Joaquin Cortez is a hover car racer attending the International Race School.
History[]
Hover Car Racer[]
Born and raised in Mexico, Joaquin Cortez obtained his own racing-class hover car, 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.
As the School's racing season began, Cortez won at least one of the races between Race 2 and Race 22, allowing him to qualify for the Sponsors' Tournament that year. When the Tournament began, Cortez faced Pharos in the first round of match racing, and upon defeating him proceeded to Round 2. In the second-round match against Varishna Krishna, however, Cortez was out-raced and eliminated from the Sponsors' Tournament.
Following the Sponsors' Tournament, Cortez 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. Even so, by the end of Race 49, Cortez's efforts were not enough to keep himself from falling short of being in contention for the third and fourth placed spots, instead being ranked somewhere below eighth overall.
Before Race 50 began, Barnaby Becker bought Cortez off to aid him during the School's final race, with the Mexican racer agreeing to try to take Jason Chaser out of the race entirely so that Barnaby would have a clearer shot at securing a victory that would earn him third or fourth on the championship ladder, and one of the last two entries to the New York Challenger Race.
As soon as the race began, Cortez drove straight towards the Argonaut, targeting the car's tailfin - which had been a fear of Jason's since his crash in Italy - not caring that this move would put him out of the race as well. Jason managed to dodge the kamikaze maneuver, however, and as he deduced the reason for Cortez's move, raced out ahead, with Cortex doggedly pursuing the younger racer over the next several laps as he sought opportunities to take him out. On Lap 35, Cortez took what he assumed to be an easy shot at ramming the Argonaut's tailfin in the Clashing Bergs section as Jason took the turn a little too wide. This, however, was Jason baiting Cortez into charging, and as he dodged out of the way, Cortex smashed his car into the iceberg, with him and his navigator narrowly ejecting before the crash, and was thus eliminated from the race.
Skills[]
- Expert Driver / Pilot: As seems to be standard practice for anyone wishing to learn how to drive a hover car, Cortez is capable of piloting the aviation-type hover car. Cortez is capable of performing aerial feats and maneuvers that in the present day are only known to pilots of fighter jets. As he failed to earn a rank higher than ninth on the school championship ladder by the end of the term, Cortez could be considered a racer of mid-range talent.
Equipment[]
- Unnamed Hover Car: Cortez's personal hover car. After using it to compete in the majority of the Race School's school championship, Cortez crashed the car while attempting to take out Jason during Race 50, resulting in being smashed against an iceberg and reduced to scrap.
- Team Cortez Racing Uniform: Like all racers, Cortez has a racing uniform, comprised of a crash helmet, leather gloves and boots, and racing overalls, all coloured and patterned in Cortez'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 Cortez'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[]
.