Women's GT World Championship 2014 - Season over!

[Turbogirl]

An RNG would be a very good idea. However, hosting the Women's GT3 Cup in the Flat Out, Flat Broke forum souldn't be done, as it's where the season of a series goes when it comes to an end. So I suggest this, either we make the WGTWC and the WGT3 Cup canon, or we run both series here. Look at Klon's AltF1 Current Era series, and it as real life drivers, but we could let a few fictional drivers race as well, just like that series. Do whatever you want, but the FOFB forum is an archive so the other subforums (ASMF, 18MD, and BS) don't get too cluttered.

And after Spa, Ferrari NART screamed at the top of their lungs in excitement. No really, Jean lost his voice. And myself somewhat, but for completely different reasons unfortunately.

Actually, I don't really want to host the Junior Cup in the FOFB, it's just that I thought it HAD to be done like that, because it's a feeder series to the World Championship. And the FOFB has all the feeder serieses in it, while some serieses that came to an end are still in their original place instead of being moved to the FOFB.

I'd rather not make my serieses canon, because then the timeline would become less bendable and most (if not all) canon serieses work with completely different driver stats. I can provide you all with hundreds of real life female drivers, so including fictional ones doesn't make much sense to me. And I prefer going with my own timeline, besides: I'm not even entirely sure, if I should keep it at 2014, 2015... or if I should go with fictional dates or simply Season 1, 2, 3... I don't want to host only one season a year, so either I'd have to foresee the future (and I don't want to do that) or I have to make changes to the timeline. Season 1, 2, 3... doesn't sound too bad to me.

At least it's much more realistic than hosting 2018 while still in 2015 and only then including cars from 2015 into 2018. You get, what I'm after...?

So, if I can host all my series in the PMMF, then I will certainly do so.

I'd be fine with it, provided the RG remembers we gave Melanie and Erica their big GT break.

It could be rough for the little teams though, because again, as years of D&D have taught me, the die are a cruel mistress.

Don't worry, the RNG will remember. That's what I meant with "certain conditions". And yes, the dies can be cruel sometimes, but at least it's a small chance for everyone. In the Legge-deal dr-baker had no chance to intervene with the actual rules I presented, but with this new regulation it's a whole different thing. Unfortunately the Legge-deal is over and done, so the new regulations won't affect it in any way, but at least we can make future transfers a little bit... different.

[dr-baker]

I like the idea of allowing a bit of time for people to get their bids in - I have been screwed over a few times in F1RWRS because Aerond always suddenly opens it always while I'm out and gives no warning. Also, I like the random dice thing - it gives a chance. But you, Turbogirl, can decide how much it is swayed towards the bigger teams, whether it be 50:50, 66:33, or whatever. (I naturally prefer more of a 50:50 balance as to which way a driver may go, but then I'm biased!).

[AustralianStig]

What a miracle drive from Tander and especially Ickx! Now that Patrick Head will be abreast of the team for next round we can't wait to see his impact and we surely will be challenging for the top 5 in the Team's Championship!

I'm happy with contracts and driver moves being decided by RNG - seems the most realistic way.

[Turbogirl]

16th Round of the Women's GT World Championship

Nürburgring, Germany

18 laps / 26 km (16,16 mi)


Qualifying

Weather: Warm, dry, sunny

If teams, drivers and spectators have thought, this year's highlight was the race at Spa-Francorchamps, they must have clearly misinterpreted the word "Nürburgring". The 16th Round at Germany did not only include the Grand Prix Circuit, but (as the name indicates) the famous Nordschleife as well. 16,16 miles each lap, 18 laps in total. This is the true highlight right here, folks!
Although some teams had major and minor issues with the ground clearance, especially the ones fielding GT1 cars, the drivers found the classic race track much to their liking. But this may be the one and only time, the Nordschleife will be featured in the World Championship. With the introduction of the Women's GT Junior Cup, only real GT1 cars will be eligible for the Women's GT World Championship in the future, with all the GT3 based models partaking in the Junior Cup.
And cars like the Ferrari 550 Maranello as well as the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR and the Toyota GT-One simply don't have enough ground clearance for the bumpy Nordschleife. So, if drivers want to have the honor of racing this marvellous track once again, they will have to partake in the Junior Cup, which will still feature the Nordschleife in the future.
Cyndie Allemann recorded her second pole position since she joined Ferrari NART, with Pippa Mann in second and a surprising Shea Holbrook in third. Thanks to Adrian Newey's influence, the Toyotas had become more and more competitive over the last couple of rounds. But with Audi and Jaguar still in range, there was no guarantee, Shea Holbrook and the equally unexperienced Ashley Freiberg would be able to defend their positions for 18 laps.
Local heroine Sabine Schmitz might be the one most familiar with the Nürburgring, but her undisputed experience didn't do her any good in the underperforming Lamborghini. Unlike the Lotus duo, who could be found in 11th (Gachnang) and 13th (Legge) place. Natacha Gachnang had raced the Nordschleife twice so far and found the Lotus Evora GTE to be a perfect car for this twisty and bumpy circuit, where speed and aerodynamics aren't everything.
Simona de Silvestro started from row 3, Rahel Frey from row 5. Not the best position to have in an exhausting race like this, but Frey had gained a lot of experience during the last 24 hours of the Nürburgring and that could be her most important advantage over her rivals in the Driver's Championship, since neither Simona nor Pippa had ever raced the Nordschleife before.

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01    Cyndie Allemann            (Ferrari)              8:16.109
02    Pippa Mann                 (Ferrari)              8:16.457
03    Shea Holbrook              (Toyota)               8:16.544
04    Ashley Freiberg            (Toyota)               8:16.612
05    Leanne Tander              (Audi)                 8:16.636
06    Simona de Silvestro        (Jaguar)               8:17.039
07    Vanina Ickx                (Audi)                 8:17.057
08    Ana Beatriz                (Porsche)              8:17.108
09    Danica Patrick             (Jaguar)               8:17.174
10    Rahel Frey                 (Nissan)               8:17.178

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11    Natacha Gachnang           (Lotus)                8:17.182
12    Erica Enders               (Mercedes-Benz)        8:17.186
13    Katherine Legge            (Lotus)                8:17.189
14    Zoe Wenham                 (Porsche)              8:17.223
15    Melanie Troxel             (Mercedes-Benz)        8:17.236
16    Johanna Long               (Chevrolet)            8:17.247
17    Emma Kimiläinen            (Chevrolet)            8:17.305
18    Fiona Leggate              (Nissan)               8:17.387
19    Chelsea Angelo             (BMW)                  8:17.424
20    Renee Gracie               (BMW)                  8:17.441

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21    Shirley van der Lof        (Maserati)             8:17.449
22    Amber Cope                 (Ford)                 8:17.742
23    Ramona Karlsson            (Honda)                8:17.820
24    Susie Wolff                (Aston Martin)         8:17.863
25    Angela Cope                (Ford)                 8:18.004
26    Keiko Ihara                (Lamborghini)          8:18.045
27    Alice Powell               (Aston Martin)         8:18.147
28    Jutta Kleinschmidt         (Honda)                8:18.280
29    Sabine Schmitz             (Lamborghini)          8:18.608
30    Beitske Visser             (Maserati)             8:19.009

105 % = 8:56.914 (kind of silly to have this one here at all. Not even a GT4 car would be 40 seconds behind the leader...)


Race

Weather: Warm, dry, sunny

The spectators were looking forward with great interest to an entertaining race on the famous Nürburgring, even if that meant, they only get to see a bunch of cars passing by maybe every eight to nine minutes. It was just like the good old days, when the F1 cars roared through the wooded Eifel hills in the seventies. And like in those days, some people would later claim, when asked about this race: "The sex in the woods was terrific and sometimes a racecar passed by, too". But that didn't stop a large crowd of spectators from attending to this long anticipated event.
Cyndie Allemann was determined to win this prestigious race, although her teammate started right next to her in the first row and Pippa had been smart enough to copy Cyndie's set-up, since Cyndie had raced on the Nordschleife before and knew her way about. An experience, Pippa was lacking.
The field got away without problems and Pippa immediately drove into Cyndie's slipstream to stay close to her and to fend off the remarkably good starting Toyotas at the same time. Despite the fact, that Holbrook and Freiberg were new at the Nürburgring, their Toyotas had enough power to guarantee them a more than decent points finish.
But they came under increasing threat from Vanina Ickx, who is another Nordschleife veteran. Ickx made a fantastic start and had already passed Leanne Tander and Simona de Silvestro before they approached the Mercedes-Benz Arena right after the start.
Rahel Frey on the other hand had a horrible getaway and soon encountered mysterious handling problems. Fiona Leggate reported the same thing after only one lap. The Nissan engineers believed to have found a better set-up for the bumpy Nordschleife on Saturday and received the Okay from Technical Director Malcolm Oastler to try it out. Nissan was in need of finding a way to keep their slim title chances alive and they started grasping at straws.
Well, this straw broke immediately after the race had started. Especially at the Karussell and the Fuchsröhre the Nissans encountered difficulties with the ground clearance, which slowed them down visibly. Fiona Leggate would later call this set-up a complete failure, while Frey chose to stay quiet on this topic. Maybe she was just realizing, that her title winning chances had vaporized.
Simona de Silvestro, who was obviously terribly dismayed by her bad luck in Spa-Francorchamps, drove as fast as she could to secure her victory early on. But she had the disadvantage of never having raced on the Nordschleife before and getting stuck behind the Audis and Toyotas. There are no good spots for overtaking on the Nordschleife, and there are even less when you're driving a bulky modern day GT car.
When Simona finally managed to snatch third from Vanina Ickx on lap 7, she lost control of her Jaguar down the Fuchsröhre and crashed into a nearby barrier. The Jaguar had to remain on the sideline, because unlike modern circuits, not every inch of the Nordschleife can be reached by the marshals without hindering the racecars. Simona was brought back to the paddock via motorcycle immediately, where she disappeared in her garage and refused to talk to the waiting crowd of reporters.
The obligatory pitstops came due around lap 9, but they didn't change a lot in the order. Cyndie Allemann was still leading Pippa Mann and Vanina Ickx around the ruins of the old Nürburg.
On lap 9, right after her pitstop, Amber Cope suffered a blown tyre on the exit of the Fuchsröhre, where she must have picked up some sharp debris from de Silvestro's crash earlier. A disappointed Amber retired on the spot. She wouldn't have made it back to the pits anyway. And even if she had tried, she would have ended at the back of the field, maybe even lapped. So, Amber spent the rest of the race signing autographs and watching the on-track action, until she finally returned to the pits.
Despite their severe lack of experience, both Toyotas made good progress and were even able to keep up with the pace of the Audi duo. They traded places several times until the end of the race and you could clearly see in Shea Holbrook's eyes when she gave her interviews afterwards, that she had enjoyed every second of this hard but fair fight between two equally strong teams.
Erica Enders made quite the opposite experience in the meantime, when she found herself sandwiched between both Lotuses, which were as fast as the Mercedes SLS. You don't get to see that everyday. Erica managed to keep up with Natacha Gachnang, who was always cautious enough to not let the Mercedes enter her slipstream, but she simply couldn't find a way past the Lotus. Erica tried to play it cool, although Katherine Legge stayed as close to her as possible and waited for the slightest mistake from the Mercedes driver.
Pippa Mann finally made her move on the last lap. She realized, that Cyndie Allemann had gotten tired, while she herself had a pretty easy race just following the sister car. Pippa dived into Cyndie's slipstream on the Döttinger Höhe and passed by, taking the lead and another victory.
She was joined by an exhausted Cyndie Allemann and an overjoyed Vanina Ickx on the podium. The Audi R8 LMS Ultras were finally working. A bit too late for a shot at the Championship, but still soon enough to even pose a serious threat to Mercedes-Benz during the next couple of races.
Pippa Mann now headed the Driver's Standings by 39 points over Rahel Frey and 95 points over Simona de Silvestro. What had started out as a rather thrilling and close fight for the World Championship had now become a dominant lead for Pippa Mann and also for Ferrari NART in the Constructor's Standings, where they had a 188 point advantage over Jaguar. The only goal left for Ferrari NART in the Constructor's Standings now, is to score more than 1000 points until the end of this season, or is it?

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01    Pippa Mann                 (Ferrari)              18 Laps
02    Cyndie Allemann            (Ferrari)              +  1.550
03    Vanina Ickx                (Audi)                 +  3.018
04    Shea Holbrook              (Toyota)               +  6.258
05    Leanne Tander              (Audi)                 +  8.886
06    Ashley Freiberg            (Toyota)               + 10.839
07    Natacha Gachnang           (Lotus)                + 12.493
08    Erica Enders               (Mercedes-Benz)        + 15.505
09    Katherine Legge            (Lotus)                + 18.421
10    Rahel Frey                 (Nissan)               + 21.177

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11    Chelsea Angelo             (BMW)                  + 23.280
12    Emma Kimiläinen            (Chevrolet)            + 24.544
13    Melanie Troxel             (Mercedes-Benz)        + 25.119
14    Shirley van der Lof        (Maserati)             + 26.440
15    Renee Gracie               (BMW)                  + 27.925
16    Johanna Long               (Chevrolet)            + 28.653
17    Beitske Visser             (Maserati)             + 29.788
18    Zoe Wenham                 (Porsche)              + 30.686
19    Ramona Karlsson            (Honda)                + 38.987
20    Sabine Schmitz             (Lamborghini)          + 43.426

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21    Jutta Kleinschmidt         (Honda)                + 52.104
DNF   Danica Patrick             (Jaguar)               12 Laps      Accident
DNF   Alice Powell               (Aston Martin)         11 Laps      Throttle
DNF   Keiko Ihara                (Lamborghini)          10 Laps      Spin
DNF   Fiona Leggate              (Nissan)               10 Laps      Handling
DNF   Amber Cope                 (Ford)                  9 Laps      Tyre Damage
DNF   Susie Wolff                (Aston Martin)          8 Laps      Accident
DNF   Angela Cope                (Ford)                  8 Laps      Accident
DNF   Simona de Silvestro        (Jaguar)                7 Laps      Spin
DNF   Ana Beatriz                (Porsche)               5 Laps      Accident

Driver's Championship

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01    Pippa Mann                 (Ferrari)              481 points
02    Rahel Frey                 (Nissan)               442 points
03    Simona de Silvestro        (Jaguar)               386 points
04    Danica Patrick             (Jaguar)               360 points
05    Katherine Legge            (Ferrari / Lotus)      287 points
06    Erica Enders               (Mercedes-Benz)        249 points
07    Melanie Troxel             (Mercedes-Benz)        241 points
08    Vanina Ickx                (Audi)                 213 points
09    Leanne Tander              (Audi)                 204 points
10    Cyndie Allemann            (Ferrari)              190 points
11    Emma Kimiläinen            (Chevrolet)            135 points

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12    Miranda Throckmorton       (Chevrolet)            131 points
13    Johanna Long               (Chevrolet)            126 points
14    Fiona Leggate              (Nissan)               121 points
15    Ana Beatriz                (Porsche)              120 points
16    Beitske Visser             (Maserati)              82 points
17    Chelsea Angelo             (BMW)                   78 points
18    Renee Gracie               (BMW)                   71 points
19    Natacha Gachnang           (Lotus)                 61 points
20    Shirley van der Lof        (Maserati)              57 points
21    Zoe Wenham                 (Porsche)               49 points
22    Shea Holbrook              (Toyota)                47 points

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23    Maryeve Dufault            (Toyota)                47 points
24    Susie Wolff                (Aston Martin)          37 points
25    Angela Cope                (Ford)                  35 points
26    Amber Cope                 (Ford)                  34 points
27    Ashley Freiberg            (Toyota)                30 points
28    Ramona Karlsson            (Honda)                 18 points
29    Corentine Quiniou          (Toyota)                16 points
30    Jutta Kleinschmidt         (Honda)                 10 points
31    Alice Powell               (Aston Martin)           7 points
32    Sabine Schmitz             (Lamborghini)            2 points
33    Keiko Ihara                (Lamborghini)            1 point

Constructor's Championship

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01    Ferrari              934 points
02    Jaguar               746 points
03    Nissan               563 points
04    Mercedes-Benz        490 points
05    Audi                 417 points
06    Chevrolet            392 points
07    Porsche              169 points
08    BMW                  149 points

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09    Toyota               140 points
10    Maserati             139 points
11    Lotus                 85 points
12    Ford                  69 points
13    Aston Martin          44 points
14    Honda                 28 points
15    Lamborghini            3 points

Reject of the Race: Simona de Silvestro... again. I think, she might have just lost all her remaining title winning chances in one clean swipe.

Next: Round 17 - Austria up on Monday the 10th (CET)!

[dr-baker]

The second double-top-10 for Lotus?! Sorry Jenny Tinmouth, but it seems that replacing you was the right thing. Still, you remain the fastest woman around the Manx TT track - a future there for you still?

[Turbogirl]

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your bidding

Thanks for all the positive feedback for this new regulation so far!

1.) Introduction
This will be the only rule I'm going to change mid-season. Everything else will stay the same as introduced in my posts about "Game Mechanics" at the start of this season. From now on, every contract for drivers, race engineers and Technical Directors will be decided by RNG / D20, but only if more than one player should bid for a certain person.

2.) Whom can I bid for?
Drivers, Technical Directors and race engineers. But since the Women's GT Junior Cup is on its way, I've decided to even the odds a little bit. The WDA is handing out a special licence for drivers, race engineers and Technical Directors, which allows them to partake in the Women's GT World Championship. Anyone without such a licence can not be hired for a World Championship Team and can only partake in the Junior Cup. This way, only the elite will be allowed to enter the World Championship and we'll get to see even closer battles for the title in future seasons.
The WDA special licence is granted to the 10 best drivers, 10 best race engineers and 5 best Technical Directors of the Women's GT Junior Cup each season and to (almost) everyone, who was involved in the inaugural season of the Women's GT World Championship.

To further clarify this, here are the official lists:

2.1.) Drivers with a WDA World Championship Licence

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- A -
Lindsey Adams
Gina-Maria Adenauer
Valentina Albanese
Cyndie Allemann
Chelsea Angelo

- B -
Ana Beatriz
Adrienn Bende
Sarah Bovy
Liesette Braams
Michelle Marie Bumgarner
Edina Bus

- C -
Tatiana Calderon
Michela "Miki" Cerruti
Burcu Cetinkaya
Juliana Chiovitti
Amber Cope
Angela Cope
Erin Crocker

- D -
Adrienn Walterne Dancso
Simona de Silvestro
Kati Droste
Maryeve Dufault
Milka Duno

- E -
Abbie Eaton
Erica Enders

- F -
Alexis Fenton
Ashley Freiberg
Rahel Frey

- G -
Natacha Gachnang
Renee Gracie
Andrina Gugger

- H -
Liz Halliday
Steffi Halm
Sloan Henderson
Shea Holbrook
Sabrina Hungerbühler
Claudia Hürtgen

- I -
Vanina Ickx
Keiko Ihara

- K -
Ramona Karlsson
Emma Kimiläinen
Jutta Kleinschmidt

- L -
Julia Landauer
Fiona Leggate
Katherine Legge
Francesca Linossi
Johanna Long

- M -
Pippa Mann
Jennifer Murray

- P -
Danica Patrick
Tasmin Pepper
Sanna Pinola
Alice Powell

- Q -
Corentine Quiniou

- R -
Shawna Robinson
Natalie Sather
Naomi Schiff
Sabine Schmitz
Natasha Seatter
Melanie Snow
Priscilla Speelman
Karline Stala

- T -
Leanne Tander
Miranda Throckmorton
Jenny Rosanne Tinmouth
Melanie Troxel

- V -
Shirley van der Lof
Sandra van der Sloot
Sheila Verschuur
Tamara Vidali
Beitske Visser

- W -
Zoe Wenham
Amanda Whitaker
Susie Wolff
Ianina Zanazzi
Naomi Ran Zhang
Paulien Zwart

2.2.) Drivers with a FIA Standard Licence

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- A -
Mishael Abbott
Nathalie Abrahamsson
Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky
Amber Anderson
Madalena Antas
Arianna Armati
Alexandra Asmasoebrata

- B -
Julia Ballario
Alessia Belometti
Anett Benik-Garami
Charlotte Berton
Sandra Bocande
Jessica Brannam
Marlene Broggi
Jessica Brunelli
Kristin Bumbera

- C -
Valeria Vanessa Carballo Berroteran
Juliana Carreira
Tiffany Chittenden
Louise Cook
Becky Beth Cox
Kim Crosby
Nadia Cutro

- D -
Martina Danhelova
Tiffany Daniels
Collete Davis
Michelle de Jesus
Sylvie Delcour
Gabi di Carlo
Marika Diana

- E -
Burcu Erenkul

- F -
Chiara Felici
Catharina Felser
Taylor Lynn Ferns
Ashley Force
Courtney Force
Amandine Foulard
Natalia Freidina

- G -
Cassie Gannis
Lucy Glöckner
Samin Gomez Briceno
Juliana Gonzalez
Kara Guenette

- H -
Charlotte Haegermark
Eva Harkema
Diana Harker
Destiney Hays
Jodie Hemming
Jennie-Lee Hermansson
Gwendolyn Hertzberger

- J -
Gabriela Jilkova
Carmen Jorda

- K -
Hiromi Kajikuma
Kristy Kester
Ramona Kiss
Becky Kirvan
Alexandra Kocsis
Katharina König
Anett Kovary
Natalia Kowalska
Ulrike Krafft
Jenni Krohn
Robyn Kruger
Julia Kuhn

- L -
Marguerite "Margot" Laffite
Elena Lana
Fabienne Lanz
Isabella Lauer
Kristina Lönnqvist
Nicole Lüttecke
Nicole Lyons

- M -
Alison MacLeod
Wendy Mathis
Veronica McCann
Sarah McCune
Shannon McIntosh
Verena Mei
Jana Meiswinkel
Gaby Dela Merced
Kazumi Mikami
Elena Missaglia
Nicole Müllenmeister
Leilani Münter
Elena Myers

- N -
Alessandra Neri
Christina Nielsen
Ksenya Niks

- O -
Christina Orr
Alli Owens

- P -
Graziela Paioli
Lucie Panackova
Larissa Papenmeier
Fernanda Parra
Vittoria "Vicky" Piria
Klaudia Podkalica
Katja Poensgen
Nina Prinz
Leah Pruett

- R -
Deborah Renshaw
Estefania Reyes
Mathilde Riehl
Debora Rodrigues
Elena Rosell
Maria Cristina Rosito

- S -
Szilvia Sas
Eve Scheer
Cora Schumacher
Emma Selway
Vibe Smed
Bianca Steiner
Amanda Stretton
Christina Surer
Sandra Sutter
Laura Suvanto
Hayley Swanson

- T -
Molly Taylor
Valerie Thompson
Laura Tillett
Emilee Tominovich
Morgan Turpen

- V -
Veronica Valverde
Alexandra van de Velde
Manuela Vasquez Blandon
Adrienn Vogel
Brittany Jordan Vorster

- W -
Syndiely Wade
Jacqueline "Jackie" Weiss
Corry Weller
Hillary Will
Sara Williams

2.3.) Technical Directors with a WDA World Championship Licence

Code: Select all

James Allison
Gary Anderson
John Barnard
Robert "Bob" Bell
Ross Brawn
Rory Byrne
Tim Densham
Frank Dernie
Gerard Ducarouge
Henri Durand
Gavin Fisher
Mauro Forghieri
Eghbal Hamidy
Patrick Head
Marianne Hinson
John Iley
Charly Lamm
Bart Mampaey
Gordon Murray
Adrian Newey
Steve Nichols
Malcolm Oastler
Neil Oatley
Peter Prodromou
Enrique Scalabroni
Jason Somerville
Pat Symonds
Nikolas Tombazis
Dino Toso
Gabriele Tredozi
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich
Geoff Willis

2.4.) Technical Directors with a FIA Standard Licence

Code: Select all

Ben Agathangelou
Tino Belli
Loic Bigois
Gustav Brunner
Aldo Costa
Mike Coughlan
Andre de Cortanze
Riccardo de Marco
Richard Divila
Bernard Dudot
Claude Gallopin
Mike Gascoyne
John Gentry
Tim Goss
Jean-Paul Gousset
Andrew Green
Mark Handford
Rene Hilhorst
Alex Hitzinger
Alan Jenkins
Ignazio Lunetta
Sam Michael
Nicolo Petrucci
David Pitchforth
Ian Pocock
Willy Rampf
Stefan Reinhold
Adrian Reynard
Sergio Rinland
John Russell
Mark Smith
Keizo Takahashi
Dr. Antonia Terzi
Willem Toet
Nick Wirth
Jörg Zander

2.5.) Race Engineers with a WDA World Championship Licence

Code: Select all

Riccardo Adami
Pascal Aragnouet
Giorgio Ascanelli
David Brown
Anna Chatten
Jock Clear
Alba Colon
Gordon Day
Gabriele Delli Colli
Chris Dyer
Jacky Eeckelaert
Laurent Fedacou
Leena Gade
Dominic Harlow
Ludo Lacroix
Andy Latham
Fabrice Lom
Luigi Mazzola
Paul Monaghan
Jeromy Moore
Andrea Mueller
Rod Nelson
Nina Oswald
Phil Prew
Juan Ramirez
Dave Robson
Guillaume Rocquelin
Andrew Shovlin
Mark Slade
Rob Smedley
Andrea Stella
Remi Taffin

2.6.) Race Engineers with a FIA Standard Licence

Code: Select all

Mehdi Ahmadi
Angel Baena
Claudio Balestri
Lucas Berger
Olaf Bulgrin
Caroline Carlsson
Simon Cayzer
Phil Charles
Franco Chiocchetti
Cass Cole
Richard Connell
Valentino Conte
Laurent Coppee
Humphrey Corbett
Antonio Cuquerella
Giampaolo Dall'ara
Remi Decorzent
Jody Egginton
Dieter Gass
Peter Gibbons
Dave Greenwood
Howden Haynes
Gerry Hughes
Mark Hutcheson
Karl Jennings
Gill Jones
Bradley Joyce
Jürgen Jungklaus
James Key
Ayo Komatsu
Mike Krack
Gianpiero Lambiase
Andrea Landi
Rosella Manfrinato
Martin Marx
Tom McCullough
Laurent Mekies
Markus Michelberger
Florian Modlinger
Francesco Nenci
Ossi Oikarinen
Alan Permane
Ciaron Pilbeam
Gianluca Pisanello
Tim Preston
Xevi Pujolar
Axel Randolph
Simon Rennie
Andreas Roos
Tony Ross
Michael Schauer
Marco Schüpbach
Antonia Scott
Stefano Sordo
Alexander Stehlig
Craig Wilson

2.7.) Suggesting new Drivers, Race Engineers, Technical Directors
Players can suggest the inclusion of new personnel, which is not listed here. You can't nominate fictional, dead or crippled people. A newly suggested Driver, Race Engineer, Technical Director will only be available for the following season and has to start in the Women's GT Junior Cup in order to achieve a WDA special licence to be allowed to participate in the World Championship.

2.8.) Hey, I got screwed over! Some of my current personnel has no WDA World Championship Licence / isn't on the lists at all!
Actually, you didn't get screwed over. As I said before: I evened the odds a little bit more, so the fact, that some of your current personnel didn't receive a special licence or disappeared from the lists altogether simply means, they weren't good enough for the highest level of motorsports in the first place (in terms of the stats I researched for them). And besides: You can still bid for much better personnel with special licences, so no one gets screwed over at all in this game.

3.) How do I bid?
Just post the name (or a whole list) of drivers, race engineers, Technical Directors you want to bid for. Make a plan B, if one or more of your bids should fall through.
Since there is no money involved in this series, you have only a few tricks up your sleeve to make your bids more attractive for certain drivers or crew members. You can offer a current number 2 driver equal treatment in your team or even a number 1 driver status.

4.) When is the deadline?
At the beginning of Season 2, after all teams have confirmed their entries. Since the Women's GT Junior Cup is supposed to take place during the silly season between two Women's GT World Championships, players can also bid for personnel for their World Championship teams during the running of the Junior Cup.
And they can also take over a Junior Cup team to patronage drivers, race engineers and Technical Directors with a FIA standard licence for further use in the World Championship.

5.) Important rule changes in the Women's GT World Championship
In future installments of this series, World Championship teams will have the opportunity to test whenever they want, as much as they want. Therefore, the mid-season test session won't be held anymore and the official pre-season tests aren't mandatory anymore, although the latter will still be held.
This will also change the rule "one race the get accustomed to his / her new job". If a team holds an inofficial test session between two races, new drivers and staff members don't have to get accustomed anymore.
This rule change also allows World Championship teams to run tests with Junior Cup personnel (FIA standard licence) in their GT1 cars, if they want to. The official test tracks will be posted at the beginning of the Women's GT Junior Cup. You are not allowed to test on any other circuits than the ones on said official list!

That's all for now, so feel free to place your bids if you already want to.

[go_Rubens]

Ferrari NART are in complete agreement with these rule changes.

Another win on a track I haven't driven before, also the jewel of the season! I'm very happy the team and I could pull this feat off! I mean, this means a lot to me, not,only my title challenge, but the team's challenge for the constructor's crown. Cyndie did a fantastic job leading almost the whole race. I think we can certainly give her credit for using her experience to help me and the team win here.

Tiring that was, but it was all for the team's benefit. I made sure Pippa had an easier time behind the wheel so she could win today. Not a team order, just, being kind, you know?

The boss was absent for being ill, but he was also very happy to find out the results.

We are keeping our staff lineup the same. Well, mostly.

We will make a bid for Gordon Murray for a contract for the 2015 season as technical director.

[Nessafox]

Maserati's bids: keep everything the same. No really, we're just getting back up to speed, it's too early to change everything. Altough Paul Stoddart will change his cigarette supplier.

[go_Rubens]

Just to let you guys know, I plan to edit the wiki page to put up all driver changes, championship standings, and race results.

[mike robers]

Top 10 for Shea, and both scored points again AND both qualified in the top 10! FAN-TASTIC!
However, we would like to switch makes to McLaren next season. Nothing against Toyota, but this was the plan all along. Otherwise, everybody will be back next season.

Just to remind everybody of my plans.

Sarah Fisher wrote-
Both girls started on the second row! And finished in the top 10! What a start for this team! I personaly feel sorry for Jaguar. They should probaly fire Danica. I feel she's becoming a negative influence on Simona's career. I'm a little suspicious of Allemann being passed on the last lap. Are we sure Ferrari don't have team orders?

[go_Rubens]

Sarah Fisher wrote-
Both girls started on the second row! And finished in the top 10! What a start for this team! I personaly feel sorry for Jaguar. They should probaly fire Danica. I feel she's becoming a negative influence on Simona's career. I'm a little suspicious of Allemann being passed on the last lap. Are we sure Ferrari don't have team orders?

Look, ve 'ave no team orders. (coughs) Ve 'ave no 'lear number un or number two driver. 'Eh drivers 'elp each other, but ve 'on't tell them to. Ve are in no danger of 'awsuits vight 'ow. Plus, team orders are 'llowed. 'On't mean to come cross as a grump, vut I vrotect ze truth 'round our team, ya know?

[Turbogirl]

Just to let you guys know, I plan to edit the wiki page to put up all driver changes, championship standings, and race results.

I would be very happy, if you could do that. Thank you very much!

Important Note: I'm collecting all your bids offline at the moment, so that I can post them at the end of this season. That will make it much easier for you to find the actual bidding progress, instead of scrolling through this whole thread over and over.

[go_Rubens]

Just to let you guys know, I plan to edit the wiki page to put up all driver changes, championship standings, and race results.

I would be very happy, if you could do that. Thank you very much!

I've already done driver changes in the list of teams and posted the preseason test results (which is only primative, as it's only the venue, fastest driver and team for both days). I probably should write a little paragraph showing the highlights of the preseason test before I get to writing up the races and the winners. But, I've done what I can be arsed to do right now, possibly starting the table of race results over the weekend.

[Wallio]

Mercedes bids to keep everything as is for another year.

[dr-baker]

Lotus are going to go a bit crazy here, in light of their upturn towards the end of the current season, hoping that this will attract talent to the team.

1. Lotus will retain their team principal.

2. Lotus are looking to recruit one of the following as their technical director: a) Gordon Murray, b) Nick Wirth, c) Geoff Willis

3. Lotus would like any two of the following as Race Engineers: a) Guillaume Rocquelin, b) Rob Smedley, c)James Kay, d) Xevi Pujolar, e) Andrew Shovlin, f) Chris Dyer, g) Jock Clear, h) David Brown, I) Giorgio Ascanelli

4. Lotus would like to retain/employ two of the following drivers: a) Natacha Gachnang, b) Katherine Legge, c) Susie Wolff, d) Pippa Mann, e) Simona di Silvestro, f) Liz Halliday, g) Leilani Munter


Number 2 is definitely in order of preference. Number 3, there is no order of preference. Number 4, there is an order of preference. Natacha Gachnang will remain as either a clear number 1 or equal number 1. b) to e) will be offered equal number 1 status, f) and g) will be offered number 2 status.

[Turbogirl]

Top 10 for Shea, and both scored points again AND both qualified in the top 10! FAN-TASTIC!
However, we would like to switch makes to McLaren next season. Nothing against Toyota, but this was the plan all along. Otherwise, everybody will be back next season.

Just to remind everybody of my plans.

Don't worry, I had already registered it the first time you posted your plans. I just didn't answer, because this change has no immediate effect on your team's performance this year.

Lotus are going to go a bit crazy here, in light of their upturn towards the end of the current season, hoping that this will attract talent to the team.

1. Lotus will retain their team principal.

2. Lotus are looking to recruit one of the following as their technical director: a) Gordon Murray, b) Nick Wirth, c) Geoff Willis

3. Lotus would like any two of the following as Race Engineers: a) Guillaume Rocquelin, b) Rob Smedley, c)James Kay, d) Xevi Pujolar, e) Andrew Shovlin, f) Chris Dyer, g) Jock Clear, h) David Brown, I) Giorgio Ascanelli

4. Lotus would like to retain/employ two of the following drivers: a) Natacha Gachnang, b) Katherine Legge, c) Susie Wolff, d) Pippa Mann, e) Simona di Silvestro, f) Liz Halliday, g) Leilani Munter


Number 2 is definitely in order of preference. Number 3, there is no order of preference. Number 4, there is an order of preference. Natacha Gachnang will remain as either a clear number 1 or equal number 1. b) to e) will be offered equal number 1 status, f) and g) will be offered number 2 status.

My, what a neat little shopping list you've got there. Unfortunately, Katherine Legge is already under contract at BMW. That deal was sealed before my new rule came into play, so we'll have to leave it at that (at least for now). I'm really sorry. But you could always go for Rahel Frey. From what I've heard, her current performance is quite decent...

[go_Rubens]

Lotus are going to go a bit crazy here, in light of their upturn towards the end of the current season, hoping that this will attract talent to the team.

1. Lotus will retain their team principal.

2. Lotus are looking to recruit one of the following as their technical director: a) Gordon Murray, b) Nick Wirth, c) Geoff Willis

3. Lotus would like any two of the following as Race Engineers: a) Guillaume Rocquelin, b) Rob Smedley, c)James Kay, d) Xevi Pujolar, e) Andrew Shovlin, f) Chris Dyer, g) Jock Clear, h) David Brown, I) Giorgio Ascanelli

4. Lotus would like to retain/employ two of the following drivers: a) Natacha Gachnang, b) Katherine Legge, c) Susie Wolff, d) Pippa Mann, e) Simona di Silvestro, f) Liz Halliday, g) Leilani Munter


Number 2 is definitely in order of preference. Number 3, there is no order of preference. Number 4, there is an order of preference. Natacha Gachnang will remain as either a clear number 1 or equal number 1. b) to e) will be offered equal number 1 status, f) and g) will be offered number 2 status.

My, what a neat little shopping list you've got there. Unfortunately, Katherine Legge is already under contract at BMW. That deal was sealed before my new rule came into play, so we'll have to leave it at that (at least for now). I'm really sorry. But you could always go for Rahel Frey. From what I've heard, her current performance is quite decent...

I think any Swiss Miss in this series has quite decent results , although Ferrari NART are puzzled as to why de Silvestro has been crumbling lately. And Ferrari have absolutely no interest in changing our driver lineup, especially if we win everything. We'd like to bid to keep our drivers for 2015 then.

To make it official, we bid for everyone to stay except we want Gordan Murray. Yes, we know the D20 is quite cruel, but we can afford to take gambles.

[Turbogirl]

I think any Swiss Miss in this series has quite decent results ;) , although Ferrari NART are puzzled as to why de Silvestro has been crumbling lately. And Ferrari have absolutely no interest in changing our driver lineup, especially if we win everything. We'd like to bid to keep our drivers for 2015 then.

Yeah, you're right with that. They were lucky to get into good teams. But I didn't want to point dr-baker at Cyndie Allemann, since he's already after one of your drivers.

[dr-baker]

Lotus are going to go a bit crazy here, in light of their upturn towards the end of the current season, hoping that this will attract talent to the team.

1. Lotus will retain their team principal.

2. Lotus are looking to recruit one of the following as their technical director: a) Gordon Murray, b) Nick Wirth, c) Geoff Willis

3. Lotus would like any two of the following as Race Engineers: a) Guillaume Rocquelin, b) Rob Smedley, c)James Kay, d) Xevi Pujolar, e) Andrew Shovlin, f) Chris Dyer, g) Jock Clear, h) David Brown, I) Giorgio Ascanelli

4. Lotus would like to retain/employ two of the following drivers: a) Natacha Gachnang, b) Katherine Legge, c) Susie Wolff, d) Pippa Mann, e) Simona di Silvestro, f) Liz Halliday, g) Leilani Munter


Number 2 is definitely in order of preference. Number 3, there is no order of preference. Number 4, there is an order of preference. Natacha Gachnang will remain as either a clear number 1 or equal number 1. b) to e) will be offered equal number 1 status, f) and g) will be offered number 2 status.

My, what a neat little shopping list you've got there. Unfortunately, Katherine Legge is already under contract at BMW. That deal was sealed before my new rule came into play, so we'll have to leave it at that (at least for now). I'm really sorry. But you could always go for Rahel Frey. From what I've heard, her current performance is quite decent...

I am really quite aware of Ms Legge's plans. However, sometimes, plans are subject to change, are they not? Just in case she becomes free... However, please also insert Ms Frey to the list, maybe immediately after Ms Legge? Thank you!

[Turbogirl]

I am really quite aware of Ms Legge's plans. However, sometimes, plans are subject to change, are they not? Just in case she becomes free... However, please also insert Ms Frey to the list, maybe immediately after Ms Legge? Thank you!

You're right. Wizzie could always change his mind and go for a completely different driver combination, excluding Legge. Sorry, that slipped my mind, when I wrote the other post.

[go_Rubens]

Noting that Lotus also want Gordan Murray, we'll still try for him. If we fail to get him, we'll try for former Ferrari employee Rory Byrne.

[Onxy Wrecked]

I'm retaining the current lineup for next season at least for drivers. I might consider some changes elsewhere.

[Londoner]

Well, we are incredibly pleased at how this season has panned out for us, with Rahel still with a great chance of taking the title, and Fiona starting to come into her own. We see no reason really to change things with our package, we're pretty much there or thereabouts.

To clarify, Nissan will retain the current set-up for next season. To ensure that Rahel Frey stays with us, we offer her a tidy package of top-class hospitality in the paddock, and number 1 status on-track. That should keep the vultures away.

[Turbogirl]

Again, a BIG Thank you to everyone sacrificing their spare time working on the wiki page for this series!

I've revisited it today and I must say, that it's simply beautiful. I will admit it once again: I could never have done it myself, cause I'm just incompatible with wikis (and other stuff on da komputor).

Thanks to go_Rubens (especially), but also to Wizzie, ryangregg12345, pi314159 and Matt121. Keep up the good work whenever you feel like it! You made a certain smalltown girl from Germany (as in me) very very happy!

Tell you all a secret: I didn't sport a signature under my posts, because I wasn't able to find something worthy of being such a signature and if I did, someone else was always faster than me. Well, not anymore!

(Oh, and thanks to my dear big brother for helping me with that link. What would I do without you?)

[Turbogirl]

17th Round of the Women's GT World Championship

Red Bull Ring, Austria

55 laps / 4,318 km (2,68 mi)


Qualifying

Weather: Warm, dry, sunny

This qualification began with a bang, literally. Pippa Mann had just recorded the fastest lap time and was heading back to the pits, when Simona de Silvestro appeared in her mirrors. De Silvestro was on her fast lap after some installation laps and closed in fast on Mann's Ferrari, both approaching Turn 3, Remus. Somehow both misjudged the other's intentions and they collided. This took not only both drivers out for the remainder of the qualifying, but also forced their mechanics to salvage both cars and restore them to race-worthy condition until the next day, since there are no spare cars allowed in GT serieses.
Simona and Pippa walked back to the pits side by side, talking to each other. But not in an aggravated way, more in a friendly way. It is unknown, what they had to say to each other, but they would later claim, the accident was 50-50 responsibility for both of them. The FIA, unwilling to affect the battle for the Championship by penalizing one or another, declared the collision as a mere accident.
Simona de Silvestro, unable to fight back, ended up in ninth position, not only behind her own teammate Danica Patrick, but also behind Natacha Gachnang in a Lotus! That was no good sign for the following day. Pippa Mann on the other hand was happy with her fourth place, although both Audis stood between her and Cyndie Allemann in the second Ferrari. But then again, Pippa didn't need to win this round at all. She had a comfortable lead over both Rahel Frey and Simona de Silvestro, so the only thing she needed to do was finish in front of them and the Championship would be secured.
Overenthusiastic reporters and everyone at RTL started calculating immediately. Four rounds left to go, 200 Championship points available at maximum. Right now, Pippa had an advantage of 39 points over Rahel Frey and 95 points over Simona de Silvestro. If Simona still wanted to snatch this year's title in the end, she would have to win every round from now on (586 points), with Pippa (currently 481 points) finishing only in fifth or sixth position. Well, it's RTL's way of trying to make a Championship more thrilling...
Rahel Frey was simply not happy with the performance of her Nissan, which was getting less competitive with every round, it seemed. Team Nissan had reached the car's limit, and that was just not good enough to fight on par with this year's Championship contenders. Luck had aided Frey to two consecutive victories, and the Swiss "Glückskind" herself had admitted in an interview, that she couldn't have done it without the strangely banked corners of Anderstorp or the heavy rain in Zandvoort.
The biggest surprise in qualifying was the astonishing performance of Team Lotus, a former backmarker, that has constantly climbed up the ranks into the midfield, although nothing had changed in the team's personnel structure - except, of course, for Katherine Legge, who had replaced Jenny Tinmouth from Round 12 onwards.
Asked in an interview with a British newspaper, what's the secret behind Lotus' way to the top after so many mediocre showings and disappointments, Legge stated:

A flower needs its time to blossom. Before I came, Natacha was busy developing the car on her own and helping her teammate to get accustomed to the new situation as good as possible. Now Lotus has two experienced gals working day and night to make the car faster and more competitive, providing the engineers with as much input as possible. Sometimes, you just need enough time and patience.

Code: Select all

01    Cyndie Allemann            (Ferrari)              1:22.166
02    Leanne Tander              (Audi)                 1:22.588
03    Vanina Ickx                (Audi)                 1:22.668
04    Pippa Mann                 (Ferrari)              1:22.957
05    Shea Holbrook              (Toyota)               1:23.053
06    Ashley Freiberg            (Toyota)               1:23.069
07    Danica Patrick             (Jaguar)               1:23.071
08    Natacha Gachnang           (Lotus)                1:23.108
09    Simona de Silvestro        (Jaguar)               1:23.251
10    Katherine Legge            (Lotus)                1:23.477

Code: Select all

11    Ana Beatriz                (Porsche)              1:23.698
12    Erica Enders               (Mercedes-Benz)        1:23.874
13    Rahel Frey                 (Nissan)               1:24.027
14    Zoe Wenham                 (Porsche)              1:24.452
15    Melanie Troxel             (Mercedes-Benz)        1:24.515
16    Johanna Long               (Chevrolet)            1:24.527
17    Emma Kimiläinen            (Chevrolet)            1:24.534
18    Fiona Leggate              (Nissan)               1:24.745
19    Chelsea Angelo             (BMW)                  1:24.941
20    Renee Gracie               (BMW)                  1:25.003

Code: Select all

21    Ramona Karlsson            (Honda)                1:25.055
22    Shirley van der Lof        (Maserati)             1:25.093
23    Amber Cope                 (Ford)                 1:25.102
24    Susie Wolff                (Aston Martin)         1:25.123
25    Alice Powell               (Aston Martin)         1:25.135
26    Beitske Visser             (Maserati)             1:25.167
27    Keiko Ihara                (Lamborghini)          1:25.200
28    Angela Cope                (Ford)                 1:25.255
29    Jutta Kleinschmidt         (Honda)                1:25.280
30    Sabine Schmitz             (Lamborghini)          1:25.727

105 % = 1:28.274


Race

Weather: Warm, dry, sunny

Experts declare the Red Bull Ring as an "Audi track", which basically means, the Audis are extremely competitive on the Austrian circuit. And indeed they were: Vanina Ickx shot into the lead right on the first corner, with Leanne Tander in her slipstream. Cyndie Allemann had the unfortunate disadvantage of staying too long on the outside, so there was no real chance for her to shut the door in time. A minor mistake, but now both Audis were in the lead.
Pippa Mann had been passed by Shea Holbrook in the Toyota, while Katherine Legge had taken advantage of a mediocre start from Simona de Silvestro to take ninth place. The Jaguar was clearly superior on the straights, but Legge used the many corners to her advantage and was able to accelerate earlier than de Silvestro could.
During this whole race, Ferrari got a good look at their supposed new rivals for the next season of the Women's GT World Championship. Audi and Toyota had made remarkable progress over the last couple of rounds and if they can keep up this pace during the silly season, they might be able to attack the current title contenders right on the first round of the new year.
Newspapers spread the rumor, that Sarah Fisher had signed a contract with manufacturer McLaren Automotive to run the famous McLaren F1 GTR the following year - a car so successful in the old GT1 Series, it should have been declared illegal. If Team Toyota should carry on under new management, they will field the Toyota GT-One TS020, another successful car from the old GT1 Series to make its comeback in the Women's GT World Championship.
The first driver to retire was Ana Beatriz, who crashed her Porsche at Gösser after a failed passing maneuvre on the struggling Simona de Silvestro. De Silvestro was still searching for a way to get past Katherine Legge in the Lotus.
The only other retirement before the pitstops came due around lap 26 was Amber Cope, who had become impatient with the slower Shirley van der Lof in front of her and tried to force her way through, which ended in a collision and the aforementioned retirement for Cope. The irony of this situation: Had Amber waited some more laps, van der Lof would have retired with a broken gearbox anyway.
Cyndie Allemann had to suffer through a desastrous pitstop on lap 27. The left rear mechanic had trouble with a disfunctional screwdriver. This caused Cyndie to rejoin the race in ninth and she had to work her way back up to fifth right behind her teammate Pippa Mann during the following laps. She closed in on Pippa during lap 34.
On lap 35 Vanina Ickx appeared with a clear lead at the finish line, while her teammate had fallen behind and was immediately passed by Shea Holbrook in Turn 1. The Ferraris kept closing in on Leanne Tander and Cyndie Allemann overtook Pippa Mann for fourth on lap 38. Mann did not bother to fight back. She simply didn't want to risk anything.
Rahel Frey's chase came to an abrupt end with a blown tyre and the disappointed Swiss Miss retired on lap 39, unable to return to the pits without losing too many valuable positions. Despite the continuing handling issues with her Nissan, Frey had managed to gain eighth position before she was forced to retire.
Shirley van der Lof had to deal with gearbox problems on the same lap, when her car refused to switch into fifth gear. Van der Lof headed to the pits and retired on the spot, when her gearbox collapsed completely.
Pippa Mann seemed to be content with her fifth position. So much so, that she didn't even bother to attack Allemann during the final lap, like she always does. And really, who could blame her for playing it safe? Simona de Silvestro had failed to score better than 11th and Rahel Frey had been forced to retire. I guess, it's this and the fact, that Pippa's Ferrari was damaged during the qualifying. Maybe she feared, it might break down if she'd go flat out. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, isn't it?
Vanina Ickx took the chequered flag as the winner, closely followed by Shea Holbrook in second and Leanne Tander over seven seconds behind in third. The Audi mechanics helped Vanina out of her car and lifted her on their shoulders. In other FIA controlled serieses, Ickx would have been disqualified for this, but as long as the WDA has the last say, something like that is not going to happen! Not even if Ickx had received a dash of water in one of her pockets...

Code: Select all

01    Vanina Ickx                (Audi)                 55 Laps
02    Shea Holbrook              (Toyota)               +  1.560
03    Leanne Tander              (Audi)                 +  7.953
04    Cyndie Allemann            (Ferrari)              +  8.414
05    Pippa Mann                 (Ferrari)              +  9.768
06    Natacha Gachnang           (Lotus)                + 10.157
07    Erica Enders               (Mercedes-Benz)        + 11.569
08    Danica Patrick             (Jaguar)               + 12.974
09    Melanie Troxel             (Mercedes-Benz)        + 18.941
10    Katherine Legge            (Lotus)                + 20.202

Code: Select all

11    Simona de Silvestro        (Jaguar)               + 21.653
12    Chelsea Angelo             (BMW)                  + 23.531
13    Johanna Long               (Chevrolet)            + 24.756
14    Emma Kimiläinen            (Chevrolet)            + 28.109
15    Zoe Wenham                 (Porsche)              + 30.800
16    Angela Cope                (Ford)                 + 32.287
17    Fiona Leggate              (Nissan)               + 32.938
18    Renee Gracie               (BMW)                  + 33.394
19    Ramona Karlsson            (Honda)                + 37.746
20    Susie Wolff                (Aston Martin)         + 39.215

Code: Select all

21    Beitske Visser             (Maserati)             + 39.982
22    Jutta Kleinschmidt         (Honda)                + 41.477
23    Sabine Schmitz             (Lamborghini)          + 42.569
24    Keiko Ihara                (Lamborghini)          + 43.999
DNF   Alice Powell               (Aston Martin)         43 Laps      Spin
DNF   Rahel Frey                 (Nissan)               39 Laps      Tyre Damage
DNF   Shirley van der Lof        (Maserati)             39 Laps      Gearbox
DNF   Ashley Freiberg            (Toyota)               38 Laps      Accident
DNF   Amber Cope                 (Ford)                 22 Laps      Accident
DNF   Ana Beatriz                (Porsche)              10 Laps      Accident

Driver's Championship

Code: Select all

01    Pippa Mann                 (Ferrari)              507 points
02    Rahel Frey                 (Nissan)               442 points
03    Simona de Silvestro        (Jaguar)               393 points
04    Danica Patrick             (Jaguar)               375 points
05    Katherine Legge            (Ferrari / Lotus)      296 points
06    Erica Enders               (Mercedes-Benz)        267 points
07    Vanina Ickx                (Audi)                 263 points
08    Melanie Troxel             (Mercedes-Benz)        253 points
09    Leanne Tander              (Audi)                 239 points
10    Cyndie Allemann            (Ferrari)              220 points
11    Emma Kimiläinen            (Chevrolet)            136 points

Code: Select all

12    Miranda Throckmorton       (Chevrolet)            131 points
13    Johanna Long               (Chevrolet)            129 points
14    Fiona Leggate              (Nissan)               121 points
15    Ana Beatriz                (Porsche)              120 points
16    Shea Holbrook              (Toyota)                87 points
17    Chelsea Angelo             (BMW)                   83 points
18    Natacha Gachnang           (Lotus)                 83 points
19    Beitske Visser             (Maserati)              82 points
20    Renee Gracie               (BMW)                   71 points
21    Shirley van der Lof        (Maserati)              57 points
22    Zoe Wenham                 (Porsche)               49 points

Code: Select all

23    Maryeve Dufault            (Toyota)                47 points
24    Susie Wolff                (Aston Martin)          37 points
25    Angela Cope                (Ford)                  35 points
26    Amber Cope                 (Ford)                  34 points
27    Ashley Freiberg            (Toyota)                30 points
28    Ramona Karlsson            (Honda)                 18 points
29    Corentine Quiniou          (Toyota)                16 points
30    Jutta Kleinschmidt         (Honda)                 10 points
31    Alice Powell               (Aston Martin)           7 points
32    Sabine Schmitz             (Lamborghini)            2 points
33    Keiko Ihara                (Lamborghini)            1 point

Constructor's Championship

Code: Select all

01    Ferrari              990 points
02    Jaguar               768 points
03    Nissan               563 points
04    Mercedes-Benz        520 points
05    Audi                 502 points
06    Chevrolet            396 points
07    Toyota               180 points
08    Porsche              169 points

Code: Select all

09    BMW                  154 points
10    Maserati             139 points
11    Lotus                116 points
12    Ford                  69 points
13    Aston Martin          44 points
14    Honda                 28 points
15    Lamborghini            3 points

Reject of the Race: Sorry, but once again nothing from me. Feel free to nominate your own ROTR, if you think someone or something should receive this "honor".

Next: Round 18 - Czech Republic up on Wednesday the 12th (CET)!

[mike robers]

Sarah Fisher wrote-
We are beyond happy for Shea for finishing second today! However, we feel bad for Ashley for that accident. She should know that she is doing a great job for us. We feel that with the new car, we can dominate next season.

[dr-baker]

Wow. Who would have thought that simply replacing one driver would elevate the whole team's performance so much and so consistently? Having a faster, proven driver in the second car really has pushed Gachnang's performance upwards. The aim now has to be to see Lotus end the season in the top-10...

[go_Rubens]

Today Was A Good Day

Well, we've pronounced our lead in the WCC almost insurmountable. Awesome! And even though the podium streak is ended, it had to end eventually, right?

Well, as far as I'm concerned, I've got meself a job. We aren't celebrating too early, but we've done our job. We've done a good enough favor for Luca.

[AustralianStig]

Brilliant! What a great result for Audi! We knew we were capable of race wins, but even I didn't dare to dream that the appointment of Patrick Head would bring them so quickly. Having both our drivers on the podium is simply fantastic, and this is a brilliant boost to the end of the season. We have cemented our place in the top 5, and if we can continue recording results like this may even trouble the top 4 by Monza.

From memory I think Leanne might be on AGG if she qualifies inside the top 10, if so I'd like to remove this and set both drivers on MOD.

[dr-baker]

For the next race, I would like to see what happens if I set both my drivers to AGG please...

[Turbogirl]

From memory I think Leanne might be on AGG if she qualifies inside the top 10, if so I'd like to remove this and set both drivers on MOD.

For the next race, I would like to see what happens if I set both my drivers to AGG please...

Both registered.


Oh, btw, I have noticed a mistake on the wiki page: It says there, that Chelsea Angelo won the first round in Adelaide, but it was her teammate Renee Gracie instead.

P.S.: I especially like the addition of the ROTR in the list. Funny to see the things and people I have nominated so far all in one place. The rain, Jaguar's gearbox gremlin... I'm still a bit surprised, I didn't nominate Milka Duno more often, after all the accidents and collisions she produced during her time here.

[Wallio]

We are not amused at Audi's sudden dominance. Shouldn't they be more worried about fixing their sister company Lambo's (and Porsche's) problems? Or is it a really extreme case of team orders?

[pasta_maldonado]

From memory I think Leanne might be on AGG if she qualifies inside the top 10, if so I'd like to remove this and set both drivers on MOD.

For the next race, I would like to see what happens if I set both my drivers to AGG please...

Both registered.


Oh, btw, I have noticed a mistake on the wiki page: It says there, that Chelsea Angelo won the first round in Adelaide, but it was her teammate Renee Gracie instead.

P.S.: I especially like the addition of the ROTR in the list. Funny to see the things and people I have nominated so far all in one place. The rain, Jaguar's gearbox gremlin... I'm still a bit surprised, I didn't nominate Milka Duno more often, after all the accidents and collisions she produced during her time here.

Yeah, that was me. After skipping by this series I'm intrigued, might have to have Plus One enter into the feeder series you've got planned.

[Turbogirl]

From memory I think Leanne might be on AGG if she qualifies inside the top 10, if so I'd like to remove this and set both drivers on MOD.

For the next race, I would like to see what happens if I set both my drivers to AGG please...

Both registered.


Oh, btw, I have noticed a mistake on the wiki page: It says there, that Chelsea Angelo won the first round in Adelaide, but it was her teammate Renee Gracie instead.

P.S.: I especially like the addition of the ROTR in the list. Funny to see the things and people I have nominated so far all in one place. The rain, Jaguar's gearbox gremlin... I'm still a bit surprised, I didn't nominate Milka Duno more often, after all the accidents and collisions she produced during her time here.

Yeah, that was me. After skipping by this series I'm intrigued, might have to have Plus One enter into the feeder series you've got planned.

You're welcome anytime, my friend. And thank you for working on the wiki page, too! It's so overwhelming to have one dedicated to my series.

[AustralianStig]

We are not amused at Audi's sudden dominance. Shouldn't they be more worried about fixing their sister company Lambo's (and Porsche's) problems? Or is it a really extreme case of team orders?

Ha, perhaps Mercedes-Benz should take another look at the team's championship. Do they really have time to be pointing the finger when they are only 18 points ahead of losing 4th place? Lamborghini and Porsche are not my concern, they are a completely separate operation and I don't see how team orders could come into play when they are trundling around at the rear of the grid...

[Turbogirl]

18th Round of the Women's GT World Championship

Masaryk Circuit, Czech Republic

51 laps / 5.403 km (3,357 mi)


Qualifying

Weather: Warm, dry, sunny

Just like the qualifying in Austria, this one also featured a big bang, but this time at the end and not meant to be taken literally. But the protagonists were the same as in Austria on the fortnight. Simona de Silvestro had an outstanding comeback on the Masaryk Circuit, taking pole position right on her first attempt. It took Pippa Mann several attempts and also some set-up changes to eventually beat Simona's recorded lap time and grab pole position herself.
Ferrari and Jaguar were finally fighting on par with each other again. And Simona seemed to be less nervous and stressed than in Austria, where you could literally see the pressure on her shoulders reflecting in her eyes. Theoretically, she still had a chance to grab the Championship title at the end of this season, but it would need a minor miracle to pull that one off...
...and a little rejectfulness on the side of Cyndie Allemann, who managed to grab third. If the Swiss Miss could get the upper hand right from the start, Simona's chances to win this round would evaporate immediately. If Cyndie blundered like she did in Austria, Simona could take a much needed victory in the end.
Rahel Frey was also back in the picture, slightly behind Danica Patrick in seventh place. The Nissan had always been best starting from positions like this. And unlike in the previous rounds, Frey found herself a promising set-up, which could aid her to a decent points finish or even a podium, if everything went according to plan.

Code: Select all

01    Pippa Mann                 (Ferrari)              1:54.182
02    Simona de Silvestro        (Jaguar)               1:54.224
03    Cyndie Allemann            (Ferrari)              1:54.390
04    Shea Holbrook              (Toyota)               1:54.593
05    Leanne Tander              (Audi)                 1:54.628
06    Danica Patrick             (Jaguar)               1:54.647
07    Rahel Frey                 (Nissan)               1:54.713
08    Vanina Ickx                (Audi)                 1:54.806
09    Ashley Freiberg            (Toyota)               1:54.827
10    Natacha Gachnang           (Lotus)                1:54.863

Code: Select all

11    Katherine Legge            (Lotus)                1:54.924
12    Erica Enders               (Mercedes-Benz)        1:54.969
13    Ana Beatriz                (Porsche)              1:54.996
14    Emma Kimiläinen            (Chevrolet)            1:55.068
15    Fiona Leggate              (Nissan)               1:55.145
16    Zoe Wenham                 (Porsche)              1:55.238
17    Johanna Long               (Chevrolet)            1:55.293
18    Melanie Troxel             (Mercedes-Benz)        1:55.305
19    Chelsea Angelo             (BMW)                  1:55.439
20    Renee Gracie               (BMW)                  1:55.540

Code: Select all

21    Ramona Karlsson            (Honda)                1:55.577
22    Amber Cope                 (Ford)                 1:55.619
23    Susie Wolff                (Aston Martin)         1:55.634
24    Shirley van der Lof        (Maserati)             1:55.744
25    Beitske Visser             (Maserati)             1:55.813
26    Jutta Kleinschmidt         (Honda)                1:55.888
27    Sabine Schmitz             (Lamborghini)          1:56.035
28    Alice Powell               (Aston Martin)         1:56.064
29    Keiko Ihara                (Lamborghini)          1:56.333
30    Angela Cope                (Ford)                 1:56.563

105 % = 2:01.891


Race

Weather: Warm, dry, sunny

Unfortunately, the spectators had to witness a big bang in the race too. This time literally. Again with the same protagonists as before. The bang came right on the first corner. Pippa and Simona were fighting for the lead, Pippa refused to give in, although Simona's car had almost passed her on the inside, both cars colliding, smoke everywhere. Pippa's Ferrari got turned around and was now facing the opposite direction.
Vanina Ickx, who tried to avoid driving blindly into the cloud of smoke, collided with Ashley Freiberg, taking the first Toyota out. Ickx could travel on, but was slowed down by a handling problem from thereon. Cyndie Allemann avoided the collision with her teammate and took the lead, followed by Leanne Tander in second and Simona de Silvestro in third. Shea Holbrook was not as fortunate as Allemann and crashed into the stationary Pippa Mann, destroying the Toyota's frontsplitter in the process.
While Holbrook was out, Pippa made a u-turn and soldiered on with a damaged car front. Part of the bodywork had crumbled off, where the Ferrari was hit by the Toyota, and Pippa's frontsplitter was tilted. The handling was bad, so much so that Pippa needed to adjust the braking balance in most of the corners, which cost her valuable time. You can't just exchange the frontsplitter on a GT car like you can exchange a damaged front wing on a single seater. Either Pippa had to soldier on with the damaged Ferrari or she had to retire on the spot. There were no other options.
She chose to carry on, especially since she was still close to the point ranks (15th) and was able to fend off Johanna Long in a fully functional Corvette. There was still light at the end of this tunnel.
But Pippa's nightmare didn't end there. Shortly after the collision at the start, the message "incident between cars #3 (de Silvestro) and #18 (Mann) under investigation" appeared on the TV screen. The FIA officials tried to avoid affecting the Championship in any way, but they had no wiggle room here, since the camera footage of the collision clearly showed Pippa to be responsible for it in the first place, so the Ferrari driver had to be penalized according to the rules. And so she was...
Simona de Silvestro received the latest infos about this via team radio and knew, she had to take this opportunity, if she wanted to keep her title winning chances alive. She attacked Leanne Tander on lap 8 to take second. By this time, Cyndie Allemann had already pulled away, but Simona began chasing after her nontheless.
During the confusion at the start, Rahel Frey had taken fourth place and was now chasing after Leanne Tander. It would take the Swiss Miss a little longer to close in on the Audi, since her Nissan was obviously not as fast as a Jaguar.
Simona caught up with Allemann on lap 18. Could Speedy Cyndie keep the fast approaching Jaguar at bay? Well, she managed to do just that until her pitstop came due on lap 26. This would bring the decisive turn of events. While Cyndie drove into the pits, Simona did what she had done in Argentina once before: She drove as many fast laps as possible, before pitting herself. Simona was still in the lead, when she rejoined the race, over five seconds ahead of Allemann.
Rahel Frey used her pitstop to "overtake" Leanne Tander. Both pitted at the same time, but the Nissan crew was slightly faster and sent Frey out in front of Tander. Their close battle for third would carry on until the end of this race. Time and again Leanne Tander tried to find a way past the Nissan, and if the race had gone on for one more lap, Tander would certainly have regained third place.
On lap 38 Melanie Troxel, who held 12th position until then, retired after a failed attempt to pass Ana Beatriz for eleventh, which aided Pippa Mann to 14th place. She had finally arrived in the points, but her chances of scoring a better results on her own were nonexistent, because the handling of her Ferrari was getting worse. Pippa had her hands full defending 14th place against an impatient Johanna Long, who was eager to gain points herself.
On lap 42 Emma Kimiläinen, who was cruising unchallenged in tenth, encountered a braking problem and had to retire her Corvette, which put Pippa Mann in 13th and Johanna Long in 14th place.
Simona de Silvestro took the chequered flag to secure her fifth victory this season, closely followed by Cyndie Allemann in second, who had managed to shorten the original gap of over five seconds between her and the leading Jaguar to little over two seconds during the last four laps of the race. Rahel Frey came third, with Leanne Tander in fourth and Natacha Gachnang in fifth. So far the best result for Lotus this entire season.
Adelaide winner Renee Gracie scored points for BMW Team Australia again. Gracie and also her teammate Chelsea Angelo had come a long way since the beginning of this season, even though it's already cemented, that one of them will be replaced by Katherine Legge for next season.
Pippa Mann was still upset about what had happened on this day. She should have had that victory in the bag, but the collision right at the start had ruined everything. And now her Championship title was endangered once again. A drop of five grid positions for causing such a heavy collision may not sound like a harsh penalty at all, but considering the fact, that the next round takes place on the Hungaroring... a circuit, where overtaking is almost impossible even with single seater cars!
Without a doubt, the climax of this season might be just around the corner...

Code: Select all

01    Simona de Silvestro        (Jaguar)               51 Laps
02    Cyndie Allemann            (Ferrari)              +  2.158
03    Rahel Frey                 (Nissan)               +  9.226
04    Leanne Tander              (Audi)                 +  9.965
05    Natacha Gachnang           (Lotus)                + 14.331
06    Danica Patrick             (Jaguar)               + 14.878
07    Katherine Legge            (Lotus)                + 15.462
08    Renee Gracie               (BMW)                  + 16.290
09    Vanina Ickx                (Audi)                 + 19.103
10    Erica Enders               (Mercedes-Benz)        + 20.875

Code: Select all

11    Ana Beatriz                (Porsche)              + 21.106
12    Zoe Wenham                 (Porsche)              + 22.687
13    Pippa Mann                 (Ferrari)              + 23.219
14    Johanna Long               (Chevrolet)            + 24.634
15    Jutta Kleinschmidt         (Honda)                + 27.812
16    Fiona Leggate              (Nissan)               + 28.877
17    Susie Wolff                (Aston Martin)         + 29.918
18    Ramona Karlsson            (Honda)                + 30.444
19    Beitske Visser             (Maserati)             + 31.952
20    Chelsea Angelo             (BMW)                  + 33.037

Code: Select all

21    Angela Cope                (Ford)                 + 36.787
22    Keiko Ihara                (Lamborghini)          + 38.063
DNF   Emma Kimiläinen            (Chevrolet)            42 Laps      Brakes
DNF   Melanie Troxel             (Mercedes-Benz)        38 Laps      Accident
DNF   Amber Cope                 (Ford)                 37 Laps      Suspension
DNF   Alice Powell               (Aston Martin)         32 Laps      Accident
DNF   Shirley van der Lof        (Maserati)             30 Laps      Accident
DNF   Sabine Schmitz             (Lamborghini)          18 Laps      Handling
DNF   Shea Holbrook              (Toyota)                0 Laps      Collision
DNF   Ashley Freiberg            (Toyota)                0 Laps      Collision

Driver's Championship

Code: Select all

01    Pippa Mann                 (Ferrari)              510 points
02    Rahel Frey                 (Nissan)               477 points
03    Simona de Silvestro        (Jaguar)               443 points
04    Danica Patrick             (Jaguar)               397 points
05    Katherine Legge            (Ferrari / Lotus)      314 points
06    Erica Enders               (Mercedes-Benz)        276 points
07    Vanina Ickx                (Audi)                 275 points
08    Leanne Tander              (Audi)                 269 points
09    Cyndie Allemann            (Ferrari)              260 points
10    Melanie Troxel             (Mercedes-Benz)        253 points
11    Emma Kimiläinen            (Chevrolet)            136 points

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12    Miranda Throckmorton       (Chevrolet)            131 points
13    Johanna Long               (Chevrolet)            130 points
14    Ana Beatriz                (Porsche)              127 points
15    Fiona Leggate              (Nissan)               121 points
16    Natacha Gachnang           (Lotus)                109 points
17    Shea Holbrook              (Toyota)                87 points
18    Renee Gracie               (BMW)                   86 points
19    Chelsea Angelo             (BMW)                   83 points
20    Beitske Visser             (Maserati)              82 points
21    Shirley van der Lof        (Maserati)              57 points
22    Zoe Wenham                 (Porsche)               54 points

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23    Maryeve Dufault            (Toyota)                47 points
24    Susie Wolff                (Aston Martin)          37 points
25    Angela Cope                (Ford)                  35 points
26    Amber Cope                 (Ford)                  34 points
27    Ashley Freiberg            (Toyota)                30 points
28    Ramona Karlsson            (Honda)                 18 points
29    Corentine Quiniou          (Toyota)                16 points
30    Jutta Kleinschmidt         (Honda)                 10 points
31    Alice Powell               (Aston Martin)           7 points
32    Sabine Schmitz             (Lamborghini)            2 points
33    Keiko Ihara                (Lamborghini)            1 point

Constructor's Championship

Code: Select all

01    Ferrari             1033 points
02    Jaguar               840 points
03    Nissan               598 points
04    Audi                 544 points
05    Mercedes-Benz        529 points
06    Chevrolet            397 points
07    Porsche              181 points
08    Toyota               180 points

Code: Select all

09    BMW                  169 points
10    Lotus                160 points
11    Maserati             139 points
12    Ford                  69 points
13    Aston Martin          44 points
14    Honda                 28 points
15    Lamborghini            3 points

Penalties: Car #18 (Pippa Mann) drop of 5 grid positions at the driver's next event for causing a collision.

Reject of the Race: For the second time since the dawn of this series, I actually have two!

1.) Number 13. I was born on a 13th and it's definitely no unlucky number for me (so far), but obviously for Amber Cope and many other racing drivers who had sported this number in the past. Right now, Amber has the highest DNF percentage of all active drivers in this Championship. So, from the next season onwards, the "unlucky" number 13 will not be used anymore! If Amber should still DNF all the time, then it's her own fault...

2.) Pippa Mann. She had the Championship literally in the bag. But then she got overly aggressive on the first corner. She should have stayed second behind Simona. That way she could have waited for a better opportunity to attack or simply score as many points as possible instead of risking everything.

Next: Round 19 - Hungary up on Friday the 14th (CET)!

[dr-baker]

So Lotus had 21 points before Katherine Legge arrived, all scored by Natacha Gachnang, and now Lotus are on 160, in the top-10, and Natacha is now up to 109 points and close to the top 15? What a diference a driver change makes!!!!!

[Turbogirl]

So Lotus had 21 points before Katherine Legge arrived, all scored by Natacha Gachnang, and now Lotus are on 160, in the top-10, and Natacha is now up to 109 points and close to the top 15? What a diference a driver change makes!!!!!

If it's the right driver, yes. You wouldn't have had the same effect, if you'd signed Milka Duno, for example. But Legge comes from Ferrari NART and knows how a Championship contender works. All this knowledge is now at Team Lotus, and next year it'll go to BMW Team Australia. Plus, Natacha isn't hindered by Tinmouth's former number 1 driver status anymore, so it's an entirely new working experience for her, too.

[go_Rubens]

DAMNIT!!! Damn, damn, damn, that just wrung all my brain fluid out! Agnes, get me some of my Stella Artois before I go on a rage! NOW!!! Hell, I'm already on a f***ing rage! *Gets his drink* Well, this is smooth, man! And cool. Agnes, have one for yourself. Because we've won the WCC!!!

We had a meeting. Pippa is still safe, as we'd never sack her through our own choice But that was the most inept racing move Jean saw since the final days of Life GP. Or at least, that was his opinion. Turn Pippa down to MOD though for the next race.

I should of let Simona have it. I should have run the race without taking too many risks. Now the bloody championship is wide open again. We keep up our form of the past, then we'll be good. But hell, I'm pissed at myself. *Goes to explain herself to the boss.*

The race was quite easy except for the chaos. I couldn't see what happened very well until I saw that white and blue striped car spin. And then I realized I had to do my best to salvage the best result I could for the team. We've won the WCC, so we're happy for that, but evidently not for the first time this year at the team, we are in torn emotions.

[Turbogirl]

DAMNIT!!! Damn, damn, damn, that just wrung all my brain fluid out! Agnes, get me some of my Stella Artois before I go on a rage! NOW!!! Hell, I'm already on a f***ing rage! *Gets his drink* Well, this is smooth, man! And cool. Agnes, have one for yourself. Because we've won the WCC!!!

We had a meeting. Pippa is still safe, as we'd never sack her through our own choice But that was the most inept racing move Jean saw since the final days of Life GP. Or at least, that was his opinion. Turn Pippa down to MOD though for the next race.

I should of let Simona have it. I should have run the race without taking too many risks. Now the bloody championship is wide open again. We keep up our form of the past, then we'll be good. But hell, I'm pissed at myself. *Goes to explain herself to the boss.*

The race was quite easy except for the chaos. I couldn't see what happened very well until I saw that white and blue striped car spin. And then I realized I had to do my best to salvage the best result I could for the team. We've won the WCC, so we're happy for that, but evidently not for the first time this year at the team, we are in torn emotions.

Oh, I loved that series. Was always a good read. Too bad, Nuppiz decided to let it die. Alright, Pippa Mann is turned down to MOD.