maikoheart
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WRA Administration
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Post by maikoheart on Feb 7, 2016 22:53:42 GMT -5
PWRband Technica Team Manager: Juan Rodrigues (Haruhi) Team HQ Location: East Los Angeles, California, United States Team Summary: A team operating out of the small, dilapidated city of Ciudad Jiménez, Mexico, PwrBAND Technica was brought into fruition formerly named Deportivo Automovil Jimenez by car guru and local dealership owner, Horacio Salcido. Using the funds that he amounted throughout the past 30 years his family's franchise operated in the city, he bought a vacant garage area in the town center only across the street from the very franchise that he owns. After a small feud in the Salcido family due to the idea that motorsport is generally a money-pit of a sport, the team was finally registered and approved. Back home, the team has a tremendous backing, and the new garage has become a hot spot for visitors of the small city. The team was bought out by business mogul, Juan Rodriguez, and seeks for a more futuristic and minimalist style that echoes the late 90s styles of "The Designer's Republic". The HQ has been moved to Commerce, Los Angeles, and the organization has been built from the ground up.
Drivers Efrain GarzaNet Handle: @garzaracing4Nationality: American Birthday and Age: August 31st, 18 YEARS OLD Height: 6' 1" Weight: 157 lbs. Birthplace: Chihuahua, Mexico Current Hometown: San Pedro, California, United States Stats: Skill: 15/30 Consistency: 6/15 Composure: 5/15 Tenacity: 12/15 Experience Level: 34 (BRONZE) Specialties: Sports CarHiring Cost = 570,000 CR / Season Summary: Born originally in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, Efrain Garza and his family moved to the Los Angeles area when he was only 3 years of age, due to a relocation of his father's work. After settling down in the US, the family found it better to live in Los Angeles, and stayed there indefinitely. It certainly helped Efrain, as his career got off to a quicker start than what he could do in Mexico. His father entered him into junior karting leagues very early, at the age of 9, only to find he wasn't so good. However, Efrain's father insisted on taking him to the local track to one day see his son win something. This would happen when Efrain had just turned 14, as he won his first racing event at the CaliVelocity Karting Championships in Auto Club Speedway. He won on a streak of luck, due to the top 3 taking each other out. Even though Efrain knew he only won by luck, he started becoming overconfident in his driving, being twice as aggressive than he was before. Divebombing, punting, and shoulder checking competitors, it didn't take long for him to get himself kicked out of the organization. Efrain then decided a move to oval racing at Irwindale would be a better option, participating in street stock racing. He found some success, bringing a 3rd place points finish at the age of 16. Efrain is currently looking to make his foray back to road racing, even though it's been 2 years since he's been on a track with right turns as well. Some old habits die hard--he's truly a menace on the track, and it will take a bunch of time to get that out of his system. His determination is admirable, however. Every time he's on track, he exhibits a sort of genuine excitement to be out on track. He loves racing, and it really does show, no matter what place he ends up in. Just being able to run laps is good enough for him. Roleplaying Notes: >Although he was originally born in Mexico, he knows little Spanish. >Any offer that he comes upon--he'll take it immediately. No matter how poor the team is, he just wants a drive. >Introverted. He's not shy, he just doesn't like talking to others unless they're really interesting. >He's a flirt when it comes to cute girls, however. He won't hesitate to make a move on a girl, and will persistently try no matter how many times he fails. >With closer friends, he is actually very laid back and is willing to open up to them. Ryoko MaruyamaNet Handle: @maruyamaryoko44
Nationality: Japanese Birthday and Age: October 10th, 18 YEARS OLD Height: 4' 11" Weight: 95 lbs. Born in: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan Current Hometown: Osaka, Japan Skill: 25 Consistency: 13 Preservation: 8 Tenacity: 15 Driver Level: 57 (GOLD) Specialties: Sports Car, TunerHiring Cost: 3,035,000 CR Summary: Ryoko Maruyama was born in Nishinomiya, one of the towns near Osaka, to Akio Maruyama and Sasaki Maruyama. Sasaki Maruyama (originally Sasaki Ueno) was a race queen back in the 80s and met club racing driver Akio Maruyama during at FISCO (Fuji Speedway). Maruyama at the time was racing for a prospective team, Dragon Spirit Racing, but the team released Akio for his poor performance. He then took up a job as a mechanic for a team in the same series before marrying Sasaki Ueno. They first had Ryoko's older brother, Jun Maruyama, then the more talented girl, Ryoko herself. Ryoko originally wanted to be a vetenarian when she was smaller, but once her father took her to her first racing event at the young age of 5, she had much different plans. Her family backed her and entered Ryoko into karting championships at 6. However, she was far from a stellar driver. Average performances had led her to simply run out of funds at the age of 9. She made her return to racing at the age of 14, competing in regional club endurance series events as a secondary driver. She found pace in herself in an actual car, finding the dynamics of a kart did not fit her style at all. At 16, she won her first event with Railspeed Motorsport in an Integra at Sendai Hi-Land Circuit. Railspeed went on to place 3rd out of 19 entries in the team title chase for the club series that year. Deportivo Automovil Jimenez had planned to bring local talent to Saikyu no Taikyu in early 2016, and eyed out Ryoko. Despite doing exceptionally well in the Idle Master Open, beginning with a pole and ending with a podium, she only managed to finish 15th in the driver's standings. However, landing a GTE PRO ride with PWRBand Technica, Ryoko will attempt to prove herself among the other young drivers in her class, striving to be the best of her young competitors. Personally, Ryoko never had a significant other, and in her words, "didn't need a 2nd pet." Ryoko is also a top competitor in the video game online competition held by Racing Passion, and actually landed a sponsor deal with the video game during Saikyu no Taikyu. She is fluent in English and Japanese, and has nearly no trace of a foreign tongue while speaking English, surprisingly enough. Ryoko has an older brother and a younger sister, Fumiko. Roleplaying Notes: >Known to be really bossy at times, will ask the most illogical requests to the team and will throw her team under the bus for a poor result. >Jealousy usually fuels her own drive to rise over her competition. >Her obsession with Porsches can really sway her decisions for which team she wishes to drive for. If there's a Porsche, she wants in, no question. >Ryoko has always dreamed about winning the J-SA GT Masters championship--a racing series she had closely followed ever since she was a small child. >Harsh on the outside, but hopelessly desperate for love inside. She masks her intimacy with her aggressiveness. Darek CarelloNet Handle: @sarelloman12Nationality: South African Birthday and Age: January 30th, 31 YEARS OLD Height: 5' 10" Weight: 169 lbs. Birthplace: Westdene, South Africa Current Hometown: Port Elizabeth, South Africa Stats: Skill: 17/30 Consistency: 2/15 Potential: 5/15 Tenacity: 7/15 Driver Level: 27 (BRONZE) Specialties: TunerHiring Cost: 120,000 CR Summary: South African driver Darek Carello is a gung-ho and wild man driver. If he sees something with four-wheels and an engine that's been given to him, he'll be very good at testing it to it's very limit. Whether it's the grip, the engine's power, the top speed, he'll see what the maximum potential of any car component has. Having this mindset in racing, however, can be very dangerous. Pushing the car to it's limit through a corner could give the risk of going wide, or even worse, off-course. He grew up working on cars in a garage and test driving them. He became overly fascinated with making cars go faster. Darek decided to build his own and make it the fastest in South Africa. He used the money from his job to build an extremely powerful car. However, it was left unfinished due to parts that were too expensive. He started losing motivation and decided to scrap the entire thing. However, he did not lose all hope. He was looking for a league to race in and make money to hopefully fulfill his dream, and so he's now in the driver's market for RHverse. Roleplaying Notes: -Has a loud, booming voice that probably could be heard over an F1 V8 -Just like his driving style, he's very very wild. Goes partying often -Always constantly fired up and full of energy -Gets extremely angry or upset when he loses Frida Torres Nationality: Mexican Birthday and Age: May 18, 19 YEARS OLD Height: 5' 4" Weight: 113 lbs. Birthplace: Portsmouth, UK Current Hometown: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Stats: Skill: 17/30 Consistency: 10/15 Potential: 8/15 Tenacity: 8/15 Experience Level: 39 (BRONZE) Specialties: Sports CarBase Hiring Cost: 640,000 CR Summary: Frida was first born in the United Kingdom to a Mexican father and a British mother, though she seems to have taken most, if not all, of her visual traits from her own mother. Moving back to Mexico after a year Frida was born, the family actually had nothing to do with the automotive world, actually working at a ranch and raising cattle for sale. When Frida was at the age of 5, she began to do small chores for the family, and utilized a quad to move around the family ranch. When she got older, she started helping the family for allowances, and bought a dirt bike. Watching extreme sports on her off time, she was intensely interested in motocross, and wanted to join in as well. Torres participated in local motocross championships, doing averagely compared to the rest of the field. It wasn't until her breakthrough year when she was aged 15 that she would win her first event, graduating to the nationals and dragging her family across the large country of Mexico to pursue championship hopes. At age 16, Frida looked out of place in the Mexican nationals, and although she was born in the UK, she insisted to represent Mexico when she would go to the United States to compete in the world stage of motocross. However, a nasty incident in the 4th round of the Supernacional de Motos forced her to retire early in the season, suffering a broken arm due to an unfortunate landing. It was 2 years after this incident that she actually had little motivation to continue doing motocross, and decided to move over to four wheeled vehicles. Competing in the Super Coche V8 series, she garnered a lot of media attention due to her transition and her recovery from her horrid injury. She didn't fare well her first season with an underfunded team, and always finished mid to back pack. However, a more prestigious race team had contacted her to run for a top spot in next year's championship. Frida took the deal, and at the age of 19, scored 4th in the driver's points out of 31 other drivers. After that season, she had planned to take up trophy truck racing and move to the United States to improve her English, but she was noticed by scouts that had been hired from a RHverse team and impressed them by her fiery driving, her lighting quick pace, and her off track antics as well. What is to note is that she can be quite versatile, and adapt to any type of discipline very quickly. Roleplaying Notes: - Although she looks very British, she speaks in broken English due to living in Mexico her whole life speaking Spanish. She has a thick accent when trying to speak English, and usually yells at the end of every sentence in English for some reason. - She has quite the knack for tea. - Very energetic, but to a certain point. She has control over when she can be silly and when she shouldn't be. Eduardo Espanosa (@eddyuardo)Nationality: Mexican Birthday and Age: June 14, 20 YEARS OLD Height: 5' 8" Weight: 158 lbs. Birthplace: Camargo, Mexico Current Hometown: Culver City, United States Stats: Skill: 15/30 Consistency: 7/15 Potential: 7/15 Tenacity: 2/15 Driver Level: 27 (BRONZE) Specialties: Pro TunedHiring Cost: 140,000 CR Summary: "It ain't gonna be the world calling for you to go beyond who you are now... it's gotta be you that chooses."Hailing from a relatively quiet town in Mexico, Eduardo's family were a group of gearheads who did everything they could within the law to get by. They ran a mechanic shop and gas station, and little Eddie often hung around his father in the shop, until he was around ten years old. Eddie started off learning basic body repair tasks and routine maintenance, but as the years went by, he was soon capable of tearing cars inside-out and rebuilding them to almost-new. Being able to do that entertained him for a while, but being cooped up in a garage eventually wore thin for Eddie. At around age 17, he tore apart his personal daily driver, a classic VW Beetle that was cleaner than most of the rides in his hometown. He wanted more than to just putt around the hood in the shop's after-hours. Rebuilding it from the ground up with a bunch of homemade engineering solutions and upgrades, Eddie's ride was transformed into an off-road racer, ready to tear apart whatever the Mexican dunes could throw at him. While it obviously wasn't the fastest of machines, Eddie was able to enter it in a variety of off-road competitions, and he got a real thrill off of racing against and defeating other drivers who were often in more advanced American machinery. But it wasn't enough... he was bored of being "at home" all the time. Beating the same drivers over and over lost its appeal pretty quickly, and Eddie soon began to realize he needed to move abroad, where his mechanical know-how would be welcomed more. Luckily, the California Speed Runners squad hooked him up with a deal to move to the US, where he finally got to kick back, relax, and build cars to his heart's content. Eddie's competitive itch soon caught him again though, and with the first American Pro Tuned league starting up, he's willing to give teams his services as a driver or a mechanic. Just make sure you give him liberal amounts of break hours, as Eddie would prefer to go about his day at a chilled pace... Roleplaying Notes: - Very, very laid back. While not as lazy as say, Mikey Hoshi, he hates spending too much time being ordered around. - Aside from his work as a car builder and tuner at the Speed Runners' garage, Eddie spends a lot of his nights wondering about seemingly deep philosophical things, and it is in this state that you could hold a casual conversation with him about almost anything. - Give him a reason to tear apart and rebuild something and he will. Given the right materials and some time to think up his solutions, Eddie will find a way to make it even better. - That said, once you get his competitive urges going, he ain't gonna stop.
Engineers Tali von NuremburgNationality: German Birthday and Age: January 27th, 25 years old Class: Powerhouse Current Level: Level 2, 10 Phases to Next Level 0 Perk: Quick EMS Programmer; Power or Eco-Spec EMS takes only ONE Phase when assigned to this Engineer. Level 1 Perk: Manufacturing Analyst; unlocks one stage of Precision Manufacturing. Level 2 Perk: Advanced Engine Tuner; unlocks one stage of Advanced Engine Tuning. Level 3 Perk: Advanced Chassis Designer; unlocks one stage of Advanced R&D Lighter Components. Hiring Cost: 190,000 CR A computer wizard at an early age, Tali loved taking apart digital devices and trying to put them back together. Tali's father taught her how to hack and program in her teenage years, and since then, her abilities have carried over to teams in the racing world in subtle-but-big ways. Lucjusz SzwarcNationality: Poland Class: Aerodynamicist Current Level: Level 1, 7 Phases to Next Level 0 Perk: Aerodynamic Ace; ALL Aerodynamic upgrades take only ONE Phase when assigned to this Engineer. Level 1 Perk: Downforce Analyst; unlocks one stage of Advanced Wing Analysis. Level 2 Perk: Aero Speed Analyst; unlocks one stage of Advanced Body Analysis. Level 3 Perk: Skilled Repair Crew; Body Repair pit crew perk takes up only half a Slot. Hiring Cost: 80,000 CR Lucjusz "Fucking hell, call me Luke" Szwarc is a bit of a fiery character. If you even try and pronounce his name, he'll go on a tirade of how idiotic this generation is, and that he should have been born a generation earlier. Not that it really matters, he can make some pretty cool wings, as long as you don't bother him. Belinda Northrop Nationality: British Class: Powerhouse Current Level: Level 2, 12 Phases to Next Level 0 Perk: Advanced Failure Analyst; unlocks one stage of Extreme Reliability Analysis. Level 1 Perk: Rapid Engine R&D; Engine Tuning takes only ONE Phase when assigned to this Engineer. Level 2 Perk: Advanced Engine Tuner; unlocks one stage of Advanced Engine Tuning. Level 3 Perk: Manufacturing Analyst; unlocks one stage of Precision Manufacturing. Hiring Cost: 180,000 CR
Pit Crew Perks: Base Tire Change: 20 sec.(12 sec. for GP/Touring) Base Damage Repair: 15 sec. (10 sec. for GP) New Tire Change: 16 sec (8 sec. for GP/Touring) New Damage Repair: 14 sec. (9 sec. for GP) - 1 second faster Tire Changes - 1 second faster body repairs - 1 second faster Tire Changes - 1 second faster Tire Changes - 1 second faster Tire Changes
Sponsors Title Sponsor:Aotech Green Industries - Industry: Oils and Lubricants Current Respect: 161 Respect Current Respect Status: Initial Signing Primary Sponsor:Utahime Records Co, LTD - Business: Music Production Current Respect: 100 Respect Current Respect Status: Initial Signing Secondaries: Garage House Tsuchigami - Automotive General: Servicing and Customization Current Respect: 144 Respect Current Respect Status: Initial Signing Izumi Performance Springs - Industry: Chassis and Suspension Current Respect: 142 Respect Current Respect Status: Initial Signing Weaver Aerodynamics - Industry: Aerodynamic Parts Current Respect: 124 Respect Current Respect Status: Initial Signing Extocharge Car Batteries - Industry: Automotive General Current Respect: 124 Respect Current Respect Status: Initial Signing
Cars Making space for new vroomers...
FacilitiesDrivers: 6 out of 6 used Chassis: 0 out of 6 used Engineers: 3 out of 3 used Perk Slots: 6 out of 6 used
Upgrades to Facilities: Driver Expansion: +2 Chassis Expansion: +2 Engineer Expansions: +2 Pit Perk Expansions: +3
Maintenance Costs: 450,000 CR Finances: 25,519,750 CR For expenses, refer to this.
League History
LEAGUE - TEAM STANDING - DRIVER- DRIVER STANDING 2016 S1 Aeternam European Sportscar Series - 10th - Ryoko Maruyama: 12th, Efrain Garza: 26th
2016 S1 J-Speed Saikyu no Taikyu - 12th - Ryoko Maruyama: 15th, Efrain Garza: 26th 2016 S2 J-Speed GT-Masters - TBA - Ryoko Maruyama 2016 S2 IMAS StormSystems UEC - TBA - Ryoko Maruyama, Yukie Koizumi - TBA, Efrain Garza - TBA, Frida Torres - TBA 2016 S2 WRA PURE GT - TBA - Frida Torres - TBA
Awards:
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maikoheart
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WRA Administration
Posts: 642
Likes: 514
Gender: Female
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Post by maikoheart on Feb 27, 2016 1:32:52 GMT -5
Deportivo Automovil Jiménez Reveals Season 1 LiveriesJimenez, Mexico - Covers were off tonight at the Automovilista Salcido dealership in Ciudad Jimenez, as Horacio Salcido, with the help of wife, Esmeralda Salcido, unveiled the colorful DAJ Porsche 997 that would participate in the GRL. "I am very glad to have OXXO on board as our main sponsor! They have shown very good support and they are excited to see the car do really well!" Exclaimed Horacio Salcido. "I think we are the most colorful and vibrant car in the field at the moment, jaja!" Main Sponsors OXXO (MEX) Bardahl (USA)
Associates Telcel (MEX) BBS (GER) Bilstein (GER) NGK Spark Plugs (JPN) Freio (POR)
Tire Provider Advan (JPN) Attachments:
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Post by Ricardo Lionheart on Mar 6, 2016 23:21:29 GMT -5
Rewards for Jimenez after Idle Master Open: 3rd in Open: +180,000 CR 5th in Academy: +30,000 CR
Total: +210,000 CR
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maikoheart
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WRA Administration
Posts: 642
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Gender: Female
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Post by maikoheart on Mar 12, 2016 2:44:52 GMT -5
The following is a blog post on the behalf of Efrain Garza. -- Turning the Wheel the Other WayLast Sunday afternoon felt very odd and uninviting for me. The first thing that was a bit new to me were the types of cars that I was driving. The second thing was the atmosphere of it all. The third thing were the other drivers. The other big thing that also kind of disadvantaged me that there were right turns on this track. Making the switch to short track oval racing to (almost) big time sportscar racing is pretty jolting. I figured that out during testing at Willow Springs. My teammate absolutely smoked me in every way possible. Compared to her, I seemed like I was on the track renting a driving experience or something. It was pretty bad. I think it took me a while before I was kind of on pace with her. Oh, my teammate? Ryoko Maruyama. A prodigy of a driver. I heard she's some sort of sensation over the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Something called Take-you that she won in. I don't know, and frankly, I don't care too much. We know each other's history, and we're looking to advance from that and make ourselves even better drivers. But you, the reader, don't know my history. So I'll give you a quick rundown. (I have to skip some things. Going over every day of my life would be pretty boring, wouldn't it?)
My family was always into casual racing--a nice way of saying 'street racing'. My father used to race his Charger Super Bee in the middle of the Chihuahua country side against other hot rods for fun every weekend. I was first exposed to this when I was three, when he took me along for a ride. The first time the engine turned over, I was hooked on anything to do with cars. He took me for a few more weekends before a big change occurred in our lives. My father had gotten a promotion in his corporate job, but it required our family to move to the United States. However, the family was keen to start a completely new life in a different country. We moved to Los Angeles in 2000, but my father's love of just racing didn't wind down due to the change in location. In fact, it propelled it even further.
This was when my dad began to get into the legitimate side of racing--he bought a late model oval car in 2002 to participate in the races in Irwindale and quit his day job. Looking back at old footage, he wasn't the greatest. He was a usual backmarker. Either than or the dude would find something new to drill his car into. That was fine though, every time he got out of his car, he had the hugest smile on his dumb face. He went back to working at another company after a year, though. I guess racing isn't for everyone. Which led to him to plunge me into the world of racing to see if it was for me. I started racing at the CaliVelocity Karting Leagues at Auto Club Speedway when I was nine. I sucked. I was always last, laps down. Most other junior drivers were already racing, some even starting before they could even walk I bet. But I didn't care: as long as I had fun, right? Sure, that was the case for a few more years, of coming to that huge track after a long school week and being able to drive the troubles away, even if it meant me driving at half the pace!
I got bored of it, though. This is when I started turning left. Beginning in 2011, I started street stock racing at Irwindale. There, I met a good friend. His name was Rogelio Fuentes. He was a bit older than me, I was 12 at the time, and he was 14. He had just started racing ovals as well, graduating from quarter midget racing at a small track in Lake Elsinore. We shared a lot of traits between each other, we both immigrated from Mexico (he was from Aguascalientes, though), both of us were looking to improve, and both of us were looking to just have fun. Something meaningful he said to me was, "...that's how we get better. We go on a track with a bunch of other nobodies, and race after race, we get better and better until we see ourselves competing at the top level someday." Rogelio had a way with his words. Dude would always spout something philosophical after every race, whether it was good or bad. Hell, the only good philosophy I got out of me is "He who go sideway through turnstile, is going to Bangkok." Rogelio was right in a way, though. I kept on racing, until I got to racing late models, and I found myself placing pretty well every race. Fuentes stopped racing when I turned 15, as he got accepted to UC Berkeley for an engineering major and decided to hang up the helmet. At the same time, I won my first race at Irwindale. A late model feature race. I only won because the top three wreck themselves out, but a win's a win. I decided to stop racing that same year as well. I knew it wasn't for me. I wonder if that dude will turn up ever again. It wasn't until this year I was called by someone who still remembered my oval racing days. They said they had a special offer I couldn't pass up, and that they saw a certain drive in me. Whoever thought that was crazy, but they were right that I couldn't pass up the offer that they had. That offer was with Deportivo Automovil Jiménez, which is where I am right now, currently in Madrid in some coffee shop where I'm writing this. (Fuck you, I'm not a hipster) I can't see myself making any friends in this league--everyone seems to look at me like I don't belong. There's some scary looking dudes, and most girls give you the cold shoulder. The only one that hasn't was this super hyper active girl that got annoying after 2 minutes, and Ryoko. She's cool, I guess... actually, not really. She keeps yelling at me for not being right behind her when she needs me to attack other teams. She also bosses around the team a lot. Whatever gets the job done... So, going into Catalunya, I still don't know what to expect. My road racing skills are still extremely rusty, (almost non-existant) but as long as I keep the car in one piece, I know that I'll improve one day. We'll have to see, though.
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maikoheart
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WRA Administration
Posts: 642
Likes: 514
Gender: Female
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Post by maikoheart on Mar 12, 2016 2:56:53 GMT -5
Ryoko Maruyama @maruyama_san108@fresh_efra_310 since when did i yell at you and others?!?!? stop writing dumb blogs and actual drive the damn car lol
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Post by Ricardo Lionheart on Mar 14, 2016 7:54:02 GMT -5
Rewards after CataluNYA: 8th: +230,000 CR 24th: +100,000 CR
Rewards after Sara HPDE: 4th in class: +100,000 CR + Free Level Up* 6 guests beaten: +30,000 CR
Comment: "Damn! Sara just beat Efrain to the line... I had a pretty big bet on him too." -- anon fan
Total: +460,000 CR
*Since an admin user's driver finished in front of Efrain, and thus cannot take the reward, it instead goes to DAJ's drivers.
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Post by Ricardo Lionheart on Mar 26, 2016 16:42:58 GMT -5
Rewards after Aeternam Round 1: Ryoko Maruyama, 10th: +160,000 CR, +6 League Points Efrain Garza, 25th: +100,000 CR, +1 League Point
Total: +260,000 CR
Comment: "Yo esse, did yee see dat run by Efrain!? He was a DEAD LAST and still beat a buncha foos!" -- @tamaleloco
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maikoheart
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WRA Administration
Posts: 642
Likes: 514
Gender: Female
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Post by maikoheart on Mar 30, 2016 21:40:07 GMT -5
The following is a personal perspective from Ryoko Maruyama, thoughts translated by the magical thought translator.
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It was a pretty cold and foggy morning when we set off from the small hotel in Hockenheim to make our way towards Monza. It was going to be a 6 hour ride via train, so I brought along one of my favorite pillows and set off for the ride after an okay breakfast. To be honest, I don't like the food here. Or anywhere, really! It stinks. So along with me I brought some gummy bears as well since I didn't really eat too much during the breakfast. I don't like eggs...
I didn't get good enough sleep last night. It wasn't because of my result or anything, or that Efrain and I share the same room, nor that I sleep on the floor since there was only one bed in the room, it's just of what's coming in the future. I didn't really know what it was. I just stayed awake during the night, the rather cold carpet on my back and looking up at a black space, and unfortunately having to deal with the snoring that vibrated the damn room. I mean, I could fall asleep. I can fall asleep anywhere, my mom told me when I was a little toddler I used to sleep standing up! So something was bothering me, but I had to try really hard to find it. It was until 4 hours that I first lied down that I actually knocked out and got some rest. I can't really call it sleep. 1 AM to 6 AM is not sleep in my books. Why are we leaving so early anyways?...
"Uuuggh... don't wake me up. Not yet, please!!!"
"Get up. We're having breakfast. We're leaving at 7:30 latest."
"No... shut up, Fumiko... I'm not doing your homework again..."
"Yeah, you're messed up as hell. Get up, you plank. They're serving some bomb ass omelettes."
"No, mama... Not with the American style breakfasts again..."
Then I felt a kick on the side of my body.
"OWW! The fuck was that for?!... oh, it's just you with the short ass hair and the stupid football kit you're wearing that says Bimbo on it. I bet Hannah would love that, wouldn't she?... Urgh.."
"Oh yeah... haha, anyways, get up before I literally drag you out."
"I don't want you touching me, so I guess..."
So we set off in a nice train. Turns out I sat pretty apart from most of the team, which was great! I got to sleep without being bugged by that damn kid's stupid jokes and what happened in the SuperLiga Mexico just recently, oooh! The Guadalajara Caballos just beat the whatever team is called and blah blah blah! Shut the fuck up!!!... yeah, that guy is so annoying. Sucks dick too, I don't know how he found his way here. Anyways, I can finally catch up on sleep! I checked my phone to see the time, only to notice the bags under my eyes! Okay, I guess I should go to sleep real bad... 8:23 AM... I guess we'll be there at like... 2 in the afternoon. Cool. So I just took a bit to stare out the window, put on some music, position my pillow, and just knock out.
During that time, I just felt a huge rush through my body. I was... err, used to it. But then I started getting this weird falling feeling and all of a sudden, just this huge push I felt. All I could see is rushing colors. I started feeling dizzy, and it took a while before my head could piece together what was going on.
...the brakes are failing...
Uh? What was that?!
...slow it down as much as you ca--
...you okay in there? Don't move until the marshals get to you!
All of a sudden, the surroundings were just black smoke. I tried moving but I was strapped in. Oh no... oh shit! I'm in the car! Oh god, I have to get out! I tried tugging at the belts, nothing! Screw not moving, I have to get out! I have to! And then I tried moving my other arm--argh! It hurt! I must have broken it! The track marshals were no where to be found! It wasn't long until the flames got to me, and I felt this extreme burning sensation in my stomach! Argh! It hurts so much! I just can't take it!... I can't--
"*pokes Ryoko* Mizz? Are yooo hangry? Wood yew like samting to eet?"
"AAAA!"
All of a sudden I was on the train again. All the people on the train were staring at me very oddly for about a moment. I turned the reddest I have ever been in my life. Ugh. I can't believe I did that in front of others. Usually I do that in my own room. I never did it away from home...
"Oh!...uhh, hahah~...uhhh, no, no thanks..."
"Okay! I hope yew argh okieee!"
The woman pushed her cart towards another car of the train. Ugh. I don't like European food. I'll just snack on these gummy bears... man, that was trippy... I let out a sigh and finally realized that I HATE Monza. I never liked it when playing Racing Passion online with others. I would always crash at the Lesmos, no matter what, and it was always spectacular. I also hate going super super fast. Hockenheimring was alright. It wasn't just full on stupid speed, you actually had to brake and turn. Monza, however... you just go flat out on almost every section... and when you mess up, it's huge... I remember what happened to that one McLaren driver a couple of years ago there... ugh. I don't want to think about it anymore. I just pulled out my Vita from my bag and played Project Diva until the train finally got to a stop. We were there.
Oh, no.
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Post by Ricardo Lionheart on Apr 4, 2016 23:24:53 GMT -5
Rewards after Aeternam Round 2: Efrain, 19th: +100,000 CR, +1 League Point Ryoko, DNF: +100,000 CR
Total: +200,000 CR, +1 League Point
Comment: "Bull----! Essie meant to park it on the track, no way any sane racer would do that!!!" -- @driftdriftrevolution
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on Apr 5, 2016 0:20:53 GMT -5
The following are personal thoughts from Ryoko Maruyama. ----
Friday April 1st, 3PM
What I never thought about until now is how long I haven't been home, and that won't change until a few weeks later. I don't really have a disdain for Italy or any other country that I travel to... it's just that I get homesick easily. Before, I was used to the bustling of my mother cooking, the ever so adorable little baby sister Fumiko running around getting ready for classes, and me struggling to wake up to all of it. Haha, I don't miss waking up for school, but I do miss being home and messing around with Fumiko, poking fun at her and talking to my mom about how much school sucks and about boys being stupid wastes of meat. My father, though, he started working with a crew in the IMAS Storm Systems United Endurance Championship series in the United States for a team I can't remember at the moment. He hasn't been home in forever due to testing out the cars and actually racing and such...
But that doesn't matter at the moment. Practice 2 was ending, and I was pulling into the pits to let the GTE PRO cars take the track for their practice session. What I noticed is that while pulling into the pits, I always felt a shaking sensation in my hands, as if I were freezing cold or something. This is despite the fact that it gets super hot in the race car, even if it were cloudy and windy outside on the actual race track. This happened in the first practice too, where I would have this exact shaking sensation right when I finished my session. I ignored it the first time, thinking it was the adrenaline that was getting to me. But this time around, I even felt chills down my spine, as if something were wrong.
I got into my pit area and backed up the 997 into the paddock area. Efrain's car was already there, and he was there waiting outside looking like he was worried about something. Maybe he saw that something was up with the car? I disregarded it and a crew member opened the car door, unstrapping me from the Takata-branded five point harness belt. I took my helmet off-- a plain matte black helmet that didn't match at all with the colorful orange and white suit I was wearing. It bothered me for a bit in the first rounds, so I bought myself a pair of black Adidas racing boots. It helped ease myself on how much my helmet drastically took away from my racing outfit.
I got up and struggled a bit, then I started to feel a bit dizzy and fall back into the car seat like a doofus. Jeez. Get up you twat. I forcibly pushed myself off of the bucket seat and made my way towards the team engineer. A rather bulky Mexican dude that looked no older than 40. Had that stereotypical mustache and all.
"How am I doing on the pista, sen-yor?" I inquired.
"Don't force yourself, little Chinita..."
Yeah, that was a bit dumb. Spanish is hard.
"Uhm, so how are the times?"
"...we're pretty satisfied. You should definitely be in the top 10 for the qualifying round, no question. The only thing holding you back is sector 2. Even Efrain is a bit faster than you... ese pinche niño. No puede manejar un pinche bicicleta para salvar su vida, pobre niño..."
Wait, what?! I swear I was going really fast through there...
"Oh... okay."
"You're not pushing hard enough going into Lesmos wan and too. I see you on the TV-- you slow down more than you should."
"Alright... well, I'll try harder for qualifying."
I promptly walked away from the engineer. Slower than that talentless hack in sector 2?... really?! Ugh. Those are the only slow sections of the track too...
Then, to my displeasure, the faster than you in sector 2 kid walked my way. I rolled my eyes and started to head back towards the engineer.
"Oh hey, little miss superstar. Guess who's faster than you in sector 2?!"
"Guess how many people you're ahead of. Probably 3 others."
"Aw come on? You're not proud of me?"
"More like I'm pitying you at the moment. What is it you want to talk to me about, anyways? I'm about to go and knock out for the rest of the afternoon in the hotel."
"You're looking awfully shaky right now--lift up your hand like this."
I sighed, then lifted up my arm with my hand protruding a bit out. My hand was jumping around without me doing anything.
"You alright? You seemed a bit pale getting out of the car, and you falling back didn't look good either."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just adrenaline, I guess."
"Even I don't shake that much after a good hard drive, dude."
"Good hard drive, my ass!"
I just walked away and didn't bother talking to him anymore. I can't stand him, I swear. One of these days I'm going to slap the shit out of him. Nothing was wrong!... right?
Saturday April 2nd, 9AM
I didn't get good sleep last night. Even if I got that separate room to myself, nothing really changed except there wasn't any stupidly loud snoring. Just me and my thoughts. Why was I so much slower in sector 2? I mean, I'm blazing the rest of the track! It's just... just... ugh. I can't even wrap my head around what's even bothering me! Whatever, I should put it aside. It's time to qualify, anyways. I need to really push if I want to get a good position, better than last time at Hockenheimring. I need to get a podium. I'll be kicking myself if I don't get one at the end of the season. I'll just be another grid filler if I don't get up on that stage, and have the REN people interview me and my family being so proud of me, little Ryoko made it! She finally got something!... that will have to wait until later.
I put my helmet on, still the same matte black helmet, hopped into the car, had the crew strap me in, and wait until qualifying officially began. I remember actually jumping the gun back when I raced karts at a small track. I got sent to the back of the grid and all the boys laughed at me. Not this time, I'll wait until someone tells me it's alright to go.
"Okay! Go, go, go! We only have 20 minutes of qualifying time!"
...
I pulled back into my pit area, stopping the car right outside the paddock area. There was a minute left in qualifying, but there was no use in running another lap. I put the car into neutral so that the team can push it back into the paddock later. I quickly got out, anxious to hear my result. I felt like I really had a good lap! I should be top 5 at the least, maybe even worthy of a podium?
"Ryoko, you're 12th."
"...WHAT?!"
"You're 12th."
UGH! What the fuck!!! I thought this was a good time! I totally thought it was! I looked at the Motec and saw my 1:52.107, and thought that not many were gonna match it. How dumb of me.
"Oh. Okay."
"Again, you're fucking up in sector 2. Not as bad as last time, but you're still kinda screwy. I told you to pick it up, changa!"
"Yeah. My bad. I can still make up positions later today. You'll see!"
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on Apr 5, 2016 1:23:14 GMT -5
The following are personal thoughts from Ryoko Maruyama after AESS RD.2.
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Saturday, April 2nd, 1PM
"...Thank you for your time. Maruyama frustrated from DNFing after a good finish in Hockenheimring."
"Yeah, thanks."
I'm pissed. So pissed. I'm shaking so much, so much in anger, I'm seething right now. That stupid tall girl. Fucking tree trunk, I can't believe that she would do something like that, yet I could at the same time. What a waste of a day, what an absolute waste! I had a good finish going! I was 8th! 8th!!! That's like 4 spots ahead! I was just so mad, I couldn't think. I couldn't stop myself from doing dumb shit. I grabbed for my phone in my suit pocket, unlocked it immediately, and went straight towards the Tripwire app to type something that I really really wanted to say.
i better not see radcliffe today or else im going to do something to her #idiot
There, pressed the send button. There. Fuck you. Thanks for ruining Essie's day and my day as well. I better not see her. I don't care if she's taller than me, I'm going to do something! If I have to swing up, so be it! I got onto the golf cart towards the paddocks and kept going over what I should have done. Should have I slowed down? No, I didn't even see the car before I exited the damn turn! The engineer told me about the stopped car when I was right in front of it, so nothing there, either. Or did he?... I don't know. I'm too pissed to think straight. After a few minutes of thinking over what I should have done, I was back at the paddocks. I opened the back door towards my area and saw my battered 997. Immediately, I threw my helmet at the damned thing!
"ARGH!!! I HATE THIS!!!"
Everyone working around the bustling garage turned straight towards me. I didn't care. I marched towards my mesh chair and plopped down in it, and thought about today's events even more... poor Essie... it was all my fault. I'm so dumb. I began to cry like a little baby later on. I had to cover my eyes because I didn't want anyone else to see, but everyone did. No one even bothered to come up to me, though. Good, I don't feel like talking anyways. Just let me wallow in my own failures.
I sat there for a while just going over everything that happened. I kept going over the same situation over and over again, and went over my own moves during the race... I'm a bit of a hypocrite saying that Amy was a dummy for going kamikaze on that turn, dumping Essie. I kinda did the same to another RX-7 earlier into the race. I really should apologize. I got my phone from the cup holder on the chair and opened the app, and already saw that the post had over 50 retrips. Oh no. I should really fix this...
sorry about that status v.v i was very angry sorry to @suprameowapowaa hope we can talk again soon
I then looked up to the TV in the paddock, tears dried on my cheeks, seeing that the final lap was already underway. Callista and Katsuo were going at it for the win, with Kasumi making a last minute charge. It will take a while before I'm up there, myself. I wiped the last of the snot from my nose and attentively watched the final lap of the race, wondering if Amy would forgive me for that really immature Tripwire post. I've been such a fool today. I deleted it already, but some parody account took a screenshot of it and it's spreading across like wildfire.
...
The teams were pulling in to finish off their day, and I still sat in the same chair, just waiting for today to be over. All of a sudden, behind me, I felt a poke on the back of my head. It was Efrain.
"You good?"
I didn't bother replying.
"Alright. It's only one race you didn't finish. Big deal. We'll look for--"
"ONLY ONE RACE?! I LITERALLY DROPPED LIKE 20 SPOTS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP! I HAVE NO CHANCE IN WINNING NOW!"
"Jesus! You need to calm down, you're not going to win a championship like this the first time round. You need to take time, get used to the car, and plus it's only 2 rounds in, bro. Just chi--"
"JUST SHUT UP!"
He was startled, and walked outside the garage door. Last person I wanted to talk to was him. My phone buzzed, so I looked promptly at it. On the lock screen, it said:
You were mentioned: @suprameowapowa '@maruyama_san108 ay ay it alrght! i hope you feel betterr sooOn :3.'
Well, that's one thing out of the way. The other thing is that if I didn't completely write off the chassis. It still looked good to me, but who the hell knows. Later on when I got on the team car to get back to the hotel, I stayed quiet throughout the whole ride. I didn't even dare lay an eye or talk during the way there. We got to the hotel, and I immediately stormed off to my room, undressed, and buried my face in the pillow.
"...errrrrrrrggggggghhhhh... I hate todayyyy..."
Then my phone went off. I took a while to get to it, but I finally reached for it and it was in my grasp. I looked at it with squinting eyes.
Amy Radcliffe
HOIIII RY0KIIII!!!1!!!! U WANA BALL IT OUT AT LE ARCADEY TOMORWWEEEE???!!!!
Huh?... did she feel bad for me?... Oh! It's her birthday today! I guess she doesn't have time to celebrate today, so she's setting it off for tomorrow. I should totally go. It would be a great apology for that dumb Tripwire post I made.
yeah sure thing!
YAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! Doez the sixTH hour of thy PM work fo ya? ya?
of course!
YAYAYAYAYAYA! :3333 I WILL SEES YOU THERE RY0KI3 WOKI3!!11!!
Well, this weekend isn't a total waste, I guess. Just hope no one bothers me anymore today, I need time to myself.
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on Apr 11, 2016 21:56:38 GMT -5
April 9th, 2016. 10:34 PM, El Prat Aeropuerto
The thing about real life is that once it happens, it happens, and that's it. Unlike a game, where I could keep repeating the same events over and over, just doing different things each time to get a better result, there's only one chance at getting the desired result that you really want.
And I didn't get that result at Catalunya. Instead, what I got was the exact opposite of what I wanted coming out of Monza. I already felt like the car was handling horrifically that day, and wallowing in 12th place wasn't my ideal day. But it somehow got worse, and some prick decided that it would be best to get around someone by just spinning them and leaving them for dead.
I was just crushed after the race had ended. I didn't have any other energy to do anything else than just passively-aggressively attack that certain someone on Tripwire, then sit on the lawn chair and stare out on the track, wondering what had gone wrong. Maybe I was taking up too much of the track? Maybe I didn't give him enough room? No, the asshole had enough room to make the pass. I let out a long sigh and decided to play a game to pass the time when others were cleaning up. We then did the usual and packed up our stuff from the hotel and made our way to the airport to go back to Japan... I miss it.
Too bad Japan will have to wait. Our airplane was delayed. The original plan was to leave Spain right at 8 in the evening and head towards Japan once again, then I could stay home after Motegi and be with my family again! Oh, how wonderful!...
But instead, I'm here, waiting with this idiot gobbling down his fast food like a fat ass, both of us waiting for the plane. The rest of the team went on separate planes. Go figure the 'precious cargo' were the last ones to leave the damn country.
"Hey, Ryoko? You want some of my fries? I'm stuffed."
"...no thanks. I--"
"No, seriously, take some, fam."
"...fam? Really? No."
"Kids starving in Africa and you don't want these good ass fries... damn, probably should eat more, your chest can be used as a flat floor on the cars, se--"
I just slapped that doofus and knocked the fries right out of his hands. What an idiot! You don't say that to a girl!... While I looked down at my own chest. Ugh. Just because I don't like what he says doesn't mean it isn't true. I wonder what Hannah has in her DNA to get a body like that...
I'm not worried about that. I'm just worried if I will actually do well back home. Last time I was at Motegi, I did really well I think! Only that Hannah girl... again, was faster than me. She was all over the place, that blonde dummy. I don't know how such a nice little girl like Amy could stand being with her. I try talking to her but she always gives the cold shoulder to me, like if I'm not worthy... what am I going on about again?...
Oh, right. Motegi. 2 hours of the damn thing in the night time. The team says the cars are prepped and ready to roll for the race without issue. I sure hope so. I can't stand not finishing another fucking race. I get nasty stuff strewn at me by media, as if I'm become a meme or a joke or something. I need to do well now, there isn't any excuse after my last results. There just isn't. I'm supposed to be multitudes better than this. That one journalist said I was a prodigy, but prodigies don't just wallow back in the rear of the field, do they?!
...flight 629 is now boarding...
"That's our plane, super star. Let's go."
"I hope I don't sit anywhere near you..."
"Nah. I'm like 4 rows ahead. Hope I ge--"
"Okay, that's good!! Great!"
I grabbed my bag and got going. The plane didn't have many passengers on it at all, in fact, it was pretty vacant. Only some other Japanese business men that were doing work overseas in Spain, most likely. After searching for my seat, I plopped right down and found out no one sat next to me. Sweet. I pulled out my pack of gummy bears from the bag and ate calmly before lifting off. I just want to be back in Japan, again... I don't like traveling to Europe. Too bad I'm going to be back soon. It took a while before we lifted off, but the view was nice. Once the lights dimmed, I looked out and saw Barcelona shining bright in yellow glitter, and a tiny glimpse of the remaining sunlight. Putting my headphones on, I just set my phone onto shuffle and went with the first thing that came up.
Maybe Japan will treat me better.
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Post by Ricardo Lionheart on Apr 19, 2016 23:14:30 GMT -5
Rewards after Aeternam Round 3: Ryoko, 19th: +100,000 CR Efrain, 30th: +100,000 CR Total: +200,000 CR
Rewards after J-Speed Taikyu R1: Ryoko, 13th: +240,000 CR Efrain, DNF: +200,000 CR Total: +440,000 CR
Total Rewards: +640,000 CR
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on Apr 30, 2016 1:53:45 GMT -5
This weekend had lifted my spirits up a ton, but it didn't seem to be headed that way at a first glance, and this is where I explain exactly why. The week before the Aeternam race, I was at home in Osaka with my family and friends. I finally got to see a very good friend of mine, Akihiko, who I've known ever since I first started school. We've oddly had the same classes ever since until now. I was homeschooled now due to my new profession of sorts. I haven't seen her since last December, when I was training and orientating in Mexico, so I was glad to see her.
Unfortunately, I had to part ways once again from my normal life to a much different way of living--on the race track. I packed my belongings and made my way towards Belgium for the next race. I was sure to pack jackets and the like, since it was guaranteed to be cold. Saying goodbyes before I departed was starting to become a bit easier ever since the first time I left for Mexico. I remember tearing up like an idiot in front of little Fumiko, which I promised that I would look strong all the time for.
On the plane, I thought about how much I've fallen behind the team's expectations. I mean--I didn't have much experience coming into the team, but they were expecting me to be some sort of prodigy, like if I've been driving ever since I've been in the womb. I barely got to driving for a small time team as a reserve driver. But the one time I did step up, I got a pretty good result in our class. 3rd is pretty good I guess. But it's not like I can do it again soon. Idle Master was a fluke, I know that very well. I would be damned if I could ever be as good as that Taylor girl, or as pretty as her either... but that isn't the point. The point was that Idle Master was just a fluke, that one race I drove was a fluke, I'm just here because I'm lucky enough to not destroy the damn car first corner, first lap. Whatever. I could be worse. At least I finish the race. Apart from that one time. That was bullshit. I should have slowed down for that yellow...
I took a quick nap an hour in the trip, but a quick nap... quickly turned into a long and heavy slumber. I was awakened by a flight attendant to fasten for the landing. Once we were set down and stopped, I was escorted by taxi to the hotel. It was a pretty foggy morning, with tons of dampness in the air. The musty air of the taxi felt tons more comforting than the rather bothersome chill of the Belgium countryside. I kind of sprinted towards the hotel doors, longing for the artificial warmth that was so relaxing... it didn't help that Japan was suffering from an unusual heat wave for whatever reason. As the automatic doors swiftly opened, I already felt the heat of the lobby. Aaaah, so nice.
However, something unpleasant was there standing near the vending machine of the lobby. None other than that idiot, Efrain.
"Kept us waiting. Didn't think our star driver would make it in time for the first practice. Get ready quick, we're leaving in about 2 hours."
"Wha-what?! I just got here! What--"
"Come on, get ready. Here's the card for the door, put your stuff down and get into your attire. They've been waiting."
I snatched the card from his hand and looked at him sternly in the eye, then pushed him away as I stormed away to the room lugging all my bags. Ugh. Already looking good, I see. Jeez. After stumbling about trying to get ready and rushing to get my food done in time to get on track, I hitched a ride in the team Cayenne and tried my best to become focused for the session. I was a wreck. Only sleep I got was on the plane, though that seems like a good 6 or 7 hours... I don't know. We arrived at the track to see the crew hard at work on the Porsches. The canopy covered the working area from the small sprinkle of rain that started to come down upon the legendary Belgian circuit. It rained hard the night before, leaving the track like a river and making crews resort to the wet tires.
"Aha! There she is! The little racing princess herself. Gear up, we'll be going soon."
"Yeah... hi."
I was jokingly named "Miss Attitude" for my remarks. If they didn't want to be so offended, then they shouldn't throw such dumb remarks at me. Eugh. I hate being called a princess. Making my way back out, I decided to have a look at what the other teams were doing. Right next to our paddock was Team Pezzarinho's stable, so I'd thought I would come down and check out what was going on. The mechanics were hard at work inspecting and tinkering with every little part of the car, dressed up in bright blue jackets, with 'Team Pezzarinho' printed on their backs. I looked around and saw Katsuo having a talk with the manager, I was assuming. Then I turned around to head back to my trailer when I saw William Manor walking my direction. I decided to be a bit nice and say hi, maybe. This way I could be used to being more kind to others.
"H-hi!..."
Right when I belted out that hi, he looked in my direction and I paused, and during that split second, a tifosi ran up to him asking to sign his Ferrari gear. Of course, he kept walking and signed the guy's stuff while not even saying anything back, not even a smile. Well, so much for me trying.
After that, blah blah, get ready to drive, vroom vroom, did okay in practice, more technical mumbo jumbo, yeah. You know what I mean.
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Formidable
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Post by Formidable on May 2, 2016 22:24:07 GMT -5
Rewards for JS SnT Round 2:
Ryoko Maruyama (25th): 200,000 CR Efrain Garza (24th): 200,000 CR ________________________________ Total: 400,000 CR
RYOKO'S CHASSIS HAS BEEN TOTALED
"Poor Ryoko! Best girl didn't deserve the DNF. luv u xoxo." @ryokofanpage
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Formidable
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Post by Formidable on May 3, 2016 14:57:16 GMT -5
Rewards for AESS R4 Ryoko 6th: 200,000 CR Efrain 17th: 100,000 CR ______________________ Total: 300,000 CR End of Season rewards will be handed out in the coming weeks
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on May 3, 2016 19:16:53 GMT -5
STAT UPGRADE!!!Using her experience at Spa-Francorchamps and some very rigorous training, Ryoko Maruyama has had her Adaptability rating go up from 2 to 3!
(OOC:250,000 CR more down the drain )
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Formidable
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Post by Formidable on May 8, 2016 0:49:05 GMT -5
Rewards for JS SnT R3
Ryoko - 22nd - 200,000 Efrain - 23rd - 200,000 _______________________ Total: 400,000 CR
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Formidable
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Post by Formidable on May 14, 2016 20:30:34 GMT -5
Rewards for AESS:
Team - 10th - 1,475,000 Ryoko - 12th - 700,000 Efrain - 26th - 500,000 ________________________ Total: 2,675,000 CR
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Formidable
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Post by Formidable on May 15, 2016 16:19:57 GMT -5
Rewards JS R4
Ryoko - 380,000 Efrain - 200,000
Rewards JS
Team - 1,600,000 Ryoko - 1,200,000 Efrain - 750,000 __________________ Total: 4,130,000 CR
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on May 15, 2016 22:15:15 GMT -5
Exciting times lie ahead for the team. Announcement sometime this week.
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on May 19, 2016 22:33:44 GMT -5
FRIDAY: 6PM PST, LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA
//BE THERE.
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on May 20, 2016 19:53:51 GMT -5
The team formerly known as Deportivo Automovil Jimenez has been bought out by a party named Juan Rodriguez, and as a result of the owner's location, moved from Jimenez, Mexico to East Los Angeles, USA. The team has been renamed to PwrBAND Technica (Pronounced Power Band). The team is uncertain on it's concrete plans, however, it will focus on the American IMAS series in order to gain traction with American fans and become a real representative for the American motorsports community. - Ryoko Maruyama is set on racing in the PRO category for the IMAS StormSystems series with another driver who is not confirmed at the moment, the car is also not yet confirmed either, but rumored to be a Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, but disapproval from one of the drivers has even further blurred the rumors.
- Efrain Garza and another unnamed driver has been set on the AM category for the same series. The car has rumored to be the Dodge Viper GTS-R.
- One other driver will go to Japan for promotional purposes to compete in a tuner oriented league. The team has been rumored to have bought and stripped down a former RX-8 from the lower tier IMAS series.
- The team has been scouting talent from the Super Coche Series in Mexico,
and it is very likely both new drivers will be Mexican. Rumors of both new drivers being Mexican are mainly for the IMAS series, while Carello was signed for the tuner series in Japan.
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on May 26, 2016 19:05:11 GMT -5
PWRband Technica would like to welcome Darek Carello to the team! We are excited to see what he can bring to the table in the upcoming races this new season!
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maikoheart
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Post by maikoheart on Jun 5, 2016 17:50:57 GMT -5
A warehouse in East Los Angeles, just near Huntington Park, was being setup for a race shop. Trucks came in with supplies and tools, and the entrance was being renovated for showcase purposes. It was a rather rundown warehouse at first, but the sheer size and its high traffic location appealed to the race team owner, at a very low price as well. Over the course of a few months, the warehouse that used to house iron works now was a full fledged racing shop, even if it still retained it's rather old and weathered look from the outside. The team owner actually wanted it to stay that way, because he simply liked the rather bleak look.
Juan Rodriguez was the owner's name. He was a rather wealthy business man with a business in real estate in the higher value areas in Los Angeles. He always had a sort of passion of racing, and he finally withdrew from his day job to focus on another universe of life, a totally different perspective of life. He was a well aged 53 year old man who was born in Rolling Hills, on the very south end of Los Angeles. Although he was born with a silver spoon, he always had worked hard to get where he was at, never really asking for help from his family or friends.
Early, during a warm late Spring morning, Juan arrived to the warehouse in his 6 Series BMW. He wore a polo t-shirt and a pair of shorts, with some burgundy Van shoes and sunglasses. He usually dressed well for any occasion, but this time he felt as if he wanted to be casual around his team. He didn't want to seem the hard, business-only type that many people like him were stereotyped to be, but instead move on and embrace the fun atmosphere of racing that he believed was in store. Even if there were a bunch of paperwork, at least it resulted in booming and crackling engines, and not more paperwork.
Juan reached into his short pocket for the keys to the door, and after a bit of fumbling around, he finally found them and slowly opened the door, excited to see how it was inside. Unlocking the metal door first, then the metal door that lay after, with the PWRBand logo stenciled onto it. The first room he saw was the showroom, with the receptionist's desk right in front. Even in the darkness, he saw that the room was very nicely styled, with a feel that reminded him of the Northern City Showroom. He finally turned on the light and could make out more detail. On the wall was a part of the door of a totaled 997 from last season, framed with a wooden border. He saw that race before, where the #44 had lost it's brakes and slammed into the wall. Maruyama was definitely a favorite to Rodriguez, as he noticed that she had a talent he believed no one else had. It was only luck that held her back.
He headed back towards the garage area, where it had a more industrial look. However, there were no cars--but he would get to ordering them later. He was still doing research as to what would fit for each series he intended to run in. He made his way towards the office, with windows on each side to observe the shop. Opening the door, he observed a nice expensive office chair that looked rather cozy to slouch in, and a state of the art computer. He immediately hopped into the chair and let out a deep sigh, and stared outside the windows and open office door, appreciating the property and wondering what would be held for him in the future. He noticed that there was a stereo system in the shop where he could control it via the computer. He turned on the computer, and put on a local rock radio station.
Right as Juan was about to drift asleep, he heard a car from far pull up into the garage area. It was a run of the mill 2000 Camaro SS, with nothing much done with it. The engine echoed inside of the shop until it halted abruptly due to the driver turning it off. Who stepped out was a rather chubby Latino man with a Dodgers ballcap on. This must be Humberto, who was intended to be a driver but agreed to be a crew chief.
"What's up, senor!"
Juan sat upright in his chair, and then got up quickly and walked out of his office to greet the man.
"Oye, que onda, Humberto."
"Nathing maach, yew know. Excited to be here man, thanks for the opportunity."
"How's family?"
"They're fine, senor. My wife and kids back in Potosi are doing well. Charlie just turned 9."
"Deberas? How nice... hey, listen, some drivers for the upcoming season might be stopping by today, so I was hoping you could help orientate. It's a totally new management so let's hope they adapt well..."
"Nah, don't worry, maestro! They'll grow to like you. Bunch of great group of kids... really talented as well... I knew the previous owner, he said that they're very respectful and are a pleasure to be around."
"I hope they are."
Just as Juan had finished that sentence, a man walked right through the shop door. A rather tall but young looking boy, with dark skin and black colored hair.
"Oye! Que onda Efrain!"
"Hey boss. Nothing much, just came around here since he texted me to come by as soon as I can." Efrain pointed at Humberto.
"Yeah, that's right, muchacho. Just wanted you to come around here and get familiar with the rest of the new team."
"Well... Ryoko's still in Australia, I hadn't heard from her in a while... though that's because she doesn't like to talk to me anyways."
Humberto's face lit up in a teasing manner, and decided to quip.
"Ahhh! Don't worry esse, you'll get at her soon enough."
"I didn't mean that wa--"
"I'm just fucking around with you, homie!"
"Yeah... I'm assuming you're Mr. Rodriguez, right?"
Efrain had looked straight in Juan's direction, and let out a hand for a firm handshake.
"Yep. In person. Glad to meet you. Just call me Juan, but I'm fine either way you want me to be called." He wished for a casual atmosphere. He was bored of the formal manner he had to carry out for years.
"You too... Listen... there's no cars here that I don't see. What gives?"
Juan had a quick look around, then came up with an answer.
"We're not too sure about what exactly we want to carry out, plus it's not time yet for us to register cars into the league. I was hoping to get some GTRs for the team, so expect some of those inside here."
Efrain chuckled a bit. "Haha, Ryoko won't like that."
"What do you mean?"
"She has a thing for Porsches. Last time, she was invited to a special event to drive with other GRL drivers for charity. She refused to go just because they were driving FR-Ses."
Juan let out a sensible chuckle. "Picky, isn't she... Listen, there's someone else you'll want to meet, he's new to the team so I hope you'll get along with him. He should be here at anytime."
"Alright, cool."
After a bit of small talk between the three, someone else showed up at the door, but brought along someone else with them.
"Aha! Eddy! You brought along Frida as well!"
Eddy had curly and thick hair, wearing a tank top and sweatpants, with Frida wearing a simple purple shirt with short shorts. There was a certain aura around her that many could feel. She went through the door with a beaming smile and a ton of energy.
"Hello mister! This is the boy you were talking about, correct?"
"Yes, meet Eduardo, Efrain."
They approached each other and gave a 'chicano' handshake and a man hug after.
"Orale, what's up, carnal?"
"N-nothing much, pal."
"Where you from?"
Efrain had a bit of hesitance answering this question.
"U-uhm, here. Haha."
"Andale, born in the USA, homie! That's what's up. You know, it doesn't matter where you are born, it only matters what's inside."
"Yeah, sure."
"This is Frida, digalo muchacha."
"Hola!!!~" She quickly directed herself towards Efrain and gave him a big hug. Her long brown hair exerted a very pleasant fragrance that Efrain really loved.
"H-hi! Hahaha."
"Hablas Español?"
"...u-un poco, hahah."
"Is okay! Jajaja!~" She had such a wonderful smile that captured Efrain for a second. He thought she was very beautiful, but didn't seem like she was from Mexico at all. Her green eyes made her seem a bit British, and her body figure even looked a bit Asian.
"You are... ehm... Efrain, me correct?!"
"Yeah."
"Me llama Frida!~ Jaja, como estas?"
"Bien, bien..."
She noticed that Efrain was a bit shy, so she laid off a bit on him to not make him feel so overwhelmed.
"Señor!!! Por que te llamaste nosotros aqui?~"
"Well, Frida, I wanted to introduce everyone to everyone, and make sure you know what are the plans for the upcoming season, I hope you understand."
Frida took a minute to understand Juan's message, but then it processed after a bit.
"Aaahhh!!~ Okay, señor, okay!"
"She mostly speaks Spanish, Efrain, so it's a good opportunity to improve your Spanish hombre!" Humberto gave a nudge to Efrain, knowing he wasn't too proficient in that language.
"Yeah! Yeah... alright."
Juan took the floor to explain some things.
"Alright. For next season, we're entering the GTE AM, PRO, and tuner leagues. We're mostly gonna operate here in the states, but for the tuner league, two team members are going to stay in Japan. Eddy, that will be you alongside another driver that can't be here. His name is Darek Carello. Very impressionable man, you'll get along with him well. Frida and Efrain, you two will be staying here for the IMAS league in the GTE AM category."
Frida jumped up in excitement. "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!~ I am very much happy, Mister!"
Efrain scoffed, since he knew he was gonna be stuck in the lower tier and knew that Ryoko would be bumped up.
"As you know, we're still looking for a PRO driver to accompany Maruyama-san. We'll find out soon enough, but we'll let you know."
Frida gave a big hug to Juan. "I'll make sure to make you happy, okay? Okay! Hehehehe!"
"There there! I know you're excited, but--"
"Cuando vamos a ver los carros, señor?! Yo quiero ver los!!!"
"The cars aren't here yet, Frida."
"Oh, okay!" She backed off a bit, giggling a bit. She already seemed very loyal to the team.
"So we'll be testing at Auto Club Speedway in the coming weeks. The cars should be here anytime soon, but to keep you guys occupied, I've rented out apartments in the nicer part of town, so make yourself familiar and make some friends. Alright, that's it for now."
Juan made his way towards his office, but Humberto stopped him.
"You want me to drive for GTE PRO, maestro?"
"Hahah, mayb--"
"Just kidding Juan. Haha, I'll have the cars under control for you, so don't sweat over setups for this season."
Juan sat back down in his cozy office chair and began to doze off to the soft rock playing over the radio.
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maikoheart
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WRA Administration
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Post by maikoheart on Jun 27, 2016 14:51:49 GMT -5
Ryoko had flown back from Japan after spending time with old friends and family. Her father retired from working on a race team and now stayed home and worked on his own projects, his latest being a Toyota Chaser that could slide around with ease for use at drifting events. Even though Ryoko didn't agree with his decision on car, she still admired her father's work and how passionate he was for his hobby. During the wait for the taxi at a warm and sunny LAX, she thought about buying her own car. Her parents would not approve of anything that was more powerful than a 'kei' car, but that did not stop her from dreaming about one day owning her own Porsche. A Cayman GT4 sounded great to her, and she imagined finally getting behind the wheel and cruising along the Hollywood Hills just like the celebrities do. She had a disposable income anyways, she could totally afford one, it's just that she didn't feel the time was right. She felt as if something else were holding her back. Perhaps she wanted to stay a bit humble.
The taxi finally arrived, and during the ride to the team's new headquarters, she thought about how much she really did miss her team mate. Even if he was an annoyance, he was there for support at night when she started to cry for seemingly no reason. She had already dumped a ton of feelings on him, so it was clear that their friendship was already pretty close. It was just that Ryoko didn't like to admit it.
She let out a long sigh, enough to make the driver glance back into the mirror, and slumped in the seat. She couldn't believe she thought of what she did, and zoned out until she finally arrived at the headquarters.
Grabbing her rolling suitcase from the back, she headed towards the shop which has this grimy feel to it. It was certainly the place, but the atmosphere unsettled her a bit, she went through the front door and was relieved when the shop was actually quite nice inside. She stopped and saw a car door on the wall, which she later realized was her car from last season. It was Ryoko's hardest crash yet, slamming into the armco at over 100 miles per hour. She shook her head and headed towards the garage area.
From there, a rather tall Mexican man wearing sandals and a plain white tank top lead something in from a truck outside. Ryoko attentively watched afar to see what this thing that was coming from the truck was. Since she could not see any cars inside of the garage, she assumed these were going to be the new cars.
I wonder if these are the new 911s... or maybe they're the 991 RSRs for me to drive!
Excitedly, Ryoko scurried towards the open garage doors to see what was in store.
However, once she saw what the car was, her happy expression turned a bit pouty and disappointed. They were Nissan GT-Rs.
"Oh, hey there! You must be Ms. Maruyama!"
The man belted out a welcoming tone, startling Ryoko a bit from her disappointment.
"O-oh! Hi!" Ryoko tried her best to look as cute as possible. The man towered over her, prompting her to look up to make eye contact.
"I'm Mr. Rodriguez, your new team owner, or you can just call me Juan, anything's fine." He let out a hand. Ryoko shook it with a firm grip.
"Okay! Erm... these are the new cars?"
Juan let out a chuckle, remembering what Efrain told him.
"Yeah. They're for the upcoming season here in the states. We ordered 2 GT500 GT-Rs and 2 GT3 GT-Rs. You're going to be driving the GT500 one in GTE PRO."
This announcement came as a surprise to her. She had no idea what her plans would be for the upcoming seasons were, but to be promoted was a huge honor.
"Ohh?! Uhm, uh, really?!" She started to blush a bit. "Thanks!--uh, I mean okay."
"Sorry it was on short notice. I was too busy and forgot to tell you over the phone. Anyways, you'll be staying near the shop for the time being at this location." Juan gave her a piece of paper with directions to a hotel. "The hotel's in Downtown LA, and has parking nearby, so don't worry. We have some company cars, they're outside for you to drive to where you're going to stay. Sorry, I'm really busy at the moment and I need to help these guys out, so you'll meet the rest of the team soon. See ya--HEY! HOLD UP!"
Ryoko stood for a bit to see a GT-R GT500 come out of the trailer, the one she would be theoretically driving. She couldn't help to be disappointed about the choice of car, but she had to learn to deal with it for the season. She walked outside the shop to see what she would be driving to her home for the time being.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"
The team owner had given her a C5 Corvette. A note on under the windshield wiper said "The rest don't have one. You're lucky." She crumpled it up and stomped angrily on the piece of paper.
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maikoheart
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WRA Administration
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Gender: Female
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Post by maikoheart on Jun 28, 2016 0:36:06 GMT -5
This part of the story switches over to Ryoko's perspective.
After stomping that piece of paper down to a flattened chunk, I stopped and thought for a while, wondering why I did such a childish thing. I can't control myself, someone gives me a gift and I react this way... maybe it could have been a better gift, but nevertheless. I could have just bought my own car, though. But that's what makes it even more special I think. The owner knew I could afford a car easily, it's just I guess he wanted me to feel a bit more welcome. Well... whatever or however he wants to do it. Oh well...
I grabbed the keys on top of the left front tire and slowly opened the car door. The Corvette was in great condition, as if it were just rolling off the showroom floor. In fact, it took me a while before I realized it was the Z06 model. This car had a ton of power, so I had to be careful. I turned the key and it's V8 engine began to rumble. I admittedly smiled, as it was just funny that I would be riding the train and walking back home to owning such a formidable car. And I realized I could have even more... but I think that's for another time.
East Los Angeles is an odd place. I wasn't sure whether I was in the States or Mexico. There's a totally different feel here, and I felt like the odd one out while driving to Downtown. In fact, I always felt like I was the odd one out, anyways.
Throughout the drive, I kept thinking about that one dumb kid... ugh, Efrain. Why was he on my mind so much? Back in Australia, Amy asked me if we had a thing for each other, and I immediately rejected, but she realized that I turned super red. I kept wondering about him, and soon enough I had come to the conclusion that I should have been a better friend to him--hell, I wasn't really a friend at all. I would never talk to him, even look at him at times, always push him out of the way when all he wanted to do was to help. I tried to talk to him at Suzuka, but he seemed to be a bit dejected and didn't want to have anything to do with me.
I let out another long sigh.
I felt terrible. I was a complete arse to most people last season. From throwing the helmet at the crew to yelling at my teammate to even talking mess on the internet, I made as many mistakes off track as I did on track. And that really made me feel like an utter piece of shit. No wonder I don't have any fans coming up to me, no one likes me anyways.
I got caught in traffic for a good 20 minutes, so it gave me good enough time to think. I wonder if this place will have any other drivers of the team around as well, or maybe they're somewhere else. I wonder where Efrain is. I want to talk to him more than ever now. Why now, though?! Why after all that time last season, why now?! Agh! I just really wanted to get to the location to lie down and maybe call him and say what I really wanted to say.
I finally arrived to the location. A large apartment loft with a parking structure below. I pulled up to a good parking spot, locked the car and grabbed my bag, and headed towards the floor that I were to stay in. I need rest. The flight was super long and bed sounds like a good idea. As I went inside the elevator with my bag, there was another man. I noticed that he was wearing something peculiar...
Wait, is that a Tsuchigami no Kyojin hat?! Another fan here in the states?! I really want to talk to him now that I found a person that I can relate to!!... Actually... I shouldn't talk to strangers...
"I-I like your hat..."
"...oh, thank you! I loved Ai's performance last year, I hope she gets into Works Prototype soon!"
"Yeah... I hope, hehe."
"...wait, I recognize you..."
"Uh-uh-oh?.."
"...You drove the 44 car in the lower series last season right?!"
"Yeah! I did!"
"Ryoko Maruyama! Wow! I can't believe you're here! What are you doing in the states?!"
"Going to race in IMAS. You heard it here first, hehe."
"Oh shit, really! Awesome!"
The elevator dinged. This was my floor.
"I-I gotta go! I'm sorry it was so short!..."
"Follow me back on Tripwire! @connor.d.2478!
"Oh-Okay!"
I stumbled out of the elevator, wondering what just happened... wait, what? I must be daydreaming or something, I don't know... I searched up his username on Tripwire and yeah, he was a real person... Connor Dawson... apparently he's really into Japanese car culture. A ton of his retrips were posts from JSA and Drifting championships, and a Battle of Kaido post too... AND IS THAT ME?! Wait, what's #wcw?... I decided to follow him back like he said. I made a person very happy today. I hope he comes to Long Beach... actually, let me message him...
One more thing! (^O^) Are you going to Long Beach for IMAS? I can give you free tickets and access to our pit area! (~uo)
I really wanted to be cool towards fans... maybe more people will start to like me...
I grabbed the keys to my suite for the week, and opened the door. I ran inside and dropped my bag and ran to the bedroom. I jumped and soared through the air like an elegant bird, and had a so--
AGH!!!
"AAHHH! HOLY SHIT! DUDE WHAT THE FUCK, GET OUT OF HERE YOU FUCKING ROBBER, I GOT A GUN AND I CA--uh-uh-oh shit... hi Ryoko?..."
WHAT THE FUCK? IT WAS EFRAIN???
"OH, UHM... EHH, OHHHH... I'M SO SORRY! I'LL GET OFF RIGHT NOW!!"
"Uh... well you don't have to..."
I slapped him in the face... I shouldn't have done that, what happened to me being nicer to him?!
"OH! I didn't mean... to..."
Efrain sat up from the bed and looked at me with a puzzled face.
"What's up?... you don't seem to be all that excited to be here."
"No! I am! I-I just... Okay... Erm, look. I'm sorry."
"You're what? Sorry?... Sorry for what?... I'm afraid I don't understand, dude."
"Okay, listen... I was a dick to you back in Europe... I didn't mean to hit you, push you around, order you around, and take your jokes seriously. I was just... so focused on my result that I neglected the only friend I kind of had around, you know?... Just, ugh, you just don't understand!!!"
"No! I do, Ryoko. Keep going."
"Alright... well, I'm sorry for everything that I said to you. I'm sorry I didn't want to talk to you ever, or didn't let you console me when I knew you were trying to help. I don't know what to do, I'm just too overwhelmed by all of the things going on! The fame is getting to my head, Efrain! The fucking fame made me a horrible person!!!" I started sobbing right after. I can't believe I'm fucking crying again. Efrain hugged me and patted me on the back as well.
"The fame isn't getting to you. It's just... it's hard. Maybe it is, but that's because you're overwhelmed. Don't worry--"
"DON'T WORRY?! I-I'VE BEEN Worryin... well, I shouldn't, but... I'm sorry. I shouldn't speak..."
"It's fine. Go lie down, I need to do something real quick with Eddy."
"I'm sorry..." I was sniffing and shit. Ugh, I'm a crybaby.
"It's okay. I accept your apology. To be honest, I could have been a better friend too."
"Are you sure?..."
"Sure as fuck. Now, I'll be right back. Just get some rest. I'll sleep on the couch tonight."
"No, I want you her--"
He closed the door before I could say what I wanted to say. What did I want to say?... I forgot. Anyways, I dried the tears and closed my eyes, not even changing clothes to my sleepwear. I was so drained that I didn't want to do anything but go away inside of my head.
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maikoheart
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WRA Administration
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Post by maikoheart on Jun 28, 2016 23:39:26 GMT -5
We are proud to announce a signing with Utahime Records, and a signing of our newest driver for GTE PRO, Yukie Koizumi!!!
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maikoheart
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WRA Administration
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Post by maikoheart on Jun 29, 2016 14:52:18 GMT -5
We have announced a facility expansion of 2 more cars. This will total to 100k, giving space to another tuner league car.
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maikoheart
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WRA Administration
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Gender: Female
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Post by maikoheart on Jul 27, 2016 1:42:09 GMT -5
There's always a catch to everything, and everything that seems like a perfect deal is almost always too good to be true. I found this out not too long ago when I was learning about who would drive with me in the States for IMAS, when my boss called me on the phone while I was still in LA getting ready to go back home and stay with my family again before the long season ahead.
Packing my suitcase to return home, I heard my phone ringing on the nightstand, blasting out a song from Yuri Love. I set down whatever last piece of clothing that folded and picked up my phone, with it's cutesy panda charm dangling from it. I saw it was the boss, so I answered the call.
"H-hello?" I stuttered a bit, hopefully he would have even more plans for me in the future.
"Hi. Listen, I have news as to who will drive alongside you for the next season in IMAS." Already my mind started to ponder with who it could be. I thought I was going alone in both series, but maybe the second chassis the team bought wasn't just for a backup. In fact, I've been thinking this through for a while--there's a lot of cute gu--great drivers in the market these days, as I checked on multiple motorsports websites. I wonder who he had picked up...
"Remember that deal we made with Ooh-tahe-may Records?"
"Utahime."
"Yeah, thank you. Well, whatever the case is, they gave us a pay driver, Yukie Koizumi. Do you know of her?" Pay driver didn't send off good signals. I'm used to carrying the team now, whatever, but Yukie? What? Wasn't she in the idol group Yuri Love when she was younger?... Coincidence that my ring tone had kind of predicted the future.
"Y-yeah?! Isn't, or, wasn't she an idol?"
"Well, she started racing and decided to make it her day job. The company thought it would be a great chance to have her drive for the team and try her luck at GTE PRO. They're giving us big money, so we're pretty lucky." I was utterly amazed at this. How could such an amazing and adorable idol be racing alongside me?... So much better than that dumb kid I had to deal with. Wait, wasn't I supposed to be a bit more generous to him? Well, doesn't hurt being honest, he is dumb.
"That's great! But uhm, won't she be a bit off pace?"
"Nah, don't worry. We'll work on that. I'll catch you soon, I gotta go." Juan just hung up immediately after he finished his sentence, so he must have been pretty busy with something alright. I thought about the situation for a bit and decided to look up what Yukie has been doing for the past few years. I only liked a few songs from that group and just listened to them on the radio or just for kicks.
Apparently, a ton has happened in the span of nearly a decade. Yukie racing was something kept a bit quiet throughout the motorsport world as not many fans really cared about idol groups, but it's shocking how much she actually was in the industry, even if it were just for fun. Her drives were average, but when you know of her background and that she doesn't have as much experience as most on the field that had been racing their whole lives, you really start to appreciate her talent. Plus she seems super nice.
Zipping up my suitcase and about to be heading towards the airport, I just realized how strange it is that I haven't even met any of the new drivers in person, and only heard about them by word... I wonder when I'll get to meet them...
After arriving back in Japan, my plan was to truly go home again, but before that, I had booked a hotel relatively near the Suzuka Circuit for something I had in mind since the pre-season had started. The next day, there would be testing sessions throughout the day for teams in the J-SA GT Masters. I decided on my own to scope out the competition and hopefully see if I'll be up to par. I set some times on Racing Passion before heading out to Los Angeles on my ghetto rig, and I think my times were pretty good as compared to what I predicted the top drivers would get. Getting into bed, I grabbed my phone and began to mess around with it, eventually getting bored. I wonder if there would be someone actually bearable to talk with. Most of my conversation had been with business people or just people I'm stuck with for a majority of the time. It's been a while since I actually had a fun talk.
So with that said, I decided to shoot a message to Kasumi. I added her a while ago back in Monza, so I hope she's still alright with me. I honestly thought when I first met her that she was the first non-prick to approach me in the garage. She was so eager and happy to talk to me, and we joked around for a bit. I wish I got to know her more, she's really pretty... I wonder how she ki--uh, what... anyways...
Uhh... how do I begin?...
it's dat girl
Oh god, that was horrible. But almost immediately, she replied.
o shit whaddup
Funny how we've only talked very few times in person and we've already resulted to memes... after exchanging pictures back and forth of stupid memes and laughing, I decided to ask something related to tomorrow, as I had to wrap up my
hey kas, is your team going to be at suzuka tomorrow?
yeah why?
oh, im heading down to suzuka since im near the area and want to see what's up with all the teams. want to meet up after you finish your sessions?
i dont kno i have to see. i might have other things to do before i gp
gp
gp
go
alright, hopefully we can meet again : ) i have to go to sleep then, maybe u should too
truu. night boi
I decided to call it a night and head to sleep, tired from all the traveling I had to endure the past few weeks... but for some reason I couldn't quite fall asleep. I kept tossing and turning, thinking about the racing I had up for me soon. I really want to do well to meet my boss' expectations. I feel like I've been given a second chance in my career. The first season was a disaster. I wish I could erase that from my history just like a browser of some sort, but sadly, I'm being ridiculed by forum users and Tripwire pages, calling me a waste of money and resources, and the rest of the media saying that Hannah Taylor was the star on the rise in the racing scene... she really was a perfect prodigy in the eyes of a fan. She was young, charming with a great personality, beautiful, and most importantly: extremely talented behind the wheel. Her drives caught the eyes of very important people in the industry, big journalists, sponsors, team managers. It is completely understandable as to why she's so popular. But I didn't want to grasp this reality. Something in me wanted myself to beat her, to show everyone wrong. Why was this? I just needed to hit my own marks for this season, but... I felt like I needed a much more ambitious goal. I don't feel as if I deserve to just be having an average season, at least not what my boss expects of me.
I quickly grabbed my phone again and decided to let something out.
hey kas, can i share something really little before i go?
yes?
...i really dont like that hannah girl.
why not?! shes so nice~ werent you hanging out with her not too long ago?
well... Something doesn't feel right about her. whenever I'm around her, I feel like she has this attitude where she feels as if I'm lower than her or something or that she's better than me. maybe it's in my head but I feel that way sometimes...
are you sure? hannah is the nicest girl in the garage, she treats everyone with total respect. are you okay? is something wrong? :/
I'm fine. I just don't know about her. I guess I'm just jealous...
dont worry. youll get a ton of chances to beat her this season
hopefully...
I felt a bit of grief. I probably was just making this too big of a deal, and maybe this was just me. Even if it were just me, something in me just really wanted to beat her. Really badly.
well i hope you feel better. i gotta go to sleep too. bai
okay, hope to see you tomorrow~
I put my phone next to my pillow, and attempted to sleep once again, this time, being successful; drifting off into a tired trance and easing my body into a resting state...
Waking up early in the morning, I felt something completely different, but yet everything looked exactly the same as it were last night. Something felt a bit odd. Ignoring the change, I went into the suite bathroom to shower and get ready. After doing my hair and just a bit of make-up, I decided to change into my outfit for the day. Running shoes, sweatpants, a plain blue t-shirt, a black baseball cap, and a windbreaker, since it was a chilly day in Mie. Slipping on my top, something felt rather... tight. My top garments were a bit more of a struggle to put on for some reason, tight on my chest for some odd reason, and the shirt didn't go down as much as it did in the past.
I caught a train ride to Suzuka, and walked towards the entrance. Once I walked towards the entrance, with the huge sign greeting me, I began to get lost in the aura and atmosphere of the circuit, hearing the roar of the cars barreling down the front stretch and even the pit alarm going off, air guns and exhausts popping. Suzuka Circuit is just something special compared to every other racetrack I have been to, even overseas. I remember going to the GT Masters races as a kid with my dad, sometimes we'd take long trips to this track to see Haruna Tsuchigami, Sora Kuroi, and the rest of the star studded field take battle in a 1000 kilometer festival. I loved coming here so much, every summer I'd look forward to the race. Suzuka is such a magic place, and if anyone ever gets the chance to go, it's a wonderful experience only a few can have. Last season, I was one of the even fewer to drive on the track, and I absolutely loved every minute of it, even if I struggled with some of the corners, spinning quite a bit as well.
Since it was just a testing session, the area behind the grandstands were empty, with almost no one around except for photographers lugging their equipment around. The usual tents I remember weren't there, as they didn't even need to be. The first place I decided to sit were on the grandstands near the start finish line. Beginning the long climb to the top of the grandstands, I stopped sometimes, turning my head back in order to see which cars were circling the track at the time. The first of the cars I saw were the new Tsukuyomi Racing Project cars, I assumed, since they were in their usual purple and black guise. This particular car was a Longtail McLaren F1, which I figured to be just who I was talking to last night: Kasumi Yamasa. The speed of the F1 was staggering. I haven't even got a chance to experience the GT-R myself, but from what I could see, the regulations on the car seem really crazy, and I didn't even realize how crazy until I started driving myself. After watching her car disappear after the first set of corners and entering up the s-bends, I continued my climb to the highest seat possible, just under the press box. As I sat down and got my phone out to check the time, I heard a rather American sounding car just coming out of the Hitachi chicanes.
As it made it's way towards the final turn, I could immediately identify what it was. A white and red Saleen S7.R that shone in the early morning sunlight. It screamed it's way past the final turn and bolted down the straight, gracefully like a spirit outside someone's body.
This was Hannah Taylor.
It was too late to begin timing her lap, so I decided to wait for the next lap. This was my big focus. I really needed to find a standard for this season, and what better standard is my own sworn enemy... I waited as I saw a few cars pass by, a number 7 Lamborghini Huracan, dressed in obnoxious purple and pink colors, a number 17 F1 Longtail, and then... I saw my target. The number 11 Raiden Motorsports Saleen S7.R, driven by none other than Hannah Taylor. I immediately readied my phone's stop watch as she appeared, and when she crossed the line, I began to record. I watched very attentively as she took a perfect line into the first and second corners, enter up the s-bends, and trying to sneak a peak past the garage openings to see the white car, as it eventually disappeared away from me.
I let out a big sigh. She seems to really be at it this time around. The car looks really developed too. From what I've seen, there's a few modifications from the stock S7.R.
Waiting anxiously, tapping my fingers in rhythm on the arm rest, I finally spotted the target again exiting the chicane. I lifted up my phone, thumb ready on the stop button, and clicked exactly when she crossed the line. I stared at the time. It was far ahead than what I could achieve.
A bit dejected, I decided to make the long walk towards the garage area and see if Kasumi would pull in and take a break from her testing session. Walking under the track is so surreal. Hearing cars above you brings chills to your spine, something you don't really expect to experience at all. The vibrations of the racing tires going over every single piece of asphalt and the engine just screaming past is the sound of dreams and nightmare fuel at the same time. It's an odd phenomena.
Walking towards the paddock area, I looked for a purple truck, and I eventually found one. It was unloading a white and black 650s off the back of it, and a girl with purple hair was looking onwards at it. Her racing overalls were pulled down, revealing the white cloth suit underneath. She must be Akane Yamasa, so that means Kasumi must be somewhere near. Akane seemed a bit ticked, so I didn't want to ask her where her cousin would be.
"Ryoko-chan!"
I felt a pair of arms embrace me from behind, and a rather soft feeling on my back...
"AA-aaa-who-who is--"
A light giggle was let out behind me, and the arms let go and the person bolted right in front of me, just barely tumbling as she tried to quickly move.
"Oh! It's you, Kas! Haha." I scratched the back of my head, wondering why I'm so defensive at certain times. Maybe Efrain being around me too much you can never be too careful.
"Hi! I was actually following you since you came out of the tunnel, ahaha!~"
Oh jeez, that's a bit creepy... ah well. She stood a bit taller than me, sporting a black suit rather than the white one Akane wore, with her hair let down. She seemed super eager to talk, but at the same time seemed a bit shy. We began walking towards the inside side of the s-bends to see which lines everyone else took.
"Well, what are you doing here? Hehe, I know I asked--uh--maybe last night, but I thought you'd be driving..."
"Oh, no. I'm just here to... check out somethings."
I felt as if she could read my body language. Her facial expression kind of changed to seem as if there were something up with me.
"You're here to see Hannah, h-huh?"
"Yeah. Kind of. I also wanted to see what everyone else was doing, but... yeah. She's also a pretty big reason I guess."
"There's bigger things out there, Maruyama-san. I think you shou--AAAAH!!" She tripped over and landed on her side, fortunately hands first into the ground. I couldn't help but to laugh at her a little. For a professional racing driver, she almost didn't look the part. She was way too cute and innocent to even seem close.
"Ohhhh... C-can you help me up?"
"Haha, sure." I let out a hand and lifted her up. She dusted herself off and began where she left off.
"Uhm, well, I think you should put your mind on something else."
"Like what?"
"Learning the car, learning the tracks, still getting familiar with everything."
"But that's basically saying that I'm not that good?..."
"N-no! I didn't mean that way. I meant, you still have a long way to go, so don't worry if you can't seem to be with the best right away. I know I kind of struggled a bit, I'm even struggling right now."
We arrived to the side of the first set of s-curves and saw a white, red, and pink Honda begin it's attack towards the next set of corners.
I realized who it was immediately. "Isn't that Ai Tsuchigami?"
We both watched as she masterfully executed each turn, her princess behavior translating well onto the racing track. So clean, so delicate, yet so masterful and quick. She was at the top of her game.
"She's very good. It's going to be hard to catch up to them, isn't it?"
"Yeah... I suppose so." I still believed I had a fighting chance towards the top teams for some reason, even if I was going in alone. There was just something on my mind that I couldn't shake, a strong motivation of some sort. Just as I began to wonder if I really could keep up, Kasumi poked me and pointed at the white Saleen.
"There she is, Maruyama-san!"
Hannah Taylor made these set of corners look so easy. The rhythm of these corners are so important; you have to get them exactly correct to be quick. It's very hard--you have to have a good entry first, and make sure to modulate the throttle perfectly to stay in the sweet 97+ mile per hour range to get through the fastest. She was probably going over 100, it was crazy to see her glide through so effortlessly.
"Well, I have a lot of work to do too, aha~"
"Yeah, haha..."
As I looked towards the rear of the disappearing S7.R, I really did wonder if I was talented enough to take this second chance.
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