Alt F1 1977: Final Prize Money, Season over!

[pasta_maldonado]

Supplier RNG

The results of the supplier RNG can be found here.

Thistle Racing must choose a tyre manufacturer and announce a schedule for their drivers.

Budgets have been updated, including suppliers and travel fees for Privateer teams. Currently, B&S Fabrications, Scuderia Everest and Mitsuoka are in debt and therefore must revise their plans.

The link to the Supplier RNG results has been corrected, after it was brought to my attention I had indeed not linked to the correct document.

[pasta_maldonado]

Why hasn't the budget for North Star and Avon been updated yet?

North Star and Avon budgets have been updated.

Mitsuoka will withdraw from the Soviet GP.

Mitsuoka are now no longer in debt.

B&S will cancel their trip to the Soviet GP (or are races not counted yet?

TRavel costs are included in the budgets.

Then we'll do that. Let me know if that is enough, or i need to cancel more races (as iwill also lose some pay driver money of course)

After cancelling the Soviet appearance, B&S are still in debt.

[Nessafox]

TRavel costs are included in the budgets.

Then we'll do that. Let me know if that is enough, or i need to cancel more races (as iwill also lose some pay driver money of course)

After cancelling the Soviet appearance, B&S are still in debt.[/quote]
Wait, did my debts just got bigger because of that? Well i guess i'll downgrade to Renzo engines and cancel the German, Austrian and Italian races.

[TomWazzleshaw]

LEC would like to know why they are still yet to be allocated a budget for the 1977 season

[pi314159]

Flammini and Marazzi are going to run only a half schedule (5 races each), and the thereby opened Everest seat will be sold to a higher bidding pay-driver. Scuderia Everest would like to inquire how much the following drivers are able to bring and if they'd be interested in driving for Everest. Depending on the amount of money they contribute, they will contest between six and ten races.

Alessandro Pesenti-Rossi
Giorgio Francia
Bruno Giacomelli
Alberto Colombo
Piercarlo Ghinzani
Riccardo Patrese

[pasta_maldonado]

Flammini and Marazzi are going to run only a half schedule (5 races each), and the thereby opened Everest seat will be sold to a higher bidding pay-driver. Scuderia Everest would like to inquire how much the following drivers are able to bring and if they'd be interested in driving for Everest. Depending on the amount of money they contribute, they will contest between six and ten races.

Alessandro Pesenti-Rossi
Giorgio Francia
Bruno Giacomelli
Alberto Colombo
Piercarlo Ghinzani
Riccardo Patrese

Everest have signed Piercarlo Ghinzani.

LEC would like to know why they are still yet to be allocated a budget for the 1977 season

After an administration oversight, the following budgets have been awarded:

LEC: £400,000
Apollon: £250,000
McGuire: £250,000
MADI: £200,000

After cancelling the Soviet appearance, B&S are still in debt.

Wait, did my debts just got bigger because of that? Well i guess i'll downgrade to Renzo engines and cancel the German, Austrian and Italian races.

You need to tell me which pay drivers you will fire in shrinking your entries.

[Nessafox]

Galica and Zapico will have one race less (italian GP ), Ashley will have 2 races less, Kessel and Binder will driver Monaco and France instead of Ashley. So no drivers get fired.

[pasta_maldonado]

Galica and Zapico will have one race less (italian GP ), Ashley will have 2 races less, Kessel and Binder will driver Monaco and France instead of Ashley. So no drivers get fired.

These alterations to B&S' schedule, along with Renzo engines, have put B&S out of debt.

[pasta_maldonado]

Formula One 1977: Season Preview - Part 1

Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC

1) Jody Scheckter (RZA)
2) Patrick Depailler (FRA)

Ferrari head into 1977 after securing the WDC last season, but it wasn't all celebrations for La Scuderia. Reliability robbed both Niki Lauda and Jody Scheckter of certain victories. Tragically, Niki Lauda perished in an accident at the Soviet Grand Prix, but after missing the French Grand Prix out of respect the team rallied round to finish the year as the team to beat. Jody Scheckter won four Grands Prix on his way to the title, but he'll need to watch out for his young team-mate - Depailler took pole 5 times, the most of anybody, along with one win and is hungry for more. Which driver will emerge on top remains to be seen, but the Prancing Horse is sure to start the season at a gallop.

Team Tyrrell

3) Didier Pironi (FRA)
4) Hector Rebaque (MEX)

Ken Tyrrell has re-organised his eponymous team after the horror show that was 1976, bringing in fresh driving talent in Didier Pironi and securing financial backing from the hiring of ex-Boro man Hector Rebaque. The ill-concieved 008 has gone, along with several personnel and the inter-team management problems that plagued the 1976 campaign, with the new car looking to be a much-needed improvement. The upper midfield will be the best the team can hope for, but points are very much on the cards.

John Player Team Lotus

5) Mario Andretti (USA)
6) Thomas Nurmester (GBR)

It was very much a season of two halves for Colin Chapman's squad, reliability being an issue for the first half of the season, but for most of the season the gold and black cars were consigned to fighting for the honour of best of the rest, alongside Ligier and Brabham. Mario Andretti has been retained after reaching the podium 5 times in 1976, but a race victory apparently doesn't guarantee you a seat in the mind of Mr. Chapman, as Patrick Tambay is ousted in favour of journeyman Thomas Nurmester. There's a new car, too, and if that proves up to scratch, Andretti and Nurmester will have no trouble scoring some very good results with it.

Martini Racing (Brabham)

7) James Hunt (GBR)
8) Lella Lombardi (ITA)

Two weak links dogged Brabham's season - the powerful yet unreliable Alfa Romeo engine, and the erratic at best Lella Lombardi. Surprisingly, it's the former that's been ditched in favour of the venerable Cosworth DFV, with Lombardi hanging onto her seat by the skin of her contract. Scoring three podiums was no mean feat for James Hunt, but Brabham will be hoping the BT45B can take the fight to Ligier more consistently, or the team's star asset will go the way of Alfa.

March Engineering

9) Tom Pryce (GBR)
10) Gianfranco Brancatelli (ITA)

Two points finishes mask the bad luck and reliability that followed the works March squad around like a lost puppy, with several promising drives down the drain due to either problem. Both John Watson and Vittorio Brambilla, along with the Beta money and livery are gone for 1977, with Tom Pryce jumping ship from Shadow and Gianfranco Brancatelli joining from Boro, and there's a new car, too. However, the loss of Beta hits the team more than customer chassis sales can make up for, and this appears to have reflected in the 771. Lower midfield is the most likely possibility, with the dark threat of Pre-Qualification looming uncomfortably close.

[pasta_maldonado]

Formula One 1977: Season Preview - Part 2

Marlboro Team McLaren

11) Carlos Reutemann (ARG)
12) Tom Sneva (USA)

McLaren have opted for stability in the off-season, retaining every cog in the machine that won the Constructor's and Entrant's championships. Carlos Reutemann squandered the lead in the championship due to self-imposed errors, mistakes which only became apparent after USAC star Tom Sneva replaced the ailing Jochen Mass. Sneva outscored everybody else in the last 7 races of the championship, and although Reutemann will gather himself over the off-season, his rear-view mirrors will be focused firmly on the American. Drivers aside, the rest of Teddy Mayer's squad is up to scratch, with the Cosworths retained and the M23 receiving a major upgrade. All three championships will be the aim.

Equipe Renault Elf

14) Jean-Pierre Jabouille (FRA)
15) Jean-Pierre Jarier (FRA)

One of the major talking points of the off-season, the arrival of Renault onto the scene after dominating Formula 2 is a new variable in Formula One. Dual Jean-Pierres in the form of rookie Jabouille and the outcast Jarier will be behind the wheel, with the French marque continuing their partnership with chassis manufacturer Martini, but the hot topic on anybody's lips is the Renault-Gordini V6 Turbo in the back. It's a radical new philosophy exploiting provisions in the regulation as-yet untouched by anybody, and only time will tell how this experiment will fare. Pre-Qualifying awaits, with the probability of progression unknown.

Hollywood Shadow Racing Team

16) John Watson (GBR)
17) Alex Ribeiro (BRA)

Oh, dear. An unimproved chassis and the unreliable Alfa Romeos are not the catalysts needed for the team with no identity to improve on a dismal 1976. Tom Pryce, who scored the team's only point, is off to March, and in a straight swap John Watson arrives, alongside Alex Ribeiro, who performed decently at Ensign and brings Hollywood backing to the team. Watson may have made the wrong move, as the steady downwards spiral has begun, with Pre-Qualifying threatening to consume any stragglers.

Williams Racing

19) Clay Regazzoni (SUI)
20) Alan Jones (AUS)

1976 proved to be the break-out year for Frank Williams' squad, but Walter Wolf is now gone from the equation, having left the team after his bid to buy more of the team was rejected. On the driver front, it's two paid drivers for the first time in the team's short history, as Clay Regazzoni stays to be partnered by new signing Alan Jones, fresh from the Tyrrell debacle. Last year, Regazzoni took the FW05 to the team's first podium at Monaco, with Francois Migault rounding off an impressive season with a second podium in Japan. Fighting in the upper midfield was very much unexpected last year, but this year it's the bare minimum, with the FW05 seeing a major upgrade. There's been additions on the personnel side too, young engineer Patrick Head joins the outfit to see over the development of the FW05B and the team's next challenger. An improvement upon 1976's 20 points and 2 podiums could be on the cards.

[pasta_maldonado]

Formula One 1977: Season Preview - Part 3

Team Ensign

21) Gunnar Nilsson (SWE)
22) Ronnie Peterson (SWE)

Having one Swedish star obviously isn't enough for Mo Nunn and co., as they've doubled down by hiring Lotus refugee Ronnie Peterson, abandoning the revolving door approach for the second. Promising much, and only sometimes delivering, Nunn has taken on the poisoned chalice of the Alfa Romeo engines, but improved BHP might not plug all the leaks in the Ensign ship after the Teddy Yip deal was torpedoed by FISA. The podium oft-promised finally arrived for Nilsson in Canada, after race after race of issues and gremlins, but the sense is that chances will come fewer and farther between this year, especially after the brave call to opt for two paid drivers.

Hesketh Racing

23) Patrick Neve (BEL)
24) Giancarlo Martini (ITA)

Every dog has his day, the old adage goes. The Hesketh bulldog has clearly been in a coma since 1975, as last season was highly disappointing at it's very best. Raw speed was never expected to be found with one of the smallest budgets amongst the FOCA teams, but much, much more was expected from the pairing of Pace / Ertl. The lineup promised much, but delivered a solitary 10th place. Hesketh found themselves mired in pre-qualifying, outqualified by privateers, and outclassed in the constructor's championsip by Boro, with three less starts and half the budget. Things are not looking up for the plucky team, with the same 76 spec Cosworths in the back of an unimproved chassis, whilst the driving pair offers little saving grace. Patrick Neve simply did not deserve the 5 points the Ligier chassis handed to him, yet his attitude manages to be worse than his driving, turning down offers from B&S and Penske hoping Ferrari would call. Martini on the other hand, managed to stay ahead of Zorzi in the Dywa but beyond that, nothing can be read into hispace. More misery ahead.

Ligier Gitanes

25) Jacques Laffite (FRA)
26) Jacky Ickx (FRA)

Ligier's debut season proved to be a pleasant surprise for Francophones the world over. Jacques Laffite firmly established himself as a contender for Brabham and Lotus, and the team even scored a 1-2 on the road in France after McLaren were caught napping. And that's were the subtext begins, as Pescarolo's disqualification from second place at Paul Ricard for dangerous driving was one of two disqualifications, the other being earned by Teddy Pilette in Belgium for...you guessed it, dangerous driving. Pescarolo's role in forcing Lombardi off the road divided opinion in the paddock, and that is the sentiment for Ligier's 76 season - good when it was good, anonymous when not. A major upgrade to the JS5 and continued Matra support will attempt to change that, but the signing of Jacky Ickx is questionable, at best. Out of the sport for the best part of a decade in Formula One terms, his motivation appears non-existent, leaving question marks over his - and Ligier's - performance.

[pasta_maldonado]

Formula One 1977: Season Preview - Part 4

Team Penske

27) Henri Pescarolo (FRA)
28) Brett Lunger (USA)

Roger Penske has grit, determination and ability by the bucketful, qualities that bewilderingly leave his eponymous team remaining in Formula One despite their worst season. Eight failures to make the grid with a driver line-up that should have done better is one thing, but the fact the more powerful Alfa engines were powering Hans Joachim Stuck and Brett Lunger is another entirely. And that's before you factor in the litany of errors, including Stuck colliding with Scheckter as he came to lap him in the Italian Grand Prix. Still, Roger has ditched the Italian marque - whose engines he affectionately referred to as "lumps of Italian pig iron" - in favour of Cosworths, and brought in the mercurial Henri Pescarolo to partner Lunger, but despite the otherwise promising driver line-up things are looking bleak. The Cossies are a year old, and the PC4 barely updated. It'll be even more of a struggle for them to escape from a extremely competitive pre-qualifying this season.

Copersucar Team Fittipaldi

30) Emerson Fittipaldi (BRA)
31) Francois Migault (FRA)

Family means everything in Brazil, so naturally, Emerson Fittipaldi was more than willing to help out his brother Wilson in getting the family team up-and-running. The operative word being 'was', as both Emerson and the team endured a difficult season, reliability problems hampering both him and team mate von Gottorp, but Emmo made his own issues more often than not - spinning out lazily in South Africa, finding the gravel trap in the Soviet Union and spinning out in Germany and Japan, all from potential big-result-scoring positions. Meanwhile, von Gottorp quietly scored 2 points finishes to take the team to 8th in the WCC and WEC, before seeing himself out of the door at the end of the season. Emerson remains, but in a scenario no one anticipated the expectation for him both from within and without is mounting. Can he and new team-mate Francois Migault, after being dropped by Williams, make their own luck this year in the B spec version of the FD04?

Beta Utensili HB Bewaking Alarmsystemen (Boro)

32) Vittorio Brambilla (ITA)
33) Freddy Kottulinsky (SWE)

To say that Boro were the biggest surprise of 1976 would be an understatement. High expectations by the brothers Hoogenboom saw most of the budget being spent on FOCA membership and travel to all 16 events, leaving the car to be built on a shoestring budget, the philosophy being you've got to be in it, to win it. Come the Soviet Grand Prix, with two DNPQs and a further 2 DNQs on the board, the lucky part of the happy-go-lucky philosophy had failed to materialise. Amongst the tragedy, Gianfranco Brancateli - after making only two previous starts - finished eighth on merit, transforming Boro's fortunes. Albeit missing out on 11th in the WCC thanks to Kojima's point, things are looking up for the small Dutch team, who have constructed a tidy, well-engineered new chassis and purchased 1977 spec Cosworths. Behind the wheel, March refugee Vittorio Brambilla has been drafted in along with personal sponsors Beta Utensili will partner Swedish nobleman Freddy Kottulinsky, who brings a sizeable purse to the table. The midfield is the result, however Kottulinksy looks unlikely to emulate countrymen Peterson, Nilsson and Andersson in making the grid, which may hurt Boro's chances dearly.

[pasta_maldonado]

Formula One 1977: Season Preview - Part 5

Dywa

35) Renzo Zorzi (ITA)
36) Alberto Columbo (ITA)

Pietro Monguzzi's team press on into 1977, somehow convincing Zorzi and Columbo to part with their money when they've seen the "pace" of the "car". Rumours that the chassis is made of cardboard after much investigation proved to be false, but the chassis is hideously overweight, lacking in downforce, and atrociously angular. It took only the farcical OASC entry to post a lap slower than the Dywas last season, and I cannot see anything else but bringing up the rear of Pre-Qualifying sessions for them this year.

ATS Racing Team

37) Rolf Stommelen (GER)
38) Mikko Kozarowitzky (FIN)

The hot-tempered Günter Schmid brings his ATS Racing operation to F1, after a few seasons pottering about in various lower formulae. Scmid has gone about his entry in the right ways, from blooding young Kozarowitzky for a few years now, and it appears to ahve paid off as the Finn put in respectable performances in the two non-championship races last season. Rolf Stommelen, after a year in sports cars, has been enticed back to lead the team's assault, an astute move that will provide the stability and experience a new team needs. The decision has been made to only compete the European races this season, which will play into their favour, the only possible unknown being the works Lola chassis, which will need to be more than an incremental improvement on the T380 to allow ATS to show their true performance.

B&S Fabrications

43) Guy Edwards (GBR)
44) Emilio Zapico (ESP)

Pahahahahahahahahaha. B&S were one of the most promising privateers last season, despite only making two starts. But gone is Brian Henton and most of the cash, and the team has had to resort to desperate measures to keep Milton Keyne's first Formula One team afloat. The three year old customer March chassis partnered with Renzo engines is one of the worst combinations to be entered for a Grand Prix this season, with a sparrow's fart pushing out more power than the Italian lumps. Edwards and Zapico will be the first behind the wheels of this woeful combination, but it's only the start of the magic roundabout, as a menagerie of pay drivers will attempt to keep the ship afloat as she lists severely. However, it appears too many watertight compartments have been breached to see B&S safely home to shore.

[pasta_maldonado]

Formula One 1977: Season Preview - Part 6

North Star Racing

52) Harald Ertl (AUT)
53) William Ferguson (RZA)

One of several new privateers for 1977, North Star are especially confusing. Sir Blake Clayton's team has set up shop in Reading, and somehow managed to secure the services and funds of Hesketh refugee Harald Ertl, but that is where the positives end. The Lola T380 was a dog a year ago, let alone now, and pairing it with Cosworths that are now two years old won't eek out any remaining performance. South African William Ferguson has been signed in what is one of the most odd driver choices on the grid, and it's expected he'll struggle even more so than Ertl with the lacklustre equipment. The ambition is there in spades, sure, but I can't see many excursions into main qualifying for the upstarts.

Moskowskij Awtomobilnaja-Doroznyj Instytut (MADI)

54) Angelina Sokoloff (URS)
55) Vladislav Barkovskii (URS)

The main Soviet effort this season will come from MADI, with Sokoloff partnering national hero Barkovskii in the Polish-built machines. Barkovskii did extremely well to haul last year's Estonia into the race, and Sokoloff was unlucky in her three entries, but some promise in drivers is where the buck stops. The chassis is surprisingly not overly terrible, but it is overweight and poorly built, whilst the calling the Volga engine powerful would be short of the mark. As tensions rise again both in terms of politics and sport, after the tragic Soviet Grand Prix, the death knells can already be heard for the Soviet operation.

LEC Refrigeration Racing

60) David Purley (GBR)
61) Riccardo Patrese (ITA)

Bankrolled by Purley's LEC Refrigeration company, Purley himself may be the weakest link in the team. The LEC-01 is reported to be a tidy little chassis and although the 76 Cosworths are slightly less powerful, signing Riccardo Patrese is a real coup for the team, the F3 champion could bring the pace the team needs to pull through pre-qualifying. LEC look capable of making qualification, and possibly the grid, but to do so Purely will have to avoid being the anchor that brings down the team's combined times.

Scuderia Everest

62)Maurizio Flammini & Roberto Marazzi (ITA)
63)Piercarlo Ghinzani (ITA)

Customer March chassis helped Giancarlo Minardi's team qualify for three of the four events it contested last season, but this year it'll be much harder for the plucky Italians to repeat that success. Flammini and Marazzi will share the first seat, with Ghinzani bringing plenty of cash to the second allowing the team to run an extended schedule for 1977. New 1976 Cosworths have been fitted to the back of the March 751s, in an attempt to cure the horrendous reliability, but on paper the combination looks weaker than it did last year. However, the pressure is on Flammini, Marazzi and Ghinzani to perform well, as in the right conditions and hands the March-Ford combination can still run strongly, with potential race starts up for grabs.

[pasta_maldonado]

1977 Argentine Grand Prix

Weather Report

Pre-Qualifying: Dry
Qualifying: Dry
Race: Dry

[pasta_maldonado]

1977 Argentine Grand Prix - Pre-Qualifying

Team Changes
- Hernandez-Berta: Fellow countrymen Hernandez have absorbed the Berta outfit, and have entered once again into their home Grand Prix. A cash injection has produced a significant improvement on the old chassis, and the team have signed Turismo Carrera ace Hector Gradassi to lead the team. Provided team mate Nestor Garcia Veiga can pull his weight, progression isn't out of reach.

Results


1) Tyrrell-Ford 3:44.106
2) Martini-Renault 3:46.298
3) Hernandez-Berta-Ford 3:53.670
4) Penske-Ford 3:53.710
5) Hesketh-Ford 3:56.287

Tyrrell pick up in 1977 where they left off in 1976 - topping pre-qualifying, but this time roughly 10 seconds quicker on combined times than former rivals Hesketh and Penske. Renault turned heads in their first Formula One session, Jarier and Jabouille turning in some decent laps to easily send the French marque through, despite the sneers concerning turbo engines. Martini did all he could for Hesketh, but it was Patrick Neve who let the team down by finishing up over 8 seconds adrift of the Pre-Q fastest and 3 seconds slower than the next car. The dream result was almost not to be for Hernandez, as Gradassi found traffic throughout the session, but his and Garcia's laps were enough to see the Argentines through to the main game.

[pasta_maldonado]

1977 Argentine Grand Prix - Qualifying

Results



As the cars fired up in the garage, the question on everyone's lips was "who will secure pole position?" The answer was Patrick Depailler taking his sixth career pole position, but he had to work for it - Mario Andretti and Tom Sneva running him incredibly close, the former by just 0.077 seconds. Thomas Nurmester secures fourth in his first qualifying for Lotus, Hunt will start an impressive 5th, ahead of both Reutemann and Sheckter, who starts a lowly 7th. Scheckter'll have it all to do come Sunday if he wishes to challenge for the win.

The Williams pair are 9th and 10th, with Pironi in 11th really showing the improved pace of the Tyrrells. Vittorio Brambilla will also head into the race a happy man, the new Boro showing impressive handling to line up 15th, just ahead of new March team leader Tom Pryce. Renault put in respectable times again, but it's Shadow who were the biggest shock of the session, John Watson only finding enough for 25th and Ribeiro failing to make the grid. It was celebrations down at Hernandez albeit with Veiga failing to qualify, as Gradassi slots his car in 23rd behind the Renaults.

[pasta_maldonado]

The race is now live in the F1 Rejects chatroom.

[This Could Be You]

The gamma upgrade has somehow made our chassis worse, which is confusing (we were faster than Penske last year, and they haven't changed theirs a bit; we definitely got upgraded, right?), but this is not looking good...

[pasta_maldonado]

The gamma upgrade has somehow made our chassis worse, which is confusing (we were faster than Penske last year, and they haven't changed theirs a bit; we definitely got upgraded, right?), but this is not looking good...

Hesketh did recieve an upgrade, but it was a farcical +16 grip. Giancarlo Martini had both Penske cars covered, it was just Patrick Neve letting the side down.

[This Could Be You]

The gamma upgrade has somehow made our chassis worse, which is confusing (we were faster than Penske last year, and they haven't changed theirs a bit; we definitely got upgraded, right?), but this is not looking good...

Hesketh did recieve an upgrade, but it was a farcical +16 grip. Giancarlo Martini had both Penske cars covered, it was just Patrick Neve letting the side down.

Oh dear... (and I can't fire him too, otherwise I'll probably go broke; this may be a tough year)

[Peteroli34]

From the next round of the championship Brabham will drop Lella Lombardi and offer Patrick Tambay 80K to join Brabham for the rest of the season.

[pasta_maldonado]

From the next round of the championship Brabham will drop Lella Lombardi and offer Patrick Tambay 80K to join Brabham for the rest of the season.

Firing Lella Lombardi will cause Brabham to loose approx. £107,000 of funding. Do you still wish to proceed with this offer?

[Bandon23]

Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing have confirmed their driver bids, as they'll be running Round 3 of their home race.

Driver #1
Name: Danny Ongais
Wage: Whatever he brings
Contract Length: North American races only

Name: Peter Gregg
Wage: Whatever he brings
Contract Length: North American races only

Name: Derek Bell
Wage: Whatever he brings
Contract Length: North American races only

Driver #2
Name: Jim Busby
Wage: 8k per race
Contract Length: North American races only

Name: John Fitzpatrick
Wage: 8k per race
Contract Length: North American races only

Name: Al Holbert
Wage: 8k per race
Contract Length: North American races only

[pasta_maldonado]

1977 Argentine Grand Prix - Race

Results


Fastest Lap: Tom Sneva, 1:53.075
Drive of the Race: Tom Sneva - did everything right today, when everybody else was falling apart. Didn't lead every lap but sure enough controlled the race from the get-go
Reject of the Race: Ferrari - So-so start for Depailler allowed Sneva to get through, and Patrick couldn't do anything but try and hang on. Any pace they had vanished after the first pitstops, with both Ferraris retiring in a cloud of smoke.

Tom Sneva took the flag in Argentina, in a race where the Gas Man hardly put a foot wrong. He made the better start to leapfrog into the lead, and stayed there apart from a rotation during the pit stops. Reutemann found his way past the two Ferraris before the stops and closed in on the American, but he didn't have enough in the tank to make any move stick. Andretti would close in the final third of the race to within 3 seconds at the flag, but eventually settled for second. The Ferraris themselves would struggle on their tyres after their stops, dropping behind Nurmester, before Ferrari unreliability reared it's ugly head once again.

In the midfield, Williams were battling with Brabham and Ligier but had the race all to themselves after Hunt retired and Laffite went straight on at the lake turn. He was helped into a waiting ambulance and taken to the medical centre for assessment. Elsewhere, Tyrrell impressed with a 6th place for Pironi on his debut, the Fittipaldis are not as slow as predicted and Tom Pryce wrestled a decent result from the March. At the back of the field Hector Gradassi impressed to finish ahead of Watson on merit, the Shadows being uncomfortably slow all weekend, and Jean-Pierre Jarier managed to nurse his wounded Renault to the finish on it's debut after two offs at the beginning of the race.

Doctor's Report
Jacques Laffite was examined after his accident.
1-60 No injury
61-90 Out for the next Grand Prix
91-100 Out for the next two Grand Prix
3 - not even a bruise!

Upgrades
There have been a few revisions to the upgrade system for 1977. Once again there are three upgrade slots, but they are now continuous rather than discrete - Rounds 1 to 3 is slot one, rounds 4 to 9 is slot 2, and round 10 to 16 is slot three. You can purchase ONE upgrade per slot. Upgrade choice no longer ties you to a development path, you may choose any upgrade combination you wish (e.g. Alpha in slot one, gamma slot two etc). Certain upgrades are only available in certain slots, so please check before you buy. Also bear in mind, that there is an upper limit for chassis grip - but I will not tell you in advance what that level is. You must pay attention to the ranges given in the upgrade report to determine when your chassis is approaching the limit.

New for 1977 are engine upgrades. These are found on the engine page, and can be made at any time once they become available - at present, no upgrades are available.

Also new for 1977 is supplier upgrades. All contracted suppliers are working on their upgrades, and they will be announced when they are ready.

If you do wish to make an upgrade, please use the following form.

Code: Select all

Team Name:
Chassi upgrade [Tier, if applicable]:
Engine upgrade [Y/N, when available]:
Supplier upgrade [Y/N, when available]:

Pre-qualifying shuffle
Like last season, pre-qualifying will be shuffled based on best results of teams. However, FISA reserves the right to promote any team out of pre-qualifying if evidence is sufficient to prove that they do not belong there on pace alone.
Pre-Q will be reshuffled:

Period 1 Rounds 1 to 3
Period 2 Rounds 4 to 6
Period 3 Rounds 7 to 9
Period 4 Rounds 10 to 12
Period 5 Rounds 13 to 15
Period 6 Rounds 16 to 17


Race Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIUKSfB2ccw

[V8fan12]

Shadow will take an Alpha upgrade

[Salamander]

How many engine upgrades are available for each engine?

McLaren will opt for a Gamma upgrade.

[This Could Be You]

Hesketh will take an alpha chassis upgrade.

[pasta_maldonado]

How many engine upgrades are available for each engine?

This information has now been put into the spreadsheet, afte me in my short-sighted wisdom somehow removed it

Driver RNGs

Patrick Tambay
Tambay has an offer from Brabham at 80k for 16 races, 10k above his personal aims. He is desperate to get back into a car, and this Brabham drive could be the only decent offer he'll recieve until 1978.

1-99 Brabham
100 Rejects
59!

Danny Ongais
Danny Ongais is not too impressed by the pace of the Parnelli.

1-30 Parnelli
31-100 Rejects
65!

Peter Gregg
Gregg is slightly intrigued by the opportunity to have an F1 outing or two, but would prefer to stay in sportscars altogether.

1-30 Parnelli
31-100 Rejects
78!

Derek Bell
Like Ongais, he's not too impressed by the car - but hey, he'll give anything a go.

1-50 why not? Parnelli
51-100 Rejects
3!

Jim Busby
F1? What's that? Open wheelers you say? Hmm. Maybe.

1-25 Parnelli
26-100 rejects
21! In a shock signing, Jim Busby leaves his common sense in his Porsche and steps into the Parnelli

[pasta_maldonado]

Shadow will take an Alpha upgrade

Hesketh will take an alpha chassis upgrade.

McLaren will opt for a Gamma upgrade.

Shadow: Alpha 0-50 +25 grip
Hesketh: Alpha 0-50 +11 grip
McLaren: Gamma 0-100 +23 grip

[pasta_maldonado]

1977 South African Grand Prix - Pre-Qualifying

Team Changes
- Lucky Strike Racing: With Team Gunston electing not to enter the South African Grand Prix this time around, Lucky Strike was left as the sole team flying the South African flag. Eddie Keizan and Ian Scheckter are behind the wheel for what feels like a last hurrah for South African privateers.

Results


1) Tyrrell-Ford 2:21.896
2) Martini-Renault 2:23.723
3) Penske-Ford 2:27.968
4) Hesketh-Ford 2:28.418
5) Lola-Ford 2:29.622

It was very much the same story as Argentine - Tyrrell once again go fastest, this time by almost two seconds on combined times, with again Renault in a no-man's land in second position. Giancarlo was again faster than both Penskes, who moved a further tenth apart from each other, and Patrick Neve was again drastically slower than his team mate - although much improved from Argentina. However, luckily for Penske, Hernandez wasn't around to spoil their morning - Keizan, Ian Scheckter and Lucky Strike gave their all, but couldn't eek any more out of the Lola T380 chassis. This left Penske third on combined times, less than a second ahead of Hesketh, with Lucky Strike dead last and 1.6 seconds away from making the cut.

[pasta_maldonado]

1977 South African Grand Prix - Qualifying

Results



In one of the tightest qualifying sessions ever seen in Formula One, Thomas Nurmester takes his first career pole position by 7 thousandths of a second ahead of Patrick Depailler, with the top 6 on the grid being covered by 2 tenths. Hunt has another good session, outqualifying Reutemann to stat 6th, with Laffite showing the best pace Ligier have had since the French Grand Prix. Tambay put in a respectable time on his 1977 debut, Ronnie Peterson uses those extra Alfa horses to nudge ahead of Alan Jones' Williams, and Jacky Ickx also looks much improved. Tyrrell have a disappoitnign session, Pironi qualifying behind Fittipald. Brambilla can only manage eighteenth, whereas at the back of the grid, both Shadows will make the start but Hesketh fail to make the cut by 1.2 seconds.

[This Could Be You]

After discussions with his manager (read: Klon), Hesketh have decided to replace Patrick Neve with Leonhard Von Gottorp in the #23 seat for the rest of the season (if allowed; I mean, we've got Klon's permission and everything, so why not?).

[pasta_maldonado]

1977 South African Grand Prix - Race

Results


Fastest Lap: Thomas Nurmester
Drive of the Race: Thomas Nurmester
Reject of the Race: Thomas Nurmester's brake pedal / Didier Pironi

For the second race in a row the pole-sitter had an awful first lap. First 10 laps in fact, as Nurmester slid back down 5th position. Both McLarens were out early, but on such an engine-dominated track both drivers would've had to work incredibly hard to take home victory. After his excursion in Argentina, Laffite found the gravel in Kyalami as his engine seized, Scheckter again suffered engine failure, and Mario Andretti became stuck behind the Brabhams of Hunt and Tambay. All this left Depailler in the lead again, but with the Lotii diving into the pits early on a two-stop strategy, Depailler had it all to do, but was unable to eek out enough of an advantage to remain ahead of Nurmester and Andretti on the counter-strategy. Depailler closed on fresh tyres, but it wasn't enough - traffic hindered him, but the Lotus 78 was planted to the road in a way no other car was. With Depailler already settling for second, Nurmester's engine decided that winning was too much pressure and promptly expired - leaving a shocked Patrick Depailler to take his first victory since the Austrian Grand Prix, and Mario Andretti the lead of the driver's championship with two second places.

Elsewhere, the Brabhams had a good race - Hunt securing third position, and Tambay robbed of fourth by mechanical issues - and Ronnie Peterson delivered his best performance for two years in taking the Ensign to fourth. However, it wasn't to be for Boro, as Vittorio Brambilla made a mistake, allowing Clay Regazzoni past to take the final point for Williams. Jacky Ickx salvaged something for Ligier, Didier Pironi followed the theme of throwing results away by spinning out, and once again John Watson was the slowest classified finisher to take the chequered flag.

Race Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xphhARU9xTQ&feature=youtu.be

Upgrades
Chassis upgrades are still in slot 1 - just a reminder that it's one upgrade per slot. For engines, Ferrari and Renault have been hard at work in the factory to provide an engine upgrade - check the spreadsheet for details. To explain how it works, each upgrade has a price listed, but more important is the "after round" column. This tells you when an upgrade is first, or next, available. The "Max" column tells you how many upgrades you may purchase until the race in the "Max" column. So, seeing the following after Round 2:

Code: Select all

Engine   Available After Round    Price      BHP Q   BHP R      Rel      Max
BRM                   3            2p          5       10      -400       TBA     
Aqua                 10           £100        -10      -50     +1000      2

Means that BRM have yet to release an upgrade (TBA in the Max column) and that it's due after round 3. Aqua have released an upgrade, and you can purchase a maximum of 2 before the next one comes out after round 10.

[Salamander]

Renault will invest in one engine upgrade.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Team: Interscope Racing (USA)
User: Wazzle
Schedule (Driver, Rounds): Danny Ongias/Brian Redman (3, 15, 16) (Both with whatever funding they can bring)

Chassis Upgrade: N/A
Chassis Generation: D
Spec chassis: N/A

Engine: 1976 Ford-Cosworth
Tyre Supplier #1: Dunlop
Tyre Supplier #2: N/A
Supplier #1: Esso
Supplier #2: Castrol
Supplier #3: BBS

[pasta_maldonado]

Team: Interscope Racing (USA)
User: Wazzle
Schedule (Driver, Rounds): Danny Ongias/Brian Redman (3, 14, 15) (Both with whatever funding they can bring)

Chassis Upgrade: TBA
Chassis Generation: TBA
Spec chassis: TBA

Engine: TBA
Tyre Supplier #1: Dunlop
Tyre Supplier #2: N/A
Supplier #1: Esso
Supplier #2: Castrol
Supplier #3: BBS

Interscope Racing are awarded £470,000

[Normal32]

Team: Gilmore Racing
User: Normal32
Schedule (Driver, Rounds): AJ Foyt/Jerry Sneva (3, 14, 15) (Both with whatever funding they can bring)

Spec chassis: March 761

Engine: Ford '76
Tyre Supplier #1: Dunlop

[novitopoli]

Alpha upgrade for March.

[pasta_maldonado]

1977 United States West Grand Prix - Pre-Qualifying

Team Changes
- Hesketh Racing: After Patrick Neve's lacklustre performances in Argentina and South African, the Belgian has been sacked in favour of Leonhard von Gottorp, who was left without a driver after rumours of a McLaren move proved to be just that. He should improve the team's fortunes.

-Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing: One of a contingent of 3 USAC teams entering the Grand Prix, Parnelli return without the services of Bobby Unser and Gordon Johncock. In their place is sportscar drives Derek Bell and Jim Busby, who have awfully big boots to fill.

-Interscope Racing: Tim Field's mob have entered a Formula One event for the first time, buying old PC3 chassis and making enough modifications to it to be considered a constructor in their own right. Fields has been more successful in signing wheelmen - Danny Ongais will lead the team, partnered by Brian Redman

-Gilmore Racing: After turning down 5 drives in two years, A.J. Foyt will finally enter his first Grand Prix with the help of close friend and racing partner Jim Gilmore, who has been running/sponsoring Foyt in IndyCars for three years now. In the second seat will be Jerry Sneva , the younger brother of McLaren star Tom Sneva, but all eyes will be on Super Tex as he attempts to escape pre-qualifying.

- Avon Racing: The mysterious team is back, with the same car but a brand new driver line-up. Gone are Bell and George Follmer and in their place is Javier Garcia and Warwick Brown - not that that will change a thing.

Results



1) Tyrrell-Ford 2:51.558
2) Martini-Renault 2:52.612
3) Interscope-Ford 2:53.686
4) March-Ford 2:54.862
5) Hesketh-Ford 2:56.299
6) Penske-Ford 2:58.297
7) Parnelli-Ford 2:59.756
8) Avon-Ford 3:04.521

As expected, Didier Pironi and Tyrrell topped the session - but the real surprise was Danny Ongais posting the second-best lap time, edging out Rebaque and the two Renaults! A.J Foyt put in a cracking lap, considering it was his only lap in clear air, but it wasn't enough to drag Gilmore out of pre-qualifying. Hesketh improved, with Leonhard von Gottorp putting in a respectable 8th best time, and both cars finishing ahead of both Penskes. At the bottom of the timesheets, Parnelli were also-rans and Avon were woefully slow, as expected.