Characters / GRID Legends

The characters of the GRID game GRID Legends.

Seneca Racing

In General

A racing team that competes in the GRID World Series, which serves as the player's team.

Following an unpromising start that saw one of its drivers quitting, the team's fortunes began to change when team principal Marcus Ado hired an amateur racing pilot known only as Driver 22, who together with the racing talents of Yume Tanaka, helps the team ascend from semi-pro to pro, turning it into a serious challenger to dominant team Ravenwest Motorsport's success. However, after a massive crash at a race at Strada Alpina leaves Tanaka's future in the sport in limbo, Driver 22 is forced to continue the rest of the championship on their own.

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• Chronically Crashed Car: Poor, poor Seneca. Its drivers for some reason have become victims of turning cars that are worth millions of dollars into pieces of scrap metal. Some notable examples include Yume Tanaka's massive crash at Strada Alpina, the previous Seneca driver being a total Captain Crash, and Driver 22 sometimes crashing out of the race during cutscenes. Surely these crashes were guaranteed to give Ajeet lots of headaches.
• Determinator: The word "quit" doesn't appear to exist on Seneca's vocabulary, be it Driver 22 going solo after Yume Tanaka is put on hiatus following a severe car crash, or Yume herself returning to competition despite the accident resulting in her losing a leg.
• Foil: To Ravenwest. Seneca is an idealistic team that always plays by the rules, but while it is a well-loved team amongst their peers (except Ravenwest), they struggled quite a bit to find success on the track.
• Multinational Team: Downplayed. Aside from Driver 22 (who, being the Player Character, doesn't have their nationality specified), the team is managed by Marcus Ado and Ajeet Singh, who are both English, but Ado is stated to be of Nigerian descent while Ajeet, while not stated, is pretty obviously of South Asian ancestry (Singh being a very common South Asian family name, especially in India), while 22's teammate Yume Tanaka is Japanese. Played straight when Brazilian Lara Carvalho joins Seneca in the end of Driven to Glory and getting A Taste of Power of how it's like being a fully-fledged driver in Enduring Spirit.
• Primary-Color Champion: Seneca are the player's team and the "good guy" team so to speak, and while their primary color is white, they make use of a lot of red and blue accents, similar to the color scheme as Auricom, Haas, or Stevenson Motorsports. Lampshaded by Ryan McKane in the interview before "Pickup the Pace" when asked about Seneca.
  Ryan McKane: [pondering] Seneca... Seneca... They're the... uh... blue and white team, right? They all look the same in the rearview mirror.
• The Rival: To Ravenwest. Their up-and-coming success gives way to comments about how they are credible challengers to Ravenwest's dominant run in the GRID World Series, and while the McKanes dismiss or outright ignore those claims, they are clearly incensed by them.
• Save Our Team: A classic example. Seneca is a fledging team that has to be kept together by its team manager (with a big help of Driver 22 following Yume's exit) to win the Big Game (well, Big Race) agaist the rich and super-successful Ravenwest Motorsport.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Marcus Ado's philosophy of looking for the talent in every one of their racers resides in the scale's idealistic spectrum, compared to Ravenwest's money-based cynicism.
• Underdogs Never Lose: Seneca are the underdogs of the GRID World Series, but being the player's team, that means that they will win, as completing the story mode requires the player to win the championship for them.

Drivers

Driver 22

We'd make a joke about The Stig, but here It's Been Done already.

Age: Unknown

Position: #2 Driver

Nationality: Unknown

The number two driver of Seneca Racing and the main player protagonist.

Driver 22 was recently hired by Seneca Racing after the previous driver calls it quits for poor performance in the previous season. It's up to them to prove that they are a worthy driver to bring success for Seneca Racing in the GRID World Series.

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• Ambiguous Gender: The game goes to great lengths to avoid using pronouns when referring to 22, and when needed to, they're referred to as "they" or "them" (due to the game not having the option of changing genders). However, if you turn on subtitles during a drift event, the Drift Announcer will refer to Driver 22 clearly as a male.
  Drift Announcer: Amazing! HE IS THE DRIFT KING!
• The Bus Came Back: Following Enduring Spirit and Rise of Ravenwest, Driver 22 makes a comeback as the Player Character for the Winter Bash storyline.
• Car Fu: Enforced in the Classic Car-Nage storyline. Being a story involving a demolition derby, Driver 22 was tasked to do some car-lateral damage, like dealing as much damage as possible to other opponents, and one task involves 22 to wreck a driver.
• Determinator: With Yume out from a (seemingly) career-ending injury and 22 being the only driver left in the team, they have to soldier on alone for the remainder of the the GRID World Series until Yume fully recovers and returns to racing once more.
• Do a Barrel Roll: Enforced in the Winter Bash storyline. Driver 22 was tasked to perform a barrel roll by jumping off the ramp sideways, as it is a requirement to proceed to the next chapter.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Several characters, even including your teammate Yume, question how Seneca rests their expectations on a rookie. As the game progresses, and especially after the player is left to their own after Yume Tanaka is injured, they manage to get out of it, however, as the race commentators commend 22 and Seneca for their Determinator attitude despite Yume's exit.
• Heroic Mime: Driver 22 is a determined racer that combines The Voiceless and They Who Must Not Be Seen, akin to Ryan Cooper or The Stig.
• Heroic Resolve: With Seneca dealt a crushing blow in the form of Yume being out from a (seemingly) career-ending injury and 22 being the only driver left in the team, they have to soldier on alone for the remainder of the the GRID World Series until Yume fully recovers and returns to racing once more.
• Hold the Line: They basically have pull to several races-long one after Yume's exit due to an injury leaving 22 as the only Seneca driver means that the team can now get half the points they were able to before, meaning that now they are obliged to perform better than before to avoid making Seneca hemorrhage points and fall out of competition.
• Legacy Character: They're not the first driver to occupy their position in Seneca. It's said in the game that the team's previous #2 driver was so bad that he quit during pre-season trials before the first race. In turn, after Driver 22 and Ajeet depart from Seneca to form a new team with Valentin Manzi, Lara Carvalho takes 22's place.
• Meaningful Name: They're called "Driver 22" for two reasons: 1.) GRID Legends features a 22-car GRID, implying 22 (obviously last place) being Seneca's New Meat, and 2.) The game itself is released in 2022.
• New Meat: A fresh newcomer of the team, and became a quick learner after meeting some of Seneca's expectations.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: The player may be good, but in the game's universe, it's their teammate Yume Tanaka who is considered "Seneca's number one driver". They manage to slowly get out of it as the story progresses and Yume is put on the shelf with an injury, leaving the player as the sole Seneca driver, however, as the race commentators will express admiration for their endurance.
• Player Character: Duh. Driver 22 is the protagonist you're playing as. Need we say more?
• Put on a Bus: Driver 22 doesn't appear in neither in the Enduring Spirit storyline nor the Rise of Ravenwest storyline due to them focusing on Seneca post-Driven to Glory and the McKanes' backstory, respectively, rather than Driver 22's new team.
• Renaissance Man: It would never be a GRID staple without 22 being forte in multiple racing disciplines.
• Superior Successor: It's stated that Driver 22's predecessor in the role of Seneca's #2 driver was such a bad driver that the previous year he set a record for most last place finishes in a single season, and the next year performed so poorly in pre-season trials that he quit the team before the first race. Not only does 22 carry the team through the season alone after Yume is injured, but manages to win the whole thing for the team.
• You Are Number 6: The characters of the game will refer to you as "Driver 22" ^note Which it the default name if not changed in the main menu or simply "22", regardless if players decide to insert any name of their choosing.

Yume Tanaka

Age: 29

Position: #1 Driver

Nationality: Japanese

Portrayed by: Natsumi Kuroda

Voiced by: Maïa Michoud (French dub), Jessica Rust (German dub), Gea Riva (Italian dub), Nieves "Nicky" García (European Spanish dub)

The number one driver of Seneca Racing.

Yume has been driving for the team for three years, and she has yet to fulfill her dreams of becoming the first female driver to win the GRID World Series. Regardless, Yume's presence has proven vital to Seneca Racing's success thanks to her proficiency behind the wheel.

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• The Ace: She is called "Seneca's number one driver" for a reason. Marcus Ado introduces her pretty much fanboying over her, calling her a "racing legend", and when asked about Seneca's chances, Valentin Manzi says that they would be good if they had two Yume Tanakas.
• An Arm and a Leg Yume's left leg was amputated as a result from the crash of the Strada Alpina disaster race, which almost resulted in a Career-Ending Injury.
• Ascended Extra: Yume Tanaka was a normal AI opponent in GRID 2019 before she became one of the main characters in GRID Legends's story mode.
• Braids of Action: She wears the "one long braid in the back" version◊, Lara Croft-style, as appropiate of someone who's a racing pilot and wears a helmet.
• Friendly Rivalry: There are times Yume is your rival in a few races, even though she's your teammate and is otherwise cordial to the player. One chapter is in fact centered around a friendly race against her to put her doubts about the player's abilities to rest. This as well goes on with Lara Carvalho in a friendly challenge in one of the chapters in the Enduring Spirit storyline.
• Handicapped Badass: Despite having an prosthetic leg, Seneca manages to add modifications to her car that allows her to return to the track.
• Home Field Advantage: Subverted. In the opening of Enduring Spirit, when Lara said that Yume handpicks the Grid of Legends's opening race, the latter chose what truly means so much to her... and that is Fuji Speedway, a high speed track within her home country which is an excellent choice to hold an endurance race. The track has no advantages to Yume's end that makes her opponents quake in fear, it's just her preferred track to race on.
• Horrible Judge of Character: When Seneca sees that Nathan McKane's times are wildly faster than the rest of the drivers, Yume is sure that "It's McKane. He's a force of nature out there", even with Marcus Ado adding that "doesn't hurt that he was raised on milk from a cash cow." Sure enough, it turns out that McKane is cheating.
• Nice Girl: Although a little rash, Yume is very cordial and her personality often helps hype up Seneca's spirits. She also gets to get along with Driver 22 as the story progresses, and offering a friendly race with her. Her personality remains intact throughout Classic Car-Nage and Enduring Spirit.
• Not So Above It All: As serious as she may be when it comes to racing, right before the beginning of "Pickup the Pace", even she can't keep a straight face regarding Nathan McKane. Hearing a driver so serious suddenly being so sassy is something to behold.
  Yume: [in full-on Sarcasm Mode] I just had the pleasure of meeting Nate! Isn't he a wonderful human being?
• The Perfectionist: She certainly doesn't accept anything but a win, as demonstrated when various characters get asked about Seneca's ascent through the championship
  Claire: In a word? Unprecedented.
  Ajeet: Incredible.
  Yume: Decent.
• Tattoo as Character Type: Yume sports a tattoo of what appears to be a butterfly on her neck◊, whick peeks out of her racing suit, which seems to be related to how her bio stated that she was a daredevil in her early years.
• Thrill Seeker: Her in-game bio stated that Yume enjoys being an adrenaline junkie in her early years.

Seneca's Previous Driver

Check out Captain Crash over here.

Age: Unknown

Position: #2 Driver (formerly)

Nationality: Unknown

"Last year, [Marcus Ado's] number two driver set a record for the most last place finishes in a single season. This year perfomed so poorly in pre-season trials that he quit before the first race."

— Claire Webb

The previous number two driver for Seneca Racing, and Driver 22's predecesor.

Not much is known about him, being only mentioned by Claire Webb when recounting Seneca's setbacks, recalling that the previous year he set a record for most finishes in last place in a single season, and in the present year perfomed so poorly during pre-season trials that he quit before the first race. His resignation forced Marcus Ado to scout for a new driver, leading him to hire Driver 22.

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• Ambiguous Gender: Averted; Claire refers to the previous driver as a "he" (i.e. "he quit before the first race").
• Captain Crash: Despite managing to get into a professional racing team, he was a pretty lousy driver in it, having the most last place finishes in a single season and performing so poorly in pre-season trials in the next one that he quit the team before the first race. Simple put: this makes Pastor Maldonaldo and Nicholas Latifi look like they're far better drivers than him!
• The Faceless: All that's seen of him is in a flashback while wearing his full racing suit, so his face isn't seen.
• No Name Given: His name is never mentioned. Heck, he doesn't even get mentioned by his racing number, like Driver 22.^note It appears to be "71", since that number was on the side of the car he was seen driving during the flashback.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He quit Seneca following his poor results.
• Small Role, Big Impact: He's only seen in a flashback, but not only his poor showing is one of the big reasons Seneca starts out the game having a low standing on the championship, but him quitting the team forces Marcus Ado to look for a new driver, leading to him hiring Driver 22.
• The Voiceless: He's never heard speaking during his appearance. Justified in that besides being a minor character, he was only seen in a flashback.

Management

Marcus Ado

Age: 38

Position: Team Principal

Nationality: English-Nigerian

Portrayed by: Miles Yekinni

Voiced by: David Duclos (French dub), Peter Sura (German dub), Claudio Moneta (Italian dub), Roberto Encinas (European Spanish dub)

The team principal of Seneca Racing.

Before managing the team, Marcus managed his family business in South London at an early age.

Despite being passionate in motorsports management, Marcus faces numerous challenges and obstacles as team principal for Seneca Racing.

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• Bald of Authority: The bald team boss of Seneca. Unlike the usually stern, no-nonsense example of this, though, he's quite congenial.
• Benevolent Boss: Marcus is a Nice Guy who shows a lot of care and concern for his staff, especially with Yume's condition after the Starda Alpina incident, where Marcus was at his breaking point of selling the team. That is to the point that they persevere for the team he loves working for.
• But Not Too Foreign: As similar to his portrayer, Marcus is raised an Englishman, but also has Nigerian roots. It is hinted that his family's restaurant specializes in Nigerian cuisine.
• The Idealist: His philosophy seems to be based on looking for the best on any of his team's drivers, and even having to make do with what they have in the face of adverse events, so it's only natural Seneca tend to be the most idealistic team in the field.
• The Philosopher: Has some shades of this, as he usually brings food-based metaphors (based on his family having a restaurant) to rationalize the decisions he makes about the team. Ryan McKane lampshades this, saying that Ravenwest's success isn't based on "highfalutin philosophy about turnips."
• Put on a Bus: He's the only major character from the Driven to Glory storyline to not make an appearance in the subsequent Classic Car-Nage storyline.^note Aside from Ryan and Nathan McKane, whose absences in their cases are justified, the former being arrested and the latter being implied to have fallen in disgrace from the sport. He makes a brief return in Enduring Spirit, explaining what cars Seneca are driving for in the GRID of Legends mini-tournament and makes another brief appearance at the end of the storyline congratulating Lara in her victory. He makes another quick return in Winter Bash, catching Valentin and Ajeet filming in the Seneca garage and reprimanding them for it at the end of the storyline.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Prior to the final race, Marcus gives one to Ryan regarding their discovery of Ravenwest's fraudulence and the mistreatment of Lara.
  Marcus: Unsanctioned mods on the computer-assisted steering... Undeclared secondary power unit. Tell me Ryan. Has your nephew ever won a single honest race?
  Ryan: What are we talking about here?
  Marcus: You helping Nate cheat.
  Ryan: Think you've had too much of the cheesy fries, Ado.
  Marcus: The sad thing is, you don't even need to. You have a great driver. You're just holding her back because she's not named McKane.

Ajeet Singh

^{Click here to view Ajeet in career mode.}

Age: 27

Position: Engineer

Nationality: English

Portrayed by: Devesh Kishore

Voiced by: Jérôme Berthoud (French dub), Marco Sven Reinbold (German dub), Matteo De Mojana (Italian dub), Sergio Goicoechea (European Spanish dub)

The lead engineer of Seneca Racing.

Ajeet's interest in racing has been clear in his teenage years, but he gravitated towards engineering rather than becoming a driver. Modding and tuning his first car, his friends' machines, and even the family car, Singh blitzed his engineering degree at university, and joined old friend Marcus Ado at Seneca Racing, and is reveling in the chance to work on cars for multiple GRID World Series disciplines.

Ajeet Singh is also the player's mechanic and race control in Career Mode.

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• Bollywood Nerd: An Englishman who's implied to be of South Asian ancestry^note His portrayer, Devesh Kishore, is of Indian descent.(keep in mind that Singh is a very common South Asian family name, especially in India) who works as the engineer of Seneca Racing.
• Demoted to Extra: Ajeet is not your Mission Control during the Classic Car-Nage storyline, being replaced by the engineer that assisted Driver 22 during their time in the amateur leagues instead. He does make an appearance during one of the cutscenes though, where he implies the reason why he doesn't participate in it: as an engineer, and thus the guy in charge of maintaining all of his team's cars in tip-top shape, he's not exactly amused by a race class consisting solely of smashing them. He is Put on a Bus in Enduring Spirit due to the engineer from Classic Carnage acting as one for Seneca. He finally returns in Winter Bash, but only in cutscenes where is seen with Valentin, while the aformentioned engineer still acts as Mission Control for the storyline.
• Discount Card: Upgrade the "Vehicle Purchase Discount", "Loan Cut Reduction" and "Vehicle Upgrade Discount" perk and he'll give you a discount (up to 15%) on you next car purchase, car loan and car upgrade respectively. Similarly, upgrading the "Repair Cost Reduction" perk and you'll pay less for all the damages you caused during a race. So much for Ajeet and his maintenance salary.
• The Engineer: The engineer of the Seneca racing team. He later is the engineer of the player's team in Career mode.
• Heroic BSoD: Subverted. Ajeet quietly broke down and even decided to resign from Seneca after the Strada Alpina incident. However, Marcus assures that Seneca can persevere to prevent the team from being eliminated from the GRID World Series for long, and lets Ajeet keep his job.
• Is This Thing Still On?: In the pre-race interview preceeding "Pickup the Pace", Ajeet gets interviewed, where he proclaims he hates doing interviews. (Granted, it's implied that it's more because he's nervous or shy, rather than being a Jerkass like the McKanes.) Problem is, he does so while apparently believing the interview ended... when actually it did not.
  Ajeet: Oh, I hate doing those interviews. Did I sound alright?
  Claire: *Ahem* Ajeet, we're— we're still live.
• Mission Control: During races, Ajeet acts as your race control.
• Money Multiplier: Upgrading the "Sponsorship Payout" and "Racecraft Multiplier" for better and higher sponsorship and racecraft earnings respectively.

Ravenwest Motorsport

In General

"Best team, best car, a chance at a legacy... How could I say no?"

— Lara Carvalho on why she joined Ravenwest

A racing team that competes in the GRID World Series.

Founded and owned by former race driver Ryan McKane, Ravenwest are considered to be by far the best team on the series, featuring Nathan McKane as their lead driver.

The team was also featured in Race Driver: GRID, GRID Autosport, and GRID 2019.

The team's origins are explored in GRID Legends' Rise of Ravenwest DLC, which also serves as an Origins Episode for both Ryan and Nathan McKane.

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• Adaptational Villainy: While Ravenwest is the usual rival team in the GRID video game series, they was no indication in previous games that they actively antagonistic towards the player, having a Friendly Rivalry at best or being a Hero Antagonist team at worst. In Legends, Ravenwest is shown to be a Jerk Jock team indulging in cheating during races.
• Adapted Out: Downplayed. In previous GRID games, it was stated that Ravenwest was co-founded by Ryan McKane and Rick Scott, the latter being their other pilot aside from Nathan McKane. In Legends, Scott is just a regular AI opponent from a lesser-known team, and the game treats Ryan as its sole owner. Subverted in Rise of Ravenwest where in a flashback, Rick Scott is shown to be Nathan's teammate before Lara Carvalho was signed to the team.
• Animal Motifs:
  • Ravens. They're named Ravenwest Motorsport and their logo features a bird-like figure, use black as their primary color much like how ravens' plumage is black, and their almost-mythic reputation in the GRID World Series is similar to the various references to ravens across various cultures. Furthermore, in regards of the latter, ravens often being associated with loss and ill omen foreshadows how one of their pilots causes a multi-car crash that results in Seneca driver Yume Tanaka having to abandon the championship (if only temporarily) and putting Seneca on the brink of collapse, and their reputation as an opportunistic animal mirrors how it's revealed that they swept Lara Carvalho from under Seneca, signing her with a bigger offer before Seneca could do so.
  • Rise of Ravenwest reveals that birds in general were apparently a prefered motif of the McKane family. The team of brothers Donnie and Ryan McKane are shown to feature a bird on their team's logo, and even when Nathan makes his racing "debut" via interfering in a race as an unauthorized (at least initially) entrant in "Nate's Joyride", despite being ultimately described as an "independent driver", he is given a logo that also features a bird.
• Creepy Ravens: Ravenwest are the game's very antagonistic Opposing Sports Team, and feature a prominent raven motif.
• A Day in the Limelight: The Rise of Ravenwest DLC serves as this not only for the team, but for both Ryan and Nathan.
• Evil Wears Black: They are the game's main rival team, and use black as their primary color.
• Foil: To Seneca. Ravenwest is a cynical team born under the philosophy, going by Ryan McKane's comments, that money trumps everything else, whose star driver Nathan McKane is an all-out Combat Pragmatist on the track (if not resorting to the dirtiest of tactics) just to win another championship, which appears to enjoy limitless funding and is the team to beat in the game. Things are very much in their favor during much of the game, in contrast to Seneca being constantly on the brink of collapse.
• Obviously Evil: The team named Ravenwest, who sports mainly black with red accents and whose two main members, Ryan and Nathan McKane, spend most of their screentime being Jerkasses to pretty much everyone they interact with and mocking the team the player is in, turns out to be the "bad guy" team to beat in the game, who knew?
• Opposing Sports Team: The team is effectively the McKanes' personal realm and serves as the final opponent of the game. Interestingly, they had been a subversion of this in previous games, as while they were the player's biggest rival team and do possess many attributes common in a generic "evil" team like insane skill and reputation as nigh unbeatable, they didn't cheat, drive particularly aggressive, show any sort of hostility toward the player and/or their team at any point during the career modes, or do much of anything to suggest they're anything other than a really good racing team. Here, they do all that, up to and including cheating.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: The game's resident Jerk Jock team, which uses black with a lot of red accents in both their cars and their racing suits. In Rise of Ravenwest, during Nathan's rise to stardom between 2012 to 2016, it uses more of a grey-with-black-stripes pattern, akin to the first GRID game, and their racing suits during that time are shown to even be white with black stripes instead.
• The Rival: To Seneca, whose up-and-coming success gives way to comments about how they are credible challengers to Ravenwest's dominant run in the GRID World Series. While the McKanes dismiss or outright ignore those claims, they are clearly incensed by them.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Their philosophy on basically buying the best cars and the best drivers, in stark contrast with Seneca's, is mostly cynical.

Drivers

Nathan McKane

"They know who I am."

^{Click here to view the younger Nathan McKane.}

Age: 33

Position: #1 Driver

Nationality: American

Portrayed by: Callum McGowan

Voiced by: Simon Herlin (French dub), Kevin Kasper (German dub), Ruggero Andreozzi (Italian dub), Aitor González (European Spanish dub)

"I'm Nathan McKane, five-time GRID Series world champion. Soon to be six-times... and that's a new record."

The number one driver of Ravenwest Motorsport.

Nathan is a five-time GRID World Series champion, who serves as the nephew of Ryan McKane and son of Donnie McKane.

A notorious driver known for his aggressive tactics and sparking controversy on and off the track, Nathan would do at no expense take dangerous risks to win and prove Ravenwest's dominance, as well as approval from his family.

Nathan is the Player Character in the Rise of Ravenwest storyline, starting from chapter 4.

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• Adaptational Backstory Change: Rise of Ravenwest shows that Nathan became a driver for Ravenwest after completing a training race in 2016, as opposed to the original GRID where he was already a fully-fledged and experienced driver, and that was a game released in 2008.
• Adaptational Villainy: In previous GRID games, Nathan doesn't have much characterization beyond being one of the best drivers in the series and was a hireable teammate in the 2019 reboot. In Legends, he's an egoistical Jerk Jock who cheats during races.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Arrogant Racing Driver, to be more precise. Nate is indeed a skillful driver of the team considering his McKane lineage, but he's also a self-absorbed prick.
• Barbarian Longhair: A subtle one. While Nathan is depicted wearing his hair in a very short ponytail◊ during racing and while walking through the grid, during interviews he apparently lets it down, since Nathan sports some wild and wavy hairstyle during them. Just imagine if Kylo Ren is a driver for Ravenwest.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Nathan, alongside his uncle Ryan, serve as the main antagonists of the story.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He puts on a friendly façade with fans, when actually whining about how he thinks they're losers to anyone listening.
• Cheaters Never Prosper: Everything starts going wrong for him once it's revealed that he races in an illegally overpowered car. Not only he loses the championship to the player and Seneca, but his uncle Ryan gets arrested for the misdeeds they committed, being all but stated that Nathan's racing days are over. However, in a subverted twist, the ending of Rise of Ravenwest reveals that Nathan is returning to racing in the GRID World Series, just that's he's not returning to Ravenwest though.^note It's due to Jaxon Lewis and Logan Parker taking up the slots of Ravenwest.
• A Day in the Limelight: Alongside his uncle Ryan, Nathan gets his own spotlight in Rise of Ravenwest.
• Fake Ultimate Hero: Nathan McKane, 5-time GRID Champion, is revealed to be a mediocre driver who owns his victories to racing in an illegally overpowered car. Seneca are able to mortally wound his pride by taking the championship for him before reporting the modifications. Subverted in Rise of Ravenwest as it is revealed that Nathan claims that he has evidence regarding his championship titles were legally won, without any extra modifications.
• Face–Heel Turn: While Nathan McKane and his Ravenwest team usually were opponents to the player in previous GRID games, it seemed to be in the strictly professional sense, and Nathan even appeared to make a Heel–Face Turn in the previous game to Legends, GRID 2019, by becoming a hireable teammate. Here, however, he Took a Level in Jerkass, being an egotistical Jerk Jock who is willing to do anything to get Ravenwest the championship and refuses to take responsibility for his reckless driving.
• Generation Xerox: Rise of Ravenwest reveals that Nathan shares the the same Jerkassery with Unsportsmanlike Gloating and causing lots of trouble, just like his uncle Ryan.
• Hate Sink: He's basically tailor-made to be absolutely unlikable. Take for example his conversation with Lara after a fan asks them for a selfie.
  Nathan: Next loser that sticks a phone in my face, gets it smashed to a million pieces.
  Lara: Hey, you should be thanking them. The fans are the only reason why any of us have a job.
  Nathan: No, my uncle's pile of gold is the reason you have a job. Y'know what? Screw the fans. They love me no matter what I do.
• The Heavy: While he and his uncle Ryan are both ostensibly the main antagonists of the game, it's Nathan who's actually the driver, Ryan having retired and becoming Ravenwest's manager instead. However, Ryan does end up taking the wheel once more as Ravenwest's second driver during the final race after Lara Carvalho quits from the team.
• Hero Stole My Bike: In Chapter 4 of Rise of Ravenwest, one of the hints of being a total Jerk Jock is when Nathan stole his uncle's Corvette for a joyride race. Cue Nathan driving like crazy as he veers the car off the track.
• It's All About Me: It's clear that, if it was up to him, he would probably be the sole driver of Ravenwest.
  • At the pre-race interview before the "TKO" mission:
    Claire: We are going live to Ravenwest driver, Nathan McKane. How are you feeling about this race? Are you worried about the new double threat of Seneca and Voltz?
    Nathan: Actually, LEAD Ravenwest driver, thank you.
  • During a press conference before the race in "Tag Team":
    Nathan: Spoiler alert: This season is gonna end the same way as the last five years. Another team wanna get their hands on that trophy? They gotta get through me.
    Lara: You mean "us."
    Nathan: No. I mean "me."
    [Ryan McKane laughs]
• Jerk Jock: Self-absorbed, aggressive and continuously faster than the player while throwing his weight around, Nathan makes Ryo Watanabe look like a gentleman in comparison.
• Karma Houdini: Subverted. While it's implied that his racing days are over after his uncle Ryan is arrested for the team's wrongdoings, it's never shown that Nathan himself faces any legal consequences of his own, despite triggering a massive crash that nearly took Yume Tanaka's life and caused her to lose a leg.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: It's implied that he got away with his cheating from some time, as Marcus Ado wonders if any of his five championships were actually won fairly. It ends decisively at the end of the game, with the player and Seneca taking the championship from him and being implied that he's left without a team after Ryan gets arrested and sacked from Ravenwest.^note Not to mention that, assuming it is confirmed that his five championship wins were due to cheating, in real life Nathan would have very well been stripped of these five titles and ultimately ban him from racing permanaently, similar to what happened with Le Tour de France's Lance Armstrong when his seven titles were stripped after the committee found out that he was using performance-enhancement drugs.
• Manchild:
  • Nathan is an egotistical Jerk Jock who treats the competition like a game he's entitled to win, reacts to being pressured on the track by another team (Seneca) by trying to ignore them while simultaneously projecting his bad attitude onto another (Voltz), and drives so recklessly (even by GRID standards) that he puts lives at risk. He never even takes responsibility for the latter, being aware that his team's reputation means he can do as he likes. He's also driving an illegally modified car to make up for his mediocre ability, and at the end of story mode he's basically left without a team when the team's wrongdoings are brought to light.^note Which was possibly implied that Ravenwest recruited Jaxon Lewis and Logan Parker as their new replacement drivers for the game's career proper.
  • His egotistical persona continues in Classic Car-Nage, as Claire mentions that he couldn't handle demolition derby events after having an Epic Fail in the trial run, to the point that he lost his front teeth in the process. Manzi guesses that Nathan overreacted and whined very loudly about how he hated this event so much to the point that he got it cancelled until Manzi brought it back.
• Meaningful Appearance: He wears sunglasses for one of the interviews◊ despite being indoors, seemingly symbolizing how little he cares about them, as part of his Jerk Jock attitude.
• Promoted to Playable: Starting from chapter 4 of the Rise of Ravenwest storyline, he's the Player Character from there onwards.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He's seen leaving in a hurry during Seneca's championship victory celebrations. He also storms off the interview during the game's credits when it's revealed that his uncle Nathan has been arrested due to the team's various wrongdoing through the season.
• Smug Super: Like his uncle, Nathan is a natural on the wheel and he has every right to brag. This comes on full circle in Rise of Ravenwest when he drives Ryan's 1969 Corvette without the latter's consent, much to Ryan's chagrin.
• Sore Loser: He's completely in denial of losing the championship to Seneca, being seen leaving in a hurry during Seneca's celebration and chalking it up to luck.
  Nathan: It was luck. Y'know, even a loser gets lucky sometimes.
• Sunglasses at Night: Leave it to a Jerk Jock like Nathan to wear sunglasses indoors◊ for one of the interviews.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: While he was an opponent in previous games (except GRID 2019, where he was a teammate), there was no indication in them that Nathan (or Ravenwest, for that matter) showed any sort of hostility toward the player and/or their team, never drove aggressively ^note Although his bio in Autosport stated that is he an aggressive driver, but he doesn't take this to its extreme., or otherwise did much of anything to suggest he was anything other than just a very good driver. Here, however, he does everything previously mentioned and more, including cheating.
• Unnecessary Roughness: This is one of the complaints leveled against Nathan and Ravenwest at large in the storyline of Legends, with Nathan triggering a multi-car pileup at the beginning of the campaign, even if it means indirectly murdering another racing driver just because he won't let himself be passed. In Rise of Ravenwest, Nathan has this line when hitting an opponent, which triggers them to be his Nemesis.
  Nathan: [angrily] Outta my way, dummy!
• Unseen No More: After not being seen through the previous GRID games (only his cars), he finally appears in the flesh in GRID Legends.
• Unsportsmanlike Gloating: In Rise of Ravenwest, it's revealed he rubs salt to all of his opponents' wounds when he takes home the championship title.
  Nathan: YES, eat that morons! Heh... it was easy, obviously.
• Villain with Good Publicity: He is adored by millions of fans despite being an irresponsible racer and overall awful person, with the fans being unaware that he thinks they're all losers.
• Villainous Breakdown: After being told that his uncle has been arrested following their various misdeeds, he completely loses his cool.
  Nathan: [quietly, to the GRID TV crew] Turn it off. Turn it off. [more agitated] Are you listening to me? Turn it— Just turn it off! [storms off]

Lara Carvalho

^{(SPOILERS) Click here to see Lara during the epilogue of Driven to Glory.}
"Seneca Racing. How do I look?"

Age: 33

Position: #2 Driver

Nationality: Brazilian

Portrayed by: Nicole Castillo-Mavromatis

Voiced by: Sabrina Marchese (French dub), Lin Gothoni (German dub), Giorgia Carnevale (Italian dub), Gema Carballedo (European Spanish dub)

The number two driver of Ravenwest Motorsport.

Lara is a young racing prodigy who was originally offered a spot by Seneca Racing after winning a street race in Brazil, until Ravenwest made an even better offer for her. "Best team, best car" as she states, she joins Ravenwest with no doubt in hoping to be part of a top-flight motorsports team.

Lara is the Player Character in the Enduring Spirit storyline.

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• The Ace: In one of the cutscenes of Classic Car-Nage, apart from racing in general being in her blood, Lara herself states that she was a local demolition derby champion for three years running.
• Always Second Best: An enforced example. She gets instructed by Ryan McKane to never surpass Nathan in race, much to her chagrin. Ironically, she even dons the #2, given her Number Two status. She later discovers that Ravenwest uses illegal modifications on their cars (and given the instructions given to her, it's heavily implied that this only benefits Nathan McKane), which becomes the straw that broke the camel's back for her and resigns from the team, revealing their cheating to Seneca in the process.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Don't judge Lara by her friendly face. She'll be judgemental if you treat her like shit, like what Ravenwest did to her. See The Dog Bites Back and Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal below.
• Braids of Action: She wears the "two braids on the sides of the head" version, as appropriate of someone who's a racing pilot and wears a helmet, and especially since when not racing she wears her hair in Quirky Curls.
• A Day in the Limelight: Lara gets her spotlight when she appears as the main protagonist of the Enduring Spirit storyline.
• The Dog Bites Back: After having enough of both Ryan and Nathan McKane forcing her to remain a second-class driver so as to not outshine Nathan (and just treating her like crap in general), she quits Ravenwest after discovering their cheating and reveals this to Seneca, kickstarting the downfall of Ravenwest and the McKanes.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After spending the majority of Driven to Glory seeing her dreams of being a famous driver melt away between being treated like crap by the McKanes and being forced to play second fiddle to Nathan, and even being terminated from Ravenwest for revealing the McKanes' cheating, she ends up getting hired by Seneca (the team that sought her in the first place). The last seen of her in Driven to Glory is in fact her confidently asking the camera how she looks in Seneca's colors. She even gets a happier ending when she is crowned champion in the Grid of Legends tournament in Enduring Spirit.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language: After Ryan discovers that she was the one who blew the whistle on Ravenwest's cheating and fires her, she chooses to tell him off in Portuguese and quit the team right then and there.
  Ryan: This is your doing? You just ended your career, I hope you know that.
  Lara: Quer saber? ["You know what?"] Eu terminei com isso! ["I'm done with this!"] I quit!
• Heroic Mime: While Lara does speak in the between cutscenes, in Enduring Spirit, where she is the Player Character racing for Seneca, we don't hear a peep from her during gameplay.
• Meaningful Appearance: While racing, not only she wears her hair on two braids, denoting her status as a driver, but also does so in a manner that they resemble pigtails, denoting that she's a Nice Girl in comparison with the McKanes. Finally, while not racing, her hair is a wild mass of curls, denoting her non-conformist and Hot-Blooded tendencies. It's telling that most of the time she's shown wearing the latter is while she's uncovering Ravenwest's cheating to Seneca, fed up with having to play squire to Nathan McKane.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Lara speaks no evil. After being fed up of being always ordered to never surpass Nathan McKane and discovering Ravenwest's cheating, she decisively quits the team and tells Seneca Racing engineer Ajeet Singh everything she knows about Ravenwest committing unlawful actions.
• Nice Girl: She's nothing but cordial towards everyone, in stark contrast to the Jerkass McKanes, and is genuinely nice to the fans as opposite to Nathan's Bitch in Sheep's Clothing act. Though the McKanes' mistreatment, combined with the reveal that they're cheaters, eventually pushes her to quit the team and reveal their cheating to Seneca.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Lara being a Brazilian racing driver signed to a prestigious team only to be obligued to play squire to her teammate at the team's explicit orders makes Lara look an awful lot to Rubens Barrichello, the Brazilian Formula One driver who while signed to Ferrari was largely seen as been obligued to play squire to Michael Schumacher, most infamously when Ferrari team-ordered him to allow Schumacher to pass him on the final straight of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix to take victory, which resulted in FIA banning team orders.
• Promoted to Playable: She's the Player Character of the Enduring Spirit storyline, where you control her instead of Driver 22.
• The Smurfette Principle: Among other drivers in previous GRID games, Lara is arguably the first female driver of Ravenwest.
• Spicy Latina: A lovely Brazilian woman who can be quite Hot-Blooded, as shown when she quits Ravenwest.
• Sweet and Sour Grapes: Lara's dream of achieving glory in racing led her to eschewing the offer Seneca made to her in favor of signing with Ravenwest, who had a bigger offer and were a much more prestigious team, only to discover too late that they just wanted her to play squire to the team's star Nathan McKane. Then she discovers that Ravenwest uses cheating to overpower Nathan's car and relies this to Seneca, quitting the team in the process, at which point she states that she doesn't care about her racing career anymore, as she just wants to do the right thing. However, it turns out that Seneca seemingly didn't hold a grudge against her for her previous snub, as they quickly hire her as their new driver afterwards.
• Token Good Teammate: She's the sole important Ravenwest member shown to be a nice person, in comparison to the Jerkass-ness of the McKanes.
• Trade Your Passion for Glory: Lara reveals that she was actually Seneca's first choice to be their new driver, but before she could sign on with them, Ravenwest came with a bigger offer, which she accepted, Ravenwest being the bigger and more accomplished team and with more money, only to end up being relegated to being their Number Two. She eventually ends up signing with Seneca at the end of the game after quitting Ravenwest.
• Turncoat: Lara acts as this for Seneca right before the final race, she does so to expose the McKanes for illegally modifying their cars to keep Nathan as Ravenwest's top driver.

Management

Ryan McKane

^{Click here to view the younger Ryan McKane.}

Age: 55

Position: Team Manager

Nationality: American

Portrayed by: Joseph Millson

Voiced by: Laurent Larcher (French dub), Hanns-Jörg Krumpholz (German dub), Paolo De Santis (Italian dub), Iñaki Crespo (European Spanish dub)

The team manager (and owner) of Ravenwest Motorsport.

Ryan McKane is continuing a legacy on motorsport following the footsteps of his father, Kyle, after an on-track incident took his life, lighting a fire under Ryan to succeed in the world of motorsport by any means necessary. Ryan was a formidable driver in his own right, rising to the top of the GRID World Series, establishing not just himself as a legend, but also Ravenwest Motorsport. After serving as a mentor to nephew Nathan McKane towards the end of his career, Ryan then retired from racing and immediately took the helm at Ravenwest, as it – and its relentless World Series success – is what keeps the family together.

Ryan is the Player Character in the first 3 chapters of the Rise of Ravenwest storyline.

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• Adaptational Jerkass: Unlike in the first TOCA Race Driver where Ryan is sympathetic and expressing his concern towards his older brother Donnie after being maimed by Nick Landers (revealed to be James Randall), here in Rise of Ravenwest, Ryan acts more apathetic to his own brother, committing to lots of Unsportsmanlike Gloating. One example is Ryan adding insult to injury about Donnie's retirement after his tires were blown out in an Indianapolis race.
• Age Lift: The younger counterpart of Ryan in Rise of Ravenwest is in his mid-30's during the flashback events of 2002. In the original TOCA Race Driver (also released in 2002), Ryan there look like in his early 20's.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Ryan McKane has a very illustrious racing career that made him a legend in his own right, but as also revealed in Rise of Ravenwest, he was also much of an asshole as his nephew Nathan.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: He and his nephew Nathan McKane are the antagonists of the game, with Nathan leaning towards being The Heavy by virtue of being Ravenwest's top driver while Ryan is a Non-Action Big Bad by being Ravenwest's manager. However, Ryan ends up taking the wheel as Ravenwest's second driver during the final race after Lara Carvalho quits from the team, making them a more straight example.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • After being the main protagonist of the first TOCA Race Driver, Ryan returns in this game as the uncle of Nathan McKane, together being the antagonists of the game, doubling as Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome.
  • He returns in Rise of Ravenwest as a playable character. Here, it's implied that Ryan was pardoned from serving time in prison just to be featured in an interview with Claire. It's also stated, however, that Ryan is nonetheless struggling to settle his legal issues from the events of Driven to Glory.
• Character Development: In Rise of Ravenwest, it shows that Ryan was at first dismissive and abusive to his nephew Nathan for stealing his classic Chevrolet Corvette for a joyride around Cresent Valley, just for the latter to prove that he's like his uncle. But as the plot unfolds, he mellows out and showed his utmost care and support for Nathan, which highlights the latter's success in Ravenwest. Even Evil Has Loves Ones indeed.
• Cool Car: He owns a classic gray 1967 Chevrolet Corvette with a black stripe, which Nathan stole and takes it for a joyride.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: The team manager and owner of Ravenwest, who turns out to have rigged his nephew Nathan McKane's car for him to become a multiple-time champion.
• A Day in the Limelight: Alongside his nephew Nathan, Ryan gets his own spotlight in Rise of Ravenwest.
• Face–Heel Turn: He went from being the main protagonist of the first TOCA Race Driver to one of the antagonists of this game, alongside his nephew Nathan.
• Hopeless with Tech: During a Miami race in one of the chapters of Rise of Ravenwest, it looks like Ryan is not up-to-date with trendy tech and topics, when it comes related to social media.
  Ryan: You're gettin a load of hearts in these Miami posts!
  Nathan: LIKES. They're called LIKES. Are you an alien or just old?
• Hypocrite: He claims that Marcus Ado's "highfalutin philosophy about turnips" doesn't mean anything when it comes to winning races... then immediately goes on a tangent about Ravenwest having good looks.
  Ryan: It's something teams like Seneca just never, ever have: Money. Well, money and good looks. Listen, good looks are a curse. [to the documentary crew] You should count yourself lucky.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: After not receiving any immediate repercussions for the Strada Alpina disaster, Ryan gets arrested at the end of the game (and the championship season) for the various wrongdoings committed to benefit the team.
• Man of Wealth and Taste: This villainous incarnation of Nathan McKane is rich and fashionable. One of the interviews even has him bragging that teams like Seneca do not have something they have: Money. Money and good looks.
• Non-Action Big Bad: He's one of the antagonists of the game, but for most of the game doesn't directly race with the player due to being long retired and being a team manager instead; that's why his nephew Nathan is Ravenwest's number one driver. That is, until the final race, when short one driver after Lara Carvalho quits, Ryan comes out of retirement.
• Promoted to Playable: He's the Player Character of the first 3 chapters of the Rise of Ravenwest storyline.
• Sibling Rivalry: Played straight with his brother Donnie, despite being teammates.
• Smug Super: The early stages of Rise of Ravenwest establishes himself as such. On top of having a noteworthy career as a race car driver and a natural talent on the wheel, it goes without saying that Ryan has an inflated opinion of himself.
• Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome: After being the main protagonist of the first TOCA Race Driver game, he didn't appear again in any TOCA/GRID game until this game... where he is one of the antagonists of it.
• Unnecessary Roughness: In the final chapter of Rise of Ravenwest, in a one-on-one race angainst both the McKanes, Ryan bumps Nathan's car, spinning out in the process. Perhaps this was the catalyst of what makes Nathan commit to aggressive tactics, like what happened to the Strada Alpina incident.
  Nathan: Hey! What the hell?! You pushed into me?!
  Ryan: Heh, welcome to the GRID, snowflake.
  Nathan: How is that fair?! Hey, if my car is damaged, I demand a redo.
  Ryan: Oh quit your whining, we had a lot worse to deal with than a little nudge back when I was racing!
  Nathan: [scoffs] Everyone's so sensitive now...
• Villain No Longer Idle: After spending almost the entirety of the game behind the scenes being a manager, Ryan returns to racing for the final race after Lara Carvalho quits Ravenwest. If the player approaches Ryan during the final race, Marcus Ado will even warn the player that Ryan is "not rusty".

Ravenwest Engineer

The engineer that accompanies Ryan McKane, then later his nephew Nathan in Rise of Ravenwest.

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• The Comically Serious: He's a serious and benevolent engineer who can't handle some humor.
  Nathan: Hey, engineery-type-guy! Come up with a drift nickname for me.
  Ravenwest Engineer: [embarrassed] ...That's really not my job, Nathan.
• The Engineer: He's Ryan's and Nathan's engineer at its time during the backstory.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The game's subtitles simply refer to him as "Ravenwest Engineer". It goes to the point where he's refered as such during the first three chapers, are supposed to take place before Ryan founded Ravenwest and during which Ryan races under the banner of "McKane Brothers" instead. It was even lampshaded by Nathan during a drift event, where he calls him "engineery-type-guy", as well as the final chapter where even Nathan doesn't even know his name.
• Fun Personified: The Ravenwest Engineer sounds like more a jolly stereotypical American Big Fun.

Voltz Racing

Drivers

Valentin Manzi

^{Click here to view Valentin as the player's teammate.}

^{Click here to view Valentin in Classic Car-Nage.}

Age: 24

Position: Driver

Nationality: Scottish-Rwandan

Portrayed by: Ncuti Gatwa

Voiced by: Jonathan Gimbord (French dub), Vincent Fallow (German dub), Andrea La Greca (Italian dub), Miguel Ángel Poison (European Spanish dub)

The number one driver for Voltz Racing.

Valentin is a passionate driver who came close to winning the GRID World Series. A talented young gun raised from a Rwandan family who moved to Scotland in the 80's, his early years of go-karting and other racing ventures got the attention to Voltz Racing and hoping to aim for the top spot in the GRID World Series.

Valentin Manzi is the player's teammate in Career Mode, Classic Car-Nage and Winter Bash storyline.

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• Another Side, Another Story: Outside of the Driven to Glory storyline and within the career proper and the Classic Car-Nage storyline, Valentin is the player's teammate. The same goes for the Winter Bash storyline.
• Berserk Button: Apart from the Nemesis system, Valentin (while at Voltz Racing) is easy to get triggered with even a slight rub of paint with, so it's best not to rear-end him.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Don't be surprised if this Fun Personified, Nice Guy is gunning for you. He'll go berserk if his race is ruined, especially what happened when he has beef with Nathan McKane
• Bully Hunter: His "Nemesis Protector" skill allows him to protect you from attacks from Nemesis drivers you triggered. Luckily for Valentin, he doesn't also have his own set of drivers considered as Nemesis. Better hope he maintains that position. An even better upgrade will make Valentin Car Fu any nemeses standing in his way.
• But Not Too Foreign: Valentin is Scottish but from a Rwandan family who moved to Scotland, just like his portrayer.
• A Day in the Limelight:
  • While appearing as a minor character in Driven to Glory, Valentin gets his own spotlight when he appears in a trailer promoting the Tushek TS 900 Racer Pro, a Slovenian track-focused supercar.
  • Valentin gets an even bigger spotlight when he appears as the main star and host of the Classic Car-Nage storyline.
  • Valentin gets the spotlight again in the Winter Bash storyline after he was Put on a Bus during the Enduring Spirit and Rise of Ravenwest storyline. Here, he's seen donning his old Voltz Racing suit.
• Don't Explain the Joke: On the pre-race interview in the "Cry Havoc" mission:
  Manzi: Y'know, I really admire Seneca. As someone who is a connoisseur of martial arts, I like their fighting spirit. Do you get it? Martial arts? Fighting?
• Fire-Forged Friends: Both Driver 22 and Valentin started of as ignited rivals during the Semi-Pro and Pro Leagues of the GRID World Series. After Seneca has won the GRID World Series and Valentin admitting they are true champions, Marcus's decision to form a new team has put Valentin and Driver 22 as teammates. Bonus points if you add his Loyalty Upgrade to show his extra loyalty to his new teammate.
• Fun Personified: Despite being The Rival, he's also the comic relief who enjoys making GRID World series like a playground for humor. The Classic Car-Nage and Winter Bash storyline takes his comic relief up a notch.
• Graceful Loser: Valentin admitted that Seneca has been in an unstoppable roll in the GRID World Series after winning the final race.
  Manzi: Seneca has been on a magic carpet ride this year. All I could think out there was, nobody's putting this genie back in its bottle.
• Incoming Ham: Manzi goes large falsetto with this line during the opening of the Winter Bash storyline:
  Manzi: Did some just say partaaay?
• Informed Ability: Is stated that he knows martial arts, inbetween him calling himself "a connoisseur of martial arts" and even Nathan McKane mentioning it after their fight ("So he knows kung fu. I'm still faster than him.") At no point does he even show any proficiency with martial arts, his fight with Nathan consisting solely of shoves and lockups before being separated.
• Instant Expert: Give him the Drift Skill Upgrade, and he'll be guaranteed to automatically blaze through the competiton in 1st place.
• Lame Pun Reaction: He manages to pull this on himself on the pre-race interview in the "Cry Havoc" mission. After he explains his "fighting spirit" joke:
  Manzi: Sorry, I was Manzi-splaining. [Beat] Oooof, that was rough, sorry...
  Claire: Yeah, that was a shocker, Manzi.
• Nice Guy: While it's clear that Valentin is a straightforward racer depite igniting a rivalry with Driver 22, he's a man that sports a genuine and friendly façade, especially when he has an autograph signing with his fans. He gets along with Driver 22 at the end of Driven to Glory and during the Classic Car-Nage storyline.
• The Prankster: He loves trolling GRID TV with cracking jokes. The Classic Car-Nage storyline takes this up a notch, as the challenges for most of the races are chalked up to being the result of Manzi playing a game of "Simon Says" (which he calls "Valentin Says").
• Put on a Bus: Valentin does not appear in the Enduring Spirit or the Rise of Ravenwest storyline.
• The Rival: A classic example.
  • He develops a rivalry with Driver 22 as Voltz and Seneca are vying to become pros in the GRID World Series, and as such is the player's main rival to beat. Once both teams make it though, he has nothing but respect to Seneca and their struggle for success.
  • In the Classic Car-Nage storyline, he's more of a Friendly Rival due to being Driver 22's teammate and offered them unique challenges to beat. He also does the same thing for the Winter Bash storyline, too.
• Undying Loyalty: If you have the Loyalty Upgrade, Valentin will likely do your Push & Hold commands more often. A further upgrade will guarantee him to do all your commands without denial.

GRID TV

Claire Webb

Age: 29

Position: TV Presenter and Journalist

Nationality: Scottish

Portrayed by: Sara Vickers

Voiced by: Estelle Simon (French dub), Gundi Eberhard (German dub), Chiara Francese (Italian dub), Marisa Marciel (European Spanish dub)

A TV presenter and journalist that works for GRID TV, the network covering the GRID World Series.

Claire Webb quickly established herself as a respected and talented media figure in the GRID World Series paddock, capable of conducting the most candid interviews or the most shocking of exposes in equal measure.

Establishing a reputation in her native Scotland as a journalist covering national sport, her love of motor racing and investigative ability brought her to the attention of the GRID World Series, as Claire led a stunning documentary on a scandal within touring car racing.

Webb joined the GRID World Series beat on talent, but also with an eye on keeping the series in check, with rumours of shady tactics surrounding Ravenwest.

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• Brainy Brunette: A reporter highly knowledgeable on the GRID World Series who has brown hair.
• Brutal Honesty: She doesn't mince words on saying that Seneca has very slim chances on the championship, at least during its early stages.
  Claire: So it's now becoming clear that this Seneca driver has some real chops. But... doing well across a few races is not the same is not the same as doing well across the whole range of the GRID. And Marcus Ado is under enormous pressure to deliver a good result this season. Here's the grim reality: either Seneca delivers magic this season, or they won't survive as a team.
• The Bus Came Back: While Claire was Demoted to Extra in Classic Carnage and was Put on a Bus in Enduring Spirit, she makes a return in Rise of Ravenwest as she is the main character of the storyline, interviewing both Nathan and Ryan McKane.
• Deadpan Snarker: She has her chances to sneak in some witty remarks.
  • In "The Perfect Recipe", after the pre-race interview has Ryan McKane points out that Seneca has no reserve drivers left, meaning that the team is in thin ice in case one of their drivers "eats a dodgy oyster."
    Claire: Well, you heard it here first Seneca - stay away from the oysters!
  • Then there's the "Dig Deep" mission, where the pre-race interview has Nathan McKane express No Sympathy for Seneca's situation despite being the instigator of the massive crash that forced Yume to abandon the championshp and leave Driver 22 to their own.
    Claire: And there we have it, yet more... [strained] sincere emphathy from Mr. Nice Guy Nathan McKane.
• Fan of Underdog: She actually proclaims she's cheering for Seneca, whose up-and-coming success story is the focus of the game's story mode, before the "Dig Deep" mission. Keep in mind that unlike usual examples of this she's well aware that they're not in the best condition, but the fact that she just conducted an interview with Nathan McKane where he showed No Sympathy for their situation despite being the instigator of the massive crash that forced Yume to abandon the championshp and leave Driver 22 to their own may have helped.
  Claire: I'm not supposed to be biased, but come on Seneca!
• Ms. Exposition: Her job as one of the presenters of GRID TV basically means that she's in charge of explaining the game's storyline.

Inel

Portrayed by: Inel Tomlinson

Voiced by: Jérémy Zylberberg (French dub), René Dawn-Claude (German dub), Eric Alexander (Italian dub), Borja Fernández (European Spanish dub)

Claire's co-commentator for GRID TV, the network covering the GRID World Series.

Inel also provides narration over the tutorial for each of the race modes available in the game.

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• All There in the Manual: His name being Inel is stated in the subtitles, as well as Claire mentioning his name during gameplay at times. Whereas in the credits, he's simply credited as "Commentator".
• As Himself: Technically, Inel in the original English language version of the game is this, as Inel Tomlinson is a Real Life TV personality and commentator. Averted in other languages, however, where his name is changed.
• Ascended Extra: While he's a co-commentator alongside Claire in Driven to Glory and during regular gameplay, Inel takes up the mantle as the main commentator of the Classic Car-Nage and Winter Bash storyline.
• Dub Name Change: Inel bears a different name depending on the game's language: Thomas (French), Mike (German) and Lucio (Italian).
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: Justified that he's a background character that provides in-game commentary alongside Claire.
• Large-Ham Announcer: Hoo-boy he is. But what emphasizes this trope is when Inel during an Elimination race shouts "ELIMINATION!" when two drivers at the back were out of the race.
• Out of Focus: Out of the GRID TV team, in comparison with Claire Webb, who appears on camera and even has her own profile on the game's official website, Inel remains off camera as a commentator.
• Say My Name: Inel will call out a driver's name loudly (usually their last name) whenever Driver 22 overtakes them.

Aaron

Portrayed by: Aaron Phipps

Another of Claire's co-commentators for GRID TV, the network covering the GRID World Series.

Aaron's commentary is only heard during in-game cinematics of Driven to Glory,the gameplay during the prologue,as well as the pre-race briefing in the final race.

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• Adapted Out: The French, German and Italian dubs replace Aaron's lines with Inel's, just in its respective language's dubbed names.
• As Himself: Aaron Phipps is known to appear as himself in his past works (as a disabled rugby player per se), so he technically counts as one, portraying a commentor In-Universe.
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: Justified in that he's a background character that provides some in-game commentary alongside Claire, but only during cutscenes.
• Large-Ham Announcer: A staple example of this trope is this tendency to shout "CONTACT!" whenever two or more vehicles crash, such as in the Strada Alpina crash where Yume is injured.
• Out of Focus: Even moreso than Inel. The only screentime Aaron gets throughout the storyline are limited to the specified scenes but mostly during cutscenes, as oppose to Inel who commentates in cutscenes, race mode tutorials and during regular gameplay.

Drift Announcer

Portrayed by: Noémie Nakai

Another commentator for GRID TV, the network covering the GRID World Series.

She only available during drift events.

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• Everyone Calls Her "Barkeep": By the subtitles turned on, she's simply the "Announcer" for some reason.
• Large-Ham Announcer: Like Inel, her commentary is full of hype and speaks out at the top of her lungs.
• She Who Must Not Be Seen: Justified that she's a background character that provides in-game commentary for drift events.

Other characters

The Engineer

Portrayed by: James Alexander

"Hey, you heard that right? Ado is scouting a new driver for Seneca. This could be your break, you got nothing to lose, give it your best shot!"

The engineer that accompanies Driver 22 at the beginning of Driven to Glory, while they compete in the amateur racing series.

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• Ascended Extra: The Engineer's appearance lasted only the first two chapters of Driven to Glory, when Driver 22 was an amateur. In Classic Car-Nage, his appearance lasts the entire storyline, where he's Driver 22's engineer instead of Ajeet. The same goes for the Enduring Spirit and Winter Bash storyline .
• The Bus Came Back: After disappearing from Driven to Glory once the player is hired by Seneca, he reappears to be once again the player's engineer in the Classic Car-Nage storyline instead of Ajeet. Apparently, Ajeet wasn't too keen on a racing class dedicated to crashing cars. He later reappears once more in Enduring Spirit acting as Lara's engineer. Finally he reappears the last time in Winter Bash acting as Driver 22's engineer again.
• The Engineer: He's Driver 22's engineer while they compete as an amateur.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": He isn't named in Driven to Glory, being only refered by his job title; the game's subtitles simply refer to him as "Engineer", while in the credits, he's credited as "Amateur Series Engineer". Subverted in Classic Car-Nage, where he nonchalantly drops that his name is James.
• Given Name Reveal: He finally reveals his name in Classic Car-Nage, where in the final mission, he says that now it's his turn to play "Valentin Says", or in his case, "James Says".
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: He's not seen onscreen, only being heard as Mission Control for the player during amateur-class races.
• Mission Control: He acts as the player's race control during the amateur races. In Enduring Spirit and Winter Bash, he even does Ajeet's reporting on your last lap time.
• True Companions: Seemingly with Driver 22, as he's very supportive and encouraging towards them to impress Ado and be signed by Seneca. It certainly pays off, as they're reunited in Classic Car-Nage. He later shows his support and encouragement towards Lara to help her succeed in her debut as a Seneca driver in Enduring Spirit. Though he comes back to help out Driver 22's team in Winter Bash.
• Unexplained Accent: While he did have a British accent in his previous appearances (justified as the amateur series takes place in London), when he appears in Enduring Spirit he affects a strong Scottish-like brogue for no apparent reason.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: He disappears from the Driven to Glory story once the player is hired by Seneca, with his role as the player's Mission Control being taken by Seneca's engineer Ajeet. Subverted in that he returns to be the player's engineer in the Classic Car-Nage story, apparently due to Ajeet's dislike for the type of competition involved. And then he returns once more as the engineer for Seneca Racing in Enduring Spirit. And again he returns finally as the engineer for Driver 22's team in Winter Bash.

Mateo Vega

"Okay, let's aim to place in front of Vega, he's been having some good races recently."

— The Engineer

A regular racer during the GRID's Showcase Event whom Driver 22 races in prior to joining Seneca Racing.

He only appears in the first two races of Driven to Glory.

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• The Faceless: Similar to rival drivers in previous GRID games, most of what the player sees of Mateo are his vehicles. At best, Mateo can only be seen with a full racing suit and helmet. In either case, his face isn't seen.
• Small Role, Big Impact: While Mateo's screentime lasts only two chapters, this dude was key to Driver 22's objective to getting Marcus Ado's attention by finishing ahead of Mateo, regardless of position.

Donnie McKane

A regular racer during the 2002 flashbacks, who is Ryan's older brother as well as serving as his teammate.

He only appears in the first three chapters of Rise of Ravenwest.

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• The Bus Came Back: For those who played the first TOCA Race Driver, they wouldn't expect Donnie, despite being an In Name Only or He Who Must Not Be Seen to appear in the Rise of Ravenwest storyline.
• The Faceless: The most seen of Donnie is if you look closely in one of the chapter banners in the main menu, where you can see Donnie wearing a helmet◊.
• Pop the Tires: In Chapter 2, during the very beginning of a stock car race in Indianapolis, Donnie was forced to retire from the race after his tire was blown at the first corner. Ryan is pissed about it.
• Sibling Rivalry: With his younger brother, Ryan.
• Small Role, Big Impact: While Donnie makes only an appearance in the first three chapters, he was the catalyst of sparking tensions and bane between Ryan and Nathan later on in the story.
• Spell My Name With An S: The subtitles at times misspell Donnie's name as "Donny".

The New Owner (SPOILERS)

James Randall

"Let's get this show on the road."

Position: Team Manager of Ravenwest

Portrayed by: Stephen Lord

Voiced by: Patrick Kuban (French dub), Marko Bräutigam (German dub), Daniele Crasti (Italian dub), Antonio Ramírez (European Spanish dub)

James Randall: And, uh... Do I just introduce myself, or what?
Reporter: Yeah. Y'know... "My name's James Randall, I used to race back in the eighties..."
Randall: And, er... Do we have to talk about the McKanes? Those lovely men still very much hate my guts.
Reporter: Up to you.
Randall: I'll just say that I'm the new owner of Ravenwest and leave it at that, okay?

The new owner of Ravenwest, following Ryan McKane's sacking and arrest at the end of the game in light of the uncovering of his cheating in favor of Nathan McKane and his various wrongdoings through the season.

Fans of TOCA Race Driver might recognize his name as he's the main antagonist of said game, in which he kills Kyle "Motor City" McKane, the father of Ryan (and Donnie, Nathan's uncle) in a race.

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• The Bus Came Back: Much like how Ryan McKane returned to this game after being the main protagonist of the first TOCA Race Driver, Randall also returns here, after being the main antagonist of the first TOCA Race Driver.
• Continuity Nod: He asks if he really has to talk about the McKanes, explaining that "those lovely men still very much hate my guts", alluding to how he is very much the same James Randall responsible for killing Ryan's father Kyle during a race.
• Walking Spoiler: Knowing about Randall would reveal his surprise appearance at the end of the game.