DNN2

  “Hello everyone, and welcome to the Estuario Ligustina in Gadeira for the Gran Premio de Galicia. The weather is stunning, the city is beautiful, and we’re all set for another brilliant weekend of Imperial League racing. You’re watching DNN2, I’m Sam Tinbru, and with me, as always, is Bob Anmo. Enjoying the climate, Bob?”

  “Always. It’s good for my old bones.”

  “Yes, and it tends to suit the dragons well, at least if there’s enough wind to keep them from overheating. The course here is a real mix, with a fast, flat sweep down the river and under this wonderful bridge, the Bridge of the Constitution of 1312, but also a twisty final sector in amongst the high rises over there to the north. A demanding course for every kind of dragon, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Absolutely, no-one gets a free ride here, and it’s given us some classic races in recent years. Big dragons like Olympia and now, I guess, Nikita Coro’s Incandesia have all the advantages down the river but Feran and Corredeira have ruled the city for years.”

  “Indeed, it will be interesting to see how our rookies fare. If Coro takes after Lucia Aelschu and Olympia, we also have Phoebe Tenryuu and Soot who have drawn some very complimentary comparisons to Andoal and Corry. There’s a lot of pressure on young Phoebe to prove that her win at Aletsch Gorge wasn’t a fluke, and she’s fared well in city flying before, do you think she’s got a chance here?”

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  “I know we talk about this all the time, Sam, but Soot’s small, and that’s really going to hurt him along the river. We saw in the first race of the season that he just can’t out-pace bigger dragons in pure power sectors. Here that means all the way down the river and back up over the bridge into the city.”

  “It does, but at the same time there are two very sharp corners at the south end of the course, could that balance things out for Soot?”

  “I think we might see some absolutely dazzling flying down there. Tenryuu’s shown she’s not afraid to mix it up with more experienced riders, and she’ll take every advantage she can get. I don’t know if I think she can win but I wouldn’t write her off either.”

  “And Coro? Could it be a rookie’s day on Sunday?”

  “Well, Feran is the clear favourite, he’s been in stunning form through the first five races, Corry is flying beautifully and they’ve won here three times before. But Incandesia’s young and strong, and they’ve been on the podium every race so far this year. Niki’s got to win a race sometime, it could well be this one.”

  “It feels a bit strange to be getting to her so low down the order, but if you think Incandesia will be strong here, what about Lucia Aelschu and Olympia?”

  “I don’t think all’s well at Royal Hermeia, Sam. Lucia’s had her worst start to a season in years, despite her win in Anjou, she’s made some bad calls, taken some silly risks. We haven’t seen Arden Markwe threaten a podium either, except when the team blew it on strategy in the mountains a month ago.”

  “That’s true, but Lucia and Arden are fourth and fifth in the championship still, and there’s immense experience in them and the team. Isn’t this the kind of course where that experience could really help?”

  “It’s a test, to be sure. I hope they can turn things around, but there’s already such a big gap to the championship leaders. I’d never count Lucia out, but at the moment, every race builds the mountain she’s got to climb a bit higher.”

  Wednesday: Qualifying - major update (947 words)

  Friday: Phoebe - major update (1432 words)

  Sunday: Race (4115 words)

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  Seventh race: Buildup starts 5th August, race day 12th August

  Eighth race: Buildup starts 13th August, race day 18th August

  Ninth race: Buildup starts 19th August, race day 25th August

  Tenth race: Buildup starts 26th August, race day 1st September

  Mid-season break: 4th-8th September

  Eleventh race: Buildup starts 9th September, race day 15th September

  Twelfth race: Buildup starts 16th September, race day 22nd September

  Thirteenth race: Buildup starts 23rd September, race day 6th October

  Fourteenth race: Buildup starts 7th October, race day 13th October

  Fifteenth race: Buildup starts 14th October, race day 20th October

  Sixteenth race: Buildup starts 23rd October, race day 27th October

  Seventeenth race: Buildup starts 30th October, race day 10th November

  Final race: Buildup starts 11th November, race day tbd (likely 1st week in December)