The Return of Lotus(A non OOTP Dynasty)

[Griever20]

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

September 23rd, 2017

Vancouver once again hosts the Canadian GP, and with the fans coming in bunches, the battle between the prancing horse of the Scuderia Rossini and the Silver Arrows of Steinmann Motorsport continues here with a race win of cushion for Harry Chapman and 49 points of cushion in the constructors.

"A sense of urgency. That is what we feel around Rossini," said Mark Webber, now a Channel Four expert. "They need this win and yes, I know, we said that last race, but it is true." But, the German outfit brought a new engine, and that can only help them. "I want pole here," said Chapman on Saturday morning.

And free practice brought no answers as the rain intervened in the middle of the session but a small benchmark was still given... both on the soft tyre. Chapman 1:28.858, Wexler 1:28.934... advantage Chapman...

And it became clear that the qualifying would be played out in damp conditions. And in those conditons, the first blows came from the usual suspects. Iker Vidal 1:32.605, Harry Chapman 1:32.369, -0.235 faster than the Lotus. And Wexler is +0.465 slower in SECTOR ONE. Holtz in the second Steinmann... slower than Vidal and into P3... AND WEXLER IS PINK IN SECTOR TWO. HOW DID HE DO THAT... P1 1:31.476 the conditions must have changed.

And it is drying... and the times are falling... falling and falling... andsuddenly, Esteban Ribeiro was on provisional pole...

And the first runners, Wolfgang Schmidt and the Lotus tried a run with the ultra soft... and it started to rain again... and they nailed the timing! Schmidt... P1 by -2.785 for the Rezzato Corsa driver... and Vidal is also fast... faster... into the rain in sector three... AND ON POLE! 1:26.679! Woodford P3!

AND THERE IS MORE AND MORE RAIN... and Chapman and Wexler missed the window and are P12 and P14! That qualifying will go down as one of the most chaotic sessions in this season... and the result is a success for Lotus Racing. Vidal P1, Schmidt P2, and Jeremy Woodford P3, his best qualifying result.

Team Radio of the Day:
"You got to hurry to get this lap in, rain in two minutes." "Just let me drive..."
Iker Vidal, Lotus Racing, during his out lap.

--

We actually nearly messed up the timing, leaving the pits a tad too late, but luckily, only Schmidt realized that the rain would return and that there was only one shot left.

Now, we have another prime chance for a result. Chapman P14, Wexler P12, Rodrigues P6, Holtz P17. If we get the start done and pull away... and there are weather things.

The start of the race will be wet and it seems while the start will happen in the dry, it already started to rain around corner 8 & 9... intermediate weather.

[Griever20]

Canadian GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

September 24th, 2017

Welcome to Vancouver and the Canadian GP, and we are in for a chaotic race. The two Lotus cars are on the front end of the grid, and with the favorites for the WDC wildly out of position due to a rainy qualifying, the battle will be on today.

Both Wexler and Chapman need to overtake big time to get to the points, and with rain in the area and a potential intermediate tyre start, they have to do it on merit.

Iker Vidal is the Vegas favorite today.

Lap 1:
The tyre blankets are off... and in the formation lap, the rumors showed to be true... intermediate tyres. The rain is coming down close to the track and moving towards it, so no surprise here... even though somebody could've tried a bold run on the slicks.

Vidal, Schmidt, Woodford, Ribeiro... who will lead after the first corner? The answer will be given soon as...

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

BOTH LOTUS WITH A GOOD START AS VIDAL GOES INTO THE FIRST CORNER CLEAR AND WOODFORD TAKES SCHMIDT IN A HEARTBEAT! Gonzalez in the Van Dort jumps into third and is looking to haul in the second Lotus.

And what a brilliant start by the German ace Dieter Wexler! He got it perfectly right and went down the outside, overtook four drivers and then drove a brilliant first lap... and is up into fifth place!

And where is Chapman... last place... LAST PLACE! What has happened there... a replay... OHH he got squeezed in turn one and had to brake hard to not collide with Sharp and fell all the way to last.

1. Vidal 2. Woodford +2.6 3. Gonzalez +2.8

Lap 2:
And into the first corner, Gonzalez snacks Woodford got second place.

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +4.3 3. Woodford +5.4

Lap 3:
Wexler in fourth already all over the gearbox of Woodford...

"Ok, on the last lap, you were half a second quicker than Gonzalez in P2, keep it up,"

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +4.8 3. Woodford +6.5

Lap 4:
It is still raining... "We expect it to rain for the next 7 laps," via Espirit team radio...

And a collision! Winston Margate runs into the side of Lucía Flores in the Virage Senna! Flores tried to overtake the Brit and Margate simply left her no room... and earned a drive through penalty.

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +5.9 3. Woodford +7.4

Lap 5:
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +6.6 3. Woodford +7.8

Lap 6:
Wexler struggling to get past the second Lotus of Jeremy Woodford, Chapman 'up' to P12...

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +7.0 3. Woodford +10.1

Lap 7:
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +6.0 3. Woodford +11.4

Lap 8:
Wexler finally past as Woodford lockes up in turn three...

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +6.4 3. Wexler +12.6
Woodford P4 +13.2

Lap 9:
Vidal pushing hard... is this an in-lap? "STAY OUT IKER, STAY OUT, HEAVY RAIN IN TWO LAPS." That answers the question...

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +8.2 3. Wexler +14.5
Woodford P4+19.2

Lap 10:
A CRASH! Harry Chapman is out of the race! He lost control in the big braking zone after the back straight and crashed into the wall! OH and the first runners pit for wets!

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +7.5 3. Wexler +13.3
Woodford P4 +20.3

Lap 11:
AND SO DOES THE RACE LEADER AND THE PRANCING HORSE ACE!

1. Gonzalez 2. Vidal +9.0 3. Wexler +22.0
Woodford P5 +32.6 PIT

Lap 12:
And Gonzalez also in.
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +8.8 3. Wexler +13.0
Woodford P4 +25.8

Lap 13:
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +9.5 3. Wexler +13.2
Woodford P4 +26.3

Lap 14:
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +9.7 3. Wexler +12.4
Woodford P4 +27.3

Lap 15:
Soaking in rain, luckily nobody has crashed apart from Chapman.

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +11.0 3. Wexler +13.6
Woodford P4 +29.2

Lap 16:
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +10.8 3. Wexler +12.9
Woodford P4 +31.1

Lap 17:
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +10.5 3. Wexler +11.9
Woodford P4 +33.1

Lap 18:
And there is a little tangle. Saarinen runs into the back of Esteban Ribeiro in the braking zone of the hairpin. Drive through penalty for him.

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +9.0 3. Wexler +10.2
Woodford P4 +35.1

Lap 19:
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +8.0 3. Wexler +9.1
Woodford P4 +35.4

Lap 20:
"Ok, drying out in 3-4 laps," via Windsor.

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +8.1 3. Wexler +9.1
Woodford P4 +38.8

Lap 21:
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +7.5 3. Wexler +8.4
Woodford P4 +39.7

Lap 22:
1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +7.5 3. Wexler +8.4
Woodford P4 +39.7

Lap 23:
Wexler & Gonzalez pit... and Vidal does not!

1. Vidal 2. Gonzalez +34.4 3. Wexler +34.6
Woodford P10 +62.6 PIT

Lap 24:
And that was a mistake! Wexler leads, Vidal second, Gonzalez third as her pit crew had some repairs to do!

1. Wexler 2. Vidal +6.6 3. Gonzalez +9.3
Woodford P7 +37.1
Ordered him into the pits too late... he was already past the pit entry... my mistake X_X

Lap 25:
1. Wexler 2. Vidal +7.4 3. Gonzalez +9.7
Woodford P7 +37.7

Lap 26:
Three to go, Woodford is chasing three intermediate runners!

1. Wexler 2. Vidal +7.6 3. Gonzalez +10.2
Woodford P7 +39.2

Lap 27:
1. Wexler 2. Vidal +6.0 3. Gonzalez +10.7
Woodford P7 +41.3

Lap 28:
1. Wexler 2. Vidal +5.1 3. Gonzalez +10.4
Woodford P8 +47.2

Final Lap:
And there it is! Wexler has TIED UP the Driver's World Championship with a win and with Harry Chapman crashing into the wall, and Iker Vidal blows a win by pitting one lap too late!

1. Wexler 2. Vidal +6.8 3. Gonzalez +10.9
Woodford P8 +51.2

[Griever20]

Canadian GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

September 24th, 2017

The race for the Driver's World Championship is back to even! Dieter Wexler turns a bad qualifying into an amazing start and first lap into a win on speed and the mistakes of others to tie up things at exactly 176 points, and his fourth win of the season and his fifth career win.

Radio Drama:
Lotus ace Iker Vidal had a chance to win this race, but failed to do so... as his failed at the wrong time. "I was yelling on the radio for him to pit, but it seems the radio was damaged by the water," said race engineer Stuart Yarnham. Iker Vidal then did not enter the pit lane in lap 23 and that lap on the wet tyre cost him the win.

Barrier Drama:
"I'm so sorry guys. So sorry," said Harry Chapman right after he crashed his Steinmann into the TecPro barrier. He went way to deep into the braking zone at the Pont De La Concorde and eventually could not slow down.

"Purely my mistake. I really hurt my self in the Championship, and I hurt my team," he told BBC's Lee McKenzie after he returned to the paddock. He had a rotten weekend anyways after a bad qualifying where he missed the right timing and qualified P14, and then he fell back into last on the first lap.

Ribeiro & Flores Fuming:
Esteban Ribeiro of the Vélan Racing squad was absolutely livid after the race. He was the victim of Niilo Saarinen as the Van Dort driver misjudged things and drove into the back of the Brazilian, netting him self a damaged front wing and a drive through penalty. "We could've scored points here... for our survival," he said.

"If he can not judge an overtaking move, he should go down to the ERS and learn how to drive there," said Lucía Flores after the race. She collided with Winston Margate in the Virage Senna, trying to overtake him. "I don't know why she tried that. No overtaking place," he added.

Race stewarts disagreed and gave him a drive through penalty for causing an avoidable accident, and four penalty points, and things got worse for Lucía Flores as she was demoted by four places for a illegal oil tank below the engine...

After Twelve Races:
Worst case for Steinmann Motorsport. 10 points for them, 33 points and the win for Scuderia Rossini. The WDC is completely tied up now, and the Constructors... 26 points of cushion for the Silver Arrows.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

Ok, we messed that one up a bit. The radio problem SHOULD not happen, and out pitboard should've said BOX a lap before, but that happens in wet conditions... we donated Wexler the win here. Still a podium, and we got us some cushion towards the Van Dort outfit, nine points.

As Jeremy finished eighth. In the end, his car lacked the raw speed in the final stint, which is no surprise. He did not manage to get the intermediate runners in front of him, and finally fell to the duo of Holtz and Rodrigues that were hunting him for most of the race. Still, four solid points, and a good step forward in the relationship between him and Alex Barbosa...

Also... three sponsor slots are vacant... our commercial department is working their ***** off.


Development Report:
So, we are really pumped for the new rear wing as this one could be a huge leap. We will build another one for Jeremy's car, and then focus on the suspension. Factory work will continue on the second car up until the first rear wing is ready, and don't expect the second one to be done before Singapore...

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 3rd
Gearbox: 7th
Brakes: 5th
Front Wing: 5th
Suspension: 9th
Rear Wing: 3rd(+7)
Overall: 5th(+1)

Actually, we got both rear wings done, albeit Jeremy's is a bit marginal in reliability... but, both are a beauty. We are around third in rear downforce now and jumped Kitano in overall performance... which is pretty nonsense as their engine is holding them back big time. Factory work, as ususal, will be key going forward as we have to add reliabilty into Jeremy's wing, and performance into both... still, those are the leaps we need to see.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Jogo Games(11/12) $250k upfront, $400k per race
Broadlake Clothing(3/15) $1M upfront, $650k per race
Max Velocity(1/10) $1M upfront, $800k per race

One of the premier sponsors we could get. Max Velocity owns a number of popular luxus car manufacturers, including Aston Martin, and will place a big advert on our rear win and radiators... for $800k per race... what a deal.

Race Bonus Sponsors:
El Banco(4/7) $3M upfront, $1M bonus pool for 3rd or above
Viking(1/4) $2M upfront, $1.4M bonus pool for 1st
Football Manager(1/4) $1M upfront, $600k bonus pool for 7th or above

Viking is a swedish retail furniture company that has stores all over europe and in parts of the United states, and while we love to have them, their goal of finishing first is... ambitious for us.

SEGA also chipped in as a race sponsor, and they will be the one to go for the rest of the season. Advertising the new Football Manager 2018, they will pay us a up to $600 per race if we reach seventh or above...

The Track:
Centered around the Singapore flyer, the street circuit in the streets of the Asian metropole will once again be host of the 13th Grand Prix of the WMC season. Niilo Saarinen in the Van Dort won in front of both Steinmann cars in South Africa, a eagerly similar track, so the Silver Arrows are the favorites here, especially with engine power being not as useful as it is on other tracks... but let us not forget, last season, a Panther won this race.

And, there is, once again, rain in the forecast, so keep an eye on those Lotus.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
"Suck my ****." Those were the words of Iker Vidal when Winston Margate approached him after the free practice in Canada. A video about that incident went viral a week AFTER the Grand Prix, and Vidal only said that he does 'not want to ever drive with this.... guy in a team." There were some strange blocking incidents between those two in the session, but no action by the race director.

Asked about the absence of new car developments, apart from the Lotus rear wing, BBC's Eddie Jordan explained that "we should not forget the hefty travel schedule, and the fact that many teams will be building parts for 2018. Also, the rear wing update for Lotus was overdue, and I expect them to bring a new suspension soon to close the gap there," he said.

[Griever20]

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

October 14th, 2017

It is autumn in Europe, and so the battle for the World Championship moved to Asia and into the streets of Singapore where last year, Zoe Sharp of the Panther Race Group won her first Grand Prix, starting from fourth.

At that point, Harry Chapman had a 71 point lead in the WDC. This year, he is level on points with Dieter Wexler, and all eyes will be on this fight. And nobody can afford a mistake here in the tricky streets and in the possible rain as Harry Chapman found out when he shunted his car in the last race and blew his lead in the points table.

And while rain interrupted free practice programs in the second half, one thing could be said. Running on the supersoft tyre, the Rossini ace Dieter Wexler(1:20.042) led the way, but by a fraction of +0.066 over Holtz and +0.125 over Chapman... advantage for the German.

Qualifying started dry, but, as Johnny Herbert, ex-F1 driver put it, "the weather is unpredictable this weekend, so they may have only one try to get it right." The Lotus crew decided that it is time to do that as early as possible, and Harry Chapman was right behind them... and Vidal continued to drive impressively... 1:16.809... and Chapman could not match that, +0.317 slower!

Holtz... slower +0.493... and here is Wexler in sector one... +0.060 slower than Vidal... sector two... +0.085... on start finish... HE GOES FASTEST! 1:16.662! Wexler on provisional pole! And it stayed dry for the second round... can Chapman land a counter blow, and at least secure a front row start?

And here they start their flying laps... Wexler, Rodrigues, Holtz, Chapman, Vidal...

Wexler... PINK IN SECTOR ONE -0.064... still fast in sector two... slow in sector three and no improvement! Both Steinmann on quick laps... can they nail the final sector?

VIDAL PINK IN SECTOR ONE! Chapman STAYS THIRD! +0.202 behind Wexler... and Vidal smashed them all with a 1:16.544 for pole position!

Team Radio of the Day:
"YEEEEAAAAHHH! Pole Position, hell yeah!"
Iker Vidal, Lotus Racing after his pole lap!

--

Wow. That one was on merit. Now, weather... It once again starts in the dry and we don't know when the rain will come and if it comes... so no experiments. Vidal will start on the soft compound and try to drive away... which most likely won't work as we can not run the highest engine mode all race long.

We will try a 1-stopper with Jeremy, something that has worked scarily well last year in a dry race.

[Griever20]

Singapore GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

October 15th, 2017

It is dry here in Singapore... for now, and all eyes are on the first two rows of the grid. Iker Vidal drove to a stunning pole position yesterday and will go into the race side by side with Dieter Wexler, and in front of both Steinmann cars.

Will Wexler risk everything in the first corner to pass Vidal? Will he just try to block Chapman? And will Nina Holtz in the second Silver Arrow play along and stay out of the way of her team mate, or will she try to win the race? Can Vidal this time match his qualifying pace in the race and win it?

Lap 1:
No real surprises on the tyre front as Margate in eighth is the first on the soft compound and Woodford in tenth the first on the medium tyre, trying to go for a one-stopper.

One of the key races for the Championship, 37 laps, and it will kick off in the next seconds... it is a short run to the first corner...

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

AND VIDAL WITH A GREAT START AND AWAY THROUGH THE FIRST CORNER! HOLTZ DOWN THE INSIDE OF CHAPMAN... AND WEXLER FOR P2. And the prancing horse has a problem... and falls back into sixth... and SURIKOV wants a piece of the pie and is up to third and past Chapman in the Park Corner.

1. Vidal 2. Holtz +0.4 3. Surikov +2.1
Woodford P11 +7.5

Lap 2:
"Something is wrong with my rear tyres," via Dieter Wexler. "Copy, they are overheating," is the answer from the pit wall. He is already 2.4 seconds behind Chapman.

1. Vidal 2. Holtz +0.6 3. Surikov +2.6
Woodford P16 +15.7

Lap 3:
And there is an incident. Blanc and Navarro have a little coming together that wrecked a rear wing and a front wing... and that is a drive through penalty for causing an avoidable accident.

1. Vidal 2. Holtz +1.5 3. Surikov +3.5
Woodford P16 +19.1

Lap 4:
1. Vidal 2. Holtz +1.9 3. Surikov +3.7
Woodford P16 +22.5

Lap 5:
Wexler is 1.1 seconds behind Chapman now... waiting?

1. Vidal 2. Holtz +0.7 3. Surikov +3.5
Woodford P16 +26.0

Lap 6:
1. Vidal 2. Holtz +0.8 3. Surikov +3.2
Woodford P16 +29.8

Lap 7:
1. Vidal 2. Holtz +0.6 3. Surikov +2.7
Woodford P16 +32.6

Lap 8:
"I want to pit for fresh tyres," says Vidal... "Stay out, rain in two laps"

1. Vidal 2. Holtz +0.6 3. Surikov +2.7
Woodford P16 +32.6

Lap 9:
The Steinmann cars and Wexler pit... for slicks.

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +1.6 3. Rodrigues +9.5
Woodford P17 +36.6

Lap 10:
Vidal out for another lap...

1. Vidal 2. Oliveira +12.5 3. Margate +13.6
Woodford P16 +37.9

Lap 11:
SAFETY CAR! SAFETY CAR! Rick De Graaf gets the exit of turn nine terribly wrong and crashes into the wall! Vidal in for inters!

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +3.6 3. Gonzalez +4.8
Woodford P15 +31.9

Lap 12:
1. Holtz 2. Surikov 3. Gonzalez
Woodford P15

Lap 13:
And there it starts to rain a bit... the drivers on the slicks in 1-3 and 8-11 could need to pit soon! Safety car this lap!

1. Holtz 2. Surikov 3. Gonzalez
Woodford P15

Lap 14:
1. Holtz 2. Surikov +2.6 3. Gonzalez +4.7
Woodford P14 +12.8

Lap 15:
1. Holtz 2. Surikov +2.4 3. Gonzalez +7.6
Woodford P11 +15.8

Lap 16:
And now it really gets wet...

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +2.5 3. Vidal +10.6
Woodford P11 +15.5

Lap 17:
1. Holtz 2. Surikov +2.0 3. Vidal +4.0
Woodford P8 +11.2

Lap 18:
And there he goes past, Vidal into P1, but now, he has to look after the tyres....

Championship update... Wexler P15, Chapman P16 on slicks, they screwed that one up.

1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +0.8 3. Margate +2.8
Woodford P6 +5.8

Lap 19:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +0.6 3. Margate +2.2
Woodford P6 +7.6

Lap 20:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +1.1 3. Margate +1.6
Woodford P6 +8.8

Lap 21:
"Ok Iker, conserve the tyres at any cost, it will stop raining soon!"

1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +1.5 3. Margate +2.3
Woodford P6 +9.3

Lap 22:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +1.7 3. Margate +2.9
Woodford P6 +11.6

Lap 23:
Oliveira pits from fifth... for fresh inters!

1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +2.4 3. Margate +3.1
Woodford P5 +12.8

Lap 24:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +3.0 3. Margate +3.7
Woodford P5 +13.8

Lap 25:
THE FIRST ONTO SLICKS... WAAY TO WET!

1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +18.9 3. Margate +20.0
Woodford P9 +31.8 PIT

Lap 26:
Vidal in... AND OUT IN THE LEAD!

1. Vidal 2. Rodrigues +6.7 3. Saarinen +9.4
Woodford P10 +38.5

Lap 27:
1. Vidal 2. Rodrigues +7.3 3. Saarinen +9.1
Woodford P10 +25.4

Lap 28:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +9.1 3. Oliveira +11.6
Woodford P9 +25.9

Lap 29:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +10.5 3. Gonzalez +22.5
Woodford P8 +27.1

Lap 30:
"P4, P4, try to defend that one with your life," via Woodford's pit radio. Lotus looking mighty today... and Woodford lost the place.

1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +11.8 3. Margate +23.5
Woodford P5 +29.4

Lap 31:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +12.1 3. Margate +23.6
Woodford P5 +31.7

Lap 32:
No chance for Wexler(P17) and Chapman(P16)...

1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +13.6 3. Margate +25.2
Woodford P5 +32.8

Lap 33:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +17.1 3. Margate +27.5
Woodford P5 +34.6

Lap 34:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +18.3 3. Margate +28.2
Woodford P5 +36.7

Lap 35:
Two laps to go, and this one looks done and dusted!

1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +20.2 3. Margate +29.8
Woodford P5 +38.1

Lap 36:
1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +21.3 3. Margate +30.9
Woodford P5 +38.6

Final Lap:
Vidal WINS! Saarinen P2, Margate P3! And to spice things up, Iker Vidal is now 31 points behind the two Championship leaders... could they work out a surprise? Chapman P15, Wexler P16.

1. Vidal 2. Saarinen +20.4 3. Margate +29.8
Woodford P5 +39.7

[Griever20]

Singapore GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

October 15th, 2017

With three races to go, the Lotus Racing team is mounting a serious challenge, pole position, and race win for Iker Vidal. The Spaniard drove a magnificent race, using the right tyre at the right time, and nursing them to make the pit stop at the right time for a race win, and a similar approach brought Jeremy Woodford into fifth place... and the squad is now 12 points behind the Windsor outfit in the constructors championship.

The Wrong Choice:
Was made by a number of runners, basically all supersoft starters, pitted onto another set of dry tyres... and therefore were surprised by the rain and lost out big time. Prominent victims: Harry Chapman and Dieter Wexler who finished ways away from points. That would've been the chance for one of those two to score.

Lady Luck:
Shined on Iker Vidal. When Rick De Graaf lost his Espirit on a damp track and crashed into the barriers on the exit of the Grand Hotel Curve, Vidal's tyres were dying on him. "He saved that strategy, as sad as it sounds. We would've lost out to the soft runners." Sometimes, you are fast, sometimes, you are lucky.

The Braking Point:
Was missed by Samuel Blanc in turn three as he ran his Kitano into the back of Jonathan Navarro's Espirit GP vehicle. He was not happy with the resulting penalty though. "Ridiculous. I misjudged their braking point, but I did not brake later than normal. No reason for a drive through. Ridiculous."

The race director disagreed after analyzing his previous lap data.

After Thirdteen Races:
The Championship race is virtually unchanged... unless you believe in Iker Vidal's chance to make this a three horse race.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

Two things. The weight stripping together with the nurse thingy gives us a great advantage and means that we outperform out car big time... and it will be available for Jeremy for the next race as he and Alex Barbosa got their act together now.

#2: We had incredible luck in this race with Iker. Without the safety car at the exact right time, he would've landed third some something like that. We let him run a lap too long on the supersoft tyre and would've lost 10-15 seconds in that lap AND would've been a bit to early for the inters... this way, we could drive behind the safety car until it became wet enough... luck.

Development Report:
Some factory work for Jeremy's rear wing, but there is little to be done for the Australian GP apart from that. We will try to get a new suspension in time for the last two races, but this is a rather new project, so don't expect progress for Sydney.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 3rd
Gearbox: 7th
Brakes: 5th
Front Wing: 6th(-1)
Suspension: 9th
Rear Wing: 3rd
Overall: 5th

The good news, we made a tad bit of progress with the suspension as we managed to get up to the point that we could start production of the first of two Whitehouse Specials. In addition to that, we got the second rear win roughly up to speed and will invest some additional factory time into those... and the brakes and... factory too small and stuff...

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Jogo Games(12/12) $250k upfront, $400k per race
Broadlake Clothing(4/15) $1M upfront, $650k per race
Max Velocity(2/10) $1M upfront, $800k per race

Race Bonus Sponsors:
El Banco(5/7) $3M upfront, $1M bonus pool for 3rd or above
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The Track:
The Albert Park in Sydney, Australia will once again host the Australian GP, and the Park turned race track with all it's corners, acceleration zones and straights should deliever a cracking race. Loads of low speed corners in the streetlike circuit, this track could really suit the Steinmann cars and drivers.

And there is once again, some rain in the forecast, albeit for Saturday mostly.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
The Championship race is heating up and the Silver Arrows upped their game once again, some additional horse power for their engines... and they should be up to first in that department.

No breaking developements on the Rossini and Lotus cars.

After a lot of up and down performances, the Panther Race Team will try to stabilize their results with a new gearbox that should be the second best on the grid and a new front wing that looks mighty complex and mighty good.

[Griever20]

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

October 28th, 2017

The Albert Park became part of Motorsport history when in 2016, one year ago, Harry Chapman won this race and clinched the inaugural World Drivers Championship for himself, and the World Constructors Championship for the Steinmann outfit. No Championships will be clinched here this weekend as the Rossini's upped their game for 2017.

But, there are other stories around the paddock. General unhappiness at Van Dort Racing as they were up to fourth at one time in the WCC, and are now fighting an uphill battle with Lotus and Windsor. Then, there is the lackluster performance by Jeremy Woodford, who has been struggling hard compared to his teammate Iker Vidal. "He may be replaced for 2018, the way he has been put into the shadow by Vidal," speculated BBC expert Eddie Jordan.

And nothing was learned in Saturday's free practice as rain came down and messed up sheduled practice programs and the time sheet. First was Ellie Marsh, development driver for Lotus, with a 1:32.202 that came together with a damp track, and she was the only driver to get the inters working for a full lap. "Good lap, felt decent, but nothing to write home about," she said.

That meant we knew nothing for qualifying... apart from the fact that it would start in light rain, and with a damp track. The two Lotus once again were the early birds... and 1:30.713 for Vidal, 1:31.375 for Woodford.

But the Steinmann were quick out there... Chapman in sector two... -0.062... Holtz in sector two... QUICKER! MUCH QUICKER! -0.343... Chapman across the line... P1... 1:30.656... AND WEXLER PINK IN SECTOR ONE... EXACLTY MATCHED THE TIME BY HOLTZ!

The German Silver Arrow driver across... 1:30.342! -0.313 faster than Chapman... and now Rodrigues PINK IN TWO... and FASTEST! 1:30.169, Holtz P2, Wexler P3, Chapman P4.

And the Lotus come in... and out with a quick pit stop on the supersoft... is it dry in enough? Vidal pink in sector one... PINK IN TWO BY -0.775... 1:29.104 FASTEST WITH WOODFORD P2 WITH A 1.29.923... AND IT STARTS TO RAIN AGAIN! IT IS A 1-2 FOR LOTUS RACING! THEY GOT THAT ONE ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!

Team Radio of the Day:
"P2, P2, front row for the good guys, well done." "YES, YES. Great call, great call, thank you guys! It's is soaking wet out here again.
Jeremy Woodford, Lotus Racing after his P2 lap, first front row start.

--

Amazing drive by our two guys. We went out the on a hunch right after our first attempt, and it was VERY close that we got that lap in, which is mostly why Jeremy is eight tenth behind.

And it will be rainy on Sunday. 5 minutes before the start, the track was dry, but it already started to rain lightly on the back strait... and all cars will start on the inters...

Service Announcement: Will activate the realism mode for the AI for this race... just to see how that goes on the tyre side for them.

[Griever20]

Australian GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

October 29th, 2017

The Championship is in the balance... and rain is pouring on it. The teams openly say they are going to start on the intermediate tyres, including the Lotus front row and the big two... Chapman(P5) and Wexler(P6). And how will their wingman perform with Rafael Rodrigues in third and Holtz in fourth? Will they steal points here, will team orders happen?

This is a tricky track, and a rather long lap in the wet... getting the tyre choices right will be crucial for a lot of those drivers and there are rumors of some drivers startingon the WET tyre!

Lap 1:
And the one going for the juggler is Ana Oliveira starting from P14 on the wet tyre on a basically dry track... how hard do they think it is going to rain?

Everyone else on the intermediate tyre, and the grid is slowly forming... some smoke out of the brakes from Rodrigues... hopefully, he did not overheat his brakes and runs into the back of a Lotus here...

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

VIDAL AWAY CLEAN AN LEADS THROUGH THE FIRST CORNERS, WOODFORD FALLING BACK AND WEXLER INTO THIRD... CHAPMAN GOT SQUEEZED IN TURN ONE AND IS FALLING BACK INTO THE MIDFIELD!

Nina Holtz with a hot run through the Lakeland Chicane... AND PAST THE SPAINARD AND INTO THE LEAD! Lipponen(P3) past Wexler for P4... and Chapman is down to P13!

1. Holtz 2. Vidal +1.1 3. Lipponen +3.4
Woodford P9 +5.8

Lap 2:
Chapman up to minth place, 3.3 seconds and four cars behind Wexler...

1. Holtz 2. Vidal +2.2 3. Lipponen +6.2
Woodford P10 +11.0

Lap 3:
Oliveira on the wet tyre dead last and 40.4 seconds behind the leader, Wexler stuck behind Lipponen, Chapman behind Surikov still.

1. Holtz 2. Vidal +2.3 3. Lipponen +7.1
Woodford P10 +12.3

Lap 4:
1. Holtz 2. Vidal +2.5 3. Lipponen +7.1
Woodford P11 +15.9

Lap 5:
1. Holtz 2. Vidal +2.3 3. Lipponen +7.5
Woodford P11 +17.3

Lap 6:
1. Holtz 2. Vidal +1.9 3. Lipponen +7.3
Woodford P11 +18.4

Lap 7:
Still raining... no movement for the Championship contenders...

1. Holtz 2. Vidal +2.1 3. Lipponen +7.2
Woodford P11 +19.8

Lap 8:
"It is going to stay damp for a while Iker, so you can push a bit now."

1. Holtz 2. Vidal +1.4 3. Lipponen +7.0
Woodford P11 +20.5

Lap 9:
1. Holtz 2. Vidal +0.9 3. Lipponen +6.7
Woodford P11 +20.9

Lap 10:
"BOX, BOX, BOX" Vidal in... new inters... AND THEY MAKE A MISTAKE WITH THE LEFT REAR!

1. Holtz 2. Lipponen +7.9 3. Wexler +6.7
Woodford P10 +22.6
Vidal P16 +36.1 PIT

Lap 11:
"What the hell was that boys?" The Spainard is not happy... and lost track position to Lipponen, 3 seconds behind...

1. Holtz 2. Wexler +9.5 3. Rodrigues +12.8
Vidal P13 +34.6
Woodford P16 +46.2 PIT

Lap 12:
Holtz... Wexler... Rodrigues in... for WETS! OH THAT MAY BE JUMPING THE GUN A BIT!

1. Margate 2. Surikov +2.5 3. Chapman +4.5
Vidal P5 +17.8
Woodford P16 +47.2

Lap 13:
The wet runners are losing out... "Give it all, get the Finn!" Lotus wants Vidal to overtake Lipponen!

1. Lipponen 2. Vidal +0.4 3. Chapman +4.5
Woodford P8 +30.4

Lap 14:
And he is sure trying... inside line though Lakeland... SIDE BY SIDE INTO SECTOR TWO... AND VIDAL GOT IT!

1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +1.7 3. Woodford +16.7

Lap 15:
So, status report. The inters are the right tyre and Vidal is flying away together with Lipponen, Woodford and Samuel Blanc and they may have a pit stop in hand already.

1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +3.0 3. Woodford +17.1
Chapman P5 +34.9
Wexler P8 +39.9

Lap 16:
1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +4.4 3. Woodford +17.7
Chapman P5 +39.8
Wexler P8 +46.2

Lap 17:
"BOX BOX BOX, TIME FOR WETS, C'MON WE CAN WIN THIS!" Lotus looking great, timing seems right! Lipponen stays out... may be a mistake...

1. Lipponen 2. Vidal +16.1 3. Chapman +34.6
Woodford P4 +35.9
Wexler P7 +50.7

Lap 18:
Lipponen in and out... and way back. Vidal should win easily here with Woodford chasing Chapman!

1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +16.2 3. Chapman +18.4
Woodford P4 +19.0
Wexler P6 +37.2

Lap 19:
Wexler needs to pass Holtz for P5, he is losing seven points, 1.4 seconds behind.

1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +15.2 3. Chapman +18.6
Woodford P4 +20.0
Wexler P6 +28.1

Lap 20:
1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +14.6 3. Chapman +19.5
Woodford P4 +20.6
Wexler P6 +29.1

Lap 21:
1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +14.6 3. Chapman +20.5
Woodford P4 +21.2
Wexler P6 +30.7

Lap 22:
1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +14.6 3. Chapman +21.1
Woodford P4 +22.1
Wexler P6 +31.7

Lap 23:
"OK Jeremy, Chapman is on older tyres and has a gearbox problem, wait him out for a couple of laps and than close down and kill him."

1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +15.3 3. Chapman +21.2
Woodford P4 +22.8
Wexler P6 +30.2

Lap 24:
1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +15.0 3. Chapman +22.1
Woodford P4 +23.6
Wexler P6 +33.4

Lap 25:
1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +13.9 3. Chapman +23.4
Woodford P4 +23.9
Wexler P6 +34.6

Lap 26:
OH MY, WEXLER PITS AS HIS TYRES HAVE BECOME DANGEROUS TO DRIVE! HE IS DOWN TO EIGHTH!

1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +14.3 3. Chapman +25.0
Woodford P4 +25.6
Wexler P8 +59.0

Final Lap:
AND HE FINISHES THERE! Another win for Iker Vidal who is in great form at the end of the season, P4 for his teammate that chased Chapman all the way to the finish line(PS: AI still cheating on the tyres...). Aki Lipponen with a great second place, and Samuel Blanc fifth, both using the perfect startegy.

1. Vidal 2. Lipponen +14.6 3. Chapman +26.1
Woodford P4 +26.7
Wexler P8 +56.8

[Griever20]

Australian GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

October 29th, 2017

"Flawless, and well played, being on the right tyre at the right time. That phrase was the real deal today," said former Mercedes Head of Motorsport Norbert Haug, serving as expert for the German pay TV station, about the race by Iker Vidal and Jeremy Woodford for Lotus today.

"We calculated the time loss that would happen by going to the wet tyre right away, giving our weather report, and we found that a quick stint in the inters, pushing like madman, would be the better choice," team principal Dan Martinson said about their quick second stint.

Crucial Pass:
"You always hate to hear that. Having to pass another car on track, same tyres, in the rain, is stressful, but Aki fought clean, fair and without adding danger to the manouver, and that won us the game," said Vidal to NBC's Will Buxton about the overtake in lap fourteen. That one gave him a chance to pull away from the rest of the pack, and gave him a safe lead for the last stint.

Italian Mistakes:
Rossini's first mistake was to go to the blue striped wet tyre too early, watch Chapman overcut them, and THEN end up with destroyed tyres close before the end, having to pit AGAIN late.

Their second, and maybe bigger mistake, was to mount an illegal rear wing modification on their car, resulting in a six place result penalty that would push him out of the points and into another controversy.

"This is just stupid," conceded Wexler. "With this weather, it is hard enough to get into a points paying position, and then we ruin that with a little tweak on the rear wing that we 'hope' gets overlooked? For the third time this season?" His team boss was unavailable for comment.

A Career Drive:
For Samuel Blanc and Jeremy Woodford. Both drove their heart out and collected a career best fourth and fifth place and invaluable points, and respect. "Both number two drivers, both under fire by fans and sponsors. They delievered today, and as it seems, this drive secured Woodford's seat for 2018," said BBC's David Coulthard.

After Fourteen Races:
A World Championship by Iker Vidal suddenly is possible. Chapman 191, Wexler 176, Vidal 170. 21 points in two races... everything is still in play, and the late season form by Lotus is utterly impressive and they moved into third in the Constructors Championship... by one point.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

Brilliant race. IF, and that is a big one in my mind, IF Vidal wins the Championship this season, that would be insane, and helped by sooo much rain races in the second half of the season, and helped soo much by the weight stripping that we took advantage of so much. Still, great drive by Iker AND Jeremy, and great strategy called from out home base here in Guildford.

Should have gotten another race sponsor in... $600k for that race... could've gotten $1.4M for that... but there is always something to complain about. Two more.

Development Report:
We get one final upgrade, and then will focus on factory work on Jeremy's car and MAYBE take a flyer on a great 2018 piece or two to push this car to become a dominant force for 2018... Well, if we have the time... will have to calculate that. No reason to pay millions of $$$ just to build a part that we can not improve in the factory enough to make that work.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 3rd
Gearbox: 7th
Brakes: 6th(-1)
Front Wing: 6th
Suspension: 7th(+2)
Rear Wing: 2nd(+1)
Overall: 5th

So, the new suspension is here, and unsurprisingly, it is not the biggest invention since sliced bread... as there simply was not enough potential to begin with. We build another part for Jeremy that was even worse than the first one, and will put in some effort to build a 2018 suspension for Jeremy that should be on the level of our best one... and will be highly illegal for 2017, but who cares.

And that will be it for the 2018 car. Up until three days before the final race, factory work will continue on our top rear wing to get the last bit of performance out of it... and maybe we let them play around a bit with the suspension. Not really happy about that... but... factory ... as usual. I will complain about that until we have like 50 engineers working 24/7 I guess.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
La Paz Telecom(1/4) $750k upfront
Broadlake Clothing(5/15) $1M upfront, $650k per race
Max Velocity(3/10) $1M upfront, $800k per race

With La Paz Telecom, we made the best out of a bad group of sponsorship offers. We could've gotten someone in for $200k per race, but for 10 races instead of four. Sponsors are a bit leery about joining us towards the end of the season as there are some doubts about our 2018 car(rightfully so), so a Mexican Telecommunication company was the best we could get.

Race Bonus Sponsors:
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The Track:
The penultimate race. Autódromo José Carlos Pace. Rio de Janeiro. Full throttle. Medium and high speed corners. A Chapman win last year... in a different life as it seems, given how we managed to upgrade our car, and how the Rossini's got up there in engine power.

Last season, the rain played a big role here as it started with light rain, and getting on the slicks at the right time was key. It is predicted to stay overcast with some glimpses of the sum for the weekend, so we may(finally) see another dry race again.


Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
On the back of a impressive second place finish by Aki Lipponen, the Windsor team brought a new engine to Brazil that should be a good upgrade over their existing one... and over the rival Van Dort one.

Looking forward to the UAE GP, the Steinmann outfit brought a impressive new braking solution to this race that jumped past Panther for the best brakes in the business, and Kitano Sport did a similar thing, keeping them in the middle of the pack here.

Not out of sync is the development work of Panther and the Scuderia Rossini as both brought an updated suspension to Rio and they actually both jumped the Silver Arrows for pure performance here.

Contract rumors are swirling around already with Nina Holtz, Nikolai Surikov, Samuel Blanc, Rick De Graaf and Johnny Navarro on the last six weeks of their contract, Vélan Racing on their way down to the APSC and the Thornton Motorsport team poised to return to the WMC with at least one open driver slot.

[Griever20]

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

November 28th, 2017

Championship time. If Chapman scores 5 or more points than Iker Vidal, the Spainard is eliminated from contention. If Chapman scores 11 or more points than Wexler, the German is eliminated from contention. Welcome to Brazil, the penultimate race weekend of the 2017 season and it is going to be a good one.

Last year, the race was drowned in water and dry tyre strategy was limited to when to change for slicks, but it is predicted to stay dry this weekend, time to shine for the wannabe Champions. "I would love to clinch the WMC here in Rio. Such a great place, such great fans," said Harry Chapman before the Saturday, a day that started in bright sunlight.

Free practice saw two of the three stars drive laps on the ultrasoft tyre, Harry Chapman(1:27.539) and Dieter Wexler(1:27.605), Ellie Marsh in the top Lotus drove on the soft compound... and went fastest overall with a 1:27.406. "Got the highest engine mode and was allowed to push. Enjoyable lap," she conceded after free practice.

Qualifying started in dry conditions, and the same way it always does... with Iker Vidal leading the pack with Chapman behind him. Sector one... VIDAL -0.187 faster... Sector two... -0.359 faster! Vidal 1:24.666... CHAPMAN ONLY A 1:25.291! Wexler also slower in sector one... BUT NINA HOLTZ WITH A MAGICAL THIRD SECTOR! 1:24.385! She gained four tenth of a second in the final part of the lap for P1!

After the first attempt: Holtz, Vidal, Rodrigues, Wexler, Chapman! Once again, the #2 drivers rising to the occasion for Steinmann and Rossini!

But was there some lap time still out there... Rodrigues went out early.. no improvement... Wexler... stays P4... Vidal... pink in sector one... Chapman across... AND INTO THIRD, PAST BOTH ROSSINI CARS! HOLTZ SLOW... CAN VIDAL GRAB ANOTHER POLE?

No, he can not! 1:24.623! He messed up the second sector! Holtz on pole, Vidal besides him with Chapman, Rodrigues, Wexler and Woodford behind him.

Team Radio of the Day:
"What have you done there in the final sector? P1, P1" "Dunno how, but that one felt good.
Nina Holtz, Steinmann Motorsport after his P1 lap and a amazing third sector.

--

Some high flying clouds in the air with some sun, so this should REALLY be a dry race. We will go with the flow, aka the ultrasoft tyre at the start, and then soft -> soft or soft -> ultrasoft from there on, maybe split the strategy between our two drivers... as Jeremy did a great job in qualifying.

[Griever20]

Brazilian GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

November 29th, 2017

In 2007. Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkönen was 5 points behind McLaren driver Fernando Alonso, and 17 points behind World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton with two races to go. Raikkonen won both races, a maximum of 20 points and became World Champion.

Don't count out Iker Vidal, that is all I am saying. Here for the Brazilian GP, the Spanish ace starts from the front row and in front of the two leaders in the Championship. Don't sleep on the Lotus driver.

Can Nina Holtz run away with the lead and steal invaluable points for Harry Chapman. Will him and Wexler come forward? Will Rafael Rodrigues be a road block or a help for Wexler?

Chapman: 191 Points
Wexler: 176 Points
Vidal: 170 Points

Lap 1:

The cars are coming around for the formation lap on ultrasoft tyres for the top eight, and a mixture of tyres behind that. Vidal in the Steinmann sandwich, then the two Rossini'S and Jeremy Woodford... and the tension is rising...

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

VIDAL WITH A GREAT START, HE TAKES THE LEAD OFF THE LINE! CHAPMAN AND RODRIGUES START SLOW... WEXLER DASHES OUTSIDE AND GOES AHEAD INTO THE FIRST CORNER... STAYS AHEAD AND INTO THIRD PLACE!

And Wexler with a great run on the Árbol straight... past Holtz... AND THE GERMAN IS PAST VIDAL AND INTO THE LEAD! Chapman wide in the exit of three, falls back... into SEVENTH POSITION!

And VIDAL WITH THE COUNTER, INSIDE of the Ferra Dura... outside in the Pinheirinho... and LOSES OUT BIG TIME WHILE HOLTZ SLIPS BACK INTO THE LEAD!

What a lap!

1. Holtz 2. Wexler +0.5 3. Surikov +1.2
Vidal P4 +1.9
Chapman P7 +3.5
Woodford P12 +5.7

Lap 2:
And after a great run out of the final corner and over the start finish straight, the Rossini ace takes the lead again in the Senna 'S'.

"I'm struggling to get past that Panther," says Vidal...

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.6 3. Surikov +3.3
Vidal P4 +3.8
Chapman P5 +5.3
Woodford P10 +8.0

Lap 3:
Surikov is holding up the pack as Chapman starts to chase the Lotus ace...

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.8 3. Surikov +4.3
Vidal P4 +4.8
Chapman P5 +5.4
Woodford P9 +11.5

Lap 4:
And the chase ends in the Juncao corner, Chapman P4.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.8 3. Surikov +4.5
Chapman P4 +6.3
Vidal P5 +6.5
Woodford P9 +12.6

Lap 5:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.0 3. Surikov +5.1
Chapman P4 +7.1
Vidal P5 +8.1
Woodford P9 +14.1

Lap 6:
"Ok Nikolai, Chapman behind you has to conserve his tyres, just keep up the good work," via the Panther Race Team team radio. The Russian is driving a sensational first stint.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.1 3. Surikov +5.2
Chapman P4 +7.3
Vidal P5 +8.3
Woodford P9 +15.2

Lap 7:
"Try to get two more laps out of the tyre please," whispered the voice to Iker Vidal. That is about the expected life span for the the ultrasoft.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.5 3. Surikov +5.5
Chapman P4 +8.0
Vidal P5 +8.8
Woodford P9 +16.7

Lap 8:
1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.8 3. Surikov +5.4
Chapman P4 +7.0
Vidal P5 +8.9
Woodford P18 +42.1 PIT

Lap 9:
Vidal blinks first for fresh boots... soft trye? Is he going for a 1-stopper?

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +1.7 3. Surikov +5.8
Chapman P4 +6.9
Vidal P12 +33.6 PIT
Woodford P17 +43.0
He does try.

Lap 10:
THE LEADERS PIT AND THE STEINMANN BRAIN TRUST QUEUES UP THE CARS AGAIN! CHAPMAN FALLS BACK AS HOLTZ NEEDED A SUSPENSION REPAIR! VIDAL GAINS TRACK POSITION WITH THE UNDERCUT!

1. Surikov 2. Margate +5.3 3. Lipponen +6.8
Vidal P8 +25.0
Wexler P9 +27.5
Woodford P16 +35.1
Chapman P18 +41.0

Lap 11:
Vidal tries to get past Blanc and locked up his right front... went deep into the Pinherinho... and Wexler goes past.

1. Lipponen 2. Saarinen +3.1 3. Oliveira +9.6
Wexler P6 +15.8
Vidal P7 +16.0
Woodford P10 +24.1
Chapman P13 +29.4

Lap 12:
BEAUTIFUL WHEEL TO WHEEL RACING! Vidal and Wexler side by side through the infield... and the German stays ahead... for now.

1. Lipponen 2. Saarinen +3.1 3. Blanc +14.7
Wexler P4 +15.8
Vidal P5 +16.0
Woodford P8 +22.4
Chapman P13 +28.7

Lap 13:
1. Saarinen 2. Blanc +11.7 3. Wexler +12.8
Vidal P4 +12.8
Woodford P7 +19.5
Chapman P10 +26.6

Lap 14:
IS THIS THE MANOUVER THAT WILL DEFINE THIS RACE? Vidal this time down the inside in the Mergulho and swipes in front of Wexler who has to brake hard... and loses the place to Vidal and the drag race towards the Arquibancadas to Nina Holtz! Horrible lap for the Rossini driver!

1. Blanc 2. Vidal +0.7 3. Holtz +2.8
Wexler P4 +3.0
Woodford P5 +11.1
Chapman P10 +26.1

Lap 15:
But Blanc is still playing roadblock and costing Vidal time!

1. Blanc 2. Vidal +0.3 3. Holtz +0.7
Wexler P4 +1.7
Woodford P5 +4.3
Chapman P10 +15.2

Lap 16:
AND VIDAL WITH THE SAME MISTAKE! HE LOSES IT UNDER BRAKING AND FALLS BEHIND HOLTZ AND WEXLER AFTER A HARD FIGHT! WHAT A RACE!

1. Blanc 2. Holtz +0.7 3. Wexler +1.9
Vidal P4 +2.5
Woodford P5 +3.0
Chapman P10 +15.1

Lap 17:
1. Blanc 2. Holtz +0.5 3. Wexler +1.6
Vidal P4 +2.2
Chapman P7 +16.1
Woodford P19 +26.9

Lap 18:
Blanc pits and is out of the way, but that is secondary now as Wexler blitzes past Holtz with a AMAZING MOVE into the Senna 'S'. He really was the latest of late brakers.

"Iker, we need you to get past Holtz for the Championship." If things stay this way, he is 26 points behind Chapman after the race.

1. Wexler 2. Holtz +0.2 3. Vidal +0.7
Chapman P5 +14.5
Woodford P19 +26.5

Lap 19:
AND HE DOES THAT WITH A SWEET MOVE!

1. Wexler 2. Vidal +0.3 3. Holtz +2.2
Chapman P5 +14.4
Woodford P16 +26.2

Lap 20:
AND NOW WEXLER GETS ABSOLUTELY SNACKED IN THE INFIELD SECTION! VIDAL INTO THE LEAD WITH EIGHT LAPS TO GO!

1. Vidal 2. Wexler +1.4 3. Holtz +1.5
Chapman P4 +14.1
Woodford P11 +26.9

Lap 21:
Via Sky Sports Ted Kravitz: Vidal saved up fuel in the first stint and at the start of the second for this occasion, can run a high engine mode for the next 3-4 laps.

1:30.626 for him... 1:30.125 for Chapman! AND Holtz swipes past Wexler for second place!

1. Vidal 2. Holtz +2.5 3. Wexler +3.1
Chapman P4 +14.0
Woodford P9 +28.0

Lap 22:
Championship Update, if the race finishes like this:

Chapman 203P
Wexler 195P
Vidal 191P

Steinmann 348P Wins Constructors
Rossini 300P

1. Vidal 2. Holtz +2.9 3. Wexler +3.7
Chapman P4 +13.8
Woodford P8 +28.8

Lap 23:
AND THAT IS FOR NAUGHT AS THE PRANCING HORSE COMES BACK AND TAKES SECOND PLACE WITH A GREAT RUN OUT OF THE FINAL CORNER!

Not quite the Constructors then...

1. Vidal 2. Wexler +4.6 3. Holtz +3.7
Chapman P4 +13.9
Woodford P8 +29.0

Lap 24:
"Iker, engine more three, engine mode three, save the tyres, save the tyres!"

Championship Update, if the race finishes like this:

Chapman 203P
Vidal 195P
Wexler 194P

Steinmann 345P
Rossini 303P

1. Vidal 2. Wexler +4.1 3. Holtz +5.0
Chapman P4 +14.1
Woodford P7 +29.5

Lap 25:
1. Vidal 2. Wexler +3.6 3. Holtz +5.0
Chapman P4 +13.1
Woodford P7 +29.2

Lap 26:
1. Vidal 2. Wexler +3.8 3. Holtz +5.6
Chapman P4 +13.1
Woodford P7 +29.9

Lap 27:
Will the Silver Arrows order Holtz to slow down and let Chapman past? He would gain three invaluable points.

1. Vidal 2. Wexler +3.8 3. Holtz +4.5
Chapman P4 +14.0
Woodford P7 +31.6

Final Lap:
THEY DO NOT! BUT THROUGH ALL OF THAT, THE BIG WINNER IS IKER VIDAL FOR THE ICONIC LOTUS BRAND. The Spaniard catapults himself 8 points behind Chapman and into second place in the Drivers WC, behind a fuming Chapman once again!

1. Vidal 2. Wexler +3.6 3. Holtz +4.8
Chapman P4 +14.8
Woodford P7 +32.2

[Griever20]

Brazilian GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

November 29th, 2017

This race had nearly everything. Strategy drama. Thrilling overtakes. Championship fights. Fuming drivers on the team radio. Team principals that lost their nerves. Only a huge shunt and some rain was missing.

Still, the result remains the same. Iker Vidal in the Lotus with some great late form in the 2017 season puts this one into the books as a win and is working on becoming an icon in his home country of Spain.

"We just knew that Blanc, who is an excellent defensive driver, would be a problem till he pits, and so we decided to save fuel for a final dash towards the end. That we would get past so easily, I actually did not expect," said Vidal after another emotional podium.

Happy German:
"We made the most out of it. That black and gold car simply was too fast... again." While Dieter Wexler did a good job and eventually finished second, his team principal nearly lost it when he made a mistake during the race, losing two places.

Mr. Agostini hit the desk in front of him hard, causing his water bottle to spill... all over the invaluable electronics of the Rossini command center. "They lost communication with their home base in Maranello, lost the telemetry with both cars and Agostini's water," via German TV pitlane reporter Kai Ebel.

Fuming Brit:
"This team is a ******* joke. I am driving for a World Championship. A. World. Championship. And they queue me behind that ******* car in the pit and then don't let me through late to get those three points. Just a joke," was the statement of Harry Chapman before he left the race track without speaking to any team personal.

No higher echolon people from Steinmann were available for comment, but this won't go down well in Brackley, and in Stuttgart where their big partner Mercedes sits.

After Fifteen Races:
The race is open. Vidal. Chapman. Wexler. The UAE GP. That one will be a show.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

First, the good news. Iker Vidal drove a good, sensible race, showing his overtaking skills... the good skills, and the bad ones when he lost some places in traffic. Jeremy unsurprisingly was not able to keep up the pace quite like Iker and with his... flat spot problem, a 1-stopper was no option, so he drove a quick 2-stopper for second place.

Now, the bad news. Vidal won't win the World Drivers Championship. Period.

Why? The prick decided that he is the king of the world and is running around with quite an inflated ego these days... which does not go well with me, does not go well with his engineers, and does not go well with his race engineer. And that means that setting up the car for maximum performance through weight stripping... will be... hard. And without that, our car is not fast enough to compete, I fear.

Development Report:
Not much news. The design guys are doing their work on the suspension and the engineers are doing their work on the rear wing to ooze the last bit of performance out of it.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 3rd
Gearbox: 7th
Brakes: 6th
Front Wing: 6th
Suspension: 7th
Rear Wing: 1st
Overall: 5th

That rear wing is a beauty. A little bit of work here, a little bit of weight reduction here, a little bit of drag reduction there... and we have the best rear wing in the paddock. Sweet. We are currently working to get some additional performance out of the highly illegal suspension we built, right now it is pretty much equal to our best part that is on Vidal's car. And that is it for development for 2017.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
La Paz Telecom(2/4) $750k upfront
Broadlake Clothing(6/15) $1M upfront, $650k per race
Max Velocity(8/10) $1M upfront, $800k per race

Race Bonus Sponsors:
El Banco(7/7) $3M upfront, $1M bonus pool for 3rd or above
Viking(4/4) $2M upfront, $1.4M bonus pool for 1st
Football Manager(4/4) $1M upfront, $600k bonus pool for 7th or above

On the financial side, we are $26.9M in the green, which means we should be able to get the same suppliers again for 2018 and take a look at a new building for our HQ maybe...

The Track:
The final round, and the shootout for two World Championshi Trophies, will be hold in Dubai once again, the UAE Grand Prix. Located in a incredible expansive dream track, top speed, brakes and the rear wing(!) are crucial here, and concentration for drivers. Last year, numerous drivers went off the track and dug themselves a hole in the sand, and that could be a killer for any Championship bid.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
According to rumors, there has been some tension between Iker Vidal, team boss Dan Martinson, and his race engineer Stuart Yarnham, and most of those were aimed at the Spainard. He has been rather vocal about his role in this team and Championship and seems to think he is the center of the universe these days...

Trying to defend fourth in the WDC, Windsor's Aki Lipponen used the break between races to take part in a meditation class and seems to use that to focus his thoughts before sessions. Whatever works.

"Little steps," said Van Dort team principal Eva Nesterova about their new gearbox. "We have to get ready for 2018 after losing in the Constructor's." The gearbox is regarded as the fifth best on the grid.

Only a small performance boost, but a performance boost as Dieter Wexler's red rocket will have a new nose, aka a new front wing for Dubai. Rossini changed a lot of things on the front wind endplate.

What they should've built... a rear wing maybe as they fell behind Windsor in rear downforce. Pat Russell and his crew found a more clever solution for the DRS system on the rear wing.