F1RMGP presents: the 2014 Women's European Cup

[dinizintheoven]

And you said ATS Rial was a terrible choice.

I admit, I never saw that Spa result coming... never in a million years.

[Bleu]

Good thing that Allemann also managed to score some points. It's quite a close race outside of Ickx in this championship, so I hope that Kimiläinen will improve in the remainder of the season.

[SuperAguri]

Well we are delighted with the strong performance of Kazumi Mikami, we believe we can surpass the Isle of (wo)Man team for 9th.

[golic_2004]

Who has just started the rumor of *takes a long deep breath* The COPE TWINS coming in to replace a couple of the drivers? Is this Bernie's doing? I feel it could be mostly a publicity stunt mainly because they are not known for their open wheel ranks but rather in NASCAR, where Amber and Angela are the nieces of 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope. And they have never raced full-time either to my knowledge.

[Nessafox]

I believe miss Ickx is using illegal driver aids, theres no way anyone could drive a car like that.... she must be a man in disquise!

First of all, i don't have aids, i always have safe sex! Second, you really want to feel what i mean by rekordmistress now you're calling me a man? Oh boy, you will regret this...

Considering Minardiva's is the only team with a legal car, we could say Simona is the actual champion of the series

Simona was however unavailable for comments, as being teammate of ickx had been very traumatic.

[DanielPT]

I believe miss Ickx is using illegal driver aids, theres no way anyone could drive a car like that.... she must be a man in disquise!

First of all, i don't have aids, i always have safe sex!

Flavio can assure anyone that this is true. Serious blood analysis were made. Flavio is a careful man!

[dinizintheoven]

Round 10: Estoril, Portugal
Friday, 17 October 2014

THE GRID

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1 –    5  SWNSNBM           Team America WEC   1'27.792
2 –    4  S. de Silvestro   Minardivas         1'27.796
3 –    7  M. Mouton         Toleman WEC        1'28.168
4 –    98 L. Lombardi       American Rejects   1'28.683
5 –    6  S. Fisher         Team America WEC   1'28.689
6 –    14 D. Galica         AGS WEC            1'28.849
7 –    3  V. Ickx           Minardivas         1'28.966
8 –    15 K. Legge          AGS WEC            1'29.290
9 –    22 K. Ihara          Super Reppu!       1'29.335
10 –   69 A. Powell         Isle of (wo)Man    1'30.251
11 –   2  A. Beatriz        Lola Bunny         1'30.493
12 –   0  S. Wolff          Lola Bunny         1'30.782

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13 –   16 E. Kimiläinen     Simtek WEC         1'30.937
14 –   39 N. Gachnang       ATS Rial WEC       1'31.011
15 –   19 R. Frey           Milk & Doughnuts   1'31.346
16 –   8  P. Mann           Toleman WEC        1'31.668
17 –   17 C. Allemann       Simtek WEC         1'31.704
18 –   99 M. Bumgarner      American Rejects   1'31.943
19 –   38 G. Amati          ATS Rial WEC       1'32.063
20 –   24 P. Cow            Prostine           1'32.142
21 –   25 K. Andrews        Prostine           1'32.670
22 –   18 M. Duno           Milk & Doughnuts   1'32.713
23 –   70 N. Firman         Isle of (wo)Man    1'33.061
24 –   23 K. Mikami         Super Reppu!       1'33.187

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----------------------------------- 107% time: 1'33.937

The whole season's a dead rubber now, but nobody told SWNSNBM. Determined to extract a last storming performance from her ailing American chassis, she held off the challenge of Simona de Silvestro for pole, so that for once, the Minardiva underdog could lead the way in that team. Equally determined was Michèle Mouton, firmly believing she should have won a couple of races by now, and from third on the grid, anything's possible. Lella Lombardi was so chuffed with fourth she nearly blew a fuse (and for a hologrammatic driver that's a severe problem), Sarah Fisher and Divina Galica were delighted just to have beaten the newly-crowned champion. Katherine Legge's fine run of form continued, Keiko Ihara rediscovered hers, and Alice Powell was once again mixing it with the top ten, with the two Lola Bunnies – their parent Lola team making its second to last appearance – immediately behind. Emma Kimiläinen led the second half of the grid in front of Natacha Gachnang, even if that's not a lot to shout about, with a disappointed Rahel Frey and an utterly dejected Pippa Mann on the next row. Cyndie Allemann, Michele Bumgarner and Giovanna Amati have been rooted deep into the rear rows of the grid recently, but – let's have a party in the Prostine garage – Pippa Cow and Karen Andrews found themselves ahead of three further cars. A shocker each from Milka Duno and Natasha Firman sealed them 22nd and 23rd on the grid, while for Kazumi Mikani – welcome to life in the political cauldron of Super Reppu!.



CLASSIFICATION

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1 –    4  S. de Silvestro   Minardivas         71   1h 51'08.162
2 –    7  M. Mouton         Toleman WEC        71   1h 51'52.843
3 –    3  V. Ickx           Minardivas         71   1h 52'00.705
4 –    14 D. Galica         AGS WEC            71   1h 52'02.491
5 –    6  S. Fisher         Team America WEC   71   1h 52'17.311
6 –    22 K. Ihara          Super Reppu!       70   + 1 lap
7 –    69 A. Powell         Isle of (wo)Man    70   + 1 lap
8 –    15 K. Legge          AGS WEC            70   + 1 lap
9 –    98 L. Lombardi       American Rejects   70   + 1 lap
10 –   2  A. Beatriz        Lola Bunny         70   + 1 lap
11 –   39 N. Gachnang       ATS Rial WEC       69   + 2 laps
12 –   19 R. Frey           Milk & Doughnuts   69   + 2 laps

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13 –   17 C. Allemann       Simtek WEC         69   + 2 laps
14 –   16 E. Kimiläinen     Simtek WEC         69   + 2 laps
15 –   24 P. Cow            Prostine           68   + 3 laps
16 –   23 K. Mikami         Super Reppu!       67   + 4 laps
17 –   5  SWNSNBM           Team America WEC   65   + 6 laps
18 –   0  S. Wolff          Lola Bunny         49   puncture
19 –   8  P. Mann           Toleman WEC        38   water leak
20 –   99 M. Bumgarner      American Rejects   36   crash
21 –   18 M. Duno           Milk & Doughnuts   26   engine
22 –   25 K. Andrews        Prostine           16   crash
23 –   70 N. Firman         Isle of (wo)Man    11   engine
24 –   38 G. Amati          ATS Rial WEC       4    crash

SWNSNBM really wanted to win the race. So did Michèle Mouton. In the end, neither did, and now, at least one of them will go winless for the season. Mouton's catastrophic start that shoved her back to fifth didn't help, but she did manage to claw her way upwards – just not enough to challenge Simona de Silvestro who shook a whole pack of screaming monkeys off her back and, for once, took the bragging rights in the Minardivas garage – as well as a huge trophy. I'm sure Vanina will say she let her less glamorous team-mate have the win, but then, Simona did have to think about the incensed Frenchie behind her... who, in the end, was left trailing by 44 seconds. Outside the podium, Divina Galica scored another fourth place and Sarah Fisher was not too far behind, they being the last drivers on the lead lap. But Keiko Ihara won't mind too much, having just scored Super Reppu!'s best ever result, as well as that vital sixth place counting towards a potential unrejectification, and it's put the team ahead of American Rejects in the standings. Equally over the moon was Alice Powell, now scoring three successive points finishes in three races, and it's not beyond the realms of possibility that Isle of (wo)Man could beat Milk & Doughnuts by the end of the year. Katherine Legge, Lella Lombardi and Ana Beatriz rounded off the points positions, and also the one-lapped runners.

Two laps down and with a zero for the scoreboard was Natacha Gachnang, still daydreaming about Spa and with her eye off the ball, as was Rahel Frey... and Emma Kimiläinen, finishing out the points for the first time without retiring and beaten, unusually, by her team-mate. Behind the two Simteks... strike me down with a feather from the world's tiniest bird, Pippa Cow has managed to finish not last, and was even a lap ahead of Kazumi Mikami. Dead last in qualifying, painfully slow in the race, team-mate in sixth, what a terrible weekend, which finishes with Reject Of The Race. The last classified finisher, though, was SWNSNBM – who barely made the line, six laps down, her engine spluttering horribly like a bag of rusty nails. If Team America are to go out with a bang, I'd put my money on said bang being followed by an enormous cloud of white smoke.

As for the retirements: Giovanna Amati was the first, flinging her car off the road at the end of the home straight after only four laps. Isle of (wo)Man's charge to eighth in the standings was restrained somewhat by Natasha Firman's engine screaming for mercy after 11 laps, otherwise she might have grabbed a point or two; the same fate befell Milka Duno on lap 27. Karen Andrews ran out of talent after 16 laps, as did Michele Bumgarner at the midpoint of the race. Debris from her crash punctured the radiator of the hapless Pippa Mann, and her Toleman ground to a halt two laps later, spraying the contents of its radiator everywhere, though it could have been worse – at least it wasn't oil. The last victim was Susie Wolff, finding more of those sharp shards of carbon fibre to end up with three wheels and a flapping tyre carcass on her wagon, which ended her race.

One more to go... the prizes may have been handed out, but who will secure what place in the final tables?



DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
Done and dusted, as we know.

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1 –  * 3  V. Ickx           Minardivas         192
2 –    4  S. de Silvestro   Minardivas         105
3 –    7  M. Mouton         Toleman WEC        99
4 –    6  S. Fisher         Team America WEC   79
5 –    14 D. Galica         AGS WEC            74
6 –    39 N. Gachnang       ATS Rial WEC       62
7 –    0  S. Wolff          Lola Bunny         56
8 –    15 K. Legge          AGS WEC            52
9 –    5  SWNSNBM           Team America WEC   49
10 –   2  A. Beatriz        Lola Bunny         46
11 –   16 E. Kimiläinen     Simtek WEC         43
12 –   38 G. Amati          ATS Rial WEC       22

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13 –   19 R. Frey           Milk & Doughnuts   21
14 =   18 M. Duno           Milk & Doughnuts   20
14 =   69 A. Powell         Isle of (wo)Man    20
16 –   70 N. Firman         Isle of (wo)Man    15
17 –   22 K. Ihara          Super Reppu!       14
18 –   98 L. Lombardi       American Rejects   12
19 –      J. Kleinschmidt   Toleman WEC        8
20 =   99 M. Bumgarner      American Rejects   6
20 =   23 K. Mikami         Super Reppu!       6
22 –      J. Mihara         Super Reppu!       4
23 =   17 C. Allemann       Simtek WEC         2
23 =   8  P. Mann           Toleman WEC        2
25 –   24 P. Cow            Prostine           1

TEAMS' CHAMPIONSHIP
Hey, there's still a race for second...

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1 –  * Minardivas                      297
2 –    Team America WEC                128
3 –    AGS WEC                         126
4 –    Toleman WEC                     109
5 –    Lola Bunny                      102
6 –    ATS Rial WEC                    84
7 –    Simtek WEC                      45
8 –    Milk & Doughnuts / Monteverdi   41
9 –    Isle of (wo)Man / Stefan        35
10 –   Super Reppu! / Super Aguri      24
11 –   American Rejects / DAMS         18
12 –   Prostine                        1

[dr-baker]

Well, after that dreadful qualifying, I just had to push in the race, but it looks like the engine couldn't take the strain.

[dinizintheoven]

I say we should get this championship over and done with.

Round 11: Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Friday, 24 October 2014

THE GRID

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1 –    4  S. de Silvestro   Minardivas         1'30.709
2 –    7  M. Mouton         Toleman WEC        1'31.133
3 –    6  S. Fisher         Team America WEC   1'31.486
4 –    8  P. Mann           Toleman WEC        1'31.488
5 –    19 R. Frey           Milk & Doughnuts   1'31.871
6 –    5  SWNSNBM           Team America WEC   1'32.030
7 –    16 E. Kimiläinen     Simtek WEC         1'32.067
8 –    39 N. Gachnang       ATS Rial WEC       1'32.102
9 –    15 K. Legge          AGS WEC            1'32.297
10 –   69 A. Powell         Isle of (wo)Man    1'32.351
11 –   23 K. Mikami         Super Reppu!       1'33.194
12 –   98 L. Lombardi       American Rejects   1'33.262
13 –   3  V. Ickx           Minardivas         1'33.272

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14 –   38 G. Amati          ATS Rial WEC       1'33.298
15 –   2  A. Beatriz        Lola Bunny         1'33.373
16 –   14 D. Galica         AGS WEC            1'33.497
17 –   0  S. Wolff          Lola Bunny         1'33.686
18 –   70 N. Firman         Isle of (wo)Man    1'33.772
19 –   22 K. Ihara          Super Reppu!       1'34.615
20 –   17 C. Allemann       Simtek WEC         1'34.618
21 –   24 P. Cow            Prostine           1'34.842
22 –   18 M. Duno           Milk & Doughnuts   1'35.781
23 –   99 M. Bumgarner      American Rejects   1'36.972

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----------------------------------- 107% time: 1'37.059
DNQ –  25 K. Andrews        Prostine           1'39.986

One last pole to be won, for what it's worth, and it's gone to a Minardiva. And because Vanina Icka couldn't be bothered any more, it was Simona de Silvestro who took it – salvaging a bit more pride in a season where she's usually been blown into the weeds. Again, Michèle Mouton took up the fight at the front, but couldn't find those last four tenths needed to take that last pole. Sarah Fisher made a valiant attempt at putting an American-built car up the front for what may be the last time ever, while Pippa Mann finally found some form – ten races too late – to take fourth for Toleman. Rahel Frey once again showed what can be done in a Monteverdi if the wind's blowing her way, followed by a pack of SWNSNBM, Emma Kimiläinen, Natacha Gachnang, Katherine Legge and Alice Powell all within three and a half tenths of each other. Kazumi Mikami recovered from her trial by fire at Estoril, beat Lella Lombardi in doing so and also the undisputed qualifying queen... but then, Vanina decided to have a day off and phoned in her performance, recording only one banker lap then disappearing for a coffee and a bag of chips. In the second half of the grid, Giovanna Amati rescued herself slightly from her recent pit of despair, while Ana Beatriz and Susie Wolff found themselves sandwiching a frustrated Divina Galica, who's usually performed far better than this. Natasha Firman yet again let her young upstart of a team-mate get the better of her, as did Keiko Ihara – she is, after all, the senior driver at Super Reppu! these days. And, at the back, it's the usual suspects – another torrid afternoon for Cyndie Allemann, barely a tenth ahead of perennial back-marker Pippa Cow. Still, the bovinely-named driver did, again, manage to beat a couple of the drivers in faster cars, namely Milka Duno and Michele Bumgarner, who have both looked about as useful as a solar-powered torch recently. But most useless of all was Karen Andrews – finishing the season with a third ignominious DNQ and missing the cut by a yawning chasm of as near as makes no difference three seconds. Sacre Bleu, Prostine.



CLASSIFICATION

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1 –    4  S. de Silvestro   Minardivas         69   1h 50'08.198
2 –    7  M. Mouton         Toleman WEC        69   1h 51'25.168
3 –    8  P. Mann           Toleman WEC        68   + 1 lap
4 –    16 E. Kimiläinen     Simtek WEC         68   + 1 lap
5 –    15 K. Legge          AGS WEC            68   + 1 lap
6 –    19 R. Frey           Milk & Doughnuts   68   + 1 lap
7 –    69 A. Powell         Isle of (wo)Man    68   + 1 lap
8 –    3  V. Ickx           Minardivas         68   + 1 lap
9 –    98 L. Lombardi       American Rejects   67   + 2 laps
10 –   14 D. Galica         AGS WEC            67   + 2 laps
11 –   2  A. Beatriz        Lola Bunny         66   + 3 laps
12 –   22 K. Ihara          Super Reppu!       66   + 3 laps

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13 –   0  S. Wolff          Lola Bunny         66   + 3 laps
14 –   24 P. Cow            Prostine           66   + 3 laps
15 –   18 M. Duno           Milk & Doughnuts   65   + 4 laps
16 –   39 N. Gachnang       ATS Rial WEC       64   water leak
17 –   23 K. Mikami         Super Reppu!       34   suspension
18 –   6  S. Fisher         Team America WEC   26   puncture
19 –   70 N. Firman         Isle of (wo)Man    24   transmission
20 –   99 M. Bumgarner      American Rejects   20   engine
21 –   17 C. Allemann       Simtek WEC         11   crash
22 –   38 G. Amati          ATS Rial WEC       3    transmission
23 –   5  SWNSNBM           Team America WEC   1    brakes

And so, the highly rated Michèle Mouton, president of the Women & Motor Sport Association, winner of four WRC rallies, ended the F1RMGP WEC season without standing on the top step of the podium – and what was her undoing was her starts, especially in these later races. This one was no different; second to fifth in one corner, sixth at the end of the first lap, goodbye Simona, that was that. The Swiss driver could barely believe her luck at seeing the cloud of tyre smoke beside her that saw an astonished Pippa Mann jump into second place. That was no fluke, either; a lap down she may have been at the finish, having to concede to Mouton for whom being the only other driver on the lead lap was no consolation, and scrapping with Sarah Fisher until her exit from the race – there were tears of joy on the podium as an entire season's worth of frustration with a back-of-the-midfield car, an ignominious sacking and a rescue operation by Flavio Briatore who probably had other intentions, were suddenly vapourised. The taste of champagne, after all, was also the taste of unrejectification, for which we'd all have been given very long odds.

Outside the podium but still in the points were Emma Kimiläinen, equalling her best result this year, Katherine Legge putting one over her team-mate, Rahel Frey getting her form (and that mass of hair) back in order, and... there's Alice Powell again, scoring another haul of points; four out of four in the car that Pippa Mann scored a blank in over seven races, but how will the 21-year-old rookie feel given that she is still shackled to rejectdom (and, worse still, was running 6th for several laps...), and her predecessor isn't? Someone give her a front-of-the-field car next year, for definite. As for the rest: Vanina was no threat, and would happily have given up all her points had other cars not dropped out in front of her; her moment of glory was weeks ago. Lella Lombardi scored again, but not enough to haul her ahead of Keiko Ihara in the final standings, who hasn't had a full season. Finally, Divina Galica was lucky to score; she's had better days. Outside the points and three laps down – Ana Beatriz, Keiko Ihara and Susie Wolff all had a race to forget, finishing line astern at the end and with Pippa Cow threatening to beat the lot of them... that'd not go down well with any team boss other than Nicolas Prost. And, bringing up the rear, Milka Duno, thrashed again, and there was nothing wrong with her car. But the wooden spoon does not go to her.

It was the last race for the subsidiaries of four teams in this championship. Prost and DAMS have merged, so technically, the cars races by Prostine (to no effect whatsoever) and American Rejects (to little more) still have their parent companies alive, and the SPAM PD-12 will most likely make an appearance in the 2015 WEC. Lola are dead and buried, but despite their lowly positions, at least both cars made it to the finish. But, Team America's intention to go out with a bang – as widely predicted – was the wrong sort of bang. The drivers were utterly blameless; the cars failed as badly as everyone around had a sinking suspicion they would. SWNSNBM's brake discs shattered into a million pieces and she hurtled off the track after only one lap; Sarah Fisher was battling hard with Pippa Mann for third place, being just ahead of the Manx driver, until her rear bodywork spontaneously tore itself to pieces, puncturing both rear tyres and leaving her stranded at the side of the track. It was a forlorn sight to behold for a team that was fancied to do well as the parent team had done in F1RMGP 2011. Instead, this latest double-retirement meant Team America fell from second to fourth in the Teams' Championship at the final hurdle, and so the shocking capitulation of the Team America USA=#1forever chassis is what so richly deserves Reject Of The Race. This American machine is most definitely not number one, and now sits on a scrapheap forever.

Natacha Gachnang was the other unlucky retirement. Having been punted into a spin at the start by a black belt move from Kazumi Mikami, she spent the race hacking through the field like an axe murderer, making it up to a respectable ninth and swarming all over Vanina Ickx's Minardi for that eighth place. Then... her radiator sprang a leak and her race was run within sight of the flag. That was a bad day for ATS Rial, with Giovanna Amati's improved qualifying coming to nothing with gearbox trouble after only three laps. Cyndie Allemann had an unprovoked excursion into a tyre wall, thus finishing her season on much the same low note as it had been most of the way through; Michele Bumgarner's engine vandalised itself à la Jeremy Clarkson in a Maserati Merak; Natasha Forman could do nothing about her box full of neutrals, and Kazuki Mikami had her suspension fail on her, possibly due to her start-line excursion.

So, this championship is over. Maybe it wasn't quite as exciting as the main F1RMGP series – but at least some of you got to participate.



DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL TABLE

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1 –  * 3  V. Ickx           Minardivas         196
2 –    4  S. de Silvestro   Minardivas         130
3 –    7  M. Mouton         Toleman WEC        117
4 –    6  S. Fisher         Team America WEC   79
5 –    14 D. Galica         AGS WEC            75
6 –    39 N. Gachnang       ATS Rial WEC       62 (one win)
7 –    15 K. Legge          AGS WEC            62 (one 4th)
8 –    0  S. Wolff          Lola Bunny         56
9 –    16 E. Kimiläinen     Simtek WEC         55
10 –   5  SWNSNBM           Team America WEC   49
11 –   2  A. Beatriz        Lola Bunny         46
12 –   19 R. Frey           Milk & Doughnuts   29

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13 –   69 A. Powell         Isle of (wo)Man    26
14 –   38 G. Amati          ATS Rial WEC       22
15 –   18 M. Duno           Milk & Doughnuts   20
16 –   8  P. Mann           Toleman WEC        17
17 –   70 N. Firman         Isle of (wo)Man    15
18 –   22 K. Ihara          Super Reppu!       14 (one 6th)
19 –   98 L. Lombardi       American Rejects   14 (one 7th)
20 –      J. Kleinschmidt   Toleman WEC        8
21 –   23 K. Mikami         Super Reppu!       6 (no DNQ)
22 –   99 M. Bumgarner      American Rejects   6 (one DNQ)
23 –      J. Mihara         Super Reppu!       4
24 –   17 C. Allemann       Simtek WEC         2
25 –   24 P. Cow            Prostine           1

By the way, the way F1RMGP's rules are, where a lower number of DNQs is counted for final standings before best result: that's put Michele Bumgarner (one 7th, one 11th) behind Kazumi Mikami (one 7th, one 16th) in the final table. Also, that's meant that Yuri Mitsui, who could only manage 16th in a single finish, stayed ahead of Karen Andrews, who amazingly managed an 11th - but failed to qualify three times. Such is the importance of staying ahead of that 107% time!



TEAMS' CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL TABLE

Code: Select all

1 –  * Minardivas                      326
2 –    Toleman WEC                     142
3 –    AGS WEC                         137
4 –    Team America WEC                128
5 –    Lola Bunny                      102
6 –    ATS Rial WEC                    84
7 –    Simtek WEC                      57
8 –    Milk & Doughnuts / Monteverdi   49
9 –    Isle of (wo)Man / Stefan        41
10 –   Super Reppu! / Super Aguri      24
11 –   American Rejects / DAMS         20
12 –   Prostine                        1

A FINAL CHECK ON UNREJECTIFICATION...

Totally unrejectified:

Ickx, SWNSNBM, Fisher, Amati (San Marino); Mouton, Kimiläinen (Monaco); Galica (Andorra); de Silvestro, Beatriz, Gachnang (France); Wolff (Great Britain); Legge (Germany); Frey (Hungary); Mann (Spain).

On the way and rolling over to another season:

Powell (one 5th); Duno (two 6ths); Firman, Ihara (one 6th).

[dinizintheoven]

Here are the final tables in graphical form, before I get round to updating the wiki, or before anyone else does:


DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP - MARIA TERESA DE FILIPPIS CUP



TEAMS' CHAMPIONSHIP - BERTHA BENZ CUP

[dinizintheoven]

The big question...

So... should I do this again? Who wants a 2015 season... eventually?

Rejectfulness

I also want feedback on who the season's awards should go to.

Reject Of The Year: Let's see. Should it be Karen Andrews, the slowest driver in the field, the only one to complete the season without scoring a single point, and with more DNQs than anyone else? Should it be Yuri Mitsui, for being the first driver to be replaced and the only one not driving for Prostine to record a blank? Should it be Michele Bumgarner or Junko Mihara, who both managed to stray outside 107% also despite not driving for Prostine? Should it be Cyndie Allemann, who could only manage two points in a car capable of a torrent of points finishes? Should it be Jutta Kleinschmidt, who her team boss openly refused to acknowledge and was well and truly blown into the weeds despite being one of the highest rated drivers in the field? Or... should it be Vanina Ickx for making the season a Vettel-esque foregone conclusion, or everyone who's not Vanina Ickx for failing to stop her until it was too late?

You Lucky Bastard(ess): Two obvious candidates, one is Giovanna Amati who unrejectified herself in the first race, scored again in the second race and them did precisely bathplug-all for the rest of the season while her team-mate recorded a win. Despite this, she stayed in the top half of the Drivers' Championship table with 22 points until the last race. The other, and more obvious candidate, is Pippa Mann whose promotion up the field after being sacked at Isle of (wo)Man was a bizarre occurrence and whose last-gasp escape from rejectdom despite being odds-on for ROTY after the tenth round of eleven was beyond the belief of even the most head-in-the-clouds fairytale writer. Or was it someone else?

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Year: Was it the utterly crushingly dominant form of Vanina Ickx in the first six races that marmalised the championship chances of everyone else, or was it the way her winning streak was suddenly ended at Spa by - of all people - Natacha Gachnang? Was it Susie Wolff's sudden burst out of anonymity at the next race in Hungary? Or maybe it was the way Emma Kimiläinen somehow managed to (almost) keep finishing in the points no matter who may be throwing it off the road around her, grinding her team-mate into the ground in the process, maybe it was the sudden arrival on the scene of Alice Powell, scoring four times out of four in a horribly inferior and hideously unreliable car, or - the one that was most against the odds - Pippa Cow managing to drag herself into the last points-scoring position at Hockenheim, despite her entire team being very firmly nailed to the back of the field? Who else could it be?

This is your chance, people, to write the final chapter of this season.

[DanielPT]

Pippa Mann third? Yes! I feel vindicated! My morale boosting personal sessions are the best!

And yes, you should do another season! I loved following it. I will think about the awards and come back with my votes!

[golic_2004]

Pippa Mann third? Yes! I feel vindicated! My morale boosting personal sessions are the best!

And yes, you should do another season! I loved following it. I will think about the awards and come back with my votes!

I agree. The Cope Twins, Amber and Angela, want to try out for the 2015 season.

[dr-baker]

Pippa Mann gets a podium? Where did that come from?

And come Isle of (wo)Man was only able to get one car to score at a time? Firman was doing all the scoring while Pippa scored none; then after the driver change, Firman scored none while Powell scored more than Firman ever did... HOW?

[Nessafox]

i'm slightly dissapointed with vanina.

[golic_2004]

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Year is Alice Powell

[dinizintheoven]

More votes! More, I say!

[DanielPT]

Reject Of The Year: Jutta Kleinschmidt.

Who is she after all?

You Lucky Bastard(ess): Pippa Mann

I managed to save her ass!

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Year:

It was totally unexpected that, in the same car as great Pippa Mann (she who managed to do something of that second Toleman who didn't existed for most of the season), she scored points in all races.

[SuperAguri]

So... should I do this again? Who wants a 2015 season... eventually?

Well we were happy with the season, it was a learning experience for us all. But we have resigned our drivers for 2015, but they are on rolling contracts just to keep them on their toes.

Reject Of The Year: Karen Andrews. She was useless, Mitsui may have been sacked but she would have scored a point if she stayed.

You Lucky Bastard(ess): Pippa Mann. Useless in the Isle of (wo)Man team. gets a 15th for Toleman and it looks like she was still useless, a 9th, well pah it's minor points but then gets 3rd in the last race, where did that come from?

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Year : Alice Powell, she is obviously talented and some top team should snap her up and not let her race in the dire car that is the I.O.W...

[dinizintheoven]

So, two votes in favour of a 2015 season... this I like. And I've already got some ideas on how I'll run it. It should shake up the order a bit and not have one driver turning all the others into pâté.

I warn you all, it won't be for a while, though - most likely I'll run the 2015 WEC season SIDE-O-BY-SIDE-O (© our favourite Japanese commentator) with the 2015 Main Series, and that will most likely not be until the summer - the idea is that as the 2014 F1RMGP season will end round about the time that the 2012 Real Life F1 season starts, so I will probably time the 2015 F1RMGP season to end as the five-week summer break in the 2012 Real Life F1 season does. Because, I think F1RMGP works best in times of Real Life F1 deprivation, and eurobrun won't have to panic.

I have got another idea to fill the in-between bits, though. More news of that on another thread.

[SuperAguri]

So, two votes in favour of a 2015 season... this I like. And I've already got some ideas on how I'll run it. It should shake up the order a bit and not have one driver turning all the others into pâté..

I am sure once you open it to entires then they will start to flood in. Siido bi siido!

[dr-baker]

Definitely keen on this. Already looking forward to the next season!

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Can I reserve a spot for next season

[Nessafox]

Scuderia Minardivas will try to do even better next season, be warned...

[dinizintheoven]

Can I reserve a spot for next season

No - you have to keep a watch on the announcements! I suspect the entry list will open when the 2015 F1RMGP thread is posted, i.e. when the new cars are revealed, then they'll close one race before the start of the European season. Which, given the mad scramble to get teams together for the season we've just had, should hardly be a problem.

Scuderia Minardivas will try to do even better next season, be warned...

The sign-up and chassis/driver allocation will be rather different next time round, be warned...

[dinizintheoven]

Right, just a reminder before I'm on some enforced internet downtime...

MORE VOTES!

Reject of the Year, Infinite Improbability Drive, You Luck Bastard(ess) - I want more!

[FMecha]

Two races left to F1RMGP main series - shall I start the silly season?
I have personally wished RWRS drivers (Tomo Kazama and Yuka Katayama) can drive for Super Reppu..

[golic_2004]

Two races left to F1RMGP main series - shall I start the silly season?
I have personally wished RWRS drivers (Tomo Kazama and Yuka Katayama) can drive for Super Reppu..

Double-Mint Team makes a bid for a spot next year with double the same person-or are the drivers twin sisters Amber and Angela Cope. Publicity stunt if they succeed.

[dinizintheoven]

You have a point - (in another one of those "serious real-life interludes" here) - the Main Series thread has now "caught up in time" with this one.

I'd be wary of doing too many "Silly Season" announcements, because nobody knows who's going to sign up and use what cars and what drivers. I suppose I could reveal the first bits of Official Series Management News to give an indication of how the series is going to run, though... which will follow in due course.

What I may as well reveal now, then, is that the Cope twins are going to be considered for the series, as they were mentioned part way through the season just gone.