1998 F1RGP2C Season - Duel in the Desert Race

[Salamander]

I love you, James. Watching paint dry with you wouldn't be boring!

Yeah, you're not so bad yourself, man. Hell of a lot better than most of these losers.

[TomWazzleshaw]

I love you, James. Watching paint dry with you wouldn't be boring!

Yeah, you're not so bad yourself, man. Hell of a lot better than most of these losers.

Since you two get along so well, ita should make the contract negotiations for next year far easier then, no?

[Salamander]

I love you, James. Watching paint dry with you wouldn't be boring!

Yeah, you're not so bad yourself, man. Hell of a lot better than most of these losers.

Since you two get along so well, ita should make the contract negotiations for next year far easier then, no?

Sure thing, boss. Where do I sign, and how long's the contract for?

[Phoenix]

Yeah. It's not like I'm going to Volga or shite like that.

[tristan1117]

Round 7: Canada
Grid

Code: Select all

1. Rory McAllister (McLaren) - 1:19.655
2. James Davies (McLaren) - 1:19.790
3. Tom Douglas (Ferrari) - 1:20.278
4. John Zimmer (Benetton) - 1:20.278
5. Kazuhiko Takagi (Ferrari) - 1:20.401
6. Masta Valsattis (Benetton) - 1:20.457
7. Leonhard von Gottorp (Jordan) - 1:20.491
8. Daniel Moreno (Williams) - 1:20.758
9. Damon Cannon (Jordan) - 1:20.807
10. Andrew Spokes (Williams) - 1:20.847
11. Ron Mignolet (Prost) - 1:21.339
12. Jörg Scrattenheim (DAMS) - 1:21.726
13. Miko Fakkinen (Sauber) - 1:21.778

Code: Select all

14. Niko Nurminen (DAMS) - 1:21.813
15. Pablo da Silva (Sauber) - 1:21.826
16. Stephano Baroncelli (Arrows) - 1:21.868
17. Jose Alvarez (Stewart) - 1:21.994
18. Alejandrina Rodriguez (Arrows) - 1:22.079
19. Ralf Alden (Stewart) - 1:22.170
20. Clivio Durand (Prost) - 1:22.255
21. Yuuri Jougaseki (Volga) - 1:22.875
22. Plinio Vida (Minardi) - 1:22.918
23. Poppy Whitechapel (Lola) - 1:22.922
24. Lawrence Tucker (Volga) - 1:23.005
25. Frederick-Maxime Voeckler (Gauthier) - 1:23.237
26. Geoff Grove (Minardi) - 1:23.448
DNQ Rick Douglais (Lola) - 1:23.449
DNQ Johan Gustafsson (Gauthier) - 1:23.450

Rory McAllister sweeps into pole position ahead of his teammate James Davies for tomorrow's Canadian GP. Tom Douglas will start third. Other notes:
Clivio Durand qualified nine places behind his teammate, earning DBTMOTQ.
Johan Gustafsson failed to qualify for the fourth time this season. Voeckler has qualified for every race thus far.
John Zimmer hopes to continue his unbroken string of finishes to start the season from fourth place, in what has been a banner year for the '95 champ.

[TomWazzleshaw]

I love you, James. Watching paint dry with you wouldn't be boring!

Yeah, you're not so bad yourself, man. Hell of a lot better than most of these losers.

Since you two get along so well, ita should make the contract negotiations for next year far easier then, no?

Sure thing, boss. Where do I sign, and how long's the contract for?

You and Rory both have the option of either a one year extension or two year extension. Just sign on the dotted line for whichever one you want and we'll get down to business.

For someone whose known to make and break contracts with alarming frequency, the fact that the two McLaren drivers have stayed on since 1995 is a minor miracle

[Aerospeed]

Alvarez looks like the real deal here!!!

[Phoenix]

OK, since I'm in a very good mood today after scoring pole position I'm going to sign a 2-year extension to my contract. Let's hope I can celebrate it with a win tomorrow!

[Salamander]

OK, since I'm in a very good mood today after scoring pole position I'm going to sign a 2-year extension to my contract. Let's hope I can celebrate it with a win tomorrow!

Same here; 2 years for me too. Let's get another 1-2!

[tristan1117]

Review:
Generally, the fastest driver wins the race, but this time around, James Davies was able to defeat his championship rival Tom Douglas through pit strategy.

Positives:
James Davies: Well, after the disappointment of Monaco, James Davies responded with a very strong performance in Montreal. His one-stop strategy gave him a large enough margin over Douglas to secure his third win of the season, although Douglas and McAllister came very close at the end. This is Davies' third win in four races and he appears to be locked in at the moment.

Tom Douglas: Douglas' two-stop strategy was not good enough to win the race, but it was good enough for a solid second place finish. Douglas managed to overtake Rory McAllister with just seven laps to go to break up the McLaren 1-2.

Rory McAllister: The pole sitter lost the lead to Douglas at the first corner and tried his best to hold off his teammate. Although McAllister was able to regain position after a Davies spin. he lost second to his teammate twice in the opening stint. Critically, McAllister's inability to hold off Douglas in the dying stages halted any chance at a McLaren 1-2 finish.

Kazuhiko Takagi: Consistent, solid and reliable.

Jordan: Hey, Jordan managed to beat Benetton and Williams!

Yuuri Jougaseki: You're not going to believe this, but Jougaseki hauled her Volga up to thirteenth place in the first stint of the race! Even adjusting for her two-stop strategy (which confers a fuel bonus in the opening stint), that's still pretty amazing. Jougaseki has vastly outperformed her teammate Lawrence Tucker this year. Could she be the first good Volga driver ever?

Frederic-Maxime Voeckler: He'll be a little annoyed that he couldn't match Gustafsson's fifteenth place at Imola, but at least Voeckler finished a race for the first time this year.

Arrows: Wait, one of the Arrows finished? That has to be an error.

Negatives:
Stewart: Yet another horrendous double-DNF for Stewart. They haven't finished a single race this season.

Daniel Moreno: Failed to finish at his home race. Even though Williams is mediocre right now, let's hope he doesn't do something stupid like leave for Gauthier or something since McAllister has been inked to a two-year extension.

Clivio Durand: Actually, it wasn't his fault that he crashed out at the first corner, he was taken out by Lawrence Tucker in the second Volga. But really, what on earth is he doing starting so far down when his teammate started eleventh! Reject of the Race for you!

DAMS: Their day started off badly when Miko Fakkinen took out Scrattenheim at turn 1, sending Scrattenheim to the back of the field. Fakkinen, of course, continued. Niko Nurminen then suffered an engine failure mid-race.

Canada
Pole: Rory McAllister
Leaders:
Tom Douglas: 1-20
James Davies: 21-30
Rory McAllister: 31-35
Tom Douglas: 36-43
James Davies: 44-
FL: Tom Douglas

Penalties:
+1 to Lawrence Tucker for causing a collision

Drivers' Championship Standings
1. Tom Douglas - 41
2. James Davies - 36
3. Rory McAllister - 29
4. Kazuhiko Takagi - 26
5. John Zimmer - 11
= Masta Valsattis - 11
7. Damon Cannon - 9
8. Andrew Spokes - 8
9. Daniel Moreno - 3
= Leonhard von Gottorp - 3
11. Pablo da Silva - 2
12. Ron Mignolet - 1
= Niko Nurminen - 1

Constructors' Championship
1. Ferrari - 67
2. McLaren - 65
3. Benetton - 22
4. Jordan - 13
5. Williams - 11
6. Sauber - 2
7. Prost - 1
= DAMS - 1

Penalty Standings
1. James Davies - 3
2. Andrew Spokes - 2
= Stephano Baroncelli - 2
= Geoff Grove - 2
= Frederic-Maxime Voeckler - 2
= Lawrence Tucker - 2
7. Rick Douglais - 1
= Daniel Moreno - 1
= Poppy Whitechapel - 1
= Kazuhiko Takagi - 1
= Plinio Vida - 1
= Johan Gustafsson

[Salamander]

Well, I could've easily gone for the two-stop strategy and destroyed everyone but I figured I might as well be kind to those losers at Ferrari and give them some false hope before I destroyed them anyway. Great race for us, everything went to plan - well, for me, anyway. Sucks for Rory that he lost 2nd right at the end but I think that was down to a glitch or something with the car.

Daniel Moreno: Failed to finish at his home race. Even though Williams is mediocre right now, let's hope he doesn't do something stupid like leave for Gauthier or something since McAllister has been inked to a two-year extension.

As if I would ever zign zat fool! I need drivers 'oo do not crash ze car like children!

[Ataxia]

Our engine is still on the volatile side...I'm more worried about not being baked alive than finishing a race at the moment!

[Shizuka]

Jörg climbed back into the top ten after that incident with Miko - that is impressive. Without that, I believe we could have finished sixth. Niko's engine failure is worrying me - it seems there's always one Peugeot engine blowing up per race...

[dr-baker]

Our engine is still on the volatile side...I'm more worried about not being baked alive than finishing a race at the moment!

Y'see? That's why I quit the team!!!

[the Masked Lapwing]

John Zimmer hopes to continue his unbroken string of finishes to start the season from fourth place, in what has been a banner year for the '95 champ.

Guess who I'm blaming for this one?

[Aerospeed]

Stewart fined after post-race comments on Ford: Engine switch imminent
Motor racing owner Eddie Stewart has been fined the equivalent of £10,000 after saying offensive comments about Ford, his teams engine manufacturer, after the Canadian GP. Apparently, his comments also included breaking the three year contract he signed back in 1997. Recent reports indicate that Citroen will sign on for the 1999 season, though the contract is rumoured to be dependent on if the car is very reliable in the long run. Stewart blamed the unreliability of the 1998 car on the fact that Ford sent defective parts. Whatever the case, this problem does not want to be going away quickly any time soon.

[the Masked Lapwing]

Kickert in discussions with McLaren for test drive
Pieter Kickert has confirmed that he is looking to re-enter the F1RGP2C, but not for a few years. It was revealed that he is negotiating with McLaren team principal Don Rennis over securing a test driver role from now until the end of the 1999 season. Kickert was sacked last season by Williams after failing to obey team orders at Monza, and failed to secure a drive anywhere else for 1998. He was previously competing in the RTCC until its collapse earlier in the year, and is now driving in the BTCC.
"Yes, I am talking with Rennis about becoming a test driver," said Kickert today. "It would be until the end of 1999, and probably with no hope of a race drive in that time, but I'm having fun in touring cars at the moment."
Kickert said that if a team offered him a drive, he would consider taking it, and when asked about his exit from Williams, he only said, "that seems a like a blessing in disguise, now that they've turned to shite "
McLaren recently confirmed that drivers James Davies and Rory McAllister have both signed contract extensions until 2000.

[Nuppiz]

Yet another engine failure. Hmph.

[tristan1117]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

[Shizuka]

Yet another engine failure. Hmph.

You see, both Prost and DAMS suffer from it - it's definitely not our fault.

[dr-baker]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

Can I join for the odd round or two?

[Nessafox]

Yet another engine failure. Hmph.

You see, both Prost and DAMS suffer from it - it's definitely not our fault.

But Prost has Douglas "Engine Failure" Mann as a driver instructor for years, what's DAMS' excuse?

[Shizuka]

But Prost has Douglas "Engine Failure" Mann as a driver instructor for years, what's DAMS' excuse?

We have no excuses.

[Londoner]

A good bit of formation flying for the team today. Pretty much best of the rest of the field, which is alright. I think the target is to comfortably beat those incompetent oafs at Williams (everyone apart from Spokes, he's alright) and take the fight to Benetton for third.

No real surprise the engine blew, it was getting strained to an inch of it's life everytime I was on the back straight.

[tristan1117]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

Can I join for the odd round or two?

Certainly. Which rounds would like to participate in?

[dr-baker]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

Can I join for the odd round or two?

Certainly. Which rounds would like to participate in?

Give me a trial period of the French and British rounds, then we'll review the relationship after that with options for further rounds?

[tristan1117]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

Can I join for the odd round or two?

Certainly. Which rounds would like to participate in?

Give me a trial period of the French and British rounds, then we'll review the relationship after that with options for further rounds?

Deal. Have fun.

[dr-baker]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

Can I join for the odd round or two?

Certainly. Which rounds would like to participate in?

Give me a trial period of the French and British rounds, then we'll review the relationship after that with options for further rounds?

Deal. Have fun.

Thanks. I will indeed have fun. Where's Ms Pippa Mann?

[takagi_for_the_win]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

If offer still stand, I be happy to drive!

[dr-baker]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

If offer still stand, I be happy to drive!

I think that possibly Ben Fleet might possibly have already got that deal, possibly. I'm not sure though. Maybe look to the post above yours?

[takagi_for_the_win]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

If offer still stand, I be happy to drive!

I think that possibly Ben Fleet might possibly have already got that deal, possibly. I'm not sure though. Maybe look to the post above yours?

I was under the impression that Fleet was only confirmed for the British and French grands prix, and that the offer for a race seat was extended to the end of the season. Maybe I misinterpreted Tristans post?

[dr-baker]

We really need to shake things up here at Arrows. Any drivers who want some racing experience can apply on a race-by-race basis after the North American rounds are completed.

If offer still stand, I be happy to drive!

I think that possibly Ben Fleet might possibly have already got that deal, possibly. I'm not sure though. Maybe look to the post above yours?

I was under the impression that Fleet was only confirmed for the British and French grands prix, and that the offer for a race seat was extended to the end of the season. Maybe I misinterpreted Tristans post?

Ben Fleet has first option, Maybe Edward Restov Jnr is aiming for the back-up choice if the deal doesn't work out for either side?

I refer to this:

Can I join for the odd round or two?

Certainly. Which rounds would like to participate in?

Give me a trial period of the French and British rounds, then we'll review the relationship after that with options for further rounds?

Deal. Have fun.

[takagi_for_the_win]

Ben Fleet has first option, Maybe Edward Restov Jnr is aiming for the back-up choice if the deal doesn't work out for either side?

That is pretty much what I going for, yeah. If for whatever reason Arrows don't want to keep Fleet/need a few extra spondoolies, Restov is here as a semi-capable back up.

[pasta_maldonado]

MORENO! Taking Reject of the Race is der last strawen! YOU ARE FIRED!

Hello, Frederic-Maxime? Ja, ja, Klaus here, I have ein proposal...

[DemocalypseNow]

MORENO! Taking Reject of the Race is der last strawen! YOU ARE FIRED!

Hello, Frederic-Maxime? Ja, ja, Klaus here, I have ein proposal...

Bonjour Mr Mann. A proposal? Well, it iz my understanding that you have released a Mr Moreno. It wouldn't have anything to do with zis eh...?

[pasta_maldonado]

Hello, Frederic-Maxime? Ja, ja, Klaus here, I have ein proposal...

Bonjour Mr Mann. A proposal? Well, it iz my understanding that you have released a Mr Moreno. It wouldn't have anything to do with zis eh...?

Ja, ja, I am in der need of ein new driver. I suggest ve discuss der finer points of der proposal over some escargot and Jagermeister....

tristan1117 - Daniel Moreno is fired and will be replaced by Frederic-Maxime Voeckler. With eurobrun gone I am the sole seat holder at Williams.

[Salamander]

Monsieur Nicchi? Step into my office, I am about to make you a very happy man...

Emanuele Nicchi will be replacing Voeckler at Gauthier.

[Aerospeed]

MORENO! Taking Reject of the Race is der last strawen! YOU ARE FIRED!

Erm... Last time I checked Durand took ROTR for the race... And besides, you'll have to speak to my agent before you think of firing me mid-season. We have a contract, remember?

[pasta_maldonado]

MORENO! Taking Reject of the Race is der last strawen! YOU ARE FIRED!

Erm... Last time I checked Durand took ROTR for the race... And besides, you'll have to speak to my agent before you think of firing me mid-season. We have a contract, remember?

Ja, you are right. I do believe you signed der contract with my ex-associate, Prince Walik.

OOC: The Manns are all James Hunts, I'm afriad.

[Aerospeed]

Daniel Moreno happy of peaceful resolution with Williams
Amid rumours that He had been fired from Williams, Moreno talked to the media today and said that there was indeed a dispute with Williams owner Klaus Mann, but that all disputes were resolved peacefully and without any bad faith. Moreno said that Mann had an issue with his latest performances, but Moreno defended himself by saying that the car is not up to speed compared to last year. Moreno then went on to say that he plans to race for Williams for the remainder of the season. "Its quite silly to remove someone and then replace them with someone who is not used to the car at all. And who else can you hire? Jose (Alvarez) is having a stint at Stewart GP, and he'd probably want him for the rest of the season. anyone else will probably be there because of their sponsorship dollars. It wouldn't be really good for the team's performance and image." When asked about a contract extension, Moreno said that he would also be willing to take a pay cut if it meant the team had enough money to get a decent engine deal. Sources tell us that Moreno has the biggest salary in the series.