The Return of Lotus(A non OOTP Dynasty)

[Griever20]

I'm going to hide this one in this part of the forum since it is not really a OOTP dynasty, and I hope that the dev's won't mind the fact that it is not a OOTP related writeup.

This kinda started by accident... I'll do my best to get this done... if you are interested, enjoy the ride.

The Team, The Legend, Lotus

Colin Chapman had a dream, his hands, and a car. And started putting racing driver into it in 1956 with his first single seater design, the Type 12 racing around the track. He and his drivers, Cliff Allison and Graham Hill, eventually joined Formula One in 1958 for the Monaco Grand Prix, and it would be the start of a great journey.

Going from the Lotus Type 18 to the Lotus Type 25, 1963 was the year where things fell their way. Finishing second in the 1962 Drivers & Constructors Championship, Lotus and their driver Jim Clark won both championships. They slumped in 1964 with the new Type 33, but their new baby turned out to be a monster of a car and won this combination their second double World Championship.

And that was only the start. In 1966, Formula One evolved like it ever did, changing the engine regulations and Colin Chapman and Lotus came out as the winner, pairing up with Cosworth to win a total of five Constructers World Championships and four Driver World Championships(Graham Hill 1968, Jochen Rindt 1970, Emerson Fittipaldi 1972, Mario Andretti 1978).

However, as it always was in the oldest single seater class of motorsport, death was always around. In 1968, 2x World Champion Jim Clark died at Hockenheim in a Formula 2 race, another Lotus driver in Mike Spence died at Indy, training for the 500 miles. 1970 World Champion Jochen Rindt never hoised his World Championship trophy, having crashed his Lotus in Monza with four races to go in the Champoinship. He died on the way to the hospital, but was so far ahead in the Championship that nobody would capitalize.

Ronnie Peterson, who drove for Lotus five of his nine career years, was the victim of a big start accident in Italy 1978 and lost his life after his Type 79 started to burn under him.

The 1978 World Championship, another masterstoke by Chapman, who was the first designer to utilize the ground effect, was the last World Championship year by the team, but not because of the lack of trying. Up until his death in 1982, Chapman would try his best to build revolutionary cars that often failed to deliver the lap times, and rolling back to last year's car did not help here.

Yet, their last real push came in the 80's after Chapman's death. With the new turbo engine, build for them by Renault and later Honda, and drivers like Nigel Mansell(80-84) and Ayrton Senna(85-87), and unspectacular, but fast cars build by designer Gérard Ducarouge, the team collected some race wins and pushed for a World Championship that they ultimately failed to win.

And the end of the turbo's would start the beginning of the end for Lotus. Financially strapped since the Lotus Group was sold to General Motors by Chapman's widow, the team slowly moved to the back end of the grid. In 1994, the team failed for the first time failed to collect any World Championship points, and ultimately, the squad filed for bankruptcy.

The team was dead and may thought that a Formula 1 grid without Lotus cars would not be a Formula 1 grid, and that the brand should return one day.

Little did they know that the next time they would see Lotus cars in single seater racing, things would've changed dramatically.

[Griever20]

In 2009, Formula One was at a crossroad, and it went the wrong way. Brawn GP and Jenson Button were dominating the Championship as underdogs, interest was high, TV ratings were high, racing was interesting.

Yet, there was a big cloud overhead. Max Mosley, president of the FIA, the governing body of motorsport and Formula One, wanted to press for some serious rule changes for the 2010 Season. Cutting costs in the wake of the financial crisis, a budgetcap of $45M exclusive of driver salary, engines and marketing should be enforced, also helping new teams to join Formula One.

Some teams of the Formula One Team Association(FOTA), namely Red Bull, Toyota, Renault and of course Ferrari, were unwilling to agree to those rules as they were the big budget teams that would see their advantages crumble under those regulations. Registrations and planning for the 2010 season becomes a main problem.

Mosley then threw even more oil into the fire by calling some of the FOTA executives 'looneys' and pointed out FOTA want to take over the sport with Renault team boss Flavio Briatore as the new commercial rights holder.

Through all this mess, three new teams were announced for the 2010 season, including an old friend. Lotus Racing, a malaysian team owned by airline tycoon Tony Fernandez would make his debut in 2010 with technical director and team boss Mike Gascoyne, a veteran of the sport. The new Lotus cars would never drive in anger though.

The political battle for power reached its climax in June 2009... and ended up with no real winner as the FOTA teams, namely Ferrari, BMW-Sauber, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Toyota and Brawn GP-Mercedes decided that to do the unthinkable. They announced to leave Formula One for 2010 and want to form their own racing series, quickly branded the World Constructors Championship(WCC).

By November 1st, Jenson Button and Brawn GP won both World Championships, but Formula One and single seat racing was staring into the abyss. With Force India and Williams the only teams commited to drive in Formula One, together with the new HRT, Virgin Racing and Lotus Racing teams, Formula One was not even close to looking competitive in 2010.

The WCC had the teams, but no commercial rights, no TV contracts, and negotiations with the racetracks turned out to be complicated as the track owners did not want to get in trouble with the big FIA by hosting WCC events.

And so, the 2009 Qatar Grand Prix, won by Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull Racing car, was the last Formula One GP of the old era.

And there would be no new era. The WCC eventually folded as they failed to attract enough TV money for the teams to make it work, let alone a competitive race calendar.

Formula One, facing the truth that they have lost most of the teams that made people watch, also never raced again. The main shareholders of the Formula One Group(FOM), CVC Capital Partners, pulled the plug in February 2011, stating that they do not want this farce to continue and that 'Formula One should go out in style'

Formula One's feeder series, GP2 and GP3, also folded as they had no series to feed their drivers to, and therefore, single seat racing in his fastest form, was dead.

[Griever20]

It began in the middle east, a unusal place for motorsport history to start as most of it usually evolved around Great Britain. This time, it was the Emir of Qatar meeting up with the Emir of Dubai, the President of the Russian Federation, the President of Singapore and the President of South Africa.

All of those countries were affected by the end of Formula One as all of them either build and expensive racetrack in their borders, or could build an impressive street circuit in their cities that would be an amazing place to race. But for whom?

It was February 2014, and it was time to 'kick something off' as the russian president, who spent millions to build a race track in Sochi around the Olympic Winter Games infrastructure, said bluntly towards the exquisit group of head of states present.

"And I have the man to help us with that. Sent him in please," the Emir of Qatar, who hosted the meeting, told to his quiet assistant in the corner. In came a 54-year old brit named Ernie Hecklerock. Hecklerock has worked for the german DTM series, organized the WEC from 2002-2005 and worked closely with Bernie Ecclestone for FOM till the end of 2009. He was the man to build up something from the ground.

"Mr. Hecklerock, in your mind, what are the chances of success for a new elite single seater class, starting business, let's say, in 2016?" Hecklerock, prepared and ready for business, had his answer laid out perfectly.

"Big. The public in the UK and Europe is starving for classic open wheel racing, and there are alot of teams, engineers, sponsors and race tracks, like yours, that WANT something to happen. But, this has to be done the RIGHT way, else it is not going to survive the year."

"How would you organize this, given some significant funds by us as investors." the russian president leaned in and asked him.

"Wwe need a headquarter and some good people to run the show, located in London to make it look like we are a serious business and we should build up racing from the bottom. In order to make a elite single seater series work, we need feeder series. Basically the equivalent to the old GP2 and GP3 series, and we should aim at 2015 as a debut for them. Start with one lower tier GP3, and two GP2 series, and the best 10 teams from the GP2 series make the elite series.

That gives us some time to test the waters so to speak. I know, that sounds like a lot, but actually, finding 30 teams with some of them being smaller and basically too small for big things, is not that hard."

"If Ferrari, Mercedes and co want to join with their own team, a constructers team so to speak, how would you react?" The president of Singapore chipped in.

"No would be the answer. They killed the sport. However, we should allow them to join a partnership with a team that basically would represent a constructers team, however, if they want that, they also have to deliver engines and to other teams of the association. This way, they can never try to take over the sport, and are still very much represented here.

Expect an italian based outfit with Ferrari engines and red cars, based in Maranello, to make an entry for example, and I know for a fact that Mercedes, BWM and Honda are more than willing to put their hat into the ring here."

"How would you name all those organisations and series?"

"I checked, the name Global Motorsport Association(GMA) is free, and how about World Motorsport Championship(WMC) for the elite class?"

The Emir of Qatar nodded and then remembered something. "Like it. Before we discuss this further and tell you our decision about all of this, you wanted to discuss a certain idea you had for this association right?"

Hecklerock new that was his chance to realize a lifelong dream and choose his words carefully. "One thing I personally thought hurt Formula One for years was the fact that teams joined the sport at the bottom of the grid, failing to make any progress, collecting TV money and not really added to the excitement.

That is why I would love to see a promotion/relegation system in place between the racing series. The best managed and fastest GP2 team gets promoted to the WMC, and the worst GMC team gets demoted to the second tier of motorsport and the same thing for the GP2/GP3 series. That would add alot of excitement and incentives for teams to work hard and harder."

"We will certainly discuss this, thanks for your inside and ideas, Mr. Hecklerock, I feel like we will come back to you."

--

One year later, the European Racing Series(ERS), the Asian-Pacific Super Cup(APSC), and the one-year tryout series, the European-American Super Cup(EASC) would start, and determine the teams that would race the inaugual season of the WMC, and the 2015 season alone was a story of success.

Mercedes, BWM, Honda, Renault, Ferrari, all came in and choose their favorite partner, delivered engines throughout the series, racing was exciting, and the grid for the inaugual season in 2016 was aswell.

Then, disaster stuck in a small town in England.

[Griever20]

WMC's Chariot Motor Group Folds After Horrible Fire Destroys Factory
motorsport-live.com

February 11th, 2016

Standing in front of what he thought would be the center of his life for the next years, chairman Susan Fitzgerald had problems holding back some tears. The british entrepreneur sold her software company and bought the factory in Leafield, former home of the Arrows GP team. The team tailored together a respectable fifth place finish in the EASC to qualify for the WMC this season.

But, disaster struck two weeks ago when during a horrible thunderstorm, big parts of the old factory were hit by lightning and caught fire, destroying equipment and equity valued more than $50M. "We do not have the funds to replace that, and we do not have the funds to race in the WMC. It is a painful day, but I have to announce that this is the end of the Chariot Motor Group."

With one month to go till the opening round, the Qatar Grand Prix in Doha, this means there is suddently and open slot in the WMC as the series is down to nine teams, and it seems unlikely at this point that any APSC team would be willing to make the sudden jump to the WMC with one month of preparation time.

However, Ernie Hecklerock of the GMA told the media that he acquired the remaining chassis parts of CMG, and is determined to find a team to enter the WMC. Via BBC, he is negotiating with a Great Britain based team currently not racing in the GMA to take over this spot.

--

Lotus Racing Takes Over Final WMC Spot
motorsport-live.com

February 27th, 2016

"The World Motorsport Championship will start with 10 teams in Qatar." Those were the words of Ernie Hecklerock when he and 38-year old canadian businessman Frank Henderson presented Lotus Racing, the newest member of the Championship, to the motorsport world.

It was a stony road for Lotus to return to motorsport, however Frank Henderson, also owner of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays worked hard to make this possible. "When F1 folded, there was the opportunity to buy the rights to race under the banner of Lotus and the Lotus Group, and since there was no real series to use them in, they were cheap."

Yet, Henderson did not make an entry for the 2015 qualifiers, and he admitted that that was a mistake. "We should've, but we were not quite ready for it and to be honest, I did not quite trust this whole thing to work. My mistake, but hey, we got in somehow."

The team will work out of the old Jordan/Force India factory near the home of the British Grand Prix, the historic Guildford circuit. "It is a small factory, and we only have a small number of people working there right now, but they are highly talented and will make this work for Qatar, no worries. Also, we will make some big investments into the HQ and get us some additional personal."

The team bought some of the CMG parts owned by the GMA and will work hard on fitting their technology into the existing chassis. This will be the main job of team principle Dan Martinson, a former McLaren rising start that worked the last four years for the McLaren road car side but took over this project six months ago.

"This was quite a shock, but a positive one. We were expecting to make an entry into the ERS or or the APSC for next year, 2017, and now we have to get going till March 17th for the Qatar Grand Prix," Martinson told the press. "Don't expect me to be available for interviews. I won't have any time for that before the race," he joked.

Yet, this could turn out to by pyrrus victory for Henderson and Lotus Racing as they may face certain relegation to the APSC if their car is not competitve.

Through his long first tenure in racing, Lotus took part in 491 Formula One Grand Prix, winning 79 while collecting seven Constructors and six Driver World Championships from 1958 to 1994.

As for drivers, Lotus has 23-year old russian endurance driver Pavel Vasilievich and 24-year old former carting driver Tara Gillen under contract for testing purposes, but experts doubt that those two will race in the Championship.

"They are decent test drivers, no doubt," BBC's Martin Brundle put to protocol after the presser. "But I strongly expect Lotus to approach at least one of the former CMG drivers, and expect some serious CMG personal to report to the factory as soon as the ink dries."

Neither the two Lotus drivers nor the former CMG drivers, 24-year old Barcelona native Iker Vidal, nor 24-year old brit Jeremy Woodford, were available for comment, but former head of engineering of CMG, 33-year old Jenny Whitehouse, and a number of other CMG people were seen around Guildford lately.

[Griever20]

Confidental Analysis: Lotus Racing
March 1st, 2016
From: michelle.watkins@lr.gma
To: dan.martinson@lr.gma

Hey boss,

I hope you enjoyed two days of holiday, you earned the two days off after having worked the last two weeks in the factory to make this car work. This is my team report, including the information gathered at the tests in Tondela while you were away. Take a deep breath.

The Chassis: Lotus Type 201

Hope you don't mind we gave the baby a name. 2 for the second iteration of Lotus, 01 for the first or many. The good news: The car is reliable, we only had minor problems throughout the testing days in Portugal. Also, the chassis is solid, we do not absolutely kill the tyres and the fuel consumption is decent.

The bad news: If we race one of those cute red double-decker busses that are driving around in London, the bus would win. Seriously, this car is too slow for the WMC. Same car in the APSC, fair deal, but here in the Championship, we are seriously outgunned. Get used to that quickly, we will need to claw for every position to survive in this series.

The Drivers:

Ok, Tara and Pavel are nice mates. If we take them to Qatar, we will not be able to make any hay in that department. They are ERS material. We need to invest here, my oppinion.

Jeremy Woodford and Iker Vidal from CMG. We have to go for it so that we have SOME area of strength, and Woodford is a pay driver, his sponsors would pay us up to $990k per race to us and could cover Vidal's salary, who is another rock solid driver. Those two got Chariot up here, and we need to invest somewhere.

The Engineers & Designer:

No offence to Nelleke ter Horst, our replacement lead designer. She has made some good remarks about the rear wing and engine, but she is better suited as assistant or regular worker. We need someone who can design a Championship car, and while I believe you can do some of that, you have other things to worry about.

I have been in talks with Jenny Whitehouse, the gal that desiged the chassis we are driving. She has a offer from a US roadcar company on the table, if you want her, she of course will cost some cash and needs some persuading. However, we can't have the janitor designing new parts right?

As for race engineers, the two ... idi... persons we have here will only hurt us. They set up their department nicely, but knowledge is what we want. Invest, invest, invest. We are running a racing team without people that know the business.

HQ and Financials:

We have a small factory, and a small design center. And with small I mean, this factory was small when Jordan used it 20 years ago. Now, it is outdated as hell, and with us being in the sport a year earlier than expected, nothing has been done... not even the women's toilet...

Anyways, the good news, we got $37.5M from Henderson to cover our expenses, aiming for a low finish, and Frankie boy finally gave us the promised $30M to build up the factory... but do not expect wonders, when the factory upgrades are ready, this team is either ninth, or relegated to the APSC.

On the sponsor side... we are ******. Seriously, we have no sponsors, and can only hope that our name, and some exciting driver signings get us some offers till Doha. Like, better than cheap cornflakes ads printed on our car for $100 per race.

Welcome to hell boss.

Lg
Michelle Watkins
PA/Scouting Director Lotus Racing

[Griever20]

Lotus Sweeps Market, Appoints former Chariot Personal
motorsport-live.com

March 9th, 2016

It came as Martin Brundle and many others expected. Just today, Lotus announced the signing of lead designer Jenny Whitehouse, race engineers Mary Paddock and Stuart Yarnham and drivers Jeremy Woodford and Iker Vidal.

"It was pretty clear that we would need experienced leaders on top of our departments, and drivers that have raced competitive last season in the GMA, so signing off on those contracts was a no-brainer." Martinson, team principal of Lotus Racing, told the media.

The 'gang' led Chariot into the WMC and especially Stuart Yarnham and driver Iker Vidal have worked together for two years now and know each other in and out.

"It is nice to know that I will work together with Stuart again," Vidal added to that. "And it is nice to have a drive for 2016, sitting on the couch for the year would've been very frustrating."

Furthermore, work has begun in Guildford as the Lotus HQ will be expanded. "Mr. Henderson gave us additional funds to upgrade our facilities, and this will help us a great deal in the future and gives this team a great foundation for the future," Davidson said.

--

Easy calculation. Vidal costs $490k per race, Woodford costs $335k per race, and Woodford's sponsors pay us $879k per race, so basically, we get two drivers for free. Both push our marketability over our old drivers, and are slightly better. In addition to that, we managed to sign the WHOLE gang on three year contracts.

This is a long time commitment, and even if we go down to the APSC, we will have a staff that has proven it can push a team forward.

As for the HQ... we will upgrade factory and design facilities, as well build a proper scouting department and a staff center. We have a good staff and especially Whitehouse and Yarnham have some room to grow and as for scouting...

To cite the lovely Michelle: "I'm right now scouting with the Mk 1 eyeball, so do not expect me to file a scouting report on drivers like every day." Fair point.

Development Report:

Jenny has started to work on a new set of brakes, and one car 'could' run with them at Qatar. However, reliability is not exactly stellar, and the improvement is not that big, so they most likely will have to wait till the second or third race on the calendar. This is a 16 race Championship... a marathon, not a sprint.

[Griever20]

Preseason Report: World Motorsport Championship
motorsport-live.com

March 17th, 2016

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

Kitano Sport – Honda
Japan
Car: 5th
Drivers: 2nd
HQ: 2nd
Staff: 9th
Sponsors: 10th

Based in Yokohama, near the Grand Prix track, Kitano has the Honda partnership, japanese know-how, and three impressive drivers. The team finished third in the APSC last season and qualified for the Championship this way, and with their impressive aero package, points are in the cards at Qatar to start the season.

However, the Honda engine has NOT impressed anyone in preseason testing, may it be the chassis around it, or the engine itself, but they need to work on that. What they DO have is two veteran drivers.

Javier Vázquez is a 2x European Touring Car Champion and a veteran of motorsport and has all experience in the world. Jenny North, already 36, has won the WSSC(Woman Single Seater Championship, short lived FIA series scrapped together with F1) in its final year and raced in various japanese based racing series since and can be blindingly quick.

Expected finish: 3rd-6th


Lotus Racing – BMW
Great Britain
Car: 10th
Drivers: 10th
HQ: 10th
Staff: 7th
Sponsors: 4th

The last minute entry has a big brand name, a good sponsorship package, two young, marketable drivers, and a dog of a car. Spotters from other teams watched their testing in Tondela, Portugal closely, and neither the chassis, nor the basic BMW engine look close to WMC ready.

On the driver side, Jeremy Woodford brings cash and replacement level driving, being hard to the tyres as well. But, he brings some hard cash to the team, and we all love to see the 24-year old brit in the series right?

Iker Vidal, from many regarded as the next Fernando Alonso, outpaced his teammate in testing by a wide margin, and he has been a qualifying expert for what it is worth. He had some room to grow, and he needs to if he wants to stay in this series.

Expected finish: 10th



Panther Racing Team – Ferrari
Great Britain
Car: 3rd
Drivers: 4th
HQ: 5th
Staff: 1st
Sponsors: 5th

Driving with customer Ferrari engines and based in Milton Keynes, Great Britain, out of the old Red Bull factory, they have some traits of that team for sure. 57-year old Rachel Adams, former assistant of genius designer Adrian Newey, led their car development, and many think their front wing and gearbox solution are a class of its own.

26-year australian driver Zoe Sharp has been blindingly quick last season, leading his team to a second place finish in the APSC, winning two races and scoring five podiums. She was once part of the Red Bull driver development program so...

21-year old russian wonderkid Nikolai Surikov will work hard to match the sister car, but he has some potential and, according to team principal Jack Guinness, will be followed closely by the highest authority in Russia. Whatever that means.

Expected Finish: 2th-4th


Rezzato Corsa – BMW
Italy
Car: 7th
Drivers: 6th
HQ: 6th
Staff: 10th
Sponsors: 8th

Minardi DNA. Based in Faenza in Italy, the Rezzato Corsa team seems to have a good car, but there are serious questions about their engineers and lead designer, and many expect them to suffer in reliability and performance at the end of the year, something they also showed when finishing fourth in the APSC last year.

Their driver lineup is incredibly inexperienced with 18-year old wonderkid Rick De Graaf the youngest driver in the field, and 21-year old hotblooded spanish racer girl Lucía Flores. Flores made headlines two years ago for ramming another driver under the safety car after he blocked her two laps ago. Michael Neumann, the poor team principle, will have a hard time working with those young kids and maybe inept race engineers.

Expected Finish: 7th-9th


Scuderia Rossini – Ferrari
Italy
Car: 2nd
Drivers: 1st
HQ: 3rd
Staff: 3rd
Sponsors: 1st

Not hard to guess who backs this team, is it. Cars in flashing red with an italian flag, rolling out of a factory in Maranello, Italy? This is Ferrari's partner and it should make a great job representing the prancing horse as they build a great car.

And if you look for good drivers, you are at the right place. Dieter Wexler from Germany won the german DTM touring car championship from 2010 to 2013 in impressive fashion and is only 28, and veteran Niilo Sarinen from Finland returned from the rally sport to race in single seaters once again.

They won the EASC qualifying series by a wide margin.

Expected Finish: 1st-3rd


Steinmann Motorsport – Mercedes
Germany
Car: 1st
Drivers: 3rd
HQ: 1st
Staff: 2nd
Sponsors: 2nd

Winners of the APSC in 2015, Steinmann has german engineering power as the partner of Mercedes and Brawn GP DNA as they operate from Brackley, Great Britain and managed to lay a great foundation for a Championship run.

Their driver lineup is experienced, but can blow in their face. 31-year old Harry Chapman once was part of McLaren's young driver program, but lost that honor when he lost his driver licence in 2008 and instead worked his way up in the US-based NASCAR series to winning three championships there... before getting fired halfway through the 2014 season for having an affair with the team principal's wife.

30-year old Nina Holtz on the other hand is a grounded, almost shy person that became a star overnight when she won the 24-hours of the Nürburgring Nordschleife at age 22 in a underpowered car, and then drove for Mercedes in the DTM and WEC.

With 18-year old Pascal Becker as reserve driver, they have the next big german talent in the waiting.

Predicted Finish: 1st-2nd


Thornton – BMW
Car: 8th
Drivers: 9th
HQ: 7th
Staff: 6th
Sponsors: 7th

BMW bought into the Thornton project late, and the Guildford based racing team did not exactly impress anybody. Having finished fourth in the ERSC, the only thing they excel is rear end downforce as their rear wing and diffuser is fantastic.

32-year old frenchman Samuel Blanc took their only race win in 2015, driving his heart out in the South African Grand Prix, and that one secured their qualification. A rally driver for most of his career, he impressed at the 2009 Race of Champions, and the Thornton team boss remembered that.

31-year old columbian hotshot Alejandro Moreno trained years with former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya and both drivers have the same weakness... Consistency. Once day, Moreno looks like a super star, one day more like a New Yorker taxi driver.

Expected Finish: 6th-9th


Van Dort Racing – Honda
Great Britain
Car: 6th
Drivers: 7th
HQ: 9th
Staff: 5th
Sponsors: 6th

Close neighbors to the Lotus team in Guildford, the Van Dort used stashed away Force India equipment and knowledge to build up their challenger, and nobody is surprised that the ownership group is from India right?

Their headquarter is the second smallest in the series, and still is 2x larger than the Lotus garage nearby, but they obviously have to work with a shoestring budget and that means they basically run one solid driver.

That is 28-year old Wolfgang Schmidt, a red-haired and bearded german that had a GP2 seat for the 2010 season... that never materialized as we now. Looking more like a woodchopper, he has won various Asian racing series over the years.

That means that 26-year old Maria Gonzalez is not that good. She could be a good racing driver if you give her another 2-3 years, but here, she is a rear gunner at most. What cost her... is the fact that she started racing at age 16, quite late.

Predicted Finish: 4th-7th


Vélan Racing - Renault
Switzerland
Car: 9th
Drivers: 8th
HQ: 8th
Staff: 8th
Sponsors: 9th

Based in the former BMW-Sauber factory in Hinwill, Vélan Racing was supposed to be Renault's darling... before they barely qualified for the Championship in fifth place.

Like the Thornton lineup, they have to real strength and would be favorites for the last place... were it not for Lotus. The driver lineup of 25-year old swedish driver Siri Lundquist and 23-year brazilian Esteban Ribeiro has room for growth... but not much.

Predicted Finish: 7th-9th


Windsor Racing – Mercedes
Great Britain
Car: 4th
Drivers: 5th
HQ: 4th
Staff: 4th
Sponsors: 3rd

Located in Grove, Oxfordshire in Great Britain, the Windsor Racing team is the successor of Williams GP. The factory was kept alive by some funds allocated by the british government, and Claire Williams, daughter of the legendary Frank Williams, was signed as team principal two years ago.

And they got one hell of a car, a premium HQ and two... solid drivers. Aki Lipponen is the typical finn, 26-years of age, not exactly talking a ton, but he is fast, consistent and focused on the race 100%. He won the shortlived Scandinavian Touring Car championship in 2013.

Ana Olivera, 34-years of age, is a interesting character. She grew up two streets away from former F1 driver Felipe Massa and drive with him for years before he went to Europe, and she was left to drive low fame series in South Africa.

Expected Finish: 3rd-5th

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 10th
Gearbox: 10th
Brakes: 10th
Front Wing: 10th
Suspension: 10th
Rear Wing: 10th
Overall: 10th

Which is where we expect to land. The new Mk. 2 brakes will stay at home and get worked over for a while, so we are racing our original chassis, the glorious Lotus Type 201 lawn mower.

Sponsors:
The name Lotus and some bribing by our commercial department(a beautiful redhead with two big... master degrees) managed to negotiate some sponsorship deals.

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Sheikh Airways(1/4 races) $450k upfront, $85k per race
Kashima(1/13 races) $300k per race
Balmina(1/12 races) $4M upfront

Sheikh Airways needs some good publicity after a sexual harassment scandal around one of their stewards and a pilot(don't ask), Kashima is japanese toy producer that got the license to sell Lotus Type 201 models together with this contract, and Balmina produces fertilizer and other garden stuff. No cornflakes though.

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Wan Chai Industries(1/8 races) $750k upfront, $450k bonus pool per race for 9th or above
Northern Harbour(1/6 races) $1.25M upfront, $880k bonus pool per race for 2nd or above
One free slot

2nd or above. Fat chance. We took Northern Harbour, who is producing comfy pullovers and winter wear, for the upfront payment and Wan Chai Industries, a chinese company that is making lots of cheap entertainment electronics, for the odd chance of us getting ninth or better. All about cash guys, all about cash.

Still, we a predicted to lose $1.22M per race, saving up close to one million per race for next years car though. That means we have some funds available to develop this years car and build some juicy parts, however, we do not have the infrastructure to make them reliable enough to race with them... HQ...

The Track:

The track where everything ended in 2009 is where the new Championship starts in 2016, the Qatar GP in Doha. A quite edgy track with lots of 90 degree corners and only and short straights, acceleration and low speed downforce is key here in the desert.

On the weather side, there should be no rain in his part of the world... but hey, Brutus still shipped a ton of intermediate and wet weather tires over here just to make sure.

The jewel in the desert is ready for the show... we are not.

[Griever20]

Qatar GP: Free Practice and Qualifying Report
motorsport-live.com

March 19th, 2016

The roar of V10 engines was in the air for free practice and apart from the excitement of the crown and the television audience, two things became clear. Panther, Rossini and Steinmann looked strong, and Lotus did not build a miracle car in their factory over the last months.

With Nicolai Surikov topping the timesheets with a 1:57:448 in front of Saarinen(ROS, 1.57:673) and Holtz(SMR, 1.57:684) all on the soft tyre. The best Lotus, driven by Iker Vidal, merely managed a: 2.00:387, almost three second behind the leader.

"It took me some time to find the right setup," Woodford told us before the qualifying. "But, we did get some good laps in and learned alot about the car."

Qualifying told a similar story as after the first of two hot laps, the two Lotus were 19th and 20th, 2.479 and 2.987 seconds behind the leader.

But, now back to the front end of the grid. Steinmann ace Harry Chapman led the way after the first go in qualifying with a 1:54.381, but only had a 0.011 gap to the blindingly quick
Windsor of Ana Oliveira as the british team found some serious pace, same as Vélan Racing's Ribeiro who held P5 then.

Everyone geared up for the final run and it was all about grip and track position, and Van Dort's Wolfgang Schmidt set the first exclamantion point, putting his car into provisional P4.

That was before Nina Holtz(SMR) tatooed a new fastest third sector on the tarmac and took provisional pole with a 1.54.043, and that time held as whe left everyone else in the dust by 0.337, collecting the first pole position of 2016 and of the WMC.

"She was faster, plain and simple," Harry Chapman gave to protocoll at the press conference . "I'll catch her in the race," he said with a cheeky grin.

Team Radio of the Day:
"P2, Ana, P2 after the first round of laps, 0.011 behind." - "Not bad for a old girl like me huh?"
Ana Oliveira(WIN) after the first round of flying laps.

--

Excited to be racing again? Well, that went down the drain quickly. We simply did not have any pace, and that won't get better for a while. Our chance comes in the rain, in specific tracks were mayham is happening, safety cars, lucky strategy breaks and stuff.

In free practise, we concentrated on the race setup and the soft tyre, trying to make some places here as we will never qualify high without rain, and there will be no rain in Qatar.

On race strategy, we will start Vidal and Woodford on the soft compound of tyre. Vidal will go on a different strategy as we put some weight and reliability out of his car and see if the additional speed will do him some good without blowing up the car.

We are throwing dirt on the wall and hope that it sticks. It will be a long race and a long year.

[Griever20]

Qatar GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

March 20th, 2016

Welcome to the race live ticker for the Qatar GP. It will be a interesting race for sure. Who has the race pace, who will get reliability problems, will there be safety cars. Can Steinmann win the race after locking out the front row, and can some team surprise and collect big points early to ensure survival in the WMC and the first WMC win in history is up for grabs.

Lap 1:
The cars form up for the start with Holtz and Chapman in the front row and Ana Oliveira in the Windsor and Niilo Saarinen in the Ferrari... uhh... Rossini behind.

Everyone is ready and the red lights are lighting up... one.. two... three... four... five...

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

HOLTZ WITH A MONSTER START, SHE IS AWAY CLEAN, OLIVEIRA BESIDES CHAPMAN IN THE FIRST CORNER... AND THEY COLLIDE! CHAPMAN IS WIDE AND ON THE ASTROTURF!

Surikov in the Panther jumped the inside and is second, MAKING A MILLION PLACES WITH A BRILLIANT START, Saarinen down to fifth! Chapman is at the back of the field behind everyone! And where is Wexler coming from? From seventh on the grid to third, great stuff here!

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +2.3 3. Wexler +4.8
Woodford P15 +13.3
Vidal P20 +15.1

Lap 2:
Holtz is pulling out quite a gap here and her teammate Harry Chapman is FLYING through the field into P13

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +4.8 3. Wexler +6.2
Woodford P17 +24.4
Vidal P18 +25.6

Lap 3:
Oh no there is some debris on the field! Flores and Lipponen in 11 and 12 were fighting over the same piece of tarmac and Flores crashed into the back of the Windsor. Both go in the pits to repair their damaged wings, and they come back out in P19 and P20.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +5.0 3. Wexler +6.3
Woodford P16 +28.9
Vidal P17 +29.6

Lap 4:
And it is a drive through penalty for causing an avoidable accident for Lucía Flores. Her day just went from bad to worse and she will be fuming in that car.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +4.6 3. Wexler +6.2
Woodford P14 +33.5
Vidal P17 +36.7

Lap 5:
1. Holtz 2. Surikov +4.9 3. Wexler +6.4
Woodford P14 +35.9
Vidal P17 +39.7

Lap 6:
1. Holtz 2. Surikov +5.6 3. Wexler +6.4
Woodford P14 +40.8
Vidal P19 +46.3

Lap 7:
There is the first pit stop for Lotus. Woodford comes in after seven for new soft tyres, falling back into P20. He had a couple of lock ups.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +5.6 3. Wexler +6.4
Vidal P19 +51.3
Woodford P20 +58.5

Lap 8:
And Oliveira dives into the corner from a long way back... the LATEST OF LATE BREAKERS AND SHE THROUGH INTO P3! Wexler made a mistake and went on the astroturf a corner before and payed for that!

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +6.4 3. Oliveira +10.5
Vidal P18 +55.0
Woodford P20 +58.6

Lap 9:
And here come the first pitstops from the front Schmidt, Saarinen, DeGraaf.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +7.2 3. Oliveira +11.5
Vidal P18 +58.6
Woodford P20 +59.9

Lap 10:
And comes the rest, Holtz, Wexler and co.... and Holtz keeps the lead and exits on the soft compount, Wexler overtakes Oliveira in the pit, nifty pitwork by Rossini, and here pits the Lotus of Vidal from P18... he exits on the hardest tyre and wants to finish this race on it.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +6.8 3. Sharp +10.6
Woodford P18 +47.5
Vidal P20 +60.3

Lap 11:

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +7.8 3. Sharp +12.2
Woodford P18 +48.8
Vidal P20 +61.7

Lap 12:
Sharp, who tried to get every last bit out of her tyre, is in and loses P3.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +9.2 3. Sharp +14.4
Woodford P18 +50.8
Vidal P20 +63.9

Lap 13:
Holtz extends the lead and she has to as everyone else is on the hard compound chasing her.
1. Holtz 2. Surikov +14.1 3. Wexler +17.6
Woodford P18 +59.2
Vidal P20 +75.4

Lap 14:
Chapman's progress has stopped as he stays P14 despite being on the soft tyre, Holtz delievers magic lap in the lead, takes a big chunck out of the rest.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +17.3 3. Wexler +19.9
Woodford P18 +63.8
Vidal P20 +80.4

Lap 15:
1. Holtz 2. Surikov +19.8 3. Wexler +21.2
Woodford P18 +68
Vidal P20 +83.7

Lap 16:
1. Holtz 2. Surikov +20.3 3. Wexler +23.1
Woodford P17 +71.2
Vidal P20 +87.8

Lap 17:
Lipponen pits from P11 with some kind of problem and old tyres and Woodford fives in for medium tyres... and to duke out the race for 19th and 20th with his teammate.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +20.6 3. Wexler +25.2
Woodford P19 +87.4
Vidal P20 +91.4

Lap 18:
1. Holtz 2. Surikov +20.5 3. Wexler +25.6
Woodford P19 +89.8
Vidal P20 +94.4

Lap 19:
Critical laps for Nina Holtz and she does not get the laptime in. The gap could be close enough for Surikov to overtake her when she pits the last time.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +20.1 3. Wexler +25.6
Woodford P19 +91.6
Vidal P20 +96.2

Lap 20:
When will she pit? Those soft tyres look old and she is losing time...

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +19.2 3. Wexler +25.4
Woodford P19 +93.9
Vidal P20 +97.8

Lap 21:
THERE SHE COMES AT THE END OF 21... and something is wrong. They had to repair something at the back of the car! Holtz falls back... back... way back she exits in P6 and the dream of winning is gone!

1. Surikov 2. Wexler +6.7 3. Oliveira +8.5
Woodford P19 +77.2
Vidal P20 +81.0

Lap 22:
1. Surikov 2. Wexler +6.5 3. Oliveira +8.2
Woodford P19 +79.1
Vidal P20 +83.2

Lap 23:
The Steinmann of Holtz goes past Saarinen with the faster tyre, can she come back and catch the drivers on the hard compound?

1. Surikov 2. Wexler +6.1 3. Oliveira +8.0
Woodford P18 +79.3
Vidal P19 +85.4

Lap 24:
1. Surikov 2. Wexler +6.1 3. Oliveira +7.6
Woodford P18 +79.4
Vidal P19 +88.3

Lap 25:
1. Surikov 2. Wexler +5.9 3. Oliveira +7.5
Woodford P18 +81.9
Vidal P19 +91.4

Lap 26:
Oliveira blinks and throws the towel, pits from third for new tyres and is down to P6!

1. Surikov 2. Wexler +6.6 3. Sharp +14.6
Woodford P18 +84.4
Vidal P19 +94.1

Lap 27:

1. Surikov 2. Wexler +6.8 3. Sharp +13.3
Woodford P18 +87.1
Vidal P19 +96.9

Final Lap:
And the fresh, soft tyres do the trick! The Steinmann has way more grip than the Panther of Zoe Sharp and goes around the outside in turn 6 for P3 for Holtz. But that is it for Holtz as Nikolai Surikov becomes the first ever winner in the WMC for Panther Racing, Wexler P2, Holtz P3.

The two Lotus finish 18th and 19th in front of Luca Flores in the Rezzato Corsa.

[Griever20]

Qatar GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

March 20th, 2016

It was a cracker of at the sharp end of the grid as Nikolai Surikov, who only managed eleventh place in qualifying and was very unhappy, somehow won the race.

"I screwed the laps in qualifying. Flatspotted the tires in the first lap, ran wide in the second lap, and spend the night in the simulator, and found something," a visibly happy Surikov told the media at the press conference.

Chapman Frustrated:

"Oliveira just came out of nowhere and parked the car on the middle of the corner, I could only run wide. Forcing another car of the track, but of course, she's a gal, and gals do not get fines." That one cost Chapman a $10.000 fine from his team, and did not exactly help his cause.

After his Steinmann and Oliveira's Windsor touched wheels in the first corner, Chapman went wide and fell back into P20. He got up to P13 rather quickly but somehow his progress stalled there and finished fourteenth.

Flores Crosses Flag Last after Crash

Causing an collision, causing an avoidable accident. That is what cost Lucía Flores after she went waay to deep in the breaking zone in turn 11 and ran into the back of Aki Lipponen's Windsor. The had to repair the front wing, and got a drive through penalty.

To add insult to injury, Flores ultimately fell back into P20 after her last pit stop and was unable to pass the Lotus of Iker Vidal despite six laps of trying and despite the spanish driver rolling on the oldest of old hard tires.

Reliability is Key

All 20 runners finished the race despite some woes here and there.

"I lost some pace and could not use fourth gear for a while. Trying to push away from the guys on the hard tire was impossible then, and repairing all the parts cost me P2," Nina Holtz conceded.

She led by as much as 23 seconds with a pit stop to go, but then lost ground on track and later in the pits due to technical problems and could only recover in third.

"Bad weekend. We locked out the front row and could not get anything out of it," the Steinmann team principal twittered after the race.

An Invaluable Point for Vélan Racing

"This is like a win for us," Esteban Ribeiro literally told everyone that would listen after the race. He finished tenth in Qatar, scoring a world championship point that could prove crucial at the end of the season. "Gives us some breathing room," he said.

Race Result:


Standings:

[Griever20]

The good news, the reliability was no fluke, we went to the end of the race without repairs or a retirement. The bad news, so did everyone else.

We ran a sensible strategy with both guys and pretty much got the same result, +- 5 seconds. There is some optimization to do for the race weekend, see later, but the truth is, this is as far as the car would've taken us anyways.

However, Qatar is the worst case circuit. No rain, no retirements, no safety cars, and only one car that fell back significantly enough in Lucía Flores after a crash, a out of sync pit stop strategy and a drive through. Which means, we were too slow to capitalize on eventual drama in the midfield.

On the plus side, the racecraft is fine. Woodford had a very good first stint, apart from flat spotting the tires(...) and Iker fought like a lion for six laps to keep Flores in last place.

Optimization:
We focused on the soft tire in free practice, and then 'only' used it once on Vidal and twice on Woodford. We are leaving some performance on the table here and by mirroring the strategy of the teams in front, we won't make any hay.

Development Report:

The second brake system finished during the race, and we should be able to fit them to the car for the Japanese GP in two weeks. Jenny found a decent solution for the suspension, adding performance with decent reliability, and while it is not a great jump, it helps and should be ready to be used on Vidal's car.

That means that we still will use our funds to go for it this season. What do I mean? We basically have three options regarding to car development:

1. Go for it. Build parts that help us this season and add instant performance to the car while overstretching our factory capacity. Hope: Be close to competitive at the end of the season and land some solid finishes/points to stay in the WMC.

2. Stop development completely, invest the money into further HQ upgrades, and most likely, gracefully get relegated to the APSC. If we wanted to do that, the janitor would design the car, the two cleaning ladies would be the race engineers, and we would've signed Woodford and another pay driver and forgot about Vidal and a good staff. Not my kind of business

3. Develop for 2017 and only putting spare parts on the 2016, hoping for a lucky result that keeps us in the WMC while not really upgrading the actual car. This is like, the high risk, high reward version and in all likelihood, we would definitely throw solid cash out of the window.

It is option 1 for now.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 10th
Gearbox: 10th
Brakes: 9th
Front Wing: 10th
Suspension: 10th
Rear Wing: 10th
Overall: 10th

The brakes are on the car, the suspension is on the car of Vidal. That is a small jump in performance, but not enough to make a significant difference in dry weather...

We jumped the Rezzato Corsa's in brake performance.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Sheikh Airways(2/4 races) $450k upfront, $85k per race
Kashima(2/13 races) $300k per race
Balmina(2/12 races) $4M upfront

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Wan Chai Industries(2/8 races) $750k upfront, $450k bonus pool per race for 9th or above
Northern Harbour(2/6 races) $1.25M upfront, $880k bonus pool per race for 2nd or above
Big Dough(1/4 races) $150k bonus pool per race for 14th or above

We obviously didn't get any money as we selected Wan Chai Industries, but there is hope. We get sponsored by donut franchise that pays us up to $150k per weekend... not much... but at least we can reach that.

The Track:

Yokohama, Japan. And it rain predicted for practice, qualifying and a THUNDERSTORM on Sunday for the race. This could be our best chance to win some points early in the season. We build new brakes for this track, and we build a new suspension for Vidal just for this track.

Lots of twists and turns, overtaking can be hard on this track in all those medium speed corners, and braking is crucial IF you want to overtake or gain some time. We may still be way to slow to capitalize, but we HAVE to try.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
The Rossini have upgraded their Ferrari engine and made a small jump in power.

Panther driver Zoe Sharp has back problems after the last race, and those may linger for another three weeks.

Steinmann's brit Harry Chapman got into a brawl in a club in Barcelona earlier this week and has to race with a black eye.

Van Dort's Maria Gonzalez got a dodgy neck after trying to get to a birthday party in thick London traffic... throwing out here neck, leaning out of the car window screaming at the other cars.

Kitano ace Javier Vázquez joined the dodgy neck faction after the Qatar GP, blaming the plane seats for the problem... old man is getting old?

[Griever20]

Japanese GP: Free Practice and Qualifying Report
motorsport-live.com

April 2nd, 2016

Barring expectations, it was a mostly dry practice session here in Yokohama and it was a productive one for the teams. "We got ourselves some good data about the tyres and the track, and build a good setup," José Vásquez told us. He did not answer any questions about his neck though.

"Race simulation, qualifying sim, some time on the intermediate tyre, it was a great session," the Panther boss exclaimed in an interview with BBC. He had every reason to be happy as his two drivers were on top in saturday practice with Sharp posting a 1.20.583 and Surikov a 1.20.906.

A little step for Lotus maybe, Vidal was P17 with a 1.23.187, in front of both Vélan Racing cars. And they would make some great tries in qualifying.

With the track dry at the start, the two Lotus charged out of the pits to get a banker lap in early and they were just in time. Rain came down while they started their flying lap, and Vidal crossed start finish with a 1.21.250, Woodford 1.22.156.

And most of the other drivers drove their first attempt in the rain. Sharp was quick and was P1 with a 1.20.562, then Chapman in the Steinmann, 0.281 behind, and then Vidal in the Lotus.

Unfortunately for them, it was only a quick shower and the track dried towards the end of qualifying, making way for the big teams to correct their early error, which became clear when
Lundquist in the Vélan put a 1.19.412 on the board, crossing the line with 2:30 to go in qualifying.

And the laptimes came thick and fast after that. Schmift(VD) 1.18.699, Sharp(PAN) crossed the line with eight seconds to go 1.18.304, Lipponen(WR) 1.17.843.

And then came the biggest of big guns.Holtz 1.17.666 P1! Chapman put the second Steinmann on P3 and they are split by the Windsor of Aki Lipponen. Surikov, winner of Qatar, only P9.

Lotus Iker Vidal made the latest of late attempts, crossing the line with two seconds to go to start his flying lap. He drove a 1.19.711 and will start from P17.

"Well done by Lotus. Yes, they did not manage the upset, but they read the weather report well and were P3 and P6. That is how you get success as a small team," former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan told the television audiance after qualifying.

Team Radio of the Day:
"P3 and it is raining." - "(Censored by GMA), let it rain like hell please."
Iker Vidal, Lotus, third after the first of two runs in qualifying.

--

That is what I meant by: if it rains, we have a shot. The right call at the right time, the right tyres at the right time, and we can steal something. And, we did not qualify last. Now, to the race.

The sun is shining and the dry tyres are on. I'm not going to get fooled here, it may rain later on as this is a long race. We will start on the soft tyre, the compound in the middle of the pack here in Japan, and just use the knowledge we have on it to wring some performance out of the car. Getting the strategy right will be key once it starts to rain...

[Griever20]

Japanese GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

April 3rd, 2016

Welcome to the online race ticker for the Japanese GP. Once again, two Steinmann in the top three in qualifying, a Windsor close to the front, and rain in the forecast.

Lap 1:
The grid is formed up and ready to go. Holtz is already pointing towards Lipponen to cover him, and Chapman will be dangerous after his near barrier miss in the first corner two weeks ago. Holtz on the supersoft, Lipponen on soft, that can be interesting!

Everyone is ready and the red lights are lighting up... one.. two... three... four... five...

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

HOLTZ WITH A BAD START THIS TIME LIPPONEN IS ALREADY BESIDES HIM AND WEXLER AND SCHMIDT ARE RIGHT BEHIND THEM. WEXLER COMES OUT AHEAD OUT OF THE THIRD CORNER AND LIPPONEN LOSES OUT BIG TIME!

Chapman is down to eighth... and more movement on the front. Holtz is back through in the long curve and Wexler's teammate is up to third! It's all kicking off folks.

1. Holtz 2. Wexler +1.1 3. Saarinen +1.9
Vidal P19 +8.0
Woodford P20 +8.2

Lap 2:
The second Steinmann of Chapman overtakes TWO on the pit straight is back into P4!

1. Holtz 2. Wexler +2.2 3. Saarinen +3.1
Woodford P19 +14.8
Vidal P20 +16.1

Lap 3:
1. Holtz 2. Wexler +2.2 3. Saarinen +3.1
Woodford P19 +20
Vidal P20 +20.8

Lap 4:
1. Holtz 2. Wexler +2.3 3. Saarinen +3.3
Woodford P18 +23.5
Vidal P20 +25.1

Lap 5:
Wexler edging closer...

1. Holtz 2. Wexler +1.6 3. Saarinen +3.5
Woodford P19 +29.8
Vidal P20 +30.6

Lap 6:
Rain expected in 3 laps, via Kitano team radio! That could be interesting. Wexler all over the Silver Arrow's gearbox.

1. Holtz 2. Wexler +0.5 3. Saarinen +2.9
Woodford P19 +34.1
Vidal P20 +34.9

Lap 7:
1. Holtz 2. Wexler +0.6 3. Saarinen +2.8
Vidal P19 +37.5
Woodford P20 +38.5

Lap 8:
Still dry...

1. Holtz 2. Wexler +0.3 3. Saarinen +2.7
Vidal P19 +40.1
Woodford P20 +41.2

Lap 9:
Still dry...

1. Holtz 2. Wexler +0.9 3. Saarinen +2.5
Vidal P19 +41
Woodford P20 +43

Lap 10:
And the first cars come into the pits... Wexler in, Chapman in AND IT IS WET TYRES! IT IS JUST RAINING A BIT AND IT IS WET TYRES!

1. Holtz 2. Schmitt +8.3 3. Lipponen +9.2
Vidal P1 +41.5
Woodford P20 +45

Lap 11:
More stops! Intermediate and heavy wets! Who is going to get this one right? Holtz got it WRONG! Saarinen overtakes her in the pits by going early!

1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +0.1 3. Lipponen +6
Vidal P16 +40
Woodford P18 +45.3

Lap 12:
The inters are horrible right now, waay to wet, standing water everywhere!

1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +0.8 3. Lipponen +6
Vidal P15 +41.8
Woodford P18 +46.9

Lap 13:
The Lotus on wet tyres are going through the intermediate cars like a hot knife through butter, P11 and P14!

1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +0.8 3. Lipponen +6
Vidal P11 +43.3
Woodford P14 +47.5

Lap 14:
1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +2 3. Lipponen +6.6
Vidal P9 +44.9
Woodford P12 +49.9

Lap 15:
1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +2 4. Lipponen +6.6
Vidal P8 +46.2
Woodford P10 +52.5

Lap 16:
The rain has stopped! It is starting to dry... what is the right tyre now?

1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +1.7. Lipponen +6.7
Vidal P8 +47
Woodford P9 +55.1

Lap 17:
Woodford in for inters? If that is the right call? He is back to 18th
1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +1.8. Lipponen +6.7
Vidal P8 +47.8
Woodford P18 +82.0

Lap 18:
Vidal exits the pits on fresh inters and the leaders go in slicks! Holtz wins out in the pitstop!
1. Holtz 2. Saarinen +1.1. Lipponen +5.7
Vidal P14 +71.2
Woodford P17 +74.4

Lap 19:
1. Holtz 2. Saarinen +2.8. Lipponen +6.4
Vidal P14 +36.8
Woodford P17 +38.8

Lap 20:
Tight battle in the midfield. And it rains again! Inters were the right choice!

1. Holtz 2. Saarinen +2.7. Lipponen +6.9
Vidal P13 +40.8
Woodford P17 +41.6

Lap 21:
Wexler on old inters past Lipponen for P3!

1. Holtz 2. Saarinen +2.0. Wexler +4.2
Woodford P14 +40.8
Vidal P17 +41.7

Lap 22:
WEXLER IS IN THE LEAD, CHAPMAN SECOND! THE DRY WEATHER CARS LOSE SO MUCH GROUND, LIPPONEN SLIPS PAST HOLTZ
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +3.3. Lipponen +7.0
Woodford P13 +32.8
Vidal P14 +33.9

Lap 23:
Cars into the pits for for dry tyres as their inters are dead. Brave choice.
1. Wexler 2. Lipponen +16.3. Holtz +17.2
Woodford P11 +36.2
Vidal P14 +36.6

Lap 24:
Wexler into the pits and down he goes to P4.

1. Lipponen 2. Holtz +0.6. Saarinen +5.2
Woodford P11 +37.2
Vidal P12 +37.4

Lap 25:
1. Lipponen 2. Holtz +1.5. Saarinen +5.3
Vidal P9 +25.6
Woodford P15 +50.8

Lap 26:
1. Lipponen 2. Holtz +1.3. Saarinen +4.5
Vidal P10 +38.6
Woodford P15 +51.5

Lap 27:
And the two Rossini with the red striped supersoft are homing in on Holtz, but Saarinen needs to pit as it looks?

1. Lipponen 2. Holtz +0.8. Saarinen +4.2
Woodford P13 +52.4
Vidal P17 +54.6

Lap 28:
And into the pits he goes, that will lose him alot of places.

1. Lipponen 2. Holtz +1.5. Wexler +5.2
Woodford P13 +53.5
Vidal P17 +55.7

Lap 29:
Can Wexler take this on the supersoft?
1. Lipponen 2. Holtz +1.5. Wexler 4.2
Woodford P14 +54
Vidal P16 +56.5

Lap 30:
1. Lipponen 2. Holtz +1.4 Wexler 3.8
Woodford P14 +54.2
Vidal P17 +57.0

Lap 31:
1. Lipponen 2. Holtz +1.8 Wexler 3.5
Woodford P15 +55.3
Vidal P17 +57.2

Final Lap:
And Lipponen exits the chicane and wins the Japanese GP! Great strategy, great execution of it and a great pass of Holtz to win it. Wexler gave it all he got, but finishes in third, Saarinen fourth, Chapman fifth.

[Griever20]

Japanese GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

April 3rd, 2016

A great win for Windsor and Aki Lipponen and once again a disappointing day for the Steinmann and the Rossini. The rain threw a wrench into most pit stop strategies and many came forward (Vázquez, Flores) and other went backwards(Sharp, Schmidt).

Best Overtake of my Life:

That is how Lipponen descriped his pass of Nina Holtz in lap 22. "I went on the outside, remember, we were both on dry tyres... only my sheer force of will held the car on the track and I pushed through, amazing past, best overtake of my life," he said.

It surely was a maneuver to remember.

Dodgy Parts:
Wolfgang Schmidt of the Van Dort Racing team surely was not happy with his car today. "What is the point of bringing a big update to the car when we have to pit two times to repair the ****?" He finished in P12 but had the raw speed for more.

Technical director Jenny Whitehouse of Lotus buried her head between her hands when Iker Vidal came in and lost invaluable time in the pits because of a problem with the ride height. Lotus brought a new suspension to Japan.

All of that costed Vidal some places as he finished where he started, P17, while Jeremy Woodford gained three places into P15.

Tyres, Tyres, Tyres:
Everyone got them, and they are always wrong. At least in the wet this time. It looked like many runners did a great job by putting on the full wet for when it poured down, but it turned out that maximizing the intermediate compound and saving a pit stop was equally fast.

"There was no easy choice this time. If you have the right tyre, you need a clear piece of track to use it, no traffic, gain time on the track. Else, save the pit stop. It is never easy," Windsor boss Claire Williams had to say after three race.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

Post-Race Analysis: Japan(2/16)

Ok, this one stings a bit. We had the right tyres at the right time, were up to 9th and 10th, had a good, clean race apart from some minor problems with the new suspension, and merely moved up into P15.

Even worse, Vélan and Rezzato Corsa collected points, making our situation more desperate. We need more raw pace, else this operation is just a joke that spans over 16 races.

Development Report:
We will get the second Mk 2a suspension in a few days and may push forward for another upgrade before the Chinese GP in three weeks time. Getting parts that are a.) improvements, and b.) have the reliability to get put on the car right away is key for us. Every part counts, and every day counts.

Good thing, Jenny is thinking the same way and together with my knowledge, we pump out components pretty quickly.

Right now, we are trying to get the two drivers similar equipment, and it is working. Putting all eggs into one basket is of course a strategy, but that basket would've been the Vidal one and that has not worked out in any shape, form or fashion.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 10th
Gearbox: 10th
Brakes: 9th
Front Wing: 10th
Suspension: 9th
Rear Wing: 10th
Overall: 10th

We pimped the suspension used by Vidal last race even more (and took care of the reliability) and zagged the other way and build a new gearbox for the next GP.

We snuck past Vélan in suspension performance with that one.

We are currently working on another small jump in gearbox performance that should be ready just in time for the Portugese GP. Small steps, small steps.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Sheikh Airways(3/4 races) $450k upfront, $85k per race
Kashima(3/13 races) $300k per race
Balmina(3/12 races) $4M upfront

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Wan Chai Industries(3/8 races) $750k upfront, $450k bonus pool per race for 9th or above
Northern Harbour(3/6 races) $1.25M upfront, $880k bonus pool per race for 2nd or above
Big Dough(2/4 races) $150k bonus pool per race for 14th or above

No breaking news here.

The Track:

A high speed track, lots of engine power needed, lots of acceleration, lots of breaking. We have the lawn mower engine, we have the lawn mower gearbox, we have a upgraded braking system. Weather forcast says rain on saturday, sunny on race day... not perfect.

This will be another horrible weekend at the racetrack.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors

Panther built a new engine and should now be closer to the middle of the pack in the top speed department.

A new front wing for the Steinmann team. Not exactly what they need for China, but it is an upgrade.

[Griever20]

Chinese GP: Free Practice and Qualifying Report
motorsport-live.com

April 23rd, 2016

The Chinese fans came, and came in bunches for Saturday action to the track just miles outside of Bejing, the nations capital despite it being a wet day. The practice session started in the rain and ended up as a chaotic rain/dry/rain/dry/rain session where everyone tried everything and at the end of the session, the track was soaked.

"Such crazy weather. If it is the same on race day, we are in for another cracker, I tell you that," Saarinen said after leading the way in practice with a 1:15.937, topping the Steinmann of Harry Chapman(1:16.058) and his teammate Dieter Wexler(1:16.058).

The Lotus of Iker Vidal did some showboating with six minutes to go, putting a 1:17.687 on track for P11.

Qualifying started in the dry with beautiful sunshine, but nobody trusted that one with Iker Vidal putting in a 1:14.895 as the first benchmark. Wexler pulverized that with a 1:12.211 and that one held for a while... until Harry Chapman put a 1:11.654 on the board, that is 0.557 between him end Wexler.

Holtz finished her first attempt last of the front runners... and into P2, the Steinmann looked dominant as ever in the first runs of qualifying. And the second run would be as dramatic.

The early birds caught the worm as with three minutes to go and most studs still in the pits... the rain came and that ended any dream of improving for most drivers... Chapman P1, Holtz P2, Wexler P3.

Team Radio of the Day:
"Uhhm it looks like it starts to rain." - "Are you serious?"
Dieter Wexler(ROS) with three minutes to go, sitting in his pit box.

--

Forget about this one. This is Qatar all over again. We are miles off the pace and there is no rain in the forecast for the race because... of cause there would be no rain when we need it most.

We will try to get some length out of the medium tyre that we worked with in practice... I simply can not put the hard compound on this car... that would look like a turtle with wheels.

[Griever20]

Chinese GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

April 24th, 2016

It is cloudy with some glimpses of the sun here in Bejing and with the rain coming down in short showers the last two days, we could be in for another thriller. Two Silver Arrows in the first row, but they are 0-for-2 in converting pole positions into race victories.

Lap 1:
The grid is forming up... here come the two Lotus into the last two start positions and the red lights are going up... one.. two... three... four... five...

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

CHAPMAN WITH A GREAT START THIS TIME AND HE LEADS THROUGH THE FIRST CORNER... HOLTZ WITH A HUGE LOCKUP AND INTO THE WILDERNESS, THAT WILL COST SOME PLACES! LIPPONEN P2, De GRAAF P3

Schmitt in the Van Dorn also nearly destroyed his tyres... and look at that! The Lotus in the midfield.. that is Vidal, crossing the line in P13!

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +1.2 3. De Graaf +4.3
Vidal P13 +9.7
Woodford P18 +10.8

Lap 2:
The first two drivers are streaking away and Holtz is up to P9, recovering from that mistake in turn 1.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +1.5 3. De Graaf +6.5
Vidal P15 +16
Woodford P20 +18.1

Lap 3:
Big shunt! Schmidt AND Surikov get it wrong and collide with the Rossini of Niilo Saarinen that gets damaged badly. Both in trouble with the race stewards.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +1.0 3. De Graaf +7
Vidal P16 +22.5
Woodford P18 +23.6

Lap 4:
North runs into the back of Iker Vidal's car... breaking skills are needed today...

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +1.0 3. De Graaf +8.9
Vidal P15 +25.5
Woodford P18 +28.5

Lap 5:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +1.2 3. De Graaf +10.5
Vidal P15 +28.7
Woodford P18 +33.7

Lap 6:
First round of pitstops and repairs... Schmidt, Vidal, North, all in

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +2.2 3. De Graaf +12.6
Vidal P14 +34.4
Woodford P18 +40.4

Lap 7:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +2.9 3. De Graaf +14.6
Woodford P18 +58.6
Vidal P20 +62.5

Lap 8:
De Graaf pits from fourth, Vázquez in the Kitano could be the big winner, driving in P4 with the hard tyre.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +5.1 3. Vázquez +31.9
Vidal P19 +67.4
Woodford P20 +76.9

Lap 9:
The leaders dive into the pits at the and come out clean but Saarinen falls a long way back with a mechanical issue!

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +8.3 3. Vázquez +11.9
Vidal P18 +48.4
Woodford P19 +57.9

Lap 10:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +10.2 3. Vázquez +15.5
Vidal P17 +52.5
Woodford P20 +61.5

Lap 11:
Most drivers are on the harder compound of tyre now... this will be an endurance race.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +11.7 3. Vázquez +19.9
Vidal P17 +57.1
Woodford P20 +65.9

Lap 12:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +13.7 3. Vázquez +25.3
Vidal P17 +60.8
Woodford P20 +69.2

Lap 13:
Surikov's Panther in the pits with a engine problem. That will take some time to repair!

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +15.0 3. Vázquez +28
Vidal P16 +63.3
Woodford P20 +71.3

Lap 14:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +16.1 3. Vázquez +30.6
Vidal P16 +66.0
Woodford P19 +74.1

Lap 15:
Chapman is flying on the medium tyre, posting the fastest lap and lapping Surikov and Woodford already.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +18.0 3. Vázquez +35.9
Vidal P16 +71.9
Woodford P19 1 LAP

Lap 16:
Vázquez into the pits with his worn out hard tyres... he stayed out too long folks.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +18.7 3. De Graaf +40.3
Vidal P16 1 LAP
Woodford P19 1 LAP

Lap 17:
Pit stops for the backmarkers...

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +18.6 3. De Graaf +41.4
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 18:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +18.4 3. De Graaf +42.2
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 19:
Chapman losing ground with his old medium boots... should've pitted this lap...

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +16.8 3. De Graaf +42.0
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 20:
And he stays out again..

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +16.4 3. De Graaf +43.0
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 21:
And after he lsot a ton of time behind the backmarkers, he now comes in at the end of lap 21...

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +14.3 3. De Graaf +42.2
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 22:
Which means Lipponen takes the lead with his worn out tyres. Chapman back out on the medium tyre... he and the Lotus seem to have the same strategy... just the Steinmann is already 105 seconds down the road.

1. Lipponen 2. Chapman +4.8 3. De Graaf +29.8
Vidal P18 1 LAP
Woodford P19 1 LAP

Lap 23:
And with the fresher tyres, Chapman is already all over the gearbox of the Windsor...

1. Lipponen 2. Chapman +0.3 3. De Graaf +29.8
Vidal P17 1 LAP
Woodford P19 1 LAP

Lap 24:
Tries to go down the outside in turn eight... BUT Surikov IS IN THE WAY DESPITE THE BLUE FLAGS! Chapman is furious... and nearly loses his front wing three corners later.

1. Lipponen 2. Chapman +0.4 3. De Graaf +29.2
Vidal P17 1 LAP
Woodford P18 1 LAP

Lap 25:
BUT NOT THIS TIME. Chapman takes the inside line into six and the finn could only watch and concede the place.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +1.7 3. Oliveira +43.6
Vidal P17 1 LAP
Woodford P18 1 LAP

Lap 26:
Lipponen dives into the pits at the end of the lap to get some new boots, but the leader will be long gone.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +4.3 Oliveira +44.3
Vidal P17 1 LAP
Woodford P18 1 LAP

Lap 27:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +21.8 De Graaf +51.1
Vidal P15 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 28:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +19.6 De Graaf +48.4
Vidal P16 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 29:
If they can bring the car home, Lipponen is in a great position as Chapman has to pit again.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +17.2 De Graaf +52.7
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 30:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +17.0 De Graaf +52
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 31:
Chapman just lapped his teammate in seventh...

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +16.8 De Graaf +51.8
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 32:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +17.3 De Graaf +52
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 33:
AND THERE COMES CHAPMAN IN THE PITS AND LIPPONEN IS THROUGH!

1. Lipponen 2. Chapman +5.7 De Graaf +35.7
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 34:
The brit is on the soft compound and will be looking for blood...

1. Lipponen 2. Chapman +3.9 De Graaf +37
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 35:
Seven to go and Chapman is looking good for a win. In third, De Graaf is in trouble as his tyres are close to dead... he has 20 seconds of room between him and the Rossini of Wexler.

1. Lipponen 2. Chapman +1.0 De Graaf +38.4
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 36:
As easy as candy from a baby. Chapman takes it on the pit strait and laps Woodford for a second time in the process.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +0.8 De Graaf +39.4
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAPS

Lap 37:
De Graaf pits and Wexler is in for another podium, but has a pretty hot aussie girl behind him... Zoe Sharp is three seconds behind on the soft compound.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +5.1 Wexler +56.6
Vidal P18 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAPS

Lap 38:
1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +7.1 Wexler +58.3
Vidal P18 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAPS

Lap 39:
Lipponen dashes into the pits for a four fresh boots.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +10.7 Wexler +58.1
Vidal P18 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAPS

Lap 40:
Chapman follows suit... and lost alot of ground due to the undercut.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +3.4 Wexler +55
Vidal P19 2 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAPS

Lap 41:
But Lipponen does not look like he can make an impression here.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +3.4 Wexler +39.2
Vidal P19 2 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAPS

Final Lap:
And that is a win for Harry Chapman and Steinmann. The 31-year old shows off his speed and the speed of his car to overtake Lipponen late and makes the top step of the podium with a great performance.

1. Chapman 2. Lipponen +3.7 Wexler +40.3
Vidal P19 2 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAPS