NOVPUBCanadian Grand Prix
Location: Montréal, Canada
Date: June 25
Time: 3 PM
Track: Circuit Ladislas Duval
Track Length: 4.2 km
Total Laps: 70
Track Type: Semi-permanent street circuit
Lap Record: Ailbeart Moireach 1:13.078
The Canadian Grand Prix used to be a regular event in the F1 calendar, but as the clock of seasons ticked by, the FIA didn't prioritize Canada as much anymore. As a result, this season's Canadian Grand Prix was only the second in five years. In fact, it even became a social media meme when the president practically begged on live TV that they needed a revival of motorsport in their country.
Soon enough, everyone was crossing the Atlantic Ocean into Montréal, Canada, for the eleventh round of the season. The season was now in its second half, and if things repeated themselves in the exact same pattern, Luca would be winning the championship. Furthermore, if this was the last order with just 12 races total, this could have meant the final Grand Prix with the next race being the concluding Mega Prix.
On the plane flight to a country he had never been to before, Mallow was briefing Luca on certain important things related to his sponsorship and the monetary aspect of his career. Luca listened closely as Mallow explained that he would really need to exhibit his ambassadorship soon enough for Dubai Airways, a major aviation sponsor, renowned for its luxury branding and global prestige that sponsored him almost as heavily as the Hawthorne empire.
Luca agreed to participate as much as they would allow him to. These days, he'd been searching for several things apart from sparring with Adrian, to consume his scarce free time off F1.
Luca didn't know what to say. Canada looked just like the US and even their circuits were uncannily similar having being street circuits.
Since he missed the US Grand Prix and tuff street racing, Luca wanted to perform well and win this Canadian Grand Prix. Even though the odds were slim for him since three super engines now flooded the competition.
Rodnick was confident.
DiMarco was confident.
Ailbeart was confident.
This wasn't just a race anymore. This was the beginning of a power shift, one that could define the rest of the season. The world could feel it. The nonphysical paddock was tense and news was abuzz with F1, F1, F1 and nothing else.
Rodnick was now the new benchmark, DiMarco had evolved into a weapon... literally, and Ailbeart, well... he had something to prove. He could just shut everyone up and claim the championship title from here on out.
So what did Luca have?
A new chassis, yes. A good one. Maybe not the best. But he did have a system that could help him become the best.
Luca would never forget the moment he received the (+3) Site-wide Car EXP reward the instant he registered the JRX-97. It was an incredibly rare reward, and undoubtedly the best one he had ever gotten in his entire journey with the system.
Shortly after, Luca was flooded with a series of notifications, each informing him that every single metric in his car status had received a (+3) EXP boost. This meant that from the car's Attributes, to the Engine Features, and finally, to the two Skills he had, each one had gained (+3) EXP.
But before any of this could proceed, the system asked whether he wanted to replace the newly registered car's stats with those of his old car.
[Do you wish to supplant the current Car Status data with the previous?]
[Note: System has detected that current car (JRX-97) is poorer in comparison to (JRX-92B)]
[Note: (JRX-97) prevails in some areas where (JRX-92B) doesn't, with a ratio of 48:52]
[System suggestion: Supplant ✓]
[YES / NO]
Luca had rarely taken the time to compare the 92B and the 97, so he wasn't even aware that the 92B had surpassed the 97 in level. It left him wondering why the 97 still remained faster. Some things were truly unchangeable by him and the system in these cars.
He selected Yes, and the process followed, transferring all statistical data from the leveled-up 92B into the 97 so he could seamlessly continue his progress. Only after this supplanting did the system carry out the (+3) EXP addition. Had it done so beforehand, the EXP boost would have been applied to the inferior base stats of the 97 and essentially gone to waste.
With everything finally settled, the new car status became available for inspection. There weren't many drastic changes, as most things remained relatively the same. Only now, every metric had been influenced by the uniform (+3) boost.
And then... there were the three new Engine Features.
[Generating Car Status....]
[..... Generation complete.]
[Car Information:
Car Name: Ferrari (JRX-97)
Chassis: JRX-7 Chassis
Engine: Tipo 052/A/C ]
----------------------------
[Performance Information:
Top Speed: 360 km/h
Acceleration: 2.1 s (0-100 km/h)
Aerodynamics: 27
Downforce: 33
Braking Efficiency: 30
Handling: 28
Tire Wear Management: 27 ]
-------------------------------
[Engine Features: (A) Rating
-Kinetic Recycling: 20
-Zero Drag: 24
-Power Deployment 21 ]
-------------------------------
[Skills:
—Gripper: 21
—Yaw Flex: 14 ]
----
Luca reckoned these were going to be the same Engine Features under the ThunderKat 2.0, but they'd be better, (S) Rating versions. He thought he liked these ones better than the 92B's, because they could actually help him in races with overtakings and powerful duels. It was generally an offensive car, with absolutely nothing defensive about its mechanism. How crazy.
This must be Luca's greatest level-up rate ever. From one car to another, from one engine to a better one. In fact, coming to the broadscale status, he had gotten great boosts and the road to 300% was getting clearer and clearer.
[Ding!]
[Level-up notice]
[AERODYNAMICS & CHASSIS has moved from 160% to 200% ]
[HANDLING & DYNAMICS has moved from 150% to 185%]
The team's designated facility for the eleventh round was at Quartier DIX30 in Montreal, a huge modern complex that looked nothing like a motorsport hub from the outside. Yet surprisingly, the inside of the venue was totally different and unique.
No one had ever seen a training track weave around office-looking buildings, almost like skyscrapers but not tall enough to be called that. A surreal blend that was further highlighted by the bright but rare Canadian sun. It was a new facility, and Jackson Racing felt privileged to utilize it for the upcoming race.
They resembled a community of their own—which indeed they were—but their movements seemed more purposeful than any other team all spread across Canada in similar preparations.
Briefings, task flow, logistics, and tactics were relived all over again. All drivers, including the younger dormant ones, still drove in sets for competition. At times, Luca would cross his arms and calmly watch Rodnick drive the FRC-91. Luca couldn't believe that right there was basically the same thing that had killed Aldo Rennick, his father. And now Rodnick was just driving it around like a Lego car.
Luca had made certain observations, and the most obvious was that: Rodnick can't control that stuff. He can't control it yet. Anyone would need time to control powerful machinery like that.
Luca's thoughts churned on and on. But he wasn't lying. Even the Strategists and crew members murmured about this, murmurs that Rodnick heard and found infuriating too, especially as Jackson deemed it necessary to put in more than just the usual contingency plan because of his ineptness in full control.
The second observation that Luca mentally jotted down was that the ThunderKat 2.0 didn't give off any bad radiation, at least not any that his system noted could harm him. So, Luca was totally safe when he feared his own teammate's car could be a venom to him as well.
Having two venoms would be a disaster. And yes, the MkII would remain in competition.
Can you believe that?! Luca thought out loud with frustration.
After days of investigation and evaluation by the FIA on the Red Bull HiCE, the Tempesta MkII, they emerged with the verdict that it would not be proscribed, and Bueseno Velocità could continue using it in competition.
Jackson Racing really went crazy about this. Where's the regulation on maximum thermal interference? Where's the clause about ERS system protection, about active race hazards, residual radiation compliance, or even post-race stability reports?! How could they permit a machine to remain in play when it could cause total harm to another?!
The crazy thing about this was that Bueseno Velocità didn't even know that the Thermal Ion Flux radiation could drastically harm high ERS cars in-race. And now, after this, Luca had no doubt they would use it to their advantage!
Luca bit his lip, watching Rodnick struggle at some places and drive confidently at others while he recalled the recent F1 drama. He just hoped the ThunderKat 2.0 had its own radiation that could affect rival cars, thereby evening the field.
If it couldn't, Luca believed he's fucked, and this 97 had just come as a blessing and a curse at the same time. He could just be the only person on the grid with a bane that could retire his race at any moment if he just stayed too long in exposure. And as he said, he has no doubt DiMarco would really look forward to making this repeatedly possible.
