[quote] “To good teammates. I am honestly really happy for you Dorian. You must be excited about what happens next in your life. Have you started making any plans yet?” [/quote] [hr] "Well, I got an offer to get into punditary. Hence why I said, maybe I'll rip into you on commentary. Then, maybe a vinyard. Make my own wine. I was on the sponsor roll for an organic brand for years.....so maybe they'd help me." Dorian smiled, as they pulled in, and made their way inside. It was nice to connect with Paul, and it had felt strange from his side of the garage. Constantly up and down, uncertain. But while Dorian was not pulling as much as perhaps he once could, and was just as wildly inconsistent, he knew this all meant a lot more to Paul than it did to him. He just wanted to do right by the team, whatever he recognised of it, and by for a moment, and old pilot's friend. [hr] [quote] ”So first ‘Something is up.’ and now ‘It isn’t anything serious.’? Been pretty secretive about a whole lot of ‘nothing’.” Bea’s exhausted tone morphed into scorn and distrust. ”I’m sure Layla thought it wasn’t anything serious either, and look where she is.” Bea turned abruptly, walking through a gap between two trailers, trying to end the conversation by putting something between the two pilots. ”You’re slow in sector two. Why don’t you go talk to Kais about it?” [/quote] Ava's jaw opened, horrified. "Oh, fuck you! Come on, I'm trying to help!" Ava replied, Bea covering enough distance, and there not being enough reason for Ava to chase, or make a scene. Something was up. Ava knew it immediately. How the fuck did she know that? Or at least, her mind paranoid, ran to that conclusion. Ava had a horrid feeling it wasn't because Bea had spotted her with Kais plenty. The way she mentioned Layla, it immediately made her wonder if Bea was in some other loop. Did she know about what she'd been asking Kais about, and beyond? Or was something else afoot? Ava didn't want to think on it hard. But was regretting even asking, and knew that in the pit box, it was going to be awkward. This wasn't just a small wobble, from Bea being tired and humid, this felt a bit worse. [hr] [center][h1][b]Race Day Sunday 4th September, 2094 Marina Bay, Singapore 2200 SGT [/b][/h1][/center] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]High Beams[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [img]https://media.formula1.com/image/upload/ar_16:9,c_fill,g_north/c_lfill,w_3392/q_auto/v1740000000/trackside-images/2024/F1_Grand_Prix_Of_Singapore/2173727515.webp[/img] [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B1VcRPxRJU]Metrik - Thunderblade[/url][/b] "We're under the lights of Singapore tonight, and the Marina Bay AGP circuit seems to never give a dull moment. Redesigned in 2079, and modified more with MAG banking in 2090, we're looking at a circuit that offers " Rory enthusiastically began, as the broadcast turned to the circuit, with a panning drone shot over the water of the massive Singapore Flyer ferris wheel, sitting in front of a highway, and all ends of enormous skyscrapers that needled their way into the heavens, far above the circuit's damp tarmac. "Yes, and the pilots will know that in the heat, they'll be feeling it the entire race. The humid air is constant, and while fans and extraction systems help, they'll be physically suffering today on our screens. Pilots lose up to two kilos a race here, and augments here are really pushed to their pace. Rory, what do you think are the surprises we'll see tonight?" Rosie replied, footage going through stands, tarmac from a drone-shot, and back to the grid, where pilots were making their last minute checks, taking on water and electrolytes, checking their cooling gear over, and clambering. "Well, everyone is shocked about Thorsdottir going as high as she did, but she loves a street circuit, like she proved in Tokyo. She may not always be the most consistent, but don't rule her out. And well, the rookies who were so confident in yesterday's interview, they'll need to push hard to get past an imperious Amy Stirling. In Singapore, anything can happen." Rory replied, as Rosie chirped back in, the usual excited co-lead getting better as the year came on, maturing a little more. "Thanks, Rory. Looks like the crews are getting cleared up, and here we are, ready for the Singapore AGP...." As the canopies shut, cooling was removed, and the pilots were on their own. Desert rounds of the AGP championship at least went later in the year, but Singapore, well, that was always hot. The massive urban heat island, despite geoengineering and trying to tame rainfall in the region and reduce temps, still cooked away. And as the teams got ready, running through initial checks, the lights flickered up in red. [b]Four. Three. Two. One.[/b] And with the race start, all ships were away clean, Amy keeping barely ahead of Nora who tried an immediate lunge, and got shut, slowing up Paul and Bea. That alone created a cascade where Max managed to actually overtake Ava and Dorian within the first lap, somehow putting his absolute pile of a ship ahead of two that absolutely should have been on it. Ava was clearly a bit less elbows out, and Dorian, well, he just hadn't been gelling as much as he would have liked. He was caught napping, as Max seemed to now be hurtling towards Cassie Neves, which was catching the commentators off guard. Bea and Paul fought, but weren't losing time on Nora and Amy, the main pack of four within seconds, and seemingly inseperable out of the gate. It would be a question of who cracked first. The humidity, heat and sapping transcended humans, the ships themselves felt like they were sucking in thicker air too. The laps continued. The onboards were clean as anything, the humid night a blur of colour, 90 degree corners surprisingly creating enough good places to catch. That was something that Nora was doing again. Bit by bit, a ship that shouldn't have had the rights to be here, was making sure that Amy couldn't run. She was trying to dump all her ELS, trying to break that link, but Nora seemed hellbent on tethering her. She knew that any chance Amy had at not scoring points, even with her own, was a chance to break forward and close that gap in points, and widen her own to Harrison. So in Turn 7, Nora made her move. "And....oh, that was so nearly contact, but Stirling has had to take the escape lane! Disaster, and she's lost so many places, but she is behind Makara now, and what will the stewards say about that?" "Certainly a racing incident, but Kelly is on a rampage! Look at how twitchy that ship is still, through every corner she looks like she's milimeters from putting it in the wall, that must be absolutely a brick to pilot but if anyone can, this season we're learning that Nora Kelly can certainly tame anything she has!" Rory was picking his voice up in pitch, as with the response, Amy had closed the gap up towards Bea, and was not leaving her rear vision. The race seemed stable. Max was constantly harassing the back of Cassie's ship, Paul had actually managed to close up to Nora, and Amy, well, she was already breathing down Harrison, the Aussie sweeping it in close to Bea who wasn't having a great race. Plenty of popcorn to go around. Towards the back, Jen and Hamid had made inroads, but the fighting was getting rather lengthy. Jen clearly had the pace to get past more ships like Cassie's, but Hamid wanted to constantly fight and leech her ELS, trying to follow through on Ava, and get behind Dorian, which he had managed to do, just. Constantly at each other, Jen let Hamid cover, and then leeched, pulsing forwards, right through the twist right at the final sector, before beaming it on the final, and start-straight complex, knowing that while the Al-Saqr ship had pace, her exit was better and with enough ELS thrown down, she'd make it clear- concede, or impact. Hamid chose not to let her through- and see if she'd back off as he had the corner. Contact was inevitable. And it came, with Jen slamming into the side of Hamid's ship, Hamid arguably ahead at the corner still and Jen trying desperately to force him wide. It was a rookie error from a not-so-rookie pilot, as the two bounced across the MAG-tracked surface and off the repulsor field, coming to a messy, broken stop with both ships looking rather wounded. "Oh wait, red flag, that looks like...ooooh, that is a nasty hit there between Jenny Lowry and Hamid Atlassi! Both are kicking themselves for no doubt, what was an avoidable hit!" "Yes, looks like Lowry misjudged that, look at the way she tries to close up, that can't work!" "No, and well, the stewards will want to look at that one. For now, looks like all ships are at a halt, and we're seeing clean-up activity underway. With such limited room, it was inevitable an overtake would go wrong, but do we think Lowry is still holding up to her initial uptick in form, or is this a sign the pilot is struggling with the second seat at Silver Apex?" "Well, a poor qualifying put her in a bad place. And you can't win races from 12th, so knowing her, Jenny will be kicking herself." The ships were neutralised, and after the two pilots had clambered out, the small matter of the circuit's incredibly messy state and tight configuration meant the mess was requiring a full clean-up. Carbon was just everywhere, and Jen had gone silent when she was in the paddock, hurling her helmet to an engineer, gloved hands on face, a small yell audible from the Silver Apex garage of frustration that the others might have heard. Hamid seemed marginally less upset, already adding to what was a shit day for Al-Saqr, on a track that wasn't giving them much luck. [hr] At the restart, all ships were back online. And the small matter of the fight was left at the front, with Bea still in a podium position now Amy was behind Harrison and her. [b]Four. Three. Two. One. [/b] Harrison started strong, immediately picking up pace on Bea, and in Turn 1, took a punt that Bea wouldn't want the corner as much as he did. He had a golden opportunity to close up to Paul, because out of the corners, he wouldn't have the same ELS pull as him. Harrison spent the entire lap jostling with Bea, but eventually, by lap's end, was ahead. And immediately, not wasting time out of the gate either, Amy made a fierce move on Bea a few minutes later at Turn 1, the very inevitable Amy Stirling not wanting to lose much more time in taking back P1. Amy would have had that opportunity of course, had she have been higher up the grid- but Bea had stalled her plenty that she'd be denied a podium finish in the inevitable end. Bea might have even had the chance to tangle with her, but, inevitably, it was not to be. Because up front, the real fight was taking place. In the humid, horrible heat, Nora could feel her body twitch in reaction through every corner, every fight trying to defend from Paul. She was putting it wide, and she wasn't letting go of anything. She was as ever, piloting a ship that seemed completely wild, more so than Carrera's at this point, but she was making it nigh impossible for Paul to fight without causing an enormous crash. It was heart pounding stuff, because the two rookies at the start of the season who been so highly touted, in a dogfight of their own. So improbably were they here, Nora capitalising on straights and corners, but loose as anything, the ship absolutely not made for Singapore. The fans of both teams were on the edges of their seat, the fight that maybe wasn't at Spa levels, but on a street circuit, felt even more razor-edge than ever. Any mistake would be punished instantly, and be absolutely unrecoverable. All the way to the end, Paul would prod, poke and shove. But Nora made one mistake. It was just enough. And in a moment, Paul had a chance on that final lap to give everything, and make a move. And make that move he did. Nails fully bitten off, the commentators went wild. "Paul Mulder makes that move stick, wow, they are side by side, but Mulder has the better of Kelly, and what an emphatic response, what a point proven by the Belgian, he takes it into Turn 18 and keeps the lead, and wins, the Singapore AGP! Wow, and with Kelly right behind him, and Makara winning out over Stirling, what a result!" Rory was at the top of his lungs, the race not a cut and shut with big gaps like Germany, but actually, a close race throghout. Street circuits with ELS that had been mastered, like Singapore made for good races in AG ships, where they could demonstrate their speed and capability to their fullest. "Yes, an impressive result! Stirling must be kicking herself over that fight with Kelly, and the mistake she made, but what a great recovery to push past Ward and take P4, incredible scenes." "And would you look at that, Max Wedgewood in P6 overtakes Astrid Thorsdottir in the dying laps, he has driven the absolute bolts off that ship, what a result from the Colorado native! Neves, Hornfleur and Villarosa follow, and well, that rounds out our top ten." Rory commentated, as the footage cut to Valkyrie absolutely going haywire over that win, and in the pit wall, engineers barely containing their excitement. Nora's audio was significantly more dejected, but even so, she had to admit. That was quite something from Paul, and if the rumours were that he was under the weather after Hawaii were true, what a way he had proven the doubters wrong. [hider=Race Results for Singapore]https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qF6cn-eA0G0sumgf79TvEnPjOHyQP-vZSFV6LNrn_OY/edit?usp=sharing [hr][/hider] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Cooldown Room[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [center][h2][i][b]Harrison Makara[/b][/i][/h2][/center] The moves Paul had made on Nora was absolutely stunning, and to stick it out right at the end was no doubt a weight lifted off his shoulders. Harrison scowled. That was a win for Nora, and even if she was his biggest championship rival, it was gutting to see it taken right in the death. "Damn. That is rough. Still. Two rookies didn't smack into each other, so we're all winners....would be an easy P1 if you had!" Harrison joked with a teethy smile, absolutely pulling both of their legs, as Nora shrugged, shaking hands with Paul, the shorter Aussie drenched to her core from the effort, struggling to walk across to the beanbag versus the more active Harrison. The overtake played back, as did the earlier scuffle that Nora had with Amy, and then, the relentless pace at which Beatrix had been picked off, including the fine move by Harrison, putting himself exactly where needed to in order to make her sweat. While Bea was good, Harrison today had oozed confidence, and made the ship work with a setup that he was now getting his head around. The steward gave the thumbs up, and with it, the three walked out. Walking out onto the top step, Paul must have felt strange getting three wins this season. The highest highs, the lowest lows. No doubt Bea was feeling that after such a promising weekend. But then again, form, morale, and the roll of the dice were funny things. Because on award of a beautiful platinum and holographic trophy, and a massive bottle of champagne, trying to deal with those highs and lows didn't matter in that instant. The pressure was mounting on Al-Saqr, and in a moment where Valkyrie needed to keep the pressure on, they had delivered. [hr] The format semeed to shift a little bit for the interviews, feeling less like an in the moment review, given tensions, but set a week or so after, looking back in retrospect. Giving more time for a response, more nuance, an option to at least hone in on things. [b]"Bea, it seems like at the start of the season, your hopes were low at the bottom of the midfield pack, but now you seem closer to the podium each week than ever before. What do you think you need to work on to get that final third, especially at the very top level? Do you think you could explain to our viewers what the difference is like?" "Paul, you seemed to be having struggles with your form, with some inconsistent performances, yet still delivering three wins by Singapore. Tell us, how did that win feel, after? And if you're at liberty, tell us, what do the pressures feel like?" "Kais, not an ideal weekend, but do you have hope that at the other circuits you'll be able to show off what your speed-focussed craft can do?"[/b]