THE GRAND FINALE OF F1RWRS SEASON 2010! - RACE #9 - EASTERN CREEKQualifyingWell, this is it, the moment we've all been waiting for, the grand final! Or, at least the qualifying for the grand final. Close enough. With Gary Cameron 9 points clear at the top of the table, David Koczo needs him to not score and then finish at least second. Nathanael Spencer is in a similar boat, except he needs to win. Both drivers have won races, while Cameron hasn't, so they can be level on points, but win on best finish. For the teams, Team Calinetic has to make up more than 17 points, as they haven't won a race at all, while Prospec have won 3 between Koczo and Spencer. So, Calinetic need one to win, and the other on the podium. Otherwise, Prospec win.
But, no more on that, as Chris Dagnall shows precisely why he is a brilliant driver, putting his JLD on pole in only his second F1RWRS start (poor Melrose...). Of the contenders, Spencer will start 5th, Cameron 9th, and Koczo 10th. Phoenix McAllister, who needs to step for his team, will start 12th.
Qualifying Results for the Eastern Creek International Raceway:
1st: JLD Motorsport - Chris DAGNALL (0:53.44)
2nd: Club Bangelia Racing - James DAVIES (+0.13)
3rd: Club Bangelia Racing - Dan BH (+0.16)
4th: JLD Motorsport - Dave SIMPSON (+0.32)
5th: Prospec - Nathanael SPENCER (+0.41)
6th: Rosenforth Engineering - Frank ZIMMER (+0.52)
7th: Pacchia-Coswojuddhartlambo - Luca PACCHIARINI (+0.56)
8th: West Cliff Racing - Douglas MANN (+0.65)
9th: Team Calinetic - Gary CAMERON (+0.76)
10th: Prospec - David KOCZO (+0.91)
11th: CR Motorsport - Ashley WATKINSON (+0.94)
12th: Team Calinetic - Phoenix MCALLISTER (+1.04)
13th: Kahama Motor Sport - Kay LON (+1.13)
14th: West Cliff Racing - Sammy JONES (+1.24)
15th: KQ Motor Sport - Adam LEWIS (+1.33)
16th: CR Motorsport - Darren OLDER JR (+1.51)
17th: Rosenforth Engineering - Thomas DE BOCK (+1.52)
18th: KQ Motor Sport - Hagane SHIZUKA (+1.64)
19th: Kahama Motor Sport - Simon REDMAN (+1.76)
Race:Lap 1:
Frank Zimmer planned on showing everyone that he knew the Eastern Creek track like the back of his hand, and was up to 3rd by turn 4. Dan BH, his rival for the 4th place spot in the championship, dropped to 6th, while James Davies overtook Dagnall at turn 2 for the lead. In fact, so did his teammate Dave Simpson. And Zimmer. Nathanael Spencer did exactly what he didn’t want to do – go backwards. He dropped to 8th, behind his teammate Koczo. Fortunately for both, Cameron was stuck in 10th, behind Pacchiarini. Hagane Shizuka got to 15th, while Adam Lewis went to 17th. Douglas Mann also picked up a few spots at the start, jumping to 5th. Eventually, the leader at the end of the lap was Dave Simpson, ahead of Frank Zimmer and Douglas Mann. Davies was 4th, Dagnall 5th and Koczo 6th, with BH 7th, Spencer 8th and Watkinson up to 9th. Pacchiarini rounded off the top 10, still stubbornly blocking Cameron.
Lap 2:
Simpson still led from Zimmer, but Mann had fallen back somewhat. Behind, Koczo was up to 5th, behind Davies, while Dagnall and Spencer battled for 6th. The new last placed driver was Thomas De Bock. Again. And by a fair margin. Cameron was now 10th, and at the rear of a large pack, headed by the Prospecs.
Lap 3:
Simpson still led from Mann, but Zimmer had fallen back somewhat. Confused yet? Koczo was still 5th, but Spencer was desperately defending… from Cameron! While Koczo had broken away from the pack, Spencer and Cameron were both held up behind Pacchiarini. Dagnall had dropped to 9th at the line, with Dan BH behind them.
Lap 4:
Simpson still led from Zimmer and Mann. Cameron and Spencer had gotten away from Pacchiarini, and were hunting down Koczo and Davies. Well, Cameron was. Spencer, not so much. De Bock, at this point, is almost half a lap down on the leaders, and is either deliberately driving slowly to piss off his team (understandable) or was just struggling with an unfamiliar track.
Lap 5:
Bad sign for Koczo, as Cameron passes him for 5th! Not only does he do that, but at turn 9 passes Davies for 4th as well! Oh, I forgot. Simpson still led from Zimmer, but Mann had fallen back somewhat.
Lap 6:
Simpson still led from Zimmer. However, they, and Mann, were all too quick for Cameron to catch up.
Lap 7:
For the first time, David Koczo is ejected from the top 10, as for the first time, Phoenix McAllister enters it. The first corner is becoming increasingly dangerous, as sometimes drivers are entering three abreast, and not very tolerant of each other.
Lap 8:
Simpson is now steadily increasing his lead, while James Davies is slowing, as Pacchiarini passes him. Koczo passes McAllister at turn 9 for 10th, and BH was very lucky to have not gone down the drag strip as he gets hit by Dagnall.
Lap 9:
Finally, we have the first pit stop, as Zimmer pulls in from 2nd place. He emerges ahead of De Bock.
Lap 10:
Simpson still leads. The Club Bangelias are 4th and 5th, both fighting Cameron, while the Prospecs are 7th (Spencer) and 9th (Koczo). Zimmer is already right behind Redman, who is 17th.
Lap 11:
Fortunately the pitting in this game is screwed up, and so teams can bring in both drivers at once. Like Club Bangelia are doing here, as well as Pacchiarini, Koczo and McAllister.
Lap 12:
Really bad news for Koczo and Spencer, as Cameron moves into second place. Zimmer is now 11th, and in the midst of the pack. It seems that Pacchiarini lost out badly in the pits (again), being leapfrogged by both Koczo and McAllister.
Lap 13:
Ultra bad news for Koczo and Spencer, as Cameron takes the lead at turn 9!
Lap 14:
Zimmer passes Mann for 6th, and chases after Spencer. Cameron still leads, while Dagnall has gotten to 3rd, and Kay Lon has come out of absolutely nowhere for 4th! A bit of push and shove between the Club Bangelias allows Koczo to take 15th from Davies.
Lap 15:
Zimmer passes Simpson for 3rd, while Dagnall is running from him in 2nd.
Lap 16:
Zimmer easily passes both Dagnall and Cameron to take the lead, and does what everyone does when they lead after pitting – drive away, and quickly. Cameron is still second, Dagnall third, Simpson 4th, Mann 5th and BH 6th – having already pitted – with Spencer now 7th.
Lap 17:
BH gets clear of Dagnall and Cameron and chases after Zimmer. De Bock is still puttering around in last place.
Lap 18:
It is now unclear as to whether De Bock has been lapped or not, since Zimmer is bearing down on him. Or getting away. If Zimmer is the first Rosenforth, his lead over BH seems a bit too big, so De Bock has not yet been lapped then. Meanwhile, Nathanael Spencer is brought in to the pits.
Lap 19:
No, De Bock is lapped, since a Rosenforth just passed Spencer in the pits, but De Bock is not in front according to the race positions, so, I’m confused again. Wait, the other one just went past and De Bock is still not in front. Help!
Lap 20:
Lon and Lewis both pit. Hagane Shizuka passes both. Still unclear as to whether De Bock is a lap down, as Spencer is recorded as passing them, but De Bock isn’t. Maybe everyone lapped him and he’s actually two laps down on Zimmer…
Lap 22:
All hell breaks loose as Zimmer is recorded as the leader, yet is unseen. De Bock pits. Seriously, who is already two laps down and still hasn’t pitted yet? Cameron is also passed by Simpson, losing 3rd place.
Lap 23:
Aha! Found him! And De Bock goes a third (?) lap down. It seems that Darren Older Jr is the first driver just one lap down (in 14th). The only non-De Bock that BH has lapped is Adam Lewis, in 18th. Chris Dagnall is now 3rd.
Lap 24:
Now that Zimmer has been spotted, is it an ominous sign that BH is closer? Or is it De Bock again? Anyway, Davies is now 3rd, with Cameron resuming 4th place.
Lap 25:
Zimmer laps Spencer, who is 11th. (Found De Bock again. He was hiding on the other side of Mann.) The lapped traffic is having an effect on both BH and Zimmer, but Zimmer is doing better, since he’s in clean air again. For a few hundred metres, anyway. Another thought occurs: have I missed about 9 pit stops? Because otherwise (in positional order) Redman, Cameron , Dagnall, Watkinson, Jones, Simpson, Mann, Older Jr and Shizuka are running strangely long.
Lap 26:
The top 7 are on the lead lap now. And still, no-one pits…
Lap 27:
Now only the top 4 of Zimmer, BH, Davies and McAllister are on the lead lap. And Mann pits.
Lap 28:
Jones and Cameron pit.
Lap 29:
Those last 6 drivers of Redman, Watkinson, Simpson, Dagnall, Older Jr and Shizuka had better pit on this lap, or risk disqualification. That’d be funny! Actually, I suppose they’re safe, since technically they are on lap 28 still. Watkinson, Older Jr and Simpson pit anyway.
Lap 30:
And so, the final race of the season is won by Frank Zimmer, with the Club Bangelias of Dan BH and James Davies filling out the podium. Redman, Dagnall and Shizuka all pit, and barely beat Zimmer to the line, missing out on DSQs by only a second.
1st: Frank Zimmer (Rosenforth Engineering): 29 minutes, 39.29 seconds
2nd: Dan BH (Club Bangelia Racing): +16.99
3rd: James Davies (Club Bangelia Racing): +43.80
4th: Phoenix McAllister (Team Calinetic): +55.06
5th: Nathanael Spencer (Prospec): +1 LAP
6th: Luca Pacchiarini (Pacchia-Coswojuddhartlambo) +1 LAP
7th: David Koczo (Prospec): +1 LAP
8th: Kay Lon (Kahama Motor Sport): +1 LAP
9th: Adam Lewis (KQ Motor Sport): +1 LAP
10th: Gary Cameron (Team Calinetic): +1 LAP
11th: Douglas Mann (West Cliff Racing): +1 LAP
12th: Ashley Watkinson (CR Motorsport): +1 LAP
13th: Dave Simpson (JLD Motorsport): +1 LAP
14th: Sammy Jones (West Cliff Racing): +1 LAP
15th: Darren Older Jr (CR Motorsport): +1 LAP
16th: Simon Redman (Kahama Motor Sport): +2 LAPS
17th: Chris Dagnall (JLD Motorsport): +2 LAPS
18th: Hagane Shizuka (KQ Motorsport): +2 LAPS
19th: Thomas De Bock (Rosenforth Engineering): +4 LAPS
Fastest Lap: Nathanael Spencer (0:53.83)
Leaders:
Simpson: 1-12
Cameron: 13-15
Zimmer: 16-30
Pit stops:
L9: Zimmer
L11: Davies, BH, Pacchiarini, Koczo, McAllister
L18: Spencer
L20: Lon, Lewis
L22: De Bock
L27: Mann
L28: Jones, Cameron
L29: Watkinson, Older Jr, Simpson
L30: Redman, Dagnall, Shizuka
Drivers' Championship Final Standings:
1st: Gary Cameron (53)
2nd: Frank Zimmer (51)
3rd: Dan BH (50)
4th: Nathanael Spencer (48)
5th: David Koczo (47)
6th: Luca Pacchiarini (43)
7th: Dave Simpson (33)
8th: James Davies (29)
9th: Ashley Watkinson (27)
10th: Sammy Jones (23)
11th: Phoenix McAllister (22)
12th: Adam Lewis (15)
13th: Simon Redman (14)
14th: Kay Lon (9)
= 15th: Douglas Mann (8) (Best: 4th)
= 15th: Hagane Shizuka (8) (Best: 5th)
17th: Daniel Melrose (7)
18th: Darren Older Jr (6)
19th: Thomas De Bock (4)
20th: Chris Dagnall (0)
Teams' Championship Final Standings:
1st: Prospec (95)
2nd: Club Bangelia Racing (79)
3rd: Team Calinetic (75)
4th: Rosenforth Engineering (55)
5th: Pacchia-Coswojuddhartlambo (43)
6th: JLD Motorsport (40)
7th: CR Motorsport (33)
8th: West Cliff Racing (31)
= 9th: KQ Motor Sport (23) (Best finish: 5th) (2nd best finish: 2 6ths)
= 9th: Kahama Motor Sport (23) (Best finish: 5th) (2nd best finish: 3 7ths)
Congratulations to Gary Cameron and Warren Hughes, the first champion of the F1 Rejects World Race Series! Bask in his heavenly glow! The two main challengers, Nathanael Spencer (Dartanian) and David Koczo (QuickYoda41) ended up 4th and 5th after poor races. However, they can take solace in the fact that they helped Prospec to the teams’ championship, with Club Bangelia Racing second and Team Calinetic (despite a valiant effort from Phoenix McAllister) took third.
Now, could everyone please confirm your drives for next season, I need to get that done. Come on, chop chop!
R.I.P.
GM HOLDEN
1948-2017