"Grand Prix 2" Championship

[tristan1117]

Why is Valsattis in a Sauber?

Bathplug. I copied the data wrong again. Must be the painkillers...

[AdrianSutil]

Why is Valsattis in a Sauber?

Bathplug. I copied the data wrong again. Must be the painkillers...

it easy to blame it on drugs...

[Shizuka]

Niko, Ben, next time pull an equal lap out

[tristan1117]

The Imola track is well-known in the F1RGP2C for producing pretty good races and this edition of the event was no different. Daniel Moreno proved once again that he is probably the best driver in the field as Williams and Benetton again swept the top four positions.

Positives:

Daniel Moreno: What can you say? Moreno took pole, led the entire race and took fastest lap en route to one of the best victories of his career so far. He was unstoppable!

Andrew Spokes: Well, after last year's Zimmer v. Takagi "rivalry", John Zimmer probably hoped to get another teammate with rotten luck and mediocre car control. Unfortunately, he decided to sign the very competent Andrew Spokes to a drive, rather than a less qualified driver. Spokes made up for his failure at the last race, cooly holding off Zimmer for third throughout the entire race. He also put up an admirable fight against the superior Williams of Pippa Mann, holding off Pippa for the last ten laps of the race before she finally got past on Lap 59.

John Zimmer: Eh, not a bad weekend for Zimmer. Benetton made a very strange strategic call during the race, choosing to put Spokes on the optimal one-stop strategy (even though Zimmer was clearly faster). Still, Zimmer drove like a champ and he closed up the twenty-second gap to Spokes with relative ease.

Douglas Mann: Douglas Mann picked up Ligier's first finish of the season. Of course, he couldn't go through the race without mechanical trouble; he pitted on Lap 60 with a brake problem. He was no match for the Jordans or the McLarens but he has proven that he is always in the hunt for points.

Footwork and Tyrrell: Getting all four cars to the finish is quite a tall order for these two teams. Actually, it is the first time in series history that all four Footworks and Tyrrells got to the finish intact.

Jack Christopherson: Jack Christopherson had a marvelous return to the F1RGP2C. He ran as high as fourth and was involved in the great scrap for second place during the first few laps of the race. Unfortunately points were not on the table as his suspension failed with just seven laps to go, forcing his car into retirement.

Armed Neutrals:

Pippa Mann and Masta Valsattis: The bi-weekly furor over driver safety and proper racing conduct turns to Pippa Mann and Masta Valsattis, two drivers who are considered to be among the most levelheaded in the field. Once again, I will set the scene (which can be viewed in the highlights video, towards the end). Pippa Mann is exiting the pits on Lap 48. Masta Valsattis, closely following Jorg Scrattenheim, is also approaching the pit exit. As Pippa rejoins the circuit, she immediately accelerates to 210 kph as she enters into the Tamburello corner. Meanwhile, Valsattis, hits about 257 kph, before Mann appears. Valsattis realizes that he is going to collide with the Williams and brakes quickly, slowing to about 210 kph before making contact with Mann's left-rear wheel. Valsattis flies into the air and lands (in reality, he probably would have flipped multiple times before landing). The Ligier was heavily damaged and Valsattis was taken to the hospital. The stewards of the meet have decided to award no penalties, considering that Valsattis (as the lapped car) should have given way to Pippa Mann as she exited the pits. It has been deemed a racing accident but stewards' decisions have been overturned by media outcry before.
(Sidenote: The crash bears some similarities to Villeneuve's fatal crash at Zolder; Valsattis=Villeneuve and Mann=Mass.)

Negatives:

Pacific: More misery…

Ferrari: In a race with surprisingly few negatives, Ferrari stuck out like a sore thumb. Ferrari was the only team besides Pacific that failed to get a single car to the finish. Both Takagi and Douglas were on their way to some points before they retired.

Clivio Durand: Clivio caused conspicuous chaos on the first lap of the race by missing his brake point entirely, ramming into Cannon before getting in the way of his teammate. Both of his suspensions broke, requiring an immediate stop. Durand then got even more in the way, nearly taking out the entire back half of the field through his efforts (Dimitri Suranovich style).



Lead Changes:
Daniel Moreno: 1-61

Drivers' Championship
1. Daniel Moreno - 38
2. Pippa Mann - 26
3. John Zimmer - 16
4. Tom Douglas - 13
5. Andrew Spokes - 13
6. Rory McAllister - 7
7. Leonhard von Gottorp - 6
8. James Davies - 4
9. Masta Valsattis - 3
= Damon Cannon - 3
11. Gio van Dycke - 1

Constructors' Championship
1. Williams - 64
2. Benetton - 29
3. Ferrari - 13
4. McLaren - 11
5. Jordan - 9
6. Sauber - 3
7. Minardi - 1

[tristan1117]

Highlights.

[tristan1117]

Bridgestone to Enter F1RGP2C in 1997

The Bridgestone Corporation has announced that Bridgestone will join the F1RGP2C as an alternative tyre supplier to Goodyear. Goodyear came under heavy fire after the debacle at the 1995 Pacific GP. Tristan Jung, who was badly embarrassed after the episode, reportedly spent all of last week convincing Bridgestone to join as a second tyre supplier. Seat holders will now have the option to pick which tyres they wish to use in 1997.

Valsattis Released From Hospital

Masta Valsattis was released from hospital Tuesday after his massive accident at last Sunday's San Marino GP. Valsattis suffered a minor back injury, a concussion and a sprained tailbone. With two weeks of recovery time between the San Marino and Monaco rounds, Valsattis is expected to be back in the car. However, Ligier's reserve driver, Robert Anderson, is on stand-by once again.

[FMecha]

Yet another wheel seppuku?

Pitcrews, what you did to Takagi and Douglas was utterly disrespectful. YOU'RE ALL FIRED! I repeat, YOU'RE ALL FIRED!!

We've getting new pitcrews by next race. Stay tuned
Stefano fired only 3/4 of the pitcrews, FYI.

Rumors is that Megumi has tested the Bridgestone tires in a old Ligier chassis.

[Shizuka]

Ben, stop using the kerbs that much.
You see, Niko finished the race three laps down, but you had a suspension failure.

[eurobrun]

Highlights.

Private video much.

[Nuppiz]

Just another day at the office, it seems.

[dr-baker]

While happy with another podium, the crash with Valsattis has taken the joy out of the day for me. Clearly, having just come out of the pits, my tyres were not fully up to temperature, so I was not as fast as I would have been on other laps in the first sector. I did not intend for there to be such a speed difference, and send my full apologies to Masta. Douglas tells me (being his teammate!) that he is a charming guy, and so we will both be going to visit him in hospital this evening.

[tristan1117]

Highlights.

Private video much.

Fixed.

[AdrianSutil]

Masta Valsattis:
"Firstly, I'm ok. The car landed quite heavily and I've hurt my back a little. The doctor's suggested I relax for a week but have informed me I'll be fit for the next race. As for the actual crash, I was concentrating on Schrattenhiem so much I simply didn't expect Pippa to appear where she did. The closing speed was too high and I couldn't take enough speed off to avoid hitting her. It's a shame because I was looking good for a solid finish. Both Pippa and Douglas have visited me in hospital a little while ago and I'm glad she's ok too. Hopefully I can put this scary crash behind me and concentrate in helping Douglas and Ligier push towards the front.

[East Londoner]

What in the name of utter bathpluggery have those French frogs built these engines out of? Beelezebub's skin?

I finished a race. That is all. Hardly an improvement though...

[JeremyMcClean]

Q: Daniel, you led from lights to the flag, it seemed so easy, was it?
Daniel Moreno: Oh yes, it was so easy, I can't believe it....

[Barbazza]

I really enjoyed that one! It was great racing my team mate and staying ahead, shame I couldn't keep Pippa behind

[the Masked Lapwing]

Well that was a pretty decent race. I made a bad strategy call, and it put me behind Andrew, but it was still a good haul of points. I'd like to congratulate Andrew on his podium, he drove very well and smart over those last few laps, and he deserved to take second place. Still, if he keeps it up a win is on the way!

[tristan1117]

Round 6: Monaco
Weather: Dry

Code: Select all

1. Daniel Moreno (Williams) - 1:18.341
2. Jack Christopherson (McLaren) - 1:18.888
3. Andrew Spokes (Benetton) - 1:19.037
4. Tom Douglas (Ferrari) - 1:19.170
5. John Zimmer (Benetton) - 1:19.212
6. Pippa Mann (Williams) - 1:19.574
7. Kazuhiko Takagi (Ferrari) - 1:19.862
8. Damon Cannon (Jordan) - 1:19.899
9. Pablo da Silva (Sauber) - 1:19.997
10. Rory McAllister (McLaren) - 1:20.040
11. Pieter Kickert (Sauber) - 1:20.223
12. Leonhard von Gottorp (Jordan) - 1:20.228
13. Douglas Mann (Ligier) - 1:20.320

Code: Select all

14. Clivio Durand (Tyrrell) - 1:20.632
15. Poppy Whitechapel (Tyrrell) - 1:20.773
16. Jorg Scrattenheim (Footwork) - 1:20.881
17. Gio van Dycke (Minardi) - 1:21.472
18. Masta Valsattis (Ligier) - 1:21.504
19. Miko Fakkinen (Minardi) - 1:21.697
20. Kazuyoshi Hoshino (Footwork) - 1:22.566
21. Niko Nurminen (DAMS) - 1:22.719
22. Ben Fleet (DAMS) - 1:22.797
23. Giovanni Roda (Forti) - 1:24.036
24. Martin McFry (Forti) - 1:24.457
25. Anton Kaliniczenko (Pacific) - 1:25.044
26. Artiom Zielenkovski (Pacific) - 1:25.509

Monaco always throws up a ton of surprises in the F1RGP2C and this year was no different. Moreno takes pole, but after that, the grid was totally scrambled. Jack Christopherson shocked everyone by putting his McLaren on the front row! Then Spokes, Douglas, Zimmer, P. Mann, the Monaco specialist, Takagi, Cannon, da Silva. McAllister way back in tenth. Leonhard von Gottorp, he of "DNQ'd in a Jordan" fame only qualified twelfth. Then Douglas Mann. Fairly pedestrian otherwise. I think you all know what the weather is for Sunday.

[eurobrun]

Accidental double post.

Disregard.

[eurobrun]

Valsattis is supposd to be driving a Ligier not a Sauber.

[JeremyMcClean]

The weather looks ok for now, I hope we can get the setup all good for the race...

Hey, that was a great qualifying session!

[AdrianSutil]

Masta Valsattis:
"I'm only about 90% at the moment after Imola but I'm still at a loss to see why I'm back in 18th. This car is good enough to be fighting just outside the top 10 so I need to really think about what's going wrong. I don't want to be this far back. I'm really not happy with myself. Hopefully there's a bit of rain tomorrow and I can pick my way through to score a point or two."

[Wizzie]

Fantastico! Jack pulled out an incredible lap to put him in with a great chance of winning tomorrow. Rory was slightly disappointing but traffic didn't help his cause. Hopefully, through attrition and strategy, he can bring it home solidly into the points.

[eurobrun]

Pippa, what are you doing?

[FMecha]

Go, Go, let's go Doug and Takagi. Prove it that you can!

[dr-baker]

Pippa, what are you doing?

What was I doing? What was I doing? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHAT WAS I DOING? You must be blind! I thought it was clearly obvious!

No? You didn't see Giovanni Roda clearly baulk me on both my fastest laps? M*rde, put**n, sch**sse...

[tristan1117]

Pippa, what are you doing?

What was I doing? What was I doing? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHAT WAS I DOING? You must be blind! I thought it was clearly obvious!

No? You didn't see Giovanni Roda clearly baulk me on both my fastest laps? M*rde, put**n, sch**sse...

Yeah, Pippa was badly blocked on the first day of quali. Not so much on the second though...

[East Londoner]

It's gonna be a tough one out there today. The track is as narrow as a narrow-gauge railway, and you really do have to be like Liam Gallagher to pass here, as in fiesty and forceful.

Tyrrell suck. One more race for them to prove otherwise, or I'm outta here.

[Nuppiz]

I hope that I can avoid the barriers and score another good result for my team.

[tristan1117]

And with that, we have our fifth different winner in six races. Andrew Spokes wins the Monaco Grand Prix after an incredibly close race in which he held off both his teammate, Daniel Moreno, changing weather conditions and dozens of backmarkers to secure his maiden win.

Positives:

Andrew Spokes: Spokes has been brilliant this year but if the race wasn't in Monaco, he probably would have finished in fourth place. Somehow, Spokes managed to hold off both Daniel Moreno (at the start of the race) and John Zimmer in an astonishing Senna-esque drive. He constantly defended the lead for the entire race, again making the one-stop strategy work to perfection. Impressive.

John Zimmer: Zimmer now goes down in history as the driver who finished second in the closest finish in F1RGP2C history so far. I know it's difficult to pass at Monaco but Zimmer really should have gotten past his teammate, judging from his fastest lap which was a full three tenths faster than Spokes'. That's the second time this year that Spokes has beaten him due to superior pit strategy and defensive driving. I'm sure John is very happy about that.

Jack Christopherson: Well, he clearly hasn't missed a beat. After qualifying on the front row in the McLaren, Christopherson lost out to the Benettons and Moreno at the start. He gradually fell behind the leaders but his comeback his been a rousing success so far. IIDOTR.

Ferrari: Ferrari got both cars to finish the race. Kazuhiko Takagi drove a positive one-stop race that would have gotten him some points had the notorious attrition rate at Monaco kicked in.

Sauber: Pablo da Silva ran ahead of the Jordans during the first stint before his transmission gave up. Pieter Kickert finished in eighth place, a good result for the Dutchman. Positives weekend all-around for Sauber.

DAMS: Another double-finish for them. They have made vast leaps over last year, taking into account Nurminen was only two tenths off Hoshino's Footwork in qualifying. Nurminen also had an electrical problem late in the race, putting him behind Fleet and an extra lap down.

Negatives:

Pippa Mann: Where was Pippa all weekend? She only qualified in sixth and at Monaco, that meant certain doom. She was off the pace of the Benettons, Christopherson, Douglas and even Rory McAllister at one point. With her teammate having all sorts of problems, this was her chance to gain back some ground in the championship. Unfortunately, she only clawed back two points.

Leonhard von Gottorp: He was totally outclassed by Cannon this weekend, the first time that has happened all season. Ever since that third place in 1994, he has had an awful time of things at Monaco.

Damon Cannon: I know I just said he was way better than his teammate, but Cannon had a really stupid crash mid-race, breaking his front wing.

Daniel Moreno: Every year, Daniel Moreno gets "races from hell" where everything goes wrong. Remember the 1994 British GP where he was taken out of a certain victory by Gio van Dycke's exploding Larrousse? Or how about the 1995 Italian GP where he took pole and fastest lap only to see his Williams' transmission die after 35 laps while leading, crushing his championship aspirations. This year, the Monaco GP was Moreno's race from hell. Moreno was mugged on the start by Spokes who muscled past the Williams at Saint Devote and was immediately forced to defend from a determined John Zimmer. Moreno was then unable to get past Spokes during the changing weather conditions, even though he was clearly the fastest driver on the track. Then, just after his first stop, Moreno came up on Artiom Zielenkovski's Pacific in the Tunnel to lap him. Zielenkovski had just been lapped by one of the Minardis but that is no excuse for what he did next. Artiom swerved straight into the path of Moreno who ramped over the Pacific, nearly hitting the top of the tunnel before falling and breaking his front wing.

Moreno was furious but his misery was not yet over. On Lap 48, he was forced to pull over the car with terminal suspension damage, presumably caused by his crash with Zielenkovski. Just like that, Moreno retired for the first time this year. Luckily, his teammate had an off weekend, letting Moreno off the hook.

Tyrrell: Poppy Whitechapel should find a new team. Kazuyoshi Hoshino isn't exactly shocking the world at Footwork. Could she find a new home there?

Weather: It went from pouring rain, to light rain, to dry and back to light rain in the span of two hours! What the hell?

Pacific: Anton Kaliniczenko and Artiom Zielenkovski might be the most rejectful driver pairing in the entire F1 Rejects universe. Both are dead slow (although that might be the car) and cause chaos whenever they get lapped. I already spoke of Artiom's idiotic move on Moreno but Anton Kaliniczenko was a movable roadblock as well. Somewhere in the highlights, you will see Anton block a huge train of cars, including the leader John Zimmer. As they all tried to pass Anton at Rascasse, the Pacific punctured a tyre, spearing Anton straight into the barriers at Anthony Nogues, narrowly avoiding the DAMS of Niko Nurminen. Reject of the Race for them.

Leaders:
Andrew Spokes: 1-38
Jack Christopherson: 39
John Zimmer: 40-46
Andrew Spokes: 47-78

Fastest Laps:


Drivers' Championship
1. Daniel Moreno - 38
2. Pippa Mann - 28
3. Andrew Spokes - 23
4. John Zimmer - 22
5. Tom Douglas - 16
6. Rory McAllister - 7
7. Leonhard von Gottorp - 6
8. James Davies - 4
= Jack Christopherson - 4
= Damon Cannon - 4
11. Masta Valsattis - 3
12. Gio van Dycke - 1

Constructors' Championship
1. Williams - 66
2. Benetton - 45
3. Ferrari - 16
4. McLaren - 11
5. Jordan - 10
6. Sauber - 3
7. Minardi - 1

[tristan1117]

Artiom Zielenkovski Penalized for Blocking Moreno

Artiom Zielenkovski has been penalized by the stewards of the Monaco GP after his collision with Daniel Moreno. He will receive a suspended two-race ban and a $50,000 fine. Zielenkovski has also been given a ten-place grid penalty for the next race in Spain but he is likely to qualify in dead-last anyway, rendering the penalty moot.

[Barbazza]

<Team Radio> Oh Yes!!!! We did it boys! Monaco, I love youuuuu!!

[East Londoner]

That is it. Tyrrell can get bathplugged, I'm out of here. How it is even possible to be SEVEN laps down?! Absolutely disgusting! I pity the poor soul who'll have to take over my shitebox, I really do. Up yours Tyrrell!

Well, that didn't go quite to plan. Some daft sod driving what appeared to be a mobility scooter no, sorry my mistake, a Pacific was trundling through the Swimming Pool section, causing me to veer off and clout the barrier. How in the name of Shed Seven that impact didn't smash the suspension, I will never know, and because the pits were practically a doorstop away, I was able to trade the remains of my nosecone for a fresh new wing, losing very little time. Another point is decent reward.

Whitechapel leaves Tyrrell
After yet another embarassing race this season, this time finishing 7 laps down on the leaders in Monaco, Tyrrell driver Poppy Whitechapel has torn up her contract with the team, which was supposed to run until the end of the season. It is not known if Tyrrell will take action against Whitechapel for breaking contract, but an insider reported that it is being considered, with a possible edict to prevent Whitechapel racing with another team until next season. It is also not known who will replace Whitechapel, with the rumour mill being surprisingly dry, although Tyrrell's current form this season may prove to be a deterrent to several drivers.

[tristan1117]

That is it. Tyrrell can get bathplugged, I'm out of here. How it is even possible to be SEVEN laps down?! Absolutely disgusting! I pity the poor soul who'll have to take over my shitebox, I really do. Up yours Tyrrell!

Well, she was seven laps down because of a mechanical failure but she was totally anonymous for the entire race. Poppy Whitechapel is also the seat holder for Tyrrell so she has the right to name her successor. There are lots of drivers available and you can always make up a new one.

[East Londoner]

That is it. Tyrrell can get bathplugged, I'm out of here. How it is even possible to be SEVEN laps down?! Absolutely disgusting! I pity the poor soul who'll have to take over my shitebox, I really do. Up yours Tyrrell!

Well, she was seven laps down because of a mechanical failure but she was totally anonymous for the entire race. Poppy Whitechapel is also the seat holder for Tyrrell so she has the right to name her successor. There are lots of drivers available and you can always make up a new one.

Who is avaliable at the moment? Whoever gets the seat will become the new Tyrrell seatholder.

[tristan1117]

That is it. Tyrrell can get bathplugged, I'm out of here. How it is even possible to be SEVEN laps down?! Absolutely disgusting! I pity the poor soul who'll have to take over my shitebox, I really do. Up yours Tyrrell!

Well, she was seven laps down because of a mechanical failure but she was totally anonymous for the entire race. Poppy Whitechapel is also the seat holder for Tyrrell so she has the right to name her successor. There are lots of drivers available and you can always make up a new one.

Who is avaliable at the moment? Whoever gets the seat will become the new Tyrrell seatholder.

Available Drivers:
Éadbhard Ó'Caoimhín
Sebastien Belo
George Tramontani
Samael Meerwick
Sebastian Gazurek
Anyone else who wants to make a new driver.

There are no limits on the number of teams that you can manage. However, it is courtesy to only control one team (Forti seat holder job is up for grabs if Pointrox doesn't come back any time soon).

[AdrianSutil]

Masta Valsattis:
"I'm pleased to finish my first race for Ligier. It was a difficult race with the changing conditions not helping. I'd have preferred it to be wet throughout but there we go. I'd also like to congratulate Andrew Spokes on his first win. I knew it would happen eventually and he really deserves it."

[JeremyMcClean]

And all I've got to say to that is bullsh*t.


At least I still lead the championship...

I ran well today, but the car had problem, it broke down, that was it.

[tristan1117]

Last highlight video for a while now.

[Shizuka]

Good job!
DAMS does another double finish, so slow improvement is on the cards! Maybe we should get a better engine for next season... what do you think Ben, Niko? We should try to get Peugeot to support us from 1997.