[color=gold][center][h1][i][b]DELTΔ HYPER[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color] [center] [h2][b] Friday 14th April, 2094 Rifugio Capanna Piz Fassa di Bernard Guido Piz Boè, Dolomiti, Italia 1700 CET [color=aba000][color=fff200][i]A Couch in the Sky[/i][/color][/color] [/b] [/h2] [/center] [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://youtu.be/Cm0qaXi9THA?feature=shared] Sneaky Snitch - Kevin MacLeod[/url] [/b] [hr] Paul was pleased with how well his prank was going so far. He did offer to share his popcorn and scorecards with the other drivers. Paul’s prank was mostly being used as a way to poke fun at their interviewers who always seemed artificially perky to Paul. [color=fff200][i]What did Aurora do, mainline coffee and hot chocolate?[/i][/color] He had distracted Bea a little in her interview. He had given her a big cheesy smile at the end of her interview. He waited until the cameras had stopped rolling before he clapped and whistled and held up a scorecard with an 8 on it. [color=fff200]“Great form and focus from Mad Bea! Excellent work!” [/color] He waited till Hyeon-Ae was finished and held up a scorecard with a 9 on it. Paul: [color=fff200]“Solid concentration Hyeon-Ae! Superior Focus.” [/color] [hr] Paul’s interview continued. He did a double take as he caught sight of Bea’s shirt. He couldn’t help stopping to laugh and clap delightedly. He turned to Aurora and Rory. [color=fff200]“I see Bea has been following my endorsements.”[/color] He grinned like a madman before he managed to turn his attention back to the work at hand. Rory and Aurora had asked him a follow up question. [quote] [color=ed1c24]"There are plenty of red Ferrari coats out there on the grandstands even in Practice so I imagine they'll be cheering for you in full force, whatever the weather! How have you found Dorian's support with getting used to the circuit?"[/color] [/quote] Paul’s smile was genuine. “[color=fff200]I am very grateful to have the support of the Tofosi! They are an amazing group of fans. The Tofosi reward any driver with enthusiasm and appreciation if they are giving them a good show. It is one of the reasons I love racing in Italy. Dorian has been focused on his own performance but Alexander Knight has made sure I was focused on the training for this course. They are working on some ship upgrades but I know we only got a few of them done in time for this race. I will be utilizing Valkyrie’s superior handling and stability to help get the most speed out of the turns, corners, and chicanes of this track. I am hoping I can make up for the lack of speed on the straights. I have worked hard to improve my ELS strategies. We will have to see if that hard work pays off here in the Dolomites.” [/color] [hr] [center] [h1][b] Round 4 of Formula Anti-Gravity Racing Saturday 15th April, 2094 Qualifying Italian AGP Strada Alpina Marmolada, Dolomiti, Italia 1400 CET [/b] [/h1] [/center] [color=gold][center][h1][i][b]La Forza[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color] [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://youtu.be/vAjR5qhm8a0?feature=shared] Funk Rock & Roll - Lo Fi Hikari[/url] [/b] Paul was sitting in his ship finishing his pre race rituals. Qualifying meant he needed to push hard enough to get a decent starting place in the line up. He didn’t want to push too hard and be out of the race by pushing too hard either. This was his last chance to have the crew change any of the ship’s set up. He needed to nail the corners and curves on this track to have any chance of a decent showing especially with the long straits. He massaged the leather gloves until they were worked all the way down his fingers leaving him with maximum flexibility and sensitivity. He pulled on his fire proof cowl and straightened it out and tucked it into his race suit. He then rezipped his dark gray and gold tone race suit all the way back up. He clipped his safety restraints and tugged them tight. He pulled on the helmet and carefully secured the chin strap. He then plugged in his neural drive to the ship. He pulled the neck and head restraint around his helmet and neck and made sure it was locked into place. It would help protect his neck and head from injury during a crash. He took some deep breaths to build his oxygen up for the race. He took a moment to process all the new input from the ship. He allowed his training with the neural interface to take over. His brain sorted all the new incoming data into what he needed to know. He paid close attention to the temperatures that might change quite rapidly with the setting sun and the altitude. Paul was feeling good. He loved the track, it was challenging and the views were gorgeous. Not that he could enjoy them during the race, since he was moving too fast for that. Paul had a good start. He nailed that first hard turn. He was off and did well. He was still not happy with the new balance of the ship. He was losing a little time each time the ship left the track. It seemed to bounce a little off line when it came back down and reconnected to the mag track. He managed a respectful finish. He knew he could do better and go faster. He waved to the fans as he slowed his ship and pulled it back into the pit lane so he could return to the paddock. He of course wouldn’t know his final pole position until Qualifying runs were over. Carmella was there waiting for him as he disconnected from the ship. He unfastened his safety restraints. He popped the canopy and quickly climbed down. He pulled off his helmet and cowl. He shook his head and told her what he needed. [color=fff200]“The ship is still acting like the nose cone is light. It is still bouncing slightly off center and race line when it leaves the track. It takes me a few moments to recover the line each time. It's costing me time. See if there is anything else you can do before the ship has to be locked up for tomorrow’s race.”[/color] Carmella just nodded and made note of his feedback and they split up. She headed back into the paddock’s mechanical bay. Paul headed for the showers. He had post qualifying interviews to do. Then he was supposed to spend some time in the Valkyrie Fan Zone. Hopefully by then he would know where he stood. [hider=Qualifying Results for Italy:] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qF6cn-eA0G0sumgf79TvEnPjOHyQP-vZSFV6LNrn_OY/edit?usp=sharing [/hider] [hr] Paul had showered and done his round of post qualifying interviews in the press box at the Valkyrie Paddock. There were always some sponsorship endorsements to do. Delta Hyper interviews were required on top of mainstream media work. He had some of those to do too. Luckily for him Katherine did a great job of weeding out the riff raff media who would skew anything they said for ratings. Paul had been introduced to a potential new sponsor for Valkyrie, a computer company called Quantinium. They provided quantum computers and Valkyrie was thinking about partnering with the firm on the new ships. The current company being used was being used by other teams and while there were no indicators of impropriety and it was a very common practice, instead of reinventing the wheel, multiple teams used one company. Alexander felt it was safer to use a company that others were not using. Their computers were also due for an upgrade and Quantinium were experimenting with a new crystalline matrix chip that ran cooler and could perform faster. They had a very cool pyramid logo and their representatives here for the Italian race were big fans. Paul spent some time in the Valkyrie fan zone signing shirts, hats, and pictures. Some of the new fan gear by Enigma Lux was on sale and display in the Valkyrie Fan area. A hot seller was the new leather racing jacket by Artie. Paul had to admit that it was stylish and cool. He would have to buy one. The new t-shirt designs were very popular. He was pleased to note some long sleeved versions for sale here in the winter wonderland that was the Dolomites in Italy. He was grateful for a cup of coffee. Zap always had their banners flying and were attempting to hand out drinks but it was so cold no one wanted the sports drink in this cooler weather. The “I Cant Believe Its Meat” food truck vendor was doing a brisk business. People were appreciating a hot treat. [hr] [h2][center] [color=fff200]Social Media Post[/color] [/center][/h2] [center][b][color=fff200]ValkyriePaul:[/color][/b] Racing at the top of the world tomorrow. Look at that view! Hope to see you here! [[i]Image of Paul in winter gear from the interview platform. The glacier and its epic scenery behind him.[/i]][/center] [center][color=fff200]#DolomiteAG #FormulaAG #TeamValkyrie[/color] [/center] [hr] [center][color=fff200][b]TeamValkyrie:[/b][/color] The new team Valkyrie fan gear designed exclusively by [color=fff200] @EnigmaLux [/color] is now available for purchase in the Team Valkyrie online store and in person at races in the Valkyrie Fan Zone. Check out the Team Valkyrie website to get yours today! [[i]link to Team Valkyrie Fan Gear Website[/i]][/center] [center] [color=fff200]#DolomiteAGR #ItalyAG #TeamValkyrie #FormulaAG[/color] [/center] [hr] [hider= Team Valkyrie Characters] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zrLx5XUgYiVm6KjTpFTWZtJvXc0MX77enkLzINHujKw/edit?gid=0#gid=0 [/hider]