The Global Racing Championship - Season 2

(Season 3 and 4 are up!)
(Also want to acknowledge R44 and his "ERS" series as well as Mortis and his "HRS" series, both of those people took inspiration from me and if you like this then you should go check their series out!)

Overview:
This is the second season of the project that I'm working on where I make my own history of a fictional racing league. The same as last time will be true where there will be no real drivers, teams, venues, brands or car manufacturers, as they will all be made up for purposes of providing my own story. Over time ill evolve the league to have different teams, venues, drivers, legends, stories and what-not. I will be detailing every race, as well as major events etc and provide storytelling and worldbuilding. Also, please note that in this scenario the F1 never existed, and the GRC is the only replacement. 

Season 1 Recap:
I'd recommend going to my profile and viewing season 1 to get the full picture, but here's a short recap of the first season:
The inaugural season of the GRC began on the leagues foundation on the 9th of January, 2023, when British Billionaire Michael Harrington formed a professional motorsport league using open-wheel single-seater racing cars. Tech Giant Evosync would form Evosync Racing, which in combination with 4 other amateur teams from around the UK, that being Velocity Racing, AeroPulse, Prototype Racing and Imperial Autosport, would form the 5 founding teams. 9 British venues and 1 French venue was then chosen for the seasons 10 races, the first race being held at London on the 11th of July, where Evosync's Daniel Metcalfe would go on to take the first ever win, as well as securing a grand chelem in the first ever race. Metcalfe's and Evosync's dominance would continue, with Evosync dominating the championship and Metcalfe becoming the inaugural seasons World Champion. Controversy would also arise surrounding the driving pair of brothers Ederson and Harry Ross, where a bad relationship would see Ederson leave the team and be replaced by third driver Charlie Parker. Ederson would eventually announce that he would be joining the newly announced 6th team, owned by Italian Car Manufacturer Vitalité.

Preseason:
The preseason for the 2nd year of the GRC began in April, when new team Vitalité would officially showcase their new car, and announce the signing of ex-Prototype driver Ederson Ross and, in a surprising turn of events, ex-Imperial Autosport driver Logan Jackson. Velocity Racing's Tobias Wright would also announce his retirement around this time. To make up for these changes, Imperial third driver Benjamin Harris and Velocity third driver William Turner would be promoted to second driver. Evan Bradleys large success over teammate Hugh Pierson would also see their roles as second and first driver swapped. Meanwhile, Michael Harrington and his board would begin to plan changes for the new season, announcing a US grand prix was planned as the 11th Grand Prix in the calendar, being held in Miami, whilst the other 10 venues from season 1 would remain the same. The Miami would take place in round 2 of the season, just a week after the seasons opener on the 14th of July, 2024 in London. Much to the disappointment of fans around the globe however, no announcement would be made surrounding restrictions or regulations around the performance or dominance of bigger teams, specifically Evosync, would be made.

Team Information:
EvoSync Racing:
Team Base: Miami, USA
Team Colours: Blue and White
No. 1 Driver: Daniel Metcalfe (Australian, aged 39)
No. 2 Driver: Lukas Meyer (German, aged 20)
Backup Driver: Oliver Taylor (English, aged 23)

AeroPulse:
Team Base: Bristol, UK
Team Colours: Sky Blue
No. 1 Driver: Evan Bradley (English, aged 29)
No. 2 Driver: Hugh Pierson (English, aged 22)
Backup Driver: Carlos Rodriguez (Spanish, aged 24)

Imperial Autosport:
Team Base: London, UK
Team Colours: Gold and Black
No. 1 Driver: Ashton Colt (English, aged 28)
No. 2 Driver: Benjamin Harris (English, aged 25)
Backup Driver: John Marton (American, aged 22)

Velocity Racing:
Team Base: Silverstone, UK
Team Colours: Red and Black
No. 1 Driver: Josiah West (English, aged 23)
No. 2 Driver: William Turner (English, aged 20)
Backup Driver: Xavier Buckingham (English, aged 23)

Prototype Racing:
Team Base: Cambridge, UK
Team Colours: Electric Green
No. 1 Driver: Harry Ross (English, aged 30)
No. 2 Driver: Charlie Parker (English, aged 23)
Backup Driver: Jack Allingham (Scottish, aged 18)

Vitalité:
Team Base: Rome, Italy
Team Colours: Crimson and White
No. 1 Driver: Ederson Ross (English, aged 35)
No. 2 Driver: Logan Jackson (English, aged 27)
Backup Driver: Dario Renzi (Italian, aged 19)

Preseason Testing:
Once again, a 2 hour pre-season test was held in London a month prior to the opening race, the fastest laps of each driver where as follows:
1 - Daniel Metcalfe (Evosync Racing)
2 - Evan Bradley (AeroPulse)
3 - Lukas Meyer (Evosync Racing)
4 - Logan Jackson (Vitalité)
5 - Ederson Ross (Vitalité)
6 - Ashton Colt (Imperial Autosport)
7 - Hugh Pierson (AeroPulse)
8 - Josiah West (Velocity Racing)
9 - Benjamin Harris (Imperial Autosport)
10 - Harry Ross (Prototype Racing)
11 - William Turner (Velocity Racing)
12 - Charlie Parker (Prototype Racing)

Race 1: London
Winner: D. Metcalfe
Pole: D. Metcalfe
Fastest Lap: A. Colt
The highly anticipated opening race of season 2 began in qualifying, where season 1's champion would take out pole only 2 tenths ahead of AeroPulse Evan Bradley.  Vitalité would also put on a good show in their first qualifying, taking 3rd and 5th. Despite qualifying 2nd however, Evan Bradley would be handed a 5 place grid penalty for making illegal modifications under parc ferme regulation, seeing Ederson Ross's Vitalité be promoted to the front row. Drama would unfold in lap 1, with the competitions second red flag appearing on only lap 1 after a collision between Josiah West and Hugh Pierson would take out Benjamin Harris, leading to all 3 drivers retiring from the race. William Turner would also sustained pretty severe damage in the collision, however continued the race. Upon restart, the remainder of the race would be pretty uneventful, apart from a fastest lap on the last lap by Ashton Colt leading to him overtaking Lukas Meyer and stealing 3rd on the podium. A 2nd place finish from Ederson Ross after only finishing 2/5 races last season also lead to him silencing the thousands of people who doubted Vitalite's decision to sign him.

Race 2: Miami
Winner: E. Bradley
Pole: E. Bradley
Fastest Lap: E. Bradley
The highly anticipated Miami Grand Prix, which is only the 2nd grand Prix to be held out of the UK and the 1st out of Europe, arrived, with Evan Bradley taking pole position. Engine faults from Metcalfe would see him unable to qualify, seeing the legend start in last place. Despite a show during the actual race, Metcalfe would only finish 7th, his first ever time not finishing on the podium apart from his DNF in Bristol last year. Meanwhile, despite a close race which would see Logan Jackson and Vitalité push for their first win, it would be Evan Bradley who got over the line first, which would also see him become the 2nd driver to complete a Grand Chelem. Harrington would also announce post race that, despite to the complaints of many European fans, Miami would be coming back to the calendar in season 3.

Race 3: Manchester
Winner: L. Meyer
Pole: L. Jackson
Fastest Lap: H. Pierson
Back to England saw Logan Jackson get both his and Vitalite's first ever pole in Manchester qualifying, narrowly beating Meyer in heavy rain. The heavy rain would worsen come race day, leading to Ashton Colt sliding off the track in lap 4, hitting the wall and retiring from the race. The race would be enthralling, with a battle between the 2 Evosync's and 2 Vitalite's in the top 4 going back and fourth all day. Whilst Jackson maintained his lead until the first of 2 pitstops in the race, he would prove to be to slow, seeing Lukas Meyer overtake him on lap 19 and both Metcalfe and his teammate Ederson Ross overtaking him 2 laps later on lap 21. Whilst Jackson would fall back, his teammate would still try push for Vitalite's first win, overtaking and defending Metcalfe for many laps. He would eventually try a move on Meyer just 3 laps out from the end, however with DRS being disabled due to rain he was just to slow and had to settle for second.

Race 4: Edinburgh
Winner: D. Metcalfe
Pole: E. Ross
Fastest Lap: D. Metcalfe
Ederson Ross would continue his form by taking his first pole in qualifying. Come race day, and he would find himself battling with Metcalfe for first the entire day. After exchanging positions all day, Metcalfe would use DRS to overtake him 6 laps out from the finish line. Ederson would continue to try overtake, getting more and more aggressive with each attempt. Vitalité would ask him to stop and just secure 2nd, fearing that by being so aggressive they could go to hard and lose 2nd place, however Ederson would ignore his radio and make a sketchy divebomb, that would see him collide with Daniel. Whilst Daniel would recover and still manage to take the win, Ederson would find himself cross the line in last position, showing signs of his last seasons stubbornness and aggression all over again.

Race 5: Birmingham
Winner: E. Ross
Pole: D. Metcalfe
Fastest Lap: E. Ross
Metcalfe would find himself back on pole for only the 2nd time this season in Birmingham, beating Ederson Ross by well over 1 and a half seconds. A poor start from Metcalfe would however see Ederson take the lead, a spot where he would remain for the entire race despite an attempt of an undercut by both Metcalfe and, crossing the line 4 seconds before Metcalfe and taking his maiden victory. Meanwhile, his teammate Logan Jackson would unfortunately DNF and retire from the race after an early gearbox failure.

Race 6: Glasgow
Winner: E. Bradley
Pole: H. Pierson
Fastest Lap: L. Meyer
Before the race weekend in Glasgow, Prototype Racing would make an announcement that Harry Ross would not be racing in Glasgow due to contracting a severe illness, and in turn Scottish 18 year old Jack Allingham would take the wheel of his car for the weekend and future weekends depending on how bad Harry's illness was. Whilst Allingham would only manage 10th place in qualifying, the Scottish Fans in Glasgow would still roar on their nations first ever driver. Meanwhile, Hugh Pierson would manage his first ever pole in a surprise qualifying session, while teammate Evan Bradley would lock out the front row. Pierson's luck would not continue come race day however, as wing damage after a collision with Ashton Colt in turn 3 would see him have to pit on the first lap. Meanwhile, Lukas Meyer would lead the pack, charging into a demanding lead. It would however be Evan Bradley standing upon the podium at the end of the day, after he would take and hold the lead just 4 laps out from the end.

Race 7: Bristol
Winner: D. Metcalfe
Pole: D. Metcalfe
Fastest Lap: L. Jackson
The race weekend in Bristol would once again start off with an announcement from Prototype Racing, however this time it would be a very different one. After a disappointing time in the GRC, Prototype would announce that at the conclusion of season 2 they would sell the team and GRC license to Car Manufacturing Giant Mertelen. Meanwhile, Harry Ross would once again miss a race weekend due to his illness. Metcalfe would find himself in a familiar position come qualifying, as he would once again start on pole. A troubled start would however see him slip to 3rd, with the 2 Vitalite's overtaking him. Damage on Ederson Ross's car would slow him down however, and Logan Jackson would find himself stuck behind his teammate whilst trying to defend against Metcalfe. Due to the damage, Ross would be asked to allow his teammate to pass, once again his Ego would get to him however as Ross would refuse, which would see Metcalfe overtake Jackson and eventually go on to overtake Ross and win the race.

Race 8: Cardiff
Winner: E. Bradley
Pole: D. Metcalfe
Fastest Lap: J. West
The GRC would once again arrive in Cardiff, the track of the infamous red flag during the 7th race of season 1. Fortunately this time the weather would be looking better, with no rain forecasted for the weekend. Qualifying would kick off with Metcalfe once again landing on pole, beating Bradley by just 4 hundredths of a second in a thrilling Q3 session. Come race day though, and an engine fault would see Metcalfe retire, with Bradley commanding a comfortable lead that he would hold for the remainder of the race. Meanwhile, Hugh Pierson would once again find himself on the podium, leading to Aero Pulse's first ever double podium finish. Bradleys win would also see him take the lead in the championship, marking the first time ever that a non Evosync driver would lead the championship and just the 4th time that Metcalfe wouldn't be leading after 18 races.|

Race 9: Paris
Winner: L. Jackson
Pole: L. Meyer
Fastest Lap: E. Ross
The GRC would find itself back in France come race 9, and once again the turnout was huge, with thousands of people watching Meyer take his first pole of the season. The race would provide quite the spectacle for the French fans, with a very competitive pack seeing the most lead changes in a GRC race ever, with 7/12 individual people taking the lead at some stage in the race. It would be Logan Jackson who would be the one in the lead come the end of the race however, marking his first ever win.

Race 10: Liverpool
Winner: E. Bradley
Pole: B. Harris
Fastest Lap: H. Pierson
One year on from when Metcalfe was crowned the first champion of the GRC, the competition would arrive back in Liverpool, however this time in a much different situation, as the Championship position would be drawn, with both Metcalfe and Bradley both desperate for a win to try and seal the championship for themselves. During qualifying, Benjamin Harris would reinforce his strong rookie season by qualifying first after Ederson Ross would have his lap time deleted in Q2. This would be a move that angered Ross, as he would be seen yelling and even becoming aggressive with a race official back in pitlane, a move that would see him be fined by CEO Harrington. The race would be an exciting one, with Metcalfe and Bradley instantly fighting each other for position into turn 1, with Metcalfe just getting out of the corner before Bradley for p3. The 2 would go back and fourth for the remainder of the race, fighting for first and second. It would however be Bradley who would get the better of the 2, seeing himself jump into the championship lead going into the last race of the season and look to both win his first title and stop Metcalfe from winning back to back championships.

Race 11: Silverstone
Winner: L. Jackson
Pole: L. Jackson
Fastest Lap: D. Metcalfe
The season finale at Silverstone would be exciting, as unlike last year the championship was still very much alive. Evan Bradley would look for his first championship as he was 7 points ahead of the first and currently only championship winner Daniel Metcalfe. The qualifying battle between the 2 would be close, and despite Bradley setting the better time in Q1, Metcalfe would get the better of him in Q2 and go 4 tenths better, seeing him qualify in front, however it would be Logan Jackson who would ultimately take pole, qualifying ahead of both of them. Meanwhile, it would be a disappointing day for Lukas Meyer, who despite still mathematically being in with a chance for a highly unlikely shot at the championship, an invalidated lap time would see him knocked out in Q1. As the lights went out on race day, Bradley would be aggressive on the start, making a move on Metcalfe into turn 1, which failed, a move that would allow Jackson to take a strong lead on the rest of the pack out front. After failing the first move, Bradley would bide his time, as all he had to do was stay 1 spot behind Metcalfe to obtain the championship. Knowing that second place wasn't enough, Metcalfe would push aggressively to try and catch Jackson, with an early pitstop in attempt to undercut him not being enough. The race would continue much the same, with Metcalfe desperately trying to catch Jackson whilst Bradley would cruise on behind him. Disaster would strike for Bradley however, as a lock up with 6 laps left until the end would see Ederson Ross overtake him for 3rd, placing Bradley only 1 point ahead of Metcalfe in the live championship standings and meaning that all Metcalfe had to do was overtake Jackson for the championship even if Bradley could catch Ross. Metcalfe would use this opportunity to fuel him, setting the fastest lap 3 laps out from the end and seeing him start the final lap within DRS range of Jackson. All Bradley could do was sit back and hope, as Metcalfe would get closer and closer. Jackson would just barely defend an overtake down the Hangar straight and into turn 15, Metcalfe would go for one more Hail Mary into turn 18, however it would be too little too late, and Jackson would get over the line in first, denying Metcalfe from going back to back and seeing Evan Bradley become the second ever GRC World Champion.