Qirex Research and Development (formerly known as Qirex Industries, also referred to as Qirex-RD) are an Anti-Gravity racing team based in Russia. They are one of the most well-known teams in AG racing history. In the Wipeout series, Qirex are also one of the more popular teams, even to date.
History
Qirex Industries was founded in the early 21st century and initially focused on the Russian domestic market. In 2045, AG Systems employee Holst McQueen was dismissed from the company as a result of a communication breakdown with fellow employee Delia Flaubert. McQueen went to Russia and started an AG racing team with Qirex. Flaubert responded by forming Auricom one year later.
In stark contrast to Flaubert's belief in Pierre Belmondo's philosophy of using anti-gravity technology for the good of mankind, McQueen was only interested in the profitability of the technology. As such, he had remained the Qirex team's director after its sale to Overtel Corporation. The combination of McQueen's leadership and the team's seemingly unlimited funds from Overtel saw Qirex become the most successful team in the early times of AG racing history. Their lead pilot, Kel Solaar, had won more F3600 championships than all other pilots of the era combined, and is thus considered the greatest AG racing pilot of all time.
As Overtel was gaining more control of the Anti-Gravity Racing Commission following Belmondo's death in 2127, Qirex became an independent entity. They continued their strong success in the F7200 League until the decline of the Russian industrial sector in the late 2140s. Unprotected by a parent company, their assets quickly fell in the hands of a crime syndicate who had overthrown the Russian government.
As a result, Qirex was taken over by the syndicate-owned Tigron Enterprises in 2149. The Tigron team would compete in the F9000 League, where they would utilize their own craft and aggressive strategies. This proved a nuisance to other teams, leading the Tigron team to be accused of disproportionate acts of race-fixing, including but not limited to blackmailing Overtel using much of the the datacast company's confidential data relating to its illegal business practices so that they would be able to flaunt the rules.
Tigron fell apart in October 2170, when the F9000 League was abolished after allegations of corruption against Overtel had been unveiled, leaving all Tigron facilities abandoned. The syndicate's rule in Russia collapsed not long after. Two years later, an entrepreneur named Feliks Levovich, whose father had been heavily involved in the original Qirex team before Tigron's takeover, bought a former Tigron factory and started restoring former Qirex craft.
The restoration project was met with overwhelmingly positive public receptions. As a result, Qirex was eventually reinstated in 2179. As interest in amateur AG racing grew in the 2180s, Qirex were poised to make a miraculous return to AG racing, leading to their participation in the Anti-Gravity Rebirth Festival in 2185. During this time, Levovich started producing brand new models from the factory.
Following the success of the FX150 Amateur League, Qirex began developing their own ship as they would compete in the FX300 League. Their new ship in the League was much more balanced than its precursors, while retaining the team's exceptional shielding traits from their early days. The Qirex team were able to show such a good performance, though arguably not as good as themselves in the early times. As such, they appeared to be very optimistic to look forward to claim many wins.
So to keep up with their performance, Qirex decided to go further in professional AG racing. As such, the Qirex team began building a new ship with partners at Quantax Dynamics. This well-done preparation, coupled with talented young pilot Nadia Elenova as the lead pilot, would see Qirex set for a return to the front of the grid in the FX400 League.
FX300 Background
It's been a long road back for the Qirex operation – missing in action since its Tigron overlords swallowed the outfit whole and tossed aside one of the most successful names in the history of AG racing.
Happily, the foresight of Russian businessman Feliks Levovich in acquiring the Qirex plant after the collapse of Tigron Enterprises could not have been more inspired. His determination to return the team to its rightful place on the track looks set to pay off with a capable and durable FX300 entry.
FX400 Background
With massive investment in bleeding-edge facilities at their base on the outskirts of Moscow, Qirex, the Russian powerhouse of the early days of AG Racing, are poised to make a strong return to the front of the grid in the new FX400 Racing League. Director of Operations Feliks Levovich is set to field the talented young pilot Nadia Elenova in an attempt to steal the thunder from bitter rivals, Auricom.
To quote Levovich himself, in a recent interview, "Our rivals should prepare themselves for a high-speed revolution. Qirex are back where we belong. In front."
FX400 Message
Statement by Qirex Director of Operations, Feliks Levovich, Moscow, Russia
Friends of Qirex: Welcome to our high-speed revolution.
For 2207 our team will strike back at the competition with an all new race craft that has been honed by the finest engineers at our new facility outside of Moscow and by our partners at Quantax Dynamics.
Make no mistake – in the FX350 and FX400 Racing Leagues we will field the finest Qirex craft produced since the days of the F7200. It has balance, speed and durability in such abundance that we can be considered championship contenders before a race is run.
At the position of Lead Pilot will be Nadia Elenova, the young lady who is the hot topic on every datacast and who each of our competitors can only dream of having on their roster.
Together, Nadia and our LS07 chassis will be a formidable combination on the global stage of Anti-Gravity Racing. I look forward to seeing your support in Russia and around the world.
Appearance, Evolution & Stats
In earlier games, Qirex ships are some of the hardest ships to control due to their poor handling and great speed. They also have adequate shielding, making it a good choice for more experienced pilots. In fact, the Qirex ship shielding is never lower than average in any game the team appeared, even in their appearance in Wipeout 3.
In Wipeout Pure, their ship is very different from its predecessors, and much more balanced, with an outstanding balance of speed, thrust, and handling, as well as an impressive shield strength, making it particularly reliable, and a great choice for aggressive pilots. While it is neither excelling in nor lacking at any particular areas, its shield proves helpful when the competition is getting tight.
Their ship in Wipeout Pulse is a modified version of the F5000 model, and apparently faster than its predecessor in Pure, despite its rather weak thrust. The ship is still quite good in cornering and still has very solid shield. Apart from those, the ship itself is still generally balanced. In Wipeout HD, the ship itself uses a slightly different model, but is statistically similar to that of Pulse. However, the Qirex Fury ship has a particularly better thrust. As well, it is now slightly faster and handles slightly better.
Gallery
Trivia
- In Wipeout 3, it lists Qirex's establishment year as 2017. However, this was later retconned to 2045.
- The Cyrillic character "Ж" in Qirex's name would actually mean the English pronunciation of the name is "Kai-rezh". Nonetheless, it is easily identifiable as faux-Cyrillic.
- The Qirex logo in Wipeout Pulse also contains Cyrillic character "Г" in place of Latin character "R", which would mean the pronunciation of the name is "Kai-gezh". However, as with the case of "Ж", it is most likely faux-Cyrillic.
- The literal name of Qirex means "Great Kings", which refers to the team's reputation as the undisputed kings of the circuit in their early history.
- The Qirex motto in the AGRC is the only one in the whole game series written in Cyrillic letters rather than in Latin letters.
- In Russian, the motto roughly means, "Might makes right", while the literal meaning is, "One with brawn doesn't need brains".
| Anti-Gravity Racing Teams in Wipeout |
|---|
| AG Systems • Assegai • Auricom • EG-X • FEISAR • Goteki 45 • Harimau • Icaras • Mirage • Piranha • Qirex • Triakis • Van-Über |
| Defunct/Former Teams: EG-R • G-Tech • Tigron • Xios |