In racing it´s usual that the driver (or pilot :P) with more season-wins is infront.
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In racing it´s usual that the driver (or pilot :P) with more season-wins is infront.
AG Press
October 3 2214
MORELLI IN, COLONOMOS OUT
Liana Morelli of Triakis Industries will return to racing for this weekend's round at Sebenco Climb, the team confirmed today.
This marks a big milestone in her recovery from her accident at Metropia earlier in the year, which left her with debilitating spinal damage.
It was speculated that Morelli's treatment would see her miss a couple of rounds of the season and it was believed that she would be ready to race again in the lead up to this race.
Triakis team principal, Samuel McNaughton, confirmed Morelli's return in a press conference at Makana.
"We're very happy to see Liana's recovery going very well and to such a point where it is safe for her to be flying again."
"However, we will continue to monitor her health in-case of any problems that may arise as a result of the normal strains piloting AG craft can have on the body."
Morelli's return sees Greek Jason Colonomos, who filled in for Morelli, without a drive after it was announced Triakis was terminating his contract following poor results in the previous two rounds.
"We did have some reservations about replacing Liana with Jason, but we made that decision based on his longer racing experience over Clara (Mandel; Triakis' third pilot)."
"This move will allow us to concentrate our efforts on supporting our pilots to success for the rest of the season: Liana with her rehabilitation and Clara with her development."
Colonomos was not available to comment.
You know, I do really enjoyed your story! :)
stevie:)
Interesting. Aren't there any dual-pilot ships?
Also, I started formulating an idea in my head that you could use for a future story, separate from this one, if you're interested.
By dual-pilot, I meant a single ship that had two pilots in it at once.
Anyway, the idea I had was that some engineers at EG-X started improving on the neural interfacing systems for their ships once dual-pilot designs were introduced by other teams, since they would need to synchronize the neural interfaces of both pilots in their own ship to prevent neurological injury. One of them then decides to set up a peer-to-peer network to link together pretty much all of the EG-X employees over a wireless "hive network", and once the cat gets out of the bag they decide to start a "Join the Hive" recruitment ad campaign
Just an idea.
With that idea, it would seem that EG-X are going back to their EG.r roots. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing... I don't know.
Very interesting, I would have to think about that one (particularly on the idea of two pilots in one craft, as it'll be a big shakeup in how the sport is run with this combo).
I was toying with this idea previously. I thought about, bow the pilot line up in Faster Than Angels would look like (to be honest, it should be a reference to Impact Blue ^^)
@Ace3000: I think on the Pulse webside it was mentioned that EG-X connects it's pilots with the ship, so this wouldn't be new.
Will you write something about FX350 races in this season?
Since I race for the Qirex Team, FX400, means I race as Nadia Elenova? Or the second Pilot? ^^
The Story of the F9000
Part 2 - The Circus in Full Swing
The F9000 AG Racing League is most commonly considered the most dramatic era of AG racing in history, for better or for worse. While it did take the sport into its most extravagant and exciting era in terms of action, but turned into a very political one that conflicted with the very nature of the sport itself. It came about from Overtel’s ambition since the inaugural season to control the League and make it into a multi-trillion dollar business, which it eventually did following the death of the father of Anti-Gravity, Pierre Belmondo. But as the inaugural F9000 season came in 2156, the seeds were already sown for its downfall. Nonetheless, the League did provide some of the most memorable moments of AG history that are celebrated even today.
The first ever F9000 race took place at the Temtesh Bay mining facility in Central Australia in early 2156. The track was met with great acclaim from both fans and the majority of critics, but some did question several aspects including racing whilst the mine was actively operating, the long distance from major centres and the potential to have the track enter the mine tunnels themselves. Furthermore, the makeup of the grid was dramatically different from the previous season: the inclusion of four new teams (Van-Über, G-Tech, EG-R and Xios), as well as disappearance of AG Systems, cause quite a few critics to question the legality of this new League. But these questions were quickly quashed as the first race came to a close. And with it, the birth of a new legend: Natasha Belmondo.
Belmondo, as the name suggests, is the great-great-granddaughter of Pierre Belmondo. In fact, Belmondo passed away several hours after witnessing Natasha’s birth. As such, Natasha was destined for a career in AG racing. But contrary to expectations that she would nurture her talents as a racer in Europe via FEISAR, she moved to the United States when she was 18 to pursue her career there, whether or not it meant joining up to Auricom. Sure enough, she was hired by Auricom as part of their F9000 program, to reorganise the team to compete competitively in the new league, along with German pilot Pascale Rouser.
Belmondo would prove to be a force during the 2156 season, eventually winning the season over Auricom’s new arch-rivals, Tigron. The only flaw in her near-perfect season was a retirement at the third round at Cubiss Float. But, as predicted, the results of the season were quite heavily dependent on the amount of eliminations during a race. A new rule introduced in regards to point scoring allowed pilots to be awarded two points for each pilot they take out during a race. This resulted in 37 eliminations over the course of the year: the number of eliminations over the previous 6 years combined and the highest total of eliminations in a year total. This caused the Anti-Gravity Federation (AGF) attempt to launch an investigation to quell the need for eliminations. However, this was rebuked by the F9000 International Federation of Anti-Gravity Racing (F9000), claiming it was a knee-jerk reaction to the dramatically different nature of the F9000 in contrast to the F7200.
Sure enough, the F9000 did a good job in making sure that the on-track carnage was extravagant, but made sure the pilots weren’t harmed as they were the stars of the show, particularly Belmondo. Belmondo would nearly clean sweep 2157 (again, she failed to finish Cubiss Float), then took out the 2158 title at the final race against a resurgent Piranha, lead by Tibetian pilot Myima Tsarong. Coming into the final round at Florion Heights, Tsarong looked set to take her first tile having won all but one of the preceding races. However, the eliminations saw Belmondo and Finnish Xios pilot Sigrid Nikula with chances to steal the title away. Sure enough, Belmondo won followed by Tsarong and Nikula, but the elimination of FEISAR pilot Carlos Beneto gave Belmondo the two points she needed to win the title by one point.
What was even more dramatic was Belmondo’s shock decision to sign with Xios for 2159. Although her reasons were innocent enough, it did not stop Xios’ Director-General, Didier Humeau, to openly mock Auricom as a “has-been” now that Belmondo has “abandoned” them. This attitude helped influence Auricom’s stance during this era as the “evangelical defenders of (Pierre) Belmondo’s vision”, which would continue until the era’s demise. Whether for better or for worse, Belmondo’s signing saw Xios immediately jump from the midpack to the front of the grid taking the 2159 title, again by one point over Tigron’s Omarr Khumala.
However, as everyone’s eyes were firmly fixed onto Belmondo, no-one was expecting an announcement by perennial backmarkers FEISAR: the record signing of young British pilot Daniel Johnson. Johnson, at 24, was one off a group of up-and-coming pilots that were entering the F9000 as the last of the old F7200 pilots were retiring. Despite never having anything to do with FEISAR before, Johnson agreed to be the team’s number one signing a $1.02 billion contract for five years: the biggest ever and very unusual for a team that strive in promoting their own pilots. Xavier Menendez, FEISAR’s Director of Operations, claimed that “...the dramatic changes in pilot recruitment, economics and ship development have forced us to look at signing established pilots over pilot development in the short term. But this does not change FEISAR’s overall strategy and we will be looking at how to change our pilot development program to suit this new era.” This change was a short-lived baby recruitment policy.
Johnson’s signing immediately gave FEISAR an edge. This was proved quickly when Johnson won the opening race of the 2160 season by a good distance over Omarr Khumala, with Belmondo in third. Similar results were seen at the next race in Nevada, but it was a surprise win by Pascale Rouser in the Auricom at Temtesh Bay which saw Johnson pull a 12-point lead over Khumala. From this point on, Johnson was untouchable. He would be quick out of the gate, a testament to his LS-59207’s speed and thrust, and hold onto this lead as the rest of the pack take each other out. At the end of the final round at Mandrashee, Johnson had given FEISAR their first ever League Championship after 118 years of trying.
Johnson would continue his strong run and take the 2161 title for FEISAR as well, solidifying FEISAR as one of the top teams of this era. However, the only flaw in FEISAR's success was that Johnson was the only pilot competing for race wins. In 2160, his teammate Carlos Beneto could only manage 12th whilst his 2161 replacement, Zack Graham (grandson of 3-time F7200 champion Austin Graham), struggled in his first season only managing 3 points. This was something Xios, with Belmondo and Austrian Zala Wollf (granddaughter of 2-time F5000 champion Dieter Wollf), was able to do in 2162 and '63, with the pilots' title going to Wollf and Belmondo (for the 5th time) respectively.
However, the success and exposure of the League started to get out of control even for Overtel. The development of the ships was spiralling out of control and there had been some fears of pilot safety, particularly after the introduction of super weapon licences in 2161. During the Mexican round of the 2162 season, Finnish Van-Über pilot Marcus Virtanen was found unconscious after he was eliminated by a grenade from Sveta Kirovski (Tigron), which caused Virtanen's ZR-350 MK.3000 to spin into a boulder at the second open section. He fully recovered, but it showed the potential of injury if similar circumstances happened on a long straight, like at Katmoda 12.
Furthermore, in 2162, the Anti-Gravity Purity Coalition was formed by hardcore fans to undermine the League. They believed that the sport was being spoilt by the excessive use of weapons and elaborate track design. As such, they attempted to exploit and unmask the F9000 of their irresponsible control over the league to persuade the fans to demand changes to bring the sport back to before the F9000. But time and time again, they were rebuffed by Barret Liddell, the F9000 Chairman, claiming that the sport was never better or that the protestors were speaking nonsense. However, just the fact the Coalition was there was a good sign as the extravagance of the F9000 could be controlled to an extent.
However, even the presence of the Coalition wasn't enough to dictate what was next. At the third round of the 2164 season at Temtesh Bay, an explosion from Daniel Johnson's super missile cause the collapse of the mine section of the 2nd variant of the track. This incident, and the subsequent explosion resulting from the self destruct of both EG-Rs caused the deaths of six pilots and numerous marshals. The disaster also cause the retirements of Johnson, due to being paralysed as a result of the disaster, Tsarong and Wollf. EG-R would not return to racing until 2166.
The disaster was the final straw for the AGF, which along with an Australian Royal Commission investigating the incident, announced they had emergency control of the League in league with the original mandates signed between the AGF and the original AGRC Race Commission back in 2044. They announced that Super Weapons will be banned indefinitely, all development of F9000 craft frozen and strict revisions of all F9000 tracks to make sure they’re safe to race.
However, these changes were nothing compared to what the series would end up.
I'm waiting for more information about 2214 FX350/400 Racing League...
The Story of the F9000
Part 3 - The Fall
The 2164 Temtesh Bay Disaster very nearly destroyed AG racing forever if it wasn't for the swift efforts by the Anti-Gravity Federation (AGF). But if the F9000 was abolished then, there would've been mixed emotions for the entire AG community. The F9000 had drastically changed the nature of the sport to becoming, in essence, a modern gladiatorial spectacle that was sure to bewilder fans. However, in doing that, did bring the sport into its most controversial period as it battled with AG purists, including the Anti-Gravity Purity Coalition, over how the sport should run. Little id that know that Temtesh Bay was only the start of the downfall.
Within minutes of the disaster, the AGF President, Seo Ki-woo, contacted Barret Liddel (who was at Temtesh Bay at the time), demanding he travel to the AGF's headquarters in Paris for emergency talks. These talks resulted in the invocation of the AGF's emergency powers that were initially outlined when the AGRC (and in turn the AGF) was first commissioned in 2044. These had been changed over the years, but the basic plan of placing the AGF in charge of absolutely all matters regarding the AGRC for an unspecified time. As such, the F9000 Federation was suspended indefinitely and Liddel facing a tribunal by the AGF as well as attend the investigations set by an Australian Royal Commission into the Temtesh Bay Disaster.
An investigatory panel was established to see what changes need to be implemented if the F9000 was to continue. This panel contained several respectable faces of AG racing, including past champions Laughlan Ivers and Simo Lukic. After four months of investigations, the panel resulted in these recommendations:
• Super Weapons and development of Super Weapons are forbidden. All in-house weapon development faculties are to be shut down indefinitely.
• All weapon contractors are to commit to a full AGF and OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) review if they are to continue to supply weapons to the league.
• All circuits are to meet a strict AGF review based on length, obstacles, personnel safety & safety procedures.
• All craft development is frozen for five years pending an AGF plan on the rate of craft development.
• All current and future pilots participate in education courses on pilot safety.
Naturally, this brought criticism from the pro-F9000 community claiming these demands were too harsh. In hindsight, the AGF's recommendations were almost knee-jerk reactions towards the disaster and the attitude towards the League as a whole. This was the first time the AGF had a direct involvement in AGRC affairs since Overtel gained control of the league 32 years previously.
Alas, only several aspects of the recommendations were immediately implemented: Super Weapons disappeared forever and several track configurations were either destroyed, modified or caught up in legal problems to justify their legality. As such, only three races were run for the 2165 season, which was won by Natasha Belmondo for the sixth time despite not winning a single race. In 2166, Temtesh Bay was given the green light to race, as well as Cubiss Float in Switzerland and Alca Vexus in Mexico returning to the calendar. EG-R also returned to the League after skipping 2165, as well as the rise to prominence of Zack Vilma.
Vilma was thrust into the F9000 prematurely in 2164 to replace the late Jann Shlaudecker at Piranha, having been long associated with the young Brazilian's career. Whist 2164 and '65 hadn't been broadly successful, he did keep up constant point scoring positions, including his first win at the new Vohl Square 1 course. Very quickly, Vilma fell within good favour of Piranha's director Aries Piermont, and the two would struck up a strong friendship until Piermont's death.
This special bond would see Vilma given a special craft for 2166 that was tuned to best suit his flying style. This potential was realised at Florion Hieghts where Vilma lapped half the pack and eliminate two others to score a memorable second win. However, the consistency of the defending champion Belmondo was a big threat to Vilma's championship hopes. Coming into the final round at Vohl Square 2, Vilma was only 4 points behind Belmondo and knew that a win would nearly guarantee him the title, so long as Belmondo finished third or lower. Sure enough, Belmondo lead for the majority of the race, but a well timed Gravity bomb by Vilma saw Belmondo lose several positions and would've gave Vima the title. However, an elimination along with her 4th place finish saw her equal with Vilma, but Vlima's 3 wins against Belmondo's two made Vilma the first Brazilian champion in almost 50 years. Vilma dedicated the win to his former team-mate Shlaudecker.
As much as it seemed the sport was getting better, behind the scenes it was only getting back to what it used to be. The pressure on the AGF and the influence of Overtel saw different aspect of the recommendations to be warped or completely forgotten: teams were allowed to resume craft development in 2167 without the AGF's framework "claiming" the AGF had discussed the framework with the teams and a scheme for pilot education was completely forgotten. There were even plans in the works for new circuits to be built at places like Japan and on Mars to the old standard pre-2164.
Something had to give, and that something was Auricom. Finally fed up of Overtel's influence of the sport, Gideon Oldfield announced in January 2168 that Auricom will withdraw from the F9000, claiming irregularities in the rules made the sport unviable for the team. Although it had been long speculated that Auricom would leave since the F9000 was announced, but the decision to leave for real shocked the AG community, and prompted Overtel to look at the sport in detail. Over the course if 2168 and '69, Overtel laid plans to settle the sport down to a more manageable level to entice Auricom to return. Some of these changes were to take effect for the 2170 season.
Not wanting to leave quietly, Auricom pulled all their resources to make sure that the Series 4 T-808 was unbeatable. Sure enough, Pascale Rouser (who was with Auricom throughout the F9000 era) dominated 2168 with three wins and a second for good measure. Albeit in the shadow of his teammate, Mexico's Marco Cortez scored enough point to help Auricom take the constructor's title from Xios. Oldfield's last words to Humeau, and to the rest of the F9000 were "This started with us; so it'll end with us", hinting at the League's mortality. Van-Über would follow at the end of the following season.
Thus, the 2170 F9000 looked to be a new page in the F9000 story: all the crafts had reached the zenith of their current designs (which dated to the start of the league in 2156) and a new battle was taking place between Vilma, Belmondo and Australian Zack Graham, grandson of world champion Austen. The first three round of the year were evenly matched between the three, but Vilma got the edge over his rivals at Mandrashee and Cubiss Float, giving him a 2 point lead heading into the penultimate round of the season at Alca Vexus. However, whilst the race was starting, the Anti-Gravity Purity Coalition appeared with staggering news.
The Coalition had acquired and extensive amount of incriminating evidence against Overtel, accusing them of gross corruption spanning several decades, and in particular the roughing of the F9000 to suit their ambitions. Images of these files were stream to all broadcasters of the race amongst other news stations. Knowing of the potential threat of retaliation by the crowd on the race, it was immediately halted within minutes of the start (all of the craft were stationary on the grid anyway) and all the teams evacuated to their respective bases.
What followed saw not only the fall of the League, but very nearly destroyed the economic world as it was known (Overtel's reach had been extensive). the U.S. Marshalls raided Overtel's global headquarters within hours of the story breaking to find a fair majority of the Ovetel executives, including Barrett Liddel, had suicided to avoid prosecution. Even then, they could not be directly maid accountable of Overtel's corruption (the most executive member arrested was a deputy editor of an advertising firm). However, the evidence supplied by the Coalition, some of which was excluded for being tampered with by the Coalition, created the biggest lawsuit in history with a total of 125 companies and organisations involved in Overtel's corruption. With each company blaming the other, and others attempting in vain to consolidate themselves, value on these companies fell dramatically thereby collapsing the world economy, and rioting in streets against the corporations and police saw many governments fell, especially in Russia against The Brotherhood, thereby creating a new world order and ten year of economic hardship.
AG racing was promptly banned, with it being labelled as a "corrupt money-making machine that does not resemble any athletic sport before or since. If it was, then it was a thin veneer on top of a desire to scam and cheat the vulnerable of money by fat cats claiming it to be 'in the name of science'". Seo Ki-woo was sacked by the United Nations after it was found that his neglect of the series, both before and after Temtesh Bay, and the AGF was reorganised to remove any reference or relation to competition or advanced technological research, and a focus on commercial maintenance. All the teams were punished to varying degrees, with the likes of FEISAR and Auricom paying fines and/or supervised by their respective governments, to the collapse and shut down of G-Tech and Tigron, two of the biggest cohorts in the corruption scandal.
By the time 2172 rolled around, AG racing was dead and banished from ever returning. Not that anyone had the resources to hold any races as most of the world was still fighting or had started rebuilding itself after the Fall of the F9000. Some countries even banned AG motor vehicles for private use and severely punished those in possession of one. But alas, as the world calmed down by the end of the decade, many a fan found old AG craft and secretly rebuilt them, giving birth to amateur AG races in remote locations, which saw the sport steadily rise in popularity. Of course, this groundswell would manifest itself into the AG Rebirth Festival in 2185, commemorating 150 years of AG travel, and the FX150 Amateur Leagues before professional AG racing returned in 2197.
As much as the F9000 had shocked and awed those who saw them, it eventually became plagued by its own success and in desperate need of a reboot. The irony of this is that despite what problems it gave, the Fall of the F9000 was the best thing that could happen to the sport as it cleared all the overhangs that hampered the sport since its inception and gave rise to a proper sport that Pierre Belmondo would've wanted.
Well written and thoroughly enjoyed it.
stevie:)
Sob, sob...beautiful...sob Pierre finally got what he wanted...sob.
My Champions Roll (sorry but this was the best thread I could find)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...tpReeWNIE/view
@NeroIcaras - I just sent a request to access your file. The address is legit.
Anyway, I've just revised my entire records so that they are more correct. Some of my changes include:
- records up to 2216. Reason for this is stated below.
- included nation of origin in ALL Leagues, not just the more recent ones.
- Small mistakes here and there.
The reason I've stopped at 2216 is because since Wipeout is in hiatus until further notice, I don't see too much point in going on with the current League into infinity, particularly if there are team/league changes that may contradict cannon if another game was to be released. Besides, I could still see quite a bit of material in the almost 170 years of the sport I've got already.
In saying that, I might write up a couple of entries in the near future. However, as well as team bios, what other stories would u like to see? Just post below and see if I can come up with something. :)
I'm currently putting together the pilot profiles of the JX junior racing league here on this forum. It only has two members at the moment and the fictions take parts of Challenger's team bios and Synergy's pilot profiles as well. You can probably make something off of it if you're interested.
Yeah, I saw that. Haven't had a good read through of it yet, but it looks interesting. Once I've read it then I might add to it.
@keg11 I'd love to see some of your brilliant writing detailing the the period between the F9000 and FX300.
Okay, thanks for the suggestion.
Actually, I've been pondering about that recently (particularly in regards to what sport may temporarily replace AG racing during this period, may even cross over with another game outside Wipeout).
I'll see what I come up with.
May I suggest Rollcage?
Maybe. Though reading the manual, it assumes it to be an underground series from the 25th century (might need some artistic licence, here)
Y'know, this makes me want to follow your footsteps, along with Challenger 001, when it comes to writing fanfic stuff related to Wipeout. :)
Is this still alive?
@Keg_11
I just noticed on the 2216 results that Tyrrell Byron from Auricom had transferred to Assegai. How did that Happen?
I would write something out of this, but unfortunately I already had something planned out for his continuous storyline recently.
I'm just saying because I do follow and reference this fanfic, and you're always welcome to continue using my pilots anytime. I did liked the idea of what happened to Liana and made a paragraph about it on her storyline, but Tyrrell transferring to Assegai though, wasn't what I had in mind.
BTW, I've been active on here again.
Hi Synergy,
If I recall (from a writer's point of view), I had transfered Byron from Auricom because I had felt that he had spent enough time at the team and thought he needed to change.
When it comes to the pilot's tenures at a team and their careers, I try to emulate what a F1 driver would do considering they have a (on average) 10 year career. It's good if a particular pilot is so loyal to a team that they'll only race for that team for their career, but doesn't seem realistic to me.
Plus it gives me a chance to put new characters into the teams and see how their career pans out.
PS: Funny incident I had with Liana which inspired me to write her story as I did: I was flying her Triakis on Metropia (as mentioned in my news report), as I rounded the uphill left after Gemini Pin, I made an error by activiating a boost which saw me fly off the track into an overhead gantry. I finished the race, as you do, but I did debate a bit onto whether to include that in as is or change it somewhat. I left it as is, in part because it was part of the 2214 FX400/350 online events organised here on WZ.
Good to know, and it would make sense for a pilot to find better success from other teams within their race careers. To be honest I wanted to write this somehow for his pilot bio on my thread, but unfortunately I had already planned out a storyline/scenario before seeing the results of 2216. I didn't want to scrap my idea after seeing it until I realized, this is your fiction, you write what you want, I'll just stick to my own.
Perhaps in my fiction he did wanted to transfer to Assegai for better success, but because Qirex pretty much declares a war on the Belmondo foundation and their supporting teams around the same period, he got stuck with Auricom to not only to defend the race commission but also protect his teammate, Rachel Vega, not to abandon her while she goes out to fight Qirex in the racing league. Obviously mine is more story/character-driven while yours is more close to the reality of F1 drivers, though I do take references from here at times.
BTW I did see that video of what happened in that race. Surprised that didn't completely paralyzed her or is able to finish with that neck injury. Of course I had to added in her pilot story.
I had to write something to explain why I finished the race. I should've stopped and waited until the race ended, but the heat of the race got to me :) Also, I did write that Morelli was braced with a sort-of safety exoskeleton that activated in the crash to circumnavigate the neck injury until the end of the race.
Well she does get very competitive even though she doesn't admit it publicly ;) Triakis was one step ahead, especially with a craft that's also used for military purposes. If the exoskeleton can protect military pilots, so could pilots of the AG-Racing league. The Belmondo Foundation would want this technology installed for all team craft as a regulation to prevent any severe injuries from high G collisions in future race events, cause this collision would have killed her without it despite already there being restraints.
It'll be awhile, but I will post an updated story of this pilot, mentioning this accident.
If u want, hang on a sec. I'm jumping back on my computer to start writing new entries (again!), top of the list is 2nd half review of 2214, including details regarding Liana Morelli after the accident. I'll post this tonight (overnight your time).
After three years... finally all done! :)
2214 FX400 AG Race League Review - Part 2
The 2214 Antigravity Racing Championships have given us some of the most hotly contested racing in recent years. The big talking point all season is the performance of Ryoichi Honda and Assegai after taking three wins so far in his rookie season with the African team. However, his efforts have been stained by a retirement at the Chenghou Projects and a DNS at Metropia, which saw him now drawing with defending champion Roman Kovalenko in the League standings. Kovalenko may not have had the season he would like, but his consistent point scores and a win at Chenghou has kept him in firm title contention.
Meanwhile, another talking point was the serious accident to befall Triakis' Liana Morelli at Metropia, which resulted in a broken neck and paralysis for the 28 year old Italian. It is expected she will return for Round 9 at Sebenco Climb. Other winner this season so far included Tyrrell Byron for Auricom, pulling off a breakthrough first victory at Moa Therma, and Jean Belmondo at Metropia.
ROUND 7 - THE AMPHISEUM
The second half of the 2214 season starts within the party atmosphere of The Amphiseum, even more so this year as it opens the second half of the season compared to previous years where it signifies the close of the first half of the season.
However, this wasn't reflected in the racing with a fairly uneventful race, which was won by Ryoichi Honda after overtaking polesitter Þora Haraldssen on the first lap. Following behind them were Kovalenko and Byron despite times of parry between the two pilots.
Most of the action was between Griffin Lang of FEISAR, Sebak Abou-Gazia of Mirage and Englishman Colin Emery of Goteki 45. Lang and Emery qualify beside each other, whilst Abou-Gazia powered from tenth and capitalised the poor luck of Julia O'Connell (Icaras) and Jason Colonomos (Triakis; filling in for Liana Morelli). Most of the battle saw Emery leading despite heavy fire from both his more-experienced opponents. Eventually, his lack of experience showed when he was eliminated on the final lap from Lang's missile. The consensus around the paddock was that if Emery had conserved his shield energy, he could've scored a well-deserved two points.
Overall Standings (7 of 12)
1. R. HONDA (JPN)– 38 pts.
Assegai
2. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 35 pts.
Harimau
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 29 pts.
AG Systems
4. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 22 pts.
EG-X
5. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 21 pts.
Triakis
6. T. BYRON (USA) - 19 pts.
Auricom
7. G. LANG (GER) - 14 pts.
FEISAR
ROUND 8 - MODESTO HEIGHTS
Round 8 returned the AGRC to Makana to another track the AG pilots didn't look forward two. Modesto Heights was, in some areas, harder than Chenghou, specifically the tunnelled section within the Scleradome Reseach Hub. However, to everyone's surprise, pole position was given to Jason Colonomos in the tank-like Triakis with Honda narrowly behind in second. The was speculation following the qualifying that Triakis were up to no good again. But after investigation, Triakis were cleared of any wrong doing.
Sure enough, the pole position was a mere fluke as Colonomos fell back quite quickly in the pack, but powered back near the front quite quickly as well, even eliminating Honda! Alas, mismanagement of the shields and several mine collisions saw him drop back to a predicable-yet-impressive 6th place and two points.
Meanwhile, the race quickly went out the window following retirements of Honda, Byron (by his own doing) and Belmondo within moments of each other. All of a sudden, the backmarker teams of Goteki, Icaras and Piranha looked set of points positions. But, like the others, they soon fell...except for Emery in the Goteki. Obviously learning from his retirement from the previous race, he paced himself quite well to finish 5th, just 6 seconds behind the Qirex of Nadia Elenova.
Out of the smoke came the teal arrow that was none other than the FEISAR of Griffin Lang. Despite qualifying fifth, he powered to the front as soon as it started and never looked back. His 2nd ever victory sure gave him a smile on his face. Haraldssen and Kovalenko made sure they followed Lang out of the debris scoring 2nd and 3rd respectively. In Kovalenko's case, it meant regaining the lead in the points standings.
Overall Standings (8 of 12)
1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 40 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)– 38 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 35 pts.
AG Systems
4. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 22 pts.
EG-X
4. G. LANG (GER) - 22 pts.
FEISAR
5. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 21 pts.
Triakis
6. T. BYRON (USA) - 19 pts.
Auricom
ROUND 9 – SEBENCO CLIMB
The frightful Sebenco Climb, located near the summit of Mount Sebenco, was the setting for Round 9 of the 2214 season. Honda grabbed pole in what was a tightly contested qualifying between all of the better handling ships of the League. Haraldssen and Lang would round out the top 3 followed by Kovalenko, who found the tight uphill climb particularely tricky despite flying a Harimau. Particular praise go to Liana Morelli, who returns to the cockpit after her horrific accident at Metropia but still feeling the effects from the accident. She was able to pilot the tank-of-a-Triakis around the maze which is Sebenco Climb to start in 5th place! This result gave her the praise of everyone in the paddock and hope for her speedy recovery. Byron, Belmondo and Piranha's Thiago Castillo round out the eight.
Initially, the front four ships were closely matched, but some unlucky mines pushed Kovalenko back out of contention. However, he did have a good battle with Morelli and Castillo before Castillo was eliminated due to mines. Morelli did show good promise, but it came down to how the Harimau was far more superior on this track compared to the Triakis. Kovalenko would place 4th and Morelli in 5th. Regardless, Morelli's performance was responded to by the admiration and cheer from the crowd. Also, Haraldssen would keep her race to herself and place 3rd.
This race is best known for the epically close battle between Honda and Lang to take the lead. Honda did an incredible job in keeping pace in the Assegai, but for every inch of the race, Lang and his FEISAR was right behind him. Eventually, Lang managed to get past Honda as they entered the Weissner Cut, only for Honda to undercut back into the lead. This would continue until the very last corner of the race, where Lang darts to the inside and hits the boost pad, allowing him to draw equal with the Assegai. When they crossed the line, it was a dead heat: both race times were identical with Lang coming out on top. There were a few tense moments as race officials scoured through the race data to verify the result. Lang was awarded the race win.
Honda's second and Kovalenko's 4th would see them equal 1st in the championship with 44 points with 3 races left to go. Haraldssen is still in third, but Lang passes Belmondo to assume 4th on 30 points. Belmondo and Morelli are equal 5th on 24 points to round out the top 6.
Overall Standings (9 of 12)
1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 44 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)– 44 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 40 pts.
AG Systems
4. G. LANG (GER) - 30 pts.
FEISAR
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 24 pts.
EG-X
6. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 24 pts.
Triakis
ROUND 10 – ÜBERMALL
Qualifying saw the battles started at Sebenco follow on into Übermall. Kovalenko scored his second pole of the season followed closely by Morelli's Triakis despite some concerns over her back recovery. Lang and Honda qualified third and fourth respectively. However, attention quickly drew to the growing title fight between Kovalenko and Honda, with the two pilots equal in the standings. At this point, the only two other pilots that could catch them were Lang (though behind by 14 points) and Haraldssen (whose rather subpar qualification put her starting 5th). Elenova, Belmondo and Byron rounded the top 8 by placing 5th, 7th and 8th respectively.
From out of the box, both Kovalenko and Lang blaze in front, with Morelli, Haraldssen and Honda fighting hard behind despite a set of mines pushed Honda behind briefly. However, the most shocking part of the race was about halfway through the race. In an event eerily similar to both Metropia and Übermall 2213, Morelli crashed into the archway at the Barterhall chicane. Once again, a mistimed boost (though not uncommon at this part of the track) saw Morelli's Triakis fly higher in the air than she should which caused the front to impact the arch, causing her craft to flip into the track, knocking out Morelli. The race was immediately suspended so that track officials can see to Morelli. What saved her life twice was the same exoskeleton that saved her in Japan, though it was now augmenting her flying. But more importantly, it would secure and supported her neck in the event of an elimination (though they didn't expect lightning to strike twice). Subsequent diagnosis saw minimal changes to her current condition, though the immediate consensus in the paddock was immediate retirement.
Meanwhile, Lang was keeping Kovalenko at bay for a while, but a missile hit would see Lang fall back behind Kovalenko and into a battle with Haraldssen and Honda. Whist he was able to recover, he would slowly regain the time he lost and reach Kovalenko's afterburner. However, it was little too late with Kovalenko crossing the finish line to take his second win of the season. Haraldssen would finish in third behind Lang, thereby severely damaging Honda's title hopes. He finished 4th and now drags behind Kovalenko by 4 points. The win also sees only Lang, Haraldssen and Honda as the only pilots with a mathematical chance of beating Kovalenko to the title.
After taking advice from doctors and the Commission, Liana Morelli announced her retirement from the FX400, though effective at season's end claiming "If I can race, I'll race. I'm not leaving without at least one win!"
Overall Standings (10 of 12)
1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 52 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)– 48 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 45 pts.
AG Systems
4. G. LANG (GER) - 36 pts.
FEISAR
5. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 25 pts.
EG-X
6. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 24 pts.
Triakis
ROUND 11 - SOL 2
A fan favourite from both the FX300 and FX350, Sol 2 returns to the FX400 as the penultimate race of the season and the final one on Makana. Coming into this race there was two talking points: one on the title fight primarily between Kovalenko and Honda, and by extension Haraldssen and Lang; but also about Morelli still racing after two horrific accidents. Even more so regarding her performance particularly here at Sol 2 managing 2nd in qualifying behind Haraldssen. Honda and Kovalenko managed 3rd and 4th, creating yet another interesting scenario for the race.
A good start for both Haraldssen and Honda see them assume the lead briefly as Haraldssen runs too wide over Talos Sweep and falls off, causing her to be moved back on track and delayed by 3 seconds. But, Morelli makes a charge for the front along with Kovalenko. Meanwhile, Tyrell Byron makes an equally good start from 5th and would battle with Honda for 4th, eventually doing so at the start of the second lap. This would also turn to second as Kovalenko fell victim to a set of mines from Morelli. Halfway through the race, more disaster: Honda falls off the track after hitting one of Byron's mines!
Towards the end of the race, both Honda and Haraldssen had recovered from their off track excursions, only for Haraldssen to fall off again, along with Kovalenko! Fortunately, no-one had been eliminated from this method (though Castrillo was already out due to a plasma bolt from Elenova). This put the battle for first in the hands of Liana Morelli and Tyrrell Byron. Byron had held the lead from Morelli, but a well-placed bomb from Morelli when she got the lead back was the final nail in the coffin. Despite two horrific accidents and against the odds, this girl from Italy had won her first FX400 race! Byron would place second and Honda in third, keeping alive his title hopes. Elenova was in the running, but engine problems in her Qirex saw her drop back before eventually being eliminated at the end of the race.
Honda's win would bring him to within two points of Kovalenko, with Haraldssen also in the running on 49 points. Lang's failure to capitalise in this race (finished outside the points in 8th) would put him out of title contention. What would we see at the end of the final race: Kovalenko's third title in a row, Haraldssen's first or the first title for a Japanese pilot in the FX era (& 80 years!)?
Overall Standings (11 of 12)
1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 55 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)– 53 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 49 pts.
AG Systems
4. G. LANG (GER) - 36 pts.
FEISAR
5. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 32 pts.
Triakis
6. T.BYRON (USA) – 28 pts.
Auricom
ROUND 12 - TALON'S JUNCTION
The final round of the 2214 FX400 season was turing out to be a thriller. Whislt it looked like it was a three-way fight between Kovalenko, Honda and Haraldssen, in reality it was a Russo-Japanese grudge match between by far the two best pilots of the season. A win for Honda would be mega for the sport and Honda's native Japan, where not only it would be the country's first in the FX era, but the first champion since the great Katsuogo Muro in 2134, 80 years previously. Conversely, a Kovalenko victory would ensure he would stand as one of the great Russian Rockets ever to race in the sport: up with the likes of Reznikov, Rykov and Solaar.
Sadly, the race turned to be anticlimactic. For Honda, the pressure of fighting for the title was a bit too much for the young rookie as he slid back in the pack despite qualifying third. Although there was a bit of a fight in the midpack, it eventually settled to be a relatively calm race. The only other noteworthy incident involved a well-timed rocket by Haraldssen against Icaras' Julia O'Connell, which saw Haraldssen assume third from the stricken Icaras. Byron was the one who capitalised the most of Honda's faltering and locked down second. Elsewhere, engine problems forced Lang to miss the race whereas Morelli started and finished well back, claiming she wanted to take it easy for her final race.
But the star of the show was Roman Kovalenko. Despite almost losing the lead by one of Honda's rockets, the seasoned Harimau pilot kept a clean race and won it by a massive 5 second margin over Byron. Kovalenko finishes the season with 3 wins, 8 podiums, 3 poles and 2 fastest laps. This also gives Harimau its third title, equalling it with FEISAR and continuing its position as the most successful team introduced in the FX era. However, some are saying that because it was so hard for Kovalenko to win this year's championship, his reign will not last.
We shall see in 2215!
Final Standings
1. R. KOVALENKO (RUS) – 63 pts.
Harimau
2. R. HONDA (JPN)– 56 pts.
Assegai
3. T. HARALDSSEN (NOR) – 54 pts.
AG Systems
4. G. LANG (GER) - 38 pts.
FEISAR
5. T.BYRON (USA) – 34 pts.
Auricom
6. L. MORELLI (ITA)– 32 pts.
Triakis
7. J. BELMONDO (FRA) – 26 pts.
EG-X
8. N. ELENOVA (RUS) – 16 pts.
Qirex
9. S. ABOU-GAZIA (UAE) – 14 pts.
Mirage
10. T. CASTILLO (BRA) - 4 pts.
Piranha
11. C. EMERY (ENG) – 4 pts.
Goteki 45
12. J. COLONOMOS (GRE) - 2 pts.
Triakis
13. C. MANDEL (AUT) - 0 pts.
Triakis
Tributes to those pilots retiring this year:
• Thiago Castillo (BRA) - Joined 2207 (Piranha)
• Nadia Elenova (RUS) - Joined 2207 (Qirex)
• Jean Belmondo (FRA) - Joined 2209 (Icaras, EG-X)
• Sebak Abou-Gazia (UAE) - Joined 2209 (Mirage)
• Liana Morelli (ITA) - Joined 2211 (Triakis)
Sad to hear Liana's career end this way, but she got her wish to win one race in this championship at least. Who would of thought she would make the same mistake again at Ubermall only for it to actually knock her out this time.
I got an idea from this, though it won't be awhile until her story gets posted. Looks like Thiago & Sebak had also left as well. Guess I need to make an update on Thiago's story then. In my fiction he still races but doesn't come back to the championships due to coming short in most seasons, not good enough as he thought. For Byron, I'll probably make an alternate paragraph that's canon to this, but for my fiction officially, he stays with Auricom due to the events that occurred in my story-line.
Glad you posted this, should inspire me for Liana's point of view including Sebak's. I'll make her memorable.
It would be interesting to see what future stories and articles come about with the release of Omega Collection.
Here's couple of more entries I've written up. As for Omega content, I'll be working on a bit of that now, maybe propping up Van-Über coming back into the sport and going into the 2217 season.
2213-14 Turbo Accidents - Jokela & Morelli
The Turbo Collisions of 2213 and 2214 were a series of incidents which involved the use of turbo boosts during races which led to sickening crashes involving ships flying off track and into scenery. Whist never really thought of in the past, the increased speed of the ships, not including the boost, and the questionable locations they've been used, cause the death of one pilot and the paralysation of another. These incidents would kick-start the FX400's reinvention during this decade.
When the FX300 League was established in 2197, a considerable focus of the FX300 AG Race Commission was the safety of the pilots and spectators in race conditions. Wanting to avoid the elimination heavy formula used in the F9000, the League opted for more racing focus with weapon use playing more of a "wild card" role, echoing the earlier F3600 and F5000 Leagues. In saying that, the Commission applied a vast array of safety features that would protect pilots, officials and spectators alike. These features include an indestructible safety cell containing the pilot, energy shielding for spectator areas, and stringent test conditions for tracks and ships alike. It was claimed that the FX300 was the safest League in the history of the sport.
Naturally, the confidence of the FX300 flowed on to the FX400 and FX350 Leagues with few changes. However, there were increasing calls for several AGRC regulations to be reviewed or changed going into the 2210s. Safety was a major point, as it was acknowledged that the speed of the craft had increased since the sport returned (albeit nowhere near the leap compared to when a League was upgraded). Jean Belmondo, 2210 champion and son of Commission Chair Natasha Belmondo, commented "While we have been fortunate the sport has ran so well, now is not the time to be complacent. I would think that a reflection and rethink of the sport will be necessary... and I rather not see it happen after a disaster". Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.
The AGRC experienced its first pilot fatality at a top tier meeting in 2213. Emma Jokela, a Finn flying for Piranha in the FX350, was killed after a collision whist qualifying for the penultimate race of the season at Übermall. It's well known that pilots avoid the chicane at the end of the Barterhall Centre by using a turbo boost on the hill before the chicane and fly over it. The only concern at this point was the increase in speed of the ships caused them to fly higher and higher above the track. Jokela used her boost too early when coming over the crest of the hill. This made her Piranha to fly too high and made contact with the archway exit of the Mall. The collision with the arch and then the ground caused extreme trauma within Jokela's body: the ship was intact, but Jokela was thrown about inside. Jokela had no chance.
Piranha decided not to race in the final round of the FX350 out of respect to Jokela, but the Race Commission was placed into the spotlight over the incident. Through their investigation, they determined that there was an issue regarding the use of turbo at particular parts of the track during a race and in qualifying. As a trial, they agreed that turbos would not be used in the first half of the 2216 season, for both FX350 and FX400. This prompted some protest by the FX400, but the Commission remained true to their word.
Jokela's accident was also put down as freak by the majority of the AG community, claiming that the top FX400 pilots are careful with the use of the turbo. But, about six months after Jokela's death, a similar incident will hit the FX400 by a well-established pilot.
Liana Morelli had been an inaugural FX350 pilot and already raced 3 seasons of the FX400 (all with Triakis). Commentators note that Morelli was a good fit for the tank-like Triakis, but consistency was an issue. This was improving in 2213 to give her a career best 5th place, which continued into 2214. But she came unstuck in the most horrific way at Metropia.
Starting in third, Morelli dropped to sixth during the first lap. Gaining a turbo whist coming out of Gemini's Pin, she intended to used it on the upcoming straight. But, like Jokela, she used the turbo a bit too soon. Morelli's craft verged outwards, over the barrier and into an arch foundation, launching the Triakis into the air. The world held its breath for a moment, fearful that Morelli had been killed. But once the ship landed, it carried on as if nothing happened. Diagnosis saw that Morelli was fine as was her ship, but her speed had decreased. She would finish a respectable 6th, but when Triakis personnel and medical teams got to her, they saw that Morelli had been paralysed.
What kept Morelli flying was a new safety feature Triakis quietly installed onto their craft. An extensive, neural-controlled "exoskeleton" as deployed around Morelli's body when the craft struck the arch, allowing her to continue the race. This technology had been used for years in Triakis' grav-tanks, but use of AG racing had been met with scrutiny by the commission. The results seen at Metropia saw the Commission to commission Triakis to develop this exo-suit so it can be used for future AG craft designs.
Nonetheless, the calls for restrictions on turbo use, as well as increasing calls for a full review of the AGRC's safety regulations, were becoming quite vocal. Naturally, Natasha Belmondo would announced a special review board into the safety of AG racing. The scope of this body was to develop a series of recommendations on safety improvements that the AGRC will implement as part of a whole raft of new regulations to be introduced in 2216-17.
Meanwhile, Morelli was out for the next three rounds as she began the long process of recovery of her spine, which was severely damaged as a result of the accident. The extraordinary efforts of the doctors seeing to her would see Morelli return to AG racing at Sebenco Climb, albeit with the exosekeleton that saved her now aiding her.
The following round was at Übermall, not even a year later from the race that claimed Emma Jokela's life. But to everyone's shock and horror, lightning struck twice. On the penultimate lap of the race, Morelli used another boost too early on the hill in the Barterhall Centre and collided with the exit archway. Morelli was knocked unconscious and the race was halted. In an even more miraculous event, Morelli came to. But the consensus around the paddock and the spectators was that Morelli should quit to save her any more accidents like this. Morelli agreed, but not before she sees out the rest of the season. She would proved all those who doubted her ability wrong when she took her only win at the penultimate race of the season at Sol 2.
The second incident at Übermall really stoked the fires of those who demand more action be taken place to ensure the safety of all pilots in AG racing. The Turbo Boosts during qualifying were outright banned and were restricted during races to straightaways, controlled by a lockout code. Massive protests were organised demanding the banning of Übermall and complete revisions on all tracks to make sure these incidents don't occur. Übermall's place on the calendar is secured for a few more years, but it's place in AG racing is considerably at risk.
2215 Modesto Heights Disaster
The 2215 Modesto Heights Disaster is, without a doubt, the worst AG accident in the FX era. This is put down to a variety of reasons, on top of which was the scale and the freakiness of the incident. No one had expected an AG ship to shoot up into the air upon elimination, impacting a energy shield, that shield failing, and the ship itself crashing into unsuspecting spectators. When Þora Haraldssen's AG Systems crashed into the overhead Lucas Skyway, the world was shocked and questions were asked regarding the overall safety of the sport, especially considering several similar incidents before. Haraldssen's accident was the peak of some very controversial accidents that plagued the AGRC over the preceding couple of years.
The FX400 and FX350 AG Racing Leagues were brought into disrepute during the 2213 and 2214 due to questions being raised over the speed and safety of the ships. Finnish FX350 pilot Emma Jokela was killed after her Piranha struck and archway whilst qualifying for the penultimate round at Übermall. The following year, Liana Morelli saw herself in two accidents of similar nature to Jokela's, the latter of which was a carbon copy of the fatal crash. Fortunately, Morelli survived both wrecks, but her spine was severely damaged as a result, and despite the best efforts of the doctors, she would not walk again. Some strict regulations were enacted for the 2215 season, including no turbo boosts during qualifying and the use of such boosts limited to straights during races.
Þora Haraldssen had become the darling of the FX400. After winning two FX350 titles, she immediately impressed in her first year at the FX400, with 2 winds, 4 podiums and 3rd overall. Not only that, she continued her strong showing throughout 2214 as well. Pundits were already calling her a future champion. Her on track pace was nicely paired with her sensitive nature, not being overly aggressive but providing a good mix of pace with necessary weapon fire to balance the field somewhat. The only thing she needed to win was a bit more luck.
The first half of 2215 saw a good start for Haraldssen, managing three podiums including a nicely fought win at Moa Therma. However, failure to score at Metropia and Tech De Ra did not help her title fight. In saying that, she was only four points behind second place Jean Belmondo, EG-X, along with Roman Kovalenko (Harimau) and Emirati Obaid Meer from Mirage separated by one point.
The round following Tech De Ra was Modesto Heights, winding though the industrial sector of the Makana's main city, Vineta. The event had started poorly for AG Systems, with the team's FX350 challenger, Eriko Shimizu, eliminated during her race. Haraldssen had started in the midpack, but as the raced went on, her pace improved and would reach 2nd at one point. However, a missile would drop her down to fourth, but still within striking distance of the top. What happened next was chain reaction to disaster.
By this point, Haraldssen's energy levels were below 40 (due to a few barrel roll manoeuvres earlier in the race. As she was exiting the Scleradome Research Hub, she ran into the minefield of Meer's Mirage, which pulled her into the wall and colliding heavily with Griffin Lang's FEISAR. Haraldssen recovered and passed Lang back, but now she was on critical health. Sure enough, she would be eliminated moments later by another missile, but the subsequent explosion of the missile launched Haraldssen sideways into the Lucas Skyway in excess of 450km/h, penetrating through the energy shield and into the Skyway itself.
Haraldssen's AG-S lay on its side in the centre of the skyway, along with the bodies of 15 spectators, with a further 12 injured. The race was promptly abandoned, with Meer gaining victory, but the whole world of AG racing was in a state of shock and fear; fear of the state of AG racing considering the serious accidents the sport had seen in recent years. Haraldssen herself walked away unscathed, but collapsed upon realisation of what had happened. Very quickly, it was established that this was the worst AG accident in the FX era and the first of its kind since the Temtesh Bay Disaster.
In response to the accident, the next round of the season at Sebenco Climb was delayed by two weeks to allow the organisers to address immediate safety concerns regarding the track, as well as allow the FX400 Race Commission to make amendments for their new rules for 2216. Natasha Belmondo, in one of her last engagements as Commission Chairperson, personally took to this task to make sure an event like this does not happen again. This commitment would continue for her even after she formally retired from the role at the end of the year.
Haraldssen never fully recovered from the incident. Though she did race at Sebenco Climb, the trauma from the accident hindered her performance. She would initially announce her immediate retirement at the conclusion of the race, but she was convinced by AG Systems to stay on for 2216 to fulfil the remainder of her contract. Meanwhile, she would be rested for the following two rounds and made an appearance at the final round at Talon's Junction.
Investigations regarding the accident put down the cause to a combination of factors: the use of barrel rolls and weapon fire could create unnecessary overuse of the ship's shield energy; the missile that eliminated Haraldssen (deduced to have come from Roman Kovalenko's Harimau) and an energy shield that malfunctioned under the strain of Haraldssen's ship (they were only designed to mainly deflect weapon fire).
Amongst the new regulations that were to be introduced for 2216 irrespective of Modesto Heights, ships in both FX400 and FX350 would run in the speed class one lower from their current class (Rapier and Flash respective), weapon damage would be dialled down, and starting from 2217, all weapon systems used by teams would be one of a few predetermined systems co-developed with the Race Commission. Also, spectator shileding would be improved to handle more powerful energy.
Another rule was the ban on all spectator areas outside specific grandstands and other approved spectator areas, leaving tracks like Modesto Heights and Übermall at risk.
On a good note, a lot of support was thrown behind Haraldssen amongst other pilots affected by this disaster, which encouraged her to fly in 2216. A tough battle between her, Jakob Sommer (Triakis) and Julia O'Connell (Icaras) won ensue, but would result in Haraldssen finally gaining her fist, and only, FX400 title.
https://youtu.be/RnG9U5-_A3M
Added actual video of the Modesto Heights Disaster (see above). Funny incident where the ship glitched through the scenery.
Show that clip (and your story) to Clever Beans. They can fix the bug, and in doing so enforce new safety standards to prevent the disaster from ever repeating itself.
That video was from HD Fury last year I think. It was just a funny random moment.