Scott J. Syracuse, nicknamed the Scythe, is a former hover car racer who teaches at the International Race School.
History[]
Early History[]
When he was a young man, Scott Syracuse attended the International Race School, where he learned to be a hover car racer. Syracuse proved to be extremely talented on the track, earning the nickname the Scythe. Many race fans expected that he would have a long career.
After graduating from the Race School, Syracuse joined the Lombardi Racing Team, and under their licence began taking part on pro-circuit races. While he was racing for them, Syracuse became friendly with the team's founder, Umberto Lombardi.
On one occasion, Syracuse was participating in the Sydney Classic of the Grand Slam Races, and managed to secure a solid lead two whole laps ahead of his nearest rival. Unfortunately, however, his car was sideswiped by another racer whom he didn't see exiting the pit lane, taking him out of the race.
Prior to a race on the Italian Run, Syracuse came up with a plan to discover the layout of the shortcut mine at Taranto - something which racers were prohibited to try to scout before a race - by pretending to get lost in the maze during the race itself, all so that he could use it legitimately in future years. By coincidence, during the race, Syracuse ended up near last place during the race, so many assumed his run into the shortcut was a desperate play to catch up to the race leaders. Syracuse spent around four hours mapping the tunnel system until he uncovered the route through the maze, upon which he returned back to the shortcut's entrance and took the long route through the rest of the course to the finish line, by which time the race had ended four-and-a-half hours earlier.
Syracuse participated in a few more races that year, however, during the New York New York Masters, he was wiped out by fellow racer Alessandro Romba. Though he survived the crash, the accident resulted in the neurotransmitters in Syracuse's brain being severely damaged. In addition to now requiring a cane in order to walk around, Syracuse's injury meant that he would no longer be able to react fast enough on the race track, thus his racing career was over.
Two years after his career-ending crash, the International Race School offered Syracuse a filling-in position as a teacher, and during these periods the students became annoyed because of his tendency to give them extra pit training. When the year was over, the school offered to take him on as a full-time teacher for the next year, which Syracuse accepted.
Hover Car Racer[]
Before the school year began, Syracuse accompanied Principal Jean-Pierre LeClerq to the Indo-Pacific Regional Championships to view prospective racers. Although Barnaby Becker won the race and an invitation to the IRS, Syracuse was more interested in Jason Chaser, a younger racer who'd utilised a different tactic than everyone else. Heading to the Argonaut's pit bay during the presentation ceremony, Syracuse noticed w that the car had a damaged tail section. Introducing himself when Jason and his navigator the Bug returned - while overlooking Jason's awkward acknowledgement of who he was - Syracuse asked about the broken steering rudder and was surprised to learn that the damage had occurred early into the race. Intrigued by Jason's explanation of having used the thrusters to steer instead, Syracuse then asked the brothers about their plan for the course; once the Bug drew out his original plan for him, Syracuse compared it to the optimal course plan. Getting permission to keep their plan, Syracuse then bade them farewell.
Analysing the Chaser brothers' race plan on a course-plotting program, Syracuse saw that their plan was 97% optimal for the course, even though the racers had only received the course layout two minutes before the race. With this on top of Jason's driving skills, Syracuse deduced that the brothers had a lot of potential, and that they could become exceptional with the right training. Later that night, Syracuse went to visit the brothers at their home, surprising their father - Henry Chaser - as he had just been speaking about Syracuse himself. Greeting the brothers, Syracuse noted their exceptional skills, and asked if they would like a place at the International Racing School under his tutelage. When they agreed, Syracuse made the arrangements to have the brother enrolled, and returned to the School to prepare for the year.
Following the entrance assembly where Le-Clerq announced which teachers the racing students were to be assigned as their tutor, Syracuse met his charges - Horatio Wong, Isaiah Washington, their teams, and lone mech chief Sally McDuff - at the pit lane, and waited for Jason and the Bug to arrive. Once the brothers arrived, Syracuse informed them that Sally was to be their team's mech chief, and proceeded to explain how the Race School's championship races operated, particularly Race 1. To his students' dismay, Syracuse informed them that, unlike other teachers, he would not be granting them free rein before the first race to feel things out, and had already prepared an intensive lesson for the day.
In the pit lane, Syracuse's teaching style quickly got on the older boys' nerves as he preached the importance of pit stops during a race. Additionally, after advising Jason to be more precise with his stops to reduce delays in his pit machine's alignment, Syracuse warned the racer about worse delays when he tried to creep out of his pit bay before his pit stop was finished and gave him a penalty. When Jason prepared to protest, Syracuse advised him not to resist his mistakes and to learn from them, as making the same mistake twice was stupid. After he dismissed the class, Wong and Washington badmouthed Syracuse, while Jason felt unappreciated because of Syracuse's lack of offer of positive reinforcement.
During Race 1, Syracuse watched as Zoroastro gave Jason a 15-second penalty for again trying to edge out of the pit bay before finishing his stop, visibly disappointed that Jason hadn't heeded his previous advice to not repeat his mistakes. Furthermore, at the end of the race, Jason opted to rescue Ariel Piper - who had lost control of her car - instead of finishing; though Sally praised his heroic actions, Syracuse was less positive in his congratulations, noting how this had kept Jason from earning any championship points.
As the School's racing season proceeded, Team Argonaut experienced a slew of faulty parts, though Syracuse showed little sympathy to their situation. Before Race 16, Syracuse organised a practise race for his students, during which Jason attempted to win the race by skipping his last pit stop, only to lose magnetic power on the home straight. Syracuse admonished Jason for his bold-yet-reckless tactic, adding that the success rate for skipping a final pit stop was only 0.005%. Syracuse then told Jason not to try doing so again, concerned that people was assume he was encouraging such foolish tactics.
A couple of days before Race 25, both Wong and Washington skipped Syracuse's lesson, so Team Argonaut took the opportunity to ask Syracuse for advice on tactics for the upcoming enduro race. Syracuse quickly shot down Jason's query about using the shortcut at the Dunalley Coalmine, citing that only racers who knew the layout of the maze beforehand should use them. When Sally pointed out that the mine was out of bounds for students, preventing them form learning the layout, Syracuse cryptically implied that there were legitimate means of learning a shortcut maze's path beforehand, but did not elaborate and reiterated that they not use the shortcut. Later, when Jason spoke with his parents about the upcoming race, Henry recalled Syracuse's apparent misstep in the Italian Run's shortcut and that it was why Syracuse was advising against using the one in Race 25.
During the course of Race 25, Jason actually used the Dunalley shortcut twice, having gleaned that Xavier Xonora and Oliver Koch had uncovered the correct path through, and then - in a desperate gambit to win the race - ignored Syracuse's previous advice and skipped his last pitstop. This narrowly allowed Team Argonaut to win, and after the victor's presentation, Syracuse went to speak with Jason about having taken the risky measure despite his warning. Jason asserted that he had used Syracuse's previous advice about not resisting his mistakes, and while Syracuse noted this had only allowed him to win by 4.2cms, his student replied that a win was still a win, regardless of distance. This actually got Syracuse to smile and congratulate Jason, and was interested to see how he did in the upcoming Sponsors' Tournament. Before Syracuse left, Jason invited him to his family's celebration dinner, with Syracuse agreeing to join them once he was done with work.
Syracuse arrived at the Chaser family's celebration near the end, surprising Jason by handling his takeout burger with ease. Henry couldn't resist asking the former racer about his failed shortcut attempt in his last Italian Run. Rather than explain his plan outright, Syracuse merely hinted that he hadn't planned to be wiped out later that year; Jason was then able to correctly deduce Syracuse's plan to survey the Taranto mine and then use it in later years. Syracuse commended Jason for being the first person to ever figure this out, and for his use of the shortcut during Race 25, with Jason glad to have finally earned his teacher's praise.
While preparations for the Sponsors' Tournament were underway, Syracuse hosted lessons - again only comprised of Team Argonaut, with Syracuse showing no concern about Wong and Washington's obvious ditching - again focusing on pitstops, this time using closed circuit cameras of the Argonaut's pit bay to show Sally her shortcomings during a pitstop. Once the lessons ended, Syracuse displayed the match-making format for the Tournament, and offered to answer any of Team Argonaut's questions to handle match racing. Syracuse noted that pitstops were a crucial factor, and stressed that never giving up was a key point since one never knew what problems their opponent had going on as well.
That night, Syracuse attended the Sponsors' Gala, and, knowing that his former employer Umberto Lombardi would be attending, invited him to stop by his group's table during the evening, though Lombardi insisted on joining his former racer's table. When Sally and the Chasers arrived - sans Martha - Syracuse noted the difference compared to the previous night's dinner, at which point they were met by Lombardi, whom Syracuse introduced to the Chasers.
Syracuse was among the teachers spectating the Tournament once it was underway, congratulating Jason on holding his nerve throughout his first-round match against Ariel and advising him and the Bug to rest before the next match. After Jason beat Washington in the second round, Syracuse accompanied Washington over to the Argonaut's pit bay as the old boy congratulated Jason. When Washington saw their tarantula's readout, which showed that Jason had been severely low on coolant and power in his magneto drives, Washington was astounded and annoyed to realise that he had given up just before Jason had, and questioned how Jason had learned to keep his nerve as he had. The younger racer revealed that it was thanks to what Syracuse had taught him in the class that Washington had missed the previous day; when Washington demanded to know what exactly Syracuse had said, Jason allowed their mentor to answer, to which Syracuse replied to Washington, "Never give up".
Jason and his team emerged second from the Tournament, and Syracuse again joined the Chasers and Sally in a celebratory dinner. When Lombardi appeared and offered them the opportunity to participate in the Italian Run under his license, Syracuse casually continued eating while the rest of the party were in shock at the incredible offer.
Since the School still had classes and races on in the days before the Italian Run began, Syracuse could only promise Team Argonaut that he would come to Italy to support them as soon as he was able. Syracuse's only arrived in Rome right after the race commenced, but by the time he got the the first pit stop at Fiumicino, Sally had just departed for the second set of pits at Pescara. Chasing after the Lombardi team's trailer, Syracuse managed to get Sally's attention and joined her onboard, hearing the news that Jason was in last place following a sideswipe from Etienne Trouveau. Overhearing on the team's radio Jason's desperate plan to use the Taranto shortcut despite not knowing the layout, Syracuse interrupted to apologise for his lateness and to offer them a way to get back into the race. Once the Argonaut II reached Taranto, Syracuse ordered Jason into the mine, proceeding to guide him through the maze until they reached the other side and caught up to the race's leaders.
However, as they approached the pits, their truck was thrown off the road after another car cut across their path. With the truck unable to move Syracuse prodded Sally to hurry and pack a hover cart with equipment and started running on foot to the team's pit bay. The pair arrived after the Argonaut II, costing Jason a few places with the wait, though the stop was quickly completed. To everyone's horror, the Argonaut II's tailfin spontaneously exploded on the final stretch before the finish line, and the car was then struck by Kamiko Ideki's out-of-control car. Luckily, Jason and the Bug were able to eject in time, though the former was comatose for a couple of days, with Syracuse visiting him with his family in the hospital once Jason woke up and informing him of the changes to the rankings on the Race School's championship during his absence.
When Jason was able to return to racing in Race 42, Syracuse witnessed Wong smash through the Argonaut's tailfin in what seemed like an accident, putting Jason and himself out of the race. When Wong returned to the pits, Syracuse - having recognised that he had been intentionally fracturing Jason's confidence - furiously scolded the unrepentant Wong, who 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 demanded Wong get out of his sight.
Following Race 50, Jason - who had regained his confidence - had earned fourth place on the championship ladder, and with it an invitation to take part in the New York Challenger Race. At the subsequent end-of-year presentation dinner, Syracuse won the Teacher of the Year award, defying many expectations that Zoroastro would earn it for his contributions to Team Xonora's achievements.
With the School year over, Syracuse accompanied Team Argonaut to New York, witnessing Jason win the Challenger and enter the New York Masters. The night before the Liberty Supersprint, Syracuse discussed tactics and advised the team on the points and elimination system. Syracuse then joined the rest of Team Argonaut's family and supporters in watching as he worked his way through the New York Masters until he had earned a spot in the final race, the Quest Race. As the weight of what Jason, the Bug and Sally had accomplished despite their rookie status set in, Syracuse spoke up during the quiet dinner, noting how racers were ordinary men and not superhuman despite most people's expectations. Continuing, Syracuse stated that athletes' ability to stand before the crowds in spite of their own fears were what made them loved, and finished his speech by reassuring Team Argonaut that they had proven themselves throughout the entire year as true racers and had what it took to win the New York Masters. Jason proved victorious as Team Argonaut emerged as the winner of the New York Masters.
Personality[]
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Skills[]
- Expert Driver / Pilot: As a former hover car racer, Syracuse is capable of piloting the aviation-type vehicle. During his racing career, he was capable of performing aerial feats and maneuvers that in the present day are only known to pilots of fighter jets. However, after the damage to the neurotransmitters in his brain, Syracuse cannot react fast enough to perform such maneuvers, which ended his racing career, though he is still able to drive standard hover cars.
- Expert Tactician: Thanks to his time spent as a pro-league racer, Syracuse became a skilled strategist when taking part in hover car races, and was even able to conceive a legitimate plan to leave the layout of the shortcut mine in the Italian Run course. Despite his injury forcing him to retire, Syracuse's tactical prowess remained, and he put this to use as an instructor at the International Race School, with a particular focus on instilling in his students the necessity of efficient pit stops. Though the intensity of these lessons, as well as ones focused on ensuring his students were learning about the physics involved in hover car racing, grated on Washington, Wong and Jason, only the latter's team headed Syracuse's teachings to become proficient racers, further demonstrating Syracuse's tactical skills when it comes to racing.
Equipment[]
- Cane: With the damage to the neurotransmitters in his brain, Syracuse requires a cane to aid him in walking.
Trivia[]
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