The Return of Lotus(A non OOTP Dynasty)

[Griever20]

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

November 28th, 2017

The World Motorsport Championship season of 2017 is coming to a close here in the desert in the middle east, and this time, the race for two Championship trophies is still on. Coming into the race with eight points of cushion, Harry Chapman automatically wins the title if he finishes second or higher, while Iker Vidal or Dieter Wexler need a mighty collapse by the Brit to claim the glory.

"This is the money weekend," Chapman said in the Thursday presser. "We have a great car this weekend and everyone at Brackley worked hard all year, now it is on me to deliver the knockout blow." The Steinmann team needs two points or not a 1-2 finish by Rossini to clinch the second Constructor's Championship in two years.

Meanwhile, Iker Vidal comes in to Dubai with the spirits high, having won the last three races in dominant fashion, but this may have gotten into his head. Eddie Jordan, former F1 boss and BBC expert always has his hand on the pulse of the WMC and told us that "Vidal got arrogant," he got told from personal within Lotus Racing, and that this may have hurt his relationship with the engineers for the season finale.

Looking like the dark horse, Dieter Wexler is just one point behind Vidal and still is smelling blood. "Getting second in the WDC is objective a.). Everything else... we will see how things go in the race," he stated early on Friday.

Also, this is the final goodbye (for now) for the Suiss based Vélan Racing team of invester Patrick Berg. 19 points behind Espirit GP, their fate is sealed, and the successors of the old Sauber team will have to fight their way through the APSC for a comeback. "Tough times. Uncertain times. Some of those engineers may lose their jobs as money will be hard to come by for us," via team principal Pejsa Kapoor.

All of that led to free practice being sold out, and it was a tight affair. In the end, Ellie Marsh led the time sheet for Lotus in Vidal's car with a 1:39.560, THREE seconds faster than last years pole position time. Second was Nina Holtz with a 1:39.646, going into potentially her last race with the German outfit. Chapman was third, and Wexler only sixth as he did not use the supersoft compound...

Time for the main event! Qualifying!

Woodford, Vidal and Chapman were the first three to throw themselves into the sand... and surprises were in store... sector one... Woodford 30.328... Vidal... 30.403(!), Chapman WAY SLOWER! 30.801 He made a mistake in the second chicane and went on to the aformentioned sand!

Woodford and Vidal close in sector two... AND THE SPAINARD GOT SECTOR THREE PERFECT AND IS IN FRONT! Vidal 1:37.489 and Chapman third, a second slower!

Holtz slotted behind him in fourth, and the Lotus are reigning surpreme with their new rear wing in the high speed corners! Here comes Wexler... 1:38.307 and in front of the two Steinmann cars and that also applied to his teammate Rodrigues... Two Lotus, two Rossini, two Steinmann after the first attempt in qualifying.

Still, Vidal is a stunning +0.817 faster than the next non-Lotus car!

And out they come for the second run... Wexler and Chapman, then their teammates and the two Lotus to wrap things up... and they are not even close to touching Vidal's first sector.... and Wexler was the best of the bunch, 1:37.989, P3. Chapman made another mistake and has fallen down to sixth... SEVENTH! Lipponen in his Windsor into P4!

But is another pole for the dominator of the second half, Iker Vidal!


Team Radio of the Day:
"MONSTER LAP, MONSTER LAP, almost a second faster than Wexler" "Told you, I'm the best man!"
Iker Vidal, Lotus Racing after his P1 lap and a amazing third sector.



--

I honestly don't know where that come from. I don't. The rear wing is good and fine. But THAT speed is outrageous... and I'm not buying it. Don't forget, we have a qualifying ace in that main car and the

We are in a prime position to do this and Chapman is buried in seventh place...

[Griever20]

UAE GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

November 29th, 2017

This could be the race of the year. So many Championship permutations, so many chances, so many ways for it to go wrong, and a total of 24 long laps here in Dubai to decide who will be the 2017 World Champion.

On track, Iker Vidal is in the best possible position at the start. His teammate besides him, Dieter Wexler behind him, and Chapman P7... which would mean the Championship for the Spainard.

Lap 1:
The grid is forming up and the first surprise starts in fourth place... Aki Lipponen is on the soft tyre, trying to threw another unknown into this race.

The cars are coming around for the last time in 2017, led by the two Lotus and the crowd is loving it.

Stopping on their grid slots, we are ready for the final race...

The red lights are on... one.. two... three... four... five...

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

WOODFORD AWAY VERY WELL, HE GOES PAST VIDAL AND INTO THE LEAD. LIPPONEN ON THE INSIDE TURN ONE... AND INTO SECOND! WEXLER DOWN A PLACE!

AND VIDAL FALLS FURTHER DOWN... HOLTZ AND WEXLER PASS HIM IN THE HELIPAD CHICANE!

Woodford in the Lotus and Holtz in the Steinmann lead, Wexler third, Chapman tucked behind Rodriguez!

1. Woodford 2. Holtz +0.5 3. Wexler +2.6
Vidal P5 +3.6
Chapman P7 +4.4

Live Standings:
Wexler 209P
Chapman 209P
Vidal 205P

Lap 2:
Both Lotus on defense as Holtz and Rodrigues are swarming their backs...

1. Woodford 2. Holtz +0.6 3. Wexler +2.5
Vidal P5 +4.8
Chapman P7 +5.7

Live Standings:
Wexler 209P
Chapman 209P
Vidal 205P

Lap 3:
Mad battle from fourth(Lipponen) to seventh (Chapman), Lipponen holding up the pack...

1. Woodford 2. Holtz +0.9 3. Wexler +2.5
Vidal P5 +6.1
Chapman P7 +6.9

Live Standings:
Wexler 209P
Chapman 209P
Vidal 205P

Lap 4:
"You got the overtake button available," they tell Vidal.

1. Woodford 2. Holtz +1.5 3. Wexler +2.3
Vidal P5 +7.3
Chapman P7 +8.5

Live Standings:
Wexler 209P
Chapman 209P
Vidal 205P

Lap 5:
1. Woodford 2. Holtz +1.5 3. Wexler +2.2
Vidal P5 +7.1
Chapman P7 +8.9

Live Standings:
Wexler 209P
Chapman 209P
Vidal 205P

Lap 6:
Woodford picks up the pace up front. He can not get overtaken by Wexler for the sake of his teammate...

1. Woodford 2. Holtz +2.1 3. Wexler +2.8
Vidal P5 +6.8
Chapman P7 +10.0

Live Standings:
Wexler 209P
Chapman 209P
Vidal 205P

Lap 7:
1. Woodford 2. Holtz +2.8 3. Wexler +3.7
Vidal P5 +8.8
Chapman P7 +10.9

Live Standings:
Wexler 209P
Chapman 209P
Vidal 205P

Lap 8:
The tyre guys say we are closing in on the first pit stops...

1. Woodford 2. Holtz +3.3 3. Wexler +5.0
Vidal P5 +9.8
Chapman P7 +12.3

Live Standings:
Wexler 209P
Chapman 209P
Vidal 205P

Lap 9:
AND THE LEADER PITS!

1. Holtz 2. Wexler +2.2 3. Lipponen +5.1
Vidal P4 +7.3
Chapman P6 +10.9
Woodford P10 +20.1 PIT

Live Standings:
Wexler 212P
Chapman 211P
Vidal 207P

Lap 10:
And the rest of the leaders are in... this will be interesting... Woodford is the winner here! He ends up seven places and 6 seconds ahead of Holtz!

And Vidal has taken a gamble and went for the soft tyre with everybody else going on the medium... can he make the tyres last?

"Ok, Harry, when we pit, we have to change the nose, there is something loose," via Steinmann team radio? WHAT? This will cost him!

1. Lipponen 2. Rodrigues +5.5 3. Chapman +6.5
Woodford P6 +13.3
Wexler P14 +19.8
Vidal P17 +23.3

Live Standings:
Chapman 218P
Vidal 195P
Wexler 194P

Lap 11:
In come Rodrigues and Chapman... AND IT IS A NIGHTMARE! THEY HAVE TO CHANGE THE NOSECONE AND FUMBLE IT! Chapman falls into dead last!

1. Lipponen 2. Sharp +11.2 3. De Graaf +13.7
Woodford P4 +14.3
Wexler P11 +19.9
Vidal P14 +24.5
Chapman P20 +43.7

Live Standings:
Chapman 203P
Vidal 195P
Wexler 194P

Lap 12:
Lipponen pits... exits... IN FRONT OF WEXLER! OH, THAT IS A TOUGH ONE FOR THE GERMAN. He has to take him in track!

1. Sharp 2. Woodford +3.3 3. Flores +5.2
Wexler P10 +8.8
Vidal P13 +14.1
Chapman P20 +43.1

Live Standings:
Chapman 203P
Vidal 195P
Wexler 195P

Lap 13:
AND THEY DRIVE OVER THE BACK STRAIGHT SIDE BY SIDE... AND THE FINN STAYS AHEAD!

Things get worse for Vidal as he gets passed by Rodrigues in the second Rossini... is this the race where everything swings in favor of Wexler anyways?

1. Sharp 2. Woodford +2.3 3. Flores +5.6
Wexler P8 +9.6
Vidal P14 +14.8
Chapman P20 +30.6

Live Standings:
Chapman 203P
Wexler 198P
Vidal 195P

Lap 14:
Tight battle between Wexler and Lipponen... AND THE GERMAN WITH GREAT TRACTION OUT OF THE FINAL CORNER... SLIPSTREAM... DRS... PASS!

1. Sharp 2. Woodford +1.5 3. Flores +5.8
Wexler P6 +9.0
Vidal P10 +15.1
Chapman P18 +29.9

Live Standings:
Chapman 203P
Wexler 202P
Vidal 196P

Lap 15:
AND THEN IT SWINGS THE OTHER WAY! Wexler with a overconfident move on Holtz and both go wide... AND LIPPONEN TAKES TWO HAPPY PLACES!

But the German is not done... Petrobras chicane... side by side... HE TAKES HOLTZ AND STAYS SIXTH!

1. Sharp 2. Woodford +0.9 3. Flores +5.9
Wexler P6 +10.8
Vidal P11 +16.0
Chapman P18 +29.8

Live Standings:
Chapman 203P
Wexler 202P
Vidal 195P

Lap 16:
Samuel Blanc runs awkwardly over the kerbs in turn 11, MAKES A SPECTACULAR JUMP AND CRASHES INTO THE WALL... AND AS WE NEED IT, MORE DRAMA!

SAVETY CAR, SAVETY CAR! The race will be neutralized!

1. Sharp 2. Woodford +0.9 3. Flores +5.9
Wexler P6 +11.6
Vidal P10 +16.6
Chapman P16 +30.9

Live Standings:
Chapman 203P
Wexler 202P
Vidal 195P

Lap 17:
AND WHEN THE SAFETY CAR CALL CAME, Wexler and Lipponen were side by side and Wexler a nose ahead... and is now ahead in the safety car queue... Windsor Racing is furious!

THIS PUTS WEXLER INTO CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION WITH 7 LAPS TO GO!

1. Woodford 2. Schmidt 3. Wexler
Vidal P7
Chapman P15

Live Standings:
Wexler 209P
Chapman 203P
Vidal 202P

Lap 18:
Schmidt pits and that puts Wexler into second position... on merit, says race director Charlie Whiting and the GMA stewards!

1. Woodford 2. Wexler 3. Lipponen
Vidal P6
Chapman P15

Live Standings:
Wexler 212P
Chapman 203P
Vidal 203P

Lap 19:
The safety car queue is complete and we will be racing after this lap. The man nobody talks about will lead them off... Jeremy Woodford on pace for his first win in the WMC... but what could happen behind him will be the story. With the field bunched up, the Championship picture can change in the next laps...

Five to go...

1. Woodford 2. Wexler 3. Lipponen
Vidal P6
Chapman P15

Live Standings:
Wexler 212P
Chapman 203P
Vidal 203P

Lap 20:
The safety car dives into the pits and here we go... Woodford controls it nicely and is away clean... Wexler can hold Lipponen behind him... but VIDAL slept through and loses sixth place to Rodrigues!

Holtz looking for blood, takes Lipponen! Can she retake Wexler and then back him up into the pack so that her teammate Harry Chapman can somehow win the Championship?

FORGET ABOUT THAT THOUGHT AS LIPPONEN COMES BACK IN SECTOR THREE AND TAKES P3 AGAIN!

1. Woodford 2. Wexler +0.8 3. Lipponen +1.5
Vidal P7 +3.6
Chapman P14 +8.1

Live Standings:
Wexler 212P
Chapman 203P
Vidal 201P

Lap 21:
"Just keep it on the black stuff mate," via the Rossini team radio.

1. Woodford 2. Wexler +0.6 3. Lipponen +1.9
Vidal P7 +4.1
Chapman P14 +8.9

Live Standings:
Wexler 212P
Chapman 203P
Vidal 201P

Lap 22:
1. Woodford 2. Wexler +0.5 3. Lipponen +1.9
Vidal P7 +4.0
Chapman P14 +8.9

Live Standings:
Wexler 212P
Chapman 203P
Vidal 201P

Lap 23:
Vidal COMES ALIVE AND PASSES THREE CARS FOR FOURTH PLACE! Rodrigues after the long sweeping first corner, Sharp on the back straight, Holtz back in the Mickey Mouse section!

1. Woodford 2. Wexler +0.9 3. Lipponen +4.0
Vidal P4 +5.5
Chapman P14 +12.4

Live Standings:
Wexler 212P
Vidal 207P
Chapman 203P

Final Lap:
"Great race mate, great race. Now, just wait sunshine, just wait, I have to wait for some cars to finish. But it is looking good, it's looking good... Lipponen P3, Vidal P4, Sharp P5, Rafa P6... DU BIST WELTMEISTER!" - " " YES YES YES, THANK YOU BOYS. GRAZIE, GRAZIE! FORZA ROSSINI!"

1. Woodford 2. Wexler +1.8 3. Lipponen +4.9
Vidal P4 +5.5
Chapman P15 +15.1

Live Standings:
Wexler 212P
Vidal 207P
Chapman 203P

[Griever20]

UAE GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

November 29th, 2017

A race for the ages. A new World Champion is crowned, and it was the one driver that entered the race with the lowest points total of the three candidates. Congrats to the Rossini team and congrats to Dieter Wexler. The 30-year old German drove the race of his life, and did not even know for what.

"I did not know anything. Yes, I knew that it was Jeremy up front, and I knew that I had not seen Iker and Harry in a while, but I just wanted to race. However, when Abi, my race engineer, told me to nurse the car, keep it on the road, not attack the leader... something was up," he said after the race in a champagne soaked interview.

The Final Fumble:
Was commited by the Steinmann team. "We think that Harry had a little touch with Rodrigues in the first stint that damaged his front wing, but what happened at the pit stop is unacceptable," via team chairman Anna Lipschitz. "There will be some explaining necessary..."

When Chapman entered the pits after his first stint and from seventh on track, things went wrong. "Look at that footage," Channel Four expert David Coulthard exclaimed. "They can not get the front wing off cleanly, then the mechanic drops the wrench to fix the new one. Shambolic."

Harry Chapman, now a former World Champion, took it in style. "We were too slow today anyways, and squandered enough opportunities throughout the season. Fair play and congrats to Wexler."

Team principal Wolfgang Roth was not that happy. "We won the Constructors, alright, and we came close to the WDC again, but we have a ton of work to do anyways. And we have to talk about some rule changes for the next GMA Council. Some things that are going on here are unacceptable." Guess we have to stay tuned for that.

Woodford Wins, Nobody Cares:
"Probably the worst day to win, but who cares for that. I got myself a good start and we were able to control the pace and the tyre wear and pitted at the right time. The safety car restart was stressful, but worked out," said Jeremy Woodford in the podium interview. For the 26-year old Brit, it was the first podium and race win in 32 races, and he loved every moment of it.

However, for the Lotus team, all eyes were on Iker Vidal, and he did not perform. "Just a bad race. He lost like, five places in the first two laps and it took him till lap 22 to recover, not good enough for a Champion," said Eddie Jordan at Channel Four.

Safety Car Shenanigans:
Due to the crash of Samuel Blanc. "Sorry for that, sorry team. That was a bid clumsy and should not happen," he said. Blanc took a leap into the wall in a critical part of the race and brought out the safety car, pushing the field back together. "Luckily, it did not impact the Championship that much.

After Sixteen Races:
Things are done and dusted. See you next year in Dubai, enjoy the winter!

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

[Griever20]

What a thriller. In the end, Vidal's car lacked the pace on track to win this race, and he did make his 1-2 mistakes that made him fall down the food chain. On the other hand, Jeremy Woodford earned his lunch money in this one, controlling the race from the front, faultless, and did a good job after the safety car restart as well.

Disappointment about the missed title? Some, yes, but we made such progress over the last two seasons that I'm sure we will get another chance next season... or not. There is something cooking between the big money teams and the GMA...

Development Report:
We put some last minute work in for some suspension stuff, but design is already focussing on the 2018 car... On the supplier side, I liked what we got this season, and our financials look great... we may invest into an upgraded scouting facility or some design/factory wing... things are getting costly though...

News Report:
The Award season has come and gone and for their great 2017 season, Iker Vidal and Dan Martinson won Driver & Manager of the Season!

Thornton Motorsport have now officially accepted promotion to the World Motorsport Championship and will return for the 2018 season. Another race team based at Guildford, they continue their search for a solid driver lineup...

Speaking of drivers, here is the first real move, and the yellow press is all over this one. Zoe Sharp, the ace for the Kitano outfit, got FIRED today and signed a two year deal worth $1.488M with Windsor Racing. Rumor has it, she seduced the 19-year old son of a Kitano board member... They bought out her contract for a TON of money last offseason...

A GMA high council meeting was announced for Tuesday, December 5th, to seal the ruleset for 2018. There are some rumors about a last minute effort by Steinmann & Rossini for a rule change.

[Griever20]

BREAKING: GMA High Council Decides Weight Limit!
motorsport-live.com

December 5th, 2017

After a mammonth meeting of 8 1/2 hours, the GMA high council have agreed, though not unanimously, that for the 2018 season and going forward, there will be a lower weight limit to cars in all classes, including the World Motorsport Championship.

According to the Autosport Magazine, the delegates from Lotus Racing and Espirit GP voted against the rule change.

"This will make the Championship more fair," explained Steinmann team principal Wolfgang Roth. "The best car should be the fastest car, not the lightest one. It should be about building the best parts given a fixed lower weight limit."

WMC cars may not be weigh below 525kg without fuel on board. "This was a dangerous hole in the regulations, and it should help keeping this racing series exciting before anyone exploits this too much," via Rossini boss Ruben Agostini.

However, former F1 team boss and now Channel 4 Expert Eddie Jordan has other thoughts about why that rule change happened.

"This is all politics. Lotus and Espirit disagreed to that move? Because they used weight stripping for their advantage, and the Lotus success angered the two big manufacturers in the sport... Rossini-Ferrari and Steinmann-Mercedes. They decided to do this to eliminate the opposition, as easy as that."

Lotus Racing was not available for comment.

News Report:
Kitano tapped into the ex-Panther pool again and signed Russian ace Nikolai Surikov to replace Mrs. Sharp. The 23-year old has won two races in 2016 and scored a total of five career podiums in 32 WMC races. He signed a 2y deal worth $34.1M.

The Asia-Pacific Supercup has lost one of their shiny stars, and the World Motorsport Championship welcomes a their first US-American driver. 34-year old Jessica Monroe leaves the Portugese Boa Esperanca stable and joins Panther for two years and $28.2M. In 32 APS races, she has collected three wins and five podiums, but overall, 2017 was not her best season. She became even more famous for starring in Netflix' "Girl on Speed' documentary recently.

News from the Lotus camp. They finished renegotiations with their 2017 supplies and were happy to announce the return of ALL their suppliers on deadline day, albeit with rising costs, $44M up from $41M. In addition to that, team boss Dan Martinson happily announced the start of construction on a $15M design facility upgrade, as well as some additional investments in the scouting and headhunting department.

Driver Market Update:

Seats Available:
Espirit GP: 2 seats, Navarro and De Graaf
Kitano Sport: 1 seat, Blanc
Steinmann Motorsport: 1 seat, Holtz
Thornton Motorsport: 1-2 seats, Moreno, Pereya's status unknown

[Griever20]

WMC Driver Carousel, Pre-Season Update
motorsport-live.com

February 18th, 2018

And rumors became true. Instead of resigning Nina Holtz, the Steinmann Motorsport team decided for a shootout between their junior driver, 20-year old German Patrick Becker and former touring car driver and new signing Mia Holgersen, a 20-year old Danish kid that signed a 2y/$24M deal earlier this offseason. Rumors say, Becker may be the guy though....

So, where did Mrs. Holtz go? The answer is: Japan as she signed a 2y/$27.3M offer sheet by the Kitano team to form a formidable driver lineup with Nikolai Surikov and reserve driver Jens Bergman! Holtz and Surikov combine for three Grand Prix wins.

The big swap happened between Rezzato Corsa and Thornton as 25-year old Brazilian Danilo Pereya, 4x a race winner last year in the APSC, will assume the seat of Wolfgang Schmidt, whose big contract was terminated. Instead, the German will work for Thornton on a massive 2y/$40.2M deal that many thing will kill the small team over time. Schmidt collected to podium finishes two years ago.

Winds of change at Panther as Winston Margate's contract got terminated by team boss Jack Guinness, and his slot was filled by 25-year old brit Zack Hamilton. Hamilton, a young hotshot that won a race last year in the ERS for Garuda Racing, signed for three years and $20.7M on the dotted line and will battle with their two ladies for the two seats next season.

Side news, Espirit GP have resigned Rick De Graaf on a one-year deal, and Johnny Navarro on a three-year deal, while Thornton finished their driver lineup by resigning pay driver Alejandro Moreno for three more years of cheap money and mediocre performances....

[Griever20]

Confidental Analysis: Lotus Racing
March 4th, 2018
From: michelle.watkins@lr.gma
To: dan.martinson@lr.gma

Hey boss,

home sweet home. We were fifth and eighth in preseason testing, had some gearbox issues, and as you know, the boss wants a fifth place finish in the Constructors World Championship. The bad news, with the new rules... weight stripping regulations are bad for us going forward.

The Chassis: Lotus Type 203

Like the Ferrari red in there!

As you know, we did not design a lot of 2018 parts, and eventually... we did not move forward because of that. The good news, most of our suppliers did some good work in the offseason, giving us a nice chassis with very good fuel efficiency and tyre behavior.

Now, to performance:
Engine: 3rd, no change
Acceleration: 7th, no change
Brakes: 6th, no change
Front Wing: 6th, no change
Suspension: 6th, no change
Rear Wing: 1st, no change

Overall: 4th

We should have a good car and should be able to fight with a number of podiums at least. If we can improve the car with the same rate we did the last years, we could be back in a title race late...

Financials:
We have gotten a good chunck of cash from our owner, and with sponsorship deals pending... we should be able to now worry about our budget and should be able to start a massive factory improvement in a year... if we don't **** this season up.

Pit Crew: 5th
Another late move in the offseason. Windsor Racing has started a war for pit crew personal, stealing a bunch of guys from other teams. We are currently in the middle of the pack, but need to make sure we won't fall further behind... and with the way this is developing, we also need to take care about rest times.

HQ:
So, our new scoting facility will be ready in two days... while our new design center won't be ready before July, most likely August. Still, we are in danger if our lady Jenny Whitehouse ever decides to leave us... as the rest of our design crew and infrastructure is not quite good enough. Her contract, and the contract of Stuard Yarnham, are running out at the end of this season. Resigning them is key in my oppinion.

11 days till the Qatar GP, this will be hard work.

Lg
Michelle Watkins
PA/Scouting Director Lotus Racing