[color=gold][center][h1][i][b]DELTΔ HYPER[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]After the Cape Town Race[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Team Principals Interview[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [hr] Alexander attended the interview of the team principals after the race. He was wearing what he typically wore when he was in the paddock. He had a button down team shirt in black with the team and logo sponsors on it. He was wearing black slacks and work boots. Alexander’s work had a more hands on role than the other team principals. He was known to jump in and lend the engineers and mechanics a hand if they needed it. His calloused hands reflected his hard work ethic and methods. He hated suits and rarely wore them. Ties always made him feel like he was being choked. He paid attention to what the other team principals had to say. He reviewed their interviews and what media he could find about them. He found Peter Thatcher to be arrogant and abrasive but he had earned that attitude with the record his team had. Valkyrie was not in a place to challenge Apex, yet. If Alexander did his work well, the latter part of the season would be exciting and very different. Alexander was sipping on a bottle of water. It was too hot in Africa for the coffee he would have preferred. [b][color=fdc68a]Aurora: "We heard from the other Principals about the race in Cape Town. What's your analysis, as a former racer? Who's one to watch, and who caught your eye in that race, outside of your two pilots?"[/color][/b] Alexander smiled at Aurora and looked thoughtful. He paused and really gave his answer some thought. [color=00aeef]Alexander: “Silver Apex is at the front of the pack and you have to respect his team’s record. This is my analysis of what caused the accident today on the track. Kais was doing his job. He was challenging Hart and was in position to overtake him. Bea was fighting for the same opportunity. Hart was feeling the pressure. Kais was in a better position to overtake. Hart’s sloppy maneuver to shut Kais down caused him to overcorrect steering dangerously close to Bea’s craft. Bea’s quick reaction saved her ship from plowing headlong into Hart’s at over 400kph. Unfortunately her reaction to prevent the collision had her veering into Kais’ lane, while Kais’ quick reaction managed to salvage his ship but took damage. It was a host of cause and effect and reactions that contributed to the crash. But it was the sloppy maneuver by Hart that put it all into action. Kais and Bea are excellent drivers and deserve their seats. My prediction is that we will be seeing them in the top 10 frequently along with Nora and Hyeon-Ae.”[/color] Alexander continued with a smile. [color=00aeef]“Valkyrie's strategy for this race was simple. We utilized our advantages to gain as many points as possible. Paul and Dorian did an excellent job today of executing that strategy skillfully. Valkyrie’s ships are simply not as fast as Silver Apex and Southern Cross. Strategy and skill is how our pilots got the results they needed today. Valkyrie AGR Sport is not in a position to challenge Southern Cross and Silver Apex just yet. But we will.”[/color] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Valkyrie AGR Headquarters[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [hr] The Valkyrie AGR Team flew home the day after the race. That gave everyone a little time to enjoy Cape Town and pack up all the gear. Alexander was pleased with the team performance in Cape Town. Dorian and Paul both performed well under very trying odds. Alexander had spoken with a few of the larger team sponsors and they seemed happy. Enigma Lux had put out a firm offer. The paperwork for the contract had been sent to Dorian and Paul since they were requesting all three of them. Alexander was waiting for word back from the two pilots on whether they would be pulling the trigger on that sponsorship. A luxury watch brand manufacturer Orion was now interested in an endorsement deal with Valkyrie’s pilots. Orion had reached out for a joint contract with Valkyrie and both pilots. Alexander had sent the contracts to legal for review before they would be sent to Paul’s and Dorian’s agents. Alexander had met with the board about the new ship designs. The Board of Directors were happier with the results from Cape Town. There were a few on the board that were still pushing for podium finishes and Valkyrie would get there. He explained that the need for a faster ship was why they needed a new design. The current ship was simply not fast enough to stay competitive. The investment cost was going to be heavy. This kind of engineering change usually happened in the pre-season. Alexander firmly believed in the changes and after seeing the ideas his collective engineers were sitting on. He thought it was worth the investment. Fortunately the Board of Directors decided to back the call. The European Union Space Agency was going to help fund the research and development of the improved cockpit and inertial dampening fields because they could be integrated into space craft. Now the hard part began as they began to haul in the materials and components for the build. They had to build a prototype as they tested each new piece of technology as they custom built it. That was part of why they had the machinery onsite to build just about anything they needed. Alexander was going to lean heavily on the Board of Directors contacts for some of the harder to source materials since they typically were slotted for government use. Alexander had personally thanked the engineering team for their hard work in getting the ship modifications done before Cape Town. He challenged them to see what they could do to improve the Energy Systems and boost more speed without compromising handling before the race in Tokyo. He turned Dorian and Paul over to their trainers to prepare for Tokyo using the simulator. He let the trainers know to have them work on their skills with energy systems and defensive driving. Alexander had a feeling they would need to sharpen their skills when it came to passing, overtakes, and avoiding debris on the track. Alexander had rewatched the footage from the crash at Cape Town and he could only draw two conclusions. Either Jamie Hart was seeking to eliminate a ship on purpose or his racing style was unpredictable, sloppy, and highly dangerous. None of it left him with a good feeling about his pilots being on the same track as the man. Alexander admitted that he was probably paranoid about it and overthinking it. He would do all he could to help prepare Dorian and Paul to counter those types of moves in case they came their way again. To round out Alexander’s good news, Katherine had reported that fans were showing more positive responses to both Paul and Dorian after Cape Town. Team Valkyrie Merchandise Gear sales were up after Cape Town. The absolute best good news he received was that his daughter would be leaving the hospital by the end of the week. She wanted to come visit him. He had Mabel make arrangements for her visit about a month from now. He wanted to give her some more time to recover. He knew that while she was medically sound. He wasn’t sure if she was ready to travel just yet. He would find the time to go visit her though. He would carve out the time necessary no matter how busy he was. [hr] [color=gold][center][h1][i][b]The Paddock: A Formula AG Forum[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color] [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://youtu.be/rxaTAFXgykU?feature=shared] Savages - Marina and the Diamonds [/url][/b] [hr] [color=fff200][b]Welcome to our popular Formula AG Racing Forum! All Formula AG Fans are welcome to discuss all things Formula AG! This channel is moderated and all participants need to adhere to the Community Guidelines and Terms of Use. This online channel is a place to discuss the thing we are all passionate about Formula AG Racing![/b] Moderators will flag and censor anyone breaking the community guidelines. A quick reminder of the most important rules: Be respectful, no attacking other members. Share relevant content only. NO spam or vandalizing the forum. Respect other members' privacy and guard your own. DO NOT USE language that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, threatening, offensive, demeaning, derogatory, disparaging, or abusive, or post links to content that contains any of this language.[/color] [color=fff200]KingKofiFan:[/color] SuperCat might not have done very well but Kofi has style at least. Did you see his new Brain Bucket? #KofiHasSwagger #KingKofi [color=fff200]$erwa: [/color]I was disappointed by SuperCat. I expected more from the hometeam. [color=fff200]Jan2084:[/color] The atmosphere of Cape Town was amazing to visit for a race. [color=fff200]Bertha:[/color] Kofi is not getting the job done is he? [color=fff200]NoraRules:[/color] Nora is the racer to watch. She is already pushing Amy Stirling. [color=fff200]BadBrad:[/color] I agree Nora is this season’s rookie of the year! [color=fff200]ApexSuperFan:[/color] Beginners luck. She still hasn’t managed to podium ahead of Apex. [color=fff200]NoraRules:[/color] But she has been on the podium. That is better than Jamie Hart. [color=fff200]Bertha:[/color] @NoraRules makes an excellent point. [color=fff200]TeamCondorSF:[/color] Ava’s comeback was amazing! Can’t believe @MadBea was knocked out of the race by Hart. [color=fff200]Susie:[/color] Jamie Hart clearly Zonked Bea to take her out of the race. [color=fff200]ApexSuperFan:[/color] Hart didn’t wreck Bea. She obviously has no skill. Hart was driving aggressively. He was doing his job which was to block them from passing him. It’s called racing. [color=fff200]Abdullah:[/color] Kais was affected too and was robbed of points by Apex. #TheFalconWillHunt [color=fff200]Zygonista:[/color] Ava only got past Hyeon-Ae because of Paul Mulder. [color=fff200]Bertha:[/color] @Zygonista keep telling yourself that. [color=fff200]Roberto:[/color] Nordic Call and Fitzroy Orbital have proven to be Chihuahuas so far this season. [color=fff200]KingKofiFan:[/color] Did they show up to the race? I think I missed them. *winking emoji* [color=fff200]Merica1:[/color] Doesn’t look like Miller Motor Racing will see any podiums this season at this rate. I hope their performance improves. #letdown. [color=fff200]Bertha:[/color] *Laughing Emoji* Miller Motor Racing has fans? [color=fff200]Zygonista:[/color] Han did well. Proud of her for representing Zygon. Too bad about Cassie though. [color=fff200]BadBrad:[/color] Cassie is a Borgbot and Han is a robot! #SCRules [color=fff200]ValkyrieFan56:[/color] It was exciting to watch Han and Paul battle it out. He placed better than expected. #GoValkyrie [color=fff200]Zygonista:[/color] Paul is the one who let Ava Villarosa slide by them both. [color=fff200]BadBrad:[/color] Paul still needs to find his *****! [wording censored by moderators- keep it clean people] [color=fff200]Bertha:[/color] TBF They are not the only Borgbots on the racing circuit. Ava and Amy are as well. Can’t argue the point about Hyeon-Ae being a robot though. [color=fff200]Nobody404:[/color] Questionable call by the racing stewards. The Culture Vultures are divided on whether Hart’s actions were justified or not. Accident or deliberate sabotage to competitors that were getting too close to Apex’s princess? Is there collusion to help keep Silver Apex at the top? Or just coincidence? Why was Jamie Hart not part of the after race press conference? Why was Amy Stirling the only veteran at the press conference? Inquiring minds would like to know. [color=fff200]SuperfanAGR54:[/color] It was suspicious that Jamie Hart was not part of that press conference. [color=fff200]BeaLover:[/color] Bea was the one whose ship was destroyed and sent to the hospital to be checked out and she was part of the press conference. So why no Hart? [color=fff200]Abdullah:[/color] Kais was part of the press conference too. So why was Hart not there? [color=fff200]ApexSuperFan:[/color] Why is everyone so quick to believe that there was some conspiracy here? Amy Stirling is the current reigning champion. She also was the winner of that race. If they were going to pick a veteran driver to interview, why wouldn’t it be her? There are a lot of reasons why Jamie Hart might not have been at that press conference. Sheesh people get a life! [color=fff200]Bertha:[/color] [Content removed by moderators.] [hr] [color=gold][center][h1][i][b]Social Media[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color] [hr] [color=fff200]OfficeDrone#12:[/color] Exciting race! [color=fff200]SuperfanAGR54:[/color] Dorian’s performance surprised me. [color=fff200]DantheMan:[/color] @nitronora podiums again! [color=fff200]Superfan2075:[/color] Hart should be fined for that stunt he pulled. [color=fff200]DadBod89:[/color] Hart caused that crash. [color=fff200]Hater101:[/color] Dorian surprised me. [color=fff200]Papabear34:[/color] Paul did better but even he admitted he screwed up by letting Villarosa get past him. [color=fff200]Nana2050:[/color] Good team performance! Both racers in the top ten. [color=fff200]GeorgeFly:[/color] That crash was scary to watch in person. If the repeller field had not been there, that debris would have hit spectators. [color=fff200]ValkyrieFan56:[/color] Go team Valkyrie! #ValkyrieMovesUp [color=fff200]Weedhead81:[/color] Trippy man! [color=fff200]SexyM@m@5:[/color] Dorian did so good! [color=fff200]Paulmulder4eva:[/color] Paul’s was such a sweetie. Being concerned about his fellow racers. He even congratulated Kais on his comeback. [color=fff200]Britball12:[/color] Hmmm one mediocre race. I am still waiting to see. [color=fff200]!YouSlow!:[/color] That was no accident! [color=fff200]xImFasterthanUx:[/color] @!YouSlow! Agreed! Hart deliberately cut into Ward’s lane and almost clipped the front of her ship. That was not an overtake or a block. It was reckless and dangerous! [color=fff200]AGInthusiast:[/color] I don’t know whether that was good racing by Hart or dangerous showboating. #conflicted [color=fff200]micheal650004:[/color] That’s the Dorian I remember! [color=fff200]llamalover4life:[/color] I concede Dorian did better this race. [color=fff200]mustbetoast:[/color] Paul could have done better. [color=fff200]ieatAGR:[/color] Valkyrie did well at Cape Town considering it is a track that favors speed. I can see Alexander Knight’s hand in their strategy and it worked. [hr] [hider= Team Valkyrie Characters] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zrLx5XUgYiVm6KjTpFTWZtJvXc0MX77enkLzINHujKw/edit?gid=0#gid=0 [/hider]