingly talented driver with a personality akin to a piece of cardboard, or a mediocre driver with an amazing, fun, enchanting aura that everyone likes?" Franz added persuasively, trying to convince the two. The two in question, however, were pretty sure most people would choose the former. It seemed like living a life of fame and attention got to Franz's head. Who wouldn't want a driver with exceptional skill in their team? Franz, probably.

"Franz, we really appreciate your suggestion, but really, I think a media segment would be too—" Kokomiya wanted to politely shoot down Franz's idea, but he decided to remind them of a little something.

"You know, I could just as easily withdraw my sponsorship for the team, leaving you guys with no resources, no team base, no factory. It's not like the Ministry of Defense can or will do anything, hmm?" he snarled menacingly. Oliveira felt goosebumps across his whole body. Kokomiya tensed up at his sudden tone change. The both of them knew he was right: Bungschen Bombs did provide most of their facilities to the team. JMoD was connected to the Ministry of Defense by name only. The Ministry had almost zero participation in the team's running, other than to veto or approve decisions during meetings.

Kokomiya and Oliveira looked at each other with slight despair. Alright, maybe they should hold a media segment for the trials. Maybe they should subject drivers to sit through sessions of arduous media work none of them signed up for at the first place.

"We'll get to it."

From: naganomiya_kokomiya@jmodracing.caratmail.com

To: All WGP2 6 Free Agents

Subject: JMoD Racing Open Trial

To all interested drivers

The Jonjastani Ministry of Defense Racing Team — Sponsored by the Bungschen Family and Labra Rubea: Red Lip, also known by JMoD Racing, will be hosting an open trial for the team's second driver seat for the upcoming WGP2 6 season. The trial will consist of two segments: a racing segment, and a media segment. It will be held at the Fromisian Grand Circuit, Caratland. Accommodation will be provided, and any travel expenses will be fully subsidised by the team. The grand prix layout will be used for the trial.

The racing segment will be split into two parts: a qualifying run and a short race. Drivers will be given the time to acclimatise to the circuit before the qualifying run. The qualifying run will be held in a one-shot format. The race will be 15 laps long. Pit stops are only permitted if the car's front wing is significantly damaged, or if it has a punctured tyre. No pitting for fresh tyres is allowed. Drivers will use the JMD01 v0.0 chassis with a Urotovsky-Gatutin engine and Tropicorp Racing Supply tyres.

The media segment will have drivers take part in several social media challenges, film several Mysiktrakt* videos, and an interview with the Caratworld magazine. This will take place one day before the racing segment. Drivers will be filmed throughout the entirety of the segment.

We hope that you will be able to attend the trial. We wish all drivers the best.

Have a great day ahead.

Yours faithfully

Naganomiya Kokomiya
Team Principal of JMoD Racing

What has Tati ever done for you?

She was never a good friend anyway.

You deserve better.

Those were the mantras Nini kept on repeating in her head. Tati was a bad friend. She would make fun of Nini, degrade her, and insult the people she held dear. Nini was convinced that leaving Tati was for the best. Or was it?

As much as Nini wanted to have nothing to do with Tati, she couldn't help but feel a little guilt. Was she too harsh with Tati? No way. In fact, Nini reckoned she should've just straight up ended the friendship at that point, but why didn't she? Why was she so afraid of letting go?

The days Nini spent in her house doing nothing had her think about her "friendship" with Tati. It was as if she had two sides in her mind. One of the sides was advocating for Tati's excommunication, but the other side, however, felt a little more sympathy towards Tati.

"She called you a Bratz bitch because you didn't want to follow her to the haunted house."

"She was the one who defended you from those bullies at that restaurant."

"She made fun of you for looking like a doll."

"She'd always praise you and how you looked, even if you really thought you looked horrible."

"She only uses you as her emotional support. She only treats you nicely whenever she wants something for you."

"How many times have you gone over to Tati's crying over something? How many of those times has she ever turned you away?"

The back-and-forth in her mind made Nini go crazy. Tati was a saint. Tati was a demon. Tati was someone she trusted dearly enough to confide everything to her. Tati was someone whom she hid her secrets from because she didn't want to be judged. Tati this, Tati that. Nini was having a Tati brainrot, and it wasn't of the good kind.

"Fucking hell! I can't stop thinking about her!" Nini screamed into her pillow as she plomped onto her bed in annoyance. She wasn't even sure why Tati constantly appeared in her mind. Tati was the first thing she thought about when she woke up. Tati was the only thing she was worried about the whole morning. Fuck, she even appeared in Nini's dreams!

All of it was exhausting. Nini wanted to sleep and she'd only woken up from her afternoon nap.

"Should I just... text her? I've been ignoring her though," Nini thought to herself. She knew that Tati had texted her, saying she was very sorry or whatever. Nini didn't buy it. Nini didn't even want to look at her messaging app. Still, she managed to muster the energy to do so and entered Tati's chat. She scrolled through all of their messages they'd sent. Suddenly, all of the memories started flooding back Nini's mind. That ice cream shop they'd always buy from... their elusive clubhouse they'd hang out at after school... that prom night when Tati and Nina had no one so they danced with each other... as she continued reading the messages, she noticed all their little conversations, little arguments they'd have. Oh, there was the one where Tati said Nini "was a shitty cook because all Bratz are". Nini'd cried herself to sleep because of that. Nini read through all the shitty stuff Tati had said about her.

"Wow, Tati really said all of that?" she wondered to herself. However, in looking through their arguments, Nini also realised that she herself wasn't any better. Whenever they got into a text fight, Nini would be the one hurling vulgarities and insults at Tati. Tati never really said much, but Nini remembered that one time their argument got so intense Nini mindlessly cursed Tati out using the vilest words she'd ever uttered. After they argued, Nini remembered Tati seeming gloomier and more reserved than usual, but Tati would pretend it wasn't the case. Then Nini started to remember all of the times that had happened and came to a conclusion.

Nini was a hypocrite.

She did everything she blasted Tati for that day. She never knew how much Tati hurt every time she'd call her a bitch, but she realised that her words hit harder than she realised. How many times did Tati have to endure Nini's venomous lexicon and still be so sincere in her praise for her? A pang of guilt hit Nini.

Nini wanted to cry. She did. Tears ran down her cheeks as she continued reading on what she'd sent to Tati, what she'd insulted her with.

"You're not worth shit."

"Ever wondered why you don't have many friends? Look in the mirror."

"Go back to being an internet—"

Suddenly Nini didn't want to read anymore.

She thought of her outburst that day.

"You never cared."

Those words she'd spoken to Tati then suddenly felt way more ironic.

Tati hates her now, doesn't she? There was no one she didn't, not after what Nini said to her. Nini scrolled down to the latest messages Tati had sent.

"I'm really sorry for everything I said." Upon reading that message, Nini could not help but break down even more. Was she always this guilt-tripping monster? To make Tati think that she was the devil in their friendship... Overwhelmed with remorse for what she'd said, Nini resigned to the consequences. Tati probably hates her for not responding to her. Tati probably hates her for not listening to her point of view. Tati probably hates her for being too self-righteous.

There was no reconciliation, was there?

It wasn't as if Nini had the metaphorical balls to reply to a 5-day-old message she'd seen way earlier. That'd just be comical and humiliating for her. To come clawing back, asking for forgiveness after all she'd said and done was nothing but an insult to Tati, or at least that was what Nini thought.

"I should probably just let her go. If Tati hates me then so be it. It's my fault anyway..." Nini thought. She put down her phone, and was about to fall asleep when she heard another notification. Her heart stopped for a second. Was it Tati? She opened her phone, and she immediately realised it wasn't. It was an email from Pressley-Kim Racing, offering her a trial to become their driver.

Fuck, Nini forgot about the whole WGP2 thing. She couldn't be arsed to respond to it immediately, however, and decided to make herself a reminder to accept their offer. As she lay down on her bed, her tears soaked her pillows as she sobbed her way into another reverie...

OOC Notes
Mysiktrakt is Jonjastan's equivalent to TikTok.
UrGa will be JMoD Racing's engine supplier.
Tropicorp Racing Supply will be JMoD Racing's tyre supplier.
Nini Johnsilvaturr accepts Pressley-Kim's offer.

by **Patriotlandia** » Sat Sep 16, 2023 1:36 pm

Archer Performance will use ChaosChouc tires.
Archer Performance signs Pierre-Louis Archer as driver.
Archer Performance offers a driving test to Antonin Yeats Durand, Olavi Vile Ruusuvuori and Luke Ochoa for the remaining seat.
Isabelle Lafleur accepts the invitations to Amica Racing Team and Pressley-Kim Racing driver tests.
---

Just a few days before the Archer Performance WGP2 program is announced to the public, administrative assistant Raphaëlle Toussaint is putting the final touches on a few contracts. First up was finalize the contract for Pierre-Louis, the owner's son. While they have been accused of nepotism in the past Pierre-Louis has shown great promise in all his motorsports experiences, rebutting critics' claims with results.

"Hi Pierre, please. Take a seat"

"Here we are again. Where do I sign this time?"

"This will take a bit longer as WGP regulation add a bit more paperwork. Going international did not make my job any easier." She says as she pull out an impressively thick folder out of drawer.

"I need to sign all that?" Pierre-Louis exclaims.

"No silly, just a few pages, but most of this is going to be your bedside reading until the first event."

"Ugh.. The things I do to race cars."

"Also you are going to need to free up your evening next Friday for the reveal. We need all drivers and team managers for the big PR event."

"Really?!? On Friday? I told dad I wanted to go to this end of off season party. I swear the old man doesn't want me to do anything but race."

"Hey, I'm not here to deal in family quarrels!"

"Sorry, ma'am. Here, all signed up"

"Thank you, and don't forget. Friday."

Next item on the list was securing an engine manufacturer.

From: raphaëlle.toussaint@archerperformance.rp
To: VSK Motors
Subject: Engine supplier for the upcoming season

To whom it may concern,

Archer Performance is in the final stretch to finalise it's WGP2 package for this upcoming season. Archer engineers have identified VSK Motors as a potential engine supplier. Compensation would also include livery space to promote your brand if you so choose.

Please let me know at your earliest convenience,
---

Raphaëlle Toussaint
Adjointe Administrative / Administrative assistant
230, rue de l'Escarpement
Yvesmont, Foubrac

Finally, Raphaëlle moved on to her last task, setting up the driver test for remaining seat. The test will be during the team's young driver event where Archer teams across all categories of motorsports gather to evaluate the next generation of drivers. The event will take place at the prestigious Ridgeline Raceway.

From: raphaëlle.toussaint@archerperformance.rp
To: Antonin, Olavi, Luke
Subject: Upcoming driver test

Hello,

I hope this email finds in good health and that you are looking forward to the upcoming WGP2 season. Archer Performance would like to offer you a test drive at our following young driver event.
The event will be your first chance to try the brand new Archer WGP2 car and getting to know the team. Travel accommodations and lodging information will be sent upon your confirmation.

The driver who gets the seat will also be able to bring their own sponsors on board, with livery space available depending on compensation levels.

Looking forward to meeting you,
---

Raphaëlle Toussaint
Adjointe Administrative / Administrative assistant
230, rue de l'Escarpement
Yvesmont, Foubrac

---
Lafleur household, Port-la-Ville

"Isa! You got mail!"

"What? From who?", she shouts from the other room.

"Don't know, where the hell is Dod Rava?"

"Gimme that!!" Isabelle says as she rushes to grab a letter opener. "You have been formerly invited to perform at an upcoming test for Amica Racing Team." "Oh my! I have to answer right now!"

As she puts the letter down a notification pops up on her phone.

From: Pressley-Kim Racing
Subject: Driver Trial

by **Dantopia** » Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:35 pm

The state-of-the-art Oceanside Circuit has been selected as a pre-season test track in this season's WGP2 schedule. Oceanside Circuit, located near Oceanside - a suburb of Venice, has been created in order for Dantopia to be able to host a Grand Prix. The track has been designed with fast-paced action in mind - with a number of long straights, combined with a few more technical aspects, and the dreaded thirteenth and final turn, also known as 'The Wall of Death'.

Dantopia is a well-developed island nation located in the South Pacific. It is an idyllic tropical island paradise and tourism is naturally a major industry for the mighty Dantopian economy. However, perhaps the most significant industry for Dantopia is Information technology, with the nation's capital - Lion City - hosting an increasing number of tech companies in its ever-growing and impressive skyline.

Flying into Dantopia and finding your way to the world-class facilities at the Oceanside Circuit will be no challenging matter for competing drivers and teams. Nearby Lion City hosts two major international airports - both with access to the nation's fantastic MagLev high-speed rail service. Within just fifteen minutes one can arrive at the Venice stop from Lion City International (half an hour from Greenwich Bay Airport) - using the Leeward line, the second line constructed, which follows the northern coast of Dantopia's main island.

full-size image

The initial line - the windward line, which follows the southern coast of the island - connects Dantopia's three major cities; Lion City; Dartford; and Portland - and is the more heavily used MagLev line out of the two. The MagLev lines are owned and operated by Dantopian Railways - the nationalised railway service of Dantopia. Fares are very affordable and delays/cancellations are extremely rare.

Shipping vehicles and parts to and from the island nation will be similarly straight-forward. The Port of Dantopia is the main port for the nation, and is located within Lion City's city limits. The port has access to the MagLev lines, and the L1 highway also connects Lion City and Oceanside, should transportation via truck/lorry be required for parts. Dantopian vehicles drive on the right-hand side of the road.

Also joining the WGP fray this season is Dantopian tyre manufacturer - Tread. Tread are offering a balanced set of tyres this season, offering good traction and reliability, and will be the headline sponsor of the pre-season race at Oceanside this year. Tread have already struck up a deal with Tumbran outfit Pressley-Kim Racing, but would be very happy to offer their services to other interested teams as well.

Aside from the world class hotels and resorts, booming tech industry and state-of-the-art WGP circuit, Dantopia has a vast array of amazing beaches - perfect for surfing and other water-sports, a collection of marinas and harbours for cruise ships and super-yachts, an emerging association football league, and the country also loves to celebrate its rich island culture which has Polynesian roots.

Should any drivers or teams have any questions regarding their upcoming travel to and stay in Dantopia, they need only to reach out to the relevant tourist boards or government authorities, and their queries will be answered willingly and swiftly.

Weather for the upcoming pre-season race is expected to be between 24ºC (75ºF) and 27ºC (80ºF), with a light breeze and no rainfall.

by **Yoknapatawphaia** » Sun Sep 17, 2023 11:00 pm

Pt. 1 - Home

Yoknapatawphaia.

The land that is split. Warm and humid on the seemingly-neverending fields that would be met at various points by cool, straight rivers and streams that have existed across millennia. Agriculture and forestry were the bread and the butter of this small state of 1.29 million people, endless yards of farmland and the surrounding forests would fuel the breadbasket that was the Yoknapatawphaia, where they would be processed in the port city of Baie-Washington before being sent out to the hungrier, ever-expanding countries across the Multiverse. Most people of this land, having survived cycles of bloody skirmishes with one another over themes ever popular in the matters of world history, have managed to survive working off the land and the country, for most part, has styed stable.

The life of the country, for most part, held their benefits with its year-round weather had meant that there would be constant outdoor life afforded for those interested in spending most their hours in the lakes and the forests near their homes. Sports ran in trimesters here. If we were to go by seasons, it would be gridirons for the late summer to autumn, volleyball and basketball for winters that were not really winters north of this greater region, and the springtime was when baseball and soc-cer (or football? I don't know the names anymore) reigned supreme.

But the past century have also seen a strong, sustained motorsports culture across the country, especially with the availability of secondhand cars available from abroad and road improvements over the years. Once the product of consistent purges and civil wars that would continue into the 2010s (right around the teenage days of the Yoknaphan grandparents' generations), the road and stadium improvements would also foster in creation of three-tiered local circuit in rally, open and stock racing, not to mention underground scenes. Armed with strong-billed sponsors and somewhat consistent turnover in athletes, something that has happened steadily over time with emigration to countries in Esportiva (most notably Tumbra, Acadiana and Sylestone) and like-minded countries of the Commonwealth, the local circuit would end up finding a solid niche as everybody's second sport in the country.

And that's where Antonin Yeats Durand called home, in the small town of 300 named Pleasantview just outside the capital city of Centreville. Relatively little had happened around here, where most families would be friendly with one another, but the groups of houses would implicitly group themselves with one another and stay outside of them. Those young and dreaming like Durand held a special feeling to their home that were crystalised in the forms of catfish hunting, swimming in the lakes, hanging out with friends in the woods and railroad tracks, and attending communal parties. But they too knew that their futures laid elsewhere, and often this involved moving to the bigger cities or abroad - even as far as Rushmore and Atlantian Oceania.

This was of no exception to young Antonin. A young, aloof son of the local motorsports legend Vincent Durand and an automobile mechanic Audra K. Yeats, this brown-haired, straw hat-wearing Antonin loved both the muddy and the pebble tracks of Yoknapatawphaia where he had managed to find himself in rise early and in hurry at eighteen years of age. To himself and a few of his mates, this came off as a surprise with the way the public had viewed him but in all fairness this should not have surprised them. Aggressive, daring and versatile to the unusual situations his home terrain would bring, Antonin was instant hit to the society that had needed a young icon in middle of continued state of depression, and the words would start to come out that he might be good enough to venture abroad.

He was more than aware of them, and having postponed his offer letter from Yoknapatawphaia State University (YSU) for the fall, he had hoped that something may materialise. Perhaps he would have to even reach out. Even then, however, little did he know that bigger world was actually waiting out for him.

It was around one in the morning when Antonin returned to his home after an evening out drinking with his friends. Drunk and tired, all he wanted to do was to go back to his bedroom when he entered the house. To his surprise, he would see his father Vincent in middle of the living room. Vincent didn't seem amused.

'Where were you?' Vincent asked, both his hands on waist to suggest dissatisfaction. 'I called you twenty times over the past six hours.'

'I was out drinking with Jenkins, Chung and Lalonde, dad,' Antonin answered, his mouth feeling thirsty and the voice slurred in intoxication. 'I already told you and mum when I left.'

Vincent briefly blinked his eyes, remembering that Antonin did let them know. Still, his disappointments did not exactly subside with how long it had taken him to get back without an answer. Drinking in the town still wasn't safe enough in the eyes of the middle-aged folk who remember occasional explosions and landmines. 'Well, I have a good news for you,' Vince said.

'That being?' Antonin asked.

'It's time for you to go,' his father answered. 'To the world. Archer Performance and Pressley-Kim both came calling, with trials to be done on separate weeks.'

Oh, thought Antonin, as his head felt even more aching than before. Right, what else would dad even call me for? He would nod twice as an acknowledgement, and then asked: 'So am I going to Jolicoeur or Couno first?'

'Couno, your flight should be leaving tomorrow at...two in the afternoon, so make sure to get ready,' he said, before smiling back at his son. Vincent knew this might be the last time in a while he would see his son, and what would be a better reason than this opportunity? 'Good luck, son. You can do it.'

Antonin Yeats Durand accepts the invitations to Pressley-Kim Racing and Archer Performance driver tests.

by **Vielfaltig** » Mon Sep 18, 2023 7:11 am

Lukas Beckham expresses his interest in any available seat on the WGP2 Grid. He will also participate in any and all open trials held by constructors.

Lukas was staring at his computer screen, at the draft email he had typed up declaring his interest to drive in the WGP2. This was it he thought, his opportunity, his chance to make a mark on the world of motorsports. His journey had been supplemented and backed by his family and the resources of an entire nation. He was the Vielfaltigian hope in motor racing, a promised talent destined for silverware at the biggest stage. As he stared into the abyss of the step he was about to take, he reminisced about, the first time he ever sat in a go-kart, the first time he won a karting championship, and most importantly however that season that changed everything for him.

Suddenly he was in the cockpit of an electric race car on the grid for the Vallerano Grand Prix. He could partly hear the announcer, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the First Race of the 1999 U-18 Vielfaltigian Super Electric Series. It is a lovely sunny day in Vallerano, let's hope for an equally exciting race." At the mere age of 16, this was Lukas's second season in the U-18 Championship. His first season had been an utterly disappointing experience as he struggled to acclimatise to the subpar machinery at his disposal. With the intervention of his mother, he had upgraded to the Linxe Racing Team and was ready for a new start in the experienced outfit. His presence on the grid however was met with scepticism and taunts due to his privileged life. This was Lukas's opportunity, if he failed it could mean the end of his racing dreams before he even set out into the world.

Lukas managed to tune out all of the noises, cheers, jeers, announcements, everything. It was just the amalgamation of him and the machinery under him that mattered. He said to himself, "This is it. My chance to prove everyone wrong." This was his first race in the Linxe outfit, qualifying had been rocky, to say the least, marred by technical issues and a struggle to warm up his tyres, he obtained a disappointing ninth place. His teammate, Isaac Horne, was a relatively experienced racer about to make his move to the senior division of the series. He had finished third in the championship last season and had obtained a much better second-place grid position. Lukas really had to show everyone that he deserved to be here and was not merely here based on his family's influence.

Suddenly the five red lights started to light up as Lukas took a deep breath revving his engine ready to go. The race began and amidst the chaos of the start and cars vying for positions and space, Lukas kept it clean through the first sector and had already made up a few places and was looking to gain more. The car felt incredible and this was the feeling Lukas had missed ever since his transition to the Championship series. He finally felt like he had unlocked that connection between himself and the car following a tumultuous season of often painstaking races. This had not been easy though, after the difficult qualifying season the day before, Lukas and the team spent late into the night going over configurations for the race. He held onto the fifth place as the race progressed and the time for the first round of pitstops rolled around. As he heard the words, "Box, Box", he dived into the pits eager to get back on the track.

Lukas so far had been greatly competitive and was up for a good finish in his debut for the Linxe outfit. Horne was running in second place and engaged in a critical battle for first place. The conclusion to the Grand Prix was still very much up in the air as it was highly competitive at the front. Lukas emerged from the pits in fourth place and was hoping for a podium. His race however continued to be uneventful until the very end. He held onto his fourth place which was a solid finish in his first race for the outfit however he would have eagerly wanted to be on the podium. On the very last lap he heard a bellow from the local announcer, "Oh my days, Horne has spun. Desperate for the win he seems to have carried too much speed into the corner and gone too far on the curb. What a shame for Linxe driver". Seconds after he heard this, he passed his teammate moving into third place and ready for a podium finish. He could not believe his senses which is when his race engineer said on the radio, "Great job Lukas, that's P3 on your debut. Shame for Isaac but great stuff."

As Lukas reminisced about the euphoria he felt on that podium, his thought process was broken by his mom. "Lukas, are you done with the email? We have to talk to Mr. Ballerini about the specifics." Lukas had completely forgotten about his meeting with Mr Ballerini, the owner of Quanta Elixir, the most popular energy drink brand in Vielfaltig. His mother had set up this meeting and getting them on board to sponsor him would be a massive boost to his hopes of landing a WGP2 seat. "Yes mom, I'll be right there." He quickly finished the email clicking send. Phew, he thought to himself excited about the journey to come.

by **Auruna** » Tue Sep 19, 2023 6:12 am

VSK Motors
Sterlennau, Auruna

It's that time once again where after missing out on the previous season of WGP2 due to certain events and being unable to supply the factory team, VSK Motors can finally return. Immediately after the news broke, team principal of VSK-Maarukanna, Raiko Meirokana, contacted the engine department and he already got a response from the other side. It was obvious, but he was still delighted to hear that VSK Motors will return to WGP2 to supply engines for VSK-Maarukanna Racing. As production soon ramped up, deliveries of the new engines to the team started in order to mate it with a new chassis made for this upcoming season. Then, they await the release of the new rotary-powered car.

It was business as usual in the following weeks as VSK Motors are continuously working with the team when they got a new email from a surprising source. The demand for Aurun-made power units outside of the MNA were non-existent as Viska demonstrated in their attempt with Re:Genesis in WGPC. It was not a surprise as they were new to the game many of their competition being veterans in the sport and as such, while VSK is open to supply MNA teams, they want to stick with their own and not even attempt to advertise to other teams. But maybe it will change, if one were to be interested. It's just wasn't something that they expected to happen, up until recently with that specific email sent to them.

Patriotlandia wrote:
From: raphaëlle.toussaint@archerperformance.rp
To: VSK Motors
Subject: Engine supplier for the upcoming season

To whom it may concern,

Archer Performance is in the final stretch to finalise it's WGP2 package for this upcoming season. Archer engineers have identified VSK Motors as a potential engine supplier. Compensation would also include livery space to promote your brand if you so choose.

Please let me know at your earliest convenience,
---

Raphaëlle Toussaint
Adjointe Administrative / Administrative assistant
230, rue de l'Escarpement
Yvesmont, Foubrac

It was a team looking for an engine supplier and has chosen VSK. No one knew how to react at first but who are they to turn down a special opportunity to see another set of VSK-powered cars. After confirming that they have the capacity to supply another team in WGP2, VSK Motors replied to the email.

From: VSK Motors
To: raphaëlle.toussaint@archerperformance.rp
Subject: Re: Engine supplier for the upcoming season

Greeting,

After careful consideration, VSK Motors will gladly be Archer Performance's engine supplier for the upcoming WGP2 season. We will provide necessary technical support for your team throughout the season which includes our specialised technicians who have been trained to work on race-spec VSK wankel rotary engines.

We are looking forward to working with you.

VSK Motors
Viroluki Group

Meanwhile, at VSK-Maarukanna's new factory somewhere in the northern part of Sterlennau, the recent move to their new location put a brief pause in their development of the car for this new season and while there are still a lot to unpack, normal operations resumed after all necessary equipment were ready. The car is slowly coming together, they have the chassis ready, they finally have VSK engines again and regarding the tyres, it was obvious that VSK-Maarukanna will be using Phoenician-In Motion tyres. While it isn't a Kaikau-Mälö, it was the only one they have enough info about during their old partnership with Viska. They were contemplating whether to use Tropicorps like other teams but they ended up preferring something familiar to them.

With that out of the way, Raiko turns his attention to the drivers. Normally, Martjen Kronin handles the driver signings but with his hiatus from motorsport in general, the responsibility transferred to Raiko and while he has some experience in the junior levels, his eye for talent is questionable. He knew how it was and didn't mind it at all as he started going through every file they have on every free-agent driver, and as they are not as exclusive as Viska, they weren't too picky on who they would eventually sign.

What VSK has planned to do will have to wait for a moment. They didn't have to be hasty with their driver picks but there are a lot of interesting candidates that they are going to have some competition so they still needed to act as soon as possible. But there's nothing to worry about, Raiko already has someone in mind as he waits for the right time to strike.

Livonsk, Auruna

Haru's off-season was quite boring to him, to say the least. Apart from his encounters with the Haukanna siblings, there's nothing too interesting that happened while he waited for WGP2 to return. And even though it's a relatively quiet off-season, he still had some work to do as he kept going back and forth from several teams that he now has a connection to from Nisko's Sport Mikuren to the Kuyonnen Krazivaran for development and training. It was exhausting with a packed schedule on certain weeks with nothing to look forward to as he would do the same thing over and over again. It was expected that he would be burnt out by then but upon hearing the news of the upcoming WGP2 season, it brought him back to life.

He already said in an interview that he will drive for Nexus Racing in WGP2 for another season. It was just obvious where he will end up in as realistically, he thought, that there's nowhere else to go so it's better to stick with the team the brought him into WGP2. And there's nothing else to add after that as everything was set, he just needs to prepare himself for when the season actually begins and he has a lot of time for that.

And then he needs all that motivation to get through this once more hoping that this time, everything will be better.

by **Trans-Dniesters** » Tue Sep 19, 2023 6:43 am

Urotovsky-Gatutin confirms that it will use their own (UrGa) engine for WGP2 Season 6.

Urotovsky-Gatutin expresses their desire to use Phoenician-In Motion tires for the WGP2 Season 6.

Urotovsky-Gatutin offers the team’s first seat to Shalmaneser Kalhu.

Urotovsky-Gatutin invites the following drivers to a private test session: Nini Johnsilvaturr, Olavi Vile Ruusuvuori, Nick Unger, Liam McNulty, Pier Brolli, Pietro Crespi, Islay Marshall, Jhanny Illykur, Istd Arkenund, and Vincent Von Visp.

“No matter how many times I keep doing it, I will never get over the thrill of opening up a garage for a new season of racing,” HRH Prince Bismillah bin Kudarat of the Sultanate of Oontaz said once he had performed the ceremonial flicking of the switch to the lights of the garages of the Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division, specifically the team’s WGP2 outfit.

“Tell me about it, Your Majesty,” replied Vasily Semyonovich Gatutin, team principal of the Urotovsky-Gatutin WGPC team and former team principal of the company’s WGP2 team. UrGa had started off in the second tier of WGPO-sanctioned motorsports before making the leap up to the big time in time for WGPC’s 20th season, a season in which UrGa went way ahead of their own schedule and won the constructors’ championship in their very first attempt. “Yes, I have to admit that there are some days in which I wonder whether all that effort and investment is going to be worth it, but once the season actually starts, I just can’t help but let the adrenaline flow through my veins and bask in the moment.”

“You and I are always on the same page, Vasily,” Prince Bismillah said. “Well, almost always, anyway. There are still some disagreements between us, sure, but at the end of the day, the fact that we can both sit down over a meal and talk about how to iron out these disagreements is what makes this into a mutually beneficial partnership.”

“I still have some issues with some of your decisions, Your Majesty,” Gatutin added, “but as long as you firmly believe that it’s what’s best for this team, then I’m not really in a position to argue against it, am I?”

“Nonsense, Vasily,” the Prince shook his head. “Always feel free to offer your own opinions and perspectives, and even your arguments, and I’m sure we’ll find at least a few things that we both can agree on.”

“Speaking of which, I still think that it’s a bit of a risk that UrGa is fielding its own engines starting this season,” Gatutin remarked. “Yes, I know that it makes sense, but the approval for homologation came through literally hours before the official start of the season. We haven’t had much time to actually test the homologated engines, find the limits that the formula has imposed upon us. I don’t want to be accused of false marketing because of the limitations of the bloody WGP2 formula!”

“But wasn’t this the reason why you, or at least your company, entered the WGPO in the first place?” the Prince asked. “You wanted to supply your own engines to the rest of the multiverse and prove that your reliability is the best that there ever is. That’s the primary reason you went into motorsports, yes?”

“Yes, and that’s exactly why I wanted to delay the introduction of our own engines until the next WGPC season,” Gatutin replied. “That would have given us more than enough time to determine the actual reliability of our engines and apply the proper fixes instead of doing everything on the fly in the middle of an actual competitive season of racing.”

“But you have to admit that there is more than just a little thrill in throwing the dice every week and hoping that this isn’t the weekend that the vaunted UrGa engine finally blows up,” Prince Bismillah said with a wry smile.

“UrGa does not throw the dice, Your Majesty. UrGa does not gamble,” Gatutin shot back, and the Prince could tell by his tone that he was only half-joking at this point. “Reliability is the one thing that we learned that we could control, and we have staked our entire reputation on that. And you’re hardly the only person in or out of this team that wanted us to get rid of the Prestons and put our own powertrains in our cars as soon as they were approved by the WGPO. But it’s always going to be on the back of my mind.”

“And I shall let it stay there for you,” the Prince nodded. “I will let you do the worrying about the engines, while I focus on actually getting this team up and running and ready to go.”

“The engines aren’t the only thing that are giving me concerns,” Gatutin quickly added. “I’m also concerned about the fact that you’re dropping Tropicorp for In Motion. I’m not sure that that would be a good idea. Not only did those Tropicorp tires help UrGa win the constructors last season, but we’ve also got a Tropicorp driver on the team, much as Yakov Leonidovich wishes it weren’t so. And now you’re ditching Tropicorp for their biggest tire rivals last season. Not only that, but we are talking about tires made with help from the Nexus Wardship. A lot of people here still don’t trust that Imagination stuff as far as they can throw the nearest available Nimban, and now you’re about to make us rely on rubber infused with that blue glowing magic of theirs. I know that you’re the majority owner of this team now, and that whatever you say goes, but most of the people in this team are still my people. And they’re not as confident in In Motion as you are.”

“I knew you were going to say that, Vasily, and I have my answer all ready for you,” Prince Bismillah replied. “Yes, UrGa did win the constructors’ championship with Preston engines and Tropicorp tires, but that was in WGPC. This is WGP2. When you had that same combination, where did this team end up? Sixth in the constructors. Maybe Preston and Tropicorp is a combination that works over at the top for UrGa, but here in WGP2, that clearly didn’t work. It’s time to make some changes. And if we changed engines, perhaps it’s time to change tire suppliers as well.”

“All right, all right, maybe you do have a point,” Gatutin conceded. “But I will have to take some of the blame for that. I wasn’t able to focus too much on the team at that point due to the fact that WGPC opened applications for new constructors at around the same time, but I’m sure that you won’t have the same issue this time around, Your Majesty.”

“And I have you to thank for that,” Prince Bismillah nodded. “Well, that’s our powertrain and tire situation sorted. Now it’s time that we got down to the drivers. I already have a list of names drawn up, Vasily. I’d love for you to take a look at them and give me your opinions. Don’t hold back this time, man. If you have an issue with someone, anyone, let me know and don’t skirt around it.”

“I mean, I would if I could, Bismillah,” Gatutin said, the surprise evident in his voice and by the fact that he addressed the prince by his given name for the first time in this conversation. “But like I said, we agreed that you would be running the WGP2 team now since all of my time will be occupied taking care of the WGPC side of things. That’s why I haven’t been able to keep as many tabs as I would have wanted on the free agents who’ve come along for this season. Sure, I have some info on the old-timers, but as for the new arrivals, I’m afraid I won’t be of much help to you.”

“Any little bit helps, Vasily,” the Prince assured him.

“Fine, very well,” Gatutin nodded his head, albeit with some reluctance. He accepted the list that the Prince had offered to him and began to skim through the names, although the first one caught his attention almost immediately. “Shalmaneser Kalhu? Our Sal Kalhu? Is that the same one that we had in our team last season?”

“Unless there was another kid named Shalmaneser Kalhu from Adab who entered free agency before the start of the season, that should be the same fellow,” Prince Bismillah said.

“I mean, I’m not surprised that you were interested in him, but still,” Gatutin tailed off. “I always had a feeling that his manager was less than enthusiastic about him driving for UrGa, although I can’t be sure if it was because he still thought we were communists, what with the flag and all, or if he thought we were just going to use Sal for one season and get rid of him for the next one.”

“I wouldn’t want to get rid of Sal ever,” Prince Bismillah said, some shock evident in his voice. “Wouldn’t even dream of it. Sal Kalhu is exactly the kind of driver that I’m looking for. He’s young, hungry, determined both to prove himself and his team, and his social media presence is a great boost too. If you hadn’t already signed him to your team previously, he would have been my first priority to sign.”

“Is that why he’s the first name on your list then?” Gatutin asked with some levity.

“I’m not joking, Vasily,” the Prince retorted, although the grin on his face said otherwise. “But I do want to secure Sal to a deal before anyone else does. And perhaps, with new management in charge, maybe his manager will be more amicable and accepting? Maybe this time he would prefer to work with a fellow brother in the faith?”

“It’s up to you to sell that to him,” Gatutin replied. “Saad Kaykali, I believe his name was.”

“I'll try to remember that,” Prince Bismillah nodded.

“Now, who have we got next on your list?” Gatutin muttered, more to himself than anyone else. “Nini Johnsilvaturr?” he said with a raised eyebrow. “You're kidding me, right?”

“No, no, Vasily, I'm very much serious,” the Prince said. “Not only does she have some previous history with your team, what with her having tried out for that second seat that you ended up giving to Donny Fitzpatrick anyway, but Nini also showed decent results over in AOGP. Not good enough to beat Nepö Kinder at the end of the day but still good enough nonetheless. Now imagine what she can do in proper equipment.”

“Everyone always thinks that their team has the proper equipment to bring out the talent in their favorite drivers,” Gatutin muttered. “But I have to admit that I actually agree with you on this one. I gave the go-ahead for the team to invite Nini to our WGPC private test a few months ago, and I would actually love for her to have another go-around now that she has experience racing in actual cars. But the next one… Ruusuvuori. Admit it, Bismillah. You're just recruiting from AOGP and AOCAR now, are you?”

“Is there anything wrong in doing that?” the Prince asked back. “Look, at the end of the day, not every driver is blessed with the ability to get noticed almost immediately. Some have to slum through all of the different levels just to get a foot in the door, and even then that's no guarantee that someone will actually take a chance on them. Nini took a chance in WGPC and ended up in AOGP, but now she's on the ladder back to the top, with maybe a little stopover in WGP2. Meanwhile, Olavi here tested out stock cars in NSSCRA and AOCAR, and now he's also testing the waters in WGP2. The kid's got speed, and he's also already got experience in different motorsports styles. He's exactly the kind of free agent teams will be fighting over, and I want in on that action.”

“Personally, I prefer not having to fight anyone else for someone's signature, but that's just me,” Gatutin muttered again. He then read through the other names on the Prince's list, although none stood out to him quite like the first three names. Unger, McNulty, Brolli, Crespi, and Marshall; all names that were unfamiliar to the UrGa WGPC team principal until this very moment. “This is exactly what I was telling you about when you gave me this list, Bismillah,” he admitted after a few moments. “I have literally no idea who any of these people are. And it's not like I have Taras Gavrilovich handy to help me out with this.” Taras Gavrilovich Matviyenko was the chief driver relations officer of UrGa Motorsports and would have been the person responsible not only for collecting information on the season's crop of free agents but also make recommendations on who would be the best fit for the team.

“I'll tell you why I had my eyes on them anyway,” Prince Bismillah said. “I looked through the list of free agents and sought out who looked like they were going to be a reliable pair of hands going forward. Now some of them might be long shots—Unger might be the longest shot out of all of them given his history with Orange Cow—but it's not like I have anything to lose by extending an invitation, right?”

“Sure, sure, of course,” Gatutin nodded. “Now how about Illykur and Arkenund? I don't know much about either of these two, but from what little I can tell, Illykur is more up your alley than Arkenund, and yet you've got both of them on your list. What was your thought process behind that?”

“A little bird told me that there's some sort of rivalry going on between their respective houses,” Prince Bismillah replied. “And you know me. I'm a sucker for rivalries. Let them fight it out on the track. Winner takes all, and maybe even a place in the team.”

“That's one way to bring out someone's competitive side. Also, wasn’t Yesopalitha the place where that team of ladies in NSSCRA that were rumored to be vampires came from?”

“I don’t think any of those rumors were ever conclusively proven,” the Prince shrugged. “In any case, unless both Illykur and Arkenund are some sort of daywalker vampire or something, I don’t think anyone in our team should worry about their necks getting bitten.”

“If anyone in this team dies because of one of those two, I know exactly who to blame,” Gatutin mused. And then he got to the final name on the list. “Vincent Von Visp? Seriously?” he asked the Prince with a highly skeptical tone. “Like I said before, I don't know much about the guy, but he never really stood out to me. There's nothing special about him, apart from the family wealth of course. But I doubt you or I need that kind of money to balance this team's finances. So what's he doing on your list?”

“Actually, he wasn't really one of my picks,” the Prince admitted. “It was actually the Old Man who gave me Von Visp's name.”

“Which Old Man are we talking about here, Bismillah?” Gatutin asked. “Your Old Man? My Old Man? The team's Old Man? Who?”

“Come on now, Vasily. You should know by now who exactly I'm talking about.”

“Good God. Yakov Leonidovich is at it again, isn't he?” Gatutin said while rolling his eyes. Yakov Leonidovich Yurievsky was a powerful and influential man who held the deliberately vague position of “financial advisor” in many Pridnestrovian businesses, of which Urotovsky-Gatutin was only one.

“It was, in his own words, 'a simple suggestion,'” the Prince said.

“Come now, Your Majesty. You know just as well as I do that nothing is simple when it comes to Yakov!” Gatutin said loudly. “Yakov Leonidovich has some ulterior motive with regards to asking you to invite Von Visp to the test. The man's never been the same since that lady from Ma-llama Whatever didn't answer or even acknowledge any of his emails. He probably saw that Von Visp had his hands on a lot of gold and decided that that young man was going to be his next mark. You better keep an eye on Von Visp, Your Majesty. If he does well enough in the test, Yakov Leonidovich will do everything in his power to get him and his gold into the team.”

“Again, I'll keep that in mind,” the Prince acknowledged.

“I say, it looks like you have this whole team principal business handled,” Gatutin said after he handed back the list to Prince Bismillah. “Then again, you have been doing this for quite some time. I guess this is the part where I finally officially turn over the WGP2 team to you, Bismillah. I will try not to hover over your shoulder too much or second guess any and all of your decisions.”

“Bah, I wouldn’t have wanted to have it any other way, Vasily,” the Prince said with a smile, and the two men shook hands before Gatutin left Prince Bismillah to stand in the middle of the garages. “This season is going to be a great one,” the Prince muttered to himself. “I can feel it.”

TO: Nini Johnsilvaturr, Olavi Vile Ruusuvuori, Nick Unger, Liam McNulty, Pier Brolli, Pietro Crespi, Islay Marshall, Jhanny Illykur, Istd Arkenund, Vincent Von Visp
FROM: Marina Vladislavovna Smirnitskaya (smirnitskaya_m_v@urga.pdn)
CC: HRH Prince Bismillah bin Kudarat al-Untas
SUBJECT: Invitation

Congratulations! Your racing skills and history have allowed you to be shortlisted for an invitation to both a guided tour and a private test session at the UrGa Motorsports Division's facilities in Myrilsk for a chance to become Oonaftco Urotovsky-Gatutun Motorsports Division's newest driver.

We await your reply with your intention of either accepting or declining our invitation. We strongly urge that you send an actual reply to us, even if it is merely to say yes or no, in the interests of record keeping.

Sincerely yours,
Marina Vladislavovna Smirnitskaya

At around the same time as Marina Smirnitskaya sent out the invitation emails to the aforementioned drivers, a personal email arrived in the inbox of Vincent Von Visp.

TO: Vincent Von Visp
FROM: Yurievsky Yakov Leonidovich
SUBJECT: A Business Opportunity

Здравствуйте. I am Yakov Leonidovich Yurievsky, and I am the financial advisor of the Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports Division. It has come to my attention that you are one of a select handful of drivers who have been chosen to take part in UrGa Motorsports’ traditional preseason driver test to determine who would take one of the two seats available in my team. I took the liberty of reading through your publicly available WGP2 dossier, and I must admit that you possess certain qualities that have made me very interested in you and your career.

If you feel so inclined, feel free to meet me for dinner at the Tiraspol Tea Room in Myrilsk. You can come after the driver test if you decide to take part in it, or you can come to the Team Room even without going through the trouble of the driver test. However, I would appreciate it if you can give me a reply informing me if you would actually agree to meet me or not. I believe myself to be an incredibly patient man, but I also do not like to have my time being wasted. If you do not wish to take me up on my offer, I would rather that you inform me immediately rather than leave me waiting for a meeting that will never take place.

I look forward to hearing from you soon, Mr. Von Visp.

Respectfully yours,
Yakov Leonidovich Yurievsky

by **Recuecn** » Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:12 pm

Investyr IPO Lukewarm; “Big Things Ahead” Says CEO
Reçueçn, Reçueçn—On Monday, tech-finance start-up Investyr (stylized as investyr) debuted on the Reçuecian exchange to mild success. Investors’ (investyrs’?) hesitation to back the young firm, an app whose self-proclaimed goal is to “democratize investment”, doesn’t bode well for the company, the latest in a recent chain of similar finance start-ups making a bid for success in the small alpine nation already known for its banks.

Launching a finance start-up in Reçueçn presents a difficult challenge, given an environment crowded with so many big names in the industry. Newcomers often find themselves at the mercy of large, well-established rivals, eager to throw their weight around and with little regulation to prevent them from doing so.

Founder and CEO Ettore Schiavone is unfazed, however. “I know some of our investors were hoping for something truly extraordinary on Monday, but we’re very content with a modest start. Already it’s a big sigh of relief just to float the stock. We’re going to put the funds to good use and you can expect big things from us.”

Vincent put down the newspaper and sighed. As if another young, innovative competitor wasn’t enough of a bad sign, the article was from Le Monde. Typically, French papers only covered the Reçuecian markets if something big was happening. Which meant that despite the cautious tone of the article, someone in Paris thought that investyr had a chance.

Vincent grabbed his phone and typed in the investyr stock code. Sure enough, he was greeted by a bright green line zig-zagging upward. They were starting small, certainly, but they were growing rapidly, and the threat was accelerating. Vincent heaved another sigh and sagged in his chair. Another headache, and just when he was already in need of cash to fund his WGP dreams. The timing was terrible.

The door opened and Valérie stalked in and Vincent knew it was about to get worse. His heart sank.

“There’s a man in the lobby who wishes to speak with you, Monsieur.”

Vincent glared at her. “Is it someone I want to see?”

“I’m sorry Monsieur. He caught one of the doormen and I don’t think they knew what to say, so they sent him up.”

“Today is really not the day, Valérie.”

“Of course, Monsieur. I’ll make an excuse—”

Valérie was interrupted as the man in question walked into the room behind her, pushing the door open like a student wondering if he was in the right classroom. Catching sight of Vincent, he strode across the room to offer a handshake, a lobbyist’s smile plastered across his face. He was in his fifties maybe (too old for this kind of work, thought Vincent), and he wore an ill-fitting suit. (Cheap, thought Vincent.) He conveniently ignored the end of the conversation he’d just interrupted, although he must have overheard it.

“Monsieur Von Visp, I heard you were in town today and I knew I needed to speak with you; you must forgive me for following your assistant here from the lobby.”

“I don’t,” Vincent opened his mouth to say, but the man wouldn’t let him get a word in edgewise.

“I’m here about a very important issue that affects many Reçuecians today. My name is Rémy Belleame, and I’m the head of Espoir Neuf, a non-profit that maybe you’ve heard of?” He raised his eyebrows hopefully but a glowering Vincent offered no encouragement, so he continued. “We focus on providing solutions to the housing crisis, since, as I’m sure you’re aware, the real estate market in this city has gone totally crazy the last couple years. The housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, rising income inequality: all of these are solvable issues, but the solutions require resources, resources that we don’t have. We were hoping that given the local and immediate impact you could make, you, or perhaps your firm, might be interested in making a donation—or, as I should say to a man of your occupation, an investment in our community and our future.”

Vincent and Valérie shared a knowing look. Vincent was known for his reluctance to participate in philanthropic projects, a reputation he accepted as it helped to dissuade charity cases like this one from wasting his time. And an appeal based on helping the local community meant nothing to him, for he had never involved himself in that sort of thing. He would have expected that this fellow would have done his research on someone’s personality before letting himself into his headquarters to beg for money. Surely he should know this was hopeless.

Rémy had produced a pamphlet, which he handed to Vincent. “Espoir Neuf,” it read. “Rebuilding our community.” A sappy drawing of a pair of outstretched hands holding a heart constituted the cover art, the graphic design clearly done by someone on a non-profit salary. Vincent flipped it open, unsurprised to find that the inside was uglier. “Together we lift ourselves up,” read one heading. (Ensemble, nous nous élevons.)

“If you consider the dividends you will reap, it truly is an investment,” Rémy repeated. “Human capital will always be our most important asset…” But Vincent wasn’t listening anymore. The juxtaposition of the words he was hearing and the message on the pamphlet triggered a cognitive dissonance that set him thinking. The world of investment was not one in which people lifted each other up, at least not without ulterior motive. It was a zero-sum game in which a rising tide would benefit only the boat that sailed first, leaving the rest stranded on the beach…

The plan clicked into place. It was time to turn on the charm.

Vincent finally stood. “This looks like a wonderful project you have here Monsieur Belleame. You are quite ambitious. The need is so great and you have so many beautiful ideas.” Vincent flipped through the pamphlet, purely for show. He could imagine the sort of things they were proposing, and how impossible it must be without massive backing. “You must be struggling to bankroll all of them?”

Rémy nodded forlornly, his eager energy vanishing the moment his thoughts turned to Espoir Neuf’s finances. “It is even worse than you imagine. We had some concrete plans to help underprivileged communities in the city access affordable housing. By which I mean, seeing that there really is none, we wanted to construct some of our own, and began the process accordingly—real estate, permits, contractors, et cetera. But with the trends in the real estate market, we are far over budget, and frankly Monsieur, if there’s not some sort of miraculous improvement in our finances soon, not only will we be forced to scrap the project, but the entire organization may be forced to close, shuttering our programs on which thousands of Reçuecians rely.”

“That’s terrible.” The note in Vincent’s voice was indistinguishable from genuine concern. “I could of course make a donation, but as you said, what you really need is investment. You need sustainable growth. Fortunately, as someone who understands the world of finance, I think I can help you.” Vincent laid a comforting hand on Rémy’s shoulder. “I would love to host a charity gala for you, entirely paid for and organized by me personally. But this won’t be just any gala, where some bigwigs make a show of throwing some money at a problem so they can forget about it with an easy conscience. With my investment skills, I can set up the proceeds from the gala to be an endowment that will stand you in good stead moving forward. I want to leave you with something sustainable.”

“It sounds too good to be true!”

Vincent misinterpreted Rémy’s enthusiasm for doubt. “I assure you, it’s true. I know with your projects you need cash flow quickly. I have the perfect investment in mind: one that will be a good long-term investment but also pay rapid returns.”

“I don’t understand. How will this work?” The sudden good news had flustered Rémy. Vincent motioned for him to have a seat. “There’s a competitor of mine, who, as much as I hate to admit it, has had a quite brilliant idea, which is going to revolutionize the way people bank. I don’t want to bore you with the details, but just yesterday the company went public, and the market hasn’t realized the potential yet. The stock is severely undervalued. At our gala, rather than sell tables for charity or ask for donations directly to Espoir Neuf, we’ll have a trust set up—entirely in Espoir Neuf’s name, under your control, I won’t have any part of it—and the contributions to it will be used to invest in this new company. As all the Reçuecian magnates buy in at top dollar, the stock will rise, and you’ll be getting dividends almost instantly.” Vincent wondered how much of this made sense to the humanitarian, who seemed to have more of a heart for people than a head for figures. “In theory it’s a bit of stock manipulation, but it’s all perfectly legal—just basic economics—and it’s for a good cause.” Vincent laughed to cover his sudden nervousness. Was he showing his hand too much?

“Thank you so much, Monsieur,” said Rémy, waving his hands around as his gratitude overwhelmed him. “I don’t know the first thing about finances, which is how we got in this horrid situation to begin with, so it’s really a relief to know someone like you is looking out for us. It means the world.”

“Of course, of course, it’s nothing.” That was it then, the plan was laid out; it was time to set it in motion. “My assistant will show you out and give you my business card. We’ll be in touch about establishing the trust and we’ll figure out the guest list for the gala, pick a venue… leave it all to us. But feel free to give me a call if anything comes up.” And with that, Valérie was escorting Rémy, now red-faced with excitement and success, out of the room as abruptly as he had entered.

Vincent crumpled up the pamphlet and threw it into the trash.

Valérie returned a few moments later. “Are we going to begin planning this gala and the new trust at once, Monsieur? Or do you wish to continue with today’s original agenda of determining how to liquidate assets for your World Grand Prix projects?” Valérie’s face was stoic and she was taking this all in stride, although it was certainly one of the most uncharacteristic things Vincent had ever done.

“Oh, it’s all part of the same plan, Valérie. Two birds with one stone. It should all be pretty easy to work out, although planning this gala will take a couple weeks. I would say the sooner the better, because the quicker I can get some cash to offer these WGP2 teams, the sooner I can secure a seat. But we’ll need some time for publicity, so that should be our top priority. Hopefully the fact that Von Visp is not only attending but hosting a charity event should be enough to garner plenty of interest.”

“I should think so, Monsieur.”

“Wonderful, Valérie. If we can have the ballroom reserved and get the invitations out by today, that will be a good start.” One of the benefits of being a billionaire was that when you needed something like a hotel or a media connection, you usually already had it.

“Yes Monsieur.”

“Oh, and Valérie?”

“Yes Monsieur?”

“VTYR went through fine yesterday?”

“Yes Monsieur.”

“Wonderful again. I want you to double that buy-in, but do it from a clean account.”

“Yes Monsieur.”

As Vincent had hoped, despite the size of the gala they were planning, the preparations went smoothly. Intrigued by the typically reclusive billionaire going out of his way to host an event that was so uncharacteristic for him, curious socialites and business moguls all readily accepted his invitation. Even the news picked it up, and crews of reporters flocked outside the bank headquarters to film segments about this despised capitalist and the floundering charity he was taking pity on.

Was he really turning over a new leaf? What had changed? In addition to his banking empire, Vincent Von Visp was also known for dabbling in real estate, and he had made large profits in the last few years as the housing market had ascended to eye-watering heights. It seemed strange, then, that he would support a charity dedicated to fighting income inequality and combating the housing crisis. Late night show hosts lambasted him for his hypocrisy, while a rare apologist or two timidly suggested that maybe this was the beginning of an attempt to atone for his misdeeds. But Vincent himself refused to make any public appearances, only having Valérie tell the journalists that he would speak at the gala. Fascination mounted even more.

Meanwhile, in preparation for the big night, Vincent had Valérie help the Espoir Neuf staff to set up the trust fund, since they themselves didn’t have anyone with the requisite expertise. Although he was quite sure that Valérie had done almost all the work herself, Vincent was happy to see that the Von Visp name appeared nowhere on any of the documents. Everything belonged to Espoir Neuf. It had been a little complicated to find the right legal loopholes to let a charitable organization invest money in the stock market, but with Rémy as fiduciary, it was all sorted out in the end. Valérie showed him how to set automatic buy orders so that when the money began to pour in during the gala, it could be transferred into stocks immediately in order to get into the investment as early as possible. For his part, Rémy’s nervousness and excitement grew as the gala approached. Espoir Neuf had gone into some serious debt, but he’d been able to convince their creditors to wait a little longer, since the money would be flowing in soon. It would be a huge weight off his shoulders once the event finally happened.

He was glad, then, that Vincent seemed to be in an equal hurry to hold the gala, and he only needed to wait until Friday, a couple weeks later, for the big day. Rémy arrived early, which meant one o’clock, since Vincent had insisted on holding the gala during the afternoon. Valérie and Vincent were already there, the former giving some final orders to the waitstaff and overseeing the last-minute details while the latter sat at an empty banquet table, scrolling through stock charts on his phone. He seemed lost in thought, twirling the end of his mustache, until he glanced up and caught sight of Rémy.

“Ah, Monsieur Belleame! I’m so glad you’re here. I hope tonight we can show you that Reçueçn’s elite haven’t forgotten how to be generous.”

“Your actions alone have already restored my faith,” replied Rémy. “I will not be able to stop thanking you for a long, long time.”

“You must stop at once!” Vincent was all smiles. “I did only what anyone else would do in my position; what I have always done. I saw an opportunity and I seized it.”

“That is a gift not everybody has,” said Rémy.

Isn’t that true, thought Vincent. “You’re too kind,” he said. Then, changing the subject, “We still have about an hour before the guests arrive. Would you like me to show you the program?”

The gala would begin with some entertainment. A trending local singer had offered to perform a brief set for charity, and there were a couple other acts as well. Before dinner was served, the fiduciary trust would be unveiled and donations they would begin to accept donations. This would continue over the course of an hour-long, five-course meal, during which a couple speakers from Espoir Neuf would give presentations to encourage support, capping off with a speech from Monsieur Belleame himself. Throughout the event, a big, thermometer-shaped electric display on the stage would track donations. Everyone would be able to see how much had been put into the fund and get hyped to give even more. And finally, after dinner, Vincent would say a few words, wrapping up the event around five. It was going to be beautiful.

Vincent, Rémy, and some more of the Espoir Neuf staff welcomed the guests as they began to arrive, walking in on the red carpet that had been rolled out for them. Two of the first were a young man and woman, and Rémy beckoned Vincent over to greet them in particular.

“Monsieur Von Visp, this is my nephew and niece, Martin and Emilie.”

“Enchanté.”

“Enchanté.”

“Enchantée.”

Vincent shook hands with Martin and greeted Emilie with the traditional kiss on the cheek. Martin, he thought, seemed more shrewd than his uncle. There was less of a lamb’s innocence in his eyes, and Vincent shivered at the thought that Martin might see through him long before Rémy ever would.

Seeing Emilie put the thought out of his mind. For a moment, he really did feel enchanted. Something about her blonde hair and disarming smile tugged at him. There was a lot of work to do tonight, but maybe there could be time for business and pleasure?

Rémy continued his introduction. “They both often help at Espoir Neuf, Emilie with some more hands-on activities, and Martin in the office—in fact he’s been working closely with your assistant these past couple weeks.”

Vincent remembered Valérie mentioning Martin as one of the speakers for Espoir Neuf. But he was surprised now that she hadn’t singled him out. Had he known there were any intelligent people working at Espoir Neuf he might have been more cautious. Oh well, it would be fine, and it was too late now anyway. “It’s a pleasure to meet two more supporters of the cause,” Vincent said. He turned toward Emilie and added, “I wasn’t aware that any of them were so charming.”

Emilie laughed merrily. “Is that your attempt at ‘charming’?” she asked, but her eyes twinkled.

“Oh come now,” returned Vincent, “It’s a charity event. Be charitable, I’m trying my best.” Surely he wasn’t imagining this tension? He glanced back at Rémy. Emilie’s uncle certainly seemed oblivious to it. Looking at his stupid face, Vincent felt somehow that if he could take Emilie home tonight, the best part of it all would be the satisfaction of stealing something from this idiot. He offered Emilie his arm. “Would you like to join my table? I’m sure your brother and uncle have a lot of guests to welcome, but I must keep up my image as a reclusive billionaire, you know.”

“A recluse throwing a gala, what a paradox. Something I have to see for myself, I suppose.” She slipped her arm through his and followed him as he made his way across the room to his table.

The room was already full of guests, and Vincent noted with pleasure that anyone who was anybody was in attendance. He stopped a couple times to give a cold handshake to his competitors, the heads of other large Reçuecian banks. The rivalry between the established elite of the industry allowed for a certain amount of respect, although there was certainly no love lost. Vincent had never felt that he was given all the respect he was due either, but at least here, as the host, he could sense a begrudging deference he was not used to receiving. And wearing his sharpest suit and with the prettiest woman in the room on his arm, he had enough confidence that he didn’t need anything from anyone else anyhow. He was good-looking, he was charismatic, he was rich, he had everything he wanted… Maybe some things were stressful but tonight it would all fall into place.

Vincent motioned for an extra place to be set at his table. He would be sitting with Rémy (unfortunately) but also some of the higher-ranking Reçuecian nobility who were attending the gala. The Reçuecian aristocracy’s involvement in politics had helped them to stay relevant and keep up with the times, so there was not too much opposition against associating with a nouveau riche like himself. Or at least there would not have been, had he been anyone else. But rumors of Nazi gold had a way of tarnishing one’s reputation and the Von Visps were regularly treated as outcasts despite their financial status.

Tonight, however, all that was different. As host of a charity gala, Vincent was part of the fold for the first time, and a seat at his table was the highest honor. Vincent railed internally against a society that was so hypocritical that it could forget all its ideals the moment someone paid lip service to its mores, but it was no surprise. And if he could take advantage of it, he would.

A few other dignitaries and socialites stopped at his table to greet him, but soon it was time for the performances to start. The guests were a perfect audience, applauding politely on cue, although the mostly older, wealthier crowd seemed an unlikely demographic for the artists who were performing, all young and on the bleeding edge of the latest trends. As the entertainment ended and the first Espoir Neuf representative got up to present the organization's mission and make the case for the fundraiser, the thermometer began to fill rapidly. A large number displayed the total donation, which jumped in moments from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of guilders. Vincent smiled, and he could see the Espoir Neuf staff at different tables around the room also breathing a sigh of relief. He checked his phone. Sure enough, as quickly as money flowed into the trust fund, it was automatically transferred back out into share purchases, all of it into VTYR, investyr’s stock that had only recently gone public. Vincent watched as the share price began to climb, multiplying the value Espoir Neuf’s donors had contributed. The stock’s market volume was small enough that even smaller purchases like these first few donations had a visible impact on its valuation.

The purpose of the spectacle Vincent had constructed now became evident as all the pieces fell into place. As the donation total, displayed onstage, approached a million guilders, Martin Belleame got up to speak, explaining the way the fiduciary worked and why the gala had such a unique structure.

“The money you are donating now will not only be used as an investment in our future as we continue our ongoing assistance programs and work to provide affordable housing to those without access, but is also literally being invested as we speak to provide a sustainable endowment for Espoir Neuf, a new hope for all those struggling to survive in our economy.”

Vincent had made sure at least a few reporters had been able to sneak into the gala with the guests. The atmosphere of mystery he had created surrounding the event had led to major curiosity, and people across the nation, especially those already interested in banking and finance, were watching live as Martin Belleame essentially announced a rush on investyr stock. Vincent looked at his stock chart again. The line was almost vertical now, as investors piled onto the bandwagon, pushing the price ever higher.

At the gala too, the energy was palpable. Martin was a great communicator, and had gotten the vision across to the guests, many of whom were now making additional donations.

“We could have sold tables at a flat price like many other charity events do,” Martin was saying, “But we knew that if we could ask you to donate live, not only would your shared energy encourage your generosity, but investing your donations piecemeal as they’re made encourages the markets to to see the true value of this stock, raising the price and thereby growing the value of our fund.” Somehow, he managed to make the boring money talk catch the attention of the guests. And for rich socialites with nothing better to spend their money on, the motivation worked. The thermometer display continued to fill, the number beside it now reading multiple millions of guilders.

Martin concluded his presentation and Rémy took over on stage to give the final appeal on behalf of Espoir Neuf. Vincent felt a bit more comfortable without Martin on stage, even if he was decidedly the charity’s best public speaker. With things going well, he could afford to let his focus wander a bit more. He leaned over to Emilie to crack a joke. “It’s getting hot in here,” he said, pointing at the thermometer display.

Emilie had been listening to her uncle’s speech, but laughed at Vincent’s joke and turned her attention to him. “Time to get out of here for a breath of fresh air, maybe,” she said.

“Well,” said Vincent. Wow, maybe this was easier than he thought. “I do have one piece of business I need to take care of in my office upstairs before I give the closing speech. The balcony up there has a great view, if you’d like to see it.”

Emilie nodded eagerly and taking her by the hand, Vincent led her to a service door as discreetly as possible to not interrupt the speech. He ushered her out in front of him, but she bumped into someone on the other side of the door.

“Oh I’m sorry, excuse me, I didn’t expect anyone…”

“Pardon me, Madame.” Vincent recognized Valérie’s monotone. He gave her a little nod and pointed upstairs to his office. She nodded back and pressed a slip of paper into his hand. This was all part of the plan. If Valérie was surprised to see Emilie going up with him, she gave no indication.

Emilie and Vincent passed down the narrow service hallway. An elevator took them upward, the doors opening into Vincent’s office suite at the top of the building. Vincent opened the glass doors onto the balcony.

Emilie stepped out and caught her breath. “Oh my God.”

“I promised a great view,” said Vincent. “I just have one thing to do and I’ll join you.”

He walked over to his computer and pulled the note Valérie had given him out of his pocket. There was a long string of numbers above, and below, some garbled letters and symbols. Vincent had never seen this account number before, but he typed it in along with the password and logged in. It only took him a minute or so to set up the sell order. He smiled as he saw the sale price. That certainly made his day. He tapped the tab key a few times until the ‘confirm’ button was highlighted, then reached down, turned off the monitor, and walked out to the balcony.

Emilie was leaning on the railing, gazing down at the castle towers of the old city. Behind them, the sun was low in the sky, its light golden. Vincent took the spot on the railing next to her. They were quiet for a moment.

“I’ve never seen it like this,” Emilie said finally. “You almost feel like you’re not even a part of it at all.”

“It’s very special,” Vincent agreed. “I don’t get to share it often.”

Emilie turned to look at him. “Y’know, I was really surprised when my uncle said you’d agreed to help out Espoir Neuf.”

“You wound me.” Vincent dripped sarcasm.

“No but—your reputation… surely you’re aware.”

“You’re surprised I’m not the greedy billionaire you thought I was?”

Emilie looked down. “That’s not fair. I didn’t know what to expect. But my uncle always sees the best in people. Sometimes when it’s not even there. I’m the opposite. I always expect the worst.” She paused, letting the breeze play with her hair while she chose her words. “It’s not what I want. I want to be proven wrong every time. Each time I tell myself ‘This guy is just a scumbag,’ or ‘These people don’t really care for anyone below them,’ I want to be wrong. But I never am.” She looked back at Vincent and shifted her weight, pushing her shoulder gently against his. “You proved me wrong today. All this stuff you’re doing—this whole gala—you know it won’t change your reputation and you’re doing it anyway. And the whole time we were flirting I thought I knew exactly what you wanted, and I played along, I don’t know, because I was at a billionaire’s gala, I guess, and it was exciting. And then when you said you’d take me up here it just confirmed that you were only after the same thing every other man is,, but here you are just sharing your space and this sunset with me. I don’t know, I’m sorry, I’m rambling…”

“No, it’s good…”

“It’s just nice to finally be wrong. To finally find someone with some good inside them.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. Vincent felt her shoulder soft against his. It felt nice. Her words felt nice too, but they felt wrong somehow too, like clothes that didn’t fit. He pulled away.

“You’re very kind, but you hardly know me. I appreciate the compliments, but I can’t accept them. Wait until we’ve gotten to know each other better.”

“I would like that… getting to know you better.”

Vincent smiled. “We’ll have plenty of time.” He glanced at his watch. Fifteen minutes until the markets closed. “But right now we should head back down. They do expect me to give a speech at some point.”

They walked back toward the elevator. As he passed his computer, Vincent reached down and hit the enter key.

Downstairs, he pointed Emilie toward the ballroom door. “I think they want me on stage already. I’d better leave you here.”

Emilie gave him a parting smile and he left her, passing through the stage door and pausing behind the curtain to straighten his tie before pushing it apart and striding through to the loud applause of the audience. Right on time.

Vincent gestured to the sign on stage next to him. The thermometer was full. The number next to it was eight figures. “Give yourselves a round of applause for your own generosity!” Vincent cried. He waited for the applause to die down again.

“I know you all must be wondering if there’s something more going on, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Why would Vincent Von Visp, ol’ Scrooge himself, host an event for charity?” Laughter. “There was a lesson I learned a long time ago. Together as a society, we can accomplish incredible things, build tremendous narratives. But individuals wield power too, and sometimes it takes one person with a vision to start the ball rolling. Today, that was me, but in the future, I hope it can be each of you.” Vincent paused as he caught sight of Emilie looking up at him from the audience.

“There’s another lesson I learned much more recently. Sometimes, that vision you have isn’t visible to everybody else. Maybe there’s only one person who can see it in you. Or maybe, the plan you have isn’t something anyone else can see the genius of. But you can’t let that stop you. Even when you’re misunderstood, stick to your guns and follow through, because only you have that vision.” Emilie was smiling at him. It was so adorable that she thought she knew what he was talking about.

“So today, all I have to say is thank you. Thank you for letting an eccentric banker put his little vision into motion; thank you for letting him make something special happen. It wouldn’t have been possible without all of you.” Another wave of applause. “I hope you all enjoyed a fantastic dinner, thank you for coming! Allow me to offer one closing toast—to espoir!”

And that was it. Vincent ducked off the stage to check his phone, as he’d been itching to do the whole time he was up there. The guests began to stand up and mill around, beginning to file out.

Vincent paid them no mind. He was too excited by what he saw on his phone screen. Investyr’s stock had bottomed out. The same investors who had followed the trend and bought in as the charity-turned-investment had pumped funds into the shares, inflating their value, had seen his massive sale from an anonymous account, and were now jumping ship. Investyr, a small company with only a few shares on the market in the first place, had been very vulnerable to the price manipulation, and the shares were now worth mere cents on the dollar. Vincent, who’d bought in early and sold at the peak, had more than enough cash now to fund his WGP dreams, and the investyr start-up was no longer going to be a worry. Not to mention that Espoir Neuf, now owner via fiduciary of thousands of shares of worthless stock, would be forced to fold, eliminating opposition for his real estate plans in the city.

Rémy walked up to him to congratulate him, mistaking his smile for happiness with the fundraiser results.

“I must thank you again, Monsieur Von Visp, for everything you’ve done for us. We can never repay you.”

“Believe me,” said Vincent, “You already have.”

Over Rémy’s shoulder, Vincent saw Martin angrily explaining something to Emilie, and pointing to his phone screen. Ah shit. He watched Emilie’s demeanor change. Even from across the room he could see her shoulders pull back in righteous indignation. She and her brother marched over toward Rémy and Vincent. Vincent could see Martin’s phone screen now. He recognized the jagged, bright red line. Oh, that still made him so happy. He checked his watch. The markets had just closed for the weekend. It was all over now.

“Uncle, could I speak with you outside?” asked Martin.

“Of course,” a confused Rémy responded. The two of them turned away, leaving Vincent and Emilie alone.

Vincent offered a wry smile. “Maybe you feel like you know me a bit better now. But we could get to know each other even better if you like… what are you doing tonight?”

Emilie’s face contorted with rage and betrayal, and there were tears in her eyes. She was still holding the glass of prosecco she had toasted with during Vincent’s speech. She flung its contents into his face.

“You bastard!”

She turned on her heels and followed her brother and uncle out of the hotel. Vincent licked the alcohol from his lips as he watched her flounce out. It was a shame, he'd almost had her too.

He was surprised to hear Valérie’s voice behind him.

“A success, Monsieur?”

“Smashing. Plenty of money to buy a drive now.”

“Congratulations. Will there be anything else today?”

“No, thank you Valérie.”

And she too, walked out of the room, leaving him standing alone, prosecco soaking into his jacket.

by **Yesopalitha** » Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:30 pm

Part 1: The Wager

When done right, when committed to, order kept everything in check, made sure that there wasn't chaos, and ensured that peace would prevail even in the tensest of situations. To ensure that order can be kept, one must have power. Power can come from physical or mental strength, but power can also come in numbers, through stature, by birthright, or even through sheer dumb luck.

In the Drow circles of Yesopalitha, despite all the efforts of Zaiden to free the Unbidden from the shackles of innate evilness to allow them the free will to choose for themselves, power came in the form of promises, of dealings, of favors bought and sold. There were three Major Houses - House Illykur (the House of Commerce), House Cormrossz (the House of Might), and House Beltath (the House of Spiritualism) - and eight Minor Houses that always fought among themselves to get into a position where they could challenge one of the Major Houses. Ever since the days of the first free Drow - led by the legendary Minstra Fretyl - things had been done this way; it allowed most of the conflict to stay within Drow society, and made it so that those who ruled were the very best of their species.

Serving as High Priests of the Lord Zaiden to Nirdasil, the Dark Crusader, made House Beltath off limits to all but those who schemed perfectly and had all the scenarios handled. Fighting House Cormrossz without a plan meant facing down some of the most elite fighters in Yesopalithan society. That meant that House Illykur, the House of Commerce, was the easiest to target. Sure, your purses would be cut without mercy, which could lead to some very interesting compromises, but that was much easier to deal with than the other two. The catch? House Illykur was fully aware of their situation. They hadn't remained as one of the three Major Houses of Yesopalithan Drow society for over three centuries without picking up some tricks, after all.

One of the best ways to make sure that they could prepare for any kind of attack was making sure that their young were up for the task - which made Jhannis Illykur such a headache for her family. She was the heir of House Illykur - the one that would be asked to take over should the worst happen to the current Matriarch. However, she wanted nothing to do with ruling, or with anything resembling Drow at all, preferring the company of the other species of Yesopalitha and the different mechanisms that she called her friends. One of her passions was the fast motorized vehicles that the other countries of the multiverse adored. She frequented a local racetrack often, learning how to drive - using her powers to augment but not fully take over - and learning that she was rather good at it.

All she needed now was a way to convince the rest of the House that her deciding to race would be a good idea. A competition was coming up, but without the backing of the house and of the rest of Yesopalithan society to allow her to race, she wouldn't get very far. Everything in Yesopalitha was predicated on approvals and formality; tossing all that into the wind would only ostracize herself from the rest of her family, her race, and the country.

She had almost given up hope when she caught wind of an issue that House Illykur was having with one of the minor houses. Apparently, House Arkenund had managed to turn a major client in the metropolis of Mykele from signing with House Illykur to signing with them instead. This meant that House Illykur would not be able to do much business in the metropolis without House Arkenund being involved in some shape or form. As this move shook the very core of the source of House Illykur's power, the entire House was on high alert to try to figure out how this had happened, the ramifications, and a course of action to return things back to the status quo. This was basically the opening salvo of House Arkenund's attempt at usurping House Illykur to become one of the three Major houses - if Illykur lost its hold on its stronghold of Mykele, Arkenund would absolutely take over as the House of Commerce.

In Yesopalithan Drow culture, there was a ceremony called The Dance of Ravens. Historically, this was a ritualistic duel fought between two chosen champions, where both patrons of the duelists would promise to cede to the wishes of the winning duelist's patron without reservation. Sworn to Zaiden himself, to not follow through on such an oath would be akin to committing suicide. In more recent years, the Dance of Ravens had evolved to allow more non-life threatening methods.

An argument she had had at the racetrack the last time she'd visited resurfaced in her memory. The male Drow that had confronted her wore the crest of House Arkenund - the one-eyed snake. They'd raced each other on the track, and she had managed to cut him off at the very last second before completing the twenty-lap race. He'd been in her face afterwards, accusing her of being a cheat and someone who wasn't playing by the rules. She wasn't sure if he was aware of the House she belonged in, but regardless, the encounter had left an impression.

She'd gone home and searched the databases to confirm that that was indeed the crest of House Arkenund. There was the opening that she'd needed - a chance for House Illykur to regain what it'd lost, a chance for her to prove to her House that she had more than one way of securing glory, that she was better used as an asset than an heiress. Most importantly, it would let her spend more time racing, and even travel the rest of the world while doing it.

When she mentioned the plan to the rest of the House, it went better than planned. A wager of the asset that House Arkenund had won over would be more than sufficient, and by declaring both Jhannis and the other Drow as the ones participating in the Dance of Ravens, both would be given protection from deliberate sabotage from the other house. There was some talk about what House Illykur would have to wager to get House Arkenund to agree, but they weren't in a position to really bargain.

So, the challenge was made, and accepted within mere hours; House Arkenund required that House Illykur wager the biggest supply chain company in Mykele. Having been the one to issue the challenge, House Illykur couldn't resist, and the Dance of Ravens began.

When Jhannis Illykur and Istd Arkenund - that ended up being the male Drow's name - faced the TV camera three days later in a state-sponsored message telling the rest of the multiverse that they were free agent drivers ready to participate in any trials for the upcoming WGP2 season, the tension between them was palpable. She had no idea why he was in this, but she knew herself that failure was not an option; defeat would mean the end of House Illykur among the elite of Yesopalithan society in the next century or two.

And so, the Dance began.

Jhannis Illykur and Istd Arkenund will both participate in any and all trials provided. They are both looking to sign on any team - as long as they are not on the same team. If only one gets signed, they automatically win!

by **Valentine Z** » Wed Sep 20, 2023 7:25 am

Part 2 – Trial and Testing.

Intelligence Officer Jenny Claudia Joy Lena Linette “Sombra De Kenshutsu Sa Renai Hakkā” Marce Tanya Mayweather Ik. D. Do. S. Morishita Whitney Sakurano Fujima Felice Hoshiko Radiance was sitting in her office, checking through the emails as she has already taken off her rather restrictive business attire and went back to her typical everyday wear blouse. No one has reached the team directly, and understandably so; after all, they are still very new to the scene and with the other drivers either have their favorite teams that they often follow, or that they did not want to risk with entering into a team that they have little to no idea of. The doubt is understandable, as she has thought of. What the team needed to do, as a result, is to make the team more known and to have more idea of what to expect from them. "Well, some marketing material won't be too bad!" she thought to herself, taking out a stationery from the nearby cup and then fiddling around with it; it was her mechanical pencil, one that became an instant favourite thanks to her fondness for them, and also because of its metallic orange body with white accents. "2B" its lead indicator says. She started sketching a few preliminary promotional material on the rough papers, on top of jotting down and dropping some names onto the paper, two in particular the trainers for the drivers that will be signing up under their team. There will be other staff, that is certain without a doubt, but to have two of them to work more prominently and then closely with the driver is something she picked up from the other ventures that the Valentians have done – one in particular with Jane and Adriana Ela Kowalski Lillian, as well as Carol and Angela Stella Tan Fang Ling for the more recent WGP2. She sent this to the design department to spit out the promo.

The cat head and body to represent the love for the cats, as Valentine Z is known for. The two planets around the cat, representing the Valentian Earth and Mars as of the present time. Then of course, the two stars beyond could represent a whole plethora of things – from the Valentians having fully explored their own universe (and to many more others), to fully terraforming and colonizing their own Solar System and if needed be, to other galaxies. The idea of Valentine Z being an intergalactic power is not a bad idea in the slightest, with the proposed unity to remain for many eternities, but for the time being, it is all down to Earth (and Mars), and the Valentians are still content and not feeling the squeeze from the pressure of competing for resources. "Meowvellously Fast and Furrious," Jenny has written at the bottom of the logo for the design team, "Feels like we used Meowvellous too many times."

"Okay, that's a wonderful design, and I'm also happy to add my own words and statements into it," Jenny remarked, during the second staff meeting as they have finalized the engines and the tires, "We also got the two trainers ready to go. We will need to start scouting out some talent," Jenny paused for a moment, trying her best to pick the words carefully, thinking through it for a few seconds. Then, she started hitting the reality of it all, "Now for the, well, maybe let's call it the best part. Or the worst part, depending on how you feel about this sort of thing! To be absolutely clear, while we may have had experience in the realm of motorsports itself, and that we have ran through quite a lot of domestics, it is reality that we don't exactly have the big footprints and impacts. Heck, this is our first time, so we have absolutely nothing to show for except for our promises and words; we have no international results to show for. We can agree on all this and maybe even sulk in that fact a little, but after a few minutes of that, it's time to move on and get those results!" she said, with quite a lot of pride in her voice, much to the agreement from everyone else. "The good thing is – and well, I don't know if we can advertise this outright – we have no stakeholders or shareholders. I mean yes, Valkyrie Valentijn and the rest of the Sixty would like to see positive results, but that is simply just lighthearted expectations. This is not to badmouth them – and I did get explicit permission – so Augustine and Angeline are also still finding a team to drive under them for WSRC 3. Even Tracie is taking a bit of time, and she still did not have a team yet. And yet, at the end of it all, there is no problem, really. And same with this team; unlike the other teams, as far as I know, we have no "only seeing the dollars" bigwigs above us, and I will take full responsibility and making sure that everything will go well. You guys suggest a change in engineering techniques or the organization of the team, I am more than happy to hear it and see how that can work. You guys wanted safety measures, I have already provided without even being asked. Getting to the point, we can definitely use this to our advantage and listen fully to our future drivers without having objections from business-babbles."

There were a few laughs had along the way, and a few seconds more before everything came back to full attention. "We will pick the easy ones first. I didn't mean it negatively, more of- well, those that are going to take part in any trials that we are offering." The other staff also all looked around their emails, ones that have been sent to Jenny, who has in turn then CC'ed it to everyone else for easy viewing. "First, we have Ahmad Syaqirin from Sharktail. At least, that was the very first email that we got." Then there was the follow-up, "Ahh, sorry, they seemed to have withdrawed. Damn. That's all right, I wish them the best regardless." Then next, there is Olavi Vile Ruusuvuori, who also has sent his interest to all of the WGP2 teams, including MeowMeow. "Ah, we got one! Okay, so put his name and email down, we will get to him." And then there is Lukas Beckham, which they have added also into the email list. Good drivers with potential, the Valentians all agreed on. Jenny is no exception to that statement, with a bit of adding on that "I kind of wish we have a few more teams trying it out, or just reaching us out more… personally."

And there are the two – Jhannis Illykur and Istd Arkenund. "Excellent! I think either one of them would make a good addition to our team! Hmm, well, as long as they are not on the same team, they said." The composing is done, and it is time to send out the emails to these drivers. "Oh yes, wait- no, don't send yet!" one of the staff interjected, attracting Jenny's curious attention, "We have not checked the other drivers yet. Would we like to ask anyone else?" Jenny realised, then she gave it a thought once again, looking at the long list of free agents on the other window, "Oh, right! Sorry about that, and thank you for bringing that to my attention, hehe! So… okay, those are so many names. Kenny Wilson immediately comes into their mind, to offer him a trial. "He's a Hapilopperian, he will be perfect! Us Valentians and the Hapilopperians have had good history in NSSCRA and in other sports, this will translate well here too, I'm sure." Haru Jukkenna too, why not. Momqud Xonaxonov, Lianna Rasianoara, and many more along the way. Many names that Jenny nearly missed had it not for that guy. "Much appreciated, thanks."

MeowMeow Racing sent an invitation to the trials to the following drivers, and would need confirmation from their respective nations / players. The trials will OOCly tentatively be on 25th Sept.
- Olavi Vile Ruusuvuori
- Lukas Beckham
- Jhannis Illykur
- Istd Arkenund
- Kenny Wilson
- Haru Jukkenna
- Momqud Xonaxonov
- Lianna Rasianoara
- Thomas Monteiro
- Nick Unger
- Samantha Carter
- Liam McNulty
- Isabelle Lafleur
- Islay Marshall
Anyone else who would like to get into the trials is also welcome, and can join the trial signups before it closes on 24th Sept.

Bigger version can be found here.
MeowMeow Racing logo ideas and inspirations from Logo Maker.

by **Dod Rava** » Wed Sep 20, 2023 8:32 am

Amica Racing Team extends their tryouts invitations to Lukas Beckham

You have been invited to the Amica Racing Team Tryouts. This is an exceptional opportunity to showcase your outstanding racing talents at our state-of-the-art facility located on the outskirts of Koronki.

As one of the select few, you'll have the unique privilege of stepping into the driver's seat of our inaugural machines and the chance to compete for the second driver spot on the team. Each of you will have the opportunity to tune the machines to your liking.

These tryouts will consist of three sessions, along with one free practice session. The first session will challenge you on our long circuit layout, while the subsequent two sessions will test your skills on the shorter variation. Each layout will push your driving abilities to their limits, demanding not only speed and precision but also adaptability to different circuit configurations.

The tryouts are scheduled to commence on September 24th, when our team's decision-makers, led by our Team Principal, Gabriel Miler, will conduct a comprehensive assessment of your performance across all three sessions. Your times and performance will determine which driver will earn the second seat on the team.

We wholeheartedly wish you the best of luck as you prepare for these upcoming tryouts.

SCHEDULE:
8:30 - Greeting and introduction
9:20 - Free practice (Short Layout)
11:00 - Refreshments
11:30 - START OF SESSION 1 (Short Layout)
12:30 - Snacks and drinks
13:00 - START OF SESSION 2 (Long Layout)
14:00 - Lunch
14:40 - START OF SESSION 3 (Short Layout)
16:00 - End of tryouts

*Note results will be posted on the 24th

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