WTCC - Women's Touring Car Championship - Season 1

[Turbogirl]

Foreword

A new series has emerged in the world of motorsports. The key aspects of the new Women's Touring Car Championship (WTCC) are easily outlined: Germany's biggest car manufacturers Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Opel were looking for a high-quality and at the same time attractive opportunity to prepare their female factory drivers for upcoming major projects such as LeMans.

And you really can't say that the manufacturers were pennywise when it came to the realization of this new series. After the demise of the once so prestigious DTM, it was decided to rework the blueprints of the latest DTM coupés and put the cars back into service. So far 12 rounds are planned, 6 of them in Germany. There are no privateers, only fully-backed factory teams.

BMW has needed the longest for the development of their new WTCC car, but it is also expected to have much more efficient aerodynamics than all the other competitors. Mercedes-Benz organized their first unofficial test drives in July the previous year and has shown a surprisingly good reliability.

Audi, however, kept a low profile - they probably didn't want to reveal their hand too early. After all, the Audi squad around former DTM drivers Vanina Ickx, Katherine Legge, and Rahel Frey is considered to be the most experienced of the entire grid. Opel recruited all of its drivers from the rallye scene.

This constellation promises an exciting championship. Which manufacturer has designed the best car? Who hired the best drivers? To get you well prepared for the start of the season, we have collected all the information about the new rules, the drivers, the teams and the tracks in the upcoming articles for you.

OOC: This series is the prologue to the Women’s GT Masters over at the 18-metre debut forum. I’ve posted the WTCC here, because it’s not supposed to be a player-centered series. You can't sign up and manage teams, but if some of you would like to get involved by writing comments or even whole articles, I’d be very, very happy. This series will focus on the WTCC, its four main manufacturers and its drivers until the series' probable demise (not sure about that ending yet).

The cars in question are (older) DTM models, and since they’re silhouette cars, I’m not bound to use a specific type of racing simulation to produce the race results. There are quite a few DTM sims out there, but most of them have pretty shite AI and hilarious rule upholdings. That’s why I’m using GPL (Grand Prix Legends).

GPL has a huge track database, from which I’ve collected about a dozen or so additional real-life tracks (especially german ones, since this is supposed to be a „german“ championship in the first place), plus it has quite the easy to work with driver.ini, which I customized to my needs. The recipe is rather simple: Mercedes-Benz/Lotus, Audi/Ferrari, Opel/Cooper, and BMW/Eagle.

Of course, GPL has no spectator mode, so I’m going to jump into one of the cockpits myself, which should be really fun after all this time! I’m neither going to tell you for whom I’ll be driving, nor under what alias – and no, my avatar is not a reliable indicator!


The Fictional Universe Index

Since every series I’m currently running is connected to each other through the fictional timeline I’ve created, I believe it’s best to post an index linking to all the different series in the opening post of each thread, which should make research on certain events, drivers, teams, and the overall timeline much easier.

Just to clarify: This fictional universe is a non-canon one! Therefore it contains no references to canon events in the Andrea Sassetti forum or any other non-canon events in the 18-metre debut forum, unless said event is explicitely mentioned in one of my series. This also means that driver performances from anything else than the series connected to my fictional universe or real-life events listed on either driverdb.com or ewrc-results.com do not count towards my stat calculations.

The following index will be updated by me anytime a new entry is made to the fictional timeline.

Season 1
Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Women’s GT Junior Cup

Season 2
Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Women’s GT Junior Cup

Season 3
Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Women’s GT Junior Cup
Women’s GT Masters

Season 4
Coming soon...

That’s all for now. I really hope you like to stick around!

[Turbogirl]

The countdown has begun! Only a few days until the inaugural season of the Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC) starts. But before that, we’d like to get you up-to-date with our report from the two official test sessions on the Circuit Dijon-Prenois in France, where the competitors met eye to eye for the first time since the WTCC was announced.

Let’s get one fact out of the way: Mercedes-Benz has the most promising package to win the championship outright this season, if you want to believe most experts. BMW has an aerodynamically advanced car, but an unreliable one at best. Audi has kept a low profile over the last few months, and Opel has taken a huge risk going for rallye drivers with little to no experience in touring cars.

Not only the battle of the brands is going to keep you on edge, but the battle for the title „Rookie of the Year“ will do as well. Beitske Visser is believed to have the best chance of grabbing this title, simply because she has the most racing experience of all the rookies this season. But we shouldn’t dismiss either British woman Louise Cook (Mercedes-Benz) or Swede Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky (Audi) just yet.


Test Session 1, Saturday

The first two hour long test session and with it the inaugural WTCC season was started by BMW driver Tasmin Pepper, who clocked in at 1:57.844 on her installation lap.

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:25.680
02.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             1:25.842
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    1:25.851
04.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:25.866
05.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:25.900
06.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:25.948
07.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:26.222
08.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:26.245
09.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    1:26.293
10.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:26.299
11.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:26.332
12.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:26.341
13.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              1:26.466
14.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:26.512
15.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:26.600
16.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:26.703
17.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:26.717
18.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:26.842
19.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:27.040
20.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:27.081

Test Session 2, Sunday

The second test session on sunday was started by Jasmin Preisig (Opel), recording a lap time of 1:26.656, only to have that result tarnished by her own teammate Melanie Schulz one lap later (1:26.573). Mercedes-Benz driver Susie Stoddart was the first to record a lap time to be reckoned with (1:25.637), which was already besting Rahel Frey’s track record from the previous day. Frey herself countered with a 1:25.710, which was only good enough for second place behind Stoddart.

Yolanda Surer, who reportedly had trouble finding a suitable setup on saturday, pushed her BMW to a remarkable 1:25.723 at the 30 minute mark of the session and inherited third place. The Opel squad, in the meantime, was just as pale as it had been on the first day of testing. Melanie Schulz and Jasmin Preisig were able to conquer some mid-field positions, but their teammates Berton, Strycek, and Suvanto were battling for last place against BMW youngster Lindsey Adams (USA) and Mercedes-Benz driver Alessandra Neri (ITA).

Around the 50 minute mark, Belgian Vanina Ickx (Audi) recorded a lap time of 1:24.369 and took pole position by more than a second from Susie Stoddart. Yolanda Surer clocked in at 1:25.505, thus becoming the best-placed BMW in second place.

Code: Select all

01.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             1:24.369
02.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:25.505
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:25.611
04.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:25.691
05.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    1:25.832
06.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:25.835
07.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:25.870
08.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:26.208
09.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    1:26.223
10.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:26.226
11.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:26.229
12.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:26.295
13.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:26.304
14.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              1:26.401
15.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:26.404
16.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:26.528
17.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:26.577
18.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:26.820
19.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:27.002
20.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:27.011

So, here are the questions everyone should be asking by now: Who is a likely title contender? Who bluffed? Who could be an insider tip?

Find out in our Official Season Preview, coming up next!

[Turbogirl]

Beitske Visser – A new generation of fast and furious females has stepped into the limelight. One of them is Beitske Visser from the Netherlands. She got partnered with the ever-reliable Claudia Hürtgen to gather as much experience as possible from her „mentor“. BMW’s Head of Motorsports Annette Meeuvissen knows fully well what the young Dutch woman is capable of. Her outings at Dijon-Prenois prove that Visser is not far off the pace of teammate Hürtgen, and that she might become BMW’s new team leader sooner than later.

Claudia Hürtgen – This woman is a force to be reckoned with. Not only has she driven almost any car on the planet at least once, but she also went through all the heights and depths a racing driver career has to offer. It is more than just deserving that she now has the opportunity to gun for the WTCC title this season as BMW’s undisputed team leader. Hürtgen has both the experience and the speed to complete such an enormous task, but she could be hindered by the high expectations from BMW and the rather surprising unreliability of their car. The official test sessions revealed quite a few bugs in the system, and some might not be curable before the season starts.




Alessandra Neri – Despite her forays into endurance racing and lower touring car classes, Neri was not the first choice for this cockpit. Danica Patrick was supposed to complete the Mercedes-Benz line-up, but she backed out of the deal at the last moment to focus solely on Indy Cars. Desperate to find a suitable replacement, Mercedes-Benz listened to Michela Cerruti, who recommended Alessandra Neri. Will Danica Patrick be dearly missed during this season, or will Neri make up for that? This and only this is the question the Italian will have to answer during the first couple of races.

Louise Cook – A british rallye champion on the desperate hunt for sponsors – that alone is something to leave you lost for words. Luckily for the young British woman, she has quite a few fans within the board of directors at Mercedes-Benz, who signed Cook when all her other options had run dry. The official tests a Dijon-Prenois revealed Cook's level of competitiveness quite clearly. 8th place on saturday, and 11th place on sunday are more than enough for a rookie in an unfamiliar environment. Plus, Cook seems to have her current teammate Alessandra Neri well under control.




Maria de Villota – A solid midfield contender, from the looks of things. De Villota is partnered with former DTM driver Vanina Ickx, and that is a problem for the Spaniard, aside from the unfamiliar car she’s supposed to drive. Ickx showed some tremendous speed right from the start, which made de Villota’s albeit solid midfield laptimes pale in comparison. This entire season might turn into an uphill battle for de Villota, if Ickx doesn’t begin to slow down for some unrealistic reason. Maybe it would have been better to partner the Spaniard with either Katherine Legge or Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky instead, if only to ease her into her new job and not prematurely destroy her confidence by letting her eat the dust of her teammate all season long.

Vanina Ickx – Second place on saturday, pole on sunday – topping the timesheets by more than a second, no less! Belgian Vanina Ickx had clearly been selling herself short during her time in the DTM, and given the fact that Audi hasn’t declared a de facto team leader yet, Ickx still has the chance to endear herself to the board of directors at Audi through steady results. While Katherine Legge seems to be struggling to find her pace, Ickx’s only real rival within the Audi squad is currently Rahel Frey – and that might become a problem. Not only is Frey fast as hell, she’s also „too nice of a person to see her as an enemy“, as Ickx herself stated in an interview.




Yolanda Surer – Plenty of experience gathered in the DTC, including an impressive win on the AVUS. While it took Surer the entire saturday to find a suitable set-up, said set-up proved its worth on sunday, when Surer battled Susie Stoddart (Mercedes-Benz) and Rahel Frey (Audi) for second place and won! If she can manage to cut her set-up discoveries short by at least one day, Yolanda Surer might be giving the fans more than just one little surprise this season. She has shown her potential already, now all she has to do is shine in the races as well.

Lindsey Adams – She drew up the rear at Dijon-Prenois. Hiring American Lindsey Adams was a risky gamble from Annette Meeuvissen. A gamble that might not pay off. But to give her credit: Adams wasn’t too far off the pace of her immediate rivals, so it’s not impossible that we might see her make the transition to a solid midfield contender over the course of this season. She’s still young and inexperienced, so she definitely deserves the time to grow. But after a year of apprenticeship, she has to prove herself next season or look for other alternatives.




Charlotte Berton – The pre-season tests revealed that the entire Opel squad was lacking quite the pace, and french rallye driver Charlotte Berton made no exception, sadly. Beaten by her teammates Melanie Schulz, a fellow rallye driver, and Jasmin Preisig, who drove for Opel in the TCR last year, Charlotte Berton lead the pack of Opel youngsters at the back of the grid. The only real rivals were Yolanda Surer (BMW), Alessandra Neri (Mercedes-Benz), and Lindsey Adams (BMW). But as soon as Surer had jumped right to the front of the grid, the majority of the Opel squad was only capable of keeping two rather inexperienced youngsters (Neri and Adams) at bay. That’s not a good sign at all.

Lena Strycek – Daughter of former DTM driver Volker Strycek, young Lena is partnered with the more experienced rallye driver Charlotte Berton for this season. The idea behind this is obvious: Strycek is supposed to gather experience in order to battle for positions or even podiums next season. But that could only work out, if Opel gave her a car worth driving – which is definitely not the case at the moment. The Opel Vectra GTS V8 doesn’t seem to have the pace to keep up with the rest of the pack. Rumors have it that Opel is currently working on solutions, but until then we might see the Opel drivers, and Lena Strycek among them, battle for lower midfield positions. And that is a real shame!

[mike robers]

Umm, isn't Maria de Villiota dead?

[Turbogirl]

Umm, isn't Maria de Villiota dead?

Yes, in reality she is. Just like Annette Meeuvissen. But this is fiction (and also not recreating any real-life season), so anything is (and should be) possible, as long as it's not in bad taste!

If I remember correctly, Jules Bianchi is also still alive over in the canon universe.

[Turbogirl]

Melanie Schulz – Solid top ten results all weekend long, but is that enough to battle for the championship title? Of course not! But as we’ve pointed out before: It’s not the drivers’ fault. With a much better car, Schulz could have easily battled for a place in the top five, but poor engineering decided to interfere. Not someone to give up, Schulz stated: „We’re working on solutions, but it might take a few rounds until we are where we want to be.“ She clearly has a fighting spirit, but how much of that will be left after the first few rounds lurking in the midfield?

Jasmin Preisig – Hired as an addition to Opel’s driver development program, former TCR driver Jasmin Preisig seems to have already exceeded her season goal during the tests. It would have been absolutely no surprise to see her duke it out with her fellow rookies at the back of the grid, but clocking in the second-fastest lap time of the entire Opel squad and thus besting the far more experienced Charlotte Berton in the process is nothing short of impressive! We’ll see how well Preisig fares during the first couple of rounds, but as soon as the Opel engineers get their game together, she might become a steady points finisher.




Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky – Audi’s sole rookie in the lot, though that description should not deceive you! The Swede has far more racing experience than most of the other rookies on the grid, she even won a race in the Audi TT Cup. The next and probably only logical step for Mikaela was the promotion to a higher level. So, here she is, ready to showcase her talent in the WTCC. Positions 14 and 15 in the official pre-season tests were good enough for a rookie, and she was never far off Maria de Villota’s pace either. Being partnered with former DTM driver Katherine Legge is a huge plus as well.

Katherine Legge – She struggled a bit during the tests, but was always well within the top ten. We’ll most likely see her battle with the likes of Michela Cerruti, Beitske Visser, and Louise Cook all season long – a constellation that should provide for some action-packed races! Legge is also doubling as a tutor for rookie Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, with whom she has formed a close bond already. Both should be steady points finishers, though Katherine might be a bit more steady than Mikaela, simply due to her higher level of experience.




Rahel Frey – During an interview months before the pre-season tests at Dijon-Prenois, Frey described her role in the Audi squad as „points finisher and occasional podium snatcher“. At that point, no one argued that statement. Everyone was certain that all hopes laid on Vanina Ickx as Audi’s sole title contender. Legge would be too occupied teaching rookie Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky to gun for the championship title yet. So, the only natural conclusion, given her illustrious racing career up to this point, was „Ickx versus the rest“. Then came the pre-season tests, and the rather down-to-earth Rahel Frey suddenly became the center of attention. Now it might have become: „Ickx versus Frey versus the rest“.

Tasmin Pepper – South African Tasmin Pepper has gathered lots of experience in lower touring car divisions in her home country. Enough to catch the eye of Annette Meeuvissen, who hired Pepper as an addition to the rookie duo she wanted to establish this season. After a standard year of apprenticeship, Tasmin Pepper is supposed to blossom into a steady points finisher next season. She has the talent to make it, but she also knows about the planned race at her hometrack of Kyalami in Season 2, and that knowledge might become more of a hindrance than anything else. Massive pressure does not always result in diamonds!




Cyndie Allemann – Experts were somewhat surprised to read her name on the Mercedes-Benz line-up this season. Cyndie Allemann is too experienced to still count as a rookie, but her résumé does not really scream „WTCC driver“ either. Then again, her connections to the Mercedes brand couldn’t have been the only deciding factor, could they? We’re happy to say: No, obviously not! During the pre-season tests, Allemann surprised us all with a fine third place on saturday and a respectable fifth place on sunday. She was the second-fastest Mercedes-Benz, and that indeed screams: „WTCC driver“.

Laura Suvanto – When Finn Laura Suvanto was asked about her personal goals for this season, her answer came like a shot: „Make a good impression and stay on long enough to participate in the WTCC race at Keimola next season.“ Reasonable goals, and judging from the pace she showed during the pre-season tests, we think that these goals should be easy to fulfil. Though Suvanto was the slowest Opel driver of the weekend, she was still capable of keeping the Mercedes-Benz of Alessandra Neri and the BMW of Lindsey Adams at bay, while at the same time being not too far off fellow rookie Lena Strycek’s pace.




Michela Cerruti – She is the up-and-coming WTCC champion, no doubt about that. And that is the only reason Ellen Lohr, the current Team Principal of Mercedes-Benz’s WTCC operation, brought Cerruti on board. It came as a bit of a surprise that teammate Susie Stoddart was able to outpace Cerruti during the pre-season tests, but stranger things have happened. Maybe Cerruti is already feeling the pressure, maybe she just needs more time to acclimatize. One can’t deny that it’s way easier to show good results when your name is Susie Stoddart and no one expects anything good from you in the first place...

Susie Stoddart – Speaking of... Scotswoman Susie Stoddart is a miracle to a lot of self-declared motorsport fans. Heralded as the next big thing during her time in British Formula 3, disappointed in the DTM, nominated as a future WTCC driver, expected to be utterly crushed by teammate Michela Cerruti... and then managed to showcase a pace in pre-season testing that not many believed her to be capable of. I’ve said it before: If you’re already down, the only way is up. And if Susie keeps outdoing herself like that, a lot of people might be choking on their words real soon!

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

The first driver to go out on the track was Lena Strycek (Opel), recording a provisional pole position time of 2:43.111. Rahel Frey (Audi) tarnished that result just a few laps later with a 2:38.089 and therefore took pole position from Strycek. Around the 14 minute mark, Cyndie Allemann put her bright orange Trekstor-Mercedes to good use and lapped the Schleizer Dreieck at 2:37.866, which was good enough to inherit pole position for more than 50 minutes. Two more Mercedes-Benz came 3rd (Susie Stoddart) and 4th (Louise Cook).

Meanwhile at the other end of the grid, Opel was once again alarmingly off the pace, just as they had been during pre-testing. The best-placed Opel was Melanie Schulz in 11th place. But Michela Cerruti (Mercedes-Benz) was also struggling to find the pace she needed. She sat on a lowly 17th position for more than 40 minutes and was more than dissatisfied with her performance.

Up to that point, the best-placed BMW was Beitske Visser in 5th position, while Yolanda Surer, who had impressed us all during the sunday test-session at Dijon-Prenois, had vanished into the mediocrity of the midfield, only to arise from it once more by the end of the session to snatch 11th place. Still not the result we expected from her after Dijon-Prenois, but a solid start nonetheless.

Michela Cerruti finally found her pace, 12 minutes before the qualifying session ended, and recorded a lap time of 2:39.353 – enough to conquer 7th place. Opel driver Charlotte Berton risked too much while desperately gunning for positions and spun off into the gravel. This damaged her car severely and led to Berton not recording a single lap time that day. She was forced to start from last place, which didn’t change much in the end.

The final 10 minutes of the session saw Vanina Ickx taking pole position from Cyndie Allemann, and Susie Stoddart conquering second place soon after, which left Allemann in 3rd position.

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01.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             2:37.698
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    2:37.841
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    2:37.864
04.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             2:38.080
05.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    2:38.642
06.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              2:38.677
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    2:39.353
08.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             2:39.549
09.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              2:39.670
10.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              2:39.932
11.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              2:39.937
12.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             2:39.951
13.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             2:40.022
14.)  13  Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             2:40.370
15.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             2:40.526
16.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    2:40.723
17.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             2:41.994
18.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             2:43.118
19.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              2:43.127
20.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             -:--.---

Race Report

The high expectations within the Audi camp, that they would be able to beat archnemesis Mercedes-Benz right from the get-go, were illusory at best. Cyndie Allemann won the start ahead of teammate Susie Stoddart and the Audi duo of Ickx and Frey. Lena Strycek risked too much at the start and retired after a collision with Lindsey Adams. Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky had been involved as well, but made it into the pits where she had to retire with a damaged suspension.

Severely under pressure, Allemann missed the braking point at the Hairpin and was immediately passed by teammates Susie Stoddart, who took the lead, and Louise Cook, and even by Vanina Ickx, taking third position. Now Allemann was only fourth, but effortlessly keeping up with the Audi of Ickx. Stoddart also recorded fastest lap of the race (2:43.287).

The Opels were faring better in the race than in qualifying. Jasmin Preisig and Melanie Schulz were able to defend positions 7 and 8 respectively against much stronger opposition. After the race, Rena Blome, Team Principal of Opel Performance, said in an interview: „Our wind tunnel data looked promising. We’re honestly baffled as to why that doesn’t seem to translate onto the track as expected. We still have a lot of work to do.“

Vanina Ickx suffered a blown engine on lap 4 and thus was forced to hand over her third place to Cyndie Allemann without even getting the chance to fight back. This led to a Mercedes triplet at the front, with Stoddart 1st, Cook 2nd and Allemann 3rd. Only Rahel Frey in 4th place was able to keep up with the Mercedes trio.

Lap 5 saw Katherine Legge retiring with a clutch problem, which reduced the number of Audis still running to two: Rahel Frey in 4th and Maria de Villota in 11th position, and the Spaniard was already a lap down due to engine trouble. At the front, Stoddart set another fastest lap at 2:40.088.

Opel was also struck by a series of DNFs. When Melanie Schulz retired on lap 7, Jasmin Preisig remained the only running Opel in the race. But she held on to 6th place and the one championship point that came with it. Claudia Hürtgen also retired with a blown engine – a fate she had somewhat anticipated after the trouble she had encountered during the pre-season tests and also during qualifying as well. „We have a fast car. All we have to do now is make it last“, she said and shrugged her shoulders.

Susie Stoddart underlined her dominant performance with another fastest lap on lap 9 (2:39.790). Rahel Frey, who was closing in on Cyndie Allemann in the meantime, countered with a 2:39.554 on lap 10. It didn’t do her much good, though, as she found herself unable to overtake Allemann, who drove a blocking line. „The Mercedes has far better traction than the Audi“, said an exhausted Frey after the race. „I got closer going into every corner, but as soon as we got out, Cyndie left me in the dust with ease. It was quite frustrating.“

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01.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    184.8 km/h   9 Points
02.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz       3.696     6 Points
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz       5.915     4 Points
04.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi                8.181     3 Points
05.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW                20.624     2 Points
06.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               36.193     1 Point
07.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW                52.467
08.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:02.911
DNF)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              Engine
DNF)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             Tyre Damage
DNF)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             Retired
DNF)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             Engine
DNF)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             Retired
DNF)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             Clutch
DNF)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    Accident
DNF)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              Accident
DNF)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             Accident
DNF)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             Suspension
DNF)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              Collision
DNF)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             Collision

FASTEST LAP:

      15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             2:39.554

Drivers Championship

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01.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz     9 Points
02.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz     4 Points
04.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi              3 Points
05.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW               2 Points
06.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel              1 Point

Constructors Championship

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01.)  Mercedes-Benz       19 Points
02.)  Audi                 3 Points
03.)  BMW                  2 Points
04.)  Opel                 1 Point

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

The first driver to venture out into the sandy dunes of Zandvoort was Tasmin Pepper for BMW, who recorded a 1:53.408 on her installation lap. Early on in this qualifying session, the BMW’s of local heroine Beitske Visser and teammate Hürtgen proved to be extremely competitive. Especially Claudia Hürtgen was never far off Frey’s pole position time and was even able to keep the supposedly stronger Mercedes-Benz of Stoddart, Allemann, and Cook at bay.

The Opel team had to sell itself short once again. The only light of hope was Melanie Schulz, desperately clinging to 7th place. A press release that circulated before the Zandvoort weekend stated that engineers from Chevrolet, who had helped develop the Opel Vectra GTS V8, would have their contracts renewed to fix the current performance issues. While that sounded like good news, it wouldn’t help the Opel ladies at Zandvoort at all.

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:28.109
02.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:28.140
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:28.231
04.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             1:28.262
05.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    1:28.274
06.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:28.291
07.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:28.466
08.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:28.473
09.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    1:28.538
10.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:28.581
11.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:28.630
12.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:28.632
13.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:28.745
14.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:28.877
15.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              1:28.881
16.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:28.972
17.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:29.070
18.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:29.121
19.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:29.354
20.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:29.356

Race Report

Susie Stoddart outpaced polesitter Rahel Frey at the start, dove first into Tarzanboocht and took the lead. Frey stayed close behind in 2nd place, then came Claudia Hürtgen in 3rd. Local heroine Beitske Visser had a rather terrible start and lost a lot of positions. She was already down to 8th place, even behind the Opel of Melanie Schulz, who defended 7th place at any cost.

Lindsey Adams (BMW), Alessandra Neri (Mercedes-Benz) and Laura Suvanto (Opel) all had to retire after damaging their cars in yet another collision at the start. Lap 3 saw the BMW of Yolanda Surer retire with suspension damage.

Contrary to her dominant performance on the Schleizer Dreieck, Susie Stoddart was unable to build up a gap between herself and rival Rahel Frey. The Audi driver stuck as close as possible to the Scotswoman and was obviously waiting for Stoddart to make a mistake. It wasn’t hard to notice that the Audi fared much better on the twisty Zandvoort track than the Mercedes. Despite her recording fastest lap of the race (1:28.883) on lap 7, Stoddart couldn’t shake Frey off.

On lap 8, Mercedes driver Louise Cook became acquainted with one of the dunes next to the track and had to retire with a damaged front splitter. Melanie Schulz inherited 6th place in the process. Stoddart and Frey had already built up a gap between themselves and Claudia Hürtgen in 3rd place. It became apparent that the BMW driver was holding up the cars behind her.

Charlotte Berton ended her rather unimpressive run with a damaged camshaft on lap 15. Meanwhile, Beitske Visser had passed Melanie Schulz for 6th place and was gaining fast on the cars in front of her, hoping for more championship points she could add to her account.

Lap 25 saw a rather unexpected turn of events, when Susie Stoddart, already battling with Rahel Frey for the lead, missed her braking point at Tarzanboocht, ran wide and almost collided with Claudia Hürtgen when she re-entered the racing line. Visser took advantage of the ensuing chaos, stayed as close to the inside of the corner as possible and overtook four (!) competitors in the process. She came out of the Tarzanboocht in 2nd place, with teammate Hürtgen 3rd and Vanina Ickx 4th. A visibly frustrated Susie Stoddart left the corner in 6th position behind teammate Allemann in 5th.

After the race, a relieved Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Motorsports at Audi, congratulated both Rahel Frey and Team Principal Leena Gade on their maiden win in the WTCC and admitted: „After that dominant performance from Mercedes-Benz at the Schleizer Dreieck, we had almost begun to doubt our own strengths and abilities. But this win will give us back the confidence we need.“

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             169.7 km/h   9 Points
02.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW                 8.522     6 Points
03.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW                12.076     4 Points
04.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi               12.679     3 Points
05.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz      20.564     2 Points
06.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz      20.723     1 Point
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz      21.379
08.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel               21.940
09.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi               23.495
10.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi               25.268
11.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi               27.422
12.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               30.151
13.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW                36.139
14.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel               38.868
DNF)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             Camshaft
DNF)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    Front Splitter
DNF)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              Suspension
DNF)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    Collision
DNF)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              Collision
DNF)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             Collision

FASTEST LAP:

      15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:28.704

Drivers' Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             12 Points
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    10 Points
03.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW               8 Points
04.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
05.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
06.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               4 Points
07.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi              3 Points
08.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel              1 Point

Constructors' Championship

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01.)  Mercedes-Benz       22 Points
02.)  Audi                15 Points
03.)  BMW                 12 Points
04.)  Opel                 1 Point

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

Quo vadis, Opel? Despite all their recent efforts to minimize the damage, last place in the Constructors’ Championship is nothing to write home about. After two disappointing rounds, only one single point could be added to their name, gathered by Jasmin Preisig during the first round of the season on the demanding Schleizer Dreieck. A point earned through sheer luck, given the high attrition of that race.

Things seemed to get better on the Finthen Airfield, though. Both Melanie Schulz and Lena Strycek were able to defend top ten positions during the qualifying session. Schulz was holding on to a remarkable 4th position, no less!

At the front, Rahel Frey and Claudia Hürtgen were battling for pole position, while at the back, Alessandra Neri and Lindsey Adams could never really connect to the Airfield circuit. Jasmin Preisig was struggling for pace as well, but managed to find a suitable setup near the end of the session, which enabled her to finally fight for positions.

As mentioned earlier, the biggest surprise came at the 30 minute mark, when Melanie Schulz recorded a lap time fast enough to take 3rd position on the grid (1:09.538), right behind polesitter Hürtgen and second-placed Rahel Frey. 14 minutes before the session ended, Schulz was relegated to 5th place by Visser and Ickx. It took Schulz several attempts to win back 4th place from Vanina Ickx, which she managed a mere minute before the qualifying was flagged off.

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01.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:09.359
02.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:09.410
03.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:09.522
04.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:09.531
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             1:09.536
06.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:09.537
07.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    1:09.543
08.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:09.696
09.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    1:09.771
10.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:09.785
11.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:09.789
12.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:09.808
13.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:09.893
14.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:09.894
15.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:09.897
16.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              1:09.901
17.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:09.913
18.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:10.114
19.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:10.465
20.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:10.474

Race Report

Rahel Frey took the lead, with Hürtgen 2nd and Visser 3rd. Both BMWs had a rather terrible start and were extremely lucky they weren’t passed by any more competitors. Hürtgen had an even worse start than Visser and ultimately had to let her teammate take 2nd place from her. Melanie Schulz wasn’t quite so lucky. She was unable to defend 4th place and was passed by both Vanina Ickx and Susie Stoddart before the first corner.

At the back of the grid, Laura Suvanto, Charlotte Berton, Lindsey Adams, Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Louise Cook were unable to decide the order in which they wanted to tackle the first corner, so they settled their differences by trading some paint. Adams and Suvanto finally retired on lap 3 after a heftier collision. Åhlin-Kottulinsky spun off and re-entered the race in last place.

Both Susie Stoddart and Michela Cerruti suffered engine trouble on lap 4 and retired soon after. Teammate Louise Cook was also struggling with a misfiring engine and had to retire on lap 6.

Meanwhile at the front end, Rahel Frey recorded one fastest lap after another, completely removed from the rest of the field. Beitske Visser had already fallen behind by a little over 3 seconds, with Hürtgen and a fast approaching Vanina Ickx in tow. Jasmin Preisig came 5th, while her teammate Melanie Schulz, who had made such a huge impression during qualifying, was fighting with her barely handling car, hardly able to defend 9th place against a seemingly faster Yolanda Surer.

Maria de Villota managed to impress for the first time since the season opener, holding on to 6th place with ease against the Mercedes-Benz of Cyndie Allemann. Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky was still unable to find her footing in the race and became the only driver to be lapped by the leading Rahel Frey.

Claudia Hürtgen retired on lap 15 with a clutch problem, just a single lap after she had recorded fastest lap of the race (1:09.799) – an unbroken record that day. „Of course I’m disappointed“, Hürtgen said afterwards. „I had to give up a secure podium finish! I’m especially sorry for the team who did a marvellous job all weekend long.“

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             125.0 km/h   9 Points
02.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW                 6.773     6 Points
03.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi               11.617     4 Points
04.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               18.471     3 Points
05.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi               25.151     2 Points
06.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz      26.980     1 Point
07.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi               29.059
08.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel               31.106
09.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW                37.454
10.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel               39.363
11.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW                40.302
12.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz      51.318
13.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi              -1 Lap
DNF)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               Clutch
DNF)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz     Engine
DNF)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz     Engine
DNF)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz     Engine
DNF)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              Retired
DNF)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              Collision
DNF)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW               Collision

FASTEST LAP:

       2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               1:09.799

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             21 Points
02.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              14 Points
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    10 Points
04.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi              7 Points
05.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz     7 Points
06.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
07.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               4 Points
08.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel              4 Points
09.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              2 Points

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Audi                30 Points
02.)  Mercedes-Benz       23 Points
03.)  BMW                 18 Points
04.)  Opel                 4 Points

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

On Saturday, the sky was already dark and cloudy, but it stayed dry the whole day. The weather forecast predicted rain on Sunday. And while Rahel Frey went out first onto the Norwegian track, paddock reporters were desperately trying to hunt down Michela Cerruti, who had told an Italian newspaper that she was rather unhappy with the current situation at Mercedes-Benz, what many wanted to translate to: ready to leave for another team anytime soon.

Rumors began spreading that BMW had already knocked on Cerruti’s door, willing to fire Lindsey Adams in favour of the Italian. „Nonsense“, replied Annette Meeuvissen. „We have a one-year contract with Lindsey, and the results of three races are no reasonable basis to fire someone over.“ But it was obvious that BMW’s Head of Motorsports wasn’t telling the entire truth. The aforementioned Italian newspaper began quoting a salary of 2 Million Credits, if Cerruti signed a two-year contract with BMW. The source of this information could not be verified.

Completely overshadowed by these rumors, the Opel squad continued their uphill struggle with some more disappointing results from their drivers during qualifying. „Our car didn’t like the Schleizer Dreieck, it didn’t like Zandvoort, and it also doesn’t like Gardemoen, as it seems“, sighed a frustrated Melanie Schulz, who had to be content with 14th position in the end. „Finthen was tolerable“, Jasmin Preisig added, „but one out of four is below average in my book.“

Not just in your book, my dear, not just in your book. Vanina Ickx took pole position, with the Mercedes duo of Allemann and Stoddart in 2nd and 3rd, followed by an enthusiastic Rahel Frey in 4th position. „All I need is a good start, and everything else will fall into place.“

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01.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             1:37.159
02.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    1:38.030
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:38.144
04.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:38.381
05.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:39.032
06.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:39.196
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    1:39.353
08.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:39.758
09.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:39.819
10.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:39.888
11.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:40.041
12.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              1:40.222
13.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:40.480
14.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:40.647
15.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:40.706
16.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:40.809
17.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:40.898
18.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:41.511
19.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:41.565
20.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:41.662

Race Report

Heavy rain flooded the circuit as the drivers awaited the start, and no end to the rain in sight. The clouds were as black as they could have possibly been. Cyndie Allemann took the lead down the first straight, but then came the hairpin, which some drivers had already criticized during qualifying as „far too narrow and far too sharp“. Turns out, they were right. The investigating stewards couldn’t even tell who started the huge collision two hours after the race was over. And what a collision it was, taking out half the grid in one clean swipe.

After the smoke had cleared, the spectators on the grandstand closest to the first corner could see Beitske Visser leading a diminished field of 11 cars, with the two Opels of Jasmin Preisig and Laura Suvanto in 2nd and 3rd respectively, followed by the Mercedes of Susie Stoddart in 4th, teammate Alessandra Neri in 5th and the Opel of Charlotte Berton in 6th.

Polesitter Vanina Ickx had become a victim of the collision, while Cyndie Allemann’s car had only sustained minor damage, so that the Swiss driver was able to continue the race in a lowly 7th place. Rahel Frey had it even worse after almost being taken out by Louise Cook, who herself got taken out by Claudia Hürtgen to begin with. Frey’s Audi had lost a lot of its flaps and winglets and was „almost undrivable“, as Frey stated after the race. She was 9th when she re-entered the race.

Frey took 8th place from Melanie Schulz on the second lap. „I tried to close the gap between Susie and me as fast as I could. My crew radioed me where she was, and I knew she wouldn’t stay in that position for long, if her car was still intact.“ This prediction turned out to be 100 percent right, as Stoddart had already taken 3rd position from Laura Suvanto and was gaining fast on Jasmin Preisig in 2nd place.

Frey got lucky as well, because Opel driver Charlotte Berton was visibly slowing 7th-placed Cyndie Allemann down, so that Frey was able to close in on the two. But Allemann took advantage of the Opel’s low traction and overtook Berton on lap 6, leaving both her and archrival Frey in the dust soon after.

Susie Stoddart, in the meantime, got stuck behind Jasmin Preisig, who drove a blocking line, which made it impossible for the Mercedes-Benz to take advantage of its far better traction. Allemann passed her teammate Alessandra Neri on lap 8, which didn’t really matter after all. Neri had to retire a mere one lap later due to engine trouble. „I’m really furious! I could’ve gathered some valuable points today!“

After some more bodyparts flew off of her Audi during laps 8 and 9, Rahel Frey had to let Charlotte Berton off the hook. And she even let teammate Katherine Legge pass without any visible resistance. „Why resist? My race was over, I could only hope to bring the car home in as many pieces as it still had.“ Legge was able to close in on Berton during the final lap, but not close enough to try a passing maneuvre.

This lead to Beitske Visser taking her maiden win in the WTCC and taking the lead in the Drivers’ Championship by 2 points as well.

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01.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              162.6 km/h   9 Points
02.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               36.580     6 Points
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz      36.959     4 Points
04.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel               39.882     3 Points
05.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz      40.246     2 Points
06.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel               42.818     1 Point
07.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi               43.210
08.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi               44.683
09.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz      46.104
10.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:04.065
DNF)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    Engine
DNF)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             Collision
DNF)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              Collision
DNF)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              Collision
DNF)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              Collision
DNF)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             Collision
DNF)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              Collision
DNF)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             Collision
DNF)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    Collision
DNF)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             Collision

FASTEST LAP:

       1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:39.846

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              23 Points
02.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             21 Points
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    14 Points
04.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             10 Points
05.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz     9 Points
06.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi              7 Points
07.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
08.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               4 Points
09.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              3 Points
10.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              2 Points
11.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Audi                30 Points
02.)  Mercedes-Benz       29 Points
03.)  BMW                 27 Points
04.)  Opel                14 Points

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

After her maiden win on the flooded Gardemoen circuit, Beitske Visser arrived at Nürnberg hoping for another podium finish on the Norisring. „I don’t expect another win, that would be way too overconfident“, Visser told a Dutch newspaper. „We can’t win on our own right now, and bad weather seems out of the question as well. The sky isn’t even cloudy. Plus, Opel did us a great favour at Gardemoen, acting as moving chicanes for our rivals. I don't think they're going to do the same thing twice.“

Katherine Legge had finally found a track to shine on, taking 5th place in qualifying. Cyndie Allemann secured her first pole position this season and seemed confident to win this round, despite the two Audis of Frey and Ickx starting right behind her. „We have better traction, so why should I be worried?“

The fastest Opel was Jasmin Preisig in 9th position. Opel engineers had worked on a short-term solution to the team’s obvious performance issues. Various upgrades for the car were in development, but it would take at least one or two more rounds until the first of them would be race-ready. Until then, all the Opel squad could do was find a suitable setup solution to work around the most glaring issues.

„The setup I’m using is for the race itself“, Jasmin Preisig told reporters. „It’s true that I’m sacrificing a few positions in qualifying by that, but as long as it helps me get the car to the chequered flag tomorrow, I’m happy. I’m hoping for another points finish. That would be really nice.“

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01.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz      53.489
02.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi               53.606
03.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi               53.653
04.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz      53.701
05.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi               53.707
06.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW                54.191
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz      54.298
08.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi               54.342
09.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               54.380
10.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz      54.383
11.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel               54.384
12.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi               54.389
13.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW                54.395
14.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel               54.467
15.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel               54.611
16.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW                54.777
17.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz      54.790
18.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel               54.868
19.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW                55.036
20.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW                55.112

Race Report

Cyndie Allemann took the lead, with Rahel Frey a close 2nd. But then Frey missed her braking point at the Bilsteinkehre and was immediately passed by Ickx, Stoddart, Preisig and Visser. She re-entered the race in 6th position. Jasmin Preisig was already 5th after a truly tremendous start. Beitske Visser had taken 4th position and began pressuring Susie Stoddart in front of her. She passed the Scotswoman on lap 2 and took 2nd place from Vanina Ickx one lap later.

Another engine failure took Claudia Hürtgen’s BMW out of commision on lap 3, while her teammate Visser was already pressuring the leading Cyndie Allemann. Rahel Frey had won back 4th position on lap 6 and passed Susie Stoddart in the Bilsteinkehre as well. Then she pulled away to gain on Visser, who could see the Audi appear in her rear mirrors on lap 7 for the first time.

Lap 10 saw the dominant lead of Cyndie Allemann (almost 7 seconds ahead of Visser in 2nd) come to an abrupt end. On lap 14, Susie Stoddart took advantage of the fact that Rahel Frey had somewhat lost her footing after a failed passing maneuvre on Visser, and passed the Swiss Audi driver for 2nd.

The new order was now: Visser, Stoddart, Frey, Ickx, Preisig, Legge. Frey took back 2nd place from Susie Stoddart on lap 16, outsmarting the Scotswoman in the Bilsteinkehre once more. BMW recorded two more engine failures for Tasmin Pepper and Lindsey Adams, and radioed Beitske Visser to reduce speed. The Dutch woman would have probably laughed at such a suggestion, if she had had the time for that, because she was already entangled in a fierce battle for the lead with Audi driver Rahel Frey.

Visser knew of the unique passing opportunity the Bilsteinkehre presented, and kept close to the inside of that hairpin every time Frey tried to pass her here. „It was my only chance“, Visser said after the race. „Rahel could use her full engine speed range, while I couldn’t. I feared my engine would blow. So I tried to force her on the outside of the Bilsteinkehre, simply because you can’t pass someone there.“

This battle lasted until the 30th lap, when Frey pretended to go wide at the Bilsteinkehre, only to dive inside earlier than ever before. This caught Visser off guard, and Frey took the lead. She could even build up a gap between her and the BMW on the following laps, since Visser was going more and more easy on her engine, which had already begun to misfire.

Another intense battle could be seen between Katherine Legge and Jasmin Preisig, both fighting over 5th position. A battle they continued to the chequered flag.

On lap 35, Beitske Visser was already down to 4th position, after she had let Stoddart and Ickx pass her without much resistance. It was obvious that Visser tried her best to bring the car home. She managed to secure 4th place, but was not too thrilled by that result. „We just threw away a win“, Annette Meeuvissen stated. „Our engines must last a race distance, or else we can kiss all hopes of winning the championship goodbye.“

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             150.4 km/h   9 Points
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz       5.445     6 Points
03.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi                7.049     4 Points
04.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW                16.702     3 Points
05.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               33.474     2 Points
06.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi               34.387     1 Point
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz      36.111
08.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz      37.536
09.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel               40.235
10.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel               41.173
11.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW                44.219
DNF)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              Engine
DNF)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              Engine
DNF)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             Accident
DNF)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    Oil Pressure
DNF)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             Retired
DNF)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              Engine
DNF)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             Accident
DNF)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    Tyre Damage
DNF)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             Accident

FASTEST LAP:

      15  Rahel Frey                   Audi               53.862

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             30 Points
02.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              26 Points
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    20 Points
04.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             12 Points
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             11 Points
06.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz     9 Points
07.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
08.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               4 Points
09.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              3 Points
10.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              2 Points
11.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point
12.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi              1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Audi                44 Points
02.)  Mercedes-Benz       35 Points
03.)  BMW                 30 Points
04.)  Opel                16 Points

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

Opel finally brought the first of their long-anticipated upgrade packages to the track. An upgrade package so promising that points finishes should no longer be dependent on luck, weather or heavy attrition as they were before. And Melanie Schulz’s 6th position in qualifying seemed to underpin that rather bold claim, but none of the other Opel drivers was able to profit from the new upgrade as well. Either the upgrade wasn’t as groundbreaking as proclaimed, or Opel only brought one for team leader Melanie Schulz. That we will never fully know...

At the front end of the grid, Mercedes-Benz was still battling Audi for pole position. Susie Stoddart recorded a provisional pole position early on (1:44.543). Behind her came an Audi trio of Frey, Legge, and Ickx.

Behind the scenes, the silly season was already in full swing. Rumors had it that BMW had started negotiations with Ashley Freiberg, although it wasn’t quite clear yet whom Freiberg was supposed to replace. Over at Mercedes-Benz, Alessandra Neri had also somewhat fallen from grace, as her momentary results were far from what had been expected of the Italian. It was rumored that Mercedes-Benz would try to replace Neri with touring car veteran Catharina Felser, but the team’s press officer, Marieluise Mammitzsch, kept denying those rumors.

It became apparent that Oulton Park favoured other cars than the Audis. Only Rahel Frey was able to secure a starting position within the top 6. The second-fastest Audi of Vanina Ickx was down to 8th position, followed by Katherine Legge in 9th and Maria de Villota in 10th.

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01.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    1:35.689
02.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:35.730
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:35.891
04.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:36.094
05.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:36.332
06.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:36.404
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    1:36.495
08.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             1:36.657
09.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:36.686
10.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:36.888
11.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:37.145
12.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:37.148
13.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:37.179
14.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:37.191
15.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:37.200
16.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:37.242
17.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              1:37.286
18.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:37.373
19.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:37.757
20.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:37.829

Race Report

Cyndie Allemann won the start and took the lead ahead of Rahel Frey in 2nd and Susie Stoddart in 3rd position. Melanie Schulz had lost 6th place at the start, thanks to the rather insufficient traction of the Vectra GTS, and had been relegated to 8th position, but was able to win back 7th from Vanina Ickx at the Esso Bend.

At the front, Cyndie Allemann immediately pulled away, recording fastest lap of the race (1:40.389). Susie Stoddart passed Rahel Frey on lap 3 and secured a Mercedes-Benz 1-2 in the process. She immediately bested Allemann’s lap time (1:37.590), and Allemann responded with a 1:37.582 one lap later.

If the hyped Opel upgrade seemed pale during qualifying already, it completely evaporated during the race. Melanie Schulz fell behind steadily and was already down to 9th position on lap 5. The only other Opel anywhere close to the top ten was Charlotte Berton in a lowly 12th position, followed by all her remaining teammates.

On lap 6, Vanina Ickx passed Louise Cook for 7th and started gaining on Michela Cerruti in 6th position. Cyndie Allemann and Susie Stoddart, in the meantime, were still besting each other with fastest laps. That way they had already built up a gap of more than 5 seconds to Rahel Frey in 3rd position.

The first driver to retire was Katherine Legge on lap 11 by spinning off into the gravel. Then, on the 12th lap, the Mercedes duo of Allemann and Stoddart recorded their final fastest lap before suffering an engine failure almost simultaneously. This led to Rahel Frey inheriting the lead, with Michela Cerruti in 2nd and Vanina Ickx in 3rd place.

Claudia Hürtgen also suffered an engine failure on lap 13, the second one in the last two rounds alone. Beitske Visser and Tasmin Pepper had also radioed in engine misfires and had already fallen behind. Visser had been lapped once, Pepper twice already. Both were limping home to retire in the pits. Pepper on lap 15, Visser two laps later. That left Yolanda Surer as the only intact BMW in the race, but the Swiss woman was already dead last in 9th place.

Finally, on the penultimate lap, the BMW team decided to call it a day, ordering Surer to return to the pits and retire there, which she did, albeit reluctantly. Meanwhile, Frey was still in the lead, having built up a gap of 13.156 seconds to Michela Cerruti in 2nd place. Mercedes driver Louise Cook was also struggling with a misfiring engine and was already dead last, but managed to keep things running and finished the race in 8th place, 1 lap down.

This high attrition led to another big payday for the Opel team, with Jasmin Preisig finishing 4th and Laura Suvanto finishing 6th. None of this could be accredited to the new and obviously overhyped upgrade Opel had brought to Oulton Park, though...

Quote of the day from Rahel Frey, shortly after the race: „I dedicate my victory to Cyndie and Susie. Thank you so much for besting your engines to death, girls. I would’ve never won this race without your help!“

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             163.2 km/h   9 Points
02.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz      17.752     6 Points
03.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi               23.518     4 Points
04.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               51.868     3 Points
05.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:04.979     2 Points
06.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:14.043     1 Point
07.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             Tyre Damage
08.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    -1 Lap
DNF)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              Retired
DNF)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              Engine
DNF)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    Engine
DNF)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    Engine
DNF)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             Accident
DNF)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             Retired
DNF)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              Engine
DNF)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             Accident
DNF)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              Engine
DNF)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              Engine
DNF)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             Accident
DNF)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             Spun off

FASTEST LAP:

      15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:36.725

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             39 Points
02.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              26 Points
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    20 Points
04.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             15 Points
05.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             15 Points
06.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz     9 Points
07.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
08.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
09.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               4 Points
10.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              4 Points
11.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              2 Points
12.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz     2 Points
13.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point
14.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi              1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Audi                57 Points
02.)  Mercedes-Benz       43 Points
03.)  BMW                 30 Points
04.)  Opel                20 Points

[Turbogirl]

Rahel Frey went on her summer vacation with a surprisingly dominant lead in the drivers’ standings, having won another round of the championship just a week prior. While she went canoeing with Cyndie Allemann, the Mercedes-Benz team had a lengthy emergency meeting after the Oulton Park desaster, which they couldn’t sugarcoat at all, not even by pointing out Michela Cerruti’s more than lucky 2nd place finish.

It didn’t matter whether this desaster had been caused by poor quality control from the engine department or by the sheer pressure weighing heavily on Cyndie and Susie to turn things around in the championship standings at any cost. The end result was still the same: A 1-2 finish had been thrown in the gutter, and archrival Audi, especially title contender Rahel Frey, was now stronger than ever.

But the Mercedes-Benz team wasn’t the only one to hold an emergency meeting after Oulton Park. BMW raised their staff in quality control to finally put an end to the embarrassing streak of engine failures, which had already cost their drivers dearly. What good was a fast car, if it hardly ever finished a race? Annette Meeuvissen then flew over to the States to oversee a factory-backed effort in the ALMS and to continue negotiations with Ashley Freiberg, no doubt.

And last but not least, Opel drew a conclusion from their performance at Oulton Park and realized that their holy grail of an upgrade had been nothing more than a storm in a tea cup. Some lucky points had been gathered, but no one in the team was too thrilled about that. In order to keep up the surprisingly good mentality within the driver squad, the Opel management decided to renew all current driver contracts for another year.

They were honest enough to note that this string of quite disappointing results was not the drivers’ fault. Also, there wouldn’t be another upgrade until the 9th round at Hockenheim, a message most of their drivers hoping for better results in the near future might not have liked to hear.

And then there was the strange case of Michela Cerruti, which still lingered in the background since the 4th round at Gardemoen...

For quite some time now, almost since the season had begun, there was a notable upset within the Mercedes-Benz team. Michela Cerruti, who was brought on as the ultimate weapon to gun for the championship title, had only been shooting blank cartridges so far and was unusually verbal about her dissatisfaction.

Rumors of the Italian jumping ship to BMW had been circulating for quite some time now, but neither Cerruti herself nor Team Principal Ellen Lohr had made any statement yet whether these rumors were true or not. That changed drastically during the mid-season break, when Lohr gave an interview in which she revealed some of the current on-goings behind the scenes at Mercedes-Benz.

Apparently, there were quite some differences between Michela Cerruti and her current race engineer, leading to a rather tainted working relationship. Instead of working together as a team, driver and engineer only worked with compromises when trying to find suitable setups, which had led to most of these quite underwhelming results. Ellen Lohr had tried to replace the unnamed race engineer ever since the race on the Finthen Airfield, but due to a watertight contract and the lack of a suitable replacement, the problem remained unsolved, which obviously didn’t make the situation any better for Cerruti.

But from the next round onwards, Michela would be partnered with a new race engineer in hopes of turning things around at the last minute. The new guy, Francesco Nenci, is not only Italian himself, but has also worked in various levels of motorsport, including Formula 1, and has earned the reputation of being the perfect man to help you out of a desperate situation. And we can all agree that Cerruti’s situation is more than desperate right now.

So, what can we expect after the mid-season break is over? Well, first and foremost, there is absolutely no reason to believe that Rahel Frey’s dominant performance is about to end anytime soon. Mercedes-Benz is going to come up with a counterplan sooner than later, but we won’t know what that will be and how effective it’s going to be until we see it happening.

Opel is going to continue the uphill struggle against their failure of a car. They’re currently only 10 points behind BMW in the Constructors’ Standings, but as soon as the Bavarians get their reliability issues under control, they’re going to leave the Opel team in the dust with ease.

On the driver front, we can definitely expect to see Michela Cerruti producing better results than before. Jasmin Preisig has also been quite remarkable during the first half of the season, and she will continue to gather points for herself and her team whenever she gets the chance to do so. Louise Cook had a tremendous season opener and would be quite a danger to the establishment, if she hadn’t had so many retirements.

Charlotte Berton has disappointed so far. She seems to be a brilliant starter, but her lack of competitiveness is alarming. Katherine Legge has also been far off the pace, except on the Norisring, where she showcased her true potential. Lindsey Adams drew up the rear in all her outings for BMW, and rumors have it that her days in the WTCC are pretty much over. She deserves a second chance, though, once she has gathered more experience in touring cars.

And that’s the mid-season break for now, folks! Next up is the 7th round of the inaugural WTCC season on the demanding Nordschleife of the Nürburgring.

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

A glance at the current Constructors’ Standings might cause Mercedes-Benz Team Principal Ellen Lohr to get a little seasick. Audi has taken the lead by 14 points, even though their only regular points finishers are Rahel Frey and Vanina Ickx. We will see if the old saying, that it’s easier to make a fast car reliable than to make a reliable car fast, really is true, because Mercedes-Benz has to do exactly that, if they still want a chance at grabbing the title this year.

But who will be their undisputed number one? Susie Stoddart is the only logical answer to that question, even though it’s Michela Cerruti who has that exact status written in her contract, presumably. Cyndie Allemann, on the other hand, has gone through all the ups and downs of a racing driver’s career in the last two rounds alone. Unbeatable in qualifying, but empty-handed after both rounds. If she was able to regain some of her motivation during the mid-season break, she can still show some more phenomenal racing, but given how far back she already is in the drivers’ standings, winning the title this year is illusory.

Susie Stoddart was as close to Rahel Frey’s pole position time as ever on the Nürburgring. Cyndie Allemann came third and seemed optimistic for the race itself. Opel was again far off the pace, but what should change, if no advancements are made at all? BMW rookie Tasmin Pepper proved her driving skill by snatching 10th position on the grid. Quite remarkable for a girl from South Africa who never raced on the Nordschleife before in her life.

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             8:22.255
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    8:22.700
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    8:22.723
04.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              8:23.535
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             8:23.647
06.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              8:23.704
07.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    8:24.709
08.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    8:24.941
09.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             8:25.076
10.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              8:25.805
11.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             8:25.912
12.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             8:26.008
13.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             8:26.777
14.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              8:27.090
15.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             8:27.103
16.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             8:27.474
17.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             8:27.739
18.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    8:29.605
19.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             8:29.861
20.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              8:29.946

Race Report

Rahel Frey took the lead from Susie Stoddart, but was passed again by the faster Mercedes-Benz down the Back Straight. Michela Cerruti continued the series of rather embarrassing retirements for Mercedes-Benz when she ended her race on the very first lap due to another engine failure.

Beitske Visser recorded a provisional fastest lap of the race (8:32.011) early on and tried to pass 3rd-placed Cyndie Allemann down the Fuchsröhre, which almost ended in them both colliding with each other. Claudia Hürtgen was more successful in her attempt to pass Vanina Ickx and take 5th place from the Audi driver. During the early stage of this race, the BMWs were easily the quickest cars on the grid.

This was also underpinned by Tasmin Pepper’s performance, who had already won 9th place right at the start and took 8th place from Michela Cerruti soon after.

But the best starter of them all was once again Opel driver Charlotte Berton, who not only passed 6 other cars right at the start, but also found the demanding circuit much to her liking and was involved in more overtaking maneuvres during this race than any other driver. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side that day, as the French woman was unable to close in on 6th-placed Louise Cook and thus could not reward herself with a single championship point for her truly impressive run.

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01.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    161.8 km/h   9 Points
02.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi               13.060     6 Points
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz      14.783     4 Points
04.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW                16.139     3 Points
05.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW                16.558     2 Points
06.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz      28.627     1 Point
07.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel               47.585
08.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW                54.764
09.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:00.721
10.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:09.131
11.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              3:36.539
12.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              4:48.923
DNF)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             Suspension
DNF)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             Camshaft
DNF)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    Accident
DNF)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    Engine
DNF)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             Accident
DNF)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             Retired
DNF)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             Accident
DNF)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             Retired

FASTEST LAP:

      17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    8:26.232

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             45 Points
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    29 Points
03.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              29 Points
04.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             15 Points
05.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             15 Points
06.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    13 Points
07.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz     7 Points
08.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
09.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               6 Points
10.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              4 Points
11.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              2 Points
12.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz     2 Points
13.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point
14.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi              1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Audi                63 Points
02.)  Mercedes-Benz       57 Points
03.)  BMW                 35 Points
04.)  Opel                20 Points

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

After visiting the widespread, lush countryside surrounding the Nürburgring, the WTCC travelled to Pau and its narrow, twisty streets. And the silly season had become richer by one headline: Lindsey Adams (BMW) was going to be replaced by fellow American Julia Landauer for the upcoming season. Adams’ string of rather underwhelming results accompanied by a lot of accidents not caused by technical failures had made it clear to Annette Meeuvissen that the young American was not the ideal fit for the BMW works team. Why it was Landauer and not Ashley Freiberg to replace Adams was anybody’s guess...

The Audi team arrived with fresh ink on their renewed contracts for next season. Despite the rather mixed results from de Villota and Legge, Team Principal Leena Gade obviously had no intention to replace any of them with one of the many rookies in Audi’s young driver development program. Some had expected to see Gosia Rdest replace Maria de Villota anytime soon, but this scenario has now become food for future thoughts.

Mercedes-Benz also seemed to be considering alternatives to Alessandra Neri. While it seemed unrealistic to ask Danica Patrick again, long-standing touring car driver Catharina Felser had already tested a WTCC car for Mercedes-Benz on the Hockenheimring during the mid-season break, and the test crew praised the German’s technical knowledge and precise feedback.

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01.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    1:16.493
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:16.531
03.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:16.588
04.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             1:16.705
05.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    1:16.790
06.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:16.979
07.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:16.996
08.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:16.998
09.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:17.051
10.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:17.070
11.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              1:17.103
12.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:17.111
13.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:17.247
14.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:17.259
15.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:17.375
16.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:17.472
17.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:17.515
18.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:17.556
19.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:17.591
20.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:17.634

Race Report

While Susie Stoddart took the lead from teammate Allemann and Rahel Frey at the front, Lena Strycek had quite the impressive start herself, passing two competitors right away (Schulz and Cook), grabbing 13th place in the process. Unfortunately, the young German had to give up her position to Melanie Schulz that same lap, when she was passed again by her more experienced teammate.

Meanwhile, Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky managed to make 5th-placed Michela Cerruti lose her footing so badly, that the Italian was not only forced to give up her position to the young Swede, but she was also swiftly passed by Maria de Villota and Katherine Legge in the process. And Cerruti then had to fight tooth and nail to not fall victim to Beitske Visser as well. „That might have been one of the worst starts of my entire career“, Cerruti later admitted.

Meanwhile, Cyndie Allemann shielded teammate Susie Stoddart from Rahel Frey, so that the Scotswoman was able to pull away safely and also set a provisional fastest lap of the race on top (1:18.045). Claudia Hürtgen suffered suspension damage on lap 6 and was forced to retire once again, sarcastically remarking: „At least it wasn’t the engine this time...“

Beitske Visser was overtaken by Tasmin Pepper, who seemed to enjoy the twisty and narrow street course much more than her teammate from the Netherlands. So much so that Pepper even started fighting Michela Cerruti for 8th place, which concluded in Cerruti making a rare mistake that led to her crashing into a nearby crash barrier. Although Cerruti exited her car unharmed, she disappeared soon after in the Mercedes-Benz motorhome and was not available for interviews for the rest of the day.

On lap 11, Rahel Frey set the fastest lap of the race (1:17.665), slowly but steadily increasing the pressure on Cyndie Allemann in front of her. Lap 12 saw the end of Lindsey Adams’ race. The BMW driver crashed into the barriers after a failed passing attempt on Louise Cook.

On lap 20, Susie Stoddart set the record for fastest lap of the race (1:17.181) and had already built up a gap of more than 9 seconds to Allemann in 2nd and more than 12 seconds to Frey in 3rd place. More than enough to take it easy from there and cruise home, and the Mercedes-Benz pitcrew obviously thought so as well. They radioed Susie and Cyndie on lap 25 to reduce speed and hold positions, which both of them did to the chequered flag.

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01.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    128.9 km/h   9 Points
02.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz       9.228     6 Points
03.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi               13.384     4 Points
04.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi               17.464     3 Points
05.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi               22.912     2 Points
06.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi               26.670     1 Point
07.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi               29.259
08.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW                33.291
09.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW                35.233
10.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz      40.105
11.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               47.367
12.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel               51.798
13.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel               58.674
14.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:00.699
DNF)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              Accident
DNF)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    Accident
DNF)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              Retired
DNF)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              Suspension
DNF)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             Accident
DNF)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             Retired

FASTEST LAP:

      22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:17.181

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             49 Points
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    38 Points
03.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              29 Points
04.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    19 Points
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             18 Points
06.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             15 Points
07.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz     7 Points
08.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
09.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               6 Points
10.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              4 Points
11.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              3 Points
12.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz     2 Points
13.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi              2 Points
14.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point
15.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi              1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Audi                73 Points
02.)  Mercedes-Benz       72 Points
03.)  BMW                 35 Points
04.)  Opel                20 Points

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

The Opel team arrived at Hockenheim equipped with the second upgrade on their cars, which turned out to be a complete failure just like the first one. Charlotte Berton and Jasmin Preisig were understandably furious, especially since this new upgrade had taken even more time to be developed. „Seeing it all being for nothing is inacceptable“, Berton stated. „My car handled much better in the old specification.“

Only team leader Melanie Schulz seemed to not mind too much, even though she had to be content with 14th place on the grid in qualifying. „This season is basically over“, Schulz told a german motoring newspaper. „I’m currently involved in the development of next year’s car, and the progress we’re making in testing makes me feel quite confident that we’ll have a much better chance of scoring points and even podiums regularly next season.“

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01.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    2:17.006
02.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             2:17.100
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    2:17.161
04.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             2:17.504
05.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              2:17.708
06.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    2:17.777
07.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    2:17.826
08.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              2:18.111
09.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             2:18.212
10.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             2:18.214
11.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              2:18.245
12.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             2:18.444
13.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    2:18.673
14.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             2:18.728
15.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              2:18.839
16.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              2:18.970
17.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             2:19.020
18.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             2:19.026
19.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             2:19.142
20.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             2:19.292

Race Report

While it had been dry but cloudy on saturday, heavy rain started pouring on sunday and had already flooded the track when the drivers awaited the start. Cyndie Alleman pulled away from Rahel Frey and Susie Stoddart, with Stoddart taking 2nd place from Frey at the Nordkurve. Beitske Visser managed to do the same thing with Vanina Ickx, thus taking 4th place from the Audi driver.

Stoddart easily passed Allemann down the long straight, while Frey immediately got under pressure from Beitske Visser, who was already trying a passing maneuvre at the Jim-Clark-Chicane. 5th-placed Louise Cook used that scuffle between Frey and Visser to her advantage to quickly gain on the duo and pass them both in a clean swipe on lap 5 down the straight leading to the Ayrton-Senna-Chicane. With this, three Mercedes-Benz were in the lead already.

Michela Cerruti attacked Beitske Visser at the Agip corner on lap 5 and took 5th place from her. She also tried passing Rahel Frey down the finish line, but the Audi driver kept her at bay at the last moment. Visser was then able to restore the old order by winning back 5th position from Cerruti with a remarkable braking maneuvre at the Jim-Clark-Chicane.

Cerruti lost her footing and was immediately passed by Katherine Legge as well, losing 6th position the process. Legge gained on Visser, but was unable to overtake her. This gave Cerruti the chance to close in on the two, so that Legge had to let Visser go in order to fend off Cerruti’s attacks.

On lap 8, Visser literally forced her way past Rahel Frey at the Jim-Clark-Chicane. Frey would later go on record by calling that maneuvre „a little to risky in this condition“, and given the heavy rain at that point, we can hardly disagree. Visser then tried gaining on the leading Mercedes trio during the next few laps.

8th-placed Vanina Ickx managed to pass both Cerruti and Legge going into the twisty motodrome, taking 6th place in the process. Too bad that the rather exciting battle between these three was cut short by Michela Cerruti’s fuel pump giving up, which led – rather surprisingly – to the first retirement of this race. One would have expected far more attrition at that point in a wet race like this.

Katherine Legge managed to win back 6th place from Vanina Ickx on lap 9. At the same time, further down the line, Charlotte Berton called it a day due to „terribly bad handling“, which wasn’t too tragic, since Berton was already dead last. „I would have rather driven a rallye car under such abysmal conditions.“ Legge missed her braking point at the Agip on the same lap and started mowing the lawn of the infield of the motodrome with her car, which enabled both Vanina Ickx and Maria de Villota to pass by.

On lap 10, Vanina Ickx did something that caused the entire Audi pitcrew to almost soil their pants simultaneously. Since Rahel Frey was visibly slowing the Audi trio of Ickx, de Villota and Legge down, Ickx tried a passing maneuvre at the Jim-Clark-Chicane, but hit a stain of water on the inside of the corner, lost control of her Audi and crashed into Rahel Frey. Legge and de Villota had to take the emergency exits in order to avoid becoming part of that collision, followed closely by Claudia Hürtgen, who immediately took advantage of the slower Audi duo in front of her and passed them both down the adjoining straight. By that she took 7th place, with Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky in tow, who imitated what she just saw, winning two precious positions in the process. And to top things off, Tasmin Pepper attacked Katherine Legge in the Ostkurve and went by.

The order was now: Stoddart, Allemann, Cook, Visser, Ickx, Frey, Hürtgen, Åhlin-Kottulinsky, de Villota, Pepper, Legge. And this thriller in the rain was far from over! On lap 11, Claudia Hürtgen overtook Rahel Frey in the motodrome. Frey was already struggling with a barely handling car after being hit by her own teammate and found herself unable to fend off Hürtgen’s attacks any longer. She could barely resist at all when Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky passed her down the finish line. It almost looked like the Swede was lapping a backmarker.

Lap 14 saw Opel teammates Lena Strycek and Laura Suvanto collide at the Jim-Clark-Chicane. Both had been entangled in a fierce battle for last place, and the attacking Strycek hit the same stain of water that Ickx had hit earlier. Both rookies got stuck in the gravel, and the Opel crew was probably not very amused about that outcome.

On lap 15, Tasmin Pepper had finally closed in on Rahel Frey and attacked her going into the motodrome. But Frey had found a way to work around her handling issues and managed to drive a blocking line, so that Pepper had to back down for the moment. The girl from South Africa tried it with a little more force at the Ostkurve and almost collided with Frey, but kept her BMW under control, pushed Frey onto the green and took 8th place from her.

Maria de Villota overtook Rahel Frey on the final lap as well, taking 9th place. A bit further down, Melanie Schulz managed to pass Katherine Legge for 10th place and defended that position to the chequered flag.

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01.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    177.2 km/h   9 Points
02.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz       3.944     6 Points
03.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz      17.079     4 Points
04.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW                19.686     3 Points
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi               35.652     2 Points
06.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW                42.370     1 Point
07.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi               46.567
08.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW                58.000
09.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:01.518
10.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:03.232
11.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:04.053
12.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:04.474
13.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:05.099
14.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:06.061
15.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:06.533
16.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:06.890
DNF)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             Collision
DNF)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             Collision
DNF)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             Handling
DNF)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    Fuel Pump

FASTEST LAP:

      17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    2:18.235

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             49 Points
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    47 Points
03.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              32 Points
04.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    25 Points
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             20 Points
06.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             15 Points
07.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    11 Points
08.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               7 Points
09.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz     6 Points
10.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              4 Points
11.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              3 Points
12.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz     2 Points
13.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi              2 Points
14.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point
15.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi              1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Mercedes-Benz       91 Points
02.)  Audi                75 Points
03.)  BMW                 39 Points
04.)  Opel                20 Points

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

The battle for the championship title was on! We all knew that Mercedes-Benz would find a way to counterattack sooner than later, and it had been quite the success up to this point. Susie Stoddart – as the only Mercedes driver with the slightest chance of grabbing the title this season – had to deliver, and she did, winning three rounds in a row. And with Rahel Frey experiencing her own personal Waterloo at the Hockenheimring, she now only led by two measely points from Susie Stoddart.

Only three rounds left to go: Austria, Spain, and the finale on the Schleizer Dreieck. But Beitske Visser was also still in the race for the title, though she would need much more luck to make it than Frey and Stoddart combined. Then again, who would’ve thought that Susie Stoddart could pull off what she did? And she obviously wanted to continue her winning streak, taking the first stepping stone to the road to victory on saturday: pole position.

Rahel Frey and Vanina Ickx were once again the only Audis capable of keeping up with the Mercedes-Benz ladies, who were now joined by a visibly motivated Michela Cerruti. The BMWs were no match all saturday long. Only Beitske Visser managed a top six result in qualifying, while Claudia Hürtgen was down in 8th position. „This race is going to be a tough one“, Visser stated laconically.

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01.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:43.669
02.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:43.711
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    1:43.757
04.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    1:44.252
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             1:44.316
06.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:44.615
07.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:45.018
08.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:45.527
09.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:45.609
10.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:45.643
11.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:45.737
12.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:45.950
13.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:45.999
14.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:46.002
15.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              1:46.084
16.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:46.235
17.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:46.246
18.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:46.256
19.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:46.551
20.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:46.645

Race Report

Rahel Frey took the lead from Michela Cerruti, who had a truly tremendous start, and Susie Stoddart in 3rd place. After the first lap, Frey had already built up a gap of 1.051 seconds to Michela Cerruti and was pulling away steadily, setting a personal fastest lap (1:49.788) in the process.

From the 5th lap onwards, the field could be divided into two major groups. The first group consisted of Cerruti, Stoddart, Allemann, Ickx, Visser and Hürtgen, who could barely keep up with Rahel Frey in front. Cerruti was already 2.819 seconds behind Frey at that moment, and the Italian was not even slowing the group down in any way. The second group consisted of 9th-placed Maria de Villota, who was 5 seconds behind Hürtgen, and the rest of the field.

Beitske Visser’s BMW was put out of commission by another engine failure on lap 7, which basically destroyed her slim chance of winning the title this season. „It seems you folks had hoped for much more than I did“, the Dutch woman laughed. „I’m perfectly happy with what I managed to pull off this season, and I know the team feels the same way. Winning the title is on my wishlist for next season.“ It should be noted that Visser left the Red Bull Ring with one more record to her name – that of the fastest lap of the race. Not even the super fast Rahel Frey managed to best Visser’s time this day.

On lap 10, Rahel Frey had already built up a gap of 5.5 seconds to 2nd-placed Michela Cerruti, while Susie Stoddart was still in third place and desperately tried to keep up with the visibly faster teammate. There was no team order coming from Team Principal Ellen Lohr. „We don’t do that stuff“, Lohr replied when asked about it. „If you drive for me and you want to pass your teammate, you have to be quick enough to do it on your own. It’s as simple as that.“

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             201.1 km/h   9 Points
02.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz      10.228     6 Points
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz      10.636     4 Points
04.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz      11.014     3 Points
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi               13.373     2 Points
06.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz      26.567     1 Point
07.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW                28.139
08.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel               55.330
09.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW                55.845
10.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:01.152
11.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:01.989
12.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:02.844
13.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:03.132
14.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:05.973
15.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:09.119
16.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:12.080
17.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             -1 Lap
18.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              -1 Lap
DNF)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              Fuel Pump
DNF)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              Engine

FASTEST LAP:

       1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:44.562

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             58 Points
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    51 Points
03.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              32 Points
04.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    28 Points
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             22 Points
06.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             15 Points
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    12 Points
08.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    12 Points
09.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               7 Points
10.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              4 Points
11.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              3 Points
12.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz     2 Points
13.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi              2 Points
14.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point
15.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi              1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Mercedes-Benz      105 Points
02.)  Audi                86 Points
03.)  BMW                 39 Points
04.)  Opel                20 Points

OOC: So, what exactly is the Red Bull Ring Langstrecke, you might be asking right now? I was only able to get the old Österreichring layout for GPL to work on my computer, which is quite an amazing drive tbh, so I didn’t want to scrap it from the calendar. But because the Red Bull Ring is going to make an appearance sooner or later over in the Women’s GT Masters, which is part of the same fictional universe, I needed to come up with an in-game explanation for why both layouts of the same track exist at the same time.

Then there’s this graphic, which overlays the new Red Bull Ring with the old Österreichring and that gave me the idea. The so-called „Langstrecke“ (engl. long variant) is the old Österreichring layout, which I’ll continue to use in the WTCC. What we know today as the Red Bull Ring will be called „Grand Prix Circuit“ from now on, and that variant will be used in the Women’s GT Masters.

Now, what do you think? Can Susie still make it? Only 2 more rounds to go, 18 points to be awarded in total, which means that Susie has to win twice while Rahel must never finish better than third. Does that sound to you like something that could happen? I don’t know myself yet, so please let me know what you think!

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

Susie Stoddart’s chance of winning the championship this year had decreased thanks to her rather mediocre showing on the Red Bull Ring, while Rahel Frey had won in a more than dominant fashion. A total of 18 points was still to be awarded, which meant that Susie needed to win at least both remaining rounds with Rahel Frey not finishing higher than 3rd place anymore.

Not as impossible of a task as one would think, given the undeniable speed of the AMG Mercedes-Benz Coupé. Unfortunately for Susie, the Circuito del Jarama was not to her car’s liking. She was more than a second behind Rahel Frey on pole position, and Vanina Ickx also managed to get in-between the two rivals. „Vanina could block me long enough until Rahel has pulled away“, Susie feared. „Don’t be ridiculous“, Ickx countered. „Each of us is going to drive her own race. I only had to promise Rahel that I wouldn’t crash into her again like I did at Hockenheim.“

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             1:34.064
02.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             1:34.920
03.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    1:35.166
04.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    1:35.171
05.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              1:35.407
06.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:35.409
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    1:35.412
08.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    1:35.555
09.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             1:35.728
10.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             1:35.828
11.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:35.829
12.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:35.833
13.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:35.890
14.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              1:35.976
15.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             1:36.000
16.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             1:36.041
17.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             1:36.141
18.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              1:36.382
19.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:36.445
20.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              1:36.529

Race Report

Rahel Frey only barely won the start. Vanina Ickx clearly had the upper hand and immediately attacked at the first corner, but botched it once again, which led to another collision between the two Audis. Both could travel on despite that exchange of bodypaint, and Vanina Ickx let Frey off the hook. „She really needs to stop doing that“, Frey said after the race. „I don’t want my hair to turn white, you know.“

Beitske Visser used that commotion to her advantage and passed both Cyndie Allemann and Susie Stoddart in one clean swipe, winning third place in the process. Claudia Hürtgen went through the gravel at the Varzi and was immediately passed by local heroine Maria de Villota, Michela Cerruti and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky.

Rahel Frey pulled away as usual, while Visser was visibly slowing the Mercedes duo of Stoddart and Allemann down. So much so that both Louise Cook and Michela Cerruti, who won back 7th place from de Villota, were able to close in on their teammates. Cerruti passed Cook on lap 3. A few corners later Maria de Villota was also able to overtake Cook for 7th.

Opel driver Laura Suvanto retired on lap 11 with a damaged suspension. On lap 13, Claudia Hürtgen overtook Melanie Schulz for 9th place. Surprisingly, Jasmin Preisig set fastest lap of the race – and we’re not talking about any personal fastest lap either! Preisig’s record remained unbroken that day, even though the Opel driver finished the race in a lowly 8th position. Give the girl a better car already!

Maria de Villota retired on lap 12 with suspension damage, and Vanina Ickx, who held on to second place until then, had to retire on lap 18 due to handling issues. It turned out that the collision she had with Frey at the beginning of the race had damaged her track rod. The Audi pitcrew immediately radioed Rahel Frey, but her car seemed to be in perfect shape, enabling her to win another race in her dominant fashion.

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             127.7 km/h   9 Points
02.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW                20.119     6 Points
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz      20.585     4 Points
04.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz      21.700     3 Points
05.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz      22.977     2 Points
06.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW                29.452     1 Point
07.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel               30.176
08.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               42.938
09.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi               43.573
10.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW                44.787
11.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW                48.190
12.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW                50.838
13.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi               51.422
14.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz      52.454
15.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel               53.273
16.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel               54.776
DNF)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    Suspension
DNF)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             Handling
DNF)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             Suspension
DNF)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             Suspension

FASTEST LAP:

      12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             1:35.464

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             67 Points
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    54 Points
03.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              38 Points
04.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    32 Points
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             22 Points
06.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             15 Points
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    14 Points
08.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    12 Points
09.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               8 Points
10.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              4 Points
11.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              3 Points
12.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz     2 Points
13.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi              2 Points
14.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point
15.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi              1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Mercedes-Benz      114 Points
02.)  Audi                95 Points
03.)  BMW                 46 Points
04.)  Opel                20 Points

OOC: I’m sorry I let my impulsiveness get the upper hand once again, thus wanting to end this series for a playground level reason. Since I was too late to delete my initial post before anybody else could answer to it, I’d like to handle it this way – by replacing it with something far more enjoyable.

Yes, that means this series will go on, but more on that after the 12th round (see below). I won’t say too much about the matter at hand, because it’s about some character traits I sincerely hate about myself, but I’ll shortly address it anyway.

[dr-baker]

I'm sorry, I have been enjoying this and was going to be fascinated how this links into the Women's GT series.

considering the fact that this series was so much fun for me. Much more fun than I ever had since I started the Women’s GT Masters over in the 18-metre debut forum.

If this is so much fun for you, who gives a flying fig what anybody else thinks? I enjoyed doing my NASCAR career for Douglas Mann, but I rarely got feedback. I only stopped because life is busy, not because of a lack of feedback. I still intend on finishing it at some point whether people want me to or not, because I want to and I don't really care what others think of me.

so I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong here...

Basically, you're doing nothing wrong. It is us who are doing something wrong for not supporting you when you asked for feedback.

And as for your options, entirely up to you. It is not our decision to make. But I hope this reply reassures you that at least one person has been following it. I assume driver performance in this would carry over to the Women's GT series?

[Turbogirl]

Qualifying

Both championships had been decided. Ever since her tremendous win in Spain, none of her rivals could beat Rahel Frey to the title anymore. Susie Stoddart had to be content with being runner-up, and with the not too comforting thought of having helped her team secure the constructors’ title this year. But who really cares about the constructors’ title anyway, aside from the winning brand? Spectators want a driver to cheer on, and the drivers themselves probably think the same way, even though they might say otherwise once the microphones are on.

So, a finale without any real excitement, then? On the contrary. For one, the Opel team had brought their third and final upgrade to the track. A brand new specification that could be viewed as a sneak-peak at next year’s Vectra GTS V8 Evo. And finally, the Opel engineers had outdone themselves. With a little help from Jasmin Preisig, actually, since team leader Melanie Schulz was already involved in the development of next year’s car, which left her no wiggle room to do any more testing at the moment.

„They were quite nervous after their first two disappointments“, said Jasmin Preisig when asked about the third upgrade. „Those previous ones all were a product of computer simulations alone, so they wanted one of us drivers to test their third try so badly. Melanie was too busy, so I did the testing, gave them some suggestions, and this is the result. Too bad we were only able to upgrade my car and not all of them. There aren’t that many resources left at HQ since the development of the new car is in full swing.“

Susie Stoddart stood beside herself all weekend long. It was obvious that the loss of the championship title had taken its toll on the Scotswoman. She never made it past 15th place on the grid during qualifying.

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             2:37.575
02.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             2:37.840
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    2:38.121
04.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              2:38.496
05.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             2:38.714
06.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    2:38.763
07.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             2:39.049
08.)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              2:39.182
09.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              2:39.202
10.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             2:39.463
11.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi             2:39.465
12.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             2:39.487
13.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             2:39.688
14.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    2:39.711
15.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    2:39.717
16.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel             2:39.730
17.)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              2:39.872
18.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    2:40.275
19.)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              2:40.555
20.)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             2:40.717

Race Report

Rahel Frey shot into the lead immediately, while Vanina Ickx suffered a terrible start and had to give up 2nd place to Cyndie Allemann. Claudia Hürtgen made a detour through the green, which allowed Maria de Villota and Katherine Legge to slip through. Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky left Susie Stoddart in the dust with ease and was already chasing after Michela Cerruti.

Vanina Ickx spun off on the second lap and ended her race in the gravel, which led to Jasmin Preisig inheriting 4th place already. Cyndie Allemann passed Rahel Frey at the hairpin and took the lead from the Audi driver. Beitske Visser had also gained on Frey and passed her down the adjoining straight.

On lap 7, Visser’s engine gave up, which led to this new order: Allemann, Frey, Preisig, Legge, Hürtgen, Suvanto. At that point, only 9 cars were still running in the race. Cyndie Allemann had already built up a gap of 9 seconds to Rahel Frey, and Frey’s personal fastest lap (2:39.636) didn’t change a bit about the fact that Allemann was clearly the superior driver on this day.

Rahel Frey managed to gain on Allemann during the dying laps of the race, but never got close enough to try a passing maneuvre. Claudia Hürtgen’s engine began to stutter a few metres away from the chequered flag, which gave both Laura Suvanto and Alessandra Neri the chance to pass the BMW driver at the very last second. Hürtgen was able to make it to the chequered flag, but at that point she was already down in 7th place.

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01.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    185.3 km/h   9 Points
02.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi                4.779     6 Points
03.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel               12.464     4 Points
04.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi               22.648     3 Points
05.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel               41.793     2 Points
06.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz    1:03.602     1 Point
07.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW              1:04.360
08.)  11  Melanie Schulz               Opel             1:06.391
09.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi             1:11.125
DNF)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              Engine
DNF)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             Spun off
DNF)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    Accident
DNF)   7  Yolanda Surer                BMW              Engine
DNF)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel             Handling
DNF)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi             Accident
DNF)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    Accident
DNF)   8  Lindsey Adams                BMW              Engine
DNF)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    Retired
DNF)  10  Lena Strycek                 Opel             Accident
DNF)  16  Tasmin Pepper                BMW              Accident

FASTEST LAP:

      15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             2:39.332

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             73 Points
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    54 Points
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    41 Points
04.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              38 Points
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             22 Points
06.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             19 Points
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    14 Points
08.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    12 Points
09.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               8 Points
10.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              6 Points
11.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi              4 Points
12.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              3 Points
13.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz     3 Points
14.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi              2 Points
15.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Mercedes-Benz      124 Points
02.)  Audi               104 Points
03.)  BMW                 46 Points
04.)  Opel                26 Points

OOC:

I'm sorry, I have been enjoying this and was going to be fascinated how this links into the Women's GT series. If this is so much fun for you, who gives a flying fig what anybody else thinks?

You’re right, and I know you’re right. But this is me, and I hate every single bit about it. All my life I struggled with the three worst character traits I can imagine: 1.) a lack of self-confidence since early childhood / 2.) the impulsiveness and temper of a German-Italian (my mom was from Italy) / and 3.) my tendency to let my emotions get the better of me anytime I feel unfairly treated. The only saving grace in all this mess is that I calm down fairly easy and then tend to see the wrong I did. And it was wrong of me to expect any feedback at all. It’s anybody’s right to remain silent. If I don’t have the mental maturity to cope with that, I shouldn’t be on the internet in the first place.

But I hope this reply reassures you that at least one person has been following it.

Yes, it does, and I sincerely thank you for your kind words. I too want this series to continue, because I really, really enjoy doing this. And I’ll try my best to not care about what others might think or that I don’t get feedback as often as I would like. It’s going to be difficult, because I can’t change who I am, but at least I can try...

I assume driver performance in this would carry over to the Women's GT series?

Exactly that! This series is supposed to be a kinda sorta driver development program without me actually having to run another Junior Cup. I simply wanted to improve some real-life stats in a way that doesn’t come along as too forced. By just stating it happened, for example. And I seem to be on the right path, given that I never had to double for Susie once during this entire season, yet she still managed to fight for the title almost until the very end.

So, next up will be the final season statistics before we move on to Season 2 in the near future!

[dr-baker]

[

I'm sorry, I have been enjoying this and was going to be fascinated how this links into the Women's GT series. If this is so much fun for you, who gives a flying fig what anybody else thinks?

You’re right, and I know you’re right. But this is me, and I hate every single bit about it. All my life I struggled with the three worst character traits I can imagine: 1.) a lack of self-confidence since early childhood / 2.) the impulsiveness and temper of a German-Italian (my mom was from Italy) / and 3.) my tendency to let my emotions get the better of me anytime I feel unfairly treated. The only saving grace in all this mess is that I calm down fairly easy and then tend to see the wrong I did. And it was wrong of me to expect any feedback at all. It’s anybody’s right to remain silent. If I don’t have the mental maturity to cope with that, I shouldn’t be on the internet in the first place.

I understand the lack of self-confidence, I really do! And recognising your saving grace as a positive is good!

I have been looking at this series and am already planning my driver choices around this, so please keep it up!

[Turbogirl]

And here are the season statistics to close off the inaugural WTCC season for good. I hope you enjoy! Here’s to more in the not too distant future!


Championship Points (Drivers)

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi             73 Points
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz    54 Points
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz    41 Points
04.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW              38 Points
05.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi             22 Points
06.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel             19 Points
07.)  21  Michela Cerruti              Mercedes-Benz    14 Points
08.)   4  Louise Cook                  Mercedes-Benz    12 Points
09.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               8 Points
10.)  18  Laura Suvanto                Opel              6 Points
11.)  14  Katherine Legge              Audi              4 Points
12.)   5  Maria de Villota             Audi              3 Points
13.)   3  Alessandra Neri              Mercedes-Benz     3 Points
14.)  13  Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky    Audi              2 Points
15.)   9  Charlotte Berton             Opel              1 Point

Pole Positions (Drivers)

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi              4 Pole Positions
02.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz     4 Pole Positions
03.)   6  Vanina Ickx                  Audi              2 Pole Positions
04.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               1 Pole Position
05.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz     1 Pole Position

Wins (Drivers)

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi              6 Wins
02.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz     4 Wins
03.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW               1 Win
04.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz     1 Win

Fastest Laps (Drivers)

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01.)  15  Rahel Frey                   Audi              5 Fastest Laps
02.)   1  Beitske Visser               BMW               2 Fastest Laps
03.)  17  Cyndie Allemann              Mercedes-Benz     2 Fastest Laps
04.)   2  Claudia Hürtgen              BMW               1 Fastest Lap
05.)  22  Susie Stoddart               Mercedes-Benz     1 Fastest Lap
06.)  12  Jasmin Preisig               Opel              1 Fastest Lap

Championship Points (Constructors)

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01.)  Mercedes-Benz      124 Points
02.)  Audi               104 Points
03.)  BMW                 46 Points
04.)  Opel                26 Points

Pole Positions (Constructors)

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01.)  Audi                 6 Pole Positions
02.)  Mercedes-Benz        5 Pole Positions
03.)  BMW                  1 Pole Position

Wins (Constructors)

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01.)  Audi                 6 Wins
02.)  Mercedes-Benz        5 Wins
03.)  BMW                  1 Win

Fastest Laps (Constructors)

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01.)  Audi                 5 Fastest Laps
02.)  BMW                  3 Fastest Laps
03.)  Mercedes-Benz        3 Fastest Laps
04.)  Opel                 1 Fastest Lap

Not finishing

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Most DNFs without ever finishing a race             n/a

Most DNFs in a season                               Lindsey Adams                 9

Most DNFs in total                                  Lindsey Adams                 9

Most consecutive DNFs in a season                   Lindsey Adams                 6

Most consecutive DNFs                               Lindsey Adams                 6

Championship points

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Most entries without a point                        Lindsey Adams                12
                                                    Tasmin Pepper                12
                                                    Melanie Schulz               12
                                                    Lena Strycek                 12
                                                    Yolanda Surer                12
                                                    
Most races until the first point                    Michela Cerruti               6
                                                    Alessandra Neri               6

Most points without scoring a podium                Laura Suvanto                 6

Most points without scoring a win                   Vanina Ickx                  22

Most races between two point finishes               Katherine Legge               6

Most Championship points in total                   Rahel Frey                   73

Pole Positions

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Most pole positions without ever winning a race     Vanina Ickx                   2

Most pole positions in a season                     Cyndie Allemann               4
                                                    Rahel Frey                    4

Most pole positions in total                        Cyndie Allemann               4
                                                    Rahel Frey                    4

Most consecutive pole positions                     Cyndie Allemann               2

Most races until the first pole position            Susie Stoddart                9

Least races until the first pole position           Vanina Ickx                   0

Race Wins

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Most pole positions without a win                   Vanina Ickx                   2

Most podium finishes without a win                  Vanina Ickx                   3

Most wins in a season                               Rahel Frey                    6

Most wins in total                                  Rahel Frey                    6

Most consecutive wins in a season                   Susie Stoddart                3

Most consecutive wins                               Susie Stoddart                3

Most races until the first win                      Cyndie Allemann              12

Least races until the first win                     Susie Stoddart                1

Most races between two wins                         Susie Stoddart                5

Driver Championships

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Most points without a Championship                  Susie Stoddart               54

Most wins without a Championship                    Susie Stoddart                4

Most points to win the Championship                 Rahel Frey                   73

Most wins to win the Championship                   Rahel Frey                    6

Least points to win the Championship                Rahel Frey                   73

Least wins to win the Championship                  Rahel Frey                    6

Most Championships won in total                     Rahel Frey                    1

Constructors

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Most wins in total                                  Audi                          6

Most consecutive wins                               Mercedes-Benz                 3

Most pole positions in total                        Audi                          6

Most consecutive pole positions                     Mercedes-Benz                 3

Most 1-2 finishes in total                          Mercedes-Benz                 3

Most consecutive 1-2 finishes                       Mercedes-Benz                 2

Most Championship points in total                   Mercedes-Benz               124

Most Championships won in total                     Mercedes-Benz                 1

Rookie of the Year (Season 1)

Only young drivers with no experience in DTM, GT3, or higher levels of motorsports are eligible for this award.

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01.)  Beitske Visser               38 Points / 1 Wins / 2 Fastest Laps
02.)  Jasmin Preisig               19 Points / 0 Wins / 1 Fastest Laps
03.)  Louise Cook                  12 Points / 0 Wins / 0 Fastest Laps
04.)  Laura Suvanto                 6 Points / 0 Wins / 0 Fastest Laps
05.)  Lena Strycek                  0 Points / Best Finish:  7th (1x)
06.)  Tasmin Pepper                 0 Points / Best Finish:  8th (3x)
07.)  Lindsey Adams                 0 Points / Best Finish: 11th (1x)

OOC:

I have been looking at this series and am already planning my driver choices around this, so please keep it up!

Promised! I’m already excited to see your driver line-up when we get to that.

Season 2 is coming soon, same WTCC time, same WTCC channel (I hope someone gets this reference)!

[Turbogirl]

One last new feature: Fictional Universe Index

Since every series I’m currently running is connected to each other through the fictional timeline I’ve created, I believe it’s best to post an index linking to all the different series in the opening post of each thread, which should make research on certain events, drivers, teams, and the overall timeline much easier.

Just to clarify: This fictional universe is a non-canon one! Therefore it contains no references to canon events in the Andrea Sassetti forum or any other non-canon events in the 18-metre debut forum, unless said event is explicitely mentioned in one of my series. This also means that driver performances from anything else than the series connected to my fictional universe or real-life events listed on either driverdb.com or ewrc-results.com do not count towards my stat calculations.

The following index will be updated by me anytime a new entry is made to the fictional timeline.

Season 1
Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Women’s GT Junior Cup

Season 2
Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Women’s GT Junior Cup

Season 3
Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Women’s GT Junior Cup
Women’s GT Masters

Season 4
Coming soon...