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Griever20 · 09-13-2017, 04:52 AM

Preseason Report: World Motorsport Championship
motorsport-live.com

March 16th, 2017

Three days till the red lights go off and the race to the podium begins. Ten teams. Twenty drivers. Two Championships. Team check:

Espirit GP – Renault
France
Car: 10th
Drivers: 9th
HQ: 10th
Staff: 9th
Sponsors: 10th

Operating out of a small factory in Guyancourt, former home of the Prost GP team waay back in the late 90's, Espirit GP is a pure french project. French chassis, french engine, french fuel and lubricants, but a German team principal, a rookie hotshot designer from the US in Callum Hamilton, and a big french fanbase.

Hamilton is well known to produce reliable parts that can be fitted direct to the car, or as their boss Patricia Rosner said: "If you want to finish first, you got to finish first." On the driver side, she has to manage two young hotshots, 19-year old former Rezzato Corsa employee Rick De Graaf, who signed a respectable deal financially for this season, and 21-year old Johnny Navarro, 2016 ASPC champion... but he has much to learn.

Expected Finish: 8th-10th

Kitano Sport – Honda
Japan
Car: 5th
Drivers: 2nd
HQ: 3rd
Staff: 10th
Sponsors: 3rd
2016: 8th with 11 points.

The Kitano Sport-Honda outfit disappointed last season. Period. They had a competitive chassis, a good and experienced driver outfit, good aerodynamics, decent performance under braking... but the engine is the problem and that got worse in 2017 as even the french newcomers from Espirit GP have more power than the best Kitano will have.

On the driver side, they let José Vásquez and Jenny North go into retirement... and signed Samuel Blanc, the 33-year old former Thornton driver whose high in 2016 was a 11th place early in the season. The big name signing is 27-year old Australian ace Zoe Sharp who they actually bought out of his existing Panther contract to get... however, if that money would not be better spent in engine development...

Expected finish: 5th-8th

Lotus Racing – Ferrari
Great Britain
Car: 8th
Drivers: 10th
HQ: 9th
Staff: 6th
Sponsors: 2nd
2016: 7th with 11 points

Returning after a impressive 2016 where they started more than three seconds of the pace of the leaders and one second behind the next best car, Lotus Racing returns and may be looking at a mid-table finish. They developed one car at a torrid pace, the car of Iker Vidal, and the Spaniard delievered all of the teams 11 points with some brilliant drives.

They kept the group together, added a pretty good, young reserve driver in Ellie Marsh, and used price money, Woodford $$$ and a great sponsorship package to invest into a vastly improved chassis, a Ferrari engine deal and another factory upgrade that will come online mid-season. If they can continue their torrid development pace, lots is possible for this outfit.

Their drivers in Iker Vidal and Jeremy Woodford still have room for growth and especially Iker Vidal showed some promising signs, but via Dan Martinson, he "expects both drivers to finish their contracts with the team, and they are both signed till the end of 2018."

Expected finish: 5th-9th

Panther Racing Team – Mercedes
Great Britain
Car: 3rd
Drivers: 6th
HQ: 5th
Staff: 1st
Sponsors: 5th
2016: 3rd with 294 points

Moving from the good Ferrari to the even better Mercedes V10, hoping that they may make a jump in performance when they start combining Rachel Adams knowledge with Mercedes improvability for some nifty power units in the future.

They managed to win three race in 2016, but had some problems with their two drivers racing against each other and being unhappy, but with Sharp moving to Kitano and rookie Winston Margate joining 2x winner Nikolai Surikov on a three year deal, they hope to bring consistency to the team... and improve on a third place constructors finish. Winning it... they seem a step to far behind.

Expected Finish: 2th-4th

Rezzato Corsa – Ferrari
Italy
Car: 7th
Drivers: 5th
HQ: 6th
Staff: 8th
Sponsors: 7th
2016: 6th with 22 points.

A small team around team principal Michael Neumann, they made a statement in the Constructors with a sixth place finish, punching above their weight in a number of races despite some questions about designer Jim Harris and his staff.

Young gun Rick De Graaf left after a short contract dispute and got replaced with the even more costly Wolfgang Schmidt from Van Dort Racing. The 29-year old finished ninth in the Drivers Championship, doube the points of his teammate, and will be leading the way in this team... but do not underestimate Lucía Flores... the 22-year old has learned a lot. Finishing higher than 2016 seems unlikely, but a repeat is possible.

Expected Finish: 6th-9th

Scuderia Rossini – Ferrari
Italy
Car: 2nd
Drivers: 3rd
HQ: 2nd
Staff: 3rd
Sponsors: 9th
2016: 2nd with 341 points.

The pranching horse sponsored team entered the 2016 with very high hopes and ambitions but had to settle for second place as they were, most races, two to five tenth of a second slower than their German rivals. Operating from a great base, they ran into a second problem last season...

Money. With 37-year old Finn Niilo Saarinen out there, their marketability was a problem, and they solved that one by signing 28-year old Rafael Rodriguez as their second driver. The Portugese driver worked for Oranje GT in the GMA's touring car championship and was rather unimpressive, but the fact that he is married with singer Nelly Furtado and is usually all over the yellow pages means they should be able to improve their sponsorship package significantly over the season.

That makes the Championship a Dieter Wexler show, a dangerous move as there were some serious relationship problems between him and the Rossini bosses and his engineers last season. Everything is fine, they said though...

Expected Finish: 1st-3rd

Steinmann Motorsport – Mercedes
Germany
Car: 1st
Drivers: 1st
HQ: 1st
Staff: 2nd
Sponsors: 1st

Winners of the inagural TWO Championships, the offseason treated the Steinmann team well as not only were they able to resign their young, talented reserve driver Pascal Becker, but managed to get past their differences and resign reigning World Champion Harry Chapman to a three year deal.

That may mean that German star Nina Holtz won't resign as she and Chapman do not get along very well, but they can cope with the loss if the Brit is anywhere close to his 2016 form going forward.

You don't need to be a genius to see that Steinmann's Mercedes based engine is the best on the grid by a country mile, and they are top five in every other department, making them the favorites for a World Championship... and the first dynasty of the WMC.

Predicted Finish: 1st-2nd

Van Dort Racing – Honda
Great Britain
Car: 6th
Drivers: 4th
HQ: 7th
Staff: 5th
Sponsors: 6th
2016: 5th with 139 points

The very exact definition of a midfield team, Van Dort put the Kitano team to shame by using the Honda engine to great effect and a impressive fifth place finish despite limited resouces and a small factory by making the most out of their car and their drivers.

Their biggest loss was #1 driver Wolfgang Schmidt and while they brought in veteran and 2x race winner Niilo Saarinen in to replace him, there are some major question marks around that move. A 3-year contract for a 37-year old? And a "ice man" of a driver that won't attract any sponsors? This one could backfire horribly in the long haul.

Predicted Finish: 4th-7th

Vélan Racing - Ferrari
Switzerland
Car: 9th
Drivers: 7th
HQ: 8th
Staff: 7th
Sponsors: 4th
2016: 9th with 9 points

Being really disappointed by the lack of support by engine supplier and 'supposed to be' partner Renault, Vélan chairman Patrick Berg went with the Ferrari contract for 2017 and hopes for a change of fate. The team was safe for most of the season thanks to some good points finishes and never really was in relegation, but they fear the worst for 2017.

The Swiss outfit brought back their two drivers, 26-year old Swedish fearless Siri Lundquist and 24-year old Brazilian Esteban Ribeiro. Both are rock solid WMC material and command $8M per year apiece, but could make the difference... as they are matched equal with 5 points for Lundquist and four for Ribeiro

Predicted Finish: 7th-9th

Windsor Racing – Ferrari
Great Britain
Car: 4th
Drivers: 5th
HQ: 4th
Staff: 4th
Sponsors: 3rd
2016: 4th with 285 points

The biggest controversy of the offseason evolves around the engine contract of [B]Windsor Racing[/B]. One group of experts say they could not afford Mercedes engines, the other group of experts say that Mercedes did not want to give them any more engines as they are a close rival to Steinmann.

Anyways, the Ferrari engines are the second best base on the grid, and the team has shown that they can make good use of a slightly above midfield-level car and were able to secure a race win in 2016 at the Japanese GP and in the rain, and Aki Lipponen looked like a Championship contender early in the season.

They did resign veteran Ana Oliveira on a three year deal, another one of those head scratching contracts as the 35-year old was outscored by 43 points and is not getting any younger.

Expected Finish: 3rd-5th

09-13-2017, 04:52 AM	#97
Griever20 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 3,723	2017 Preseason Report: Team Check Preseason Report: World Motorsport Championship motorsport-live.com March 16th, 2017 Three days till the red lights go off and the race to the podium begins. Ten teams. Twenty drivers. Two Championships. Team check: Espirit GP – Renault France Car: 10th Drivers: 9th HQ: 10th Staff: 9th Sponsors: 10th Operating out of a small factory in Guyancourt, former home of the Prost GP team waay back in the late 90's, Espirit GP is a pure french project. French chassis, french engine, french fuel and lubricants, but a German team principal, a rookie hotshot designer from the US in Callum Hamilton, and a big french fanbase. Hamilton is well known to produce reliable parts that can be fitted direct to the car, or as their boss Patricia Rosner said: "If you want to finish first, you got to finish first." On the driver side, she has to manage two young hotshots, 19-year old former Rezzato Corsa employee Rick De Graaf, who signed a respectable deal financially for this season, and 21-year old Johnny Navarro, 2016 ASPC champion... but he has much to learn. Expected Finish: 8th-10th Kitano Sport – Honda Japan Car: 5th Drivers: 2nd HQ: 3rd Staff: 10th Sponsors: 3rd 2016: 8th with 11 points. The Kitano Sport-Honda outfit disappointed last season. Period. They had a competitive chassis, a good and experienced driver outfit, good aerodynamics, decent performance under braking... but the engine is the problem and that got worse in 2017 as even the french newcomers from Espirit GP have more power than the best Kitano will have. On the driver side, they let José Vásquez and Jenny North go into retirement... and signed Samuel Blanc, the 33-year old former Thornton driver whose high in 2016 was a 11th place early in the season. The big name signing is 27-year old Australian ace Zoe Sharp who they actually bought out of his existing Panther contract to get... however, if that money would not be better spent in engine development... Expected finish: 5th-8th Lotus Racing – Ferrari Great Britain Car: 8th Drivers: 10th HQ: 9th Staff: 6th Sponsors: 2nd 2016: 7th with 11 points Returning after a impressive 2016 where they started more than three seconds of the pace of the leaders and one second behind the next best car, Lotus Racing returns and may be looking at a mid-table finish. They developed one car at a torrid pace, the car of Iker Vidal, and the Spaniard delievered all of the teams 11 points with some brilliant drives. They kept the group together, added a pretty good, young reserve driver in Ellie Marsh, and used price money, Woodford $$$ and a great sponsorship package to invest into a vastly improved chassis, a Ferrari engine deal and another factory upgrade that will come online mid-season. If they can continue their torrid development pace, lots is possible for this outfit. Their drivers in Iker Vidal and Jeremy Woodford still have room for growth and especially Iker Vidal showed some promising signs, but via Dan Martinson, he "expects both drivers to finish their contracts with the team, and they are both signed till the end of 2018." Expected finish: 5th-9th Panther Racing Team – Mercedes Great Britain Car: 3rd Drivers: 6th HQ: 5th Staff: 1st Sponsors: 5th 2016: 3rd with 294 points Moving from the good Ferrari to the even better Mercedes V10, hoping that they may make a jump in performance when they start combining Rachel Adams knowledge with Mercedes improvability for some nifty power units in the future. They managed to win three race in 2016, but had some problems with their two drivers racing against each other and being unhappy, but with Sharp moving to Kitano and rookie Winston Margate joining 2x winner Nikolai Surikov on a three year deal, they hope to bring consistency to the team... and improve on a third place constructors finish. Winning it... they seem a step to far behind. Expected Finish: 2th-4th Rezzato Corsa – Ferrari Italy Car: 7th Drivers: 5th HQ: 6th Staff: 8th Sponsors: 7th 2016: 6th with 22 points. A small team around team principal Michael Neumann, they made a statement in the Constructors with a sixth place finish, punching above their weight in a number of races despite some questions about designer Jim Harris and his staff. Young gun Rick De Graaf left after a short contract dispute and got replaced with the even more costly Wolfgang Schmidt from Van Dort Racing. The 29-year old finished ninth in the Drivers Championship, doube the points of his teammate, and will be leading the way in this team... but do not underestimate Lucía Flores... the 22-year old has learned a lot. Finishing higher than 2016 seems unlikely, but a repeat is possible. Expected Finish: 6th-9th Scuderia Rossini – Ferrari Italy Car: 2nd Drivers: 3rd HQ: 2nd Staff: 3rd Sponsors: 9th 2016: 2nd with 341 points. The pranching horse sponsored team entered the 2016 with very high hopes and ambitions but had to settle for second place as they were, most races, two to five tenth of a second slower than their German rivals. Operating from a great base, they ran into a second problem last season... Money. With 37-year old Finn Niilo Saarinen out there, their marketability was a problem, and they solved that one by signing 28-year old Rafael Rodriguez as their second driver. The Portugese driver worked for Oranje GT in the GMA's touring car championship and was rather unimpressive, but the fact that he is married with singer Nelly Furtado and is usually all over the yellow pages means they should be able to improve their sponsorship package significantly over the season. That makes the Championship a Dieter Wexler show, a dangerous move as there were some serious relationship problems between him and the Rossini bosses and his engineers last season. Everything is fine, they said though... Expected Finish: 1st-3rd Steinmann Motorsport – Mercedes Germany Car: 1st Drivers: 1st HQ: 1st Staff: 2nd Sponsors: 1st Winners of the inagural TWO Championships, the offseason treated the Steinmann team well as not only were they able to resign their young, talented reserve driver Pascal Becker, but managed to get past their differences and resign reigning World Champion Harry Chapman to a three year deal. That may mean that German star Nina Holtz won't resign as she and Chapman do not get along very well, but they can cope with the loss if the Brit is anywhere close to his 2016 form going forward. You don't need to be a genius to see that Steinmann's Mercedes based engine is the best on the grid by a country mile, and they are top five in every other department, making them the favorites for a World Championship... and the first dynasty of the WMC. Predicted Finish: 1st-2nd Van Dort Racing – Honda Great Britain Car: 6th Drivers: 4th HQ: 7th Staff: 5th Sponsors: 6th 2016: 5th with 139 points The very exact definition of a midfield team, Van Dort put the Kitano team to shame by using the Honda engine to great effect and a impressive fifth place finish despite limited resouces and a small factory by making the most out of their car and their drivers. Their biggest loss was #1 driver Wolfgang Schmidt and while they brought in veteran and 2x race winner Niilo Saarinen in to replace him, there are some major question marks around that move. A 3-year contract for a 37-year old? And a "ice man" of a driver that won't attract any sponsors? This one could backfire horribly in the long haul. Predicted Finish: 4th-7th Vélan Racing - Ferrari Switzerland Car: 9th Drivers: 7th HQ: 8th Staff: 7th Sponsors: 4th 2016: 9th with 9 points Being really disappointed by the lack of support by engine supplier and 'supposed to be' partner Renault, Vélan chairman Patrick Berg went with the Ferrari contract for 2017 and hopes for a change of fate. The team was safe for most of the season thanks to some good points finishes and never really was in relegation, but they fear the worst for 2017. The Swiss outfit brought back their two drivers, 26-year old Swedish fearless Siri Lundquist and 24-year old Brazilian Esteban Ribeiro. Both are rock solid WMC material and command $8M per year apiece, but could make the difference... as they are matched equal with 5 points for Lundquist and four for Ribeiro Predicted Finish: 7th-9th Windsor Racing – Ferrari Great Britain Car: 4th Drivers: 5th HQ: 4th Staff: 4th Sponsors: 3rd 2016: 4th with 285 points The biggest controversy of the offseason evolves around the engine contract of [B]Windsor Racing[/B]. One group of experts say they could not afford Mercedes engines, the other group of experts say that Mercedes did not want to give them any more engines as they are a close rival to Steinmann. Anyways, the Ferrari engines are the second best base on the grid, and the team has shown that they can make good use of a slightly above midfield-level car and were able to secure a race win in 2016 at the Japanese GP and in the rain, and Aki Lipponen looked like a Championship contender early in the season. They did resign veteran Ana Oliveira on a three year deal, another one of those head scratching contracts as the 35-year old was outscored by 43 points and is not getting any younger. Expected Finish: 3rd-5th __________________ The Montreal Expos... Exposing the New MLB? MLB 2015 - Being the Brewmaster(ended) MLB 2013: The Blue Jays That Never Were(concluded) Last edited by Griever20; 09-13-2017 at 04:53 AM.