Wipeout Chronicles

[Light Buster]

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

[keg_11]

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: Templar condottiero; died 1503

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

[Light Buster]

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]

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]

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 corporation’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 “purist’s union” 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 Commission’s first major test was the transition of the F5000 to F7200, announced in 2113. Having stabilized the politics of the AGRC following Belmondo’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 sport’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 Overtel’s way of thinking as the best way for the sport to move forwards, over the Foundation’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 sport’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 Russia’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 Russia’s change of governance.

His defining moment came in 2150, where he announced the League’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 F9000’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 “step too far” 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: “Liddell 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.”

Graham’s words could not be truer…

[Ace3000]

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

[keg_11]

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

[keg_11]

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]

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]

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

[keg_11]

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]

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

[keg_11]

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]

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]

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

[keg_11]

2214 FX400 AG Race League Review - Part 1

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

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

ROUND 3 – 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. Þora 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)– 22 pts.
Assegai
2. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 14 pts.
AG Systems
2. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 14 pts.
Triakis
4. T. BYRON (USA) - 12 pts.
Auricom
5. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 11 pts.
Harimau
6. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) – 6 pts.
Mirage
7. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 2 pts.
EG-X
7. G. LANG (GER) - 2 pts.
FEISAR

ROUND 4 – 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)– 22 pts.
Assegai
2. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 20 pts.
AG Systems
3. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 19 pts.
Triakis
3. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 19 pts.
Harimau
5. T. BYRON (USA) - 12 pts.
Auricom
6. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 7 pts.
EG-X
7. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) – 6 pts.
Mirage
7. G. LANG (GER) - 6 pts.
FEISAR

ROUND 5 – 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) – 24 pts.
Harimau
2. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 23 pts.
AG Systems
3. R. HONDA (JPN)– 22 pts.
Assegai
4. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 21 pts.
Triakis
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 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 Þora 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) – 30 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)– 30 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 23 pts.
AG Systems
4. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 21 pts.
Triakis
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 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]

Very well written Keg

[Maciek1704]

Overall Standings (6 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 30 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)– 22 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 23 pts.
AG Systems
4. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 21 pts.
Triakis
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 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]

Noted. Thanks.

[Maciek1704]

Overall Standings (6 of 12)

1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 30 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)– 30 pts.
Assegai

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