Wipeout Chronicles [Archive] - WipeoutZone Forum

keg_11

2nd July 2012, 04:30 AM

Here's the first of my articles. More content to follow.

2058 - The Drawn Year

Throughout the F3600 years, there had been quite a few close seasons. But none were as ever close as the 2058 League, where there were three draws within the pilots' and team's championships.

2058 started on a low: the first League race to be run since the death of Chinese pilot Daniel Chang in Japan in 2056.The mood on the first race in Canada was sombre as fans and teams were curious and concerned how would the series will go with the new safety measures that had been implemented by the Race Commission. Although they were assured that AG racing would be safe and secure for both the pilots and spectators, not everyone was convinced.

AG Systems managed to attend the race seemingly relaxed, as if Chang's death had never happened. John Dekka still sat in the lead pilot's position but was joined by British pilot Marcus Fairclough. Fairclough was the first of the developmental pilots to make it to the main league, with special training achieved by both AG Systems UK and the Royal Air Force. Fairclough was instantly acknowledged in the AG community as a possible contender for the championship in the future. Fairclough brushed these praises off with modesty.

FEISAR was another team to have a pilot change for the 2058 season. Lead pilot, Sofia de la Rente, had stood down from the main pilot role to concentrate her attention to developmental roles within the team, as well as other interests. Paul Jackson replaced her as lead pilot and was joined by former AGRC pilot, Ami Nakajima. Nakajima had been FEISAR's main test pilot and technical advisor since the start of the F3600, but her popularity from her time a a pilot has never wained. Her comeback was met with near fanatical frenzy. Some critics were concerned about this move, believing this exposure may hinder FEISAR's championship efforts. But FEISAR's new team manager, Patrick Renaudin, was brimming with confidence "...with one of the best pilots of the AGRC, Jackson's 2nd place performance in the 2055 season, and the adjustments done to the ship during the hiatus would catapult FEISAR to the top of the leaderboards."

Auricom and Qirex opted not to change their lineups, with both teams having full confidence in their seasoned pilots. Auricom had undergone quite a transformation over the 2-year hiatus period, with the debut of the AR2800 Model A, the first dual-hulled racing craft in professional AG racing (their dual-hulled prototype from the AGRC didn't count). This craft is said to improve the stability of the craft, if hit by weapons, as the design can accomodate more gravity repulsionm areas as well as the extra power of the new Pro-Am SR980 stabilising surfaces and space left over for larger engines. Despite using the same engines as their outgoing AR2700, albeit modified in-house, the craft has proved to be very promising in pre-season testing.

Both pilots, Arial Tetsuo and Anastasia Cherovoski, claimed that the new craft has exceeded their expectations in terms of handling, and noticed the considerable improvement in speed as well. Team manager, Emile "E.W." Waters says "that both pilots have come well accustomed to the new craft, and can push through the lumbering Qirex craft with ease." Critics claimed that Auricom is the team to beat this season.

Auricom's confidence resulted in Qirex's anxiety. Still satisfied with their progress so far, they spent most of the hiatus just training and conditioning their pilots. When news of Auricom's revoltionary new ship emerged, Qirex hastily upgraded their craft so that it can ram past the American team. However, in pr-season testing, it is obvious, even with the upgrades, the 2058 Qirex ship is struggling to find speed in the corners. If Qirex has any shot in winning the championship, both pilots, Kel Solaar and Arian Tetsuo, would need to work together (which hasn't always been the case).

At the first race at Altima, both Auricoms blew away all the opposition to come out with a very satisfying win: the first 1-2 finish for the team. But most remarkably, Ami Nakajima proved she's still got it by pushing past 6-time champion Kel Solaar to collect 3rd. As ever, Solaar was outraged of the performance of Nakajima, and demanded that an investigation to be put forwards. Despite the accusations (of overpowered machnes), the charges agasinst Nakajima were dropped.

This set the tone for the rest of thes season, with Auricom constantly gaining the top positions on the podium, and the constant battles between Solaar and Nakajima. But the big battles were between the two Auricom pilots. Arial managed to pick up 3 wins and 2 seconds and Cherovoski took the opposite, gong into the final round in Greenland. Nakajima stayed one step ahead of Solaar by placing third for all but one round of the season (which was in Germany, where Nakajima experienced some control problems towards the end, giving third to Solaar). Going into the final round, the placings were: L. TETSUO [41]; CHEROVOSKI [39]; NAKAJIMA [26]; SOLAAR [17].

There were a lot of expectations at Silverstream. The main assumption was that Auricom would dominate, with a slight bias towards Arial Tetsuo taking the win, and Nakajima in third. Despite Qirex's smear campaign during most of the season, there was nothing to stop Arial's pouplarity amongst fans. Kel Solaar, it was rumoured, to be the most pent up anyone had ever seen him in his 20 year career. A former technician at the time noted that "Kel was so tense that a slight misunderstanding could give you break your nose. I once heard him say "I've got nothing to lose. I'm going to go out there and blitz everyone!"

The race got off to a predictable start, with Arial in the lead followed by her teammate, and further back, Solaar. By the end of the first lap, Nakajima pulled ahead of Solaar, but a series of 'lucky' weapon pads saw Solaar pass and pull ahead of Nakajima, and reach the backburner of Arial (Cherovoski had since passed her). Although Arial used the more manoeverable ship to outmatch Solaar, a mistake at the second split saw Solaar take the shorter route and assume second. The race came down to the wire with Solaar and Cherovoski battling out for victory in one of the greatest battles of the time. At first, it was believed that Cherovoski would win and become the champion. Exiting the shorter of the split routes, Solaar rams Cherovoski out of his way and holds onto the lead as they cross the finish line.

Solaar's determination, which was frowned upon by many fans, had led to three draws in the standings: Arial and Cherovoski on 46; Solaar and Nakajima on 26 in the pilots' standings; and FEISAR and Qirex on 29 (including some points scored by Paul Jackson and Arian Tetsuo in the season) in the teams' standings. However, due to the procedures regarding a drawn championship, Arial Tetsuo became the 2058 World Champion as she had claimed more wins than her teammate. Thrid palce was awared to Ami Nakajima (part because she had been more successful thorugout the season, but also to penalise Solaar for his actions in Greenland) and FEISAR claimed 2nd in the teams ahead of Qirex.

Despite this, 2058 signified the first world championship for Tetsuo, and Auricom.

dreadofmondays

2nd July 2012, 04:59 AM

Loving it. More, more! :D

keg_11

2nd July 2012, 07:27 AM

Thanks for the positive comment!:D
This is actually my first fanfic ever, and I wasn't sure how it would be received by the community.

Now that I've got some motivation, I'll continue!:hyper

keg_11

2nd July 2012, 01:53 PM

Here's the next instalment in the Chronicles, and the first of the rivalry stories...

Famous Rivalries - Nobuyuki Sato v. Konstantin Rykov

If you asked me which was the greatest rivalry in AG racing history, my answer will not be what you'll expect. I admit there are some famous rivalries, such as the Tetsuo twins, or the Belmondo-Khumala battles of the 2159 season. But, in my opinion, the most satisfying rivals would have to be Nobuyuki Sato and Konstantin Rykov of the 2070s.

Nobuyuki Sato made his F3600 debut at the start of the 2069 season. There had been alot of changing around during the pre-season following the retirements of Kel Solaar and Anastasia Cherovoski at the end of the previous season. Sato had replaced Marcus Fairclough after he went to Auricom and was paired with young Italian pilot, Paulo Marino. In his first two seasons, Sato made his presence well felt, with a couple of point scoring finishes in his first season and a couple of podium places the year after. By 2070, AG Systems were the team to beat (following Marino's championship win the year before). Sato continued his phenominal run, winning 5 of the 7 races of the season, giving him the world championship in only his third year of competing.

Konstantin Rykov came up through unconventional channels. Because of the triumphs of Kel Solaar, most up-and-coming Russian pilots would look to Qirex Industries to enchance their careers. However, Rykov went to FEISAR instead. He later claimed that in associating with FEISAR, he would be given the easiest and purist way to enter professional racing, away from the intrigues of media exposure (after all, Qirex was controlled by the Overtel datacast Corporation). After three years at FEISAR Study, Rykov debuted in 2071 and, like Sato, make a big impact, scoring 3 consecutive third placings in Germany, Russia and the United States.

Sato and Rykov saw themselves as serious title contenders for the 2072 season, along with the previous year's champion, Marcus Fairclough. With Qirex's decline following Sofia de la Rente's retirement, this was the first time where the champion's race was wide open. At the first race of the season in Canada, Sato got off to a brilliant start, leaving Rykov and Fairclough to battle it out for second. Numerous times the 2nd/3rd positions switched as both pilots tried to shake off the other. This stalemate caused both pilots to catch up to Sato in the later stages of the race, turning it into a three-way battle royale. Eventually, Fairclough face defeat from his younger rivals and settled for third, with Rykov in second and Sato taking victory.

Throughout the rest of the season, all three pilots showed some of their best races with all three sharing at leat one win each. However, Fairclough managed to put the Canada race behind him to win the 2072 season by 8 points ahead of Sato on 49 and Rykov on 41. After winning his second championship, Fairclough announced his retirement.

At first, alot of people believed that 2073 season was going to be a Sato-Rykov grudgematch, especially with Rykov moving to Qirex. However, they didn't count on Fairclough's replacement at Auricom: female Canadian pilot, Paige Mercer. Mercer was the pride of Canada; a master of the local circuits and destined for championship success in the F3600 League. She was not to disappoint, managing to pull just ahead of Sato to take the 2073 championship, with 5 wins to her name. Both Sato and Rykov scored respectable finishes, normally filling in the podium finishes. But everyone was starting to believe that the battle between Sato and Rykov was never going to happen.

This was even more of a reality during the next season, where Rykov spent most of his time racing against his teammate, the Spaniard Matteo Munoz. Munoz had been called the "Fiery Matador" because of his short temper and agressive piloting style, but it was his behavior during the 2074 season that well earned him this title. At the final race of the season at the Firestar Research Station on Mars, Munoz had pushed passed his teammate and was scratching at the afterburners of second placed Mercer. As they approached the last chicane, it was almost obvious that Munoz wasn't going to pass the agile Canadian so, therefore, he should've held his position and been satisfied for second. However, Munoz would do the opposite: he would shunt into the back of Mercer's craft, putting her into the wall, and safely navigated the corner to achieve second palce, behind Sato. To consolate her misfortune, Rykov would alow Mercer to finish in third. Afterwards, Mercer angrily argued with Munoz over the shunt, eventually riling up the fiery Spaniard. In attempting to break up the fight, Rykov was accidently punched by Munoz, breaking his nose. Although the Commission did not disqualify him from the race, Munoz was banned from racing for five years, and was subsequently sacked from Qirex (Munoz's sacking was also as a result of Rykov's protests to the team about Munoz's attitude). Munoz never saw the track again.

For alot of people, the 2075 season started to bring them the Sato-Rykov battle they had longed for. The Qirex team was harmonious with the signing of FEISAR graduate Makku Eerik, and Rykov pulled all the stops to give himself the best possible chance in winning the championship. Sato too was confident in the season, especially with the pre-season performance of Paulo Marino.

The first three races saw a full-on battle for victory between the three pilots, with Marino winning in Canada and Germany and Rykov taking Japan. However, Sato was the most consistant pilot of the three, scoring three 2nds and two wins, and led the championship battle going into the penultimate race at Silverstream. But, quite unexpectantly, Rykov managed to find the speed he needed (plus Sato had difficulties finding speed) and pulled a wonderful win, with Marino behind him in second, thus going into the final race with 4 points seperating the leaders. On Mars, Rykov managed to replicate his fine form to take out that race as well as his first world championship with Sato in second (3rd in the race), followed by Marino.

2076 was nothing but Sato vs. Rykov, even though they had some challenges from Paige Mercer along the way. Both pilots were constantly on the top two steps on the podium, and displayed some of the closest battles of the era. A prime example was the American round at Arridos IV. With Sato initially leading, those two were neck-a-neck throughout the whole race, passing each other more times than can be counted. Eventually, Rykov held out to win the race, beating Sato by six seconds. The final race on Mars seemed anti-climatic, with Rykov holding a firm lead and eventually taking the race by 11 seconds. But on the podium, Sato embraced Rykov, and later said that "Konstantin won this season just as much as I have. I couldn't have a better opponent to fight against."

Both pilot's dominance would wane over the years. Sato would spent the next few years in the midpack, in the shadow of Paige Mercer (who would replace the retiring Marino at AG Systems in 2077) before retiring at the end of the 2079 season. Rykov would switch to Auricom (which was one of the biggest controversies at the time) and would win two more championships in 2077 and 2081 (with AG Systems) before retiring himself.

-----------------
AUTHOR'S NOTE: By chance, I had created and likened the rivalry between Sato and Rykov to that of Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda of the 1976 season (exactly one hundred years prior to the legendary 2076 season!). I had been watching videos on YouTube of this season and Ron Howard's dramatisation, called 'Rush', and it occured to me to turn this championship contest between the two pilots to an all-out rivalry.

I (kind of) used Hunt's praise of Lauda at the Japanese Grand Prix to reflect the competitive nature between Sato and Rykov.

pask765

3rd July 2012, 08:54 PM

I thought Belmondo and Khumala were rivals in the 2159 season, not the 2059 season.

keg_11

4th July 2012, 01:41 PM

I thought Belmondo and Khumala were rivals in the 2159 season, not the 2059 season.

Whoops, typo. Thanks for pointing that out.

stin

7th July 2012, 11:47 AM

You know, I have had really enjoyed your story and keep going. :)

stevie:)

keg_11

11th July 2012, 06:00 AM

Since I'm having my mid-year break from Uni, I may not get around to writing any many entries as I would like to do, but I plan to work on these next few topics over the next couple of weeks:

-Origins of dual-hulled craft
-Arial Tetsuo
-Kel Solaar
-Amara Beshir (Assegai founder)

Just giving you guys a heads up to what I'm doing. ;)

F.E.I.S.A.R

11th July 2012, 03:42 PM

Amara Beshir-Founder of Assegai..? Fanon name,or is it canon?
As for dual hull,I bet that Auricom started it in the AGRC,with their Prototype. Standardisation in the F-3600 meant that they returned to single-hull. Scientists at Auricom possibly worked behind the scenes to continue the research they did with the AGRC Prototype,and they came up with a dual-hull chassis that was approved by the Race Commission.

keg_11

13th July 2012, 02:15 AM

Well, I'm not exactly sure about Beshir being the founder of Assegai. I was looking at the changes done to Wipeout Central (WC) and noticed someone had wrote her as Assegai's founder. But as she is referenced in Belmondo's last 'psyche-impulse' as a pioneer of the AG track (see Wipeout 3 SE's manual), I kind of assumed this was plausible to be canon (Assegai, possibly, increased AG racing popularity in Africa). I may be wrong. If so, I will change what I can.

And yeah, that's exactly what I was writing dual hull around: It started as a radical prototype in the AGRC, refused entry in the F3600, but made it's debut in the 2058 season (as per my fanon - see previous page).

keg_11

13th July 2012, 03:37 AM

The next entry in the Chronicles. Also, I have just received WO3: SE in the mail so I'll be doing/finishing the records for the F5000 and F7200 Leagues for the moment. It'll be good because it'll give me more material to write more CHronicles and do a few crossovers as well (between Leagues).

Origins of Dual-Hulled AG Craft (For a more detailed excerpt on Qirex's point of view, click here (http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?8936-Since-Time-Immemorial-Airrider-s-WipEout-Writings&p=219474#post219474))

Dual-hulled craft have been an icon of AG racing for most of its history. Half of all the teams currently competing in the FX400 League run a variant of the celebrated architecture, based on the teamâ€™s characteristics. The ship still wows spectators today as it did when it debuted in the inaugural years of the AGRC.

As part of the conditions of the AGRC, each team must develop a prototype ship design to be presented to the racetrack sometime during the 2050 season. The goal of this was to demonstrate what a craft of the future should be like, as well as initiate development projects within the competing teams. All the teams accepted this condition and started development of their prototype crafts at the start of 2048, some even starting the year before. However, American team Auricom Research Industries, led by Delia Flaubert, opted to wait until the end of 2048 to start.

Flaubert had been the Chief Science Officer at AG Systems, and was in charge of the design and development of new technologies at the company. When Flaubert formed Auricom, following her dismissal form AG Systems, she structured the company with a considerable influence on design and development rather than manufacturing. This was also due to her stubborn belief in Pierre Belmondoâ€™s philosophy of using AG technology for the benefit of all. As such, most of their ships had been average in ability. To compensate for this, the team put some emphasis on the durability of their craft; a trait that would become a hallmark of Auricom.

It was this reason that Auricom opted to focus on the craftâ€™s durability when designing their Prototype craft. Also, their late start of their prototype gave them an idea of the competition currently racing, so they could exploit their weaknesses. After extensive study, the design team in charge of the prototype decided to increase the power of the AG generators. They saw that after a hit with a weapon, the crafts tended to drift uncontrollably for a few moments and that the answer to this problem was to raise the magnetic strength of the generators.

However, this theory was not as easy to implement. The added power to the Generators had several effects on the test craft ranging from lack of thrust to disturbance with the controls. It became evident that their conventional ships would not work, so a new ship would have to be built from the ground up. However, things were about to change as a result of an idea from junior engineer, Cole Pine.

Pine had been employed by Auricom after he graduated from Pennsylvania State University, and was quickly placed with the development team of the Prototype craft. Pine had been renowned to â€˜think outside the boxâ€™ despite his average engineering and problem solving skills. Whilst everyone was organising themselves around a single-hull ship, Pine realised that the problem lay not in the specifics of the ship, but the general ship itself: the added power could not be supported on a streamlined single-hulled ship. He quickly proposed the idea of a dual hulled ship straight to team principle â€œE.W.â€ Waters and, indirectly, Flaubert herself.

Pine pointed out that because of the added area of the two hulls, the added strength of the AG generators can be eually distributed over the two side hulls which, in turn, would keep the craft upright better than a single-hull craft and provide space for more powerful engines. As well as these points, Pine pointed out that because of the twin-hulled architecture, they can create less air resistance and is significantly lighter than a traditional single hull ship. (Pine had gotten these idea from his fatherâ€™s â€˜catamaranâ€™: a dual-hulled boat).

Interested (and cursing that she never thought of it), Flaubert pushed this idea through and, by early 2050, the first twin-hull prototype was tested. Everyone in Auricom was amazed with what they created; a highly stable craft that doesn't lose speed from collisions with weapons or walls, and have the potential of higher speeds than what was used (in the test). The only shortfall of this craft was the harder handling because of the wider and less aerodynamic chassis. But Flaubert maintained that this was a minor issue that the pilots can easily overcome.

At the first prototype races, the Auricom craft punched above this weight by constantly competing at the front. The only crafts that could beat Auricom were the FEISAR and possibly the Pir-Hana prototypes, due to their speed. The results proved so positive that Auricom planned to build a production model for full-time competition. However, influenced by Pierre Belmondo, the AG Race Commission re-structured the AGRC to standardise the championship. As such, Auricom were initially denied use of the dual-hulled craft for professional competition but after a discussion with League officials, Auricom were allowed to introduced the dual hull any time after the year 2056 (after 5 years of the F3600).

At first, Auricom had some difficulties balancing their racing commitments with the dual hull development. They managed to get a ship almost ready for competition in the 2057 season. However, Daniel Changâ€™s death during the 2056 season halted all AG racing until improvements in pilot safety were addressed. Auricom used this to their advantage and concentrated all their resources to get the dual hull ship ready for when the F3600 League returned.

The craft made itâ€™s highly anticipated debut at the first round of the 2058 season in Canada to the awe of spectators. With the increased stability over their rivals, critics claimed that the new craft would be hard to beat. Their predictions were right, with Auricom dominating the season to take the Teamâ€™s Championship with ease, despite both pilots, Arial Tetsuo and Anastasia Cherovoski, tied with 46 points apiece. The next season wasnâ€™t as dominant as the previous year, but Auricom still remained a competitor by taking the championship for a second year in succession, with Tetsuo taking her second Pilotâ€™s Championship as well.

Unfortunately, this is where Auricomâ€™s dominance with the dual hull ended. Qirex, vengeful because of Auricomâ€™s dominance, built their own dual-hulled ship for the 2061 season. With Kel Solaar and Sofia de la Rente, Qirex would dominate the 2060s taking all but one of the Teamâ€™s Championships. But despite this, the reputation of dual-hulled ships had been cast and had revolutionised AG craft design for years to come.

-----------------
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wrote this entry based on the description of the Auricom Prototype form 2048. If my description is inaccurate let me know and I'll edit this into the entry.

keg_11

24th July 2012, 08:51 AM

Sorry for an delay in more content. I have been a bit slack for the whie due to holiday and uni starting up again. So here's a little filler in the mean time.

I wrote this a couple of months ago when I bought 2097, planning to post to this thread. Hope everyone likes it.
P.S: For reference, I'll upload the F5000 results asap;)

Pilots of the 2097 AG Racing League

FEISAR:

--GEOFFREY MBOTHO--
AGE: 25
NATIONALITY: South African
ID: MBOT194.15.32.92

Geoffrey Mbotho's nickname is "Africa's wonder pilot", and he well intruely holds up this title. Before AG racing, Mbotho was known to be a "test" pilot as such, testing a home-made ship he and his friends built together in his home town of Johannesburg. He was quickly noticed by FEISAR scouts as they toured the region in the mid 2090s. Seizing the opportunity to broaden their reach, FEISAR offered Mbotho a five-year contract with the team, bringin wealth to him and his community. Mbotho had his presence felt within his first two years of competition, scoring several finishes in the points, and managing 5th place in the 2096 season. Expect this hotshot to fly with the top-runners this season!

--JEREMY HUNT--
AGE: 22
NATIONALITY: English
ID: HUNT175.3.54.26

Jeremy Hunt is best remembered for being the youngest ever pilot to be signed onto a professional team. However, that's where most of the praise stops as Hunt is still having trouble to gain position as he was expected by everyone around him. Hunt was always hooked on AG racing, it's even rumoured that he was able to say "FEISAR" before mummy. This became a big problem for his parents, as they tried to get him into other hobbies and sports. But Hunt was nothing but one thing: AG racing. His determination and love of the sport led him to dominate the junior leagues in Europe before being signed to race with FEISAR at 16, beating the Tetsuo twins and Sofia de la Rente as the youngest rookie in history by two years (albeit he didn't actually compete in a full season until 2093).

--DAWN ATKINSON--
AGE: 26
NATIONALITY: American
ID: ATKI140.4.68.40

Despite being American born and bred, Dawn Atkinson spent most of her education and training in Europe. A recent graduate of the FEISAR pilot development program, Atkinson was installed quite quickly as second pilot after Xavier Wilson's fatal elimination during the 2091 season. Atkinson is one of the smartest pilots in the field. Not surprising as she has an IQ of 130 and aced FEISAR's pilot's program with ease. This has helped Atkinson keep a good, consistant pace with the other pilots. However, she would need to be more agressive if she hopes to catch the top pilots.

AG SYSTEMS:

--SABURO OHASHI--
AGE: 30
NATIONALITY: Japanese
ID: OHAS220.59.21.100

Already a two time champion, Saburo Ohashi's dominance has waned a little over the past few years, but still remains one of the guys to beat in this year's season. Ohashi was your typical Japanese pilot: rose through the ranks of AG racing through AG Systems, then granted a seat with the Japanese team for the tragic 2089 season. Despite a few bottom placings, Ohashi remained patient and eventually rose through the ranks to rival Qirex's heavy ships for a few years, eventually winning back to back championships in 2094 and '95. It was Ohashi that made AG Systems a serious contender in the F5000.

--KUMIKO TAKAHASHI--
AGE: 26
NATIONALITY: Japanese
ID: TAKA225.99.80.68

If Ohashi was flying the flag for Japan & AG Systems, Kumiko Takahashi would easily be his successor. The talented pilot from Hokkaido was one of AG Systems' best test pilots, comparable to that of the late John Dekka. She was a bit hesitant at first to take up a full time seat in the championship, but she was more than happy to work with Ohashi whom she had idolised from the side. In response, Ohashi was more than happy to be her mentor. With this huge potential and one of the best mentors you can ask for, Takahashi has grown a lot over her three years of competition, and has already been tipped to take out this year's championship.

--TIM ABASI--
AGE: 28
NATIONALITY: Kenyan
ID: ABAS285.52.30.46

FEISAR weren't the first team to go to Africa to scout new talent. AG Systems just pipped them to the post and managed to find Tim Abasi in the plains of Kenya. Although it was a risky decision to put someone with virtually no experience with any AG racer into a professional seat, AG Systems withheld Abasi for a few years to train him up. When he first appeared on the circuit in 2094, he had some trouble with the pace of the seasoned pilots, but scored some respectable finishes in the next season. Whether a "good-idea-at-the-time" flop or a promising prodigy, only time would tell.

AURICOM:

--SEBASTIAN LOEWE--
AGE: 32
NATIONALITY: German
ID: LOEW374.2.1.53

This German is a legend on the circuit! Blitzing last year's championship, there seems to be little that can stop this hotshot. Descended from some famous German Formula One drivers, it was almost certain that Loewe will rise to racing greatness. He wasn't to disappoint, as he dominated FEISAR's pilot's development program before being promoted, at the last minute, to a League seat after Xavier Wilson's fatal elimination in 2091. Over the next two years, Loewe would constantly give the leaders a considerable threat as he claimed fourth behind Qirex's dominance and AG Systems' Saburo Ohashi. This success caught the eye of Auricom, who signed on Loewe for the 2094 season (replacing Jacob Van Vuuren). Loewe would battle against AG Systems to reach 3rd (2094), 2nd (2095) and finally his first championship in 2096, defeating Kumiko Takahashi by 10 points.

--ALEX ALEXANDERSSON--
AGE: 26
NATIONALITY: Swedish
ID: ALEX337.1.6.72

A quiet pilot, Alex Alexandersson has always been a consistant pilot, gleaming with lots of natural talent. She was quite an unknown pilot during her first season in 2091, but has come quite a long way to become last year's third placed pilot. She also has a strong relationship with her teammate, Sebastian Loewe, since her first season (Loewe was with FEISAR). This has led datacast companies to suggest a more intimate affair between the two. This particuarly irritated Alexandersson, who reportatedly punched a reporter after he kept pressing this issue during a private interview for American datacasts (Alexandersson was remorseful, of course).

--ANDREA PEREZ--
AGE: 32
NATIONALITY: Spanish
ID: PERE340.5.4.72

Although Andrea Perez is one the most experienced of all the current lineup, she is still one of the least competitive pilots as well, failing to score a single point in her entire career. Rather, she is a well-experienced test pilot, associating herself with FEISAR for 15 years (through the pilot's development program and racing in the Venom/Rapier Leagues) before moving to Auricom. When Auricom became really dominant during the mid 2090s, their craft development really took a step up. Part of this was the luring of Perez to Auricom to give her opinion on the new craft as well as support the team's on-track success where she can. She is expected to become a leading developmental advisor with Auricom once she retires.

QIREX:

--VLADIMIR TUCHYON--
AGE: 36
NATIONALITY: Russian
ID: TUCH497.7.2.3468

The most experienced pilot in the field, Vladimir Tuchyon first associated himself with Qirex since the League was upgraded to F5000 specification. He was also one of the most agressive in the sports history, with a number of controversies and eliminations to his name. One such event was during the 2089 season, where Tuchyon was charged with a suspended ban after blocking FEISAR pilot Xavier Wilson from passing, almost causing an elimination. However, this did not stop him to become world champion in 2091 (Qirex' clean sweep) and 2092 (despite protests from Auricom and AG Systems).

--ANDREW ZAO--
AGE: Unknown
NATIONALITY: Hong Konger
ID: ZAOX469.1.9.4778

Not too much in known about Andrew Zao, despite his Hong Kong origins. Zao is a secretive pilot, prefering to focus on the race and shun almost all exposure. This worked in his favour as he rose up to become the 2093 champion. There had been many theories about his background and intentions, one in particular stated he was actually a Chinese spy, testing the waters for the new Piranha team entering in this year's League. Zao has so far denied such allogations.

--ALISA RYKOV--
AGE: 24
NATIONALITY: Russian
ID: RYKO465.7.6.2569

Daughter of three-time F3600 champion Konstantin Rykov, Alisa Rykov is considered to be a future champion for her skill as well as her lineage. Konstantin introduced Alisa to AG racing when she was a little girl and raised her as a formidable pilot after he retired from competition in 2082. Although Konstantin managed to get Alisa to associate with Qirex, it was her skill alone that led to her to becoming one of their main pilots: a feat few Qirex pilots have done. Furthermore, she was able to score her first F5000 points in her first season. Apart from the AG Systems-Auricom battles at front, she is the starlet to watch.

PIRANHA:

--GUO MING--
AGE: 25
NATIONALITY: Chinese
ID: GUOX558.22.75.88

Guo Ming is the 'golden child' of both Piranha and the People's Republic of China. Guo is the product of Piranha's pilot development program and worked very closely with Piranha's P-666 v.Prototype. Piranha claimes that this association with the prototype craft can create the optimum pilot-craft connection that would bring out both the pilot's and the ship's potential. However, most of the information of Guo's background have been supplied by Piranha and certain facts have been undisclosed by Chinese Anti-Gravity Federation (CAGF). For example, official sources claim that Guo had an unconditional love for the sport since he was very young and had "valiantly fought through the ranks to be the perfect pilot for the team's perfect ship". Therefore, the overall image of Guo as the 'ultimate pilot' is sceptical.

--HENRY CLAYDON--
AGE: 26
NATIONALITY: British
ID: CLAY505.59.13.37

Although quite unheard of in the big leagues of AG racing, Henry Claydon was an expensive, and unusual, signing. Claydon has always been associated with the sport, achieving back-to-back championships in the European League and had tested for FEISAR on a number of occasions, but was never cosidered by any of the major teams. It was quite a surprise to see Claydon pilot the second of Piranha's ships, but however has shown a substantial improvement in his skill in his practice runs with the team and can possibly give lead pilot Guo Ming the backup he needs to cement Piranha as a threat to the competition. There has rumoured to be pleanty of cursing by the main teams regretting they ever overlooked the now-strong Brit.

--LUÃS RIBEIRO--
AGE: 20
NATIONALITY: Brazilian
ID: RIBE5873.80.96.46

As most AG race fans know, Piranha was originally a Brazilian company under the name Pir-Hana. When the company moved to China during the 2050s, there was a clause in the contract which made sure that some operations will remain in Brazil and must co-operate with a Brazilian correspondant. In essence, this was to keep the team partially Brazilian. When Piranha were choosing their pilots for the F5000, Brazil requested that one of the main pilots was a Brazilian. After months of trials and selection, they eventually chose Sao Paulo native, LuÃ*s Ribeiro. Ribeiro was a cadet pilot in the Brazilian Air Force and had been a test pilot of their AG development program. Therefore, he was quite knowlegable in the inner working of AG technnology. Although he seems to be quite talented with a normal AG craft, ther had been doubts that this can be reflected in Piranha's monstrous prototype. Rumour has it that if it wasn't for the clause, Piranha wouldn't have gone anywhere near South America for a pilot.

keg_11

25th July 2012, 09:17 AM

After an afternoon of writing, I've come up with my longest and, I think, most comprehensive entry yet: a biography of the Tetsuo twins.

This is not just a review on their racing careers, but a full biography of both pilots that includes their early lives, racing careers and lives after retirement. I've tried to be as authentic as I can be, but if there's anything out of place, just holla.

Enjoy!:g

EDIT: Since my intentions of this fanfic was to create a well accepted back-story, I've rewritten the last few paragraphs so that the twins would live a little bit longer (and peacefully. I had written the assassination nonsense because someone had put it in the WC pages for Arial and Arian [this had since been removed]).

EDIT 2: Arial's death is back to assasination after discovering the event mentioned in an overview of Nami Mishima from Wipeout Fusion's Press Releases disc.

Famous Rivalries - The Tetsuo Twins: Arial and Arian

The most famous rivalry in the history of AG racing (and arguably the most famous pilots in their own right) would be, without a doubt, the Tetsuo twins: Arial and Arian. No pilot after them has matched them in terms of charisma and intensity of their vendetta with each other (apart from maybe Zmitser Tikotsky-David Colquhoun or Natasha Belmondo). Also, it was partially because of their rivalry that the everlasting rivalry between Auricom and Qirex evolved and lives on to this day.

The twins were born on 3 April 2030 in Tokyo (Arial being older by 5 minutes) and lived most of their early lives in Shibuya. It was here that their strongly bitter rivalry started. Their father was a stockbroker with a leading international brokerage firm. But because he was making trades with many overseas customers, he was working up to and more than 20 hours a day. Although, because of technology, he was able to work from home, he only got to see his twin daughters for a very small amount of time. As such, time spent with the twins was strictly rationed with the twins monitoring how much time was spent. Although there is no evidence claiming time was shared out less equally, Arian believed that Arial was the favoured twin.

The conflict that arose from this arrangement dominated the twins’ childhood and teenage lives. When Arial got an A, Arian got an A++; when Arian was the first to have a boyfriend, Arial was the first to {censored}. However, they gradually grew up along two different paths: Arial was a confident socialite, always buying the latest fashions, the latest tech and was the life of the party; whereas Arian was more reserved, more darker and was a rebellious tomboy who had several shaves with the law. The death of their father in 2042 created more conflict between the two girls. It had been reported that the two girls brawled at each other after school in 2045 which left them with numerous cuts and bruises and Arian with a broken wrist. Both were charged for the incident.

But there was one thing that the twins had in common: racing. After their father died, their mother got the girls into motor racing (and, subsequently, experimental AG racing) to release energy and become generally calmer in temperament. Both girls showed bounds of potential in small club races around Tokyo, but only Arial pursued a possible career in racing eventually competing in the inaugural Anti-Gravity Youth League of Japan.

Arian’s attitude prevented her from following her sister into the higher leagues, but in hindsight it may have been for the better as Arian’s character and skill matured as she was apart from her sister. Arian competed in various street racing competitions around the Tokyo Metropolis, and was rumoured to be the fastest driver on the Wangan line: a 22km section of the Shuto Expressway notorious for high-speed street racing.

Through their different paths, both sisters achieved so much success and exposure that they were both hired by the big Ag companies to race in the inaugural AG Racing Championships: Arial was hired by Auricom after winning her second consecutive Youth League title in 2047, and Arian was invited by Qirex to come to Russia and train using their all-terrain simulator. It was quite a shock when both pilots ran into each other at the opening ceremony of the first Anti-Gravity Racing Championship in 2048: it turned out; neither of them knew the other twin had also been hired to race. Despite efforts by both of them to exclude the other pilot, all requests were denied, and saw themselves facing off each other at the first round of the 2048 season at the fearful Empire Climb.

Despite their rivalry, they managed to perform considerably well, and were both chosen in their respective team line-ups for the first F3600 League season in 2052. But that was when the gloves came off. Throughout each race of the season, they were more concerned about running the other team off the track than to actually race (this was due to the more conventional race/season structure when compared to the AGRC). As such, both twins finished at the bottom of the table, despite a few points finished along the way. The two kept fighting against each other for several seasons (but, oddly, kept achieving a better overall result) until 2055, where both Auricom ships (Arial and teammate Anastasia Cherovoski) were plagued with ship problems throughout the season. Arial finished last and Arian finished 3rd behind FEISAR’s Paul Jackson and her teammate, Kel Solaar.

This result was switched in 2058. With the introduction of Auricom’s revolutionary dual-hull ship, both Auricoms belted the competition with Arial taking her first championship win based on number of victories. Both Qirex ships struggled to keep up with the new ships, particularly Arian who scored only 5 points between 2058 and ’59. To try and get back at Auricom, Qirex launched a smear campaign in 2059 to undermine Arial, who had become popular with younger fans. Numerous verbal attacks were placed on her ranging from cheating to extremes such as allegations of prostitution as a teenager. This ran until 2060 when the F3600 Anti-Gravity Race Commission formally accused Qirex of blackmail against Auricom. Even if the campaign worked, it would’ve affected the performance on field which started to turn Qirex’s way.

But things were starting to change between the twins. During the 2056-57 hiatus, Arial had acquired an interest in politics and became the Democratic Party of Japan’s (DPJ) main representative of Tokyo 7th District in 2061. However, Arial knew that her racing commitments were restricting her political ambitions. When her contract with Auricom ended after 2061, she was ready to move full-time into politics, but an offer to pilot with FEISAR halted this. This was because this offer was on a race-by-race status and was mainly to help tutor FEISAR’s up-and-coming pilots. The 2062 season was undoubtedly their greatest season between the two with both twins constantly on the podium, and Arian taking second by 14 points over her twin. Satisfied with this result, Arial signed on for another year and both twins showed a similar performance, but not as hotly contested (Arian would win a few races of that season). Arial would retire at the end of the season.

However, Arian stayed racing with no signs of retirement. By this point, her attention had shifted from defeating her sister to taking over the lead pilot position at Qirex once Kel Solaar retired. This motivation created several good seasons for Arian, placing herself as a middle-front runner, with a couple of runner-up positions along the way. When Solaar retired, Arian became Qirex’s lead pilot but was up against stiff competition for the 2069 League from her new teammate, Sofia de la Rente.

De la Rente was FEISAR’s main pilot until 2056, where she left the League to pursue other interests, such as long-distance AG racing and other sports. She returned in 2062 to replace Arian and had become one of the best pilots in the league, winning the previous two Championships. Now with Qirex, she had no intentions of slowing down.

Knowing what she was up against, Arian trained extra hard to beat her teammate and take the title for herself. However, this proved fruitless as she finished fourth in the championship behind her teammate, Auricom’s Marcus Fairclough and AG Systems’ Paulo Marino. After a few more seasons of dismal results, Arian’s contract with Qirex expired and was denied both a new contract and an extension on her old one. With no interest for from the other teams, Arian was forced to retire.

In their retirements, neither Tetsuo twin stood away from the limelight. After retiring, Arial successfully lobbied to be elected the member of Tokyo 7th District in 2068 (which she would hold until her retirement in 2086). From there, she withhold several positions within her party and the government including Public Relations Committee Chair (DPJ); Diet Affairs Committee Chair (DPJ) and Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Diet) before being elected Party President in 2076 and, subsequently, Prime Minister in 2078. Her biggest contribution was the reinvigoration of Japan’s motorway network to accommodate Anti-gravity vehicles, which were starting to see mainstream domestic use, as well as many international co-operations and projects. Arial’s down-to-earth but firm-handed approach to diplomacy was strongly liked by everyone, leading to a personality cult around her. Her unrivalled popularity allowed her to be elected a second term in 2082, before retiring from national politics just before the 2086 elections, wanting to draw her attention to international politics (namely the UN).

Arian was still quite known, for all the wrong reasons. Jealous of her sister came to power; she had joined a group of right-wing extremists whose goal was to undermine the DPJ. It has been reported that Arian had been involved in many conspiracies to undermine, even harm Arian and the DPJ. Arian was eventually arrested, along with several others, in 2085 for conspiring to attack the headquarters of the DPJ. Arian was sentenced 10 years imprisonment. In 2086, before her retirement, Arial went to see her sister in prison to offer her forgiveness for the rivalry between each other.

This appeared to have worked, as Arian’s normally brutish behaviour subsided after she was released in 2089. In one race in 2092, fans witnessed both Arial and Arian together in a friendly manner, which was completely against their everlasting vendetta with each other. Arian reveals the reason for her behaviour in an interview with a leading British datacast channel:

“All my life, I had always seen my sister as nothing but a rival. And it was obvious she saw the same thing in me. We had stubbornly believed this throughout all our lives at almost everything, and seeing her be more popular or more successful made me so sick of her I actually wanted to kill her (which I helped attempt). But when she visited me in prison, I saw a different Arial. She seemed defensive and stubborn and more open and compassionate. No way was this the Arial I knew. Normally, I would’ve taken those words she said to me and told her to ‘shove them up your arse’ but the manner in which she said made me think: was Arial being absolutely serious? And then I thought: if she’s acting this way, maybe I should (a bit). I mean, despite we’re enemies, we’re still twins after all.”

As such, Arian moderately supported Arial as UN Ambassador for Japan until Arial’s full retirement from politics in 2095. Both twins would continue to be associated in AG racing in one form or another, particularly with AG Systems. They would both be alive when AG racing was upgraded to F7200. Tragically, Arial would be assassinated whilst opening a raw egg bar in Shibuya on 11 March 2117. A period of international mourning was observed for several weeks following her death. Arian would pass away peacefully 6 June 2122 after a long battle with heart disease.

In honour of the twins, AG Systems would establish the ‘Tetsuo Scholarship’ with their pilot development program mainly designed to support middle-class siblings entering AG racing (although this is also applicable to a single child).

-----------------
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The section that implies that domestic AG vehicles didn't start rolling out until c.2080 is based off the prediction from futuretimeline.net (http://www.futuretimeline.net/). It also states that domestic AG vehicle research by domestic car companies doesn't really start until c.2050. I added this in as it shows some sort of realism to society outside AG racing: AG racing teams pioneer the technology; this is evolved, eventually, into domestic use (like how military tech makes its way into the public's hands).

F.E.I.S.A.R

25th July 2012, 03:25 PM

Arial was killed by a right-wing extremist on 11 October 2089, a few days before accepting the role of UN Ambassador of Japan. Although unclear of the motivations for the assassination, the perpetrator (whose name is withheld) was sentenced to death. Arial was given a state funeral and a period of national mourning was imposed, for both her political and her sporting career. Arian was released in 2090 on parole and lived the rest of her life in mourning of her sister. She would pass away of heart failure on 6 June 2098 and taking with her an iconic rivalry of AG racing to be remembered forever.
I will admit that the lives the twins lived was NOT a fail.
Now for some calculations:
Arial died 2089-2030=59 years old
Arian died 2098-2030=68 years old
But the ages when they died? I find that a(n epic) fail.

keg_11

26th July 2012, 04:12 AM

How old do you think they lived? (or should live?)

F.E.I.S.A.R

30th July 2012, 10:38 AM

I'd figure they would live to at least 70. And that they would have AIs in their liking(if not exact replica) after they have departed.

keg_11

16th August 2012, 06:09 AM

Amara Beshir & Assegai Developments

Amara Beshir can be considered to be the person who brought AG racing to Africa. Although this isn’t exactly true, Beshir did play an important role in the decision to expand the sport into the African continent and, in turn, establish Africa’s leading AG research corporation, Assegai Developments.

Beshir was born on 23 February 2077 in Cairo, Egypt. Her father was an executive businessman from a French sporting goods manufacturer (who had minor involvement with AG racing), so the family spent a considerable amount of time living in France. It’s unclear that it was because of her father’s job or from general exposure, but Beshir was very interested in AG racing from a young age. By the age of 15 she was racing in the European junior leagues at quite a competitive level. She would win the European Vector Championship in 2100 and was employed as a FEISAR test pilot the next year.

But what was quite noticeable about Beshir was her belief in Pan-Africanism. Since the early 21st century, the African nations had co-operated with each other to pursue greater economic and civil reform for all African nations. By the end of the century, Africa had became, if not already, key player in international politics and economy (through the African Union and several of its member nations such as South Africa, the East African Federation and the Arab-African nations). However, it was not completely stable. To aid their neighbouring countries as well as to recover from a downturn in their national markets, South Africa merged with neighbouring Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland to form the United African Nations in 2100 (but still referenced themselves by their former nationalities).

With a maturing socio-economic status in comparison with the rest of the world, it became obvious to the F5000 AG Race Commission that AG racing needed an African team. When Pierre Belmondo announced the plans to upgrade the F5000 to F7200 specification, he announced the potential to introduce new teams in the new League, with at least one to be African. As such in 2112, the F5000 Commission sent an invite to the African Union for them to compete in the new F7200 League.

Amara Beshir expressed great interest in the plan and lobbied the heads of FEISAR to associate herself with the establishment of the team. By this point, she had moved away from ship testing to become more involved in the administration of the company as a whole. Beshir was named as one of the heads of the new team. Over the next couple of months, Beshir would work with many businessman and engineers, African representatives and former African pilots (including Africa’s first world champion, Jacob Van Vuuren). Beshir worked particularly closely with the ship the new team would race. Above all, she emphasized on the handling of the craft, so that the pilots that will control the craft would have a good starting point if they want to pursue the sport further (this came from experience with FEISAR). The pre-season testing of the ship at the Makgadikgadi salt pan showed a quick ship with extraordinary agility. This prompted Beshir to rename the team from “Team Africa” to “Team Assegai”, after the traditional South African long spear.

The success of the ship in the Cross-Africa Sprint Cup, along with the added boost in the national GNP for the UAN prompted Beshir to take the team to the next level. After six months of lobbying to both the UAN and the AU, Beshir reconstructed the team into a fully-fledged AG development company called “Assegai Developments”, with Beshir as its president.

Whilst the team produced some respectable finished on the track, Beshir continued to make the company as African as possible and in turn benefit the continent as a whole. The main example was the re-establishment of AG racing in Africa by way of the African AG Sprint Championships, where the winning pilot would be offered a racing seat with Assegai for the following F7200 championship. This produced some great African talent; most notable was Roland Ncita, who would help pilot Assegai to their maiden Championship victory in 2127.

By this point, Beshir had diverted her attention to the F7200 Commission. When Pierre Belmondo passed away in the same year as Assegai’s victory, Beshir nominated herself to replace him. However, she was just beaten by Briton Roger Bowen, but instead held an advisory role on the F7200 board. When Overtel finally took over the Commission in 2132, her position on the board became increasingly strained as Overtel kept increasing the media value of the sport rather than promoting international sportsmanship and technological development. Eventually, she would resign from her advisory role with the Commission and went back to Assegai as President once more. Also, she had become a member of the Belmondo Foundation, which had often clashed with Overtel over League policy.

Because of this political conflict, in addition to the stresses of supporting the company in this period of AG racing, Beshir decided to step down from the presidency and retire in 2140, passing on the role of President to Dannie Maringa, Assegai’s former Team Principal. This may have seen as a good step for Beshir as she had started to display some health problem in the later years of her career, eventually being crippled after a massive stroke in 2141 which left her in a coma for several weeks. Beshir would recover marginally, but would succumb to complications from this stroke on 6 May 2144.

For a lot of African AG fans, the loss of Beshir was a major tragedy for the promotion and performance of their continent abroad as she was seen as Africa in the AG community. Some critics claim that it was no surprise that Assegai declined substantially during the 2140s and was eventually bought out by Piranha (the team who had expressed the most interest in Assegai) in 2150. But, differing from the fates of AG Systems and Qirex, Piranha kept Assegai functioning as a semi-independent body (as a sign of their respect for the Africans). Assegai’s patent stability technology was used in the development of the HFS-T Push-Pull Stabilizers used on their Swiftkiller F9000 ship, which contributed to Piranha’s dominance during this period of racing.

Although indirectly, many people (including Pierre Belmondo) believe that Amara Beshir was a pioneer of the sport, despite appearing long after the invention of the sport, by bringing it to the plains of Africa for the first time.

Amaroq Dricaldari

16th August 2012, 11:10 AM

AUTHOR'S NOTE: By chance, I had created and likened the rivalry between Sato and Rykov to that of Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda of the 1976 season (exacly one year prior to the legendary 2076 season!).

I see a typo.

keg_11

16th August 2012, 01:50 PM

Sorted.

Amaroq Dricaldari

16th August 2012, 05:27 PM

Um... The other typo.

1976 is 100 years before 2076, not One Year : P

---

Also, I just read the excerpt on Assegai Developments, and the part about how Piranha was keeping Assegai functioning as a Semi-Independent company made me come up with an idea for a Fan-Fiction where Assegai (as part of Piranha), Icarus (under the name Pegasus Industries), and Goteki (or at least a small portion of it) are competing in the F9000.

keg_11

17th August 2012, 01:39 AM

Sounds interesting. Can't wait to see it. :)

keg_11

1st September 2012, 08:24 AM

An idea I came up with whilst playing the Classic League of Wip3out SE:

According to the manual, the eight classic tracks were voted for by subscribers of "AG online" in Sept. 2128. To highlight the league, I was going to race the 2129 League on those tracks. But, due to the "popularity" of these tracks, should the F7200 stay on the classic league permanently?

Curious for your thoughts.

Rossriders

4th September 2012, 12:29 AM

Well...while part of me may think it's a bit much on one end to stick to the 'classic league' at the same time, they could either do something like a rotation, where one year it's the 'regular' races in Mega-city while another is classic. Or find some kind of compromise, like run both the classic and 'current' tracks in the same year, or even run some of the current courses and classic tracks on rotation.

But that's just me.

I'll say more once I can hopefully put my thoughts together...until then.

keg_11

3rd October 2012, 12:38 PM

F7200 records done...finally! I'll post it to the thread as soon as I've revised it.

keg_11

5th October 2012, 07:50 AM

Kel Solaar - The Greatest Pilot Who Ever Lived

There is without a doubt that Kel Solaar is the greatest AG pilot of all time. He is at least the most successful with 83 podiums, 52 race wins and 10 Pilotsâ€™ Championships over his 20 year career which itself is the 2nd longest serving in history. Apart from his impressive record, Solaar has shown to be a consistent pilot, whose knowledge of craft control and use of weapons makes him a dominant force despite racing only with Qirex. If Solaar was piloting for a different team, there is without a doubt that Solaar would bring home victory for that team. As such, Solaar made a massive contribution to Qirex record as being the most successful team in AG racing.

Out of the starting line-up for the inaugural F3600 League in 2052, Solaar was the only pilot born before anti-gravity technology was declassified for public use. He was born in the year 2012 and from a very young age, he had a passion for aviation. Even when AG technology was made public in 2018 (when he was 6 years old), Solaar still preferred the streamlined aeroplanes over these new floating devices.

When he finished his secondary schooling, Solaar immediately enlisted into the Russian Air Force. (Sources claim that Solaar initially wanted to become a commercial airline pilot, but his somewhat aggressive character made him more suited to a life in the military. Either way, he wouldâ€™ve been satisfied). Solaar would spend the next 15 years training with some of the best pilots and officers on Russia on countless missions, all the while building on his piloting skills. However, Solaar always saw the most enjoyment from actually piloting the fighter jets themselves. In fact, Solaar was ranked as a â€œMajorâ€ upon his departure from the Air Force, but his senior officers claim that he had been offered higher ranks and had the experience of a colonel, maybe more.

Despite favouring the classic style of flight, Solaar did show an increased interest in AG technology. When the Nx1000 prototype was demonstrated in 2035, Solaar was 23 years old. After witnessing the wonder of the craft, Solaar got as much info as he could on the technology and kept up to date with the latest developments.

When the AGRC was announced in 2045, Solaar made it a â€˜goalâ€™ as such to compete in this new competition which would combine AG technology with what he knew from the Air Force. Solaar left the Air Force and was quickly hired by local company Qirex Industries as a test pilot and advisor for their AG ships (Solaar was also a big contributor to Qirexâ€™s patented all-terrain simulator). From the start, a lot of people saw that the relationship between Solaar and Qirex will be a long and potentially prosperous one.

Solaar made his racing debut at the first race of the 2048 Anti-Gravity Racing Championships in Nova State City. Unusually for his piloting style, Solaar was defaulted to the Agility ship (The Fighter ship was defaulted to Kurlov, who was also the lead test pilot for Qirex prototype based on the fighter). Either way, Solaar was able to bring out the strengths of either craft and it has been said that some of Solaarâ€™s best flights had been in the Agility ship.

The 2048 season had been a nail-biter between Solaar, Japanâ€™s Ami Nakajima in the FEISAR and the American AG Systems pilot, John Dekka. Solaar just managed to rise above these rivals to take the first ever AGRC championship. This was followed by another championship the following year, but just got beaten at the hat-trick by Dekka during the final round at the newly constructed, specialised Altima circuit in Canada. At this point, a fair amount of people thought that Solaar would step back from piloting and take up a supporting role for the 2052 F3600 (where there were two pilots per team). But a lot of people were surprised when Solaar was selected to be the lead pilot in Qirexâ€™s 2052 line-up, supported by Japanâ€™s Arian Tetsuo.

The first few years of the F3600 were not the easiest for Solaar, but did show a hint of what was to come. In 2052, Solaar struggled against the AG-S of Dekka, but also the FEISAR of Frenchwoman Sofia de la Rente. He finished 3rd with 4 podiums to his name. Between 2053 and 2055, his form got better, winning the pilots championship for all three years.

When Qirex dÃ©buted their dual-hulled craft in 2060, no-one could catch Solaar. In fact he won every single race from 2060 to Japan 2063; a record that he still holds to this date. Even more extraordinary when you consider he was approaching 50 years old. These few seasons contained some of Solaarâ€™s greatest races. At the American round of the 2061 season, both Qirex found themselves down the order due to some reliability issues with the craft. Solaar managed to sort these problems out before the race and adapted his piloting style to compensate, and quickly found himself behind the leaders: Arial Tetsuo of Auricom and AG Systemsâ€™ Marcus Fairclough. After a closely fought battle, Solaar pulls ahead of Fairclough just before the final jump to take the win.

However, from this point, his dominance started to wane. Although he kept up his form and kept winning championships, he constantly found himself competing against his teammate, Arian Tetsuo, and in particular Sofia de la Rente of Auricom. De la Rente had returned to AG racing with Auricom after a 6-year break from the sport, and quickly became very familiar with the craft in no-time. Itâ€™s said she had found speed she dreamt of when she was with FEISAR. Very quickly, de la Rente found herself mixing it with Qirex team, sometimes coming out on top. This, coupled with the tension in Qirex because of Arianâ€™s anxiety to be promoted to a lead pilot position, made her a serious threat to Solaar, and Qirexâ€™s, dominance.

This wasnâ€™t the only scrutiny behind Solaar. Ever since the early days of his career, he has been seen quite close to Auricomâ€™s Anastasia Cherovoski. Cherovoskiâ€™s origins are quite hazy, but it is understood that Solaar is the only person who knows of her true identiy. Despite the amount of hype and pressure put on to both pilots, Cherovoski still remains enigmatic. The mystery of their relationship has sparked rumours on their legitimacy. Some speculate this affair was orchestrated by various datacast companies in an effort to cash in on the sport. Some extreme speculation states that there is nothing between them, and that Cherovoski is a spy for Qirex.
Eventually, after years of close racing and media frenzy, Solaar retired at the end of the 2068 season; his record streak of pilotsâ€™ championships ended in 2067 when Sofia de la Rente managed to breakthrough and claim her first pilotsâ€™ championship: the first for a Frenchwoman. She replicated this the year after, but this time with Arian Tetsuo in second (luckily, this was enough for Qirex to secure the teamsâ€™ championship for that year). Adding onto the mystery behind Solaar and Cherovoski, Cherovoski would retire as well.

Both pilots virtually disappeared from the media for a number of years after they retired. Neither of them was seen at anymore race events or Qirex functions. Some rumours went around that they did get together, got married, and lived quite comfortably for the rest of their lives. To many peopleâ€™s amazement, Solaar was seen with Qirex during some races in 2096. But this was a different Solaar: instead of the tough-as-nails, aggressive but much loved pilot of his youth, he was a wise, approachable advisor to the whole of Qirexâ€™s operations. But one thing that remained was his love of racing. In an article published by â€˜Celebrity Homeâ€™ in 2098, Solaar lived quite a reversed life in his Moscow Metro home: all the AG ships and parts were displayed in luxury whereas Solaarâ€™s quarters were near Spartan at most.
This lifestyle would eventually be his undoing. Whilst he modestly remained in the public eye for a number of years, there had been increased concerns of his health as a result of his obscure lifestyle. These fears were realised in 2113 when Solaar was found unconscious at Qirexâ€™s testing facilities in Moscow. He had just had a stroke as a result of high cholesterol and fell into a coma. He was in a coma for two weeks but after no-one personal had visited Solaar, and confirmation that Cherovoski had passed away a little over two decades previously, the doctors decided to let Solaar pass way peacefully aged 101.

A period of national mourning was observed both in Russia and the wider AG community. No pilot before had been as dominant and as professional as Solaar, and it seemed that no-one could live up to him. Probably the only pilot that may be considered as Solaarâ€™s successor was the Serbian Piranha pilot Simo Lukic. A reserved pilot, Lukic had been a talented mid-field pilot before breaking though to his first championship in 2147. From then on, Lukic was the master of the track. Whilst not as successful in terms of victory to Solaar, his charisma is similar to that of Solaar and shows good rivalry with Italian Auricom pilot Natalia Victor. Lukic would remain with Piranha into the F9000, but eventually stepped back into an advisory/developmental role with the team. But thatâ€™s another storyâ€¦

keg_11

5th October 2012, 07:51 AM

The Classic Leagues

During the first century of AG racing, we had seen many outstanding pilots steer some of the most advanced ships ever crafted on a number of sheer circuits. Some of these circuits are well remembered whereas other we love to forget. This was particularly the case with the original F3600 tracks, such as Altima VII and Silverstream, and the fans were quite upset when these tracks were replaced by the then-state-of-the-art tracks of the F5000. The F7200 Classic Leagues, held between 2129 and 2134, brought AG racing back to the forgotten tracks of the previous leagues and, in a way, the last display of classic AG racing before its upcoming stranglehold by the Overtel Corporation.

On June 9 2128 Pierre Belmondo, pioneer of AG technology, passed away aged 123. A state of mourning was observed worldwide and the Stanza Inter round of the 2128 season was dedicated to him. Almost immediately, the F7200 Race Commission (under control by former FEISAR/Icaras executive Roger Bowen) began discussing how to permanently honour Pierre Belmondo. The most favourable option was to create a teams’ champions’ trophy in his name. But a much more ambitious idea was about to be presented.

At the same time, the Commission had the issue of upgrading the current F7200 tracks. Ever since the series’ inception in 2116, the Mega City circuits had been virtually unchanged in terms of track condition. By 2128, most of the tracks looked quite dilapidated as a result of the numerous weapon detonations over the years as well as slight changes to accommodate the advancing ship and weapon designs. Because of the time it would take to renovate the tracks, several temporary locations would need to be used for the 2129 season.

During that year, the anti-gravity magazine ‘AG Today’ published hosted a survey asking for the fans’ favourite AG tracks. The results of this survey were published in their September issue. Quite surprisingly, the majority of the top tracks were from the previous F5000 League, most of which were still in use (probably because there were a few fans who remember the old F3600 tracks). This started a series of discussions in the F7200 Commission which culminated in the decision to run the top 8 tracks from that survey for the 2129 season.

However the idea of racing modern AG craft, in speeds in excess of 600km/h, on obsolete tracks was not going to be easy, especially with the three F3600 tracks which made the list. Most of the old F3600 tracks have been left to ruin after the F3600 had been phased out (the only exception was Korodera, which had been converted to a theme park). Only Altima was in the best condition to racing standard due to the track’s current use as Auricom’s main test track. As such, Altima would be raced earlier in the year. Terramax, in Germany, was also quite well kept, but not to the standard as Altima. After it was retired from competition, Terramax remained open for the amateur racing scene and on-and-off held various rounds of the European Championship.

But the biggest challenge was Arridos IV, situated in the heart of Utah’s Monument Valley. The biggest problem with the desert track had been its isolation from a major centre. Although Salt Lake City was no more than a half hour on an AG train, the amount of spectators that came to see the sleek ships in action became a major logistical challenge. When the F5000 was announced, the United States Anti-Gravity Association (USAGA) quickly chose a metropolitan track and allocated all resources into that track (Spilskinanke). As such, Arridos was completely abandoned and most of the tracks facilities were demolished. The only reminders of its existence had been the tunnels and segments of the track itself. Due to the massive repair of Arridos, as well as the upgrades to the circuit so that it can be race at F7200 specification, the track was worked on during the 2129 season with massive donations from several international AG Associations (the USAGA couldn’t have fronted the entire bill). There were doubts that the track would be completed in time. Luckily, it was completed (albeit two weeks late) just in time for it to host the finale of the 2129 season.

There was a lot of celebration at the first round of the 2129 season at Talon’s Reach with the return of AG racing to the fast Canadian track. The enthusiasm of the crowd skyrocketed when the ship were hard at it. British Pirhana pilot Laughlan Ivers pulled away from the pack to take the win. In fact, the whole 2129 season was dominated by Ivers and Pirhana with second place secured by Brazilian rookie, Vincinius Albeniz. At the end of the season, Pirhana were rightfully awarded with the new memorial trophy in honour of Pierre Belmondo: The Belmondo Cup – awarded to the team who not just finished first in the team standings, but had shown the skill and determination to achieve it.

The 2129 “Classic” season was a runaway success, enjoying popularity not seen since the F5000, if not ever in the history of the sport. This influenced the F7200 Commission, in association with the Anti-Gravity Federation (AGF) and Mega City, organised a plan to convert the F7200 to race on the older international circuits. It stated that “…the Classic Leagues will run for five years from 2130 to 2134, where at such time the F7200 Commission would assess the long-term goals of the plan and results from the previous competitions before making a decision to permanently race on these tracks.”

The “Classic Leagues”, as they now became known, continued to be a spectacle for audiences around the world. But it may have been from one pilot that helped the success of the Classic Leagues and create a legend: Katsuogo Muro. Muro moved to AG Systems from FEISAR’s pilot development program after increased pressure from media in his homeland. Despite being a mid-pack runner over the first few years in the F7200, he had become a sort-of protÃ©gÃ© to AG Systems’ main pilot, Kurt Graham. But when the Classic Leagues came along, he was a different pilot altogether. Muro was always at in the leading pack and gave the veterans a good run for their money. He managed to the tighter tracks to his advantage and ran away to his first F7200 Championship in 2030. Eventually, everyone knew that Muro, in the quick and nimble AG Systems, on the tight tracks of the Classic League, was unstoppable. It’s no wonder that Muro (and AG Systems) claimed all but one Classic League Championship.

Apart from Muro, there were a few other pilots which stood out during this period of the F7200. The other AG-S pilots, Finn Jarno Toivonen and Zhang Dan, both shone at times. Muro and Toivonen were really good friends as well as teammates, and generally if you saw one on the track, there was a higher chance you would run into the other. On numerous occasions, Toivonen supported Muro in his championship attack and helped keep the charging Auricoms at bay to secure the 2133 Teams’ Championship for AG Systems. Zhang would assist the fighting duo in any way he can and sometimes gave Muro the support that Toivonen couldn’t give.

Auricom pilots MÃ©lissa Flament and Aaron Hayden both were quite competitive as well. Flament kept achieving high placed finishes, even a 3rd place, up until her retirement at the end of the 2131 season; and Hayden would rise to become a strong pilot for Auricom who would finally break the AG Systems dominance after the Classic Leagues ended in 2135.

Sadly, this popular era of AG racing was not to last. In 2132, the Overtel Corporation managed to take majority control of the Commission from the Belmondo Foundation. Seeing more profits that would come from a central location over international races, Ovetel did not continue with the Classic League plan and AG racing came back to Mega City in 2135. This was met with serious outcry from the public (who had grown stronger than ever due to the convenience of the races in their countries) and even the threat of boycotts plagued the decision. Despite Overtel completely revamping the media design for the sport, which exposed AG racing to extreme levels of publicity, they were still viewed with suspicion form then onwards. They were marginally forgiven when Overtel announced that the public will choose the tracks for the F9000 when it was announced in 2152.

However this, plus the abolishing of AG racing after the fall of the F9000, most of these tracks were left to rot and as of today, the only way to race on these classic tracks is via simulator.

keg_11

20th October 2012, 06:56 AM

2137 P-Mar Brawl

The P-Mar Brawl of 2137 still resounds quite familiar with AG teams and fans today, as it was the first time that AG racing (or motor racing, for that manner) had seen a conflict between two teams in such violent circumstances. Whereas other teams would protest over an incident through a formal protest or motivation to innovate so as to gain an advantage over the other team, the tension between Goteki 45 and Icaras in the lead-up to that fateful race in September would spark into one of the bloodiest moments in the sport’s history.

Although they were new teams to AG competition, the Pacific Goteki 45 and British-based Icaras teams were not favourably liked by the community: Goteki with their focus on on-track combat than racing success and the commercial background and behaviour of the privately entered Icaras. As such, these teams normally remained at the back of the grid with FEISAR. On the odd occasion, they did enjoy some success but were constantly cut down with criticisms of their success. When Goteki won their maiden championship in 2128, the team was bombarded with criticism and accusations of foul play on part of the team. Their 2128 victory was indeed legitimate, but it was obvious that the more “pure” members of the community did not want this sort of team taking “their” silverware.

Things were looking quite well for Goteki and Icaras during the mid 2130s with both teams contracting and/or training talented pilots. This was particularly evident with Icaras when they acquired “DJ” Jukka Rautio in 2133, followed by Kenyan pilot Thomas Tanui from Assegai two years later (briefly). Although they never finished higher than 9th, they were never eliminated in a race which, for Icaras, was outstanding. In 2135, Goteki acquired female Polynesian pilot Sarema Illkeina from the Pacific Leagues. Over the course of two years, she had become the only possibility of the team winning another championship.

2137 was destined to be one of the most competitive battles in the F7200 League. Not just because of a classic Auricom-Qirex battle between Wolfgang Van-Ãœber and Fyodor Eppirov respectively, but for the first time the top eight pilots all came from different teams. This included Illkeina for Goteki and upcoming British Icaras pilot George Dravare. The first race at Porto Kora was quite predictable, but after the next race at Mega Mall saw two battles going on: between Van-Ãœber, Eppirov, Piranha’s Vincinius Albeniz and the late great Laughlan Ivers out front, and Dravare against Jarno Toivonen of AG Systems and Roland Ncita of Assegai.

The scene at Icaras was ecstatic during most of the year with all night parties put on to celebrate the point-scoring placing Dravare achieved in the previous race (they only have ever done this twice previously). At Mega Mall, Dravare managed to pip Toivonen to the line to score 5th and 2 points: his first points of his careers and Icaras’ first in almost a decade. This was followed by a 6th placing at Sampa Run (after a hard fought battle with Goteki) and another 5th and Stanza Inter. It had been commented that Icaras were celebrating as if they had won the championship.

At the start of the second half of the season, Goteki, who had fallen back in the first half, were starting to come back with Illkeina’s 4th placing at Hi-Fumii bringing here up behind Dravare and Toivonen in the standings (Ncita at this point was challenging the front runners). Icaras were starting to have some reliability issues with their craft, which dropped Dravare to 8th and the other Icaras crafts to near last: they had been careless with maintenance in midst with celebrating Dravare’s successes. This result inspired both teams to up their game for the next race at the tricky P-Mar Project.

Both Goteki and Icaras had their intentions to go well, but both saw stiff competition from the other. Whilst both teams had been back-runners, Goteki had made it habit to prey on the weak-shielded Icaras craft just for pleasure. Knowing that Icaras was threatening a good placing, they were going to place particular focus on them. Icaras also saw the threat of elimination by Goteki (and knew that P-Mar was one of their most hated tracks). So, they placed massive resources on Dravare so he can rise above the Icaras’ “flaws” and take home a good place.

The start saw a commonly seen line-up: Van-Ãœber and Eppirov out front followed by Ivers, but with Toivonen in a tight battle with Albeniz for fourth, leaving the three newer teams bringing up the rest of the field. Dravare and Illkeina battled quite hard with each other, clearly no quarter was given. Then suddenly, the tables were turned after Vincinius Albeniz scored a lucky quake which forced the original (and leading) four pilots to pit again, putting them out of contention.

With the first two positions were likely to be Albeniz followed by Assegai’s Roland Ncita, it was a dogfight between Dravare and Illkeina for third. Both team owners, Resaru Kipwada (Goteki) and Burnston Burns (Icaras) reportedly exclaimed “This is it, get on with it!” but not reply from either pilot (both pilots had their radios of to get extra thurster power). This battle between Dravare and Illkeina was one of, if not, the hardest battles fought over three-quarters of a lap. Coming onto the final straight, Dravare, with the Icaras’ superior speed managed to just pull ahead of Illkeina, but a lucky plasma bolt from the Goteki hit dead-on to the Icaras engine: denying Icaras’ first podium just metres from the finish.

The sudden shock and outrage from the event caused an outburst of emotion within the Icaras team. But the most infuriated members instantly went to confront the “victorious” Goteki team. What resulted was an all-out riot between both teams that also included the neighbouring teams of AG Systems and Assegai (trying to break it up of course). Local authorities broke up the fighting which saw most members of both teams arrested. In total, 31 mechanics were injured, 5 of which were permanently crippled with a mechanic on each team killed. Kipwada himself succumbed to blunt force trauma to the head a few days after.

The entire AG community was in shock from the incident. A few pilots, such as Ncita, Toivonen and Ivers, would retire at the end of the year, using the incident and the resultant political trials as motivation to escape the increasingly political issues of the League. There were even rumours that the League would be suspended again (which were quickly extinguished).

Two weeks after the incident, the court cases began. Goteki defended that their actions were all within League rules, but Icaras maintained that Goteki deliberately held onto that plasma so they can humiliate Icaras whilst denying them their first podium. Most of the other teams couldn’t understand what and why this happened, in particular Qirex who had long time supported Goteki against their corruption allegations over the years, but had also provided Icaras with shielding technology to not stir any bad blood between the two teams.

As the subsequent trials went out, a decision was made quickly. Because the background leading up to the incident wasn’t illegal or morally incorrect, both teams had no reason to start the brawl between them. As such, both teams were charged of causing a violent conflict with another competing team, stripped of all points acquired during the year and banned from competition until at least the end of the 2138 season (this is in addition to paying damages to both the circuit and all parties injured in the incident). The main influence behind the quick decision was the threat of the League’s suspension due to the trials.

Goteki would not return after their base of operations on the man-made Hawaiian island of Makana was bombed by an unknown party later in the month. To this day, no-one has claimed responsibility although there had been conspiracy theories pointing the blame to Icaras.

Icaras would return in 2139, but at nowhere near the strength and exposure they had before the P-Mar Brawl. Although George Dravare stayed with the team and raced quite well, even scoring second at Manor Top in 2140, the team was sevrely vilified for causing the P-Mar Brawl in the first place; as such, when Burnston Burns died from a balloon accident that year, his son Terence to dissolve the team and trade in his father’s assets for a quiet home in the country.

On the bright side, not everyone involved in the Brawl was booed out by the AG community. This is mainly with Dravare. After Icaras dissolved, Dravare immediately sort out to sign with another team to keep his career going. He wanted to show to the world that he was a genuinely good pilot, not another Icaras playboy. He managed to sign with Qirex for 2141, which helped him win his only championship the year after and kept showing good form until his retirement at the end of 2146. Jukka Rautio too found success after Icaras, immediately defecting to Piranha after Icaras’ barring and took the 2138 championship with the Brazilian team. Rautio would retire at the end of the 2142 season. Thomas Tanui (who signed with Goteki in 2136) would return to Assegai for a few years before retiring in 2144, finishing last.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is based off Challenger #001 team descriptions with some edits in the interests of game continuity, particuarly Icaras (http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?7831-Icaras-Project-Team-Profile) and Goteki 45 (http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?7747-Goteki-45-Team-Profile). Click on the links to read further on this story.

keg_11

21st December 2012, 01:05 AM

After almost a full year of collecting the games, playing them and filling out records for every year; I've finished the last year last night.
:hyper

And now, I can focus on both writing more stories the cover the whole 110 year history of the Leagues as well as my take on the team backstories. These will come within the coming months, I can't wait!

Hope y'all read through the records I painstakingly created for you, with a few surprises hidden here and there (it was by accident that I gave Natasha Belmondo 7 TITLES in her career).

(P.S: Whilst I was playing Katmoda 12 - first track of Themis/2170 League [the last league to do] - Intuative's "Wav Seeker" was playing in the background. I thought this was cool, considering the darker tone of the song and the unbeknownst event that was to happen in that season [Fall of F9000]).

Also, Merry Christmas everyone and a have a Happy New Year! :xtree

keg_11

5th January 2013, 11:42 AM

This is by far the longest entry in the Chronicles yet: 2000+ words (in contrast to approx. 13-1500 entries). But, inh my view, it was worth it.

Woflgang Van-Ãœber

There is without a doubt that Wolfgang Van-Ãœber is right up there with the most influential personalities of AG racing as well as with the best pilots of all time. A much loved figure, Van-Ãœber is quite famous for his purist stance to racing, even refusing to use weapons and insisted to race on skill alone. And even in retirement, he was still a familiar sight within the AG Leagues through his home-grown racing team, Van-Ãœber Racing Developments. Van-Ãœber is very much a true living legend of the sport.

Van-Ãœberâ€™s beginnings were quite humble. Born in a blue-collar, racing fan family in Hamburg on 3 September 2107, Van-Ãœberâ€™s early passion was athletics. Van-Ãœber was quite competitive, becoming a regular sight in numerous regional and national athletic competitions and events. This was a key reason* why he would adopt an anti-aggressive stance on AG racing later on:

â€œâ€¦When I was sprinting, in my youth, there was no politics; no aids; nothing. It was just a group of young boys running to find out who was faster out of our own devices. With AG racing, if someone passes you, you wait for a particular corner or hold a weapon and use that to your advantage â€“ you will get back ahead. In running, if you got passed youâ€™ll give it your all to get back and if you canâ€™t, thatâ€™s just the way it is: you win some, you lose some.â€

As Van-Ãœber got older, his attention turned to AG racing, and eventually made his debut in the European Junior Championships in 2123. Although it can be noted that Van-Ãœber used weapons as much as the other pilots, these Leagues were much less reliant on weapons to change the outcome of the race so eliminations in themselves were quite rare. This started to change when he started to associate himself with the main F7200 teams, namely FEISAR. Although quite eager to race with them, it was reported that Van-Ãœber expressed some dissatisfaction with racing at this level and had complained about how much firepower he had to use to turn the race his way.

As Van-Ãœber admits, he threatened to walk away from the League on more than one occasion, but one thing was keeping him from doing that: his speed. In his time trials, Van-Ãœber is one of the fastest pilots to ever have raced with FEISAR, and in turn tried to use his speed to his advantage. At times this worked, but he was still hindered from weapon hits.
If there was a definitive moment where Van-Ãœber announced and stuck with his anti-weapon belief, it was a Venom class race in 2130, as Wolfgang remembers itâ€¦

â€œI was in second coming up behind an Auricom craft (fielded by a privateer team) towards the end of the race when my crew chief had told me to eliminate him quickly. The pilot of the Auricom craft hadn't run a perfect race (he was caught in a crash with a few other pilots), so his shields were quite low, but had decent speed to keep my craft at bay. I initially didn't want to do it because I thought I can catch him, but I was ordered by my team. So I eased off and eliminated him with a missile on the last lap (anti-climatic, I know). After the presentation ceremony, I immediately left feeling quite upset with my team and myself; not just for not having faith in myself but for not winning with my own skillsâ€¦â€

His attitude towards racing in the F7200 changed dramatically midway through 2127 when his older brother, Klaus, got involved in a high-speed hovercar crash which left him with severe spinal injuries. Although with the advancements of medicine, Klaus was still able to walk but was permanently disabled. Klaus, like Wolfgang, had ambitions to race in the F7200, and was quickly approaching his zenith in the European Leagues. Wolfgang, taking up the mantle as the family racer, swore to race for his brother as well as himself and contributed a sizeable share of his winnings and sponsorship funds into Klausâ€™ ongoing treatment. Klaus never forgot his brotherâ€™s generosity.

Van-Ãœber made his official debut with FEISAR in 2131 alongside Johan Janson of Sweden and Canadaâ€™s LÃ©a Guise and made a big impact. He constantly placed within the top 10 and scored a few points along the way. The most notable was the final race at Arridos IV, where he managed to score third behind Alisa Novosad and the late great Katsuogo Muro. Van-Ãœber became hot property throughout the 2132 season with offers for quite a few teams, whilst continuing to score point-scoring finishes for his original team. Van-Ãœber would sign a contract with Auricom at the end of the year.

For Auricom, 2133 was to be one of the strongest years in years with Van-Ãœber signing alongside their current lead pilot, American Aaron Hayden. Hayden, like Van-Ãœber, had been a rapidly rising star-of-the-future, placing 5th in only his second year of competition. It was acknowledged that either pilot can successfully challenge for the title, but was more difficult for Van-Ãœber because of his principles. This is reflected in the final points tally whereas Hayden had consistent high placed finishes, eventually finishing second, Van-Ãœber was placed all over the top 10 from as high as third to as low as 9th.

This was similar in 2134, although this time Van-Ãœber only stood on the podium once when he shouldâ€™ve been supporting his teammateâ€™s assault on the dominating AG Systems. It was rumoured that Van-Ãœberâ€™s contract with Auricom would be cancelled if he did not produce good results for the next season, strongly suggesting to abandon his now infamous belief in, what was now called, the â€œpurity of the raceâ€.

However, there were radical changes to the League in 2135. For one, the death of Muro dragged AG Systemsâ€™ morale down a lot, but the F7200 Race Commission (under administration from Overtel) had changed the calendar back to Mega City. With the generally more technical circuits was where Van-Ãœberâ€™s â€œhandicapâ€ didnâ€™t appear. Motivated for a place on the team, Van-Ãœber blitzed everyone with his performance, even more with his refusal to use weapons (unless absolutely necessary) and clean-swept the season; his nearest opponent was 49 points behind.

2136 was a tough year for Van-Ãœber and the Auricom team with a tough battle being played out between Van-Ãœber and teammate Bobby Butler, Vincinius Albeniz (Piranha), Fyodor Eppirov (Qirex) and Laughlan Ivers (FEISAR). However, Auricom had a firm grip on the Teamsâ€™ championship (they were the only team with two point-scoring pilots) and Van-Ãœber taking the last three races to take his second title.

2137 was marred by a brawl between Icaras and Goteki 45 at P-Mar Project which lead to the suspension of both teams. As this was the last year of his original contract, Van-Ãœber had originally decided to leave the sport using the P-Mar Brawl as the perfect opportunity to distance himself from the current state of the sport. As stated in his autobiography, it took a lot of convincing from newly installed Director of Operations Gideon Oldfield that made him change his mind from an early retirement, and signed a new three-year contract that he was allowed to exit anytime he wanted.

Itâ€™s fortunate he re-signed, as he showed some of his best racing in those three years as he battled against â€œDJâ€ Jukka Rautio (who had signed with Piranha). Whilst just beaten to the 2138, he came back stronger in 2139 and battled hard with Rautio to achieve his fourth title before announcing his retirement from professional racing.

Van-Ãœberâ€™s retirement stunned everyone. This was because that Van-Ãœber was still quite young at 32 and was still at a strong point of his career with many years still ahead. His reasoning, when quizzed by the media, his family and Auricom themselves, is that:

â€œâ€¦no team should continually have one pilot to take all the glory, and that another pilot should have a chance to shine in his place. And in turn, he would make sure that other young pilots had a chance to fly and be successful as I had been.â€

Leading up to his retirement from racing, Van-Ãœber had developed an interest is the development of the craft, and was quite involved in the development of his Auricom craft during the last few years. When he retired, Van-Ãœber wished to enter craft development and pass on his on-track experience into developing an ideal craft. FEISAR offered Van-Ãœber a position on their team as a head designer, but Van-Ãœber turned this down, insisting he wanted to do it alone. After experimenting with a few designs over the next few years, Van-Ãœber formally established Van-Ãœber Racing Developments in 2142 along with Klaus and a good friend of Van-Ãœber, Ryan Morgan, with technical assistance from FEISAR.

For the first 10 years, Van-Ãœber saw considerable success in the European AG League, even managing to score back-to-back titles in 2149 and â€™50. This success, as well as the announcement of the F9000, motivated them to push for entry into the AGRC. They were granted a full season entry in 2151, filling the position vacated by Assegai, and used this season as an experimental season, to observe the field that would be entering the F9000. Van-Ãœberâ€™s nephew, SÃ¶ren, performed quite well managing two podiums (which is more that can be said for the other two pilots, who failed to score all season).

Their first season in the F9000 wasnâ€™t a good one, with the team finishing only one race in the whole season (Songen Greyâ€™s 6th place at Temtesh Bay), but they gradually grew as the seasons progressed. The scored their first and only race win at Cubiss Float in 2157, and coming in 5th place in the 2158 and 2159. However, the durability of the craft plagued the team and they gradually fell to near bottom throughout the rest of the F9000.

But despite this, Van-Ãœber was quite popular due the charisma of Wolfgang and his belief in the â€œpurity of the raceâ€. In an interview in 2159, he famously quoted â€œâ€¦we must remain cleaner than cleanâ€¦ If all the clouds in the sky turn black, who can hope that the rain will ever cease?â€ In this period, he coined the term â€œthe sublime and delicious gameâ€, which has entered common use and has further influenced the name of the AG datasheet â€œSublime and Deliciousâ€ and Van-Ãœberâ€™s own range of menâ€™s toiletry products, S&D. Also, the appeal of one of his pilots, Nami Mishima, helped the image of the team, as she had often been compared to the late Arial Tetsuo, Auricomsâ€™ lead pilot in the early years of AG racing. This has made her popular with young fans, but also the target of constant sabotage which has plagued her performance over the years.

Due to the increasing political pressure from the F9000, Van-Ãœber followed Auricomâ€™s lead and withdrew from competition at the end of the 2169 season and returned to regional racing. However, the Fall of the F9000 a year later virtually halted all of Van-Ãœberâ€™s activities. Whilst they still continued performing R&D work and produced craft for public consumption, the team was rapidly declining. Wolfgang would liquidate his share of the company and retired to a quiet life in the German countryside.

Van-Ãœber was present at the AG Rebirth Festival in 2185 and express absolute delight when it was announced that AG racing was to return to prominence. However, he did show disappointment as he would not lead the charge to promote the â€œsublime and delicious gameâ€ in the new era of AG racing. His grandson, Helmut, would rebirth the team in the 2198 with his fatherâ€™s blessing to compete in the newly-formed FX300. Piloted by German-born American Daniel Albrecht and using a updated variant of their old F9000 model, the team enjoyed moderate success in this era culminating with Albrecht winning the title in 2202.

The team did not transition into the FX400, mainly due to the health of its founder. Approaching his centennial birthday, Wolfgang had become quite reserved from the media particularly with his teamâ€™s victory in 2202. It appeared that Wolfgang had achieved his dream of â€œleadingâ€ a team to League success, so now he can spend the rest of his years in peace.

At age 105, Van-Ãœber is one of the oldest AG champions still alive today (only beaten by 2126 Champion MÃ©lissa Flament), but his pacifist beliefs and his extraordinary career makes him a true legend of AG racing, up there with names such as Muro, Tetsuo and the great Kel Solaar.

*There are other reasons behind Van-Ãœberâ€™s ideal, such as his Roman Catholic background and his admiration of primitive Formula One drivers as seen in old videos.

keg_11

5th January 2013, 11:43 AM

This is by far the longest entry in the Chronicles yet: 2000+ words (in contrast to approx. 13-1500 entries). But, in my view, it was worth it.

Woflgang Van-Ãœber

There is without a doubt that Wolfgang Van-Ãœber is right up there with the most influential personalities of AG racing as well as with the best pilots of all time. A much loved figure, Van-Ãœber is quite famous for his purist stance to racing, even refusing to use weapons and insisted to race on skill alone. And even in retirement, he was still a familiar sight within the AG Leagues through his home-grown racing team, Van-Ãœber Racing Developments. Van-Ãœber is very much a true living legend of the sport.

Van-Ãœberâ€™s beginnings were quite humble. Born in a blue-collar, racing fan family in Hamburg on 3 September 2107, Van-Ãœberâ€™s early passion was athletics. Van-Ãœber was quite competitive, becoming a regular sight in numerous regional and national athletic competitions and events. This was a key reason* why he would adopt an anti-aggressive stance on AG racing later on:

â€œâ€¦When I was sprinting, in my youth, there was no politics; no aids; nothing. It was just a group of young boys running to find out who was faster out of our own devices. With AG racing, if someone passes you, you wait for a particular corner or hold a weapon and use that to your advantage â€“ you will get back ahead. In running, if you got passed youâ€™ll give it your all to get back and if you canâ€™t, thatâ€™s just the way it is: you win some, you lose some.â€

As Van-Ãœber got older, his attention turned to AG racing, and eventually made his debut in the European Junior Championships in 2123. Although it can be noted that Van-Ãœber used weapons as much as the other pilots, these Leagues were much less reliant on weapons to change the outcome of the race so eliminations in themselves were quite rare. This started to change when he started to associate himself with the main F7200 teams, namely FEISAR. Although quite eager to race with them, it was reported that Van-Ãœber expressed some dissatisfaction with racing at this level and had complained about how much firepower he had to use to turn the race his way.

As Van-Ãœber admits, he threatened to walk away from the League on more than one occasion, but one thing was keeping him from doing that: his speed. In his time trials, Van-Ãœber is one of the fastest pilots to ever have raced with FEISAR, and in turn tried to use his speed to his advantage. At times this worked, but he was still hindered from weapon hits.
If there was a definitive moment where Van-Ãœber announced and stuck with his anti-weapon belief, it was a Venom class race in 2130, as Wolfgang remembers itâ€¦

â€œI was in second coming up behind an Auricom craft (fielded by a privateer team) towards the end of the race when my crew chief had told me to eliminate him quickly. The pilot of the Auricom craft hadn't run a perfect race (he was caught in a crash with a few other pilots), so his shields were quite low, but had decent speed to keep my craft at bay. I initially didn't want to do it because I thought I can catch him, but I was ordered by my team. So I eased off and eliminated him with a missile on the last lap (anti-climatic, I know). After the presentation ceremony, I immediately left feeling quite upset with my team and myself; not just for not having faith in myself but for not winning with my own skillsâ€¦â€

His attitude towards racing in the F7200 changed dramatically midway through 2127 when his older brother, Klaus, got involved in a high-speed hovercar crash which left him with severe spinal injuries. Although with the advancements of medicine, Klaus was still able to walk but was permanently disabled. Klaus, like Wolfgang, had ambitions to race in the F7200, and was quickly approaching his zenith in the European Leagues. Wolfgang, taking up the mantle as the family racer, swore to race for his brother as well as himself and contributed a sizeable share of his winnings and sponsorship funds into Klausâ€™ ongoing treatment. Klaus never forgot his brotherâ€™s generosity.

Van-Ãœber made his official debut with FEISAR in 2131 alongside Johan Janson of Sweden and Canadaâ€™s LÃ©a Guise and made a big impact. He constantly placed within the top 10 and scored a few points along the way. The most notable was the final race at Arridos IV, where he managed to score third behind Alisa Novosad and the late great Katsuogo Muro. Van-Ãœber became hot property throughout the 2132 season with offers for quite a few teams, whilst continuing to score point-scoring finishes for his original team. Van-Ãœber would sign a contract with Auricom at the end of the year.

For Auricom, 2133 was to be one of the strongest years in years with Van-Ãœber signing alongside their current lead pilot, American Aaron Hayden. Hayden, like Van-Ãœber, had been a rapidly rising star-of-the-future, placing 5th in only his second year of competition. It was acknowledged that either pilot can successfully challenge for the title, but was more difficult for Van-Ãœber because of his principles. This is reflected in the final points tally whereas Hayden had consistent high placed finishes, eventually finishing second, Van-Ãœber was placed all over the top 10 from as high as third to as low as 9th.

This was similar in 2134, although this time Van-Ãœber only stood on the podium once when he shouldâ€™ve been supporting his teammateâ€™s assault on the dominating AG Systems. It was rumoured that Van-Ãœberâ€™s contract with Auricom would be cancelled if he did not produce good results for the next season, strongly suggesting to abandon his now infamous belief in, what was now called, the â€œpurity of the raceâ€.

However, there were radical changes to the League in 2135. For one, the death of Muro dragged AG Systemsâ€™ morale down a lot, but the F7200 Race Commission (under administration from Overtel) had changed the calendar back to Mega City. With the generally more technical circuits was where Van-Ãœberâ€™s â€œhandicapâ€ didnâ€™t appear. Motivated for a place on the team, Van-Ãœber blitzed everyone with his performance, even more with his refusal to use weapons (unless absolutely necessary) and clean-swept the season; his nearest opponent was 49 points behind.

2136 was a tough year for Van-Ãœber and the Auricom team with a tough battle being played out between Van-Ãœber and teammate Bobby Butler, Vincinius Albeniz (Piranha), Fyodor Eppirov (Qirex) and Laughlan Ivers (FEISAR). However, Auricom had a firm grip on the Teamsâ€™ championship (they were the only team with two point-scoring pilots) and Van-Ãœber taking the last three races to take his second title.

2137 was marred by a brawl between Icaras and Goteki 45 at P-Mar Project which lead to the suspension of both teams. As this was the last year of his original contract, Van-Ãœber had originally decided to leave the sport using the P-Mar Brawl as the perfect opportunity to distance himself from the current state of the sport. As stated in his autobiography, it took a lot of convincing from newly installed Director of Operations Gideon Oldfield that made him change his mind from an early retirement, and signed a new three-year contract that he was allowed to exit anytime he wanted.

Itâ€™s fortunate he re-signed, as he showed some of his best racing in those three years as he battled against â€œDJâ€ Jukka Rautio (who had signed with Piranha). Whilst just beaten to the 2138, he came back stronger in 2139 and battled hard with Rautio to achieve his fourth title before announcing his retirement from professional racing.

Van-Ãœberâ€™s retirement stunned everyone. This was because that Van-Ãœber was still quite young at 32 and was still at a strong point of his career with many years still ahead. His reasoning, when quizzed by the media, his family and Auricom themselves, is that:

â€œâ€¦no team should continually have one pilot to take all the glory, and that another pilot should have a chance to shine in his place. And in turn, he would make sure that other young pilots had a chance to fly and be successful as I had been.â€

Leading up to his retirement from racing, Van-Ãœber had developed an interest is the development of the craft, and was quite involved in the development of his Auricom craft during the last few years. When he retired, Van-Ãœber wished to enter craft development and pass on his on-track experience into developing an ideal craft. FEISAR offered Van-Ãœber a position on their team as a head designer, but Van-Ãœber turned this down, insisting he wanted to do it alone. After experimenting with a few designs over the next few years, Van-Ãœber formally established Van-Ãœber Racing Developments in 2142 along with Klaus and a good friend of Van-Ãœber, Ryan Morgan, with technical assistance from FEISAR.

For the first 10 years, Van-Ãœber saw considerable success in the European AG League, even managing to score back-to-back titles in 2149 and â€™50. This success, as well as the announcement of the F9000, motivated them to push for entry into the AGRC. They were granted a full season entry in 2151, filling the position vacated by Assegai, and used this season as an experimental season, to observe the field that would be entering the F9000. Van-Ãœberâ€™s nephew, SÃ¶ren, performed quite well managing two podiums (which is more that can be said for the other two pilots, who failed to score all season).

Their first season in the F9000 wasnâ€™t a good one, with the team finishing only one race in the whole season (Songen Greyâ€™s 6th place at Temtesh Bay), but they gradually grew as the seasons progressed. The scored their first and only race win at Cubiss Float in 2157, and coming in 5th place in the 2158 and 2159. However, the durability of the craft plagued the team and they gradually fell to near bottom throughout the rest of the F9000.

But despite this, Van-Ãœber was quite popular due the charisma of Wolfgang and his belief in the â€œpurity of the raceâ€. In an interview in 2159, he famously quoted â€œâ€¦we must remain cleaner than cleanâ€¦ If all the clouds in the sky turn black, who can hope that the rain will ever cease?â€ In this period, he coined the term â€œthe sublime and delicious gameâ€, which has entered common use and has further influenced the name of the AG datasheet â€œSublime and Deliciousâ€ and Van-Ãœberâ€™s own range of menâ€™s toiletry products, S&D. Also, the appeal of one of his pilots, Nami Mishima, helped the image of the team, as she had often been compared to the late Arial Tetsuo, Auricomsâ€™ lead pilot in the early years of AG racing. This has made her popular with young fans, but also the target of constant sabotage which has plagued her performance over the years.

Due to the increasing political pressure from the F9000, Van-Ãœber followed Auricomâ€™s lead and withdrew from competition at the end of the 2169 season and returned to regional racing. However, the Fall of the F9000 a year later virtually halted all of Van-Ãœberâ€™s activities. Whilst they still continued performing R&D work and produced craft for public consumption, the team was rapidly declining. Wolfgang would liquidate his share of the company and retired to a quiet life in the German countryside.

Van-Ãœber was present at the AG Rebirth Festival in 2185 and express absolute delight when it was announced that AG racing was to return to prominence. However, he did show disappointment as he would not lead the charge to promote the â€œsublime and delicious gameâ€ in the new era of AG racing. His grandson, Helmut, would rebirth the team in the 2198 with his grandfatherâ€™s blessing to compete in the newly-formed FX300. Piloted by German-born American Daniel Albrecht and using a updated variant of their old F9000 model, the team enjoyed moderate success in this era culminating with Albrecht winning the title in 2202.

The team did not transition into the FX400, mainly due to the health of its founder. Approaching his centennial birthday, Wolfgang had become quite reserved from the media particularly with his teamâ€™s victory in 2202. It appeared that Wolfgang had achieved his dream of â€œleadingâ€ a team to League success, so now he can spend the rest of his years in peace.

At age 105, Van-Ãœber is one of the oldest AG champions still alive today (only beaten by 2126 Champion MÃ©lissa Flament), but his pacifist beliefs and his extraordinary career makes him a true legend of AG racing, up there with names such as Muro, Tetsuo and the great Kel Solaar.

*There are other reasons behind Van-Ãœberâ€™s ideal, such as his Roman Catholic background and his admiration of primitive Formula One drivers as seen in old videos.

- - - Updated - - -

Woflgang Van-Ãœber passed away peacefully in his Lower Saxony home on January 3 2214, beside family. His heath had deteriorated over the past few years, particularly over the past year, restricting him to the confounds of his home. A private burial was held on January 7th, followed by a public memorial the following day, which included numerous AG racing personalities, including the AGRC Chairwoman, Natasha Belmondo. Van-Ãœber was 106.

Rossriders

4th March 2013, 04:30 PM

While all of it may be fan-fiction. I have to apprecieate an extent of effort and detication in an attempt to flesh out quite an interesting world as WipEout.

It's to say the least an impressive undertaking, and at least for me, something inspirting. I wanna say more, but I want to read more, before I can be more detailed.

That and finish some fan-art, and that includes a potental successor to van uber's team. :D

Until then.

keg_11

4th March 2013, 11:45 PM

Thank you, Rossriders! It's good to see that my work is being supported.

Sorry that I hadn't posted some new content lately. Part of the reason is that I was the only one posting and that I wasn't sure that people were having a look (I was probably expecting a small discussion after each entry), so I might have been a bit disheartened.

I've got a few stories that I've completed but yet to be posted, and seeing how there are people still looking at my work, I might start writing new content soon.

Thank you again for your support. I really appreciate it! :D

stin

6th March 2013, 07:08 PM

Also, I do read it too and a very good story.

stevie:)

Rossriders

9th March 2013, 02:28 AM

It's understandable to feel a bit disheartnened, and I can loosely relate, given lately when posing on DeviantArt and elsewhere...given my subject matter (cars and whatnot) how few take a look. If it's something anthro maybe...stories on say a site that's art centered is a different story.

That and part of me wishes there was more of a discussion because honelsty this is quite an undertaking. While Fanon at the end of the day, it's again hell of an attempt to serioulsy try and flesh things out in the world of Wipeout to quite an extent.

Hell, it's made me want to revise more my own story to Matrix racing Reserach and Development, while it woun't exaclty 'fit' in your fanon of Wipeout, I very tempted to give a lot of nods in more ways than one to your work in some way or another.

That and, part of me is curious to some of the other teams in reagrds to the results. I feel embrassed that I failed to check that earlier, since a few new names have caught my attention, and I'm curious to what some of those teams are.

That and if I'm not mistaken, your contributions to the Wipeout Wiki, including all those craft screenshots, have given me more to work with and figure out.

Espeically when trying to figure out 'transition' craft between leages (F3600-toF5000 or F7200 to F9000 and so on), which I may or may not get to sooner or later, that and again drawing out that Van Uber successor team 'MR[RD].

I'm a bit in doubt given how life has been to say the least unpredictable...

and there's a LOT of things I want to try and draw, but they all of course require work, and I hate being half-hearted (more so since I've been actually taking studying quite a lot on ALL the wipeout craft from (timeline wise) 2048 to 2207, espeically the FX-350 standard and fury craft designs, and how I can apply something loose of those ideas to the ship designs I'm trying to make).

And then there's the stuff I'm trying to write out as well...

Rambling aside, looking forward to seeing more of your work, and hopefully next time I comment, I can say even more.

Until then.

keg_11

12th March 2013, 01:31 AM

After a couple of months of limbo, and strong encouragement from fans of my fanfics (Thanks, guys!; especially Rossriders!), Here are some new entries! I'm posting two now with a third very near completion, with fresh content to be started on quite soon.

Hope you all enjoy and thanks for the support! :D

2164 Temtesh Bay Disaster

Because of its very nature, itâ€™s very rare in motor racing, and in turn AG racing, that an accident is so severe that it can rival other man-made disasters, such as Titanic or the Hindenburg. But by saying that, events like that do happen. The most famous is the 1955 Le Mans Disaster where the Mercedes-Benz of Pierre Leveigh crashed into a slower car and flew into the crowd, killing 84 and injuring 120 spectators. The nearest equivalent in AG racing would have to be the 2164 Temtesh Bay disaster. This disaster would cost the lives of six F9000 pilots plus a dozen emergency crews in what as seen as the culmination of the radical nature of that era of AG racing.

The Temtesh Bay track had always been a favourite of fans and pilots alike. Prior to 2164, Temtesh Bay was the only track to be used in every season of the F9000. Organised by the Australian business tycoon Bruce Bloomer, Temtesh Bay was constructed within an open-cut mine in central Australia and always had the flair synonymous with Bloomer. The designs were straightforward: a short track winding around the perimeter of the mine; a medium course which dived into the tunnels of the old mine; and to top it off, a weaving long course going up and down around Beehive Rock.

Of course, such a radical track caused some criticism. Kurt Graham, four time F7200 champion and design advisor for the new track was quite against having the track go through mine tunnels, emphasising the risk of cave-ins from the barrage of weapon that would be used in them. Despite his arguments, the medium course was built exactly to plan (although, Graham put a lot of effort in the design and construction of the long course, and was quite pleased with it).

The track (short course) opened the first F9000 race in 2156 with great acclaim, and ushered in the arrival of Natasha Belmondo to the F9000 scene. Year after year, the atmosphere around the Australian round was always buzzing. For those who would like to get out of the heat, the main festivities in nearby Adelaide were only an hour away by grav-train. All the while, the track remain unchanged despite some damage to some areas due to weapon use in races (there was only small repairs that, in hindsight, were less than adequate).

Coming into the Australian round of the 2164 season, Tibetan Piranha pilot Myima Tsarong held a slim lead ahead of the two Xios pilots, Natasha Belmondo and the previous yearâ€™s champion, Zala Wollf. Also, Auricomâ€™s Pascale Rouser and FEISARâ€™s Daniel Johnson score quite close to the frontrunners.

It was expected that this round, around Temtesh Bayâ€™s medium course, would be a very close one. In qualifying, Tsarong managed to score pole just ahead of Rouser, with the Xios pilots struggling with their wider crafts and placing 6th and 8th respectively.

On March 11 2164, the race got underway in a flurry of paint and metal as they entered the mines. Tsarong pulled a good lead followed by Rouser and Tigronâ€™s Omarr Khumala (started 5th). The only person that didnâ€™t start well was Australian FEISAR pilot (and great-nephew of Kurt Graham) Zack Graham. For some reason, his LS-59340 loss al power as soon as he hit the thrust. Graham had started in a low 12th. It was lucky for him that he stayed on the grid for him, or anyone else, couldâ€™ve expected what was next.

An explosion within the mines causes the whole tunnel to collapse towards the far end of the course. All communications between both the ships and officials were cut, so no-one knew what was going on. And then, amidst the confusion, there was a much larger explosion which sealed the raceâ€™s fate. This larger explosion shook the whole mines and simultaneously collapsed every single tunnel of the track, entombing anyone that was in it. The time it took between the first explosions as the complete collapse of the mines was a fraction of a minute.

The race was immediately halted and everyone evacuated from the mines as rescue crews came in to dig for the missing pilots and officials trapped in the mines. Already out was Natasha Belmondo. She just got out as the last bulkhead locked shut (as were standard operating procedure of the mine, but the closing bulkhead had damaged the rear of her craft. So far, those pilots present and accounted for were Graham of FEISAR, both Van-Ãœber pilots, both Auricom pilots, Khumala of Tigron, Belmondo of Xios and Tsarong of Piranha.

Luckily, this count grew after the first hour where rescue crews managed to dig out an injured Zala Wollf, followed by a severely injured Daniel Johnson and several officials. According to her accounts, she had stopped just before the second last bulkhead but had gotten caught in the mine collapse. Her refuge was an escape tunnel just off the track which the officials used to get themselves and Johnson (who was discovered towards the epicentre of the explosions) to where Wollf was. Wollf had relatively minor leg and neck injuries, but Johnson had become paralysed from the neck down.

Day after day went by, but with no further luck. Despite one or two other officials that were found but later died in hospital, no one else could be found. This meant that six of the 14 pilots of the F9000 had perished. In the cleanup, Wollfâ€™s Xios and a Tigron craft, with Sveta Kirovski still in it were found, but after a few close calls with loose rock and dirt, the cleanup was cancelled.

Following the disaster, the Australian Government and the Australian Federal police (AFP), in association with Confederation of Australian Anti-Gravity Racing (CAAR) and the AGF launched a Royal Commission into the disaster and investigated the event from all sides as it seemed that the disaster was a deliberate act. This Commission uncovered severe maintenance holes within the organisation of the event and, in turn, the League as a whole.

But to everyoneâ€™s surprise, a week after the disaster, FEISARâ€™s Director of Operations Xavier Menendez claimed full responsibility for the disaster on behalf of Daniel Johnson, who was in intensive care, and the FEISAR team. He revealed that just recently the F9000 Federation approved the use of a development of FEISARâ€™s Super Missile. This new weapon didnâ€™t fire as much missiles as the old weapon, but had more explosive power than its predecessor. As it turned out, Johnson had picked up the Super Weapon and had aimed to take out Wollf but missed and the subsequent explosion on the wall caused the mines to collapse.

As such FEISAR were held as the main suspects for the disaster, but this did not explain the secondary explosions that were the overall catalyst of the entire mines collapsing. As a result, FEISAR were fined US$1 million dollars in damages for the disaster in addition to severe restrictions imposed on AG racing which saw Super Weapons banned indefinitely, all development of F9000 craft frozen and strict revisions of all F9000 tracks to make sure theyâ€™re save to race. As such, several courses, such as Alca Vexus 2 and Cubiss Float 2 were abandoned.

It would be almost 20 years before the actual culprits were identified. In 2181, new sources claim that Chinese team EG-R played a role in the disaster in that they caused the main explosions in the mines. As such the Commission was reactivated and investigated the activities of the former EG-R, who by this time merged with Xios to form EG-X Technologies. As it turned out, anxious that their top secret technology would be exploited by rival teams, the team deliberately detonated their craft and pilots to cover up their technology. The size of these simultaneous explosions further dislodged the rock in the mines causing them to collapse. The investigation also uncovered that so determined were EG-R in concealing their tracks, they did the same thing after the F9000 fell in 2170. Although they ordered both China and EG-X to give up all those involved in the team, no-one has been brought in. Actually, no-one associated with the team had been seen since the fall of the F9000. (This gave Xios the perfect opportunity to gain control of the operations hence founding EG-X).

Despite the sheer tragedy of Temtesh Bay disaster, AG racing continued nevertheless. Wollf would return to AG racing in the Swiss round at Cubiss Float and all the other teams found replacements for their teams, eventually fielding a full pack for the 2165 season. However, as well as those who perished, Johnson would be permanently disabled whilst Wollf and Tsarong, distraught from the disaster, retired at the end of the 2164 season.

Itâ€™s commonly accepted that the Temtesh Bay disaster started the descent of the F9000, eventuating in the Fall of the F9000 in 2170. But none the less, the sport has learned its lessons from that event and as such, there hasnâ€™t been a death in AG racing in almost 40 years.

In memoriam:
Sveta Kirovski - Tigron
Jann Shlaudecker - Piranha
Roberto Sergio - G-Tech
Naomi Turner - G-Tech
Paul Cheung - EG-R
Alex Reece - EG-R

keg_11

12th March 2013, 10:24 AM

The first of my extensive team bios. Some references in the entry are from Challenger #001's entry, so credits include him. (NOTE: This is now my longest entry, with over 3200 words :eek)

Qirex Research & Development

It's without a doubt that Qirex Research & Development deserves to be considered as one of the most famous teams in the history of AG racing, as well as the most successful. Although winning a record 39 Leagues is successful in itself, it's their journey from a domestic military contractor to a well respected anti-grvity research organisation is legendary. And at its forefront, some of the most iconic pilots and personnel ever involved in the sport.

The original Qirex Industries was founded from the merger of two companies: Quantax CFD and Irkutsk Nuclear Developments, by Russian businessman Sergei Reznikov in 2017('QI' for Quantax-Irkutsk, 'REx' for Reznikov). Originally, Qirex was an industrial conglomerate with a stake in the majority of Russia's industries, from transport to economics to manufacturing. They were also contractors for the Russian military.

When anti-gravity technology exploded in the mid 2030s, Qirex was very interested in the new technology and started development. However, their early developments were quite primitive in comparison to other period designs. Basically, they were adaptations of AG System's patented AG generator for a variety of operations.

When the AGRC was announced in 2044, Qirex quickly expressed interest for competing but were still struggling with the quality of their crafts compared to that of AG Systems and other companies. Salvation came in the form of Holst McQueen, the former head of technology of AG Systems. McQueen had been dismissed from AG Systems because of his hostile rivalry with Delia Flaubert, the former head of design, over the direction AG Systems should be heading. This cost them both their jobs at AG Systems. McQueen argued that AG System's constant research and development were preventing them reaching the massive financial potential of the technology. When he heard that Flaubert was establishing her own orgainisation based on her ideals (of Pierre Belmondo), McQueen went to Qirex to develop their AG sector.

In the three years in the lead-up to the first AGRC season, Qirex had evolved from a local industrial conglomerate to one of the most prolific organisations in the world because of McQueen's designs. Qirex also managed to acquire a number of talented, yet unorthodox pilots in the lead up to the 2048 season. One of which was fomer Russian Air Force pilot, Kel Solaar.

The former Major had a long desire to reach the sky from an early age. As such, he immedialy joined the airforce after graduating from school and trained to be one of the best pilots the Russian air force had seen. As well as this, he also was a formidable weapons expert, which would make him a lethal enemy if anyone approached him.

When Qirex first started their AG racing program, Solaar left the air force and became the main Qirex test pilot. What was quite notable of him was his ability to control the heavy Qirex ship with reletive ease considering the opposition. It didn't really matter that Qirex ships couldn't beat everyone in a straight line, Solaar would anniliate the competition through corners and his strategic use of weapons to slow down opposing craft. It was not surprise when Solaar claimed the first AG racing pilots championship in 2048.

Whilst Solaar was 'bringing home the bacon' on the track, there were quite a few events happening behind the scenes. McQueen had manoevered himself through the ranks of Qirex to eventually becoming CEO in 2052, following Reznikov's retirement. Whilst McQeen was in power, the focus of Qirex shifted to become an AG research-only company determined to deter Flaubert's Auricom Research. A lot of people believed this was the motivation behind Qirex's acquisition by the Ovetel media organisation three years later.

It was this rivalry between McQueen and Flaubert that created the intense rivalry between Qirex and Auricom, This was particulary evident in the earlier years of AG racing. Both pilots form both teams rivalled each other for differing reasons, in particular the Tetsuo twins Arial and Arian, the latter affilited with Qirex. The twins were raised and in turn started their careers in vastly contrasting backgrounds: Arial was very popular with the crowd and was discovered by Auricom because of her success in the AG Youth League of Japan; Arian was a street racer before she was hired by Qirex. This bitter feud also elevated off the track where Qirex, quite infamously, lauched a smear campaign against Arial ranging from formal cheating to more serious allegations. Qirex were formally accused of blackmail in 2060 and fined an undisclosed sum. Whether this worked or not, this did not deter either Qirex's performance or reputation.

In fact this period, specifically during the 2060s & 2080s, were the greatest in Qirex's history and cementing their place as the most successsful team in AG racing history. After Auricom dominated the 2058 and '59 seasons with their revolutionary dual-hulled design, Qirex were determined to rise above them with their own dual-hull craft. Using a development of the infamous "barzha" of the AGRC, Qirex and Solaar scored 7 consectutive championships between 2060 and 2066, including a 19 race winning streak from 2060-62.

Solaar and Qirex were an icon, so it was expected that Solaar's retirement after the 2068 season was an emotional one for all those involved. Solaar had become a hero of the Russian people, and was admired with an almost cult-like status. But despite the media frenzy behind him, Solaar disappeared from the limelight thereafter (he would reappear during the 2090s).

Solaar may be gone, but Qirex still continued as strong as ever. To replace Solaar, Qirex hired former FEISAR and Auricom pilot Sofia de la Rente on a year-by-year basis. The combination of de la Rente and Qirex number two Arian Tetsuo would give Qirex another League in 2069 before retiring herself.

At this point, Qirex first tasted serious competition. With the surge from the Japanese AG Systems outfit, Qirex was relegated to the midpack, even last for a number of years. This wasn't helped with their line-up consiting of the under-performing Arian Tetsuo (who would be left without a seat in 2072) and the "Mad Matador" Matteo Munoz. This started to change when Konstantin Rykov joined the team to replace Tetsuo in 2073. Throughout the next few seasons, Rykov was constantly near the front, even scoring a League title in 2075. His battles with AG Systems' Nobuyuki Sato during 2076 cemented his place as one of the great Qirex pilots, loved by all sides (even Auricom). When he left the team the following year, his number one spot was passed down to Finn Makku Eerik, who would (start) to bring Qirex back in front by scoring consectutive titles in 2078 and '79.

The man who would bring Qirex back to the forefront of AG racing was Scot Michael McLeod. McLeod had, in fact, replaced Rykov when he left for Auricom in 2077, and had potential to be a title contender despite his mid-pack finishes. These were proved right when he pushed to become the 2082 champion ahead of Jean Dreyfus for Auricom. McLeod would continue to battle and take the next four Leagues, all the while fighting against a young German FEISAR pilot by the name of Stefan Geist.

Geist had been branded a title contender from the start: he managed to score third in his first season with FEISAR in 2083. And he had continued to pushed for the title, coming into grief with McLeod and the Qirex team more times than he would've liked. But alas, both McLeod had the upmost respect for his German rival, and was more than happy to have him as a teammate in the first F5000 League in 2085. This dynamic parnership would give Qirex four more titles with McLeod and Geist winning two each. Geist would take over McLeod's number one seat after he retired at the end of 2088 and continued to win for the team into the 2090s. By the time Geist retired in 2093, Qirex had won 26 Leagues, over double that of all the other teams combined.

Things were even better for Qirex when Geist's place in the team was filled by Konstantin Rykov's own daughter, Alisa. Raised through Qirex's own pilot development program (a rare feat), Alisa started small inside the field during her first few seaons with the team and started to mature by scoring sixth in the 2099 season. By the turn of the century, Alisa was Qirex's only chance at a title as their other aging pilots, Vladimir Tuchyon and Andrew Zao, were falling by the waistside. Alisa did just that in 2101 quite comfortably, and the image of both her and her father on the podium together at Spilskinanke still remains one of the most famous images of family involvement in the sport.

However, Alisa's success was overshadowed by the tragedies that stemmed from the introduction of Phantom class in 2097, which caused the deaths of three pilots and would paralyze Kumiko Takahashi (Champion 2097, '98 ) from the waist down. Although saddened from these tragedies, Alisa's resolve was to keep racing and that the sport should continue to move forward and not dwell on the past. Her title the following year made sure of that,and successfully pushed on to take the following two Leagues as well, surpassing her father's record in the process. Alisa would continue to fight hard, but her performance was, once again, overshadowed by this time the in-house rivalry at AG Systems between Belarussian-born Russian Zmitar Tikotsky and Australian David Colquhoun. She would score two third placed finished before retiring in 2108.

At this point, Qirex's stranglehold on the sport was at an end and would see many changes over the next few decades. For one, Qirex had evolved from a military contracter to a premier AG research and development organisation. As such in 2111, Qirex officially changed their name from "Qirex Industries" to "Qirex Research and Development" to reflect this new focus. Also, the rise of new teams such as Piranha and Assegai Developments would demote the team to the level of their competitors, and would see stiff competition as the league was upgraded to F7200 specification. They did enjoy some success in this League, with Laura Kohlemainen taking the first F7200 League in 2116 and Australian Austen Graham (the twin brother of AG Systems' Kurt Graham) would give Qirex four Leagues between 2119 and 2122.

Qirex's biggest change in this era was the change in ownership. Following Pierre Belmondo's death in 2128, Overtel heavily lobbied for control over the F7200 Commission (which was in direct control of the Belmondo Foundation), but was restircted because of their support for the Qirex team. As such, Overtel re-organised Qirex as a self-supported independent entity so that they can concentrate their efforts towards the Commission, achieving that in 2132. The transition left Qirex in a highly solvent state to the envy of just about every other outfit in the league. The team still kept a firm presence on the field, with pilots such as Johan Janson and Georgy Alkaev scoring respectable finished along the way (the latter taking the 2143 League for the team with George Dravare), and it seemed that Qirex could've been very stable for the decades ahead.

But in 2145, the Russian economy collapsed. Struck by a reduction in farmable land along with the slowing down of local industry saw the country rapidly falling into debt. This was effected by Qirex as well, slumping to some of their worst performances in years (part in due of ot having the funds to hire talented pilots. Alkaev, who stayed on by his own accord, still kept scoring point finishes). Over the next few years, a depression had set in and created the best conditions for a takeover.

Early in 2149, a criminal faction known as the "The Brotherhood" overthrew the Russian Government and re-proclaimed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics along with Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan (all with Brotherhood governments). The Brotherhood immediately took over all of Russia's industries, both private and public, into a single "legitimate" front called Tigron Enterprises. Qirex was unceremoniusly absorbed into the Enterprise and made up Tigron's AG research sector. The racing team was renamed Tigron for 2150, which also saw the introduction of their own craft that used Qirex technology. A number of Qirex staff lost their jobs, and an even larger amount were suspectedly kidnapped from other professions to work on the Tigron craft. Howerver, the agressive methods Tigron used, both on and off the track, made Tigron one of the more favorited teams of the F7200/F9000 League. Tigron's antics (which also involved corruption iwth the F9000 Federation) lead to Tigron's downfall in 2170 in the Fall of the F9000. The Brotherhood's government fell soon after, leaving the former Qirex facilities derelect.

But salvation came in the form of businessman Feliks Levovich. Levovich (born Feliks Stanovich) was born in 2140 and was the son of Qirex engineer, Lev. Lev had a great passion for everything Qirex, which he distilled into his son at an early age. Feliks was with Lev during the last race of the 2149 season, the last race for Qirex befor the change into Tigron for the next season. Taking the opportunity to retire, Lev spent his remaining years restoring a damaged 2127 Quantax Model 9 (used by Austen Graham) with his son assisting after school. Sadly, Levâ€™s health deteriorated over the years and he would succumb to heart failure in the winter of 2162.

Meanwhile, Feliks had moved to the United Kingdom where he studied to become an entrepreneur with the goal to be involved in the management of AG racing. But to much of his luck, the F9000 fell as he was starting out with his professional career, so therefore, the effects of the fallout did not effect him very hard. Re-emerging two years later, Feliks (who had changed his surname to Levovich, after his father) successfully purchased the old Qirex-Tigron facilities and moved the two craft his father had left him (the Model 9 and a 2060s Model 6, piloted by Kel Solaar). Througout the depression, he kept himself busy by restoring old Qirex craft using parts from the factory. By 2179, he had restored 16 models.

In that year, Levovich purchased and re-estabalish Qirex as an entity under his control and started maufacturing replacement parts for other Qirex enthusiasts. This proved to be fruitful with the rise of amateur AG racing during the 2180s. Levovich was present at the Anti-Gravity Rebirth Festival in 2185, where he displayed his collection of craft and promoted his brand. Eventually, the demand for parts and entire crafts had grown to such an extent, Levovich managed to employ engineering staff and restart production of Qirex craft for the first time in almost 40 years.

Levovich was also an avid supporter of the FX150 Amateur League, supporting many pilots who used the old Qirex ships (and to a lesser extent, Tigron). When the FX300 League was announced in 2195, Levovich re-established the Qirex team and began designing a whole new craft. One key element he wanted was to make his new craft more balanced than the old Quantax models, partially because he didn't had the astronomical funding of the old team but he wanted the craft to be more accessable to pilots of average skill. In 2197, the first new Qirex was revealed for the first time. Designated LS97 in memorium of his late father, the craft was breath-taking, using a curved dual-hull that made it aerodynamic as well as lighter than it's predeccessor. In pre-season testing, it constantly rose above the opposition without it being quite bullish.

Another welcome for the new team was the hiring of Adam Reznikov as the pilot. Reznikov was a descendent of the original founder of Qirex, Sergei Reznikov, a fact that was pointed out by Levovich when he was introduced to Reznikov. Reznikov had met Levovich some years prior to the FX300 through the FX150 where he piloted an older FEISAR craft in some European events. Quite impressed with Reznikov's style, Levovich signed him up as Qirex's test and FX300 pilot.

The partnership between the LS97 and Reznikov proved successful. In it's first year of competition, Reznikov found himself in stiff competition angainst Alistair Hunter of the new Triakis team. But managed to scrape ahead on race wins to take the first FX300 title that year. This success was to continue with two more titles within the next three years, as well as consistant high-placed finishes in the seasons following. By the end of the FX300, Qirex had firmly established themselves as a strong contender in this new era of racing.

Whist this new Qirex became a force in its own right, there was no denying its period under the "Tigron" banner. Levovich was uninterested in the old team, even detesting it so much he either destroyed most of the Tigron name from his facility and refused to recreate new models (he did produce replacement parts for the old craft for enthusiasts). However one final Tigron craft, the BULL-666 v5.0, remained from the old facility and never been raced. Initially all for the craft's destruction, it wasn't before the intervention of Denis Kosma, Qirex' lead engineer, who suggested to use the craft as a training ship for pilots to get accustomed to heavier ships. This ship raced under many pilot's hands (including current Qirex pilot Nadia Elenova) before it was scrapped after the FX300 League finished in 2206.

Also, as with it's predecessor, controversy surrounded the Russian outfit. The first came from FEISAR, who sued Qirex over the use of the "LS" initials in their craft name, which FEISAR had been using since the start of the sport. Instead of simply changing the name, Levovich lobbied and comprimised hard so he can keep the LS initials. Eventually, Levovich settled to an undisclosed sim to FEISAR and the restiction that he can only us the initials if it's immediately followed by a year number (e.g. 2207 would be "07"), whilst FEISAR would continue to use the LS-XXXX designation.

Another controversy was the rise of Quantax Dynamics. Natalia Yarochevskaya, one of the old engineers for Qirex, was not happy with the new designed Levovich had created, and that it went against the tried and tested Quantax models going back as far as the AGRC. Infuriated that her concerns were ignored, she set up her own team based on the old Quantax schematics. Although very stressed for money (getting corporate sponsorship from PUMA), she was determined to proved her point and eventually became a thorn in the side for Levovich. When the Quantax team start to score points in the series, Levocich decided from a compromise. Needing a ship for the FX350/400 Leagues, he agreed to used the old Quantax designs, but they were to use technology from the FX300 craft so it remained a balanced craft. Satisfied, Yarochevskaya shut down the team at the end of the FX300 and partnered with Levovich with the new craft.

Lastly, this new Qirex seems to have dulled their extremily bitter rivalry with Auricom, who was still strong under the leadership of former FX150 pilot Jesse Fairbank. In a recent interview with the AG Network, Levovich maintains that the focus of Qirex is not to create a spectacle of the sport, but to simply be the best team out there. Fairbank shares this same view and acknowledges that Levovich's Qirex is indeed not the old Overtel Qirex. But still, their rivalry for on-track dominance still remains, and may it always remain. In one way, the rivalry between McQueen and Flaubert still lives on to this day.

keg_11

19th March 2013, 09:35 AM

After this, I plan to write up an "abridged" version on the invention of AG (when I mean abridged, I mean I'm not going to go into detail about the technology they researched or considered. Rather, an overview of the key events in development of the Nx1000. If anyone thinks this is too ambitious, just reply and I'll put it on hold)

Apart from that, enjoy my next entry as I try to include PUMA's excessive promos in Pure into the mix...

PUMA Delta Leagues 2205-6

The re-emergence of AG racing by way of the FX300 was a major boom for sponsors as well as the competitors and fans of the League. Although small at the start, these gradually grew and by the time of the FX400 many companies supported the League through product partnerships, such as Jap Energy Drinkâ€™s partnership with FEISAR, all the way through to League sponsors such as ICOM Communications. But by far the most extravagant, and oldest sponsorships came from shoe company PUMA.
PUMA was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler after a falling out with his brother, Adolf, which led to the two splitting their shoe company between them. Adolfâ€™s half became Adidas (an anagram of his nickname â€œAdiâ€ and DASsler) whilst Rudolfâ€™s half became RUDA (RUdolf DAssler) before changing to PUMA. As such, PUMA and Adidas were fierce rivals for some years as private companies before being sold off to larger conglomerates after their foundersâ€™ deaths. But both companies became world renowned and became one of the top sporting companies in the world (behind American Nike and British Reebok).
However, as time passed, changing tastes and market trends saw most of these brands decline over the next century some of which disappeared entirely (such as Adidas). PUMA was not immune from this trend also, gradually declining to manufacturing sporting shoes and clothing for competition use. Eventually, they diverted into research & development to investigate new technologies within their products.
In the mid-22nd century, PUMA pioneered â€œSpeed Legsâ€ for Major League Football use. These bionic legs, patterned of hoofs from a racing horse, allowed players to run, jump and manoeuvre to lengths never before seen in the sport (much more than the high-spring derivatives that had been used since the 21st century). This saw a rebirth in the company, and helped them survive the 2170s depression resulting from the fall of the F9000. PUMA went to strength to strength in producing and promoting this and other related products and before long, they were the leading apparel company in the world (in close rivalry with 2nd Skin).
With the re-emergence of AG racing at the end of the century, the executives at PUMA saw this as a prime area to branch into and began their association with the sport. At first, they produced pilotsâ€™ suits for smaller teams such as Van-Ãœber and Goteki 45, before deciding to take it to the next level and sponsor the League. This was unsuccessful. Disgruntled, they went and upped their presence in the league by heavily sponsoring the Al-Vaskei and Quantax team for entry into the 2204 FX300 League. This proved to be a fruitless venture with neither team being very successful during their respective tenures in the league. In fact, Al-Vaskei has one of the worst finishing rates by percentage in racing history (second only to Icaras).

But their most extravagant act was to come. During 2204, PUMA went to the FX300 Commission again, this time proposing a series of exhibition races to be run before the annual season starts. Somewhat more throughout than their previous venture, they stated that the series would seriously promote both the League and the PUMA brand around the world as well as provide an equal, friendly ground for the pilots to race on without team orders or reputations at stake. After serious convincing, the Commission eventually allowed the series on the provision it was to be organised mainly by the Commission in co-operation with PUMA executives.

As such, the first PUMA Delta League was hosted on New Yearâ€™s Day in Vinetaâ€™s Entertainment Hub nearby Sinucit. Fans were divided over the design of the first track, named â€œIridiaâ€ either admiring the semi-technical corners or the near vertical banking or disgusted over the amount of PUMA advertising adorning the track side. All those differences were put aside one the main attractions came into view. The line-up was the same from the previous year, except for the introduction of two new teams, both heavily sponsored and promoted by PUMA: Al-Vaskei Racing Developments, based in Saudi Arabia; and Quantax Dynamics, a Russian team instantly rivalling Qirex by using the old Quantax designs that Qirex used before their absorption into Tigron Enterprises in 2149.

It was expected that the reigning champion, Elena Yakubu of Assegai, would get off to a good start having clinched the League a few months before. However, the predominately easy track did not play to the Assegaiâ€™s strengths and Yakubu ended up starting 5th for the race. As such, the faster teams, such as Triakis and Auricom, took the advantage of the fast track and posted fastest times. To a lot of peopleâ€™s surprise, David Diaz managed to score pole for Auricom; he was followed by Vincent Stephenson for Triakis and Thanos Ikrausus for FEISAR.

The first race got off spectacularly with Stephenson and Ferrai controlling the lead, followed closely by â€œLe Blur Rougeâ€ Amy Senand (started 4th) and Ikrausus. This scrap continued for a few laps until a lucky plasma bolt by Auricomâ€™s David Diaz debilitated both Ferrai and Senand, placing them far behind the leaders. Some more aggressive piloting by Diaz eventually saw Stephenson fall back, despite that military shielding. Diaz looked set for a win, but didnâ€™t consider the small FEISAR of Ikrausus biding his time behind the Auricom. A quick missile on the last lap saw Ikrausus push past Diaz, and held him off to take the first race of the cup with Stephenson behind them both in third.

The rest of the season saw a constant competition between Ikrausus, Diaz, Stephenson and Ferrai with Senand and Harimauâ€™s Ronald Wong putting pressure on the top trio. At the next round on the split-tracked Anulpha Pass, Diaz pulled a good lead from the start and comfortably took out the race ahead of Ikrausus by one second. However, Ikrausus fought back at Koltiwa managing to fight back to a victory after a dismal qualifying (qualified in 6th), as well as Diaz being unlucky enough to have been bombarded with a rocket and a bomb on the third lap, cutting his dominant lead.

Coming into the final round at Khara Descent, notable for its stepped back straight and guard-less inner edge, Ikrausus was leading Diaz by two points; their nearest opponent was Stephenson on 14 points. Unfortunately, what was expected to be a closely fought battle between the two leaders reached an anti-climax on the first lap: starting in third, Diaz was unlucky enough to have been hit with a quake just after hitting a string of mines deployed by Tauban Ferrai (started 2nd). Struggling to keep up with the front runners, Diaz had to settle for fourth, giving up the PUMA Delta League to Ikrausus.

The 2205 FX300 was expected to be similar to the results of the Delta League, with Ikrausus leading FEISAR into a second season of glory. In fact, all of the front runners of the Delta League underperformed. Ikrausus achieved podiums in the first two races of the season, but became a mid-pack runner throughout the year, eventually placing 5th, 9 points ahead of Stephenson.

That season was dominated by old rivals Senand (Piranha) and Adam Reznikov (Qirex), along with Andrew Dekka (AG Systems) and Liam Reid (Icaras). This was also reflected during the next Delta League in 2206. At the first round at Iridia, Amy Senand achieved a splendid victory with Maxim Tsyzyrev giving Quantax its second (and last) podium by finishing second, and Reznikov filling the podium in third. At the next Anulpha Pass, the all-too common sight of Senand versus Reznikov was showing, with both pilots taking the top two places respectively, with Dekka in third by two seconds.

The next race at Koltiwa became quite an interesting race as at first a clear winner was hard to guess. Both Reznikov and Senand were obvious choices, but face stiff competition by third placed Liam Reid and Elena Yakubu of Assegai, with the latter managing to qualify second half a second behind Reznikov. The next couple of places comprised of Senand, Reid and Daniel Albrecht of Van-Ãœber, all within a second of each other. During the race, Yakubu got off to a good start but struggled to stay ahead, eventually falling back to 5th within the first lap. She would manage to pass Albrecht to take fourth. Senand, Reznikov and Reid all shared the lead over the course of the race. Starting the last lap, it seemed that Reid would deliver Icaras their first win since returning to AG racing, but a rocket attack from Reznikov denied him of that. Reznikov would win that race, followed by Senand and Reid.

Going into the final race, Reznikov, Senand and Reid were separated by only 3 points so, like last year, the League couldâ€™ve been anyoneâ€™s. Liam Reid of Icaras made his intentions clear by qualifying first for the race, narrowly beating Reznikov. During the race, Reid tried to pull a strong lead over Reznikov and Senand, but found himself in trouble after a quake by Maxim Tsyzyrevâ€™s Quantax. Force on the defensive because of the Icarasâ€™ poor shielding, he quickly found himself passed by Reznikov. But, now in the lead, Reznikov now found himself pressured by the other two leaders. It went down to the wire as the remaining laps fell, but the perseverance typical of Russian Rockets showed as Reznikov held off Reid and Senand to take the race and the League by four points.

This stiff battle during the Delta League trickled its way into the season, but it was mainly behind a dominant Triakis team, who would take a clean season before being disqualified due to the Reverse-inertia Deceleration System on their crafts.

Despite the success of the Delta Leagues socially, it didnâ€™t translate into profits for PUMA, who decided to pull out of the sport completely when the sport was upgraded to FX400 specification. This wasnâ€™t helped by Al-Vaskeiâ€™s liquidation and Quantaxâ€™s absorption into Qirex. However, their contribution to the AGRC had been impressive, with more interest by outside sponsors in the sport. Also, the Anulpha Pass track was chosen over the other Delta League tracks as the permanent configuration for the entertainment hub for use during FX350 League events.

Rossriders

23rd March 2013, 01:32 AM

yay, more story and...I want to say more though it seems like every time I get to start, I'm too exhausted from the day to comment much, and today is sadly no exception.

I will say, again a lot to read and it gives me some ideas.

I'll just say...I can't be the only one here who's wondered or even tired to draw some key people like Pierre Belmondo...assuming we can even have a basis on how to try to draw him, or anyone else really.

Could try...

Hopefully next time I'll speak, i'll have more worthwhile things to say.

keg_11

24th March 2013, 02:55 AM

I'd really like to see what a drawing of Pierre Belmondo would look like, or maybe a photo of someone and made that as Belmondo. Strange no-one has done it yet.

Rossriders

25th March 2013, 03:11 AM

Like I said, I'll give it a shot. That among other key people such as the founders of Qirex and Auricom, Ares Perimount (Piranha) among many others.

I will be a while, but I'll try to come up with something sooner than later.

In the meantime, here's looking to future stories, hopefully on something in regards to Eg.R and Xios for one, as well as of course, AG systems, Auricom and Piranha, among others.

Until then.

F.E.I.S.A.R

30th March 2013, 04:48 PM

Noticed this:

I'll just say...I can't be the only one here who's wondered or even tired to draw some key people like Pierre Belmondo...assuming we can even have a basis on how to try to draw him, or anyone else really.

I'd really like to see what a drawing of Pierre Belmondo would look like, or maybe a photo of someone and made that as Belmondo. Strange no-one has done it yet.

Go to the heritage section of the Pure website (http://www.wipeoutpure.com/) and go to the second picture. Read the caption. Could the guy facing the others be Pierre Belmondo?

keg_11

31st March 2013, 03:29 PM

Maybe, but we mean a detailed relief of Belmondo rather than a small section of a picture (although it can be used as inspiration)

Rossriders

3rd April 2013, 07:43 PM

Maybe, but we mean a detailed relief of Belmondo rather than a small section of a picture (although it can be used as inspiration)

I have actually been to the pure website before. I could use that at least as a potential starting point. Since apart from that, unless there's some concept art that's yet to be shown, I've don't got much else in the way of how he looks like.

I'll see what I can do, it'll be a while though.

keg_11

11th May 2013, 02:39 PM

AG Technology

The development of anti-gravity technology is one of the most important technological breakthroughs in the history of the 21st century, from both a technological and scientific perspectives. Such a massive event almost didnâ€™t happen if it wasnâ€™t for the financial and political pressure put on to all those involved in the technology, but the perseverance of some members of the project, such as Pierre Belmondo and Chuck Hoffman saw this dream to finally become reality.

During 2017 and 2018, the US Government and other governments received many reports of UFOs sighted in desolate areas of the world, such as the Tule desert in Nevada. However, an interesting difference with these UFOs is that they hovered over the ground rather than saucer-like objects in the sky. Curiosity spurring around these objects influenced Dr. Gunnar Anglert, head of the World Technology Symposium (founded 1995) to make this announcement:

â€œIt is clear that many sightings of UFOs are not hoaxes of any kind. We know this because many of the flying objects are in fact anti-gravity machines developed to enhance weaponry capabilities. In deciding to declare the existence of this technology, we are hoping we can open it up to development by scientists with peaceful intent."

As outlined in his speech, it was revealed that certain governments of the world had been in development of anti-gravity technology for military use in secret for a number of years. However, in part due to the slow development of a feasible prototype, the international governments and the Symposium came to the decision to release this information to the world in an effort to speed up development by commercialising the research.

Inspired, several institutions and companies started anti-gravity research and development project of their own or joined with other companies to share development. The most prominent of these was the World Anti-Gravity Research Congress (WARC), formed by the Symposium several months after the declassification of AG technology. The Congress was a cooperative and governing body comprised of several national agencies and institutions, including:

â€¢ National Commission for Anti-Gravity Research (USA), established by NASA
â€¢ Japanese Anti-Gravity Congress, established by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
â€¢ Brazilian Academy of Sciences
â€¢ Beihang University in association with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (China)
â€¢ Foundation for European Anti-Gravity Research

Each organisation works on their own AG project and uses the Congress to exchange ideas and assist each other body. The idea was that an international cooperation would co-develop working AG technology in relatively quick time. However, this initially went as far as various case studies and simple experiments with no solid development whatsoever. In a later interview with Chuck Hoffman, the Symposium knew that actual development of feasible AG technology was several decades off, so the establishment of the Congress was like a head start in that field.

This completely changed the day Pierre Belmondo arrived at the Foundation for European Anti-Gravity Research. Despite dropping out of the Federal European University in his first year, Belmondo was already such a genius on gravitational physics that his tutors forwarded him on to the Foundation. Belmondoâ€™s contribution to the Foundation and to the Congress as a whole was profound. He was able to investigate and solve various studies within a matter of months whereas the Foundation before wouldâ€™ve taken a year or two at least, not ignoring the fact Belmondo was still a teenager.

The developments in AG technology rose exponentially with Belmondo leading the way, with Belmondo taking over as head of the Foundation in early 2024, at the young age of 20. However, a major act would halt their research. On November 24th, the Symposium shut down the Congress out of the blue. They claimed that after extensive reviews on all members of the Congress spanning over a couple of years, the Symposium saw that the rate of development didnâ€™t justify the cost to support the project and that their current developments were unsuitable for mass-transport systems.

Despite the well supported evidence against AG technology, the pioneers didnâ€™t believe this was true, considering that the data the Symposium had analysed in fact proved that AG technology was suitable for mass transport systems and that working prototypes would be built within a few years. To the pioneers, it was clear that there were other forces behind the Symposium and its decision. This suspicion was heightened when the US government announced a massive tax on conventional fuels, as it was suggested that the governments of the world had too much to lose if AG technology was implemented.

Belmondo was fuming over the decision. And after an urgent meeting with the Foundation, he decided to continue his development nonetheless. Two days later, a message was circulated around the former Congress members from Chuck Hoffman of the US team:

â€œSuggest we reject Symposium proposals. Sufficient interest exists in US team to continue research. Circulate memo worldwide.â€

And so, the former-Congress secretly carried on with AG research defiantly, albeit significantly downsized due to the lack of government funding and reorganization of some personnel. Pioneers from the Chinese and Brazilian teams forced to relocate to neighboring teams with threats of imprisonment if they continued AG research in their own country. So secret was their research, that most of the details of their work remain unknown to this day. But despite this, several governments had knowledge that this research was still going, and they still had interest in AG technology for military use.

Knowing that the â€˜rebelâ€™ teams were going to fully develop the technology long before the official teams, the Symposium and its representative governments attempted to take it from the scientist when the time was right. On October 21st, 2034, a highly organised propaganda campaign was initiated to undermine the so-called â€œAG Communityâ€. Allegation of misuse of funds under the pretense of research ruined the reputation the teams had made. Belmondo was driven into hiding to escape the angry mobs who accused Belmondo of â€˜stealingâ€™ their money.

To shake off this rap, the pioneers were determined to showcase a prototype of the AG generator to prove that the technology is possible and that they did not waste the money they were given. On April 14th, 2035, Belmondo and the pioneers prepared to demonstrate a prototype AG craft, the Nx1000, only to a select number of sympathetic journalists in the middle of the Nevada desert. Despite the presence of government spies, Belmondo himself piloted the prototype into the history books as being the first person to successfully pilot an anti-gravity craft.

The world stood in awe as news of the test spread around the world. It was finally proven that AG technology was a functioning, cheaper alternative to conventional fuels. The US government and several other governments abolished the massive tax on conventional fuels, under pressure from the media and within a year, a number of companies had contracted the various research bodies for them to provide, build or develop AG generators. New companies dedicated to developing AG technology started to appear, such as AG Systems. All the while, the World Technology Symposium was constantly accused and investigated over unlawful sabotaging the work of the former WARC. These constant accusations eventually saw the Symposium implode with the Symposiumâ€™s closure. AS stated by Belmondo himself â€œScientists who allow politicians to rule their heads and hearts deserve all the torment they get.â€

---------------------------------------------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If all this sounds familiar, it's because this story has been done before. Damon Fairclough, original writer of the Wipeout lore wrote a document on Pierre Belmondo which goes into detail what you see here. All I tried to do here was to match that with some lore info from the original game's manual. Here a link (http://www.noiseheatpower.com/wipeout.htm) to the original document (Skip the interview).

Rossriders

16th May 2013, 12:49 AM

I know I've said this again and again, but I am liking what I'm reading, and while this may be fannon, it is giving me some ideas as to how some other teams could have come to exist even this far back, such as perhaps Eg.R with Fusion (maybe some of EG.R's personel were from Piranha's days in China), and well...

Lets say why I've yet to show much in art is...being constantly hit with RL stuff...the most I can give is a work-in-progress to a successor craft of sorts to Van-Uber...

http://www.rossriders.deviantart.com/art/Van-Uber-Matrix-FX-Prototype-ZR-320-Mk-5k-concept-371113951?q=gallery%3Arossriders&qo=0

I'm still figuring out things because for one, besides looking over all the ship designs (to which I say again THANK you, it gave me a LOT more to think about), also trying to take some kind of design approach not unlike what the artists and designers did for the games, Fusion, Pure, Pulse/HD/Fury included among them.

...that and I should just say now, sooner or later I'm going to ask for front/side/rear/underside/profile views of the 2048 craft, but I'll leave details for later.

But again...a lot to read over, and it's got me thinking (besides what I'm already thinking)

Till later.

keg_11

27th August 2013, 07:28 AM

Just updated the records to include FX400 from 2207 to midway through the 2213 (current) season. Later results will come in time along with a recount of the first half of the season.

P.S.: Note the pilots that appear in Synergy2048's pilot bios (Main thread (http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?9264-WipEout-HD-Character-Pilot-Concept-Fan-Art); thread to his blog (http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?9281-WipEout-Pilot-Archives))

Rossriders

28th August 2013, 02:18 AM

Looking forward to it all. ...I wish I had some fan-art to complement things but alas, RL keeps getting in the way, among other things artwise.

Excuses aside, a very interesting FX400 so far, I'd say specifics but i don't want to spoil it for anyone who's yet to read it. I'll give a few days and then start speaking (hoping someone else will speak).

Till then, keep up the good work.

One other question I guess is...what about the FX350 as well?

keg_11

29th August 2013, 12:19 PM

I have very much though of doing the FX350 league. And, now that I've got a PS3 near me, I'll get to that in the coming weeks (at least 2 weeks, I'm bunged up with Uni work at the moment :frown:).

keg_11

4th October 2013, 11:57 AM

EDIT: Yay! 50 posts! :D:D:D:D:D

EG-X Technologies: An unusual-yet-expected merger

Albeit short, the history of EG-X Technologies is quite an interesting one, twined with mystery. Quite an unusual team, this combination of two of the most prolific teams of the F9000 era have arisen to become potentially a strong team in the upcoming FX400 Leagues. On one side, we had the strong yet over-competent Xios International from Finland, and the other the very enigmatic Chinese EG-R Technologies team. However, these seemingly contrasting identities proved to make EG-X a â€œdark horseâ€ of the new grid.

The earliest record of either company was the founding of Xios in 2136. The initial company was incorporated as Xios Oyj after a deal made with smaller Greek and Finnish companies, both specializing in manufacturing. To honour the Greeks, the new company was named after the Greek Aegean Island of Chios (roughly translated as Xios). About a year later, the company absorbed a key European munitions company and was reincorporated as Xios International, to reflect their international focus.

In only a small number of years, Xios grew to be one of the most prolific defense companies of the world, butting head with rival company Triakis on a number of occasions. The key difference between them and their Australian rivals was the emphasis on overall weapon design over practical performance on the field (in similar vain to the difference between a Harimau and Triakis). As such, many nations around the world used Xiosâ€™ weapon systems.

The hallmark technology that Xios developed was the Leech Beam (or energy drain as it was known). Although the technology had been around before, Xios were truly the first to pursue it and made a huge impact of it. Not surprising, Xios were given a key weapon contract for the F7200 in 2140 when the previous contractorâ€™s contract ran out. Xiosâ€™ weapons helped to escalate the penchant of on-track violence that would become the sportâ€™s character for the F9000.

When the F9000 was announced in 2150, Xios expressed interest in joining despite having little experience in this type of vehicular warfare. They formed an AG racing division within a few months and hired ex-FEISAR test pilot Sampsa Kovalainen to supervise the division (using similar methods used by FEISAR). After years of development, the first racing Xios, the SMF-X I was unveiled at Xiosâ€™ headquarters in Vantaa, Finland at the end of 2155. With pilots consisting of FEISAR graduate Sigrid Nikula and British rookie Brodie Quick, the team seemed very optimistic with their chances.

However, things didnâ€™t go according to plan (by their accounts). Their first season by normal accounts seemed respectable, with Nikula and Quick comfortably placing higher in the midpack most times, and a podium for Nikula cemented fourth for the team. However, the team yearned for more. It was known that Xios would vary with different designs to find a good combination that would guarantee them top spot. As Nikula kept succeeding, Quick was falling behind and was eventually sacked at the end of 2158.

What Xios needed was a pilot that would catapult them to the top step of AG racing overnight. This came in the form of a Belmondo: Natasha Belmondo. Keeping up her brilliant run from Auricom, she dominated the 2159 season being consistently on the podium, which included two wins. The good performance from Nikula backed Belmondo well, and helped give Xios its first League victory. The image of Xios was turned on its head, and almost immediately the Director-General of Xios, Didier Humeau, began allocating more resources on the team believing that this was the best exposure for the company (not to mention it made him quite wealthy).

Whilst Xios were ravishing in their triumphs, another team was lurking behind the scenes. At the inaugural F9000 team presentations in January 2156, a quiet Chinese team presented their basic intentions to compete in the sport, provided only the necessary documentations to the F9000 Federation, and quietly left. They did a similar thing with the opening race at Katmoda 12 two months later. This team was EG-R Technologies. Despite coming in quite quietly into the sport with no clear intentions, they were a blistering sight on the field, with consecutive third placed finishes, making it the best start to a season for a new team in AG racing history, and going on to take third in their first season.

Curious, the F9000 Federation requested EG-R to supply more information of them if they want to compete in the 2157 season. EG-R famously defeated them in court, referencing the World Peace Councilâ€™s amendment to the Universal Declaration of Sporting Rights. They were forced to let them compete, but this didnâ€™t stop the Federation from attempting to retrieve information from them. Most famously was when EG-R reported to have captured six Interpol agents from their facility in China in 2159. They handed the agents over under the condition that no further attempts on EG-Râ€™s identity are to be made or theyâ€™ll face â€˜destructive powerâ€™ they can conjure up â€˜at willâ€™.
Thus, the only information of EG-R that remains known are their ships and their pilots, with the latter viewed with suspicion because of their complex augmentation. This made it unclear that the pilots were piloting the craft out of their own free will (which, if they werenâ€™t, would be in breach of human rights). Even their identities were questionable. One example was EG-Râ€™s first pair of pilots, Paul Cheung and Alex Reece, with the former having no recollections prior to a high-spirited party a few years ago, and Reece a victim of the 2159 European Butter Riots.

Nevertheless, they were a very consistent team, always running within the mid-pack. They never won a teamâ€™s championship, but they were never dead last either. A credit to this is the compatibility between the craft and pilots to an extent were it was the envy to teams such as Piranha. This combination of ambiguity and on track success made EG-R quite popular for a mid-pack team, a unique character in a circus of personalities. After the infamous 2164 Temtesh Bay disaster, where both Cheung and Reece â€œperishedâ€ in, the team withdrew from the sport without a trace, but they were met with celebration when they returned for the 2166 season.

Both Xios and EG-R kept up with their mantras and fully supported the League until its fall in October 2170. Naturally, both teams were brought under the spotlight as possible suspects in Overtelâ€™s massive corruption ring. Although they seemed not to have been involved in Overtelâ€™s activities, they were not completely innocent either. EG-R kept up its ambiguous appearance, whilst Xios remained tight lipped about any corruption but maintained their innocence. Both teams would disappear from the public eye as the effects of the fall set in.

But surprisingly, two years later, both companies had merged to form EG-X Technologies. Primarily based in Finland with Chinese connections, the company never disclosed the circumstances of their merger, although it is strongly speculated that Xios had more of an interest in the merger, considering that the EG-X main base is in Finland and the management is basically Xios but combined with elements of EG-R. The company would slowly rebuild their reputation through the intense research and development of many aerodynamic and neurological applications for the next 3 decades.

Their interest in AG racing didnâ€™t return until the reestablishment of the FX300 in 2197. In keeping with their mysterious profile, they initially turned away any speculation for a return to AG racing; at least, until the FX350/400 Leagues were announced in 2202. EG-X immediately announced their intentions to re-enter the sport and started on craft development immediately. As of 2205, several prototypes had already been tested and a commercial model was nearing completion. In contrast to their Chinese predecessors, EG-X provided the FX300 Race Commission full details of their ships and pilots, but still remained tight-lipped about their overall goals. This led to many AG circles to raise many suspicions over the team, in similar style to EG-R 50 years prior.

During the first FX350 League in 2206, EG-X consistently placed midfield, even leading at some points of the race. A big coup for the teamâ€™s FX400 campaign came with the signing of 2206 FX300 champion Andrew Dekka after his controversial resignation from AG Systems. Dekkaâ€™s introduction to EG-X saw the potential of the team skyrocket to become a serious threat for the League title. It seemed that way at the first round of the 2207 FX400 in Finland, their home turf. Qualifying 2nd, Dekka seemed to be giving the old teams a run for their money until an unexpected plasma from Nadia Elenovaâ€™s Qirex saw Dekka eliminated for the race. This event cause massive shockwaves in the AG society and, followed by some sub-par midfield finished over the next few round, created doubts over the true strength of the Sino-Finnish outfit.

Their inaugural FX400 season saw the Dekka finishing 5th (despite two podiums), which was not welcomed kindly within the team. In fact, after the final race of the season at Talonâ€™s Junction, there was not a sound from the team throughout the offseason until the opening round of the 2208 season 4 months later. This time around, they were more successful with 6 podiums, including a win in Japan, which would see them just edge out Qirex for second. After a further couple of years with not much success, they would place second again in 2211 behind Nadia Elenova in one of the closest battles in the FX era.

Itâ€™s hard to say how will this team will continue their position in the FX400, considering their inconsistent performance. Rumours are that this season would be Dekkaâ€™s last as his ever present temper and incoming old age would make him unfit to continue racing, at least with this team. But, for a team as secretive as EG-X, who knows?

keg_11

2nd December 2013, 03:50 AM

Results for this year's (2213) FX350 and FX400 results are up. Season reviews to come soon, so stay tuned! :)

Rossriders

30th December 2013, 02:55 AM

There's so much I want to say...

For one, love your take on EG-R and Xios International. This makes me want to work on more fan-art if I wasn't so exhausted over other stuff.

That and in regards to the season results for the FX-350 and 400...while I'm aware it's a long way to go in some ways for the FX-350 and 400...being something of an Auricom fan art heart, I want to see Auricom win another championship sooner than later.

That being said, it's nice to see Feisar get yet another Championship in the FX350. So that's what...4? Then again given the muscle of Qirex at one point, Auricom's determination, Piranha being Piranha among others, all things considered, if this was reality...

I'd have to give FEISAR props for staying together for so long. Some racing teams at a premire racing league may not exist for so long if they keep failing. Of course there's likely reasons for that, I can't help but think FEISAR's AG research that might have trickled down to other products was an incentive to keep going among other reasons, but that's me rambling.

Overall...again, very well done, and hope to see more.

And I hope to get some fan art done but given what RL and fictional cars I'm trying to draw...it'll be a while.

Till then.

keg_11

12th February 2014, 01:06 PM

Hi guys, here are my first entries for 2014. And, to catch up, I've got three stories for you guys: a list of world records, review on last years season and preview of this year.

World Records:

MOST TITLES:

12; Kel Solaar (Russia)

Kel Solaar won his first AGRC title in 2048 and followed it up in 2049. he would go on to win 10 more in 2053 to 2055 and 2060 to 2066 before retiring in 2068. Solaar also has the records for the most race wins with 52 over the course of his 20 year career.

MOST TITLES BY A TEAM:

40; Qirex

Qirex holds the record for the most teams' championships, scoring 40 from 2048 to 2211. They also hold the record for most race wins by a team with 263 over the same period.

MOST RACES WITHOUT A WIN:

155; Carlos Beneto (Brazil)

Carlos Beneto raced in 155 races with FEISAR and Piranha between 2140 and 2160 without recording a single victory. This is also the record fro the most AGRC races in a career.

MOST POINTS SCORED BY A TEAM IN ONE SEASON:

143; Piranha

During the F7200 (2116-2155), the maximum score any team could've achieved in a season was 196. Piranha managed a score of 143 in 2148. The team's pilots competing that year were Javier Lopez (USA), Simo Lukic (Serbia) and Emilio Montero (Mexico). Lopez achieved 4 wins, 2 seconds and 2 thirds to win the championship. Lukic also achieved 3 wins, 4 seconds and a third, with Montero scoring a win.

MOST RACE WINS IN A SEASON:

11; Daniel Albrecht (USA)

Daniel Albrecht managed to win 11 of the 12 races in the 2202 FX300 League whilst racing with Van-Ãœber, therefore granting him his maiden pilot's championship.

YOUNGEST RACE WINNER:

Rachel Foxx (England); 18 years, 2 months

Rachel Foxx was 18 years, 5 months when she won her first race at Outpost 7, Finland in March 2207. She would end up becoming champion of that season at just 19 years, 2 months, making her the youngest League champion.

OLDEST CHAMPION:

Kel Solaar (Russia); 54 years

Kel Solaar was 54 years old when he took his final F3600 title in 2066. He would continue his career until 2068, which had made him both the oldest pilot and oldest race winner after winning the German round at Terramax.

keg_11

16th February 2014, 11:02 AM

2213 Review

The 2213 FX400 Anti-Gravity Racing League was the 135th running of the Anti-Gravity Racing Championships and the seventh running of the current FX400 formula. It was also the last season of the original FX400, with the crafts being replaced by the new â€œFuryâ€ ships of the FX350, in line with the merger of both Leagues. This season saw one of the closest title battles in recent years between the current champion, Roman Kovalenko, and Icarasâ€™ Jean Belmondo, and at times including Ãžora Haraldssen of AG Systems and Andrew Dekka of EG-X.

Coming from their maiden FX400 title the previous year, Harimau International had been hard at work to carry over their 2212 success into the new season, as ever with their star pilot, Roman Kovalenko, at the helm. At that point, Kovalenkoâ€™s main competition came from the other top finishers of the previous season: EG-X and AG Systems. EG-X appeared to be prepared to take it against Harimau this year according to their (few) press reports, but there had been doubts over these claims in the midst of the new rule changes coming in next year and uncertainty over who will replace their ailing pilot, Andrew Dekka. AG Systems is seeing resurgence with the promotion of their FX350 pilot, Ãžora Haraldssen, to replace Rachel Foxx. The double FX350 champion fitting the mould of Foxx quite well in pre-season testing, managing the best times during the open sessions.
A somewhat outside chance for the title were Icaras, led by Jean Belmondo. Despite having a dismal two seasons since his 2210 league title, Icaras has had quite an overhaul over the pre-season and whereas they are still behind the top teams, there is still potential for substantial improvement. Piranha as well have a potential chance at the title, but despite their good showing over the past two years, the age of both their craft design and their pilot, Tiago Castillo, are showing.

ROUND 1 â€“ OUTPOST 7

Kovalenko, as expected, scored poler position in fashionable style. As equally as expected, second on the grid was taken by Dekka in the EG-X but third went to Italian Triakis pilot, Liana Morelli; Haraldssen would place fourth, followed by Belmondo.
In the early stages of the race, the front runners remained quite close together and parried quite well with well-coordinated use of rockets and mines, but after a smart use of a turbo under the bridge, Kovalenko manages to pull away and hold onto the lead position for the remainder of the race. Dekka would start to drop back because of his EG-Xâ€™s inferior shield power compared to the Triakis tank, but would keep Belmondo and Haraldssen at bay to secure the last podium position.
The only non-finisher was Sebak Abou-Gazia of Mirage, who was knocked into the wall as he was exiting the first tunnel by a Qirex.

Standings
1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 8 pts.
Harimau
2. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 6 pts.
Triakis
3. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 5 pts.
EG-X
4. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 4 pts.
AG Systems
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 3 pts.
Icaras
6. T. BYRON (USA) â€“ 2 pts.
Auricom

ROUND 2 â€“ VERTICA

The second round started as eventual as the previous round, with Kovalenko pulling away well to hold a good lead with the remaining podium spots being fought over by Dekka, Haraldssen and Morelli. However, Morelli suffered power issues after an accurate rocket by Belmondo detonated in the exhaust of Morelliâ€™s Triakis, damaging the engine. This moved Belmondo into fourth place, but dropped back after colliding with several mines.
Further down, the stronger ships of Castillo and Byron suffered on this fast circuit, only just managing to stay ahead of Nadia Elenovaâ€™s Qirex to stay in the points. Overall, there were no retirements over the course of the weekend and Kovalenko managed to break the course record by half a second, breaking the previous record held by Elenova two years previously. Haraldssen would hold off Dekka to score second, but enough to move Dekka into second place in the standings.

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 16 pts.
Harimau
2. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 10 pts.
EG-X
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 10 pts.
AG Systems
4. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 6 pts.
Triakis
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 5 pts.
Icaras
6. T. CASTILLO (BRA) â€“ 4 pts.
Piranha

ROUND 3 â€“ PLATINUM RUSH

The race for the title started to get interesting at Greenland, where Kovalenko struggled to comes to grips with his Harimau, where it had undergone several alterations for the tricky track that were to come. Having only qualified as high as 4th, this left a window of opportunity for those behind them to grasp. Haraldssen made good use of this, putting her AG-S on pole, followed by Dekka of EG-X.

Whilst these two pilots got off to a good start, it was third place starter Belmondo who got the jump on the front running pilots to take the early lead. This was short lived for a little while as a well-placed rocket from Haraldssen moved Belmondo back well in field. However, Belmondo wasnâ€™t out for long. After a number of excellent manoeuvres, including leeching Kovalenko forcing the Russian Rocket to back off to conserve shield energy, Belmondo managed to come up right behind the two front runners. However, Haraldssen and Dekka were not going to give up their positions so easily. After a number of laps of attrition, a mistake on part of Dekka, who had briefly caught the lead, cause both Haraldssen and Belmondo to pass, with Belmondo furthermore taking Haraldssen to take the lead. Dekka would eventually lose one more place to Abou-Gazia, who raced one of his best races of his career moving from 5th to 3rd with minimal weapons hits to his ship.

Further down the order, Nadia Elenova scored Qirex its first points of the season rounding out the scoring positions. Liana Morelli struggled as well as her craftâ€™s front end speed had hindered her efforts to gain more positions, eventually contributing to her retirement on the penultimate lap.

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 19 pts.
Harimau
2. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 16 pts.
AG Systems
3. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 14 pts.
EG-X
4. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 13 pts.
Icaras
5. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 9 pts.
Mirage
6. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 6 pts.
Triakis

ROUND 4 â€“ EDGEWINTER

After the disappointing result at Platinum Rush, a lot of people expected that Kovalenko would bounce back to his best at Edgewinter, where he had so easily won the year before. They were badly wrong. Despite performing really well in practice and qualifying, but failed again to gain the speed he needed to hold off the pack and, including a barrage of weapon fire because of the narrow track, led to him relegated to the back of the field.

Therefore, the lead was hotly contested by two other frontrunners: Haraldssen and Belmondo. However, the crowd was more interested in the battle for 3rd, between Tyrrell Byron of Auricom and Elenova for Qirex. Not just because of the legendary rivalry between the teams, but because both teams had been mid-range for the past few seasons. Initially Elenova got ahead, but the calmer Auricom pilot managed to get past his opponent just before at the vertical mag-strip section halfway around the track. Byron would manage to hold onto this position to gain 3rd, Auricomâ€™s best position all year, considering their poor start to 2213.

Haraldssen would hold off Dekka for the win, which puts her and AG Systems in the lead in the points for the first time since 2208. Kovalenko would manage to regain some ground to round out the point scoring positions.

1. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 24 pts.
AG Systems
2. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 20 pts.
Harimau
3. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 19 pts.
Icaras
4. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 17 pts.
EG-X
5. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 9 pts.
Mirage
6. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 6 pts.
Triakis

ROUND 5 â€“ GEMINI DAM

Once again, this race provided a surprise result as Kovalenko continued to struggle in the field, this time getting knocked out early on in the race due to a blind bomb. But just as surprising was Dekkaâ€™s excellent from throughout the track and Morelliâ€™s return to form which saw her fiercely contend with Belmondo for second place. However, the Frenchman held on to continue his consistent good positions to move him up to second in the standings. These excellent performances pushed out Haraldssen form the top three, but she still kept her position at the top of the points. Kovalenko, however, dropped two positions, pushing him out of the top three. By this point, serious doubts behind Kovalenkoâ€™s ability to defend his title started to arise.

1. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 28 pts.
AG Systems
2. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 19 pts.
Icaras
3. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 25 pts.
EG-X
4. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 20 pts.
Harimau
5. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 13 pts.
Triakis
6. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 9 pts.
Mirage

ROUND 6 â€“ THE AMPHISEUM

This marquee event at The Amphiseum always brings glamour and drama to the season, and it sure didnâ€™t disappoint. A key talking point coming into this round was the arrest of Andrew Dekka reportedly for being drunk and disorderly at an Amphiseum nightclub. As it turned out, he was the innocent party in an altercation with an intoxicated patron, so he was acquitted. However, this didnâ€™t affect his track pace, easily qualifying first in front of Haraldssen and Kovalenko.

The first lap saw both Dekka and Haraldssen battle it out fiercely for the lead, in which one reporter described â€œa deathly grudge matchâ€. It was certainly deadly, as both opponents kept up a barrage of fire against each other, with neither of them considering their shield strength. Then, several laps later, both were eliminated after both ran into a line of mines dropped by a slower craft. This became the talking point of the entire race which also overshadowed the race result: Kovalenko would grasp this opportunity and eventually win the race by 5 seconds, followed by Jean Belmondo and Sebak Abou-Gazia. Haraldssenâ€™s retirement saw Belmondo succeed her in leading the standings, with Kovalenko moving back from 4th to equal second with Haraldssen.

Now at halfway through the season, Jean Belmondo leads by three points; a testimony to his consistent performance all season. Following him, drawn for second, are Haraldssen and Kovalenko who both had relatively strong showing earlier in the season, but had dropped off in the past few races. Andrew Dekka trails by 3 points, due to his less than impressive performances with some exceptions. If he is to try and attempt to become champion, he really needed to settle and get a rhythm in place soon. Following behind him are Liana Morelli (Triakis) â€“ 16, Sebak Abou-Gazia (Mirage) â€“ 16, Thiago Castillo (Piranha) â€“ 13, Tyrrell Byron (Auricom) â€“ 10, Nadia Elenova (Qirex) â€“ 6 and Griffin Lang (FEISAR) â€“ 1.

1. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 31 pts.
Icaras
2. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 28 pts.
AG Systems
3. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 28 pts.
Harimau
4. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 25 pts.
EG-X
5. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 16 pts.
Triakis
6. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 16 pts.
Mirage

ROUND 7 â€“ TECH DE RA

Now into the second half of the season and there was optimism everywhere: Harimau believed that the issues behind their dismal first half had been sorted, and can effectively contest for the title; AG Systems and Ãžora Haraldssen both expressing confidence in their team that they can reclaim the title; Andrew Dekka commenting the changes he has made to his technique which should see him with more consistent results for the last part of the season.

As the race turned out, it wasnâ€™t just the front runners who had developed a long way over the mid-season. Qirex was the star of the weekend with Nadia Elenova achieving both fastest in practice and qualifying, comfortably placing the Qirex on pole for the race. She was joined by Kovalenko on the front row, with Belmondo and Morelli following behind on the second row. Qirexâ€™s strong charged lasted for a little while, but after misjudging the first chicane saw Elenova grind the wall, giving the lead over to Belmondo, who had been holding off Kovalenko for second. Meanwhile, both Haraldssen and Dekka were overwhelmed by the increased pressure of the competition, which saw both of them swamped in midfield. Unfortunately, this is where they finished, dealing a huge blow to both of their League campaigns.

Belmondo would hold on to win the race half a ship length in front of Kovalenko, putting him 5 points ahead of Kovalenko in the standings. Liana Morelli would take third which moves her ahead of Sebak Abou-Gazia, and a year best finish for FEISAR with Griffin Lang taking the team to fifth place. The only retirement was from Devin Moukila of Assegai.

1. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 39 pts.
Icaras
2. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 34 pts.
Harimau
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 30 pts.
AG Systems
4. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 26 pts.
EG-X
5. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 21 pts.
Triakis
6. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 16 pts.
Mirage

ROUND 8 â€“ DE KONSTRUCT

Whereas the first half of the season kept us guessing who would take out the title, after this race it became a two horse race between Kovalenko of Harimau and Belmondo of Icaras, after their third one-two finish, with Kovalenko winning this round. Both pilots locked out the front row on the grid and both pulled an early lead over the rest of the grid. Eventually, Kovalenko managed to pull enough distance on the final lap to take the win over the favourite, Belmondo.

In the race behind them, FEISARâ€™s Griffin Lang pulled of a magnificent 3rd place in what was one of the most explosive races of the season which saw Abou-Gazia eliminated earlier on in the race. This explosive combat also saw Andrew Dekka underperforming again bringing the EG-X home in 7th place, rounding out the points. However, the manoeuvrability of the AG-S ship helped Haraldssen take 4th to keep her league hopes alive, albeit quite unlikely.

With his victory, Kovalenko now trails by 3 points behind Belmondo.

1. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 45 pts.
Icaras
2. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 42 pts.
Harimau
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 34 pts.
AG Systems
4. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 27 pts.
EG-X
5. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 24 pts.
Triakis
6. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 16 pts.
Mirage

ROUND 9 â€“ ORCUS

For the second (and final time), the FX400 made its way to Orcus, the secret base under the tundras of Alaska that very rarely known by the rest of the world. It is also one of the most challenging ever raced on, with its first running in 2211 being quite eventful, with a surprise victory by Griffin Lang.

It was the same here, with none of the top 3 pilots qualifying in the top three. Pole was taken by Abou-Gazia in his Mirage followed by Lang and Dekka. As soon as the race began, it was a mash-up of weapon fire and collisions as each of the crafts tried to consolidate their positions on this tight and technical circuit. Surprisingly, Belmondo AND Haraldssen were eliminated on the second lap, with Kovalenko and Dekka having to pull back due to critical shield levels. This gave the perfect opportunity for Lang to hang on to the lead in his FEISAR, which was far better suited to these conditions. Equally suited were the â€œtanksâ€ of Triakis and Qirex, which rounded out the podium positions until Kovalenko recovered from his earlier issues to overtake his countryman, Elenova, to take third.

Belmondoâ€™s retirement saw Kovalenko overtake him in the standings and regain the lead in the title race. Langâ€™s performance saw him move from 10th to 7th in the standings.

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 47 pts.
Harimau
2. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 45 pts.
Icaras
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 34 pts.
AG Systems
4. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 30 pts.
Triakis
5. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 29 pts.
EG-X
6. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 19 pts.
Mirage

ROUND 10 â€“ METROPIA

The Metropia round saw Griffin Lang continue his extraordinary battle with Kovalenko for the lead, to ultimately settle for second. Having qualified fourth fastest, Lang made good use of his start to get ahead of Belmondo and Haraldssen (who started second and third respectively) to be up against Kovalenko as they passed the Hallrun Estate. Behind them, Belmondo, Haraldssen and Dekka had a small battle going on before Dekka fell back due to engine trouble.

Langâ€™s 3rd place moves him up into the top six for the first time, and has been the talking point of several teams wanting to pick him for next year. With a five point lead over Belmondo, Kovalenko needed to maintain this pace coming into the last two rounds to secure him his second league title.

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 55 pts.
Harimau
2. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 50 pts.
Icaras
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 38 pts.
AG Systems
4. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 31 pts.
Triakis
5. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 31 pts.
EG-X
6. G. LANG (GER) â€“ 19 pts.
FEISAR

ROUND 11 â€“ MOA THERMA

Just as everyone thought that this seasonâ€™s twists were at an end, there was one more in store on the famous Sicilian track. During practice, a leaking fluid valve from Kovalenkoâ€™s right air brake saw him glide to the outside of the hairpin right after the Serptel Overpass, damaging the craft. Although the Harimau team made it eligible to race, Kovalenko saw malfunctions with the AG generator made the craft unfit to race and withdrew himself from the race.

With Kovalenko out, everyone knew that the result of this race would set the tone for the final race at Talonâ€™s Junction. Belmondo naturally got pole for the race, followed by Haraldssen, Abou-Gazia and Dekka. During the race, Dekka capitalised the absence of Kovalenko the most by pulling ahead of the field earlier on. However, he started to fall behind later on, eventually being passed by Haraldssen, who would go on to win the race, and almost by Belmondo. Lang and Abou-Gazia battle on for a while, but a quake from Elenova, and a lucky shield, saw Abou-Gazia pass Lang to score 4th.

With Belmondoâ€™s third place, he was now equal with Kovalenko for the league title. Haraldssen was out of the running with a 9 point deficit from the two leaders.

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 55 pts.
Harimau
2. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 55 pts.
Icaras
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 46 pts.
AG Systems
4. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 37 pts.
EG-X
5. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 32 pts.
Triakis
6. G. LANG (GER) â€“ 26 pts.
FEISAR

ROUND 12 â€“ TALONâ€™S JUNCTION

The tension coming into the final round was the thickest anyone had seen for several years. Belmondo had experienced this against Vincent Stephenson for the 2210 season (which was a draw), but this was new to Kovalenko who had won his first title by a landslide. To a lot of people, it was a matter of who would beat the other, rather than who will win the race.

Belmondo started in pole for the race, followed by Kovalenko, then Dekka. For the first two laps, the two leaders battle hard for the lead, with Dekka and Morelli joining in. However, several hits later and Belmondo fell back far into the grid, giving the race, and the title to Kovalenko. Kovalenko kept up a clean race to take it out by 3 seconds; somewhat anti-climactic, but still emotional for both Kovalenko and the Harimau team. Belmondo, in a sign of fair sportsmanship, congratulated Kovalenko before he stepped on the podium, a gesture that Kovalenko reciprocated. Following behind Kovalenko was Dekka in second, thus successful in his comeback to take 4th in the season, and a surprise finish for Piranhaâ€™s Thiago Castillo in third.

FINAL RESULTS

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 63 pts.
Harimau
2. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 57 pts.
Icaras
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 46 pts.
AG Systems
4. A. DEKKA (USA) â€“ 43 pts.
EG-X
5. L. MORELLI (ITA) â€“ 32 pts.
Triakis
6. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 29 pts.
Mirage
7. G. LANG (GER) â€“ 27 pts.
FEISAR
8. T. CASTILLO (BRA) â€“ 21 pts.
Piranha
9. A. ELENOVA (RUS) â€“ 20 pts.
Qirex
10. T. BYRON (USA) â€“ 10 pts.
Auricom
11. D. MOUKILA (CGO) â€“ 0 pts.
Assegai
11. T. FERRAI (HAW) â€“ 0 pts.
Goteki 45

keg_11

16th February 2014, 11:57 PM

2214 Pilots

HARIMAU:

ROMAN KOVALENKO
League: FX400
Number: 1
Age: 25 (b. 2188 )
Nationality: Russian
Titles: 2 (2212, 2213)

Coming off his second consecutive FX400 title, Roman Kovalenko is indeed the best pilot of recent years, with no plans of slowing down. Kovalenko was a core part of the development of their new Fury craft to debut this season, in which â€¦ would help him strongly for his campaign for a third title.

ADELAIDE FERNANDES
League: FX350
Number: 8
Age: 16 (b. 2197)
Nationality: Brazilian
Titles: 0

Whereas new pilots into the FX350 have some sort of racing history, Fernandes has none of the sort. Having been raised in the less affluent areas of Rio de Janero, Fernandes was nurtured into the sport through local derby and small competitions. Itâ€™ll be interesting to see if this unorthodox talent will hold up.

EG-X:

JEAN BELMONDO
League: FX400
Number: 2
Age: 42 (b. 2172)
Nationality: French
Titles: 1 (2210)

The 2213 runner up see him running with EG-X for 2214, in a controversial move which involved him turning down a kingâ€™s offer from Qirex. His reason was toâ€â€¦stay out of the rivalry between Qirex and Auricom, doesnâ€™t matter how fierce it now isâ€. But with news that the Fury EG-X will be competitive, this decision may not be as bad as it may seems.

HUANG MIN
League: FX350
Number: 2
Age: 21 (b. 2192)
Nationality: Chinese
Titles: 0

Having been flying for the team since 2212, Huang has remained a faithful pilot and test pilot for the Finnish-Chinese team, running a fundamentally Chinese craft. However, his tenure with the team has seen suspicious activity from the Chinese side, which could cause ripples to the most unlikely of partnerships.

AG SYSTEMS:

ÃžORA HARALDSSEN
League: FX400
Number: 3
Age: 25 (b. 2188 )
Nationality: Norwegian
Titles: 0

Ãžora Haraldssen has had a magnificent transition into the FX400, managing 3rd place with 2 wins in her first season. Now with a season under her belt, we could see Haraldssen use her experience to good use this year, especially with AG Systemsâ€™ new Fury craft with increased manoeuvrability.

ERIKO SHIMIZU
League: FX350
Number: 7
Age: 19 (b. 2195)
Nationality: Japanese
Titles: 0

While her debut season in AG racing wasnâ€™t as successful as a lot of people hoped, Eriko Shimizu still shows promise, particularly now that Ãžora Haraldssen has taken her under her wing. Some would say sheâ€™s in with a shot, but the likes of Zolotov, Min and Sommer racing, there are doubts.

ICARAS:

JULIA Oâ€™CONNELL
League: FX400
Number: 4
Age: 27 (b. 2186)
Nationality: Irish
Titles: 0

Julia Oâ€™Connell is the second half of Icarasâ€™ FX350 â€œdream teamâ€, scoring 4 of Icarasâ€™ 6 FX350 tiles along with Jean Belmondo. Now competing in her first season in the FX400, she is seen as a serious threat to Kovalenkoâ€™s title defence. However, there is a difference between racing in the FX350 and FX400 leagues.

LIA PEREIRA
League: FX350
Number: 4
Age: 29 (b. 2184)
Nationality: Portuguese
Titles: 0

Formerly of Assegai, Lia Pereira make her return to top tier AG racing after being dropped from that team in 2212. At her peak, Pereira was competing for the overall FX400 title, so her presence on the team may continue the teamâ€™s recent dominance. If all fails, she is also closely associated with Icarasâ€™ R&D team.

TRIAKIS:

LIANA MORELLI
League: FX400
Number: 5
Age: 27 (b. 2186)
Nationality: Italian
Titles: 0

After taking over from Vincent Stephenson in 2211, Liana Morelli has had a mixed career with probably as many non-scoring positions as scoring ones. Her 2213 campaign had been her most successful with four podiums, leading some to predict her improvement for this season. She is known to be an aggressive pilot, which could falter her championship campaign.

JASON COLONOMOS
League: FX350
Number: 12
Age: 18 (b. 2196)
Nationality: Greek
Titles: 0

Whilst Liana Morelli had been successful in the FX400, Colonomos did not have as much luck in the fiercely competitive 2213 season. Now with several of the front runners graduating into the FX400, and the subsequent rookie pilots for this season, we could see Colonomos power back up to the front of the pack.

MIRAGE:

SEBAK ABOU-GAZIA
League: FX400
Number: 6
Age: 41 (b. 2172)
Nationality: Emirati
Titles: 0

This year would be Abou-Gaziaâ€™s 12th year as test/lead pilot of the Emirati team, but it doesnâ€™t look like thatâ€™ll change soon. Abou-Gazia was a key part of the development of the Fury version of Mirageâ€™s Manti craft, and has expressed the upmost confidence leading into this season.

SERGEI ZOLOTOV
League: FX350
Number: 3
Age: 17 (b. 2196)
Nationality: Russian
Titles: 0

After his impressive finish in the 2213 FX350, Sergei Zolotov has already been tipped to be a future â€œRussian Rocketâ€. However, the 17 year old still feels he has a lot to learn before he can mix it with the big guns of the FX400. Heâ€™s in the best company for that, thatâ€™s for certain.

FEISAR

GRIFFIN LANG
League: FX400
Number: 7
Age: 22 (b. 2191)
Nationality: German
Titles: 0

Since his career best 4th placing in the 2211 season, Langâ€™s performance had waned a bit, despite taking a win at Orcus last year. Regardless, Lang still continues with FEISAR in his usual boyish behaviour that has made him a â€œpeopleâ€™s pilotâ€ of such. A lot of people are counting on him to win this season.

VALENTINO BERGAMISTO
League: FX350
Number: 6
Age: 23 (b. 2190)
Nationality: Italian
Titles: 0

Bergamisto has only been with FEISAR for two seasons, but has already well-nested himself as both FX350 pilot and test pilot for Griffin Lang. Bergamisto, like Lang, has had moderate success in the AGRC, but is more than eager to challenge for top spot and move up to the FX400 as an equal.

PIRANHA:

THIAGO CASTILLO
League: FX400
Number: 8
Age: 29 (b. 2184)
Nationality: Brazilian
Titles: 0

Like Abou-Gazia, Castillo has been a long time pilot for Piranha, now going into his 9th season with the team. The difference being is that Castillo has been more successful in the AGRC, over a variety of events, which continues today. Itâ€™s clear that Castillo and Piranha are a perfect match, but for how long?

ANDRIS OZOLIŅÅ*
League: FX400
Number: 10
Age: 29 (b. 2184)
Nationality: Latvian
Titles: 0

Another returning pilot, Andris OzoliņÅ¡ piloted with Qirex from 2209-2211 to moderate success before leaving the team after their relationship broke down. Now, OzoliņÅ¡ is back wiser and stronger in what he has been calling â€œthe second (successful) comingâ€. If he return to the form he had with Qirex, he just maybe right.

QIREX:

NADIA ELENOVA
League: FX400
Number: 9
Age: 30 (b. 2183)
Nationality: Russian
Titles: 1 (2211)

There was massive surprise by the media when it was announced that Elenova would be lead pilot for Qirex where it was evident the 2213 would be her last. She is on a one year extension so that Qirex can secure a pilot to replace her after failing to secure one after Jean Belmondoâ€™s public rejection.

JAKOB SOMMER
League: FX350
Number: 5
Age: 30 (b. 2183)
Nationality: German
Titles: 0

One man very eager to replace Elenova is Jakob Sommer, having been racing for Qirex in the FX350 for two years now. If heâ€™s successful, he would be the first time in living memory where Qirex sought out one of their own to replace a pilot. (This is of course not counting Elenova replacing Adam Reznikov at the start of the FX400)

AURICOM:

TYRRELL BYRON
League: FX400
Number: 10
Age: 26 (b. 2187)
Nationality: American
Titles: 0

Tyrrell Byronâ€™s success in the FX400 has been predominantly hindered by the performance of Auricomâ€™s FX400 craft. Although Auricom spent more time on this craft to make it more competitive, this wasnâ€™t reflected on the track. Now, with their impressive Fury craft, we can very well see them contest for the top.

ALEX SANGSTER
League: FX350
Number: 9
Age: 24 (b. 2189)
Nationality: Australian
Titles: 0

Although in a less competitive league, Sangster has had a good consistent performance in her three seasons in the FX350. Auricomâ€™s new craft in the FX400 may provide Sangster with the knowledge to make her older craft become more competitive, so only time would tell.

ASSEGAI:

RYOICHI HONDA
League: FX400
Number: 11
Age: 24 (b. 2190)
Nationality: Japanese
Titles: 0

Hondaâ€™s promotion to the FX400 sees the return of a Japanese pilot in the top league of AG racing in over a decade. His time in the FX350 had been very valuable to him and has shown signs that he may finally bring a pilotâ€™s title back to one of the AGRC most-loved countries.

OBAID MEER
League: FX350
Number: 11
Age: 24 (b. 2189)
Nationality: Emirati
Titles: 0

Obaid Meer has been an unusual pilot from the UAE since the country had been more active in Ag racing. After disappointing results for Mirage which saw him replaced by Zolotov, he has signed to Assegai, but heâ€™s still at the back of the pack. Is he persevering or stubborn?

GOTEKI 45:

COLIN EMERY
League: FX400
Number: 12
Age: 25 (b. 2188 )
Nationality: British
Titles: 0

Since returning to the AGRC, Goteki 45 hasnâ€™t had very much success and are normally the back-runners. However, Emery is helping to buck that trend after convincingly taking the 2213 FX350 League, and news of a nimble-yet-durable Fury craft just could see them power through the pack.

TOBIN MORRIS
League: FX350
Number: 1
Age: 20 (b. 2193)
Nationality: New Zealander
Titles: 0

Being only the second New Zealander ever to race in the top League, Tobin Morris does have a lot to do to uphold the pride of his nation. He has shown a lot of promise in the regional championships, so he does have talent. We would see later on to see if he has got what it takes.

Synergy2048

20th February 2014, 06:27 AM

I gotta say, I love reading these, and seeing few of my pilots in them and referenced. Now I know your stuff is seperate or alternate from mine, but is the AGRC actually seperate from the FX league? While hundreds of pilots race in the regular events of the league or some other division, these 24 chosen pilots race in the actual league and the Season Championships. At least connecting my written stuff with yours, especially since iv'e also referenced some of your stuff to mine.

What I'm saying is: If Griffin's squadmates, Mariana and Clara do exist in your fanmade WipEout universe, racing in another division in the league away from the Season Chapionships where Griffin is racing in.

keg_11

20th February 2014, 12:18 PM

Both interesting questions.

Because of the different formulas of AG racing (FX400, FX300, F9000 etc) and, particularly with the FX400 and FX350 running in parallel, I've just used the AGRC name to collectively reference the whole thing rather than just say AG racing as that is even more broad.

I've used some of your pilot names in my fanfics to make it more a "a fanfic made by everyone" and use my ideas as a base, but I did not want to take large chunks of work from other people and use them for my own purpose (plagiarism). However, if you like, I can make some changes to include more of your pilot bios if you want (maybe change Bergamisto to Mariana?).

Also, I've only focused on the tournament aspect of the sport, as that is the main aspect of the series in my opinion (as opposed to eliminator or zone events which are derived from this).

P.S: Where abouts in your bios have you referenced my work? I had a quick look a while ago and could find any.

Synergy2048

21st February 2014, 01:27 AM

Well All I referenced was that my pilots you put here had competed in the Championships, thats all, I didn't mention the other pilots on here (I guess I'll remove that quote in my bios if you say you don't see any). You don't have to replace Bergamisto with Mariana or any of mine, I'm just saying if theirs another division in the league that has regular pilots competing in, seperate from the elite pilots competing in the Chapionships. I didn't mean to interfere with your stuff.

While I do Love the Beautiful, Mariana Sinclair from my work, I'm not asking to replace your own pilots for her or others. Though It would be cool to see her in the FX500 championships, (thats if another possible WipEout comes), but it's your choice if you want to add her, permission is always granted.

I also realized that during the 2206 FX300 championships, you had different pilots from AG-S and Triakis that competed while in mine I had my own. So yeah, our stuff is completely seperate or alternate.

I'll just stick with my own then.

How I see the series, starting from the first season of the FX300 league, AG-Racing is now open for anyone, instead of just exclusively invited individuals, anyone can become a pilot, taking training in team facilities and academies around the world. Racing has become a battleground, for teams that have assign squads of 3 pilots or individually to any track around the world in open events. The league has different divisions or branches for pilots to exclusively compete in (Example: VX=Drag race events, JX= Junior league (Teenage pilot exclusive events) FX= of course the regular circuit events, etc.) While the Main Championships that host every ending season is where the most experienced and loyal chosen pilots from each team will exclusively enter to earn reputation for their teams and selves, thus what you made here. The JX division or branch was Challenger001's idea, and inspired the others.

It's kind of like the olympics, where the athletes from each team are like the pilots from any country in that team, and the team country is any of the 12 teams in the wipeout universe. And an opening ceremony happens every new season at the Amphiseum or in Makana.

Or just like WipEout HD Online Multiplayer, somthing like that, mostly inspired by MMO games with different factions that a player can choose and stay with, like MAG or Planetside (yeah they're FPS games). But could be an idea for another WipEout having a racing MMO multiplayer.

keg_11

21st February 2014, 06:05 AM

Well All I referenced was that my pilots you put here had competed in the Championships, thats all, I didn't mention the other pilots on here (I guess I'll remove that quote in my bios if you say you don't see any). You don't have to replace Bergamisto with Mariana or any of mine, I'm just saying if theirs another division in the league that has regular pilots competing in, seperate from the elite pilots competing in the Chapionships. I didn't mean to interfere with your stuff.

I was just wondering so i know where to look. I always like seeing my work referenced/acknowledged elsewhere, so no harm done. :)

How I see the series, starting from the first season of the FX300 league, AG-Racing is now open for anyone, instead of just exclusively invited individuals, anyone can become a pilot, taking training in team facilities and academies around the world. Racing has become a battleground, for teams that have assign squads of 3 pilots or individually to any track around the world in open events. The league has different divisions or branches for pilots to exclusively compete in (Example: VX=Drag race events, JX= Junior league (Teenage pilot exclusive events) FX= of course the regular circuit events, etc.) While the Main Championships that host every ending season is where the most experienced and loyal chosen pilots from each team will exclusively enter to earn reputation for their teams and selves, thus what you made here. The JX division or branch was Challenger001's idea, and inspired the others.

It's kind of like the olympics, where the athletes from each team are like the pilots from any country in that team, and the team country is any of the 12 teams in the wipeout universe. And an opening ceremony happens every new season at the Amphiseum or in Makana.

:o I never really though of it that way. Nice!

- - - Updated - - -

...Pilots such as, Thiago Castillo from Piranha (2207 entry), Sebak Abou-Gazia from Mirage (2209 entry), Griffin Lang from FEISAR (2209 entry), and recent new pilots: Tyrrell Byron from Auricom & Liana Morelli from Triakis (Both entered in 2211) including other single master pilots from other teams...

...During that same year, Nadia wins the 2211 season final championships followed by one of EG.X's master pilots, taking second. Nice. ;)

keg_11

20th March 2014, 07:18 AM

With the success of the first round of the 2214 FX400/350 Leagues (http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?9558-2214-FX350-400-AG-Racing-League-Hosted-by-Wipeout-Chronicles), it has inspired me to write some more entries. As such, here's Auricom!

If you guys have a particular story that u want me to write, give me a holla and I'll get to it.

Auricom

Auricom Research Industries are of course one of the most well-known AG teams currently racing, but their reputation was formed strongly off the track than they were on it. Founded on the belief of Pierre Belmondo, this team has always held anti-gravity research and development very close to their hearts, which sees them in direct opposition to arch-rivals Qirex. Despite this, they have actively been fighting for outright honors in all forms of AG racing, in which they just edge out AG Systems with the most AGRC titles other then Qirex by one season.

Auricom was founded in 2046 by former AG Systems Chief Science Officer, Delia Flaubert. Flaubert had been associated with Belmondo since the days of the Foundation of Anti-Gravity Research, and was a staunch believer in his plans for AG technology. This devotion was awarded with a promotion to CSO upon the establishment of AG Systems, where she would personally oversee the research into applicable use of AG generators and the various possibilities of the future of the technology.

However, her influential position was to be threatened by AG Systemsâ€™ Chief Technology Officer, Holst McQueen. McQueen, who oversaw the commercial production of AG technology, saw the strong market possibilities of the technology and fought hard to get more bias towards the business aspect of AG. Delia, with her strong Belmondoist values, was very much against McQueenâ€™s ambitions, and as a result came into conflict on a number of occasions. This reached its peak in 2044, where it was reported that the two got into a heated argument in a teppanyaki bar in Kyoto, the location of AG Systemsâ€™ headquarters. This embarrassment saw both Delia and McQueen sacked from the company, but Belmondoâ€™s sympathies did lie with Delia.

Auricomâ€™s first and foremost goal was to establish a reputable AG R&D company in the United States so that Americans would benefit from the best, and widely applied, AG technology in the world. AG racing was further down on their agenda, but nonetheless applied to it with earnest. This was partly due to Russian company Qirex Industries, with McQueen onboard, making plans to enter. As such, Auricom managed to develop the necessary crafts required to enter the first Anti-Gravity Racing Championships in 2048 with a prospective line-up including former Air Force pilot â€œB.Jâ€ Johnson, Japanese rookie Arial Tetsuo and the mysterious Anastasia Cherovoski.

Auricomâ€™s first decade in competition laid the foundations for their immortal rivalry with Qirex. And it was not surprising considering their leaders, crew AND pilots disliked each other. This particularly came to head in 2059 when Qirex launched a smear campaign against Arial Tetsuo in an effort to undermine her and her team. This came at the time Auricom had their first big success with back to back titles in 2058 and â€™59, with their revolutionary dual hull construction, which would become a hallmark of Auricom ever since.

Their next strong period came during the 2070s where a variety of pilots saw moderate success with Auricom. Most notable were Marcus Fairclough, Canadaâ€™s only world champion Paige Mercer and â€œRussian Rocketâ€ Konstantin Rykov. This was seen again during the F5000 with the likes of Jacob Van Vuuren, Sebastian Loewe and Alex Alexandersson, but whereas the other teams at this time had personalities that carried the brand, Auricomâ€™s successes mainly came to good teamwork and some luck.

Auricomâ€™s personality came in the form of Wolfgang Van-Ãœber. Van-Ãœber was indeed a fast pilot, but was better known for his staunch anti-weapons approach to racing, which he would later call â€œthe Purity of the Raceâ€. Arriving at the team in 2133, Van-Ãœber would help Auricom score a teamâ€™s title in only his first season with the team. He would repeat this two years later, while winning the pilots championship as well, and would finish up winning four out of five titles between 2135 and 2140.

However, at this point, relations between the race commission and Auricom were starting to go sour. In 2133 the Overtel Corporation, who McQueen had sold Qirex to in the 2050s, gained the controlling stake in the F7200 AG Race Commission and were starting to alter the rules with a particular bias towards spectator entertainment. Although Auricom did conform to these new rulings, their moral position in the sport was seriously threatened when AG Systems announced it was selling its AG team to AG consumer brand G-Tech. Without a stable supporter, and to defend their recent success at the end of the F7200, Auricom took on a very aggressive stance during the F9000 and threatened â€œâ€¦to rip apart anyone who strayed from the Belmondo idealsâ€.

This saw them at direct opposition initially with Qirexâ€™s successors, Tigron. The two teams brought the age-old rivalry to new heights, to the point where Tigron was to promise their lead pilot, Omarr Khumala â€œâ€¦ his own diamond farm if he could put Auricom out of business for goodâ€. If Auricomâ€™s rivalry with Tigron was bad enough, they were gaining new enemies. Most notably were Xios International who managed to snatch Natasha Belmondo, Auricomâ€™s 2156-58 champion, just after the end of the 2158 season. So much so that Xiosâ€™ flamboyant Director, Didier Humeau, constantly mocked Auricom, much to the chagrin of Auricomâ€™s Director of Operations, Gideon Oldfield.

Eventually, Auricom had enough of the â€œcircusâ€ and announced their withdrawal from the F9000 in 2168 in protest over Overtelâ€™s management of the sport. But this wasnâ€™t before they scored their 28th league title with Pascale Rouser taking the pilots title. After this, Auricom were contracted to the US Government, supplying their AG technology for a variety of civil applications. When the F9000 collapsed in October 2170, Auricom were immediately called up for questioning over their activities while they were still competing. Auricom were quickly dismissed of any corruption allegations.

Auricom would return to AG racing during the FX150 Amateur Leagues of the late 2180s and 90s, supporting owners of their older crafts. It made sense for the team to enter a works team when the FX300 League was announced in 2195. The older Auricom employees where very relieved when they saw the makeup of the new league was very much similar to the F3600/F5000 races of old, including the reemergence of Qirex. Auricom would see initial success with the â€œSilver Foxâ€ Amy Senand flying for them. But after she left the team to fly with Piranha, the pace of their craft slowly crept downhill, failing to stand on the podium for six years.

As such, Auricom withdrew from the early seasons of the FX400 to refine their craft. Naturally, this raised concerns that Auricom could no longer handle the competition. When they returned, they had promised that Auricom was now in a good position to contest more races, but they still dwell in the mid-pack despite a few respectable finishes along the way. In the dawn of a new era of AG racing, Auricom has expressed more confidence that their craft can compete and will compete. Only time will tell.

Light Buster

1st April 2014, 07:04 PM

For AG-Systems' lead pilot, what happened to Thierry Caluroso? And who is this ÃžORA HARALDSSEN? I don't remember her unless this is the new story for the series?

keg_11

2nd April 2014, 08:50 AM

:) I understand your point of view.

This is an original series inspired by Challenger #001's works. My intentions for these chronicles was to create more detailed stories on different events in AG history, not just simply team bios. As such, all the characters, unless otherwise stated, are of my creation.

However, I also wanted to have references to other fanfic authors as to create a true fan-made chronicles. As such, I have included several references to Challenger 's work, such as the 2137 P-Mar Brawl and Thanos Ikrausus. I was seriously considering including some of Challenger's current line-up to my chronicles, but I didn't want to contradict his stories and I felt that his pilots bios didn't exactly seem realistic considering the FX500 took place c.2230 (I had asked Challenger about this), such as Ezio Di'Rosso flying for FEISAR since the FX150 (He would've been still flying in his 50s!).

I hope this clears things up.

- - - Updated - - -

Something I have noticed...

Rocco Tiepolo: FEISAR pilot (2121-23); Qirex pilot (2124-2131); Icaras Pilot (2132)

and

Rocco Tiepolo (http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Rocco_Tiepolo): Templar condottiero; died 1503

I swear to God this is coincidence! I only started playing Assassin's Creed several months ago! :g

Light Buster

3rd April 2014, 06:25 PM

I see, thanks for the heads up. I was wondering why some of the characters in Challenger's team bios didn't show up in your stories.

keg_11

7th May 2014, 12:54 PM

Hi guys,

a little tie-around until I finish some main content. If you guys had been following the 2214 FX400/350 which I have been organising in the Arena, you would notice that there is no Mirages in the latest round at Moa Therma. This is due to Mietepiet being absent from the race (amongst others), but I though I could make this a bit canon to the Chronicles, so, here's the reason. :)

AG Press
8 April, 2214

MIRAGE NOT TO RACE AT MOA THERMA; FINANCIAL ISSUES

Mirage Racing have announced that they would not be competing in round 3 of this year's AGRC Racing Leagues. This announcement follows on from the increasing financial issues besetting Mirage's parent company, MAGEC.

To combat these issues, MAGEC have set in motion fairly radical changes to the management of the company and it's assets, including the Mirage team.

MAGEC's founder and CEO, Sheikh Mani Zayed made this announcement: "The decision to not race at Moa Therma reflects our current situation and what we need to do to continue on."

"As far as our current finances are concerned, a dedicated effort on Makana would be much more economical than an international round". When the topic about Mirage's continued involvement with the rest of the season, Zayed was tight lipped.

"We don't know about our position with the remaining AGRC rounds, but we are not focusing on those at the moment".

Mirage, who entered the AGRC in 2206 in the FX350, have had credible success in both the FX400 and FX350,
but have failed to capitalise on their previous successes and remain without a League title.

The gained particular notoriety when they entered the FX400 in 2209, when they chose their local test pilot, Sebak Abou-Gazia, to become the team's lead pilot over their FX350 pilot, Roman Kovalenko, who would go on to win back-to-back titles with Harimau.

keg_11

11th June 2014, 07:41 AM

Part one of a multi-part series on the spectacular F9000...

The Story of the F9000
Part 1 - Wings of Wax

Depending to your point-of-view, the F9000 can be viewed as the golden era of AG racing, or the time where the sport betrayed itself due to the corrupted antics of the Overtel Corporation. Either way, the spectacle and popularity of the sport rose to levels it has ever seen before or since. And despite its egotistical display, it did pioneer certain aspects of AG racing that are still around today, particularly ship safety. In this multi part story, we will see how this golden age rose from one corporationâ€™s determination to own the series and steer it to extravagant heights, and how it was all torn down at once and reborn anew.

On his 100th birthday, Pierre Belmondo announced his retirement from the Executive Chairman role in the F5000 AG Race Commission after serving 20 years in the role. Almost immediately, the question was raised as to who will succeed Belmondo, as he was the last of the original pioneers of the sport still associated with it. Of course, there was the issue about media influence over the position, as it had been since the Leagues began over half a century before.

Belmondo knew this, and as such announced the formation of the Belmondo Foundation on that same day. The goals of the Foundation were to preserve his ideals, the ideals of the other pioneers of AG technology and to make sure AG technology (and sport) was accessible to everyone, no matter who you are. So, in a way, it was a â€œpuristâ€™s unionâ€ to stand up to what the League originally stood for and, hopefully, not allow it to change into a cash machine if it fell into corporate hands.

As such, the level of authority in the AG Race Commission was split between the Foundation and the Anti-Gravity Federation (AGF), with the role of Executive Director being undertaken by former Qirex pilot Stefan Geist. After retiring from AG racing, Geist immediately got involved in the Race Commission in an effort to change the current form of the F5000, of which he did not like. As such, he was in charge of the investigations into the new Phantom speed class in relation to pilot safety, which eventually led to the suspension of the class until the F7200.

The new Commissionâ€™s first major test was the transition of the F5000 to F7200, announced in 2113. Having stabilized the politics of the AGRC following Belmondoâ€™s retirement, the Commission used this as an opportunity to implement a variety of ideas they wanted to put in AG racing, in particular the invite of non-League countries competing (namely Assegai from Africa). This was met with critical acclaim and at the time, it was deemed that the 2116 F7200 League was the best League ever. That title was won by Finnish pilot Laura Kohlemainen, flying for Qirex.

For the next ten years, the F7200 and the Belmondo Foundation experienced little problems as the League settled into its new regulations. However, the death of Belmondo in 2127 surprisingly caused a lot of problems for the Commission, particularly for a relatively minor event. Overtel Corporation, who perennially eyed complete control over the League, immediately campaigned their influence over the Commission by proposing they control the allocation of the media and dignitaries during League races (by this point, they had pretty much monopolized the Leagues media rights). This was quickly dismissed by the Commission, but Overtel continued to pressure the Foundation to concede control.

Eventually, F7200 Executive Director Roger Bowen announced that the Commission would directly manage the distribution of the sportâ€™s media rights. A Chief Promotions Officer (CPO) position was created, where they will liaise with Overtel about the commercial aspects of the sport. Initially there to police Overtel, it became apparent that this official became a go-to between Overtel and the Commission with their plans for what to do with the League. Meanwhile, more and more executives were swaying towards Overtelâ€™s way of thinking as the best way for the sport to move forwards, over the Foundationâ€™s fundamentalist approach.

In 2132, now with an overwhelming influence over the Commission, Bowen resigned as Executive Director of the F7200 Commission and retired in peace, with his old position taken up by Orson Liddell, formerly the CEO of Overtel. Liddell had grown up with both the AGRC and the makeup of Overtel, being part of the Irving-Liddell family that has owned Overtel since Rhys Irving founded the company in the 2030s. But whereas his ancestors saw the AGRC as purely a business interest, Orson had a genuine interest in the sport. Immediately, he pushed several changes to the F7200 that would be most beneficial for both fans and the sportâ€™s corporate partners. One of these changes was the return of the original Mega City calendar over the now-famous Classic Leagues. He also encouraged the development of the ships as to enforce its link to the consumers. But he did show some restraint in certain aspects of the sport. In the wake of the 2137 P-Mar Brawl, he withheld footage of the brawl itself and personally managed the resultant trials between Goteki 45 and Icaras, preferring to focus on the regular season.

Liddell controlled the Commission quite well until he retired in 2144, where he was succeeded by his son, Barret. Barret was like his father in many ways, but was much more extravagant. Under the control of his father, the spectacle of the F7200 had rose at a steady rate despite some twists along the way. But Barret had grand plans of his own. At the start of the tenure, the F7200 were having some problems partly due to Russiaâ€™s economic depression and eventual coup in 2149, as well as the financial issues with several teams. But Barret made sure that these issues did not affect the sport at all, even ignoring calls for the Commission to help keep Qirex competing in the midst of Russiaâ€™s change of governance.

His defining moment came in 2150, where he announced the Leagueâ€™s upgrade to F9000 specification. His changes proved to be the most radical the sport had ever seen, with a particular influence of aggression over clean racing. Upon the announcement, there was a lot of backlash from the community, which even included his father. Barret brushed this off as simply fear of the unknown and pushed forward with his plans. It is unknown how much money was spent on the project, but it was reported that it went into the trillions, to cover the costs of weapon contracts, sponsorship deals and track construction.

A major aspect of the F9000â€™s planning was the public selection of venues as locations for the new League. A total of 32 finalists were selected that spanned to all corners of the globe, even including several intergalactic locations as well. After an 8 month campaign, 8 locations were selected based on the spectacle value and commercial viability of the plans, with little regard of safety. Especially, one of these tracks was located on the relatively unknown planet of Devilia. These particular locations saw stiff competition from the AGF, where they saw it as a â€œstep too farâ€ for a legitimate racing series. Overtel did state there will be no racing on it, but was later confirmed the location would serve as a testing venue for use by all teams where they saw fit. As a result of this, the AGF announced it had retracted their support of the series, but stayed involved to moderate the League.

As everything got ready for the inaugural F9000 AG Racing League in 2156, Barret heroically proclaimed that this would be the greatest era in the history of the sport. But through this extravagance was at the cost of the traditional AG community, where many old personalities distanced themselves from the sport. Most notably was this comment from 4-time champion Kurt Graham: â€œLiddell has made himself a pair of wings stuck together with the wax of his own arrogance. Knowing the story as we do, sooner or later, he going to fall straight back to Earth.â€

Grahamâ€™s words could not be truerâ€¦

Ace3000

11th June 2014, 11:01 AM

This is awesome! I cannot wait for the next part! :D

keg_11

12th June 2014, 04:20 AM

AG Press
June 8, 2214

DATA LOST FROM AG SYSTEMS' SYSTEMS

The technical data used by the AG Systems racing teams has disappeared during Round 5 of the Anti-Gravity Racing Championships.

The data, used by both FX350 and FX400 ships, reportedly used testing and on-track data from previous sessions and solutions for craft development.

AG Systems' technical director, Ralf Prichard, said that the loss of this data has put AG Systems far behind the rest of the competition.

"We had put a lot of work to get this far in the League, but now there are serious doubts whether we can continue to battle for the title."

Luckily, AG Systems had backed up most of the data, but had still loss some core systems that could not be backed up.

"We have got a starting point at Least. With this, we hope we can geet back up to speed before the Amphiseum".

AG Systems, piloted by Ãžora Haraldssen, are currently 2nd in the FX400, just three points behind leaders Assegai Developments, piloted by Ryoichi Honda.

keg_11

16th June 2014, 11:12 PM

A quick announcement, I've have just create a profile on fanfiction.net. As such, I'll be publishing my Chronicles up there as well as here. It'll also be the platform I would use when I get around to writing proper fanfics of my own.

I'll be posting a link to it in the first post.

keg_11

5th July 2014, 07:03 AM

AG Press
June 9, 2214

MORELLI OUT DUE TO NECK INJURY

Liana Morelli piloting for Triakis Industries is out of the FX400 due to neck injuries sustained at the previous round in Kyoto, Japan.

Morelli crashed into a trackside arch after activating a boost as she was exiting Gemini's Pin. Although this did not cause too much damage to both Morelli or her ship, she struggled throughout the race, just managing sixth.

After medical teams, led by the AGRC's doctor Dr. Rikio Takada, examined her she was diagnosed with a broken neck, which has led to paralysis in her legs and fingers.

"The force of both the impack with the barrier, along with the whiplash from her upward lauch, caused tremendous froce onto her neck which has caused this injury".

Despite this, Dr. Takada was optimistic that Morelli will return toward the end of the season.

"It won't be hard to repair the damage to her neck, the only problem will be the time it takes for her body to function normally let alone race again".

"Whether she will return at Sol 2, Talon's Junction or even next season is another issue."

Following her sixth place, Morelli currenly stands fourth, just three points behind the new leader and last year's champion, Roman Kovalenko.

Maciek1704

5th July 2014, 07:23 AM

Poor Liana :(
I think, she will back at Modesto Heights or Sebenco Climb! :D

keg_11

5th July 2014, 07:54 AM

AG Press
June 22 2214

CLARA MANDEL TO REPLACE MORELLI AT TECH DE RA

Austrian Clara Mandel will take Liana Morelli's place at Triakis in the next round of the 2214 FX400 at Tech de Ra.

Morelli injured herself in an accident at the previous round in Japan, from which she will be unable to race for an undisclosed period of time.

Mandel is Triakis' test pilot, having been signed onto the team at the start of 2213.

"Being able to race at the top tier of AG racing is always a honour and a privilege for any new pilot. I'm just surprised I've been called up so soon," Mandel said. "In return, I will providing an excellent performance to support the team, but also show how I am most suitable for this team."

"Being so closely linked with Triakis' testing schedule and paying close attention to the feedback given by Liana and Jason (Colonomos), I have a good idea what to expect out there, and I'm not expecting any spectacular performances out there. But on a track like Tech De Ra, there nothing stopping me from mixing it up with the best."

Team principal Samuel McNaughton said: "Mandel shows the type of spirit and determination that we are seeing in these new crop of racers. Naturally, we are very intrigued by this. So we wanted to see how she would go in a proper race environment, and with Liana recovering from her accident, it's provided up with a great opportunity."

McNaughton also announced that Mandel will only cover for one race only. The team's FX350 pilot Jason Colonomos will be filling in for Morelli from the Amphiseum onwards with Mandel racing in Colonomos' FX350 seat until Morelli is fit to race again.

"This arrangement allows us to both keep a good presence in both leagues, but to also evaluate the skill of the pilots as we approach the second half of the season and to consider our options for next year."

Maciek1704

21st July 2014, 11:44 AM

When you'll write some fresh news from Wipeout Chronicles?

keg_11

24th July 2014, 10:48 PM

Hopefully in the next few weeks. I haven't been focusing too much on this lately partly because I've been writing a fanfic based on the Kaido Racer PS2 series. I've got a few ideas on what to write so you should see a few entries soon.

At least the 1/2 year report should be done before the next round.

keg_11

30th July 2014, 11:57 AM

AG Press
July 18 2214

BERGAMISTO SIGNS WITH QIREX

Valentino Bergamisto has been announced as Qirex's FX400 pilot for 2215 following his current good form in the FX350.

Bergamisto's signing would fill Qirex's coveted seat following Qirex's failure to sign Jean Belmondo and as a result forced to race with Nadia Elenova for this season.

The Italian pilot, currently racing for FEISAR in the FX350, is currently performing his best season yet with two wins and on the podium for all but one race sees him leading the League by four points over Assegai's Obaid Meer.

"I feel really humbled to be even considered to become a Qirex pilot." he said. "Yes, I may have won a race here and there, but in no way I felt that I could mix it up in the FX400 with such an iconic team. I owe it to them for acknowledging my talent."

Felix Levovich, Qirex's Director of Operations, is fully behind the decision and claims that Bergamisto is the best talent in the current field of FX350 pilots in terms of consistency rather than outright speed.

"AG racing can be approached in two ways: speed and aggression, and consistency over the course of several races. (Ryoichi) Honda is the best pilot of the FX400 because of his pace, but Valentino has the consistency and that is what you need if you are to keep a strong foothold of the Championship even if you don't win."

"We are dedicated to resurrect Qirex and bring it back to the front of the grid, and you can be sure that Valentino will deliver that in spades. If he doesn't, than we know it's something to do with the craft."

The signing meets with new AGRC regulations that allow teams to sign drivers during the mid year break to race the following season.

Maciek1704

30th July 2014, 12:51 PM

Good luck Valentino in next year, in Qirex! ;D

keg_11

17th August 2014, 11:43 AM

2214 FX400 AG Race League Review - Part 1

ROUND 1 â€“ VINETA K

The FX400 returned to the resort town for the first time in almost 10 years with a party reception, and some of the biggest crowds the race had seen since it's inception. Whilst no-one had a clear idea of what to expect for this season, they were given a good indication after pole was taken surprisingly by Japanese rookie Ryoichi Honda in only his first FX400 race. Even more remarkable was that second was taken up by another rookie, Julia O'Connell in the Icaras. Ãžora Haraldssen rounded out the top 3 in the AG Systems, with last year's champion Roman Kovalenko, Tyrrell Byron, Sebak-Abou Gazia, Liana Morelli and Jean Belmondo qualifying a disappointing 8th in the EG-X.

When the race started, Honda pulled an early lead as O'Connell and Kovalenko fell back, promoting Haradlssen and Byron to the podium spot. Byron would pass Honda quickly as the first lap came to a close, but a direct hit with a missile saw Honda reassume first. He would not look back for the remainder of the race, despite a quake from Byron.

Meanwhile, the rest of the pack was getting into its dogfights to see who will prevail. O'Connell would recharge back through the pack to gradually get up to third whilst Haraldssen would fall back from weapon hits down to mid-pack. This didn't last for long as Haraldssen saw herself batting Sebak Abou-Gazia for the final podium spot towards the end of the race.

On the penultimate lap, Honda deployed a row of mines just after the Ignition Spire Corner approaching the tunnel . Whilst most of the field past it, O'Connell in the fragile Icaras wasn't so lucky and got eliminated as a result. Funnily enough, the same tactic worked on the final lap with Byron eliminated this time after an excellent effort.

With no-one behind him, Honda won there by a whopping 4.6 seconds over Roman Kovalenko, who had persevered with the pack and used O'Connell and Byron's eliminations to his advantage and climb back to second. Haraldssen would finish third after an unlucky bomb dropped Abou-Gazia two spots, also giving fourth to Liana Morelli in the Triakis.

Overall Standings (1 of 12)

1. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 8 pts.
Assegai
2. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 6 pts.
Harimau
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 5 pts.
AG Systems
4. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 4 pts.
Triakis
5. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 3 pts.
Mirage
6. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 2 pts.
EG-X
7. C. EMERY (ENG) - 1 pts.
Goteki 45

ROUND 2 â€“ ANULPHA PASS

The second round of the season saw return to the Sinucit nightlife to race at Anulpha Pass, one of the temporary tracks from the old Delta League. In qualifying, O'Connell managed a great time of 20.71 seconds, .4 seconds faster than Honda. Unfortunately, irregularities in the engine's compressor fans saw him demoted four spots down to 6th. Therefore, the rest of starting grid saw Abou-Gazia promoted to2nd followed by Kovalenko, Haraldssen and Byron. Belmondo and Morelli rounded out the top 8.
The race started with a great battle with the leaders as well as Liana Morelli, who had an extraordinary start and was keeping up very well with Haraldssen, Abou-Gazia and O'Connell for over half a lap. The, as they were exiting the tunnel leading up to the Greenline split, the four pilots went wide, opening a gap on the inside for Honda to take. Once more, a rocket from Abou-Gazia halted their charge, allowing Honda to zip straight through and create a lead. O'Connell would struggle with shield strength as a result and was subsequently eliminated a lap later.

Fortunately, Morelli and Abou-Gazia got away the quickest and duelled each other for second spot. This went on for a few laps until Abou-Gazia was hit with a rocket from Morelli at the same spot as the pileup earlier to assume 2nd. Abou-Gazia fell back to sixth.

With a fair distance from the rest of the pack, Morelli showed some of her best racing ever as she crept closer and closer to the Assegai ahead. Eventually she came into sight of him as they were coming into the final laps. However, a bomb strategically placed on the line to start the final lap slowed Morelli down, but she still hung onto second.

Another pilot that made good gains as the Brazilian Piranha pilot Thiago Castillo, through the use of a quake that slowed everyone in the pack, elevating him to 3rd place. However, the pack regained their pace and Castillo gradually fell back. He did get one target, which was Griffin Lang the FEISAR.

Honda continued on to his second win in a row and, coupled with his FX350 teammate, Obaid Meer's win, saw a dominant weekend for the resurgent African team. Morelli would place second, capping of an excellent race for her; whilst Haraldssen would round out the podium. The only other elimination this round was Jean Belmondo having run into a bomb at the Goteki Stadium on the final lap.

Overall Standings (2 of 12)

1. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 16 pts.
Assegai
2. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 10 pts.
AG Systems
3. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 9 pts.
Harimau
4. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 9 pts.
Triakis
5. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 6 pts.
Mirage
6. T. BYRON (USA) - 4 pts.
Auricom
7. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 2 pts.
EG-X

ROUND 3 â€“ MOA THERMA

The third round of the League sees the first international round of the year at the Sicilian resort town of Moa Therma, moved forward from its traditional penultimate round slot. Ãžora Haraldssen followed on from her win from last year by qualifying on pole for the race, with Liana Morelli filling the front row in second after an excellent lap from the Triakis pilot. The rest of the top 8 comprised of Byron, Honda, FEISAR's Griffin Lang, Kovalenko, Belmondo and O'Connell.

Haraldssen got off the line first with good starts going to Honda and Lang. The first lap went relatively well with the standings quite well established with Haraldssen in first place, followed by Byron, Honda and Lang. However, Haraldssen fell back and further hit by a missile from Morelli's Triakis which saw her drop to fourth. A quake saw her regain third.

At the front, a three way battle was developing between Honda, Byron and Lang. Lang fell back after a missile hit from Byron, then a lucky mine deployment at the Corig Island mag-strip saw Byron taking the lead and pull a strong lead. Morelli would also capitalise on this to gain second. On the final lap, Honda used a turbo to boost past Morelli as they were negotiation the Serptel Overpass and pulled some space between the two.

Despite attempts by both to pass each other and catch the leader, it was Tyrrell Byron of Auricom who took his first win of his career and was the first time an American had won an AGRC race in an American craft since Bobby Butler won the third round of the 2136 F7200 League. Honda would place second to hold onto his League lead and Morelli would place equal second with Haraldssen in the standings as she would finish fourth.

Overall Standings (3 of 12)

1. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 22 pts.
Assegai
2. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 14 pts.
AG Systems
2. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 14 pts.
Triakis
4. T. BYRON (USA) - 12 pts.
Auricom
5. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 11 pts.
Harimau
6. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 6 pts.
Mirage
7. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 2 pts.
EG-X
7. G. LANG (GER) - 2 pts.
FEISAR

ROUND 4 â€“ CHENGHOU PROJECT

As much as the pilots were enjoying the new format of the AGRC, this was the one track none of them were looking forward to. The tight and unforgiving Chenghou Project, Makana's Chinatown, had returned and was bound to cause a few upsets. Not so much for Auricom, with Byron continuing his breakthrough win in Italy by scoring pole for the race with a time narrowly beating Roman Kovalenko's Harimau. Kovalenko, along with previous winners of the FX350 rounds on this track (Haraldssen, Belmondo, O'Connell, Honda) were tipped as favorites for this race, but considering there has not been a two-time winner of this race in the category, there were some doubts.

Nonetheless, the race started with Byron launching excellently off the line, leaving everyone behind coming into the first corner and beyond. Following behind were Kovalenko, Haradlssen (qualified 4th), Morelli (3rd) and Honda (5th). It wasn't long before we got our first victim with O'Connell being eliminated in the second lap as the Icaras' high speed and relatively weak shielding not holding up very well. Similar deal with Abou-Gazia and Morelli towards the later stages of the race, although only the former was out.

At the front, Kovalenko had to fall back due to low shield energy allowing Honda and Byron to assume the front of the pack. These two battled quite hard, maybe too hard considering the state of their shield levels. Sure enough, the demons of the Heights struck after a quake from Morelli (had also came back through the grid and was positioned in 5th) eliminated both pilots at once, leaving Kovalenko, who had regained third, with a clear shot for his first victory of the year.

Haraldssen and Morelli would fill out the top 3, whilst Belmondo, Lang, Prianha's Thiago Castillo and Qirex's Nadia Elenova rounding out the point scoring positions. Both Honda and Byron were very disappointed with their results, but both maintained that things would improve at Metropia.

Overall Standings (4 of 12)

1. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 22 pts.
Assegai
2. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 20 pts.
AG Systems
3. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 19 pts.
Triakis
3. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 19 pts.
Harimau
5. T. BYRON (USA) - 12 pts.
Auricom
6. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 7 pts.
EG-X
7. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 6 pts.
Mirage
7. G. LANG (GER) - 6 pts.
FEISAR

ROUND 5 â€“ METROPIA

The fifth round of the FX400 takes us to Kyoto, Japan for the Metropia round of the League. It was to be a big homecoming for local hero Honda, but after a heavy hit with the wall during practice broke several steering systems on the craft. Despite the efforts of the team to repair the craft, he was unable to qualify, meaning he would have to sit out this round: a crushing blow to his League hopes.

As qualifying came to a close, Kovalenko scored pole followed by Lang, Morelli, Belmondo, Haraldssen, Elenova, Abou-Gazia and O'Connell. The field remained incredibly close for the majority of the first lap. The first to falter was Morelli in dramatic circumstances: as she was exiting from the right-left following Gemini's Pin, a mistimed turbo activation speared the Italian into a gantry support, catapulting her into the air before coming to rest on the track. She was able to continue, but would run lower in the grid as she was complaining of neck pain throughout the rest of the race.

Meanwhile, Jean Belmondo was making his way up the grid after starting in 4th place (and falling to 5th) to the front, competing with Kovalenko, Elenova and Lang for the lead. Then suddenly, a quake launched by Belmondo stopped Elenova's Qirex dead in her tracks, pushing her down to 4th and elevating Belmondo into the lead. Although Lang gave Belmondo some trouble, a well-placed bomb pushed Lang back.

After a strongly fought battle, Belmondo scored his first win of the season alongside Elenova, who managed to recover to finish second, and Kovalenko in which, in the midst of Honda's non-start, sees him lead the League for the first time this season.

Morelli's accident would see her diagnosed with a broken neck and subsequent paralysis. She was able to wrestle the craft to the finish line due to a safety feature in which an exoskeleton would clamp down and hold the pilot in the event of a dramatic collision or elimination. This was Triakis' response to the recent issue of pilot restraint in AG racing. I wasn't until after she left the craft did the effects were onset. This accident would leave her out of most of the rest of the season, with Triakis supplying temporary pilots until Morelli is fit to fly again.

Overall Standings (5 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 24 pts.
Harimau
2. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 23 pts.
AG Systems
3. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 22 pts.
Assegai
4. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 21 pts.
Triakis
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 15 pts.
EG-X
6. T. BYRON (USA) - 12 pts.
Auricom
7. G. LANG (GER) - 10 pts.
FEISAR

ROUND 6 - TECH DE RA

The sixth round of the season took place at the Tech De Ra solar power plant in Arizona. Being the final race before the mid-year break, quite a few pilots were feeling more relaxed than usual to this race. Other though, namely Ryoichi Honda and Assrgai, were more serious. After the failures of the last two races, Honda was now placed in third behind Kovalenko and AG System's Haraldssen. It was vital that they score a good place here. Meanwhile, triakis' spot on the grid was taken by upcoming test pilot Clara Mandel in anticipation for the team's FX350 pilot, Jason Colonomos, to take over for the remainder of Liana Morelli's rehabilitation.

In qualifying, everyone was surprised to see Sebak Abou-Gazia of Mirage qualify fastest, followed by O'Connell and Honda. However, Abou-Gazia had a very poor start which saw O'Connell taing the lead followed by Honda and Haraldssen. A quick quake by Honda saw O'Connell fall back to third, but the trio still kept fighting. This quarrel would end after Haraldssen was severely slowed by a rocket and a missile, whilst O'Connell would be eliminated by another quake from Honda.

But Haraldssen's battle was not over yet. She quickly saw herself in another three-way with Byron and Lang which raged on for a few laps. Sadly, partly distracted after the leech beam malfunctioned, Haraldssen was hit by another rocket/missile combo, eliminating her from the race.

This eventful race would see Honda return to the top step of the podium, with Kovalenko scoring second. Abou-Gazia would recover and capitalise on O'Connel and Haraldssen's retirements to take third, elevating him to draw 7th with Lang and FEISAR.

After six rounds, Roman Kovalenko and Ryoichi Honda are drawn on first with 30 points apiece, with Ãžora Haraldssen rounding out the top 3 on 23. Morelli is currently fourth on 21, but this is due to go down as she misses more races in the season. Jean Belmondo is holding a healthy fifth on 19 just ahead of Tyrrell Byron on 15 and Griffin Lang and Sebak Abou-Gazia on 12 each. The remaining point scorers are: Nadia Elenova (7), Thiago Castillo (4) and Colin Emery (1). Despite strong qualifying times, O'Connell is yet to score.

Overall Standings (6 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 30 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 30 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 23 pts.
AG Systems
4. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 21 pts.
Triakis
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 17 pts.
EG-X
6. T. BYRON (USA) - 15 pts.
Auricom
7. G. LANG (GER) - 12 pts.
FEISAR
7. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) - 12 pts.
Mirage

TheConzio

17th August 2014, 03:34 PM

Very well written Keg :)

Maciek1704

18th August 2014, 07:14 AM

Overall Standings (6 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 30 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 22 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 23 pts.
AG Systems
4. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 21 pts.
Triakis
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 17 pts.
EG-X
6. T. BYRON (USA) - 15 pts.
Auricom
7. G. LANG (GER) - 12 pts.
FEISAR
7. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) - 12 pts.
Mirage

Why Honda have 22, not 30 points?

keg_11

18th August 2014, 02:50 PM

Noted. Thanks.

Maciek1704

21st August 2014, 07:55 AM

Overall Standings (6 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 30 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 30 pts.
Assegai

And now, why Honda is still 2nd? He's occupies the same position as Kovalenko, ie 1st XD

Jonny

21st August 2014, 04:48 PM

In racing itÂ´s usual that the driver (or pilot :P) with more season-wins is infront.

keg_11

11th October 2014, 01:40 PM

AG Press
October 3 2214

MORELLI IN, COLONOMOS OUT

Liana Morelli of Triakis Industries will return to racing for this weekend's round at Sebenco Climb, the team confirmed today.

This marks a big milestone in her recovery from her accident at Metropia earlier in the year, which left her with debilitating spinal damage.

It was speculated that Morelli's treatment would see her miss a couple of rounds of the season and it was believed that she would be ready to race again in the lead up to this race.

Triakis team principal, Samuel McNaughton, confirmed Morelli's return in a press conference at Makana.

"We're very happy to see Liana's recovery going very well and to such a point where it is safe for her to be flying again."

"However, we will continue to monitor her health in-case of any problems that may arise as a result of the normal strains piloting AG craft can have on the body."

Morelli's return sees Greek Jason Colonomos, who filled in for Morelli, without a drive after it was announced Triakis was terminating his contract following poor results in the previous two rounds.

"We did have some reservations about replacing Liana with Jason, but we made that decision based on his longer racing experience over Clara (Mandel; Triakis' third pilot)."

"This move will allow us to concentrate our efforts on supporting our pilots to success for the rest of the season: Liana with her rehabilitation and Clara with her development."

Colonomos was not available to comment.

stin

11th October 2014, 05:16 PM

You know, I do really enjoyed your story! :)

stevie:)

Amaroq Dricaldari

11th October 2014, 08:01 PM

Interesting. Aren't there any dual-pilot ships?

Also, I started formulating an idea in my head that you could use for a future story, separate from this one, if you're interested.

keg_11

12th October 2014, 02:43 AM

Interesting. Aren't there any dual-pilot ships?

No, because you could only have one of each craft in a normal offline Wipeout HD/Pure/Pulse race. (I've since written that in)

Also, I started formulating an idea in my head that you could use for a future story, separate from this one, if you're interested.

I'm interested to hear it.

Amaroq Dricaldari

12th October 2014, 05:27 AM

By dual-pilot, I meant a single ship that had two pilots in it at once.

Anyway, the idea I had was that some engineers at EG-X started improving on the neural interfacing systems for their ships once dual-pilot designs were introduced by other teams, since they would need to synchronize the neural interfaces of both pilots in their own ship to prevent neurological injury. One of them then decides to set up a peer-to-peer network to link together pretty much all of the EG-X employees over a wireless "hive network", and once the cat gets out of the bag they decide to start a "Join the Hive" recruitment ad campaign

Just an idea.

Ace3000

12th October 2014, 05:37 AM

With that idea, it would seem that EG-X are going back to their EG.r roots. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing... I don't know.

keg_11

12th October 2014, 06:16 AM

Very interesting, I would have to think about that one (particularly on the idea of two pilots in one craft, as it'll be a big shakeup in how the sport is run with this combo).

Jonny

13th October 2014, 02:20 AM

I was toying with this idea previously. I thought about, bow the pilot line up in Faster Than Angels would look like (to be honest, it should be a reference to Impact Blue ^^)

@Ace3000: I think on the Pulse webside it was mentioned that EG-X connects it's pilots with the ship, so this wouldn't be new.

Maciek1704

7th November 2014, 08:33 PM

Will you write something about FX350 races in this season?

Saramica12

8th November 2014, 02:10 PM

Since I race for the Qirex Team, FX400, means I race as Nadia Elenova? Or the second Pilot? ^^

keg_11

18th December 2014, 02:00 AM

The Story of the F9000
Part 2 - The Circus in Full Swing

The F9000 AG Racing League is most commonly considered the most dramatic era of AG racing in history, for better or for worse. While it did take the sport into its most extravagant and exciting era in terms of action, but turned into a very political one that conflicted with the very nature of the sport itself. It came about from Overtelâ€™s ambition since the inaugural season to control the League and make it into a multi-trillion dollar business, which it eventually did following the death of the father of Anti-Gravity, Pierre Belmondo. But as the inaugural F9000 season came in 2156, the seeds were already sown for its downfall. Nonetheless, the League did provide some of the most memorable moments of AG history that are celebrated even today.

The first ever F9000 race took place at the Temtesh Bay mining facility in Central Australia in early 2156. The track was met with great acclaim from both fans and the majority of critics, but some did question several aspects including racing whilst the mine was actively operating, the long distance from major centres and the potential to have the track enter the mine tunnels themselves. Furthermore, the makeup of the grid was dramatically different from the previous season: the inclusion of four new teams (Van-Ãœber, G-Tech, EG-R and Xios), as well as disappearance of AG Systems, cause quite a few critics to question the legality of this new League. But these questions were quickly quashed as the first race came to a close. And with it, the birth of a new legend: Natasha Belmondo.

Belmondo, as the name suggests, is the great-great-granddaughter of Pierre Belmondo. In fact, Belmondo passed away several hours after witnessing Natashaâ€™s birth. As such, Natasha was destined for a career in AG racing. But contrary to expectations that she would nurture her talents as a racer in Europe via FEISAR, she moved to the United States when she was 18 to pursue her career there, whether or not it meant joining up to Auricom. Sure enough, she was hired by Auricom as part of their F9000 program, to reorganise the team to compete competitively in the new league, along with German pilot Pascale Rouser.

Belmondo would prove to be a force during the 2156 season, eventually winning the season over Auricomâ€™s new arch-rivals, Tigron. The only flaw in her near-perfect season was a retirement at the third round at Cubiss Float. But, as predicted, the results of the season were quite heavily dependent on the amount of eliminations during a race. A new rule introduced in regards to point scoring allowed pilots to be awarded two points for each pilot they take out during a race. This resulted in 37 eliminations over the course of the year: the number of eliminations over the previous 6 years combined and the highest total of eliminations in a year total. This caused the Anti-Gravity Federation (AGF) attempt to launch an investigation to quell the need for eliminations. However, this was rebuked by the F9000 International Federation of Anti-Gravity Racing (F9000), claiming it was a knee-jerk reaction to the dramatically different nature of the F9000 in contrast to the F7200.

Sure enough, the F9000 did a good job in making sure that the on-track carnage was extravagant, but made sure the pilots werenâ€™t harmed as they were the stars of the show, particularly Belmondo. Belmondo would nearly clean sweep 2157 (again, she failed to finish Cubiss Float), then took out the 2158 title at the final race against a resurgent Piranha, lead by Tibetian pilot Myima Tsarong. Coming into the final round at Florion Heights, Tsarong looked set to take her first tile having won all but one of the preceding races. However, the eliminations saw Belmondo and Finnish Xios pilot Sigrid Nikula with chances to steal the title away. Sure enough, Belmondo won followed by Tsarong and Nikula, but the elimination of FEISAR pilot Carlos Beneto gave Belmondo the two points she needed to win the title by one point.

What was even more dramatic was Belmondoâ€™s shock decision to sign with Xios for 2159. Although her reasons were innocent enough, it did not stop Xiosâ€™ Director-General, Didier Humeau, to openly mock Auricom as a â€œhas-beenâ€ now that Belmondo has â€œabandonedâ€ them. This attitude helped influence Auricomâ€™s stance during this era as the â€œevangelical defenders of (Pierre) Belmondoâ€™s visionâ€, which would continue until the eraâ€™s demise. Whether for better or for worse, Belmondoâ€™s signing saw Xios immediately jump from the midpack to the front of the grid taking the 2159 title, again by one point over Tigronâ€™s Omarr Khumala.

However, as everyoneâ€™s eyes were firmly fixed onto Belmondo, no-one was expecting an announcement by perennial backmarkers FEISAR: the record signing of young British pilot Daniel Johnson. Johnson, at 24, was one off a group of up-and-coming pilots that were entering the F9000 as the last of the old F7200 pilots were retiring. Despite never having anything to do with FEISAR before, Johnson agreed to be the teamâ€™s number one signing a $1.02 billion contract for five years: the biggest ever and very unusual for a team that strive in promoting their own pilots. Xavier Menendez, FEISARâ€™s Director of Operations, claimed that â€œ...the dramatic changes in pilot recruitment, economics and ship development have forced us to look at signing established pilots over pilot development in the short term. But this does not change FEISARâ€™s overall strategy and we will be looking at how to change our pilot development program to suit this new era.â€ This change was a short-lived baby recruitment policy.

Johnsonâ€™s signing immediately gave FEISAR an edge. This was proved quickly when Johnson won the opening race of the 2160 season by a good distance over Omarr Khumala, with Belmondo in third. Similar results were seen at the next race in Nevada, but it was a surprise win by Pascale Rouser in the Auricom at Temtesh Bay which saw Johnson pull a 12-point lead over Khumala. From this point on, Johnson was untouchable. He would be quick out of the gate, a testament to his LS-59207â€™s speed and thrust, and hold onto this lead as the rest of the pack take each other out. At the end of the final round at Mandrashee, Johnson had given FEISAR their first ever League Championship after 118 years of trying.

Johnson would continue his strong run and take the 2161 title for FEISAR as well, solidifying FEISAR as one of the top teams of this era. However, the only flaw in FEISAR's success was that Johnson was the only pilot competing for race wins. In 2160, his teammate Carlos Beneto could only manage 12th whilst his 2161 replacement, Zack Graham (grandson of 3-time F7200 champion Austin Graham), struggled in his first season only managing 3 points. This was something Xios, with Belmondo and Austrian Zala Wollf (granddaughter of 2-time F5000 champion Dieter Wollf), was able to do in 2162 and '63, with the pilots' title going to Wollf and Belmondo (for the 5th time) respectively.

However, the success and exposure of the League started to get out of control even for Overtel. The development of the ships was spiralling out of control and there had been some fears of pilot safety, particularly after the introduction of super weapon licences in 2161. During the Mexican round of the 2162 season, Finnish Van-Ãœber pilot Marcus Virtanen was found unconscious after he was eliminated by a grenade from Sveta Kirovski (Tigron), which caused Virtanen's ZR-350 MK.3000 to spin into a boulder at the second open section. He fully recovered, but it showed the potential of injury if similar circumstances happened on a long straight, like at Katmoda 12.

Furthermore, in 2162, the Anti-Gravity Purity Coalition was formed by hardcore fans to undermine the League. They believed that the sport was being spoilt by the excessive use of weapons and elaborate track design. As such, they attempted to exploit and unmask the F9000 of their irresponsible control over the league to persuade the fans to demand changes to bring the sport back to before the F9000. But time and time again, they were rebuffed by Barret Liddell, the F9000 Chairman, claiming that the sport was never better or that the protestors were speaking nonsense. However, just the fact the Coalition was there was a good sign as the extravagance of the F9000 could be controlled to an extent.

However, even the presence of the Coalition wasn't enough to dictate what was next. At the third round of the 2164 season at Temtesh Bay, an explosion from Daniel Johnson's super missile cause the collapse of the mine section of the 2nd variant of the track. This incident, and the subsequent explosion resulting from the self destruct of both EG-Rs caused the deaths of six pilots and numerous marshals. The disaster also cause the retirements of Johnson, due to being paralysed as a result of the disaster, Tsarong and Wollf. EG-R would not return to racing until 2166.

The disaster was the final straw for the AGF, which along with an Australian Royal Commission investigating the incident, announced they had emergency control of the League in league with the original mandates signed between the AGF and the original AGRC Race Commission back in 2044. They announced that Super Weapons will be banned indefinitely, all development of F9000 craft frozen and strict revisions of all F9000 tracks to make sure theyâ€™re safe to race.

However, these changes were nothing compared to what the series would end up.

Maciek1704

28th December 2014, 08:09 AM

I'm waiting for more information about 2214 FX350/400 Racing League...

keg_11

16th May 2015, 01:41 AM

The Story of the F9000
Part 3 - The Fall

The 2164 Temtesh Bay Disaster very nearly destroyed AG racing forever if it wasn't for the swift efforts by the Anti-Gravity Federation (AGF). But if the F9000 was abolished then, there would've been mixed emotions for the entire AG community. The F9000 had drastically changed the nature of the sport to becoming, in essence, a modern gladiatorial spectacle that was sure to bewilder fans. However, in doing that, did bring the sport into its most controversial period as it battled with AG purists, including the Anti-Gravity Purity Coalition, over how the sport should run. Little id that know that Temtesh Bay was only the start of the downfall.

Within minutes of the disaster, the AGF President, Seo Ki-woo, contacted Barret Liddel (who was at Temtesh Bay at the time), demanding he travel to the AGF's headquarters in Paris for emergency talks. These talks resulted in the invocation of the AGF's emergency powers that were initially outlined when the AGRC (and in turn the AGF) was first commissioned in 2044. These had been changed over the years, but the basic plan of placing the AGF in charge of absolutely all matters regarding the AGRC for an unspecified time. As such, the F9000 Federation was suspended indefinitely and Liddel facing a tribunal by the AGF as well as attend the investigations set by an Australian Royal Commission into the Temtesh Bay Disaster.

An investigatory panel was established to see what changes need to be implemented if the F9000 was to continue. This panel contained several respectable faces of AG racing, including past champions Laughlan Ivers and Simo Lukic. After four months of investigations, the panel resulted in these recommendations:

â€¢ Super Weapons and development of Super Weapons are forbidden. All in-house weapon development faculties are to be shut down indefinitely.
â€¢ All weapon contractors are to commit to a full AGF and OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) review if they are to continue to supply weapons to the league.
â€¢ All circuits are to meet a strict AGF review based on length, obstacles, personnel safety & safety procedures.
â€¢ All craft development is frozen for five years pending an AGF plan on the rate of craft development.
â€¢ All current and future pilots participate in education courses on pilot safety.

Naturally, this brought criticism from the pro-F9000 community claiming these demands were too harsh. In hindsight, the AGF's recommendations were almost knee-jerk reactions towards the disaster and the attitude towards the League as a whole. This was the first time the AGF had a direct involvement in AGRC affairs since Overtel gained control of the league 32 years previously.

Alas, only several aspects of the recommendations were immediately implemented: Super Weapons disappeared forever and several track configurations were either destroyed, modified or caught up in legal problems to justify their legality. As such, only three races were run for the 2165 season, which was won by Natasha Belmondo for the sixth time despite not winning a single race. In 2166, Temtesh Bay was given the green light to race, as well as Cubiss Float in Switzerland and Alca Vexus in Mexico returning to the calendar. EG-R also returned to the League after skipping 2165, as well as the rise to prominence of Zack Vilma.

Vilma was thrust into the F9000 prematurely in 2164 to replace the late Jann Shlaudecker at Piranha, having been long associated with the young Brazilian's career. Whist 2164 and '65 hadn't been broadly successful, he did keep up constant point scoring positions, including his first win at the new Vohl Square 1 course. Very quickly, Vilma fell within good favour of Piranha's director Aries Piermont, and the two would struck up a strong friendship until Piermont's death.

This special bond would see Vilma given a special craft for 2166 that was tuned to best suit his flying style. This potential was realised at Florion Hieghts where Vilma lapped half the pack and eliminate two others to score a memorable second win. However, the consistency of the defending champion Belmondo was a big threat to Vilma's championship hopes. Coming into the final round at Vohl Square 2, Vilma was only 4 points behind Belmondo and knew that a win would nearly guarantee him the title, so long as Belmondo finished third or lower. Sure enough, Belmondo lead for the majority of the race, but a well timed Gravity bomb by Vilma saw Belmondo lose several positions and would've gave Vima the title. However, an elimination along with her 4th place finish saw her equal with Vilma, but Vlima's 3 wins against Belmondo's two made Vilma the first Brazilian champion in almost 50 years. Vilma dedicated the win to his former team-mate Shlaudecker.

As much as it seemed the sport was getting better, behind the scenes it was only getting back to what it used to be. The pressure on the AGF and the influence of Overtel saw different aspect of the recommendations to be warped or completely forgotten: teams were allowed to resume craft development in 2167 without the AGF's framework "claiming" the AGF had discussed the framework with the teams and a scheme for pilot education was completely forgotten. There were even plans in the works for new circuits to be built at places like Japan and on Mars to the old standard pre-2164.

Something had to give, and that something was Auricom. Finally fed up of Overtel's influence of the sport, Gideon Oldfield announced in January 2168 that Auricom will withdraw from the F9000, claiming irregularities in the rules made the sport unviable for the team. Although it had been long speculated that Auricom would leave since the F9000 was announced, but the decision to leave for real shocked the AG community, and prompted Overtel to look at the sport in detail. Over the course if 2168 and '69, Overtel laid plans to settle the sport down to a more manageable level to entice Auricom to return. Some of these changes were to take effect for the 2170 season.

Not wanting to leave quietly, Auricom pulled all their resources to make sure that the Series 4 T-808 was unbeatable. Sure enough, Pascale Rouser (who was with Auricom throughout the F9000 era) dominated 2168 with three wins and a second for good measure. Albeit in the shadow of his teammate, Mexico's Marco Cortez scored enough point to help Auricom take the constructor's title from Xios. Oldfield's last words to Humeau, and to the rest of the F9000 were "This started with us; so it'll end with us", hinting at the League's mortality. Van-Ãœber would follow at the end of the following season.

Thus, the 2170 F9000 looked to be a new page in the F9000 story: all the crafts had reached the zenith of their current designs (which dated to the start of the league in 2156) and a new battle was taking place between Vilma, Belmondo and Australian Zack Graham, grandson of world champion Austen. The first three round of the year were evenly matched between the three, but Vilma got the edge over his rivals at Mandrashee and Cubiss Float, giving him a 2 point lead heading into the penultimate round of the season at Alca Vexus. However, whilst the race was starting, the Anti-Gravity Purity Coalition appeared with staggering news.

The Coalition had acquired and extensive amount of incriminating evidence against Overtel, accusing them of gross corruption spanning several decades, and in particular the roughing of the F9000 to suit their ambitions. Images of these files were stream to all broadcasters of the race amongst other news stations. Knowing of the potential threat of retaliation by the crowd on the race, it was immediately halted within minutes of the start (all of the craft were stationary on the grid anyway) and all the teams evacuated to their respective bases.

What followed saw not only the fall of the League, but very nearly destroyed the economic world as it was known (Overtel's reach had been extensive). the U.S. Marshalls raided Overtel's global headquarters within hours of the story breaking to find a fair majority of the Ovetel executives, including Barrett Liddel, had suicided to avoid prosecution. Even then, they could not be directly maid accountable of Overtel's corruption (the most executive member arrested was a deputy editor of an advertising firm). However, the evidence supplied by the Coalition, some of which was excluded for being tampered with by the Coalition, created the biggest lawsuit in history with a total of 125 companies and organisations involved in Overtel's corruption. With each company blaming the other, and others attempting in vain to consolidate themselves, value on these companies fell dramatically thereby collapsing the world economy, and rioting in streets against the corporations and police saw many governments fell, especially in Russia against The Brotherhood, thereby creating a new world order and ten year of economic hardship.

AG racing was promptly banned, with it being labelled as a "corrupt money-making machine that does not resemble any athletic sport before or since. If it was, then it was a thin veneer on top of a desire to scam and cheat the vulnerable of money by fat cats claiming it to be 'in the name of science'". Seo Ki-woo was sacked by the United Nations after it was found that his neglect of the series, both before and after Temtesh Bay, and the AGF was reorganised to remove any reference or relation to competition or advanced technological research, and a focus on commercial maintenance. All the teams were punished to varying degrees, with the likes of FEISAR and Auricom paying fines and/or supervised by their respective governments, to the collapse and shut down of G-Tech and Tigron, two of the biggest cohorts in the corruption scandal.

By the time 2172 rolled around, AG racing was dead and banished from ever returning. Not that anyone had the resources to hold any races as most of the world was still fighting or had started rebuilding itself after the Fall of the F9000. Some countries even banned AG motor vehicles for private use and severely punished those in possession of one. But alas, as the world calmed down by the end of the decade, many a fan found old AG craft and secretly rebuilt them, giving birth to amateur AG races in remote locations, which saw the sport steadily rise in popularity. Of course, this groundswell would manifest itself into the AG Rebirth Festival in 2185, commemorating 150 years of AG travel, and the FX150 Amateur Leagues before professional AG racing returned in 2197.

As much as the F9000 had shocked and awed those who saw them, it eventually became plagued by its own success and in desperate need of a reboot. The irony of this is that despite what problems it gave, the Fall of the F9000 was the best thing that could happen to the sport as it cleared all the overhangs that hampered the sport since its inception and gave rise to a proper sport that Pierre Belmondo would've wanted.

stin

17th May 2015, 09:43 AM

Well written and thoroughly enjoyed it.

stevie:)

NeroIcaras

6th August 2015, 06:55 AM

Sob, sob...beautiful...sob Pierre finally got what he wanted...sob.

NeroIcaras

7th January 2016, 07:52 PM

My Champions Roll (sorry but this was the best thread I could find)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vMdyfNF3pSTf70nHj3tfyxe7DBHpyEtYc1tpReeWNIE/view

keg_11

15th April 2016, 02:45 PM

@NeroIcaras - I just sent a request to access your file. The address is legit.

Anyway, I've just revised my entire records so that they are more correct. Some of my changes include:

records up to 2216. Reason for this is stated below.
included nation of origin in ALL Leagues, not just the more recent ones.
Small mistakes here and there.

The reason I've stopped at 2216 is because since Wipeout is in hiatus until further notice, I don't see too much point in going on with the current League into infinity, particularly if there are team/league changes that may contradict cannon if another game was to be released. Besides, I could still see quite a bit of material in the almost 170 years of the sport I've got already.

In saying that, I might write up a couple of entries in the near future. However, as well as team bios, what other stories would u like to see? Just post below and see if I can come up with something. :)

Light Buster

15th April 2016, 09:38 PM

I'm currently putting together the pilot profiles of the JX junior racing league here on this forum. It only has two members at the moment and the fictions take parts of Challenger's team bios and Synergy's pilot profiles as well. You can probably make something off of it if you're interested.

keg_11

16th April 2016, 12:47 AM

Yeah, I saw that. Haven't had a good read through of it yet, but it looks interesting. Once I've read it then I might add to it.

NeroIcaras

19th August 2016, 08:27 AM

@keg11 I'd love to see some of your brilliant writing detailing the the period between the F9000 and FX300.

keg_11

21st August 2016, 04:03 AM

Okay, thanks for the suggestion.

Actually, I've been pondering about that recently (particularly in regards to what sport may temporarily replace AG racing during this period, may even cross over with another game outside Wipeout).

I'll see what I come up with.

Amaroq Dricaldari

21st August 2016, 04:54 AM

May I suggest Rollcage?

keg_11

21st August 2016, 05:31 AM

Maybe. Though reading the manual, it assumes it to be an underground series from the 25th century (might need some artistic licence, here)

MetaKraken

21st August 2016, 07:36 AM

Y'know, this makes me want to follow your footsteps, along with Challenger 001, when it comes to writing fanfic stuff related to Wipeout. :)

NeroIcaras

12th November 2016, 03:24 AM

Is this still alive?

Synergy2048

5th April 2017, 09:54 AM

@Keg_11

I just noticed on the 2216 results that Tyrrell Byron from Auricom had transferred to Assegai. How did that Happen?

I would write something out of this, but unfortunately I already had something planned out for his continuous storyline recently.

I'm just saying because I do follow and reference this fanfic, and you're always welcome to continue using my pilots anytime. I did liked the idea of what happened to Liana and made a paragraph about it on her storyline, but Tyrrell transferring to Assegai though, wasn't what I had in mind.

BTW, I've been active on here again.

keg_11

16th April 2017, 12:48 PM

Hi Synergy,

If I recall (from a writer's point of view), I had transfered Byron from Auricom because I had felt that he had spent enough time at the team and thought he needed to change.

When it comes to the pilot's tenures at a team and their careers, I try to emulate what a F1 driver would do considering they have a (on average) 10 year career. It's good if a particular pilot is so loyal to a team that they'll only race for that team for their career, but doesn't seem realistic to me.

Plus it gives me a chance to put new characters into the teams and see how their career pans out.

PS: Funny incident I had with Liana which inspired me to write her story as I did: I was flying her Triakis on Metropia (as mentioned in my news report), as I rounded the uphill left after Gemini Pin, I made an error by activiating a boost which saw me fly off the track into an overhead gantry. I finished the race, as you do, but I did debate a bit onto whether to include that in as is or change it somewhat. I left it as is, in part because it was part of the 2214 FX400/350 online events organised here on WZ.

Synergy2048

17th April 2017, 02:52 AM

Good to know, and it would make sense for a pilot to find better success from other teams within their race careers. To be honest I wanted to write this somehow for his pilot bio on my thread, but unfortunately I had already planned out a storyline/scenario before seeing the results of 2216. I didn't want to scrap my idea after seeing it until I realized, this is your fiction, you write what you want, I'll just stick to my own.

Perhaps in my fiction he did wanted to transfer to Assegai for better success, but because Qirex pretty much declares a war on the Belmondo foundation and their supporting teams around the same period, he got stuck with Auricom to not only to defend the race commission but also protect his teammate, Rachel Vega, not to abandon her while she goes out to fight Qirex in the racing league. Obviously mine is more story/character-driven while yours is more close to the reality of F1 drivers, though I do take references from here at times.

BTW I did see that video of what happened in that race. Surprised that didn't completely paralyzed her or is able to finish with that neck injury. Of course I had to added in her pilot story.

keg_11

17th April 2017, 05:54 AM

BTW I did see that video of what happened in that race. Surprised that didn't completely paralyzed her or is able to finish with that neck injury. Of course I had to added in her pilot story.

I had to write something to explain why I finished the race. I should've stopped and waited until the race ended, but the heat of the race got to me :) Also, I did write that Morelli was braced with a sort-of safety exoskeleton that activated in the crash to circumnavigate the neck injury until the end of the race.

Synergy2048

17th April 2017, 06:38 AM

Well she does get very competitive even though she doesn't admit it publicly ;) Triakis was one step ahead, especially with a craft that's also used for military purposes. If the exoskeleton can protect military pilots, so could pilots of the AG-Racing league. The Belmondo Foundation would want this technology installed for all team craft as a regulation to prevent any severe injuries from high G collisions in future race events, cause this collision would have killed her without it despite already there being restraints.

It'll be awhile, but I will post an updated story of this pilot, mentioning this accident.

keg_11

17th April 2017, 08:50 AM

If u want, hang on a sec. I'm jumping back on my computer to start writing new entries (again!), top of the list is 2nd half review of 2214, including details regarding Liana Morelli after the accident. I'll post this tonight (overnight your time).

keg_11

17th April 2017, 02:24 PM

After three years... finally all done! :)

2214 FX400 AG Race League Review - Part 2

The 2214 Antigravity Racing Championships have given us some of the most hotly contested racing in recent years. The big talking point all season is the performance of Ryoichi Honda and Assegai after taking three wins so far in his rookie season with the African team. However, his efforts have been stained by a retirement at the Chenghou Projects and a DNS at Metropia, which saw him now drawing with defending champion Roman Kovalenko in the League standings. Kovalenko may not have had the season he would like, but his consistent point scores and a win at Chenghou has kept him in firm title contention.
Meanwhile, another talking point was the serious accident to befall Triakis' Liana Morelli at Metropia, which resulted in a broken neck and paralysis for the 28 year old Italian. It is expected she will return for Round 9 at Sebenco Climb. Other winner this season so far included Tyrrell Byron for Auricom, pulling off a breakthrough first victory at Moa Therma, and Jean Belmondo at Metropia.

ROUND 7 - THE AMPHISEUM

The second half of the 2214 season starts within the party atmosphere of The Amphiseum, even more so this year as it opens the second half of the season compared to previous years where it signifies the close of the first half of the season.
However, this wasn't reflected in the racing with a fairly uneventful race, which was won by Ryoichi Honda after overtaking polesitter Ãžora Haraldssen on the first lap. Following behind them were Kovalenko and Byron despite times of parry between the two pilots.
Most of the action was between Griffin Lang of FEISAR, Sebak Abou-Gazia of Mirage and Englishman Colin Emery of Goteki 45. Lang and Emery qualify beside each other, whilst Abou-Gazia powered from tenth and capitalised the poor luck of Julia O'Connell (Icaras) and Jason Colonomos (Triakis; filling in for Liana Morelli). Most of the battle saw Emery leading despite heavy fire from both his more-experienced opponents. Eventually, his lack of experience showed when he was eliminated on the final lap from Lang's missile. The consensus around the paddock was that if Emery had conserved his shield energy, he could've scored a well-deserved two points.

Overall Standings (7 of 12)

1. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 38 pts.
Assegai
2. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 35 pts.
Harimau
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 29 pts.
AG Systems
4. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 22 pts.
EG-X
5. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 21 pts.
Triakis
6. T. BYRON (USA) - 19 pts.
Auricom
7. G. LANG (GER) - 14 pts.
FEISAR

ROUND 8 - MODESTO HEIGHTS

Round 8 returned the AGRC to Makana to another track the AG pilots didn't look forward two. Modesto Heights was, in some areas, harder than Chenghou, specifically the tunnelled section within the Scleradome Reseach Hub. However, to everyone's surprise, pole position was given to Jason Colonomos in the tank-like Triakis with Honda narrowly behind in second. The was speculation following the qualifying that Triakis were up to no good again. But after investigation, Triakis were cleared of any wrong doing.
Sure enough, the pole position was a mere fluke as Colonomos fell back quite quickly in the pack, but powered back near the front quite quickly as well, even eliminating Honda! Alas, mismanagement of the shields and several mine collisions saw him drop back to a predicable-yet-impressive 6th place and two points.
Meanwhile, the race quickly went out the window following retirements of Honda, Byron (by his own doing) and Belmondo within moments of each other. All of a sudden, the backmarker teams of Goteki, Icaras and Piranha looked set of points positions. But, like the others, they soon fell...except for Emery in the Goteki. Obviously learning from his retirement from the previous race, he paced himself quite well to finish 5th, just 6 seconds behind the Qirex of Nadia Elenova.
Out of the smoke came the teal arrow that was none other than the FEISAR of Griffin Lang. Despite qualifying fifth, he powered to the front as soon as it started and never looked back. His 2nd ever victory sure gave him a smile on his face. Haraldssen and Kovalenko made sure they followed Lang out of the debris scoring 2nd and 3rd respectively. In Kovalenko's case, it meant regaining the lead in the points standings.

Overall Standings (8 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 40 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 38 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 35 pts.
AG Systems
4. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 22 pts.
EG-X
4. G. LANG (GER) - 22 pts.
FEISAR
5. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 21 pts.
Triakis
6. T. BYRON (USA) - 19 pts.
Auricom

ROUND 9 â€“ SEBENCO CLIMB

The frightful Sebenco Climb, located near the summit of Mount Sebenco, was the setting for Round 9 of the 2214 season. Honda grabbed pole in what was a tightly contested qualifying between all of the better handling ships of the League. Haraldssen and Lang would round out the top 3 followed by Kovalenko, who found the tight uphill climb particularely tricky despite flying a Harimau. Particular praise go to Liana Morelli, who returns to the cockpit after her horrific accident at Metropia but still feeling the effects from the accident. She was able to pilot the tank-of-a-Triakis around the maze which is Sebenco Climb to start in 5th place! This result gave her the praise of everyone in the paddock and hope for her speedy recovery. Byron, Belmondo and Piranha's Thiago Castillo round out the eight.
Initially, the front four ships were closely matched, but some unlucky mines pushed Kovalenko back out of contention. However, he did have a good battle with Morelli and Castillo before Castillo was eliminated due to mines. Morelli did show good promise, but it came down to how the Harimau was far more superior on this track compared to the Triakis. Kovalenko would place 4th and Morelli in 5th. Regardless, Morelli's performance was responded to by the admiration and cheer from the crowd. Also, Haraldssen would keep her race to herself and place 3rd.
This race is best known for the epically close battle between Honda and Lang to take the lead. Honda did an incredible job in keeping pace in the Assegai, but for every inch of the race, Lang and his FEISAR was right behind him. Eventually, Lang managed to get past Honda as they entered the Weissner Cut, only for Honda to undercut back into the lead. This would continue until the very last corner of the race, where Lang darts to the inside and hits the boost pad, allowing him to draw equal with the Assegai. When they crossed the line, it was a dead heat: both race times were identical with Lang coming out on top. There were a few tense moments as race officials scoured through the race data to verify the result. Lang was awarded the race win.
Honda's second and Kovalenko's 4th would see them equal 1st in the championship with 44 points with 3 races left to go. Haraldssen is still in third, but Lang passes Belmondo to assume 4th on 30 points. Belmondo and Morelli are equal 5th on 24 points to round out the top 6.

Overall Standings (9 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 44 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 44 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 40 pts.
AG Systems
4. G. LANG (GER) - 30 pts.
FEISAR
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 24 pts.
EG-X
6. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 24 pts.
Triakis

ROUND 10 â€“ ÃœBERMALL

Qualifying saw the battles started at Sebenco follow on into Ãœbermall. Kovalenko scored his second pole of the season followed closely by Morelli's Triakis despite some concerns over her back recovery. Lang and Honda qualified third and fourth respectively. However, attention quickly drew to the growing title fight between Kovalenko and Honda, with the two pilots equal in the standings. At this point, the only two other pilots that could catch them were Lang (though behind by 14 points) and Haraldssen (whose rather subpar qualification put her starting 5th). Elenova, Belmondo and Byron rounded the top 8 by placing 5th, 7th and 8th respectively.
From out of the box, both Kovalenko and Lang blaze in front, with Morelli, Haraldssen and Honda fighting hard behind despite a set of mines pushed Honda behind briefly. However, the most shocking part of the race was about halfway through the race. In an event eerily similar to both Metropia and Ãœbermall 2213, Morelli crashed into the archway at the Barterhall chicane. Once again, a mistimed boost (though not uncommon at this part of the track) saw Morelli's Triakis fly higher in the air than she should which caused the front to impact the arch, causing her craft to flip into the track, knocking out Morelli. The race was immediately suspended so that track officials can see to Morelli. What saved her life twice was the same exoskeleton that saved her in Japan, though it was now augmenting her flying. But more importantly, it would secure and supported her neck in the event of an elimination (though they didn't expect lightning to strike twice). Subsequent diagnosis saw minimal changes to her current condition, though the immediate consensus in the paddock was immediate retirement.
Meanwhile, Lang was keeping Kovalenko at bay for a while, but a missile hit would see Lang fall back behind Kovalenko and into a battle with Haraldssen and Honda. Whist he was able to recover, he would slowly regain the time he lost and reach Kovalenko's afterburner. However, it was little too late with Kovalenko crossing the finish line to take his second win of the season. Haraldssen would finish in third behind Lang, thereby severely damaging Honda's title hopes. He finished 4th and now drags behind Kovalenko by 4 points. The win also sees only Lang, Haraldssen and Honda as the only pilots with a mathematical chance of beating Kovalenko to the title.
After taking advice from doctors and the Commission, Liana Morelli announced her retirement from the FX400, though effective at season's end claiming "If I can race, I'll race. I'm not leaving without at least one win!"

Overall Standings (10 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 52 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 48 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 45 pts.
AG Systems
4. G. LANG (GER) - 36 pts.
FEISAR
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 25 pts.
EG-X
6. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 24 pts.
Triakis

ROUND 11 - SOL 2

A fan favourite from both the FX300 and FX350, Sol 2 returns to the FX400 as the penultimate race of the season and the final one on Makana. Coming into this race there was two talking points: one on the title fight primarily between Kovalenko and Honda, and by extension Haraldssen and Lang; but also about Morelli still racing after two horrific accidents. Even more so regarding her performance particularly here at Sol 2 managing 2nd in qualifying behind Haraldssen. Honda and Kovalenko managed 3rd and 4th, creating yet another interesting scenario for the race.

A good start for both Haraldssen and Honda see them assume the lead briefly as Haraldssen runs too wide over Talos Sweep and falls off, causing her to be moved back on track and delayed by 3 seconds. But, Morelli makes a charge for the front along with Kovalenko. Meanwhile, Tyrell Byron makes an equally good start from 5th and would battle with Honda for 4th, eventually doing so at the start of the second lap. This would also turn to second as Kovalenko fell victim to a set of mines from Morelli. Halfway through the race, more disaster: Honda falls off the track after hitting one of Byron's mines!
Towards the end of the race, both Honda and Haraldssen had recovered from their off track excursions, only for Haraldssen to fall off again, along with Kovalenko! Fortunately, no-one had been eliminated from this method (though Castrillo was already out due to a plasma bolt from Elenova). This put the battle for first in the hands of Liana Morelli and Tyrrell Byron. Byron had held the lead from Morelli, but a well-placed bomb from Morelli when she got the lead back was the final nail in the coffin. Despite two horrific accidents and against the odds, this girl from Italy had won her first FX400 race! Byron would place second and Honda in third, keeping alive his title hopes. Elenova was in the running, but engine problems in her Qirex saw her drop back before eventually being eliminated at the end of the race.
Honda's win would bring him to within two points of Kovalenko, with Haraldssen also in the running on 49 points. Lang's failure to capitalise in this race (finished outside the points in 8th) would put him out of title contention. What would we see at the end of the final race: Kovalenko's third title in a row, Haraldssen's first or the first title for a Japanese pilot in the FX era (& 80 years!)?

Overall Standings (11 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 55 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 53 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 49 pts.
AG Systems
4. G. LANG (GER) - 36 pts.
FEISAR
5. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 32 pts.
Triakis
6. T.BYRON (USA) â€“ 28 pts.
Auricom

ROUND 12 - TALON'S JUNCTION

The final round of the 2214 FX400 season was turing out to be a thriller. Whislt it looked like it was a three-way fight between Kovalenko, Honda and Haraldssen, in reality it was a Russo-Japanese grudge match between by far the two best pilots of the season. A win for Honda would be mega for the sport and Honda's native Japan, where not only it would be the country's first in the FX era, but the first champion since the great Katsuogo Muro in 2134, 80 years previously. Conversely, a Kovalenko victory would ensure he would stand as one of the great Russian Rockets ever to race in the sport: up with the likes of Reznikov, Rykov and Solaar.

Sadly, the race turned to be anticlimactic. For Honda, the pressure of fighting for the title was a bit too much for the young rookie as he slid back in the pack despite qualifying third. Although there was a bit of a fight in the midpack, it eventually settled to be a relatively calm race. The only other noteworthy incident involved a well-timed rocket by Haraldssen against Icaras' Julia O'Connell, which saw Haraldssen assume third from the stricken Icaras. Byron was the one who capitalised the most of Honda's faltering and locked down second. Elsewhere, engine problems forced Lang to miss the race whereas Morelli started and finished well back, claiming she wanted to take it easy for her final race.

But the star of the show was Roman Kovalenko. Despite almost losing the lead by one of Honda's rockets, the seasoned Harimau pilot kept a clean race and won it by a massive 5 second margin over Byron. Kovalenko finishes the season with 3 wins, 8 podiums, 3 poles and 2 fastest laps. This also gives Harimau its third title, equalling it with FEISAR and continuing its position as the most successful team introduced in the FX era. However, some are saying that because it was so hard for Kovalenko to win this year's championship, his reign will not last.

We shall see in 2215!

Final Standings

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) â€“ 63 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)â€“ 56 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) â€“ 54 pts.
AG Systems
4. G. LANG (GER) - 38 pts.
FEISAR
5. T.BYRON (USA) â€“ 34 pts.
Auricom
6. L. MORELLI (ITA)â€“ 32 pts.
Triakis
7. J. BELMONDO (FRA) â€“ 26 pts.
EG-X
8. N. ELENOVA (RUS) â€“ 16 pts.
Qirex
9. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) â€“ 14 pts.
Mirage
10. T. CASTILLO (BRA) - 4 pts.
Piranha
11. C. EMERY (ENG) â€“ 4 pts.
Goteki 45
12. J. COLONOMOS (GRE) - 2 pts.
Triakis
13. C. MANDEL (AUT) - 0 pts.
Triakis

Tributes to those pilots retiring this year:
â€¢ Thiago Castillo (BRA) - Joined 2207 (Piranha)
â€¢ Nadia Elenova (RUS) - Joined 2207 (Qirex)
â€¢ Jean Belmondo (FRA) - Joined 2209 (Icaras, EG-X)
â€¢ Sebak Abou-Gazia (UAE) - Joined 2209 (Mirage)
â€¢ Liana Morelli (ITA) - Joined 2211 (Triakis)

Synergy2048

18th April 2017, 07:51 AM

Sad to hear Liana's career end this way, but she got her wish to win one race in this championship at least. Who would of thought she would make the same mistake again at Ubermall only for it to actually knock her out this time.

I got an idea from this, though it won't be awhile until her story gets posted. Looks like Thiago & Sebak had also left as well. Guess I need to make an update on Thiago's story then. In my fiction he still races but doesn't come back to the championships due to coming short in most seasons, not good enough as he thought. For Byron, I'll probably make an alternate paragraph that's canon to this, but for my fiction officially, he stays with Auricom due to the events that occurred in my story-line.

Glad you posted this, should inspire me for Liana's point of view including Sebak's. I'll make her memorable.

Amaroq Dricaldari

30th June 2017, 02:47 AM

It would be interesting to see what future stories and articles come about with the release of Omega Collection.

keg_11

3rd July 2017, 01:37 PM

Here's couple of more entries I've written up. As for Omega content, I'll be working on a bit of that now, maybe propping up Van-Ãœber coming back into the sport and going into the 2217 season.

2213-14 Turbo Accidents - Jokela & Morelli

The Turbo Collisions of 2213 and 2214 were a series of incidents which involved the use of turbo boosts during races which led to sickening crashes involving ships flying off track and into scenery. Whist never really thought of in the past, the increased speed of the ships, not including the boost, and the questionable locations they've been used, cause the death of one pilot and the paralysation of another. These incidents would kick-start the FX400's reinvention during this decade.
When the FX300 League was established in 2197, a considerable focus of the FX300 AG Race Commission was the safety of the pilots and spectators in race conditions. Wanting to avoid the elimination heavy formula used in the F9000, the League opted for more racing focus with weapon use playing more of a "wild card" role, echoing the earlier F3600 and F5000 Leagues. In saying that, the Commission applied a vast array of safety features that would protect pilots, officials and spectators alike. These features include an indestructible safety cell containing the pilot, energy shielding for spectator areas, and stringent test conditions for tracks and ships alike. It was claimed that the FX300 was the safest League in the history of the sport.

Naturally, the confidence of the FX300 flowed on to the FX400 and FX350 Leagues with few changes. However, there were increasing calls for several AGRC regulations to be reviewed or changed going into the 2210s. Safety was a major point, as it was acknowledged that the speed of the craft had increased since the sport returned (albeit nowhere near the leap compared to when a League was upgraded). Jean Belmondo, 2210 champion and son of Commission Chair Natasha Belmondo, commented "While we have been fortunate the sport has ran so well, now is not the time to be complacent. I would think that a reflection and rethink of the sport will be necessary... and I rather not see it happen after a disaster". Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.

The AGRC experienced its first pilot fatality at a top tier meeting in 2213. Emma Jokela, a Finn flying for Piranha in the FX350, was killed after a collision whist qualifying for the penultimate race of the season at Ãœbermall. It's well known that pilots avoid the chicane at the end of the Barterhall Centre by using a turbo boost on the hill before the chicane and fly over it. The only concern at this point was the increase in speed of the ships caused them to fly higher and higher above the track. Jokela used her boost too early when coming over the crest of the hill. This made her Piranha to fly too high and made contact with the archway exit of the Mall. The collision with the arch and then the ground caused extreme trauma within Jokela's body: the ship was intact, but Jokela was thrown about inside. Jokela had no chance.

Piranha decided not to race in the final round of the FX350 out of respect to Jokela, but the Race Commission was placed into the spotlight over the incident. Through their investigation, they determined that there was an issue regarding the use of turbo at particular parts of the track during a race and in qualifying. As a trial, they agreed that turbos would not be used in the first half of the 2216 season, for both FX350 and FX400. This prompted some protest by the FX400, but the Commission remained true to their word.

Jokela's accident was also put down as freak by the majority of the AG community, claiming that the top FX400 pilots are careful with the use of the turbo. But, about six months after Jokela's death, a similar incident will hit the FX400 by a well-established pilot.

Liana Morelli had been an inaugural FX350 pilot and already raced 3 seasons of the FX400 (all with Triakis). Commentators note that Morelli was a good fit for the tank-like Triakis, but consistency was an issue. This was improving in 2213 to give her a career best 5th place, which continued into 2214. But she came unstuck in the most horrific way at Metropia.

Starting in third, Morelli dropped to sixth during the first lap. Gaining a turbo whist coming out of Gemini's Pin, she intended to used it on the upcoming straight. But, like Jokela, she used the turbo a bit too soon. Morelli's craft verged outwards, over the barrier and into an arch foundation, launching the Triakis into the air. The world held its breath for a moment, fearful that Morelli had been killed. But once the ship landed, it carried on as if nothing happened. Diagnosis saw that Morelli was fine as was her ship, but her speed had decreased. She would finish a respectable 6th, but when Triakis personnel and medical teams got to her, they saw that Morelli had been paralysed.

What kept Morelli flying was a new safety feature Triakis quietly installed onto their craft. An extensive, neural-controlled "exoskeleton" as deployed around Morelli's body when the craft struck the arch, allowing her to continue the race. This technology had been used for years in Triakis' grav-tanks, but use of AG racing had been met with scrutiny by the commission. The results seen at Metropia saw the Commission to commission Triakis to develop this exo-suit so it can be used for future AG craft designs.

Nonetheless, the calls for restrictions on turbo use, as well as increasing calls for a full review of the AGRC's safety regulations, were becoming quite vocal. Naturally, Natasha Belmondo would announced a special review board into the safety of AG racing. The scope of this body was to develop a series of recommendations on safety improvements that the AGRC will implement as part of a whole raft of new regulations to be introduced in 2216-17.
Meanwhile, Morelli was out for the next three rounds as she began the long process of recovery of her spine, which was severely damaged as a result of the accident. The extraordinary efforts of the doctors seeing to her would see Morelli return to AG racing at Sebenco Climb, albeit with the exosekeleton that saved her now aiding her.

The following round was at Ãœbermall, not even a year later from the race that claimed Emma Jokela's life. But to everyone's shock and horror, lightning struck twice. On the penultimate lap of the race, Morelli used another boost too early on the hill in the Barterhall Centre and collided with the exit archway. Morelli was knocked unconscious and the race was halted. In an even more miraculous event, Morelli came to. But the consensus around the paddock and the spectators was that Morelli should quit to save her any more accidents like this. Morelli agreed, but not before she sees out the rest of the season. She would proved all those who doubted her ability wrong when she took her only win at the penultimate race of the season at Sol 2.

The second incident at Ãœbermall really stoked the fires of those who demand more action be taken place to ensure the safety of all pilots in AG racing. The Turbo Boosts during qualifying were outright banned and were restricted during races to straightaways, controlled by a lockout code. Massive protests were organised demanding the banning of Ãœbermall and complete revisions on all tracks to make sure these incidents don't occur. Ãœbermall's place on the calendar is secured for a few more years, but it's place in AG racing is considerably at risk.

keg_11

3rd July 2017, 11:16 PM

2215 Modesto Heights Disaster

The 2215 Modesto Heights Disaster is, without a doubt, the worst AG accident in the FX era. This is put down to a variety of reasons, on top of which was the scale and the freakiness of the incident. No one had expected an AG ship to shoot up into the air upon elimination, impacting a energy shield, that shield failing, and the ship itself crashing into unsuspecting spectators. When Ãžora Haraldssen's AG Systems crashed into the overhead Lucas Skyway, the world was shocked and questions were asked regarding the overall safety of the sport, especially considering several similar incidents before. Haraldssen's accident was the peak of some very controversial accidents that plagued the AGRC over the preceding couple of years.

The FX400 and FX350 AG Racing Leagues were brought into disrepute during the 2213 and 2214 due to questions being raised over the speed and safety of the ships. Finnish FX350 pilot Emma Jokela was killed after her Piranha struck and archway whilst qualifying for the penultimate round at Ãœbermall. The following year, Liana Morelli saw herself in two accidents of similar nature to Jokela's, the latter of which was a carbon copy of the fatal crash. Fortunately, Morelli survived both wrecks, but her spine was severely damaged as a result, and despite the best efforts of the doctors, she would not walk again. Some strict regulations were enacted for the 2215 season, including no turbo boosts during qualifying and the use of such boosts limited to straights during races.

Ãžora Haraldssen had become the darling of the FX400. After winning two FX350 titles, she immediately impressed in her first year at the FX400, with 2 winds, 4 podiums and 3rd overall. Not only that, she continued her strong showing throughout 2214 as well. Pundits were already calling her a future champion. Her on track pace was nicely paired with her sensitive nature, not being overly aggressive but providing a good mix of pace with necessary weapon fire to balance the field somewhat. The only thing she needed to win was a bit more luck.

The first half of 2215 saw a good start for Haraldssen, managing three podiums including a nicely fought win at Moa Therma. However, failure to score at Metropia and Tech De Ra did not help her title fight. In saying that, she was only four points behind second place Jean Belmondo, EG-X, along with Roman Kovalenko (Harimau) and Emirati Obaid Meer from Mirage separated by one point.
The round following Tech De Ra was Modesto Heights, winding though the industrial sector of the Makana's main city, Vineta. The event had started poorly for AG Systems, with the team's FX350 challenger, Eriko Shimizu, eliminated during her race. Haraldssen had started in the midpack, but as the raced went on, her pace improved and would reach 2nd at one point. However, a missile would drop her down to fourth, but still within striking distance of the top. What happened next was chain reaction to disaster.

By this point, Haraldssen's energy levels were below 40 (due to a few barrel roll manoeuvres earlier in the race. As she was exiting the Scleradome Research Hub, she ran into the minefield of Meer's Mirage, which pulled her into the wall and colliding heavily with Griffin Lang's FEISAR. Haraldssen recovered and passed Lang back, but now she was on critical health. Sure enough, she would be eliminated moments later by another missile, but the subsequent explosion of the missile launched Haraldssen sideways into the Lucas Skyway in excess of 450km/h, penetrating through the energy shield and into the Skyway itself.

Haraldssen's AG-S lay on its side in the centre of the skyway, along with the bodies of 15 spectators, with a further 12 injured. The race was promptly abandoned, with Meer gaining victory, but the whole world of AG racing was in a state of shock and fear; fear of the state of AG racing considering the serious accidents the sport had seen in recent years. Haraldssen herself walked away unscathed, but collapsed upon realisation of what had happened. Very quickly, it was established that this was the worst AG accident in the FX era and the first of its kind since the Temtesh Bay Disaster.

In response to the accident, the next round of the season at Sebenco Climb was delayed by two weeks to allow the organisers to address immediate safety concerns regarding the track, as well as allow the FX400 Race Commission to make amendments for their new rules for 2216. Natasha Belmondo, in one of her last engagements as Commission Chairperson, personally took to this task to make sure an event like this does not happen again. This commitment would continue for her even after she formally retired from the role at the end of the year.

Haraldssen never fully recovered from the incident. Though she did race at Sebenco Climb, the trauma from the accident hindered her performance. She would initially announce her immediate retirement at the conclusion of the race, but she was convinced by AG Systems to stay on for 2216 to fulfil the remainder of her contract. Meanwhile, she would be rested for the following two rounds and made an appearance at the final round at Talon's Junction.

Investigations regarding the accident put down the cause to a combination of factors: the use of barrel rolls and weapon fire could create unnecessary overuse of the ship's shield energy; the missile that eliminated Haraldssen (deduced to have come from Roman Kovalenko's Harimau) and an energy shield that malfunctioned under the strain of Haraldssen's ship (they were only designed to mainly deflect weapon fire).

Amongst the new regulations that were to be introduced for 2216 irrespective of Modesto Heights, ships in both FX400 and FX350 would run in the speed class one lower from their current class (Rapier and Flash respective), weapon damage would be dialled down, and starting from 2217, all weapon systems used by teams would be one of a few predetermined systems co-developed with the Race Commission. Also, spectator shileding would be improved to handle more powerful energy.
Another rule was the ban on all spectator areas outside specific grandstands and other approved spectator areas, leaving tracks like Modesto Heights and Ãœbermall at risk.

On a good note, a lot of support was thrown behind Haraldssen amongst other pilots affected by this disaster, which encouraged her to fly in 2216. A tough battle between her, Jakob Sommer (Triakis) and Julia O'Connell (Icaras) won ensue, but would result in Haraldssen finally gaining her fist, and only, FX400 title.

https://youtu.be/RnG9U5-_A3M