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Topic: Elite Press |
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Quote ( Florencia Caro @ February 16th 2018,21:26:14 ) Which doesn't mean building resources is not doable at Master, or Pro.
Which I agree with. But that's far from "Ama promoters' big wallets hurt the chances of Pro managers to be competitive. Myth or reality?" I could also say winning the lottery is doable, but it's better if you're a millionary in the first place.
Quote ( David Rolleston @ February 16th 2018,20:38:14 ) What would that mailbox look like if Edwin ever makes it to elite 😜
lol. I hadn't seen this. Fortunately, Elite has never been in my plans and the only season I could have had a chance to promote I didn't do nicely. I doubt I can get to Elite even if I planned to.
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Quote ( Edwin Silva @ February 16th 2018,21:29:16 ) "Ama promoters' big wallets hurt the chances of Pro managers to be competitive. Myth or reality?" So, what is your reply to this question? :)
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Quote ( Florencia Caro @ February 16th 2018,21:31:13 ) So, what is your reply to this question? :)
This is the Elite press thread. Open up a Master press thread. Plus you already know the answer. ;)
But seriously speaking, I shouldn't have posted here in the first place. This is a place for well deserving managers who are in Elite. The spotlight is for them.
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Quote ( Florencia Caro @ February 16th 2018,20:06:01 ) Imagine that from my side, I get to open the mailbox and find something like this:
Ah, the first chapter =]
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Quote ( Edwin Silva @ February 16th 2018,21:36:46 ) I shouldn't have posted here in the first place The exact opposite, this is a forum Edwin. It is of course the time for the promoters to tell their stories, but if the idea was just to post the interviews, I would do that in a new topic and close it for comments. The debate is also part of Elite Press.
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This manager does not need a Crown to be Hungarian. Presenting
Previous Season: 62 - Group Master 1, 3rd place with 56 points and 2 wins Team: Withlock Racing Team Previous Season: 62 - 89th with 408.1332 team points
Tell us what your plans were at the beginning of Season 62, when you picked Hancocks as your tyre brand for the season?
We always talk over a plan with my brother, I would like promoted in elite, I think I have good enough pilot, that I can made a plan. unfortunately the season is more expensive than we calculate. Therefore I'm so happy, that i could promote in Elite. It has not been possible for anyone my team where I'm racing.
During the season your results were pretty irregular, doing very well in some races and not so well in others, care to explain us why? Did weather have a big influence?
Hancock is very good tyre in cold weather, and that i know it. Therefore I'm tried pushing warmest race for example 2nd race here I'm finished in second place. I'm so happy this result, but I knew is that this will not always be the case. I can't make test because the money lost fast.
We've seen you training drivers long term more than once. Last driver you picked seemed more like a short term one. What made you change your approach?
I'm preferring a long term pilots. When you have a younger pilot ,whom you can traninged long term, then you can earn some money. In master, after I promoted to pro, I haven’t enough good pilot. Therefore in my team was one teammate a good pilot which he can't promoting in master, but the pilot have good reference (concentration, stamina, talent), and I would like sign him. I'm not regret the sign, because I'm done my plan.
You are another Elite freshman becoming the first member of his team to reach Elite. Do you consider there had been substantial changes in the team's learning curve helping you achieve that, or was it a more gradual team learning process?
Yes, I think I can learning new things in Elite, and I can help to other teammates. My brother is already waiting, that everyone could promoted in Elite. He have 2 dreams for the team. First: Qualified to team cup ( best 32 after 2nd race) and join someone in elite the team. I'm more fortunate than, I can do it. We have a big database, and I am always about the race, with my brother. He is a real technical director, and it is true for the whole team. Sometimes he takes it too seriously.
Do you expect to retain Elite long term? Are you financially prepared for the challenge?
I know I don't have a lot of chance, but I don't want select pipi. I would like fight us staying, I think i have a chance in rainy race. Unfortunately after to 5th race I have few money, and know so I need actived B plan But I'm happy this result, I would once come back in elite stronger
For Elite Press®, Flo
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One of the finest exponents of the recent Polish Invasion to Elite. It's him, the "other" Radek...
Previous Season: 62 - Group Master 3, 2nd place with 98 points and 6 wins Team: Polish Racing Team Previous Season: 62 - 23rd with 554.0663 team points
12 seasons in a row at Amateur, Radek, were you waiting for your dream driver to pop up in the Amateur market? Was that money balance consequence of the wait and lack of investment options?
Well, this was really long time in AMA :). If you want to find the reason, you have to go back to last race of S43. In this race driving on yokos without FT I lost retention in Elite in last laps when my driver made mistake. Even that after last lap I was 9th in this race with less than 1 sec behind Tomek Kiełpiński, who set “let through” for me in his race setting. So, one lap more and I got one point which guaranteed retention I that season. If I made I had a chance to fight for top positions in S44 having one of the top package in that time.
I realized the most important (except luck) thing I didn’t have on very high level in my first adventure in Elite was money and sponsors. It doesn't make much sense to invest to much in S&F or in car in AMA, because I don't need very strong package (except driver) in AMA or at the beginning of PRO. I need strong package in Elte, and that is why I left AMA with so huge money balance to save money on invest a few seasons later. That is basically why I spent 12 seasons in AMA :)
Was that season on Michis an alternative to Spa sessions while you were giving that driver proper training?
Yes, and no :). Actually I really wasn't sure if I would retain with my package on dunos or yokos in my first season in Master. I had even worse package than Łukasz Dudek in his first master season and he finished 25th on Dunos. So, Michis was safe option and yes, thanks to I it I could concentrate on normal driver's training. This was really good decision, because even on Michis I wasn't fast enough to score points regularly.
Was the Polish Racing Team invasion to Elite planned, or just the natural outcome of several seasons of hard team work?
Definitely team work. PRT didn’t ever make any pressure to sacrifice anybody individual plans for better team results. We just made a news strategy started more than 20 seasons ago with only one target: dominate in elite in long time period by so many our team member we can. So, now we are five in Elite, with Radek (Radziu) Czech fighting for the title (some say, he is already S63 Champ :-)), and me and Marek (Hajnar) Hajnrych fighting for top10. I can even say, that we should be able to have at least one guy fighting for the title in next 3-4 seasons. Maybe we will also join to serious team championship in future seasons, but definitely not in S63.
I also wanted to say thank you to all my teammates for their support. We are all not only GPRO team but also group of people who meet each other in any occasions, and each year we gather on one weekend special meeting racing gokarts, playing games, drinking and have fun :-). In 2018 we probably will have meeting including 21-22 actual and former PRT managers ;-)
Without these guys I wouldn't be in Elite now. Probably I wouldn't play in GPRO so long even
You won 6 races and still came in 2nd place in the group, do you have any regrets? Are you happy with your choices during the promotion season?
Well, M3 together with M5 was the tough master group in S62. In the middle of the season in One Big Race we had 8 managers from M3 in top16 OBR from all Maters groups – greeting for all M3 guys ;). I made two serious managers mistakes/wrong decisions in last 3 races and Diogo was much more faster in last 2 races than I thought and this is why I finished 2nd. Of course I regret I didn’t pressed harder in last races, but you know this is management game, where you can't predict all opponents decisions and you have to think about future seasons. So, the best solution is reaching the best results without wasting to many resources. Anyway Diogo was really fast and deserved for championship.
Any plans on leaving Elite any time soon?
No, I don’t plan to leave Elite any more. One time is enough :)
For Elite Press®, Flo
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Nice readings and well done to both promoters and flo!!
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Quote ( Florencia Caro @ February 20th 2018,19:21:39 ) Well, M3 together with M5 was the tough master group in S62. In the middle of the season in One Big Race we had 8 managers from M3 in top16 OBR from all Maters groups – greeting for all M3 guys ;). I made two serious managers mistakes/wrong decisions in last 3 races and Diogo was much more faster in last 2 races than I thought and this is why I finished 2nd. Of course I regret I didn’t pressed harder in last races, but you know this is management game, where you can't predict all opponents decisions and you have to think about future seasons. So, the best solution is reaching the best results without wasting to many resources. Anyway Diogo was really fast and deserved for championship.
I think you deserved more than I did, but the chance came and I grabbed. I spent a little more than I should, but I grabbed. Now I can say that I beat the guy who came more prepared from the master to the elite. :)
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Master 3 group... oh the memories :P
Nice insight from everyone of the promoters. Thank you all and Flo of course!
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Return those sponsors Theo, we miss those here :P
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I promise I will. Don't know when though :P
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It cannot be said last season was a Badyear for this guy. Introducing our next interviewee
Previous Season: 62 - Group Master 2, 2nd place with 41 points and 3 wins Team: Gotham Racing Previous Season: 62 - 9th with 624.4337 team points
Back at Elite after only 2 seasons, Nik. May I ask if that was in the plans at the beginning of Season 62, when both you and your team mate Craig picked Badyears?
Yeah exactly, I'm back at elite, but I can't say that it was part of the plan. Not part of the initial plan for season 62 at least. As you mentioned, Craig chose Badyears, and we saw some changes in tyre peak temps etc. I started to like the idea to try Badyears more and more and I decided to join the party.
And it paid off considering that it was quite a rainy season. Those conditions suited my driver very well and I managed to win race 4 and 6. When it was time for race 9, which looked to be another full wet race, I knew I had to decide which direction I wanted to take. Another win would put me in the "risk zone" of promotion since a lot of the managers in Master 2 had expressed that they didn't want to promote. Finally I decided to for that third win and here we are. :)
You dropped your driver (which had at least one more race in his contract) on race 13 to hire a temporary replacement. Do you consider you had reached the point of no return then?
Yeah at that point I had changed my plan because I knew it was likely that I was going to promote, so I wanted to get rid of my driver before he started over on the extended contract. I didn't want to pay a big compensation for him at the start of this season, since he wasn't Elite-material. But the temporary driver I signed wasn't as good and I'm not sure I chose the best strategy to the end the season.
You could only retain for a couple of seasons last time at Elite. Did you get to identify a weak point in your pack, or was it more product of an unforeseen bottleneck you found once at Elite?
I guess I've partly answered this question already. I did learn a few things during the three seasons in elite so you can say that I identified some weak points in my package. But I haven't had the time to do much about it really.
What motivated your consecutive promotions, during seasons 56 and 57?
I believe it was the combination of a few things. Elite had always been a dream, I had a very good package overall and there weren't many managers in my group that were pushing during season 57. I started that season with the plan to just retain. But the season started well and several managers posted in the group forum that they weren't pushing for promotion. So I saw an opportunity to reach Elite and I went for it.
Tell us about your short term plans, what do you have in mind for the next few seasons?
I'm just trying to enjoy the game together with the team and I feel that in this situation I am right now it's difficult to plan ahead. I know that I'll be struggling to retain Elite the next few seasons and I'll always have the back-up plan, to move down one or a few divisions to regroup, in mind if necessary. But my ambition for each season will be to retain and hopefully I can establish myself in Elite eventually.
For Elite Press®, Flo
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Yes, he did it before he hit 1k! From the (D)evil lands of Tasmania
Previous Season: 62 - Group Master 4, 2nd place with 56 points and 2 wins Team: Versant Previous Season: 62 - 5th with 680.9668 team points
You are the most veteran player on this pool of promoters, and also an Elite freshman, Troy. What has kept you out of Elite until now? Skill, motivation, planning, lack of interest?
I'd say planning. I didn't realize that till a couple of seasons ago when ex team mate and new admin Jukka won back to back titles. I have the same tools as he had. He just made better decisions :) I have been playing this game for over 10 years now and have never missed a race, I love the game so motivation or lack of interest was never a problem.
It's pretty unusual to see a manager that has just promoted from Pro to Master going for a promotion right away. What motivated your move?
I have always seemed to stall in Master, just run out of money. So I thought stuff it I will go for it straight away. I am kicking myself because I had been telling myself for a while that I was going to pick Michis and go for it but I chose Hancocks and my season really suffered for it due to weather. I was actually preparing to go negative and relegate and regroup but the weather was favorable late in the season and not many in my group actually wanted to promote.....I wanted to tick Elite off my GPRO bucket list so I went for it. I am in the midst of a planned relegation atm.
You have been rarely seen with the same driver for longer than 3 seasons, would you say you are not a believer of long term driver training?
Call me the Frank Williams of GPRO! No I hate training drivers and having to purposely go slow to prevent drivers motivation etc from rising just so that you can resign them. I like to race and normally push all the time. This is a simulation game that mimics real life. Can you imagine if Ferrari said "Mr Schumacher we are going to give you a broken car that you can only race at 50% so that you can race with us again next season". It wouldn't happen. I like to race, to say that I am finding this season a little less than satisfying is an understatement, but as I said bucket list.
One more thing you never did is to park at a tier and grow a huge money balance. Do you consider it perfectly possible to be competitive in the higher tiers without such practice? See above a little I guess. I did spend several seasons in Pro when I joined Versant but that was more to build Facilities and car back up than money. Money does make the world and GPRO go round but I don't think you need to go to the extremes that some managers do. I would probably find it a little boring to sit and accumulate money for a long period cause I like to race.....hey it took me nearly 1000 races to get into Elite, I wouldn't be following my game plan :P
What are your plans for your GPRO future? What's next?
Again I'm heading back to Master, I hope to consolidate there for a few seasons and come back to Elite and have a proper crack at it. As I said earlier I have the same tools that Jukka had to win titles, I need to make better decisions. In saying that Jukka is a genius and while we miss him GPRO is richer for having him on the team. I love this game and can see I'll be here in another 10 years. Please come back and interview me again then :)
For Elite Press®, Flo
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Cobras are not supposed to go too far, but look at this one...
Previous Season: 62 - Group Master 3, 3rd place with 67 points and 2 wins Team: PSC Green Cobra Previous Season: 62 - 21st with 561.0835 team points
You took the last promotion spot of Master 3 only in the last race. Were you aiming to promote since the beginning of the season?
Hey, first of all thank you for the job done on interviews Flo. At the beginning of the previous season I was aiming to push a lot, either to promote or to finish 4th with this old trained driver. The first podium made me confident in my possibilities and I continued on that way to promotion. I didn't expect though to see my pace to slow down that much and it became hard to finish as planned, especially with Diogo and Radek in front of me ! I knew Max didn't want to promote but catching him up was not easy even though we talked a lot to avoid this issue. I spent maybe too much budget on last races to make this Elite dream come true, thing that weakened me somehow this season.
You are the first man at Elite from PSC family. Is it hard for the younger teams to bring their managers to Elite?
Reaching Elite for a team like us is still considered as a success, as we are used to go in Master but rarely to do a big push there for a promotion. We are still learning how to manage the Master level to be able to stay or have a good package and conditions to go upper. There is, though, an enormous work done by my team mates to understand all the components of the game and so I would like to thank them all for the support, and I know soon they will join me in that experience !
Did you consider bringing your own trained driver to Elite? Why did you pick an oldie for Master?
My plan, back in amateur, was to train a driver to go to Elite, but it seems he was too weak for Pro, so I switch for that ready-to-go driver strategy, and I kept that way until now. It works pretty well for a 2 seasons contract and oldies are usually the most experienced until they are too old. Plus, I was interested in some of the driver characterics that i could avoid to maximize and to concentrate on more important in Master ! Changing driver in Elite was integrated to this plan as the salary of my oldie was becoming too high
At your manager career page the following can be read right now: "First cycle is coming to an end...someday !" Does that refer to your promotion to Elite? Do you see GPRO as a game where managers have consecutive cycles peaking at Elite and going back to the lower tiers?
In my opinion, there are definitely cycles for most of the managers (Maybe not top Elite though if they can handle the performance and sponsors at anytime). So in my case, yeah, the purpose of the first cycle is arriving to Elite, but sometimes there are cycles from Ama to Master/Pro more shorter, it depends of the objectives and bad/good management. So going back to Pro, building up again sponsors and ccp and come back stronger later is part of the next cycle I plan. Within those cycles we could find the shorter driver cycles i told about or training one for the whole adventure. Either solutions are good enough and defendable.
But for now, let's see if I can make it to stay as long as I can in Elite !
For Elite Press®, Flo
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Once upon a time, there was a champion tiger who showed how it was to relegate in style. Then, a new tiger came along and showed him how it was to add some style to the way up...
Previous Season: 62 - Group Master 4, 1st place with 58 points and 2 wins Team: Tiger Racing Previous Season: 62 - 1st with 765.533 team points
Interesting way up Miel, 4 tiers in the last 5 seasons. Was the no plan approach your plan all the time? Do you think you got to build a good pack?
It may not look like it, but there has always been a plan. Granted, i've consistently deviated from it, but the grand goal has always been the big ladder climb. It just went a bit faster than initially planned :)
Skipping a season here and there does of course mean part of my pack is not as strong as i had desired, but i think i've built up to a decent (competitive) level. Some parts still need work, but the basics are there, and quite decent. I mean, i've consistently been among the biggest spenders in the game since S57, and not all of that was driver salaries; much of it actually went into package building.
You promoted to Pro for the first time on Season 57. What made you decide to go back to Amateur right away?
That promotion was not the best decision i've made, let's keep it at that. I had just joined Tiger and blatantly ignored advice from teammates, eager to prove my worth. That worth? A lame promotion to Pro with absolutely crap facilities, sub-par test points and probably the worst staff levels you've ever seen in a non-Pipi league.
Funnily, it was that season in Pro that locked me onto my current path really. After 8 races or so i had concluded that i would not be able to keep decent finances in Pro with such a terrible package and my desires in terms of testing. The big plan i drew up involved going down to Ama for 3 seasons, then 2 in Pro and 3 in Master, all towards an Elite arrival in S66...
After one season back in Ama, things were looking slightly better, and i decided to shorten my stay there to 2 instead of 3 seasons. Then, two races into S60 the immediate jump to Master became a real possibility, and teammates urging me not to do it only motivated me more :P
After my 1st season in Master I did sign a driver in S62 for a two season plan again. But then half the M4 group was napping mid-season, which opened up the possibility to make yet another early jump. Less warnings from teammates this time, as Edifice was still on our tail and we could use some extra team points ;)
Are you planning to copyright Driver One Season Stands© and Driver One Race Stands©? Do you think current Staff Markets are deteriorated?
Nope :D All my one-season and one-race drivers were happy accidents really; did I already mention I plan things really well?
Jokes aside, i'm still not a fan of long term driver projects spanning more than 2 tiers; shorter projects do work, but you'll need some luck on the market to sign a suitable driver. Ready-to-rumble ones aren't available in abundance either, but it's obviously more justifiable to slap a hefty salary on those than on a potential 4-season prospect. I don't think the whole driver market is deteriorated to be honest. I think the market is still re-balancing after driver energy was introduced. Manager's expectations of the market will follow suit and adapt too, and everything will be fine. I hope :)
The single season drivers (Von Opel in P18, Frentzen in M4) were actually planned to be 2 season deals btw. Both had a fat extention ready to kick in after R17, and that's what led me to signing single race drivers for both R17s in S60 and S62, to avoid a hefty contract compensation after promo.
The only other single race driver I had was intented to be a longer plan too, but I failed to drop sufficient motivation in S57R17 though, so couldn't bring him down to Ama with me. As always, it seems I had planned things very well. :D
You come from a team with plenty of Elite experience, has that affected your decisions? Do you believe it's an advantage?
Oh definitely an advantage. Entering a new tier is much easier when you've got experienced people around that can tell you what to expect, what to do, and what not to do. Really super helpful, unless you're a stubborn little twat that ignores advice and your own long term planning.
How long do you think this Elite adventure will last?
My grand plan tells me I'll be here a for a long time, so I'll likely drop back down to Master soon. ;) For Elite Press®, Flo
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With that last interview this cycle comes to an end. Must say that I did enjoy this more than I expected. Wanted to thank this wonderful batch of Master to Elite promoters. None of you had the obligation to take part of this, which makes this truly amazing. Having you as fellow managers in this game is a true privilege guys. Stay around and keep making this game and site what it is 💗.
I would also like to express my gratitude to some other managers who also contributed to this series of interviews behind the scenes:
* Tomek Kiełpiński, who worked on the translation for Mateusz Oleś interview. * Gábor Safranyik, working on his brother's interview translation, Martin Safranyik * Alessio Girasole, who was at the wrong place at the wrong time 😆 and ended giving his best to help me arrange the interview with Massimiliano Galli. Sadly, that is the interview that couldn't be, as I never got a reply 😩 * The one and only Rimantas Sagatas. He had to deal with my n00b interview host questions, and provided his experience and wisdom to make things easier for me in this process. * Jaguars, because I know how much of an annoyance I can be when I'm stressed about something 🙊, and those guys have nowhere to run and had to put up with me. * Vlad & Jukka, for dealing with the infamous notifications.
Curious facts:
* I was victim of a shameless attempt to put pressure on me... to include a question about the dimensions of certain manager's head in the interview of that certain manager. This certain manager might or might not have a brother playing the game, in a different team 😜
See you soon... maybe?
For Elite Press®, Flo
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Congratulations on the great work, Flo. I suggest you make one with the promoters to Master... ;)
Master Press!!!!
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Quote ( Diogo Schwinn @ February 27th 2018,19:43:59 ) Congratulations on the great work, Flo. I suggest you make one with the promoters to Master... ;)
Master Press!!!! Maybe you revive Master Press®?
/forum/ViewTopic.asp?TopicId=21640
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Yes, congrats, Flo. Nice work indeed. I enjoyed your interviews.
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Quote ( Florencia Caro @ February 27th 2018,19:48:15 ) Maybe you revive Master Press®? /forum/ViewTopic.asp?TopicId=21640
I think you are the right person. Your experience counts a lot !!! :)
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Quote ( Diogo Schwinn @ February 27th 2018,19:55:46 ) I think you are the right person. Your experience counts a lot !!! :) I am only one person, and those 14 interviews really took lots of work, from me, the interviewees and the people helping behind the scenes.
I hope this inspires new/old interview hosts :)
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Quote ( Florencia Caro @ February 27th 2018,19:38:43 ) See you soon... maybe?
Better be, Flo! I wote yes, btw...
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Was nice reading them! :)
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Great work, Flo. Looking forward to the Master Press you'll be doing soon ;)
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Nicely done!
Let's all hope Kyle is next on the list :D
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Good work Flo, thanks for reviving the thread. Next season it will definitely go down when you interview me though.
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Quote ( Ivan Silva @ February 27th 2018,21:57:35 ) Next season Who knows who'll be the host next season :0
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Did a minor edition to Miel's interview, as I forgot to include a few lines (had an old version of the interview ready to paste, sorry :/ )
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