The Return of Lotus(A non OOTP Dynasty)

[Griever20]

Australian GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

October 30th, 2016

Ladies and gentleman, we are in for a race that could decide both inaugural Championships. All cars were relatively close in qualifying... except Harry Chapman who has been driving in a different league, and with his $16M contract running out, could do so next season... but that is off season talk, the sun is shining and the formation lap begins.

Lap 1:
There are some runners on the soft tyre right away in the top 10... Sharp, Lipponen, their race could be interesting for sure. Chapman just wants to get a good start and then run away into the distance.

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

CHAPMAN AND HOLTZ WITH A GREAT START, 1-2 INTO THE FIRST CORNER, BIG MOVE ON THE OUTSIDE BY WEXLER, HE IS THIRD! LIPPONEN GOT WIDE AND LOSES EVERYTHING, DOWN TO P18!

The Thornton of Moreno fooled everyone and is into P4... P3!... down to P5 after the first lap! It has all gone right for Chapman in this first lap.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +2.8 3. Wexler +3.5
Vidal P16 +8.5
Woodford P20+9.3

Lap 2:
Chapman is streaking clear with another qualifying lap.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +4.2 3. Wexler +4.8
Vidal P14 +13.8
Woodford P20 +15.8

Lap 3:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +4.6 3. Wexler +5.4
Vidal P14 +18.0
Woodford P20 +20.8

Lap 4:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +4.8 3. Wexler +6.1
Vidal P13 +20.8
Woodford P20 +25.3

Lap 5:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +4.9 3. Wexler +6.5
Vidal P12 +24.9
Woodford P20 +29.2

Lap 6:
The leader with a lock up into the hairpin, that cost some time and tyre life.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +4.0 3. Wexler +6.8
Vidal P12 +28.7
Woodford P20 +32.5

Lap 7:
OH NO! Saarinen crashes in the third corner and wrecked the barrier, huge shunt... SAFETY CAR, SAFETY CAR. Leaders pit.

1. Sharp 2. Chapman 3. Oliveira
Vidal P16 PIT
Woodford P18 PIT

Lap 8:
1. Sharp 2. Chapman 3. Oliveira
Vidal P16
Woodford P18

Lap 9:
Sharp pits and is relegated to the back of the field, stupid move.

Safety car in this lap.

1. Chapman 2. Oliveira 3. Holtz
Vidal P16
Woodford P18

Lap 10:
Chapman on the soft compound nails the throttle and AWAY WE GO! Holtz on the medium tyre takes Oliveira in the hairpin for P2! Vidal on fresh rubber passes two cars in the this lap, and Woodford aswell! They both pitted under the safety car!

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.5 3. Oliveira +3.2
Vidal P14 +8.9
Woodford P16 +9.9

Lap 11:
AND THAT WAS A IKER VIDAL LAP! He overtakes Flores in turn three, outdrags De Graaf into turn four, and then hangs out two drivers out to dry in the hairpin to move FOUR places up.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.8 3. Oliveira +6.1
Vidal P10 +13.3
Woodford P16 +15.9

Lap 12:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +2.2 3. Oliveira +8.1
Vidal P10 +15.9
Woodford P16 +20.8

Lap 13:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +3.3 3. Oliveira +11.1
Vidal P10 +18.4
Woodford P16 +25.7

Lap 14:
The two Steinmann cars mean business today... Oliveira and Schmidt in for fresh boots... and OLIVEIRA NEEDS A NEW FRONT WING. That will cost some time.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +4.2 3. Wexler +15.4
Vidal P8 +19.4
Woodford P16 +30.7

Lap 15:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +4.5 3. Wexler +16.2
Vidal P5 +22
Woodford P16 +33.2

Lap 16:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +5.0 3. Wexler +16.8
Vidal P4 +24.0
Woodford P14 +35.5

Lap 17:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +5.1 3. Wexler +17.4
Vidal P4 +24.7
Woodford P13 +37.4

Lap 19:
This could be tense in front... Chapman on the soft has to pit earlier than Holtz on the medium, and the gap is not that big...

And when does Vidal pit?

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +5.1 3. Wexler +17.4
Vidal P4 +25.2
Woodford P12 +40.2

Lap 20:
Chapman and Vidal in for new rubber... Supersoft!

1. Holtz 2. Chapman +16.1 3. Lundquist +29.6
Vidal P12 +42.8 PIT
Woodford P19 +68.8 PIT

Lap 21:
1. Holtz 2. Chapman +12.8 3. Lundquist +30.7
Vidal P12 +41.7
Woodford P19 +64

Lap 22:
Holtz is getting undercut and is doing nothing against it...

1. Holtz 2. Chapman +9.0 3. Lundquist +32.0
Vidal P12 +40.5
Woodford P19 +63.4

Lap 23:
Vidal takes Lipponen and Surikov on the supersoft compound, their strategy will net them some big points today.

1. Holtz 2. Chapman +5.9 3. Lundquist +32.4
Vidal P10 +41.5
Woodford P19 +64.5

Lap 24:
The last of the medium runners pit and Holtz with a hydraulic system refill needed, it second with a gap of 21.7 seconds. Folks, the two Championships are done and dusted...

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +21.7 3. Wexler +30
Vidal P7 +37.8
Woodford P19 +67.3

Lap 25:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +20.5 3. Wexler +30.3
Vidal P7 +39.8
Woodford P18 +65.2

Lap 26:
And, as Oliveira comes into the pits again, also done and dusted is the fate of Thornton Motorsport as Vidal in the Lotus Racing car is in for a HUGE sixth place.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +17.4 3. Wexler +29.7
Vidal P6 +41.8
Woodford P18 +78.1

Lap 27:
AND HARRY CHAPMAN IS THE WORLD CHAMPION! WORLD CHAMPION! STEINMANN WINS THE CONSTRUCTORS WITH A DOMINANT 1-2 WITH WEXLER 14 SECONDS BACK BEHIND NINA HOLTZ!

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +16.0 3. Wexler +30.3
Vidal P6 +43.2
Woodford P18 +72.5

[Griever20]

Australian GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

October 30th, 2016

"GET IN THERE HARRY, YOU ARE THE WORLD CHAMPION," the words of race engineer Jeffrey Bacheler to his driver that just won the inaugural World Motorsport Championship... as a driver, and with the team.

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Thanks to the team, everyone working at Brackley in England to make this work, everyone in Stuttgart who makes this great engines, Dieter Zetsche from Mercedes for supporting this project. It has been a fantastic race and day and year, thank you," said team principal Wolfgang Roth after the race.

8 Means the World:
It was champagne and two World Championships that were celebrated in the Steinmann garage. It was eight crucial World Championship points that were celebrated in the Lotus garage, motorhome and in the clubs in Sydney by the team.

"Safety car this lap, safety car this lap. Let it fly mate, let it fly, you got fresh tyres and can really do something special" said Stuart Yarnham, Iker Vidal's race engineer at the restart. And he let if fly, overtaking four drivers in one lap and driving up to fourth place before pitting for supersoft tyres... and flying to sixth place, the best result of the year.

De Graaf Demoted to Melbourne:
"That engine is illegal. You have an extra hidden fuel tank in there. That front wing is also illegal. Not that you don't know, you drive around with that one," the stewart said and nailed Rezzato Corsa for a 18 place penalty on the race result... which would be around P30. Both parts were confiscated.

Saarinen Puts it into the Barrier:
"Bwoah, I don't really know. I got a little hit from behind and could not turn in, tried to brake, but then I hit the barrier and the safety car is out," said the Rossini driver after he returned to the paddock.

He wasn't surprised when he heard that it was Windsor's Ana Oliveira that hit him. "That ***** should look to leave WMC as soon as possible because she is bad and dangerous." They had a couple of shunts this season already...

With Fourteen Races in the Books:
Things are wrapping up in the Championships. Period. The biggest jump of the race certainly was done by Lotus Racing as they jumped Vélan and Kitano for seventh place in the Championship and if they can hold that one... $3.5M of additional prize money.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

YEEHAW! That is what I'm talking about. I owe Niilo Saarinen a beer for crashing his car at the right place and at the right time so that we can get a free pit stop in for Iker Vidal. He only had two, maybe three more laps left in his soft tyres. However, the real magic came after the safety car start.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose in traffic... today we won. Vidal was ON FIRE and put in move after move after move... and then, after some pit stops, had clear air and put in crucial laps on the medium tyre to gain a gap to the other runners behind him. The tyre, thanks to the safety car, lasted exactly long enough to go to supersoft and put the Spanish hammer down... a dream.

On the Woodford side... yeah, that was OK. He lacked pace because of the car and his... natural abilities, but the repairing did not cost that much time thanks to his race engineer. That is not bad and saved Paddock's job for 2017 I guess.

We are safe now. A lot of things need to go wrong now for us to fall out of the WMC this season and if we hold seventh, we get some more cash, $3.5M as mentioned. As a comp, we that is the money we get from seven races with 4* sponsor Hyper Tech on the car!

The team is looking solid on the financial side. We have $16.1M in the bank. Two more races, even without getting the $100k from our race sponsor, we are down to $14M. A new rear wing for 2017, $13.25M.

Add savings for the new car and prize money and we are looking pretty handy... maybe a new factory upgrade?

Development Report:
Things are happening.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 9th
Gearbox: 7th
Brakes: 7th
Front Wing: 10th
Suspension: 9th
Rear Wing: 10th
Overall: 10th

The design facility has now officially closed till the preseason and we dropped the factory work on the designated Jeremy Woodford front wing to get the new engine, suspension and rear wing buffed for 2017...

Fun fact, if we put all the illegal 2017 parts in the car, it would still be the slowest in 2016 as we are still below average in every department... we need a bigger factory to get all that performance out of those parts...

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Bebelitas(5/8 races) $2.75M upfront
Hyper Tech(3/14 races) $500k upfront, $500k per race
Cortés Tyre Co(2/15) $500k upfront, $400k per race

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Golden Tiger Bank(4/7) $900k upfront, $200k bonus pool for 13th or above
Northern Harbour(4/6) $1.25M upfront, $880k bonus pool for 2nd or above
Vamoose(4/6) $1.5M upfront, $1.2M bonus pool for 3rd or above

The Track:

The home of the Brazilian GP, the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, will be the scene of a very interesting race this weekend, for us and the rest of the teams. The 17 corner track demands a lot from engines, the suspension and needs a lot of rear wing performance, and we are already running the more twisty version.

Tyre wear is not that big, so running a sensible strategy on soft tyres would be possible... if it were not for the rain in the forecast. This could throw a wrench into a lot of strategies, and could give us a shot at getting a good grid slot AND capitalizing in the race.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
Rumor has it, Panther's Zoe Sharp wants out. The 27-year old is looking for a new drive despite her having another year on the contract. She has to compete with a number of free agent drivers this offseason though...

And the free agent bonanza at the end of the season could be fierce. Chiaki Hashimoto, 19-year old star touring car driver, may want to join the WMC and Rick de Graaf, Wolfgang Schmidt, Lucía Flores, Harry Chapman, Niilo Saarinen and Aki Lipponen headline the drivers on expiring contracts... Pre-contracts are forbidden in the WMC, so expect a ton of moves after the final race.

The Rossini team got some additional acceleration out of their gearbox, an upgrade that should translate well into 2017, via technical director Joe Kelly.

Trying to get a little bit more out of the car, Panther brought a new suspension to Brazil that somehow resembles the Steinmann one... just that it works better somehow.

[Griever20]

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

November 19th, 2016

The Brazilian fans turned up in bunches to cheer for their two heroes, veteran Ana Oliveira and Esteban Ribeiro and did all day long despite those two not being close to the now reigning World Champion Harry Chapman.

In a surprising twist of events, Harry Chapman would not lead the practice time sheet this time as he did not get big laps in on the ultrasoft compound due to a late rainshower... and instead Iker Vidal led the table with a 1:28.056, .196 in front of Chapman.

That was nothing compared to the qualifying that started off with a solid thunderstorm that saw drivers struggling to stay on track on the wet tyre. It was a mad rain bonanza and getting the timing right was key...

And you know you got it right when you lead the opposition by 8.601 seconds. Iker Vidal and Jeremy Woodford in the two Lotus cars found the perfect dry window between two horrible rain showers, and were suddently P1 and P2 with Vidal putting in a 1:29.187 on a slightly damp track... with 6 minutes to go in the session.

Unfortunately, their dream of their first pole position died a dry death as the track was perfectly fine for slicks with 1:30 to go, and everyone got their tyres right and ready for a hot run... and the Lotus finished P18 and P20.

On the sharp end of the grid, the two Steinmann cars got it all right again, Chapman P1(1.25.293), Holtz P2(1.25.567), but the crowd still cheered loudly as Ana Oliveira put her Windsor into the third row with a 1:25:654 in front of both Rossini's.

Team Radio of the Day:
""'Box, Box, Box, this is dry enough for slicks!"
Maria Gonzalez, Van Dort, when trying her second run on intermediate tyres.

--

This qualifying went from very good to bad in a hurry when the track dried up and then Vidal ended up fighting Moreno while both were in their qualifying lap... stupid.

The race will start on the intermediate tyre, and the forecast says long stint on inters, then a finish on the dry tyre... so our goal should be to conserve the inters and go on the slicks right away... or burn through the first set of inters, then pit, burn through the second set of inters, then pit on slicks.

Will depend on how the race works. And how right our weather shaman was...

[Griever20]

Brazilian GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

November 20th, 2016

It is wet, it is foggy, it is raining, it is absolutely horrible weather... great day for racing here in Rio de Janeiro as we have the World Champion on pole position, leading a pack of 20 runner that start on the intermediate compound of tyre. Many expect the sun to come out, but the same forecasters expected a sunny qualifying before the race weekend so...

Lap 1:
All eyes and hopes are on Ana Oliveira to deliver something special, but she has two hungry Rossini cars behind her and her teammate Lipponen also in her mirror, and the Panther's want to improve on their bad qualifying!

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

ALL THREE FRONT RUNNERS WITH GREAT STARTS! CHAPMAN COMES AWAY CLEAN, BUT HOLTZ AND OLIVEIRA EXIT THE CHICANE SIDE BY SIDE ONTO THE BACK STRAIGHT... AND OLIVEIRA GOT THE SPEED... FOR NOW!

And it only was for now as sector two belonged to Holtz and she got Oliveira on the outside!

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +0.7 3. Oliveira +4.7
Woodford P16 +10.8
Vidal P18 +11.3

Lap 2:
Oliveira loses out to Wexler and the two Steinmann are driving away with rapid pace from the pack.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.0 3. Wexler +7.9
Woodford P18 +17.7
Vidal P20 +18.8

Lap 3:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.4 3. Wexler +8.7
Woodford P19 +24.1
Vidal P20 +25.9

Lap 4:
"If you can not defend our position properly, just stay at the end of the queue and save fuel and tyre life...," hard words by Lotus boss Dan Martinson. Vidal was up to P14 and then lost 6 places over the span of one and a half laps...

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.8 3. Wexler +9.4
Woodford P19 +26.3
Vidal P20 +27.2

Lap 5:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.9 3. Wexler +11.0
Woodford P19 +31.4
Vidal P20 +32.1

Lap 6:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.8 3. Wexler +11.3
Vidal P19 +33.7
Woodford P20 +35.5

Lap 7:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.9 3. Wexler +11.9
Vidal P19 +36.7
Woodford P20 +39.5

Lap 8:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +2.1 3. Wexler +13.5
Vidal P19 +39.2
Woodford P20 +42.5

Lap 9:
Still damp track, still everyone on the inters, no intersting strategy, procession race... boooring.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +2.1 3. Wexler +13.6
Vidal P19 +40.9
Woodford P20 +44.5

Lap 10:
I say that and Siri Lundquist gets it wrong in the first chicane, yellow flags in sector one and her race is over.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +2.2 3. Wexler +13.3
Vidal P18 +41.6
Woodford P20 +45.8

Lap 11:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +3.0 3. Wexler +14.4
Vidal P18 +43.4
Vidal P20 +48.5

Lap 12:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +3.4 3. Wexler +15.7
Vidal P17 +45.1
Woodford P18 +50.7

Lap 13:
Loads of cars pit for slicks... still raining like hell... brave decision, and maybe the wrong decision.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +3.3 3. Wexler +16.5
Vidal P13 +48.1
Woodford P14 +53.6

Lap 14:
And so do most of the leaders... and the Steinmann guys queue their cars again... oh well.

1. Chapman 2. Surikov +7.0 3. Holtz +7.2
Vidal P6 +26.8
Woodford P12 +57.8 PIT

Lap 15:
And it IS drying up now... too late for alot of runners...

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +7.8 3. Oliveira +17.5
Vidal P11 +43.7 PIT
Woodford P15 +59.5

Lap 16:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +8.3 3. Oliveira +17.4
Vidal P11 +44.8
Woodford P15 +59.3

Lap 17:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +9.2 3. Oliveira +14.5
Vidal P11 +47.3
Woodford P15 +61.1

Lap 18:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +9.4 3. Oliveira +13.0
Vidal P11 +47.8
Woodford P15 +62.4

Lap 19:
Oliveira trying something on the ultra soft, but can she do this without a pit stop?

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +9.3 3. Oliveira +12.4
Vidal P12 +51.9
Woodford P15 +65.9

Lap 20:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +8.9 3. Oliveira +10.0
Vidal P12 +53.7
Woodford P15 +68.4

Lap 21:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +10.0 3. Oliveira +10.7
Vidal P12 +54.0
Woodford P15 +69.8

Lap 22:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +10.1 3. Oliveira +11.9
Vidal P12 +56.3
Woodford P15 +74.6

Lap 23:
But the fireworks stop behind the back of Holtz...

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +11.1 3. Oliveira +12.7
Vidal P11 +57.0
Woodford P15 +78.2

Lap 24:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +11.3 3. Oliveira +14.7
Vidal P11 +57.9
Woodford P15 +82.1

Lap 25:
And she falls back with her tyres dying...

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +11.7 3. Oliveira +18.8
Vidal P11 +60
Woodford P15 +84

Lap 26:
And now pits and falls off the podium, bad strategy.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +12.4 3. Surikov +30.1
Vidal P11 +60.4
Woodford P15 +84.2

Lap 26:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +12.5 3. Surikov +29.7
Vidal P11 +60.4
Woodford P15 +83.6

Lap 27:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +12.8 3. Surikov +32.0
Vidal P11 +62.4
Woodford P15 +85.6

Final Lap:
And Chapman does it again in a race that promised more thrilling action than it delivered. A 1-2 for Steinmann, Surikov inherited a third place from Oliveira who gambled and lost on the ultra soft tyre and finished ninth.

[Griever20]

Brazilian GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

November 20th, 2016

We almost got used to it... Chapman on the top step of the podium. "It was a rather lonely race to be honest. Yes, Nina was in my mirrors in the first stint, but after that, there always was a sizable gap, I almost looked forward to lap all those back markers," he said after the race. It was his... win of the season.

Lundquist Finds Wall:
"My bad. I got on the wet kerb on the inside of the first part of the chicane. That one was incredibly wet, and I ended up losing control and slipped off the track. Sorry for the team, I screwed that one up," said Siri Lundquist of Vélan racing. It looked like a awkward driving error to be honest.

Oliveira Loses Tyre Gamble:
"Well, we thought we could make up some ground on the ultrasoft's and we thought it was going to start raining again with four laps to go. Obviously, who gave us that weather report should get himself a new crystal ball," a visibly disappointed Ana Oliveira told the media after the race.

"I never had any luck racing in Brazil since I left the country to race in bigger, international series. Must be some kind of curse or something," she added. This one will really hurt Windsor in the Constructors championship...

With Fifteen Races in the Books:
Dieter Wexler, Aki Lipponen and Zoe Sharp are fighting over third place in the Drivers Championship and the battle is on for third in the Constructors between Windsor and Panther and a third place for Oliveira would've been massive for them... oh well.

On the back of the field, Kitano-Honda would love another two points to get past Lotus Racing to salvage an abysmal 2016 season.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

Post-Race Analysis: Brazil(15/16)

We lost a points finish when Vidal and Woodford failed miserably in the first stint and were barely able to hang on to the end of the field. Iker was up to P14 but then was not able to defend his position or hit any apex... and fell all the way back together with Woodford.

After that, we got the most out of the intermediate tyres and ran them till there was little to no rubber left, which got us to P11 and P15, but there was little to gain from there. De Graaf was between 2 and 5 seconds in front of Vidal, but we lacked the raw speed to get close enough to him to get a slipstream.

Development Report:
Things are happening. Ten days of factory time left till Dubai, and then a little bit after the last race has ended to get some performance out of the new parts. Then, we have to concentrate on the new chassis...

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 9th
Gearbox: 7th
Brakes: 7th
Front Wing: 10th
Suspension: 9th
Rear Wing: 10th
Overall: 10th

I got tempted by a remark by Jenny... and we build another 2017 spec rear wing... ding ding ding, Jenny hit the +90 performance legendary gimmick... which really helps us out. But one simply can't leave me alone when there is money on the bank account...

Side note: Our 2017 Mk 1 engine would be good enough for sixth on the grid in 2016 with our guys working hard on it's performance.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Bebelitas(6/8 races) $2.75M upfront
Hyper Tech(4/14 races) $500k upfront, $500k per race
Cortés Tyre Co(3/15) $500k upfront, $400k per race

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Golden Tiger Bank(5/7) $900k upfront, $200k bonus pool for 13th or above
Northern Harbour(5/6) $1.25M upfront, $880k bonus pool for 2nd or above
Vamoose(5/6) $1.5M upfront, $1.2M bonus pool for 3rd or above

The Track:

The final race of the 2016 season will be held in Dubai, the UAE Grand Prix, one of the hottest and trickiest tracks on the race calendar. Build at the coast and onto pure sand, it is an amazing venue and is another high speed track that challenges engines, brakes and needs high rear downforce to survive the corners.

But beware, past the white lines and the tarmac, there is a mixture of gravel and sand, making every mistake a potentially race ending one and in the last three years, that has become true for many drivers visiting here in different series, including the APSC where both Johan Sylvander and Laura Ingledev learned that one the hard way...

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
What ever will happen this weekend, the WMC should welcome a new member as the french Espirit GP outfit has already won the ASPC by a wide margin as their drivers Johnny Navarro and Freya Larsen are first and second in the Drivers Championship.

While it is the final GP of the year, many observed, and from what we know observed right, that the Scuderia Rossini brought a significant and potentially revolutionary braking system to the UAE. Others say it is flat out illegal, but it is build in and from what it looks like, they jumped both the Panthers and Steinmann here. Maybe we see a pranching horse victory?

[Griever20]

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

December 3rd, 2016

For the last time in a spectacular 2016 season, the lights are on for the World Motorsport Championship as we finish off the season in Dubai in a amazing venue, the Yas Marina Circuit. Some teams will leave Dubai with unfinished business, like the Rossini in their greed for a Championship, or Thornton, who look like the first team to get relegated to the APSC.

Also cirping into that was Kitano Sport team principal Bruno Martial, who offered a challenge to Lotus here. "We want seventh in the constructors. It was a bad year, but we will do everything to make it a not so bad year here. We need two points, and we want them," he said.

Whatever happens, this will be the last time we will see the 2016 getting fired up in anger. The Steinmann SMR01, the Rossini F2016, the Lotus Type 201, the Kitano RP01. Before they hopefully make their way into a museum, not into the hands of some collector that never shows the first of a new breed of racing cars to the public.

And racing they did on this rather long track in free practice. The big news before the session of course was the new Rossini braking system and if you believe in practice times, I can tell you that Nina Holtz led the time table with a 1:46.442, just .045 ahead of Dieter Wexler and .087 ahead of Niilo Saarinen... so maybe, those brakes were no fluke here.

And the ever eager Harry Chapman left the garage first under the cheers of the fans, looking for his twelveth pole of 2016. 1:42.910 was the first mark of the session and the fact that Zoe Sharp was 1.242 behind that tells you ALOT. The highly anticipated Rossini of Dieter Wexler: 1:43.878. But wait... P2 for Saarinen 1:43.256, a time zone behind Chapman.

Teams were gearing up for the second go with Chapman comfortably in front, and the Kitano boss was looking down the table to see Vázquez at P16 and North dead last.

And so, the race for the last pole started with pink... pink... and white as Chapman had a little moment in the turn 13 after the bridge and screwed his lap. A chance? Nina Holtz nailed that sector... 1:42.927... P2 by a fraction, and Saarinen was the only car in the same time zone, 1:43.194 with the rest half a second behind him.

So, Steinmann front row with Saarinen besides Ana Oliveira in row two and Sharp and Wexler behind them.

Team Radio of the Day:
""Horrible lap, just horrible, no grip, no traction, don't know what is happening."
Dieter Wexler, Scuderia Rossini, after he finished sixth with second run.

--

That is a pretty good qualifying result. We got Iker ahead of both Kitano-Honda cars, a Rezzato and a Thornton and even Jeremy was able to avoid last place with Jenny North going nowhere these days.

With this being a 24 lap race with little tyre wear, we will try to start both cars on the medium tyre and then switch to soft or supersoft when those wear out, most likely supersoft... and just see how it goes. It is more or less the parade GP barring a great race by the two Kitano cars or the Vélan, but to be honest, we would not be able to stop them...

[Griever20]

UAE GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

December 4th, 2016

The calendars have turned to December and where you guys watch, read this ticker and enjoy this race, it is cold, foggy and maybe even snowing back in Europe and the States, and we are here in the desert, 25°C, the sun just hidden behind a small cloud, for the UAE Grand Prix to wrap up the 2016 season.

Two Steinmann cars in the first row, and a 24-lap race ahead, the engines fire up and we are going on the parade lap.


Lap 1:
The cars are slowly coming on the grid and there was lots of talk about the new brakes on Saarinen's Rossini... could he be the big winner in the braking zone into turn one? Or can the two Steinmann ride into the sunset for the last time in 2016. We are ready and...

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

HOLTZ HAS REACTED SLOW AND SAARINEN IS WAY CLEAR HER INTO THE CHICANE! SHARP GOT IT ALL WRONG INTO TURN THREE AS SHE WAS SQUEEZED BY OLIVEIRA AND IS ON THE SAND.... BUT CAN RECOVER!

Holtz tries to fight Saarinen but looses out on the outside... and WEXLER IS THROUGH FOR P3! WEXLER LOOKS MIGHTY OUT THERE, GOES PAST HIS TEAMMATE... AND CHAPMAN... and Holtz follows in the slipstream!

The two Steinmann are line astern behind Wexler!

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.6 3. Chapman +1.2
Vidal P9 +6.2
Woodford P20 +10.7

Lap 2:
And the Silver Arrows are fighting each other while Wexler is running in clear air.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.5 3. Chapman +2.2
Vidal P11 +12.2
Woodford P20 +17.9

Lap 3:
AND THERE IT HAPPENED! Lucía Flores locked up in turn 15 in front of the medium priced stand and ran staight into the sand and the barrier. Yellow in sector 3.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.3 3. Chapman +1.9
Vidal P11 +16.0
Woodford P19 +23.2

Lap 4:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +2.3 3. Chapman +2.9
Vidal P12 +20.4
Woodford P19 +26.7

Lap 5:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.6 3. Chapman +2.2
Vidal P12 +23.3
Woodford P19 +30.4

Lap 6:
Not much movement in the top four as the cars seem faily even, Holtz seems to fancy a go...

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.0 3. Chapman +1.5
Vidal P12 +25.6
Woodford P19 +33.3

Lap 7:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.7 3. Chapman +1.5
Vidal P12 +28.9
Woodford P19 +36.6

Lap 8:
And instead, Chapman snacks her with a great exit out of turn two and a greater, gutsy drive through the three. It feels like it has been like this for most of the year for the German.

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +1.0 3. Holtz +1.9
Vidal P11 +30.3
Woodford P17 +38.8

Lap 9:

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +1.3 3. Holtz +2.2
Vidal P12 +32.7
Woodford P17 +41.4

Lap 10:
Not like the Brit is making a great impression on the Rossini in the lead.

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +1.6 3. Holtz +2.3
Vidal P12 +35.4
Woodford P17 +43.7

Lap 11:
CRASH CRASH CRASH. Blanc into the wall in turn seven! Safety car!

1. Wexler 2. Chapman 3. Holtz
Vidal P12
Woodford P17

Lap 12:
Mad business in the pits and bad luck for those that started on the medium tyre as the front runners get a free pit stop.

1. Lipponen 2. Wexler 3. Chapman
Vidal P14
Woodford P16

Lap 12:
Safety Car this lap. Lipponen, Lundquist and Ribeiro have not pitted.

1. Lipponen 2. Wexler 3. Chapman
Vidal P14
Woodford P16

Lap 13:
THE SAFETY CAR IS GONE AND LIPPONEN DIVES IN THE PITS, STUPID MOVE BY WINDSOR!

WEXLER HITS THE THROTTLE AS NEW PACE CAR AND CHAPMAN DIDN'T GET IT... HOLTZ IS PAST!

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.7 3. Chapman +1.3
Vidal P13 +10.6
Woodford P17 +13.7

Lap 14:
And there is another retirement... it's Jenny North the veteran crashed in turn three... oh what a way, this could be the last race of her career.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.1 3. Chapman +1.9
Vidal P12 +13.9
Woodford P16 +17.9

Lap 15:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.5 3. Chapman +1.1
Vidal P12 +16.3
Woodford P16 +21.1

Lap 16:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.6 3. Chapman +1.4
Vidal P12 +16.8
Woodford P16 +21.2

Lap 17:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.9 3. Chapman +1.1
Vidal P12 +17.2
Woodford P16 +22.0

Lap 18:
Oh noo.. Vidal ran wide and lost three places... their goes tenth place and a World Championship point.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.9 3. Chapman +2.5
Vidal P13 +22.8
Woodford P14 +24.2

Lap 19:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.5 3. Chapman +1.6
Vidal P13 +25.1
Woodford P14 +25.5

Lap 20:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +2.0 3. Chapman +2.6
Vidal P13 +27.8
Woodford P14 +29.9

Lap 21:
Wexler flying towards his first career victory.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +2.0 3. Chapman +2.6
Vidal P13 +27.8
Woodford P14 +29.9

Lap 22:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.6 3. Chapman +1.2
Vidal P12 +33.5
Woodford P14 +35.4

Lap 23:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +2.6 3. Chapman +2.8
Vidal P12 +34.6
Woodford P14 +38.7

Final Lap
AND THE 2016 World Motorsport Championship ends with Dieter Wexler WINNING the UAE Grand Prix with a great drive and after a great overtaking manouver early. The two Steinmann finish second and third and bring home both Championships, and it is all over for Thornton Motorsport as they will be relegated to the ASPC.

Thanks for a great season, we will see you in 2017 in Doha for the Qatar GP, enjoy the winter!

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.0 3. Chapman +1.8
Vidal P12 +33.6
Woodford P14 +38.1

[Griever20]

UAE GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

December 4th, 2016

Dieter Wexler in the Rossini car with the prancing horse engine has let it fly today and earned his first victory of the season and career. "Finally, I had to wait long for that. Podiums, yes, but race wins? Niilo had a couple, but I had to wait. Bad qualifying, but we made it work. Great work by the guys in the factory, we come back stronger next year," he added.

Minding their Own Business:
"They could've gotten past Wexler, but they decided to fight themselves," concluded commentator Martin Brundle, talking about the two Steinmann cars. "There is no love lost between Nina and Harry," he added. "They won't race together next year, I'm pretty sure about that."

They still won both Championships, but there are questions if Chapman got he better equip or he beat the German on equal terms.

Driving off into the Sunset:
That was taken too literally by a number of drivers as the crash happy Yas Marinas Circuit colleced it's prey. Lucía Flores, Samuel Blanc and Jenny North all made their own little mistakes, and it ended their race and in the case of Samuel Blanc, got the safety car out.

"Sorry for the team and my engineers. Not the way this team wanted to leave this series, and not the way I wanted to see this season end," the Thornton driver said already during the race.

With Sixteen Races in the Books:
There has been a ton of stories. Steinmann and Chapman domination, the scrutineering saga of Holtz car and the Rezzato Corsa, the cinderella story of Lotus Racing, going from hopeless backmarkers to seventh in the Constructors, and the disappointing year of Kitano-Honda and Thornton.

The race will be on once again next season, new cars, the suppliers will be shuffled, a new team will arrive in Espirit GP, and there are some drivers to be signed for 2017, including the World Champion!

Enjoy the offseason!

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

Ok, that was all on me. We pitted under the safety car... and with 10 laps to go after the safety car came in, I split the strategy and gave Jeremy the risky soft tyre, and Iker the safe medium tyre. Then, I realized that the medium one will last very long... and told Iker to push, push, and while he is at it... push.

That of course means the risk of running wide increases, and it ultimately happened and cost us World Championship point as Vázquez cashed in for Kitano-Honda. We still finished seventh in the Constructors and got us some serious cash, almost $46M of price money.

One contract thing, our reserve driver's contract is running out. We have a reserve driver, you ask? Yes, indeed we have, but because he is no good and not a good feedback master, he did not really feature here... Two ways to go. Get a pay driver that gives us $400k for driving the free practice in Vidal's car, or get someone that can deliever good feedback... we will scout the market and make a decision later this winter.

Where to go with that?

Development Report:
Ok, we will finish performance work on the new engine, and put some work in on the newest rear wing before the chassis deadline.

Now, to the money. We got the worst bunch of cheap supplies for our 2016 chassis, and the 2017 one won't be so cheap... as we can make some progress here. Of course, you can spent an unlimited amount of money on this, and we want to upgrade the factory for 2017.

Goals for the suppliers: Keep improbability and fuel consumption around the levels of 2016, but add some tyre wear and tyre heating capabilities AND grab a engine manufacturer with a better basic engine. The BMW one basically was unsupported by them...

News Report:
Before the last cars reached their factories, there already were some breaking news in the GMA. Kitano Sports had two driver slots open with José Vázquez and Jenny North leaving the squad into likely retirement. And they spent a big chunk of money, buying out Zoe Sharp out of her Panther contract and giving here a huge $23.5M deal. She was fourth in the driver's Championship with 167 points.

Also joining Kitano will be frenchman Samuel Blanc from Thornton Motorsport. The 32-year old outperformed his teammate this season, but managed only 11th place as high water mark in 2016. He will be battling with Jens Bergman for the second seat.

The Panther Race Team had a replacement all lined up and announced 23-year old Brit Winston Margate as second driver. A first lap hero by trait, the 23-year old is very popular in the UK after winning a number of races in the British Touring Car Championship. Decent pickup.

[Griever20]

Lotus Announces Suppliers, Factory Upgrade
motorsport-live.com

December 13th, 2016

It was supplier announcement day for the teams, and that marked the start of chassis development, so for most designers, the break was over. For Lotus Racing, they will see some huge changes for 2017.

First of all, they announced that they will buy Ferrari engines for 2017. "We really thank BMW for supplying us with engines in 2016, but with Ferrari offering us a good deal and their engine being very good in various categories, we decided to spent the extra dollar here," said Dan Martinson via BBC. "We hope that this will become a long term partnership," he added.

Rounding out the suppliers, fuel and other lubricants will be supplied by Russian Oil, one of the high echolon suppliers, with Matsurtronics producing the brakes, and the Polymat Group producing the carbon fibre and basic chassis parts.

"A well rounded group of suppliers," Channel four expert and former team principal Mike Gascoyne said. "They should have a good chassis for 2017 and have a good base with the Ferrari engine to make another leap forward.

It is rumored that this package will cost them roughly $41M. Furthermore, Lotus owner Jordan Henderson and team principal Dan Martinson announced another factory upgrade that they expect to be finished after the 2017 South African GP.

--

A great package. We already added half a star in the tyre wear department, and 1/4 star in tyre heating compared to our 2016 chassis, and the Ferrari engine is a significant upgrade once we start developing it further.

[Griever20]

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

February 15th, 2017

Breaking news from the Steinmann camp. Surprisingly enough, Steinmann was able to ink reigning World Champion Harry Chapman to a three year extension worth $44.2M in total. There were rumors about him not wanting to return... but I guess winning cures all problems.

The Scuderia Rossini announced Portugese driver Rafael Rodriguez for 2017 and beyond on a three year contract. The 28-year old is Portugal's pride and will bring some serious marketability to the squad. Deemed as a master overtaker and the king of the apex, Rodriguez drove for Oranje GT in the International GT Championship, finishing 10th with two points and getting outpaced by his teammate... marketability could be the driving factor here.

Veteran Niilo Saarinen, 2x a race winner in 2016, will join the Van Dort Racing team, replacing German ace Wolfgang Schmidt. The veteran will assume #1 status, and they announced the resigning of reserve driver Sanjay Modi, finishing their driver lineup right away.

The new Espirit GP team fill the vacancy of Freya Larsen leaving into free agency by signing 19-year old hotshot Rick De Graaf from Rezzato Corsa on a $11.8M contract for next season. The young driver from the Netherlands finished eleventh in the Drivers World Championship with 15 points.

Replacing him at Rezzato Corsa... will be Wolfgang Schmidt, no surprise there. The 29-year old signed a $14.2M deal per year for the next three years. He netted three podiums in 2016.

And the Lotus reserve seat is now filled as the team announced the signing of 18-year old British hotshot Ellie Marsh as reserve driver for the next three years. She also took part in the BTCC last year, like Winston Margate did, and here biggest strength is setting up the car... she is expected to take part in training in Iker Vidal's car.

[Griever20]

Confidental Analysis: Lotus Racing
March 5th, 2017
From: michelle.watkins@lr.gma
To: dan.martinson@lr.gma

Hey boss,

As last year, I hope you enjoyed the weekend while we were out testing in Tondela. Good thing to say, the car is looking way better than 2016 and we are all very happy with the progress we made from last season. So, let me sum up the testing, right.

The Chassis: Lotus Type 202

The Type 202 is a significant upgrade over the old 201 already. Fitting to our projections, we made a step forward in tyre wear, tyre heating and thanks to the breakthrough by our friends at the Polymat Group when it comes to chassis materials, the improvabiliy is better than last season, which means we can easily add performance to the car.

As expected, the reliability is not as good as 2016, but we are still looking handy and can expect to bring the car home in Qatar AND add some performance via the good old weight stripping...

Now, to performance:
Engine: 6th
The new 2017 spec engine seems better than Kitano, Espirit, Rezzato Corsa and Panther in that order. Nice work, and we can improve that easily thanks to the support of Ferrari.

Acceleration: 7th, no change.
Brakes: 7th, no change.

Front Wing: 9th
We jumped the Van Dort with the new front wing, but we are still ways away from the average.

Suspension: 7th
We are leaving, Vélan, Espirit and Rezzato Corsa in the dust here...

Rear Wing: 9th
Only the Espirit rear wing is worse.

Overall: 8th
We jumped Vélan and are ahead of Espirit GP on raw pace, time to add to that!

Your call of what to develop first!

Financials:
Targeting zero at the end of the season, we have $28.5M available for development, and that is without additional sponsorship money on upfront payments and race bonus payouts. Our marketability is up to 78% and we should be able to still attact 4* sponsors and four of our six deals will run out after the next two races... I think we should be safe in financial terms.

HQ:
The new factory wing should be done by the start of July and I agree with the idea of building the tour center to generate additional income. That one will be profitable by the end of 2018, just when we have to renegotiate alot of contracts.

11 days till the Qatar GP, lets get going.

Lg
Michelle Watkins
PA/Scouting Director Lotus Racing

[Griever20]

Preseason Report: World Motorsport Championship
motorsport-live.com

March 16th, 2017

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

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

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

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

Expected Finish: 8th-10th

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

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

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

Expected finish: 5th-8th


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

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

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

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

Expected finish: 5th-9th


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

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

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

Expected Finish: 2th-4th


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

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

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

Expected Finish: 6th-9th


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

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

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

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

Expected Finish: 1st-3rd


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

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

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

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

Predicted Finish: 1st-2nd


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

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

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

Predicted Finish: 4th-7th


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

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

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

Predicted Finish: 7th-9th


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

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

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

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

Expected Finish: 3rd-5th

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 6th
Gearbox: 7th
Brakes: 7th
Front Wing: 7th
Suspension: 7th
Rear Wing: 9th
Overall: 8th

We went with a new front wing and got a new iteration that got us a little jump in performance already, up to seventh. The front wing will be the component of choice first for a Jenny Whitehouse special, and we will follow that up with the next engine. The key thing this season, we will build TWO Whitehouse parts, one for Iker, one for Jeremy to get both cars up to speed and double the points potential.

Our factory work was based around getting some reliability in the parts of Vidal to enable weight stripping for the first GP and get some additional performance out of his car, hoping that additional performance + reliability through his engineer will land us some points right from the get-go.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Bebelitas(7/8 races) $2.75M upfront
Hyper Tech(5/14 races) $500k upfront, $500k per race
Cortés Tyre Co(4/15) $500k upfront, $400k per race

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Golden Tiger Bank(6/7) $900k upfront, $200k bonus pool for 13th or above
Northern Harbour(6/6) $1.25M upfront, $880k bonus pool for 2nd or above
Vamoose(6/6) $1.5M upfront, $1.2M bonus pool for 3rd or above

Two of our race sponsors will run out and we hope for either a good upfront deal, or an offer around 13th or above for more money than the Golden Tiger Bank, the race sponsor of choice for Qatar.

The Track:
As it is called, the jewel in the desert was not so kind to us last season as we finished P18 and P19 after some with horrible pace, while Nikolai Surikov managed a surprising win by staying on the right tyre and not requiring major repairs on his car.

With acceleration and front downforce together with a decent engine being key in the twisty and slow corners followed up with straits in Doha, our car should be handy here, but it is the first race, who knows where we stand compared to the other cars.

On the sharp end of the grid, this track could suit the Rossini and Panther more than Steinmann and, via Ruben Agostini, Rossini team principal, they are looking for a win, but given that it is the first race of the season... suprises could be happening...

[Griever20]

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

March 18th, 2017

Happy new year, Motorsport fans, it is Saturday, the sun is shining over the Doha Race Circuit, and the V10 engines are roaring for the first time in 2017 for the opening round of the 2017 World Motorsport Championship. The title holders come in virtually unchanged, apart from their car having an ugly shark fin on the back, and the Rossini's are looking to steal their throne... while the French newcomers from Espirit GP just want to survive.

"Great to see our cars out there, driving in anger and in formation with the big boys," said Espirit technical director Callum Hamilton about how he felt during the first practice session of 2017.

One subtile change for the 2017, Lotus Racing let young Ellie Marsh drive the car of Iker Vidal, and the 19-year old decided to put the pedal to the metal early and drove a stunning 1:54.778 to top the time sheets ahead of Nina Holtz(1:55.000) and the two Rossini drivers.

When it mattered, Iker Vidal was back in the car for qualifying and crossed the line first with a 1:53.550, smashing Nina Holtz 2016 Pole Position time by half a second already... but the cars came thick and fast. Chapman 1:52.385 P1, Holtz 1:52.641, P2.

Winston Margate, the rookie in the Panther... fastest in sector one... in sector two... 1:52.465, P2. Wexler... 1:52.426, P2 and the top four cars were within three tenth of a second and there was another lap to go.

Wexler, first of the top five, failed to improve, and the second Rossini of rookie Rafael Rodriguez was also beaten in fifth place. And then came the pole setter of 2016. Nina Holtz pulled off a magical lap, pink in every sector, destroying Chapman's first time by .914, 1:51.471.

And the Brit had no answer and neither had Winston Margate, who was not able to repeat the two sector times he posted in the first try.

Holtz ahead of Chapman for a all Silver Arrow front row, then Wexler and Winston Margate with Rafael Rodriguez and the Van Dort of Niilo Saarinen in the third row.

Who can stop the Steinmann on this track?

Team Radio of the Day:
"You were pink in sectors one and two mate." "(Censored by GMA), sorry guys, I missed the braking point in the final complex. Sorry."
Winston Margate, Panther, after he missed provisional pole by .080.

--

That is $100k for qualifying above 13th. Iker put in a couple of great laps and made great use of his pimped car, but I'm a bit disappointed by Jeremy and P19, I thought his car would be better. However, I did not expect the pace difference to last season to be THAT significant. Holtz was 2.5 seconds faster than last years pole. Holy cow...

As for us, we will run Woodford long on the hard tyre and hope for him being able to run a one stopper while Iker will run a conservative two stopper while starting on the medium tyre. His job is to keep position at least and make a solid run for a couple of points, given his qualifying performance, he should have the pace/reliability to get that one...

[Griever20]

Qatar GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

March 19th, 2017

We ended 2016 in the Middle East, we start 2017 in the Middle East... and with two Steinmann cars in the front row. Nina Holtz collected her third pole and her second in Qatar and wants her second career win to start off a hopefully better 2017. The surprises of the qualifying... De Graaf in the Espirit GP in P13 and Iker Vidal in P11... let's see how they will get on.

Lap 1:
"Reliability will be key," the final words by Lotus boss Dan Martinson before the race. He may be right as the teams had only months to build their 2017 chassis compared to 2016, where most teams started their WMC project mid-2015. Anyways, time for the first Grand Prix of 2017. Last season, Nikolai Surikov jumped from P11 to P1, so we could be in for a surprise...

The Espirit of Johnny Navarro finds the final grid slot and...

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

AND HOLTZ HAS A SLOW START BUT MANAGES TO BLOCK CHAPMAN AND MARGATE INTO THE FIRST CORNER.. AND MARGATE GOES WIDE AND FALLS WAY BACK!

BUT THE SLOW STEINMANN CARS LEAVE THE OUTSIDE WIDE OPEN AND DIETER WEXLER AND SCHMIDT IN THE REZZATO SLIPS THROUGH INTO P1 AND P2.

Wexler streaks into the distance and the Steinmann fall way back into fifth and six!

1. Wexler 2. Schmidt +4.3 3. Oliveira +4.8
Vidal P11 +10.9
Woodford P16 +12.6

Lap 2:
Wexler is the big winner as the rest of the field it fighting, Oliveira takes Schmidt in turn three and the German is falling way back, Rodriguez with a good overtake into third place in the second Rossini.

1. Wexler 2. Oliveira +7.4 3. Rodrigues +7.8
Vidal P12 +16.5
Woodford P15 +19.7

Lap 3:
1. Wexler 2. Oliveira +8.6 3. Rodrigues +9.3
Vidal P12 +22.5
Woodford P15 +25.9

Lap 4:
1. Wexler 2. Oliveira +9.6 3. Rodrigues +11.2
Vidal P12 +24.2
Woodford P16 +34.3

Lap 5:
1. Wexler 2. Oliveira +11.2 3. Rodrigues +11.9
Vidal P13 +27.9
Woodford P16 +37.9

Lap 6:
Oliveira loses places as she started on used soft tryes... for some strange reason.... and HOLTZ SLIPS PAST HER AND RODRIGUEZ INTO P2! Great move, and the hunt for Wexler is now on.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +13.2 3. Rodrigues +14.4
Vidal P13 +30.2
Woodford P16 +43.1
Vidal is behind three runners on the hard tyre and can not get past AND burned through his tyres... bad track for big overtakes... this could kill our strategy.

Lap 7:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +14.7 3. Rodrigues +15.7
Vidal P12 +32.8
Woodford P16 +46.2

Lap 8:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +14.6 3. Rodrigues +15.7
Vidal P12 +34.9
Woodford P16 +47.4

Lap 9:
Steinmann in the pits... both...

1. Wexler 2. Rodiguez +16.6 3. Saarinen +22.3
Vidal P8 +35.0
Woodford P16 +47.2

Lap 10:
Wexler in... and exits way in front of the Steinmann as Holtz needed some repairs.

1. Rodriguez 2. Saarinen +4.0 3. Wexler +8.2
Woodford P15 +31.3
Vidal P16 +32.3 PIT

Lap 11:
Rodriguez tyres go out and he has to pit AND repair something, Saarinen leads but is on old mediums.

1. Saarinen 2. Wexler +1.3 3. De Graaf +8.7
Vidal P15 +30.1
Woodford P17 +31.5

Lap 12:
And Wexler takes the lead as the Finn pits.

1. Wexler 2. De Graaf +8.4 3. Lipponen +14.1
Vidal P14 +29.6
Woodford P16 +34
Vidal has free track in front of him and pushes towards the end of P10-13...

Lap 13:
De Graaf in P2 on a 1-stopper in the debut race of Espirit... they could save their WMC spot right here...

1. Wexler 2. De Graaf +11.5 3. Saarinen +14.4
Vidal P13 +30.2
Woodford P15 +36.5

Lap 14:
1. Wexler 2. De Graaf +15.2 3. Saarinen +15.5
Vidal P13 +32.0
Woodford P15 +39.6

Lap 15:
1. Wexler 2. De Graaf +18.1 3. Saarinen +19.2
Vidal P11 +33.6
Woodford P15 +41.5

Lap 16:
De Graaf is in...

1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +21.5 3. Schmidt +24.6
Vidal P11 +37.7
Woodford P20 +60.3 PIT

Lap 17:
1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +20.8 3. Schmidt +26.9
Vidal P9 +41.1
Woodford P20 +60.3 PIT

Lap 18:
1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +21.3 3. Schmidt +30.1
Vidal P8 +42.3
Woodford P18 +65.8

Lap 19:
1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +21.3 3. Holtz +30.7
Vidal P7 +42.7
Woodford P18 +70.7

Lap 20:
1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +21.6 3. Holtz +31.3
Vidal P7 +42.5
Woodford P18 +73.7

Lap 21:
Chapman pits out of sixth position... THEY HAVE A PROBLEM... AND HE FALLS A LONG WAY BACK... P14 WOW!

1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +21.6 3. Lipponen +40.3
Vidal P11 +42.5 PIT
Woodford P18 +77.6
Iker now out on the soft compound, but he needs to do it on the track... came out just ahead of Rodrigues in the second Rossini...

Lap 22:
1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +20.7 3. Lipponen +39.9
Vidal P11 +56.8
Woodford P18 +77.7

Lap 23:
Wexler in... and he exits 10 seconds clear of Saarinen... looks like a safe win with five laps to go.

1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +8.7 3. Lipponen +26.6
Vidal P11 +40.6
Woodford P19 +68.8

Lap 24:
1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +11.3 3. Lipponen +29.3
Vidal P11 +46.9
Woodford P19 +73.1

Lap 25:
1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +15.6 3. Lipponen +33.4
Vidal P11 +49.6
Woodford P18 +78.7

Lap 26:
Vidal in the midfield goes past Ribeiro for P10 and potential points for Lotus, great scrap with Gonzalez and Schmidt for P8 and P9.

1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +16.5 3. Lipponen +35.2
Vidal P10 +52.5
Woodford P18 +82.1

Lap 27:
Vidal sweeps past Gonzalez for P9 and Lipponen is oh so close to losing P3 to Nina Holtz in the Steinmann on soft tyres...

1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +19.1 3. Lipponen +39.3
Vidal P9 +56.7
Woodford P18 +85.4

Lap 28:
AND IT'S ALL OVER! DIETER WEXLER IN THE ROSSINI-FERRARI WON THE LAST RACE OF 2016, AND THE FIRST OF 2017. His former teammate Niilo Saarinen got himself a big second place for Van Dort and Aki Lipponen nearly forced Holtz into the wall and finished P3.

Iker Vidal in Lotus stole two more points as he passed a ailing Rezzato Corsa for eighth as Wolfgang Schmidt saw his gearbox break late in the race.

1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +20.1 3. Lipponen +41.5
Vidal P8 +59.7
Woodford P18 +88.6