Orion

Orion was founded by Mingva and Alain in June 2002. The team became ZakStunts champions in 2003 and 2006 seasons.

Season 2002. Founding a team

It all began in the chatroom and on the forum. A novice Stunts racer Mingva seemed to keep stats for the #stunts channel as he stayed online all day. By that time, Alain was searching for some method to be better in his favorite abandonware game. After some lovely talks on chat, Mingva and Alain agreed to start racing together.

From ZakStunts news:
* 09/06/2002 Mingva founded a new team named Orion.
* 10/06/2002 We have a new driver, Alain from France. He joined the team Orion. Welcome!

First races and the first victory

The first race for Orion team probably was ZCT Plus#1 track in ZakStunts. Alain writes: "I remember Mingva committing harder in the Plus competition. He showed me incredible things with the indy car, and I tried to do like him without being able to reach his time until the very last days". Mingva finished 3rd, losing only to Roy Wiegerinck and Bonzai Joe. Alain was 6th on this race, meaning the teamwork made them stronger than the average.

Another race in ZakStunts was on ZCT15 track, which ended in 15 July. Alain remembers: "It seemed that I was running like a fat man while trying to catch the rythm of the leaders". Alan Rotoi was driving for his first podium there. Alain finished in the 9th place while Mingva was just behind, 10th. As was planned, both finished in points using automatic gear.

Meanwhile, Orion members decided to take a challenge (as well as to gain experience) in another Stunts contest. By this time, two Austrian drivers Pershing II and Ruepel maintained the ISA competition. In that time Alain simply was unable to toggle sixth gear in jumps, loops and relevant parts of the tracks. Both team drivers finished at the last two places on Adelaide track. No better result was to expect from the next track, London.

In July something began to change for Orion. The team had to know victory and success. Not on ZCT16, where Alain drove a red Acura NSX named 'jodie red special' and earned a podium! But ZCT Plus#2 was a real Orion triumph. The first victory for the team was achieved by Mingva, after couple of intense competition days. Alain just could not follow the pace. The car was the Skoda Felicia Kompressor, a very fast and tricky car that bumped your eyes out of your head when you brake and accelerate out of control in a twinkling of an eye.

Three new drivers

After the first victory, the team started to assimilate new drivers. In 5 August Krys Toff joined Orion. A french driver who started professionally in France Stunts Championship (maintained by Alain), added much to Orion team thanks to his fighting spirit and great ambitions.

The third historical driver of Orion team joined in 5 September. It was Leo Ramone from Brazil. Leo started his international racing career in ISA competition as a member of his own team LabOnLine.

In 10 November on the chatroom, place where all the racers want to be, Mingva met Argammon, former member of the Euroteam MasterStunts team. Argammon spoke about exchanging replays but after a short discussion, was made a stunning move to young Orion team. His points came to Orion team that made to reach the 4th place in ZakStunts team rankings, teasing the Looping Warriors.

Each of those drivers tried to add their points and professionalism to the team. Krys Toff had a constant career on the same level as Mingva, Alain and Leo every team member send replays to each other, participating liberally in all competitions. Argammon never had to force his incredible talent, benefiting from that organisation as well.

Struggling for the podium

After Alain's podium on ZCT16, the next race was a failure. But not ZCT18 where Alain finished 2nd and won the first leading time points of history. Interesting moment, because during that race Orion team suffered a first crisis. It must have come from some complains about an ISA competition, administrated then by Mingva. Alain simply decided to quit Orion and founded Hyperion team. But finally 'il professore' rejoined Orion.

Then ZCT19 was an average race once more. But not ZCT20. Here Alain sent a podium replay on the last days, offered by the lack of motivation from the top racers, that played no more for the championship crown as Bonzai Joe already was secured the 1st place in ZakStunts'2002.

Season 2003. Sacred champions, both individually on several contests, and as a team

Season context: 2003 was Orion’s breakout, “monster-team” year, with the squad driving the fight for both individual and team honours across ZakStunts and side series. October fell in the final stretch of that campaign, just before the November surge that sealed key results. It was a Golden Era for Orion team. ZakStunts season started with dual league. Alain & Argammon started in Pro but soon Krys Toff and Mingva promoted there as well. Only Leo Ramone spent all the time in amateur division. On november the second Argammon sent a resignment letter to all members and quit the team. Alain climbed to the 1st place in ZakStunts'2003 competition, respectfully sent a list filler replay on the last month to give a chance to the opposition and Orion won team championship.

October 2003 - Overview

October 2003 was a set-up month. No ZakStunts win for Orion on ZCT30, but momentum and standings groundwork ahead of the November run that capped Orion’s championship season.

USC round win. Unskilled Stunts Championship wrapped that day with an Orion victory: Alain won the race; Krys Toff finished 6th. Post-race revision. After a penalty issued by CTG to Zak, Krys was promoted from P6 to P5 on the Győr round.

ZakStunts — ZCT30 “Volcano Islands” (Porsche Carrera 4): The October round was won by Bonzai Joe (with Fernando Brito topping the parallel list). Orion didn’t take the win this month, after Alain had triumphed on ZCT29 “Flower Power” in September; October effectively set up Orion’s big push that followed on ZCT31 in November.

Parallel competitions (status as October closed): Several series were nearing their finales (e.g., Kalpen, LOL, IRC). Final confirmations landed in early November (e.g., Kalpen standings and LOL’s decisive Riobamba race), so October was a month of positioning rather than silverware for Orion. (See November wrap-ups for the titles and wins.)

November 2003 - Overview

November 2003 was marked by outstanding performances from Team Orion across various racing simulation competitions, as well as significant changes within the team structure.

Major Results

Stunts LOL Riobamba (November 3rd) Mingva secured his first victory of the season, marking Lithuania's first-ever victory in this competition. This performance enabled:

Krys Toff to clinch the 2003 championship with one race remaining Alain to move up to 4th place in the overall standings Leo Ramone to secure his 2nd position in the championship

Team Orion became Team Champions.

Zakstunts 31 - Dickingham Palace (November 2nd) Orion delivered an exceptional collective performance with Argammon finishing on the podium in 2nd place and Mingva in 4th. This performance brought the team significantly closer to the zakstunts 2003 championship.

Kalpen 2003 (November 3rd) Alain finished 2nd for the second time, securing 3rd place overall. Krys Toff narrowly missed the podium with a 4th place finish.

IRC Vilnius (November 15th)

Mixed results for Orion: Alain: 4th place (4 points, 1 leading point) Krys Toff: 7th place (2 points) Mingva: 10th place Leo Ramone: 12th place

Team Changes Argammon's Departure (November 2nd) Argammon left Team Orion due to "major problems within the team" and joined the free agents list. He apparently signed with Corks crew shortly after.

Qualifications and Championships

IMSA Cup Krys Toff qualified to face Zak Mac Kracken in the qualifications.

USC (November 10th) Orion won the race, with Krys Toff finishing 6th.

Individual Achievements Krys Toff was recognized as the "2003 HOTU championship dominator," solidifying his reputation as one of Team Orion's premier drivers.

Season 2004. Taking a break

After confirming season in 2003, Orion team adventure was over. Krys Toff announced his departure from the team because of willingness to race just for fun. Leo Ramone was released from team, Alain and Mingva said goodbye to Orion as well. But Orion founders couldn't race without each other, so at the end of January 2004 they formed Mimas Racing team.

Season 2005. Reconnection

under construction