[center][h2]Saturday August 21st, 2094, 16:20
Moa Tempest, Hawaii[/h2][h3]Qualifying[/h3][/center]

Paul’s qualifying lap started. He pushed the pace as fast as he could. The handling was back after resetting the ship. He pulled through the corners trying to find the optimal racing line. The track still had some straights and the loss of energy forced the ship to keep a more moderate pace. It was different when there were other ships on the track that he could potentially leach energy from. Qualifying it was you against the clock. Paul found a little extra speed by taking advantage of the lava tunnel sections. Using the antigravity generator to go up and over in a corkscrew pattern. Gravity assisted the ship speed as it came back down. Paul used the return kinetic energy into the ELS system on the straights but he could sense it was not going to be enough. He pushed his skills and ship as hard as he could. Paul could sense that there was something he was missing but couldn’t really identify it. 

He was shaking his head in disappointment when he pulled his ship back into the paddock. He climbed out and looked around at the mechanics and Carmella his race engineer. Paul was frustrated knowing Dorian had an exceptional qualifying run for him. It left Paul measuring himself against Dorian. Overall Paul had been outperforming Dorian in areas. It seemed he did well on tracks where Dorian struggled and Dorian struggled on tracks where he did well. 

Paul's voice was laced with frustration and seriousness.  [color=fff200]“The track requires handling and stability with all the corners and chicanes. It also has straits in it where we lack the speed advantage of the other big teams. The ELS is going to make or break me at this track. Is there anything that can be done to improve the amount of energy being saved or leached from the track? I will do my best to steal it from other ships but that is where I am going to struggle on this track. I will also put in some more simulator time before tomorrow. Maybe I can work out a better strategy for the Mag sections. Carmella can you do a preliminary data comparison between mine and Dorian’s qualifying run. Maybe you can find something I can use and implement. I will check back in with you after the Delta Hyper interview.” [/color]

Paul looked around at the mechanics and engineers who were all nodding their heads in agreement. He could see the same frustration on their faces and the apology. He nodded. [color=fff200]“I appreciate your hard work. I just wanted to lay it out there. I will do my best but any little tweaks you can think of before tomorrow would be welcome.”[/color] He smiled at his team before running through some more performance questions from his team. He finally managed to slip away. He sighed acknowledging that Hawaii might not be one of his races, which was frustrating. Paul thought about the fight with Bea at Spa and a smile came over his face. He would like to make a similar showing here in paradise. He was enjoying the people here very much. There were huge crowds and they were energetic but it was all about the sport not him as a pilot. He was enjoying the change of pace here. Paul was loving what they had going on in the fan zone here. It was different but he liked it. 

[i]He wondered how Dorian had done it. What was it about this track that had him doing so well? Maybe he would review Dorian’s qualifying data and compare it to his. Maybe he would find something to help him out at the race tomorrow.[/i] Before he could put in some time analyzing that data he had to do his mandatory interview for Delta Hyper. He headed for his trailer so he could take a shower before his interview. 

[hr]   

Paul showed up at his Delta Hyper interview wearing some high tech sportswear shorts and matching t-shirt and sneakers with the team’s colors and logo on them. He took a seat on the Delta Hyper couch and gave Aurora his standard charming smile. 

[quote][color=ed1c24]Aurora: "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?"
[/color][/quote]

Paul’s expression turned serious as the question mirrored his thoughts about tomorrow. [color=fff200]“Well Aurora, the grid is very tight. There were a lot of upgrades to ships over the summer break and we are seeing the outcome of that. I believe tomorrow’s race will be about upgrades and skills. There is the possibility of overtakes but not as many opportunities as I would like. It is going to take pinpoint precision and knowing where I am in conjunction with where my opponents are. All I can do is go out and give it my all. The team has done a great job of fixing the issues we had in the last race. All I can do is go out tomorrow and run my race. I can’t win them all.”[/color] He gave her a confident grin. [color=fff200]“Although I will always try!” [/color]

[hr] 

[@Starlance]
[b][center][h3][code]Saturday 08/19 18:28     the Guy in Front of You        [Batt: 98%][/code][/h3][/center][/b]
[center]———— Today ————[/center]

[color=fff200][b]Paul Mulder[/b][/color] Hope you are okay? I also hope your mechanics and engineers can get you in the race tomorrow. I expect you to at least catch up to me! Let’s have a repeat of Spa. 
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