[center][h1][b]Thursday August 17th New Hilo, Hawaii Island, Republic of Hawaii, Federated American States 1600 HST [/b][/h1][/center] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Pacific Evenings[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [center][h2][i][b]Ben Hale[/b][/i][/h2][/center] The NOVA Racing fan zone was a success, and with Ben signing merch, engaged in a scheme that introduced punters to an anti-gravity, upside down climbing wall (inspired by Jen's previous involvement), details on the livery that NOVA had elected for, the leafy, nature inspired green an obvious pick even for such a young team. Instead of history, NOVA could tap into the arts and ecology focus that the team had picked up, the "Mini-Rainforest" that the zone's theme had opted for bringing in punters. That was nothing on the size of something like Southern Cross- who instead, had completely run riot with the Polynesian theme, basically bringing in choirs of Maori and Tongan singers, and being a Polynesian block party in Parc Poaka. Complete with a Rugby Sevens game, bug VR experience and in the harbour next to it, an exhibition on Waka rafts up to modern AG ships, including the 2094 Southern Cross example. Decked out in a lush navy blue, yellow and orange livery with a volcano playfully on the rear wing, it took a minimalist-maximalist Polynesian designer to bring out something different to the split-livery that Southern Cross ran with. Ben could hear it from afar as he finished up, smiling to Sally and to Florence, who had joined in, eyes on everything as usual. "All good?" ---/--// Sitting in the interview room, Ben sat contemplatively, thinking on the question asked by Aurora. "It's hard to get into Formula AG. A lot of sacrifices, but it's every kid's dream. So it was a tough one to take especially after how confident I felt in the Junior series, I was....yeah, I mean I was taking a challenge on. I mean, it didn't begin easy with the race in Spa. And same again in Germany. Junior AG was something I was relishing, and while I'd love to stay and take a title....it was a risk to step up and take on something new. Especially when I'm compared in a team to a great!" "Is that something you struggle with?" "I mean, sure, it's tough. Florence is....well, she's just incredible people really. Like she is so, so good as a mentor. But it doesn't matter what upgrades I get. She has something beyond just being able to make moves, just stay calm under pressure, it's....well, it's what makes her a champion. I can't get tied into that, so yeah, part of it is focussing on what I can do well and enjoying myself, developing the ship, and doing the best we can this season." Ben replied, the young pilot taking his time to think that one over, to get to that conclusion. "Do you think it's what has led to her overperformance?" Aurora asked as Ben shrugged. "It's like she never left." [hr] [center][h1][b]Saturday August 19th Moa Tempesta Circuit, Kanaloa Island, Republic of Hawaii, Federated American States 1600 HST [/b][/h1][/center] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Tempest Run[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [center][h2][i][b]Harrison Makara[/b][/i][/h2][/center] [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zow1vAMN-4c]Mohican Sun- God of Ages[/url] [/b] The track felt like glue in the shiny aftermath of an afternoon rainstorm that was now drenched in cloudy sunshine, the ship's twitchy nature today offset by what felt like finally, a breakthrough. It felt good, the stability upgrade clicked with him far better that it did Nora, who hadn't performed after a poor Section 3, just failing to really make the most of the MAG sections. That was an area that Harrison adored- him and Dorian were absolutely there. But going hard left in Turn 1, with the jink right left, the Southern Cross ship was no longer the fastest, that title belonging to Al-Saqr's absolute rocket now. But Harrison didn't need speed. He just needed Turns 4, 5, 6, 7, the complex left, right, straight into a hard long left that then peeled along the lava dam and and the magma field in the far right, well away from the circuit, before plunging back down at Turn 8's hard inverted turn, back past the facility into the gouged valley. The wreck of Bea's ship was barely a glimmer in the corner of his eye where she'd overrun at Turn 8, the smoking mess with a standing Bea waiting for a recovery at least reassuring- in spite of the fact that despite her excursion at a corner with an overrun wide that would have likely been terrifying, the ship caught in a repulsor field to stop it from being yeeted into the floor with nothing to stop it- yet basically thrown three storeys into basalt rock anyway at the base of the dam, where the temps outside were easily 50C from the heat of the volcano itself. It wasn't on his mind, the straight ending with the end of the valley at Turn 9, inverting hard and to the left, the right, then left, the ship upside down for a lot longer than most circuits in the valley wall, running behind the waterfall itself that had been refreshed by the rains, and then into Turn 13, the ship and Harrison feeling bound. It was like out of each corner, he could just slap throttle faster, the ELS was screaming today, and from 14 and 15, the slow into a fast corner breaking out of the rainforest canopy onto a rocky beach and then back into the start straight, there was that confidence just flowing through him. The deltas were good, but the margins were so tight, so fine, was it..... "Harrison, that's P4 mate, nicely done!" Harriet's voice came through as he powered the ship down, exhaling hard, a smile cracking that felt the most natural it had been in a while. "Wooo! Wonderful job on the setup, this ship feels like a rock!" Harrison smirked, the ship itself feeling like it smiled and exhaled hard too. [hider=Qualifying Results for Moa Tempesta:] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qF6cn-eA0G0sumgf79TvEnPjOHyQP-vZSFV6LNrn_OY/edit?usp=sharing [/hider] -//-//-/-/ Back in the interview room, Harrison sat there, leaned back as usual, chill, yet taking more than a moment to think through that question. "Nora is.....well, she is unstoppable. I mean, you saw the crash and uhh...well, it's like it's fire for her. Like she has to prove people wrong. She has champion all over her. But so do I...so hopefully for me not this season yeah! We're in the hunt for Amy this season. And in Hawaii, I think...yeah, we're getting there." Harrison replied, the quest a never ending one, and that question from the beginning of the season, of what they thought of each other, still echoing. "Was it a relief that you managed to tame the ship again?" "Yeah, I mean....it's a nice feeling. I suppose it comes and goes. But yeah, feeling better." "Would you say Nora has pushed you to up your game?" "Absolutely. And everyone else too. I think Amy's feeling that heat. But yeah. Game on." [hr] [center][h1][b]Saturday August 19th Moa Tempesta Facility, Kanaloa Island, Republic of Hawaii, Federated American States 1900 HST [/b][/h1][/center] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Kanaloa Heat[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] The interview couch sat in a different place, with the background of the volcano up close in the Moa Tempesta viewing centre itself within the facility's tour area, paradoxically centred on the bit where Bea had crashed out, the evening sunset behind the glowing orange volcano. The timings had come in, and the grid was split by a hair. It was clear that whatever the case, the teams were split extremely close- deltas were so tight, it was clear that in a race here, even with limited passing opportunities, the teams couldn't find the extra marginal gains they dreamed of. Well, apart from Kais, who clearly had found something in that ship that like a bumblebee in flight, shouldn't have worked. "Bea, that looked like a gutting crash for you! Starting at the back tomorrow, what's your approach to making up?" "Paul, it looks like despite your result today, the grid being so tight here. How are you feeling about tomorrow, and how have you found the lap so far?" "Kais, wow, what a lap from you! It looked like you gave it everything, so loose, so absolutely ragged out of every corner! We heard that you have a new speed upgrade and it shows in the splits with your ship looking like it will set speedtrap records here in Hawaii?"