Horatio Wong is a hover car racer from China attending the International Race School.
History[]
Hover Car Racer[]
Born and raised in China, Horatio Wong obtained his own racing-class hover car - which he named the Little Tokyo - and participated in numerous races, eventually winning a regional championship, and with it an invitation to study at the International Race School in Hobart, Australia.
At the end of the entrance assembly, Wong was informed that he and his team would be undertaking classes under former racer Scott Syracuse. During the first lesson in the Pit Lane, Wong met the other racers under Syracuse's tutelage, Isaiah Washington and Jason Chaser, and gave the latter a belittling glance before the teams were all put through grueling hours of physics lessons and pit lane practice. After the lessons, as the drivers were headed to the dining hall, Wong complained to Washington about having had to attend a physics lessons (believing it was only relevant to his mech chief) and doing a mocking impression of Syracuse, with both of the older boys excluding Jason from the conversation before sitting at a table of similarly-aged racers.
As the School's racing season began, Wong fared well, winning at least one of the races between Race 2 and Race 22, allowing him to qualify for the Sponsors' Tournament that year, and by the end of Race 15, he was placed fourth on the school championship ladder. Later, during a practice race as part of Syracuse's lessons, Wong and Washington were surprised when Jason skipped his last pit stop, but both managed to overtake him at the last second when Jason's magneto drives lost all power, with Wong beating Washington by 0.3 seconds.
On the day where the cancelled Race 24 would have taken place, Wong and Washington both feigned illness in order to avoid having to attend another of Syracuse's lessons, and during Race 25, Wong did not race especially well, as he was not among the leading pack of racers.
The day before the Sponsors' Tournament began, Wong once again faked an illness in order to have a rest day before the Tournmanent. Wong faced Lucas in the first round of match racing, and upon defeating him proceeded to Round 2. In the second-round match against Xavier Xonora, however, Wong was already behind the prince when he foolishly chose to pit, and the more talented Xavier was able to lap the Chinese racer on Lap 11, winning the race and eliminating Wong from the Sponsors' Tournament.
Following the Sponsors' Tournament, and just after Race 40, Wong was among the students approached by Zoroastro, who proposed an alliance with the students under his tutelage in order to improve their overall placement on the School's championship ladder for the rest of the year. Part of this plot involved crushing Jason's confidence, who had been in a brutal crash at the end of the Italian Run, and thanks to Dido Emanuele - Xavier's cousin who was spying on Jason - they learned that the young racer was nervous about potential damage to his tailfin.
Using this intel, during Race 42, Wong smashed through the Argonaut's tailfin, trying to make it look as though he had lost control on the straight section of track, putting Jason and himself out of the race. Afterwards, Syracuse, having recognised what Wong had been doing, scolded the unrepentant Wong, who merely maintained his claim of having lost control and having never seen Jason. Disgusted at both Wong's actions and the fact that he had clearly been following someone else's plan, Syracuse dismissed Wong, who glared at Syracuse as he left.
Though Wong's actions did temporarily fracture Jason's confidence on the track, the younger racer soon renewed his nerves thanks to his team's support and strategies over the next several races.
By the end of Race 49, Wong was in seventh place overall on the school championship ladder, and he had earned enough points to put himself in contention for the third or fourth placed spot, and with it one of the final two invitations to the New York Challenger Race, provided that the results in the final race went in his favour.
As soon as Race 50 began, Wong took an opportunity to ram the Argonaut from the side, but unlike Joaquin Cortez, Wong did not want to risk his chance to claim the last two spots to New York, and darted ahead of Jason. Wong remained in sixth place for the next several laps, until Jason - needing to get ahead of the Chinese racer to avoid elimination - began harrying Wong, though he kept Jason from passing him. On Lap 39, Jason risked using one of the Clashing bergs shortcuts in order to pass Wong, doing so successfully, and in spite of Wong's efforts to try to catch up to and pass Jason, he was fended off until the Lap ended, whereupon Wong was eliminated. Additionally, his placement in the race failed to let Wong move from his seventh-place position on the championship ladder.
Personality[]
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Skills[]
- Expert Driver / Pilot: As seems to be standard practice for anyone wishing to learn how to drive a hover car, Wong is capable of piloting the aviation-type hover car. Wong is a talented driver, easily capable of performing aerial feats and maneuvers that in the present day are only known to pilots of fighter jets. His skills were sufficient enough to earn himself seventh place in the school year's racing tournament.
Equipment[]
- Little Tokyo: Wong's personal hover car, which he drove throughout his time attending the International Race School.
- Team Wong Racing Uniform: Like all racers, Wong has a racing uniform, comprised of a crash helmet, leather gloves and boots, and racing overalls, all coloured and patterned in Wong's colours of choice.
- Pit Tarantula: A standard piece of equipment for hover car racers, this machine aids in pit bay maintenance during races, which Wong's mech chief managed during pit stops to keep their team's car in top working order by replacing worn or damaged parts, as well as refilling coolant.
Trivia[]
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