The Junior Series Thread

Post by **Ataxia** » 21 Jul 2012, 16:35

There's only ONNNNEEEE Tom Dillmann...

Was last on lap 1 after he was touched and spun in T2, and battled up to 9th. Tyres left him at the end, didn't stop him from poaching places from Gutierrez and Ericsson. If Daniel De Jong ends up back in Tom's car next race, I will be most displeased.

[/bias]

Teixeira and Serenelli are in GP2 purely because of money. They are utter shite. I can't believe Teixeira just decided, "Screw your penalty, I'm not coming in", and Serenelli has spent more time off the road than on it over the weekend.

Cecotto and Richelmi were definitely on the right strategy. Brilliant drives by them, too.

Ferrarist · Post by **Ferrarist** » 22 Jul 2012, 10:43

Too much carnage and safety car in GP3's race two, which in my opinion ruined Abt's race. I mean, what is wrong with the cars that one tough landing could damage your back?

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 22 Jul 2012, 10:48

The more I think about it, the harder and harder it becomes for me to justify either Valsecchi or Razia winning this year's title or even how they've ended up in that position in the first place.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 23 Jul 2012, 13:47

BaconLettuceNinja wrote:Teixeira and Serenelli are in GP2 purely because of money. They are utter shite. I can't believe Teixeira just decided, "Screw your penalty, I'm not coming in", and Serenelli has spent more time off the road than on it over the weekend.

Having taken full advantage of my free weekend of Sky Sports F1 and watched the GP2 races... seriously, has there ever been a worse GP2 driver than Ricardo Teixeira? One of only four ever to post a DNQ, his qualifying time for Hockenheim should have seen him rack up another but somehow didn't, and as for the incidents with the flags... are Rapax so desperate for the Angolan cash that they'll take him on knowing he'll score a complete blank for the season and leave Tom Dillmann (and his temporary replacement) to do all the work, was Tony Fernandes so desperate for the cash last year as well that he was given a short drive in a T128? He must be the most rejectful driver to have driven an F1 car since Chanoch Nissany.

As for Venezuela GP Lazarus, who haven't exactly set the world on fire this year, the commentator mentioned that their line-up for this race was the oldest combination ever to race in GP2 at 56 years. I thought Plamen Kralev had joined GP2 a while back for a few laughs - was that the Asia series, or have I got my wires crossed and he's only ever driven in F2? Admittedly Tex didn't make quite such a muppet of himself in F2 as he has in two GP2 seasons, but I think that says more for the standard of the F2 field he was up against...

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 23 Jul 2012, 20:10

On the other hand, why is Simon Trummer so useless? 4 points compared to the (championship leading) 171 by teammate Luiz Razia. Trummer is the Massa of GP2 (well without the former being one point short of a championship, but you get my point), please sack them both.

Post by **Ataxia** » 23 Jul 2012, 20:24

JeremyMcClean wrote:On the other hand, why is Simon Trummer so useless? 4 points compared to the (championship leading) 171 by teammate Luiz Razia. Trummer is the Massa of GP2 (well without the former being one point short of a championship, but you get my point), please sack them both.

This is what partially annoys me. Dillmann's constantly fighting to keep his seat despite the fact that he's better than more than half the drivers on the grid, and then we have drivers like Teixeira, Serenelli, Trummer, Leal, Kral, Crestani and others who are just turd. Rodolfo Gonzalez looks pretty poor as well.

I mean, Barwa Addax were the top team last year, and are now 8th in the Teams' Champ. as Johnny Cecotto Jr (who's definitely improved) has scored every one of their 80 points. Josef Kral, though, has scored nothing.

I am obviously biased towards Dillmann, but I still think I have a valid point. Unfortunately, money talks.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 23 Jul 2012, 22:40

And further on that note, I'd say, see Pål Varhaug, otherwise (possibly) known as Norway's GP2 answer to Dave Walker. But was he actually that bad? Now he's dropped back to Auto GP and is second in the table... and I'm sure I heard reports that DAMS threw everything they could at Rrrrrmmmnn Grrrrjjjjnnn last year and left Pål to flounder on his own. Was that right?

Benetton · Post by **Benetton** » 23 Jul 2012, 23:01

Does any team have dibs on Mitch Evans? That guy is going to be great.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 24 Jul 2012, 06:10

Keep an eye on Pál Tamás Kiss too. He finished 7th and 4th in GP3 in Hockenheim.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 24 Jul 2012, 06:50

dinizintheoven wrote:seriously, has there ever been a worse GP2 driver than Ricardo Teixeira?

Yes. Her name is Carmen Jorda and she can't even qualify a GP3 car.

dinizintheoven wrote:As for Venezuela GP Lazarus, who haven't exactly set the world on fire this year

Can you blame them, though? They were a last-minute addition to the grid.

dinizintheoven wrote:I thought Plamen Kralev had joined GP2 a while back for a few laughs - was that the Asia series, or have I got my wires crossed and he's only ever driven in F2?

Yes, Kralev drove in GP2 Asia a few years ago before moving to Formula 2. Vladimir Arabadzhiev was the Bulgarian who competed in GP2 proper.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 24 Jul 2012, 08:28

dinizintheoven wrote:And further on that note, I'd say, see Pål Varhaug, otherwise (possibly) known as Norway's GP2 answer to Dave Walker. But was he actually that bad? Now he's dropped back to Auto GP and is second in the table... and I'm sure I heard reports that DAMS threw everything they could at Rrrrrmmmnn Grrrrjjjjnnn last year and left Pål to flounder on his own. Was that right?

I have yet to judge Varhaug, but I think current Auto GP leader Adrian Quaife-Hobbs has the potential to seriously go places if he gets to F1.

girry · Post by **girry** » 24 Jul 2012, 13:03

Well if you talk about a 'bad lower formula history' of Bottas I don't know how do you manage to twist Quaife-Hobbs as 'the next big thing'... :p

ok, he might be somewhere in the line for Marussia to do a diGrassi/d'Ambrosio/Pic (wouldn't be a wonder if soon Glock just quit altogether and Manorussia started swapping 2 drivers a season) but an Autogp title ... meh. Kevin Ceccon anyone?

---

GP2 has two huge problems, 1) too many pay drivers and 2) experience advantage. Even if youre lucky enough to obtain a place in a decent team the 4 year veterans have a big advantage and you're likely not to get enough sponsorship to have a go for another season; therefore biggest talents have started to move to other, significantly cheaper series...

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 24 Jul 2012, 16:46

eurobrun wrote:I have yet to judge Varhaug, but I think current Auto GP leader Adrian Quaife-Hobbs has the potential to seriously go places if he gets to F1.

Yeah, he is a very capable driver ... although he won't be going places. The name "Quaife-Hobbs" is like the antithesis of marketability: so he best be looking for a wife with a good-sounding name, otherwise he's bound to become "yet another Jean Alesi of this generation", not like that is a bad thing.

Post by **Nuppiz** » 24 Jul 2012, 16:54

Klon wrote:Yeah, he is a very capable driver ... although he won't be going places. The name "Quaife-Hobbs" is like the antithesis of marketability: so he best be looking for a wife with a good-sounding name, otherwise he's bound to become "yet another Jean Alesi of this generation", not like that is a bad thing.

Well, there's a previous example of a driver using a completely different name to attract more sponsors and helping him to get further in his career, namely JJ Lehto (at the suggestion of his manager Keke Rosberg). Jyrki Järvilehto was obviously too long and difficult to pronounce for foreigners, so they decided to shorten in to make it more striking and easier.

The question remains, which name would Quaife-Hobbs use? AR Hobbs (R is for Rodney, his middle name)?

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 24 Jul 2012, 20:10

Captain Hammer wrote:
dinizintheoven wrote:seriously, has there ever been a worse GP2 driver than Ricardo Teixeira?

Yes. Her name is Carmen Jorda and she can't even qualify a GP3 car.

Although, while you'd be well within your rights to single her out for rejectdom given that even Christophe Hurni managed to qualify at his GP3 outing, Carmen Jordá hasn't reached GP2... yet. I'll be watching to see if she does, mind...

Nuppiz wrote:
Klon wrote:Yeah, he is a very capable driver ... although he won't be going places. The name "Quaife-Hobbs" is like the antithesis of marketability: so he best be looking for a wife with a good-sounding name, otherwise he's bound to become "yet another Jean Alesi of this generation", not like that is a bad thing.

Well, there's a previous example of a driver using a completely different name to attract more sponsors and helping him to get further in his career, namely JJ Lehto (at the suggestion of his manager Keke Rosberg). Jyrki Järvilehto was obviously too long and difficult to pronounce for foreigners, so they decided to shorten in to make it more striking and easier. The question remains, which name would Quaife-Hobbs use? AR Hobbs (R is for Rodney, his middle name)?

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs sounds like one of those old-school drivers from the days of the "gentleman amateur". He doesn't need to change his name, he needs to ditch the emo haircut (or at least comb it backwards), grow a thin moustache and brush up on his Terry-Thomas act, and he'll be winning races in a class higher than Auto GP in no time. Drawing attention to the fact that his middle name is Rodney is the worst thing he could do, given all the connotations with a yellow three-wheeled van that it carries...

Jyrki Järvilehto may have been difficult for us foreign types to pronounce, but at least he wasn't called Yrjö Höyryjyrä. That'd have given Alan Jones his fourth heart attack.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 24 Jul 2012, 20:19

dinizintheoven wrote:
Captain Hammer wrote:
dinizintheoven wrote:seriously, has there ever been a worse GP2 driver than Ricardo Teixeira?

Yes. Her name is Carmen Jorda and she can't even qualify a GP3 car.

Although, while you'd be well within your rights to single her out for rejectdom given that even Christophe Hurni managed to qualify at his GP3 outing, Carmen Jordá hasn't reached GP2... yet. I'll be watching to see if she does, mind...

Marcos Martínez : DNQed twice in 2007, fluked a fourth in Valencia.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 25 Jul 2012, 12:18

So technically Martinez is a GP2 Lucky Bastard!

Post by **Ataxia** » 25 Jul 2012, 12:25

Dillmann won't be racing at Hungary, he confirmed it on twitter.

Shame...

Mister Fungus · Post by **Mister Fungus** » 25 Jul 2012, 14:32

pasta_maldonado wrote:Marcos Martínez : DNQed twice in 2007, fluked a fourth in Valencia.

I remember Martinez leading the WSR at one point in I think mid 2009, and after that he didn't get any points.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 26 Jul 2012, 15:17

BaconLettuceNinja wrote:Dillmann won't be racing at Hungary, he confirmed it on twitter.

Shame...

All I remember about Dillmann was him being crap in F3 Euroseries. I'm surprised you're hyping him up so much.

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 26 Jul 2012, 17:23

Regarding Pål Varhaug, and the AutoGP field. Antonio Pizzonia won the last two races there. His first single seater race since 09. Fair enough, it was in Brazil, but still. Pizzonia haven't got more than 5 podiums since 2003. 3 in SuperLeague Formula and two in Stock Car Brazil.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 27 Jul 2012, 11:19

pasta_maldonado wrote:Marcos Martínez : DNQed twice in 2007, fluked a fourth in Valencia.

Wasn't one of Martínez's DNQ's because of not being able to set a qualifying time due to a mechanical failure?

Post by **Ataxia** » 27 Jul 2012, 18:11

kostas22 wrote:
BaconLettuceNinja wrote:Dillmann won't be racing at Hungary, he confirmed it on twitter.

Shame...

All I remember about Dillmann was him being crap in F3 Euroseries. I'm surprised you're hyping him up so much.

I'm not necessarily hyping him up, I'm just being a fan.

And De Jong's 25th on the grid as well (behind Teixeira!!). I hope they're pleased with their driver selection.

Post by **Londoner** » 01 Sep 2012, 14:16

Nasty crash for Nigel Melker in the GP2 feature race this afternoon. Understeered then oversteered off at Eau Rouge and was just a passenger. Race red-flagged.

Post by **Londoner** » 01 Sep 2012, 14:28

And the safety car has just completely cocked up the restart. :lol:

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 01 Sep 2012, 14:29

East Londoner wrote:And the safety car has just completely cocked up the restart.

I don't have GP2 where I live. Can you tell me what happened?

Post by **Londoner** » 01 Sep 2012, 14:31

JeremyMcClean wrote:
East Londoner wrote:And the safety car has just completely cocked up the restart.

I don't have GP2 where I live. Can you tell me what happened?

The red lights all went out, indicating the restart and the cars started to move, but the safety car didn't.

Turns out the safety car didn't cock up the restart - there was no medical helicopter on hand, so the restart has been delayed.

Bleu · Post by **Bleu** » 01 Sep 2012, 14:34

Lots of ROTR worthy stuff in this race.

Post by **Londoner** » 01 Sep 2012, 15:35

So much fail in this race. The entire field deserves ROTR at this rate.

Shadaza · Post by **Shadaza** » 01 Sep 2012, 16:18

Ocean have just had another serious crash in GP3, and the race has been red flagged with no word on the status of the driver.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 01 Sep 2012, 16:37

Shadaza wrote:Ocean have just had another serious crash in GP3, and the race has been red flagged with no word on the status of the driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4wx2C_c ... ata_player

Pretty big smack.

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 01 Sep 2012, 16:42

AdrianSutil wrote:
Shadaza wrote:Ocean have just had another serious crash in GP3, and the race has been red flagged with no word on the status of the driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4wx2C_c ... ata_player

Pretty big smack.

Indeed it was. It reminded me in some way Stefan Bellof's fatal accident

Post by **Ataxia** » 01 Sep 2012, 16:43

Canamasas was on for a 5th or 6th, and threw it away trying to defend from Berthon...a really idiotic move.

Not sure what the situation on Cregan is, but it looked really dreadful. I didn't like the way the wheel ended up in the cockpit area.

Post by **tommykl** » 01 Sep 2012, 16:45

AdrianSutil wrote:
Shadaza wrote:Ocean have just had another serious crash in GP3, and the race has been red flagged with no word on the status of the driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4wx2C_c ... ata_player

Pretty big smack.

That's Melker's crash in GP2. There's apparently been another crash in GP3, which would be the second big crash in the series this weekend, as I believe John Wartique had a large shunt in practice as well...

SeedStriker · Post by **SeedStriker** » 01 Sep 2012, 16:49

AdrianSutil wrote:
Shadaza wrote:Ocean have just had another serious crash in GP3, and the race has been red flagged with no word on the status of the driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4wx2C_c ... ata_player

Pretty big smack.

During the red flag, SPEED LA confirmed that Melker was ok. Shaken from the shunt, but lucid. He was airlifted just to be sure.

Post by **Ataxia** » 01 Sep 2012, 16:58

According to various sources on Twitter, Rob Cregan's ok as well. Relieved.

Speaking of relieved, was it Kral having a piss against the wall?

EDIT: Razia and Valsecchi are now tied on points. And thankfully Serenelli's been replaced by Rene Binder, who had a fairly good race considering that was the most dry running he's had in a GP2 car.

IceG · Post by **IceG** » 01 Sep 2012, 17:11

Canamasas' move made him look like the love-child of Schumacher (vs. Rubens) and Maldonado; deliberate, stupid and potentially lethally dangerous - worst thing I've seen for a long time.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 01 Sep 2012, 17:43

tommykl wrote:
AdrianSutil wrote:
Shadaza wrote:Ocean have just had another serious crash in GP3, and the race has been red flagged with no word on the status of the driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4wx2C_c ... ata_player

Pretty big smack.

That's Melker's crash in GP2. There's apparently been another crash in GP3, which would be the second big crash in the series this weekend, as I believe John Wartique had a large shunt in practice as well...

Just assumed is was the GP3 crash as it was another Ocean car. They've had some bad luck this weekend then.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 02 Sep 2012, 09:00

Is it by any chance the same Rob Cregan that raced in the V8 Fujitsu (now Dunlop) Series last year?

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 02 Sep 2012, 09:03

eurobrun wrote:Is it by any chance the same Rob Cregan that raced in the V8 Fujitsu (now Dunlop) Series last year?

It is indeed the same Rob Cregan that raced in the Fujitsu Series last year.