The European Racing League - 2000 Season

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

If you for some reason have wondered into here, then welcome to the European Racing League! Another crappy alternative championship by Jeroen Krautmeir. Please take time to read the following notes;

Note: Historical Facts Have Been Altered
Note2: This Will Never Be Finished
Note3: dinizintheoven made me want to do something like his championship, so royalties will be paid, promise...

Still here? Then read some more. Criticism is inevitable!

2000

Ah, the new millennium. No, the world hasn't ended and extra-terrestrials have NOT invaded the planet. Oh, I have a computer now! Need anymore evidence that the world is going to be in some deep **** in a decade or so? Anyway, along with a new year, there comes a new sporting season, and along with that comes the buzz of who is going where in his or her respective team. And every odd year or so, there comes along a brand new championship. This year, some moneyed German kid, who obviously has nothing better to do, has formed the European Racing League, ERL for short. I'm actually quite excited about this new series. Here's a short description of what you'll see. The cars are to look a bit like CART machines, and will be powered by turbos. Slick tyres will be in use, along with a manual gearbox. In this modern era? Yeah, looks like the kid is mad. 10 races will be held, in the following order; Brands Hatch (GP Circuit), Paul Ricard (long circuit), Zandvoort (80s layout), Nordschleife (Green Hell), Zolder (yawn), Imola (1994 layout), Gothenburg (some street circuit which looks notoriously like a Phoenix rip off, and we know how that went), Parnu (Estonian track that has been heavily redeveloped), Mondello Park (undulating course in my opinion) and finally back to Britain at Oulton Park (no qualms). Apparently he wanted Spa instead of Zolder and Monaco, but the FIA isn't going to let some brat take away some of it's trademark events, are they? You gotta admit this guy has lots of focus on driver skill, especially the first four circuits. The race at the Nordschleife is supposed to be the signature event, just like the Monaco GP for F1 and the Indy 500 for IRL, and will be called the Nordschleife Superprix. A nice rip-off of a certain English event that was held a decade or so ago. It's madness that these cars of mad power will be racing at the track. I mean, over 1000 horsepower in qualifying trim, in cars that only conform to pre-1994 safety standards, with manual gearshift. Insanity! And yet the fellow actually has a decent turnout of teams and drivers. Let's take a look;

Super Nova Racing
3) Jason Watt
4) Marc Hynes
Dallara ER01
Hart 0000T 1.5 V6T
On paper, this is immediately one of the favourites for the championship. Super Nova have always been a force to be reckoned with since their introduction to F3000, and there is no reason why they shouldn't be successful in ERL. With F3000 runner up Jason Watt, and BF3 champion Marc Hynes, they have the driving force to get the job done. Dallara were the first company to announce their involvement in ERL, and looking at pictures, the Italian firm have certainly come up with a good looking car, though whether it manages to perform is another question. On the engine front, Brian Hart has returned to the business, his company now owned and funded by Ford after the Arrows disaster of 1998 and 1999. With sponsorship from Petrobras and Benetton, there's no excuse to not do well.

DAMS
25) Nicolas Minassian
26) Stéphane Sarrazin
Dallara ER01
Hart 0000T 1.5 V6T
Ah, the French! After winning their third F3000 championship with Jean-Christophe Boullion, the team owned by Jean-Paul Driot and Rene Arnoux seems to have hit a dry spell. Now giving up on their F3000 campaign, and with backing from Gauloises and Alain Prost's F1 team, the team look to regain some of their former glory in the new series. Nicolas Minassian is a solid performer, if not earth-shattering, while Stéphane Sarrazin is Prost's man, vital in getting the sponsorship necessary. Sarrazin also feels he has something to prove, after impressing in his one-off for Minardi last year. With the same package as Super Nova, I expect another Anglo-French conflict.

Scuderia Ferrari
27) Luca Badoer
Ferrari ERL-2000
Ferrari 049T 1.5 V6T
If Luca Badoer is going to win anything, or score a point for that matter, then the European Racing League is the place it's going to happen. Using some of their surplus, Ferrari have designed their own chassis, and when I say surplus, I mean 100 Million dollars, the limit that can be spent in ERL for one season. The car doesn't look bad, and if the rumours that Rory Bryne had some input in it is true, then the rivals better be on the look out. The so-called 'brand new engine', however, looks almost exactly like the Ferrari 032 the F1 team used in 1986, with an upgrade here and there. It may turn out to be the team's downfall, but at least they have a more or less proven engine, unlike the brand new Harts and Judds. The Tifosi will expect much from their man, especially with the number 27 smacked on his car, and a livery reminiscent of Ferrari's 70s years.

Stewart Racing
7) Luciano Burti
8) Gonzalo Rodríguez
Panoz DP01
Hart 0000T 1.5 V6T
Although the original plan was for Jackie Stewart to totally give up on racing, he seems to have changed his mind, and with Ford.. *ahem*, Jaguar now in total control of what was once Stewart Grand Prix, the good old Scot, still paired with his son, now pursue another dream. Luciano Burti did a great job in British F3 last year, and will once again be sent to battle with his adversary, Marc Hynes. Gonzalo Rodriguez, on the other hand, is a bit of an unknown quality. I mean, yes, he was terrific in F3000, but the massive shunt he suffered while practicing for Penske at Laguna Seca last year must have taken a whole lot out of him. Jan Magnussen was available, but a reunification was unlikely from the start. The father-son duo have also taken a plunge, and have gone for the Panoz chassis paired with a Hart. Appropriately sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, the tartan-liveried team will be looking to do their people proud.

Arden International
17) Warren Hughes
18) Antônio Pizzonia
Dallara ER01
Hart 0000T 1.5 V6T
Arden come into the series with an interesting lineup, so to speak. Warren Hughes is widely seen as someone who has been overlooked several times, and the reigning MGF Cup champion would very much like to prove that his dominant Formula Ford season in 1990 was no fluke. Antônio Pizzonia, on the other hand, is totally unheard of. 'Jungle Boy', as he is known, due to his roots coming from the Amazon, brings along a substantial amount of money from several Brazilian companies, and Christian Horner, team principal, seems convinced that he brings just as much talent to the team. A Dallara and a Hart makes this team just one of many others.

Pollock Racing Team
22) Darren Manning
23) Patrick Lemarie
Panoz DP01
Judd HV 1.5 V6T
Apparently BAR are totally dominating the Formula 1 championship with Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta. Yeah, total sarcasm, I know, but this entry only proves that Craig Pollock has absolutely no commitment to his F1 team. He claims he wants to give the team's two test drivers something to do, but really, he should be concentrating all his resources on the F1 effort. Anyway, I can't expect much from this team. Darren Manning may be able to pull a surprise from time to time, but Patrick Lemarie is totally and utterly hopeless. The first team to secure a Judd engine deal, which reportedly is a reliable and decent package, could mean that in races of attrition, both could sneak in to get a point or two, that is, if they can keep it on the road.

Team Astromega
11) Tomáš Enge
12) Soheil Ayari
Dallara ER01
Judd HV 1.5 V6T
Astromega have always been a solid team in F3000, and sometimes have been able to cause an upset or two, and now they are looking to do the same in ERL. Tomáš Enge looks like a promising driver, and he has been known to impress during a streak of F1 tests in 1999. Soheil Ayari on the other hand, has been continuously fading away in F3000, despite a promising beginning. One hopes that the new challenge of ERL can help kick-start him again. The only team with a Judd paired to a Dallara, things can go either way.

Fortec Motorsport
35) Norberto Fontana
Panoz DP01
Judd HV 1.5 V6T
Fortec look like a promising team, with an underrated driver in Norberto Fontana, but while saying that, cash is a major concern. Originally intending to enter Jörg Müller alongside, the team was forced to cancel plans for a second car when a partnership deal with WilliamsF1 failed. It also meant that the team had to switch to a cheaper Panoz/Judd deal than the Dallara/Hart deal that had originally been planned. Whether or not the team even lasts the whole season, will be a rather pressing question.

Zakspeed
9) Jörg Müller
10) Bas Leinders
Zakspeed 001
Zakspeed 2000/4 1.5 L4T
It doesn't say anywhere in the rule book that you're not allowed to have an straight-4 turbo in your car, but the general consensus is that the format is inferior compared to the V6 Turbo, and Zakspeed don't seem to have learned anything from their 80s F1 disasters. Still, their here, with their own bulky-looking car, because they claim that neither the Dallara or the Panoz suit their engine. Jörg Müller joined the team after he was forced out of Fortec, with Bas Leinders bringing some more sports car experience, to the, erm, sports car orientated team. Don't expect much, if anything, to come out of this team.

And that's it really. What? 16 drivers only I hear you saying? Well, for starters, he's done a good job in getting 9 top or so-so teams with top drivers all round, with a few exceptions perhaps. Also, the drivers in the above list are supposed to be the 'permanent starters', meaning they'll show up at every event. We already have rumours that Narain Karthikeyan and Kristian Kolby will be present at Brands Hatch and Oulton Park. I also know that a whole bunch of Estonian drivers will be present at Parnu, and quite a few Scandinavians will be at Gothenburg. So we should see at the least, 18 or so cars at each race, which at least matches the British F3 field in terms of numbers. And here's the race schedule;

Code: Select all

1. Royal Bank of Scotland Kent 200      Brands Hatch       19 March     77 Laps
2. Mobil 1 250                          Paul Ricard        2 April      69 Laps
3. Phillips 300                         Zandvoort          16 April     70 Laps
4. Bitburger Nordschleife Superprix     Nordschleife       30 April     20 Laps
5. Belgium 300                          Zolder             14 May       75 Laps
6. Campari 300                          Imola              28 May       67 Laps
7. ERL Race of Gothenburg               Gothenburg         11 June      87 Laps
8. ERL Race of Parnu                    Parnu              25 June      63 Laps
9. O'Briens 200                         Mondello Park      9 July       59 Laps
10. MotorSport Vision 200               Oulton Park        23 July      77 Laps

Here is the points system;

Code: Select all

1st: 50
2nd: 45
3rd: 40
4th: 35
5th: 30
6th: 25
7th: 20
8th: 15
9th: 10
10th: 5

Pole: 1 Point (except Nordschleife Superprix)
Fastest Lap: 1 Point
Most Laps Led: 1 Point

Nordschleife Superprix Qualifying Points System:

Code: Select all

1st: 25
2nd: 18
3rd: 15
4th: 12
5th: 10
6th: 8
7th: 6
8th: 3
9th: 2
10th: 1

Gentlemen, start your engines!

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

ERL, in Sunday Thunder...

Ben Edwards: The dreams of winter are about to face the tough test of reality for the European Racing League. In just a few moments, those winter dreams will be altered, carved into new history. The long winter wait is over. ERL, is ready to go.

*Eurosport titles*

Ben Edwards: We're ready for the inaugural event, here at Brands Hatch. Hello and welcome, I'm Ben Edwards with Jeremy Shaw.

Jeremy Shaw: Well Ben Edwards, let me just tell you it's great to be here, at the inaugural event, the circuit is packed, everyone is pumped up, and ready to go.

BE: And this is the start of a great year in motorsports for us at Eurosport. We've got so much to show you this sporting season, the CART races, F1 races and now, the European Racing League races. They will all be here, live, on Eurosport. Now then, Jeremy will be explaining, what, the European Racing League is.

JS: Well Ben, it's all the idea of 12-year old Jeroen Krautmeir, whom you can see there, having a chat with Luca Badoer. He envisioned a racing series to be held entirely in Europe, and to be more affordable than Formula 1, which in recent years, has really become a spending war. He envisioned a racing series where the skill of the driver, is put to the test, and he envisioned a racing series where fans get up close with the drivers.

BE: Of course this series really is about it's signature event, the Nordschleife Superprix, held on the, Green Hell, as Jackie Stewart once called it. That race will be the equivalent, so to speak, of the Monaco Grand Prix for F1 and the Indianapolis 500 for IRL. So the drivers will really be pumped up, to get to that race. We'll be back for the beginning of the inaugural ERL season, after these messages.

*Ad for Wizzie's Popcorn*
*Ad for Computer Lessons*
*Ad for RBS*
*Ad for Brazilian GP*

BE: *onboard Sarrazin* Stephane Sarrazin, leads the field around here, at Brands Hatch, starting from pole position here, this afternoon. But Sarrazin has not had it all his own way this weekend.

JS: *practice/quali highlights* The Frenchman is always close to the limit, on Friday, he pushed the car a bit too hard, and smacked the wall at Westfield Bend. But Sarrazin fought back, using every ounce of his talent and every inch of the race track, in qualifying yesterday, he snatched the first ever ERL pole position, earning a $5,000 cheque.

BE: And starting alongside the Frenchman, will be, Warren Hughes *90s, 00s CART *ahem* ERL grid music plays*. Warren Hughes, the fastest man during Thursday and Friday practice, but couldn't really get the car up to speed for qualifying. Second row, Tomáš Enge, and Marc Hynes in the Super Nova.

JS: Row three, Nicolas Minassian in the other DAMS car, a fine effort from him, and Luca Badoer alongside him, in 6th position, outqualifying Gonzalo Rodriguez in the Stewart. Alongside the Uruguayan, his teammate, Luciano Burti.

BE: Row five, it's Norberto Fontana, a superb effort by him in the Panoz, alongside is championship favourite Jason Watt, a bad qualifying for him, down in tenth. Darren Manning and Jorg Muller make up row six.

JS: Row seven, Narain Karthikeyan, in a one off for Carlin Motorsport, driving a Dallara-Judd, and Antônio Pizzonia. On row eight, Soheil Ayari and Bas Leinders.

BE: Row nine, Kristian Kolby driving for Carlin, same machinery as Karthikeyan, and like the Indian, driving this race only. Alongside the Dane is Justin Wilson driving for Nordic Racing, F3000 regulars joining the field with a Panoz-Judd for this race only. Kevin McGarrity, Wilson's teammate, is the first driver on row 10, and alongside him, Patrick Lemarie for Pollock Racing, completing the grid. So the cars already up behind the pace car, we've got a comparison, now, of qualifying between Stephane Sarrazin and Tomáš Enge. Let's just enjoy, these pictures for a moment. *qualifying onboards with Sarrazin and Enge* This is just coming out of Dingle Dell corner, and you can see there was a lot of correction going on.

JS: Yeah, look at that, great shots here, Tomáš Enge on the right in the Dallara-Judd, Stephane Sarrazin on the left in a Dallara-Hart. And look at this, the Clark curve, very quick up to the start/finish straight, massive corrections there! Especially by Sarrazin, both trying to get the most out of their machinery, and they cross the start/finish line.

BE: And Enge really felt that he did his best, as he later said in the pit lane, speaking to James Allen. And, indeed, he pushed very hard indeed. And now we're taking a look at Paddock Hill bend, sweeping turn going into Druids, and a disaster waiting to happen if you're not careful. And let's take a look at the circuit here. Start/finish line, heading towards Paddock Hill there, they head down into that fast corner, pedal on the metal until they reach Druids. Hard on the brakes when they get there, right turn, short straight, then a left turn onto the Cooper Straight. A bit of a blind corner then comes up, Surtees to be precise. In the car it seems as though you can keep the power on, but the turn suddenly becomes sharper, and if you don't slow down, you'll be off on the grass. Then it's hard on the gas until Hawthorn Bend where there's a very fast swerve to the right, and then it's brakes on to negotiate Westfield Bend, that's where, Sarrazin wrecked his Dallara on Friday after failing to get the brakes in time. Then it's Dingle Dell, down to Dingle Dell Corner, where the drivers have also been caught out this race weekend, then it's Stirlings Bend, accelerate to Clearways, up Clark Curve, and onto the Brabham straight.

JS: And there's Luca Badoer, in the Ferrari. A few F1 test drivers here, most of the teams giving their test drivers a chance to do something. Badoer doing a good job in the scarlet car to qualify sixth. And the pace car pulling away, the start of the RBS Kent 200 not very far away!

BE: And here they come, about to enter Clark Curve. Remember it's a rolling start here in the ERL. Their in position to take the green flag, here they come, up the curve, Sarrazin gets the field up to speed! Green flag here at Brands Hatch! The inaugural European Racing League season is go! Good start from Warren Hughes! Moving up into the inside of Sarrazin! Side by side as they enter Paddock Hill! And Badoer is up to fourth! Fantastic start by Luca Badoer!

JS: Yes and Hynes up to third, the biggest loser here I believe is Tomas Enge, who is down in sixth! He's lost 3 places!

BE: Yes, Nicolas Minassian another of those gainers, moving up a place to fifth. Now, going into Surtees, here's the order for you. Warren Hughes leads from Stephane Sarrazin, followed by Hynes, Badoer, Minassian, Eng... AND SARRAZIN! Stephane Sarrazin makes a move on the outside at Surtees! Their side by side! Onboard with Sarrazin! And I think he's got it! Yes! Stephane Sarrazin has regained the lead from Hughes!

JS: Fantastic racing here! And I think Enge has passed Minassian as well, we'll wait for some visual confirmation, and there! There you can see the number 11 car ahead of the number 25. So Enge is up to fifth.

BE: And we're getting reports here that there has been some contact. We're not entirely sure who the involved are, but we do believe it involves Patrick Lemarie, and, well, the camera still focusing on Sarrazin and Hughes. So, we'll, AND THERE! There is Patrick Lemarie's Panoz, without it's front wing, let's see if we can get a replay. Ah, here we are!

JS: Here we go, onboard with Lemarie. Going into Paddock Hill, nearly hits McGarrity ahead of him, goes into Druids, and, wham! Goes right into McGarrity's rear end!

BE: So already some parts taken off the cars. As Sarrazin completes the first lap ahead of Hughes.

JS: And Sarrazin has already pulled a slight gap over Hughes, and the computer confirms it's a 0.4 second gap. And Hynes and Badoer side by side going into Paddock Hill! Super stuff! And they bang wheels!

BE: Plenty of wheel banging here at Brands Hatch! Badoer has the inside as they go into Druids, but LOOK! Hynes squeezing him onto the grass! He hasn't lost much time though.

JS: Well I beg to differ Ben! Because right behind him is a charging Tomas Enge!

BE: Indeed, the Czech driver now tailing Badoer, with Hynes a bit further ahead now. And, whilst this has been going on, a bit further back, we have another battle, involving Gonzalo Rodriguez, Norberto Fontana and Jason Watt. Here it is! Rodriguez being hounded by Fontana, who in turn is being pursued by Watt. Now, Watt had a terrible qualifying session, spinning off several times, but after this morning's warm-up session, where he was fastest, he told me that the car felt much better, and that he was going to give it his all.

JS: Well it's quite obvious he's giving it his all! Just look at that!

BE: And Watt takes Fontana! Watt overtakes Norberto Fontana at Westfield! Superb pass on the inside! And the Dane now has set his sights on Gonzalo Rodriguez!

JS: Indeed, and Rodriguez took advantage of that pass to pull away a bit, but Watt has caught up with seemingly no effort! We're at Dingle Dell Corner, and, no he can't pass there, but he'll certainly try after after Stirlings!

BE: What about before Stirlings! Jason Watt takes the inside line! He bangs wheels with Rodriguez! They are in drag racing mode now! I think Rodriguez has managed to get on the power quicker! But Watt isn't giving up! He'll have the outside line going into Brabham straight, but he'll most likely try and swing into seventh! And here we go! Side by side as they enter the straight! The crowd is roaring! Watt is an inch ahead! They go into Paddock Hill, and Watt has it! Jason Watt with a magnificent swing down into Paddock Hill takes the lead!

JS: You mean seventh?

BE: Ah, yes! I'm sorry! But that was certainly a race-winning quality move. And, up ahead, Marc Hynes has just set the fastest lap, and, here he is as he exits Surtees. You can clearly see there's a gap between him and Badoer, who is still being intimidated by Enge. But Hynes is slowly catching second-placed Warren Hughes, and if he can keep this pace up, and pass Hughes, he could have a chance of bringing the fight to Sarrazin.

JS: We're onboard with Hynes now, as he enters Dingle Dell, and just take a moment to look at the amount of work that's going on in the cockpit. Unlike in Formula 1, you don't see both hands on the steering wheel. You can see he has one hand on the wheel, and the other on the gearstick. And here as you see him brake into Dingle Dell Corner, you can see he's braking quite far from the turn. This is because these ERL cars have steel brakes unlike Formula 1. And see the rapid downshifting Hynes is doing. Now entering Stirlings Bend, both hands on the wheel now, now his right hand on the stick, shifts, and now up to Clearways. Oh! And that's Patrick Lemarie in the pitlane.

BE: Indeed it is, and doesn't look like their doing much. Their checking the front suspension, it might have been damaged in the contact with McGarrity. Strange problems would only surface now, though, a few laps after initial contact.

JS: And it's race over for Lemarie. The engine's off, takes off his steering wheel, and a very short race for the Frenchman, driving for Craig Pollock.

BE: Interesting you should mention Craig Pollock, Jeremy. He's not here at the race track, and it's actually very unlikely he'll ever be present at an ERL race. He is, remember, the boss of the British American Racing Formula 1 team, and certainly that series has to take precedence over ERL.

JS: That's what I call commitment! Haha!

BE: Riding with Luciano Burti now. And, the Brazilian has been a bit anonymous so far, he's actually lost two places, after starting eighth. He's now in tenth place behind, um, Norberto Fontana. Narain Karthikeyan doing a superb job so far! He's passed Jorg Muller, and he's holding off the German in the Zakspeed quite well.

JS: Maybe a bit too well, Ben. There's a whole line of cars lining up behind Karthikeyan. Muller, Pizzonia, Ayari and Leinders. And behind them there's a duel going on between Kristian Kolby and Justin Wilson, and I think Wilson has made it past Kolby. We didn't catch that passing move, but anyway, Wilson is up into seventeenth. Oh, and that's Kevin McGarrity, he's stopped, hmm, I can't figure out where exactly that is, but anyway, his car has stopped.

BE: Yes, it's McGarrity, the officials have confirmed, and it's at Westfield. He's managed to pull off the track, and we can only assume that he's retired due to the contact from Lemarie. So, yellow flags in that part of the course, the marshals should be able to clear the car without a full-course yellow. And we have James Allen in the pitlane, with Patrick Lemarie.

James Allen: Indeed I do Ben. Patrick, what happened?

Patrick Lemarie: Well, basically I tried to, err, um, overtake the, Kevin McGarrity I think. So I nearly hit him at the first turn. And then I later hit him, so, ya, maybe it's because of me.

JA: Why did you retire?

PL: There was suspension in the damage, err, sorry, there was damage in the suspension! Ha! But after the first contact, I tried to drive on, but the steering of the car was so bad then, so, I came in, and we decided to stop the race.

JA: Well, Kevin has stopped on the race track. When he gets back here, are you going to speak to him?

PL: Sorry? I can't hear you.

JA: Will you speak to Kevin about this incident?

PL: Well yes, I want to try and, err, say sorry for this. I don't want him to be angry at me for this, but I know it was my fault.

JA: Okay, thanks Patrick. See you at Paul Ricard.

PL: Thank you.

BE: That was, James Allen, speaking to Patrick Lemarie on his, coming together with Kevin McGarrity. 7 laps out of 77 have been completed, and it's Sarrazin from Hughes, Hynes.. AND LOOK AT THAT! Marc Hynes is right on Warren Hughes' tail! Marc Hynes has caught up with second-placed Warren Hughes, and both of them are giving it their all! Hynes takes a look at Graham Hill Bend, but decides against it. Now onto the short Cooper Straight, going into Surtees, and OH! Hughes made a slight mistake there! But Hynes has failed to capitalize, so the gaps are still more or less the same.

JS: Well at the current rate, Hynes is going to get past Hughes, but that was a wasted opportunity. The sooner he gets past Hughes, the sooner he can go for Stephane Sarrazin for the lead.

BE: Looking at the previous laptimes, Hynes was nearly a whole second quicker than both Hughes and Sarrazin! He obviously has the pace, but like you said Jeremy, he needs to get past Warren Hughes quickly, if he's going to win this race. Riding with Jason Watt, and he's stuck behind Nicolas Minassian. Watt was on a charge not too long ago, he got past Norberto Fontana and Gonzalo Rodriguez in quick succession, but Minassian has been causing some problems. He's been keeping Watt behind him for two laps, and it isn't pleasing the Dane very much, I can tell you that.

JS: Interesting to see that most of the field is running in pairs now. Sarrazin is alone, up front, then we have Marc Hynes battling with Warren Hughes, and a few seconds behind that duel, we have Luca Badoer fending off Tomas Enge. Then it's this battle, Watt and Minassian, followed by Rodriguez and Fontana. Oh, and we have a spin there.

BE: Yes we do! And it's Antonio Pizzonia I believe. He was running behind Jorg Muller, who in turn was being blocked from any further progress by Narain Karthikeyan. And the officials now confirm it's Pizzonia. He's kept the engine running, though, so that's good, but he's now dead last.

JS: Here's the replay. As you can see, he's right behind Muller at Druids, and, oh that's Karthikeyan's fault! The defending British F3 champion at this track, the Indian locked up, forcing everyone else into evasive action, and looks as though Pizzonia just downshifted, and that's obviously going to send you into a spin.

BE: Heat of the battle perhaps, affecting Jungle Boy, as he is affectionately called. And the #18 pitcrew seems to be getting ready for a stop. That's Pizzonia's crew, and they'll probably be looking to give Antonio, a new set of tyres and some fuel. Speaking of pitstops, the first of the scheduled stops are due to come by lap 21, because Pizzonia's stop is almost certainly unscheduled, and ANNDDD!!! There is Marc Hynes, and he's banging wheels with Warren Hughes! That's on the Derek Miner straight leading into Westfield and Dingle Dell! And Hynes takes the inside! And he's through! Derek Miner! I mean, sorry! Marc Hynes has passed Warren Hughes for second place! And Stephane Sarrazin must be pushing hard right now.

JS: Sarrazin indeed would be pushing extremely hard now, because, take a look at this; the 10 fastest laps of the entire race, have all been set by, you guessed it, Marc Hynes!

BE: Sarrazin has a 12 second advantage over Hynes, but although I think Hynes will close the gap, I don't think it'll be by much. The tyres on these cars are starting to go away, and the balance will surely be disturbed somewhat, as we see Antonio Pizzonia entering the pitlane for his stop. Four tyres, and fuel going onto the Arden-owned car. And now we go back to the, err, Badoer-Enge battle. Luca Badoer in the Ferrari is doing a fantastic job keeping his ERL-2000 ahead of Enge's Panoz.

JS: Yes, but Badoer's car, no matter how strong on the straights, seems to be very nervous at the turns, especially high-speed ones. Take a look at this, we're riding onboard the scarlet Ferrari, going through Westfield, and look how nervous the car is. Look at Badoer's hands, one moment he's turning the wheel right, the next moment he's pointing it in the opposite direction, and then back to right. That Ferrari, in my opinion, is suffering from bad tyre wear.

BE: I agree with you Jeremy, because Badoer's Ferrari seemed to have very sweet handling at the beginning of the race, but now the polar opposite seems to be the truth. James Allen! In the pitlane.

JA: Yes Ben, I'm with Kevin McGarrity. Kevin, Patrick hit you from the back.

Kevin McGarrity: He did, and I'm not too happy about it. That was far too simple a mistake to make, I mean, can't he find his braking point? It's hillarious.

JA: I was speaking with Patrick earlier, and he told me that he would like to have a talk with you. He seems to regret his actions.

KM: Well he better regret them.

JA: What put you out of the race?

KM: Erm, he hit me from behind, and I think that punctured the fuel pump. It didn't seem to be anything at first, but then all of the sudden, the car started slowing.

JA: Thanks Kevin, back to you Ben.

BE: Well, a very unhappy Kevin McGarrity there. I don't think he should be that unhappy with Patrick Lemarie. I mean, people make mistakes, and, maybe Lemarie isn't really the same calibre as most of the other drivers, but still, I don't think McGarrity should be blasting the Frenchman so hard. It's a one-off for McGarrity anyway, he won't be at Paul Ricard in two weeks, as he'll be campaigning at Monza for the Formula 3000 season opener. There's his teammate, Justin Wilson.

JS: Indeed, and you must admit that Nordic Racing have really been struggling all week. They only received their Panoz chassis and Judd engines the week before the race, and they had very little time to get used to the car, and only had 2 days of testing at Silverstone. So, Wilson isn't doing that bad of a job, considering these factors.

BE: 12 laps have been completed here, at the inaugural running of the European Racing League. We'll be back back with more action, after these messages.

END OF BRANDS HATCH RACE - PART 1

[DanielPT]

I am glad to see you followed my advice in the other thread!

[the Masked Lapwing]

Note2: This Will Never Be Finished

Damn straight!

[Malinth]

This is extremely well written for someone of your age, and for someone who's mother tongue isn't English. Keep up the good work, I look forward to reading the next part of the race.

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Ben Edwards: Welcome back to Brands Hatch for the inaugural European Racing League race. It's lap 15, and Stephane Sarrazin leads Marc Hynes by 9 seconds.

Jeremy Shaw: Speaking of Marc Hynes, his lap times seem to have dropped dramatically. His best lap, which came on lap 11, was a 1:07.6. On lap 12, it was 07.9, on lap 13 it was 08.3, on lap 14 it was 08.6 and as he passed the line, it was a 09.2. Stephane Sarrazin has been able to keep his times in the mid 08 for pretty much the entire race. So it looks like Hynes is in deep tyre wear trouble. James Allen.

James Allen: You're right Jeremy. I just spoke with David Sears, SNR team principal, and he said that Marc has been pointing towards his tyres everytime he passes Brabham straight. Remember, these cars don't have radios, and the teams have to use the old-fashioned way of boards and hand signals. Marc Hynes is a very unhappy man in there. Back to you.

BE: Well here comes Sarrazin, let's see what his time is. 1:08.653. The gap between him and Hynes the last lap was 9.3 seconds. Here comes Hynes as he crosses the line. 1:09.318, and the gap now 9.6 seconds. And you saw there Hynes pointing his finger at his front-right tyre, so he is indeed struggling with massive tyre wear. Further back, and Jason Watt has finally made it past Nicolas Minassian! There you can see the #3 car ahead of the #25 car at Stirlings.

JS: Unfortunately we weren't able to catch that in real time, but here's a replay. Onboard with Jason Watt. This is Dingle Dell Corner. Oh! And Minassian didn't make it easy at all, in fact, looks like they banged wheels!

BE: Indeed they did! But Watt was unfazed, and he's accelerated into the distance! And, you.... JAMES ALLEN!

JA: Sorry for interrupting you Ben, but Marc Hynes' pitcrew is getting ready for a stop. I spoke to the team, and they say that they'll be bringing him in on the next lap. I asked them about Jason Watt. They say that his fuel and his tyres are fine, which is quite remarkable, considering how aggressively he's been driving all day. Back to you.

JS: Well that's very interesting. I think it's the right decision, considering how badly his tyres are doing, but in the long run, he might just lose some places.

BE: Yes, but given his form today, he might just, well, put in another string of super laps. Riding with Luca Badoer, now here's another person who's struggling with tyre wear issues. That last lap, Enge was nearly a whole second quicker than Badoer, but the Italian is making the car as wide as possible, and I can just imagine, the fuming Tomas Enge, inside that helmet. Still onboard with Badoer, and look at him slide that car through Paddock Hill! That thing was literally drifting into that turn!

JS: Sadly you don't get points for antics like that, and Enge taking a look on the outside! And no. Badoer manages to shut the door, but that drift, was really something!

BE: Indeed it was, now let's take a look of that from his cockpit. Into the Brabham Straight, full acceleration, turns right, oh and the car just lost all of it's grip! God knows how Badoer kept that under control, but even though he's still in fourth, his tyres must have taken a real blow from that save... AND ENGE TAKES BADOER! Tomas Enge overtakes Luca Badoer at Hawthorn! And he locks up at Westfield! But he keeps the place! Tomas Enge is in fourth position!

JS: Looks like Enge just powered through. His car, obviously handling much better than Badoer's, and as you can see in this replay, he just took the inside line, and made the move stick.

BE: Interestingly you can see how badly that Ferrari was handling, when Badoer was about to turn in, the car was still twitching, and... JAMES! Update on Marc Hynes!

JA: Yes Ben! I'm here at Marc Hynes' pitbox, which is the fourth box from the end. Remember, in ERL, the pitboxes are assigned based on qualifying, so Stephane Sarrazin's box, is the last one. And, interestingly I can see Sarrazin's crew getting ready, but nevermind that! Marc Hynes' Dallara is still making the trip down pitroad, but here he is! Into the box, perfect placing by the Englishman. Everything looks good, no problems anywhere. Slight delay on the rear-left, but that's okay considering these stops, on average, take around 11 seconds. Here we go! Jack is down, revs are high, and he's off! 11.2 seconds! Perfect stop by the SNR team. Back to you.

BE: Marc Hynes' pitstop, brilliantly described by James Allen there. And here he comes, exiting the pitlane. And in the background there, you can see coming, is Luca Badoer! So Hynes hasn't lost that much time at all, really. He should be able to regain second place when Enge and Hughes stop, so it's looking good for the reigning British Formula 3 champion.

JS: And it's important to note that Hynes has come out ahead of Badoer. Badoer, really just struggling with his tyres, and the Ferrari crew have just shown him the board with three big letters on it, 'PIT'. I'm pretty sure that's what he wanted to see.

BE: Riding with Stephane Sarrazin, race leader. And his crew are anxiously awaiting his arrival in the pitlane. Through Dingle Dell Corner, on to Stirlings Bend. Beautiful car control there, and it's really fantastic how Sarrazin has been able to keep his tyres alive.

JS: Indeed, he has a 42 second lead over Warren Hughes, so if all goes well, then he will rejoin in the lead.

BE: Into Clearways, Stephane Sarrazin takes a hard right, and dives into the pitlane! James!

JA: I'm here at the #26 pitbox, and I can tell you, the feeling is tense. Jean-Paul Driot is at this end of the DAMS pitlane, with Rene Arnoux at Minassian's box, and let me tell you, Jean-Paul is extremely nervous. I can hear the roar of turbos. That would be Pizzonia, WIlson and Kolby unlapping themselves, and here is Sarrazin! Gets in perfectly, old tyres are off, and the new rubber is now on. Just waiting for the fuel now, should just be a few seconds. And he's off! And, AND HE'S STALLED IT! Stephane Sarrazin has stalled in the pitlane! The crowd roars! The mechanics are rushing to retrieve their machine. He's stopped just short of the line which ends the pitroad, and, well this is just awful for Sarrazin! They've got him back in the box, and they have the starter. And Warren Hughes has just passed by! Their struggling to get the starter in, and, finally! And Stephane Sarrazin is off! Ben!

BE: Absolutely thrilling stuff! Sarrazin is now back up to speed, and, here comes Enge!! Tomas Enge coming entering Paddock Hill! He has the momentum, so he should be able to get ahead of Sarrazin! And he does it! So Sarrazin is now down in third! An absolute disaster of a pitstop!

JS: And this puts Marc Hynes in a fantastic spot! As, erm, Luca Badoer comes in for his stop. Anyway, I was saying, this put Hynes in a terrific spot. He's only 3 seconds behind Sarrazin, and now on warm tyres. There you can see Hynes, and I can bet you, with the sight of that DAMS car, he will be pushing as hard as ever.

BE: Riding onboard with Hynes, as he exits Druids. Down into Graham Hill Bend, now on the Copper Straight, and OH!!! THAT'S SARRAZIN! STEPHANE SARRAZIN HAS SPUN OFF AT SURTEES!

JS: And I think he's stalled the engine! The marshals are not allowed to give the drivers a push start, so what was the perfect race for Sarrazin, has just become a nightmare. And, he's thrown the wheel out, it's game over for Sarrazin!

BE: And the full-course yellow has been given! You can see there, Sarrazin is right on the racing line, at least his front end is. The marshals definitely need a safe environment to conduct their rescue, and. Oh dear, poor old Stephane doesn't look very happy. He gets out of the car, shaking his head, and, well one can only imagine what's going on in his mind.

JS: But with this full-course yellow, expect the pitlane to be a hive of activity, and, just look at that! Everyone is rushing back and forth, getting ready for their man to come in, and this puts Marc Hynes, Luca Badoer, and, believe it or not, Antonio Pizzonia, in prime positions! These three have already pitted, and especially in the case of the first two, there won't be a need to come in. Pizzonia? Well, his team might just bring him in, but his tyres and fuel situation, is not as bad as the others.

BE: Well you mention Pizzonia, James Allen says Pizzonia's crew is getting ready. James! What's new?

JA: Well Ben, it's hard to move around here now! Lots of noise, lots of action going on, everyone anxiously waiting to service their driver. I'm just rushing to Warren Hughes' pitbox, which is right at the end of the pitlane, and I think I'll make it in time! I'll get back to you when the drivers come in!

BE: Please do! James Allen there in the pitlane. And, there you can see the pace car. The 2000 Porsche Boxster, driven by Klaus Ludwig, waiting for the arrival of Marc Hynes, who will be the leader after both Warren Hughes and Tomas Enge enter the pitlane, and here they come! Back to James!

JA: Thanks Ben. You know while I was waiting for Warren to come in, I couldn't help but notice, the pure frustration on Stephane Sarrazin's pitcrew. And, Jean-Paul Driot has already disappeared, I saw him walk off to Nicolas Minassian's garage, and, here we go! Warren Hughes in with Tomas Enge just one box behind!

BE: Looking like a solid stop from Warren Hughes' Arden crew. But can the Astromega team best it?

JA: It's looking neck and neck at the moment, Ben, and the jack is off Warren! Fuel going in! Enge is out! And Hughes is now out! OH!! They nearly collide, but Hughes is just ahead of Enge! Fantastic stuff! Back to you Ben!

BE: Fantastic stuff indeed! And now, Warren Hughes and Tomas Enge rejoin in third and fourth. The pace car is already exiting Druids with Hynes behind him, and this is turning out to be a fantastic inaugural race for the series!

JS: You are absolutely right Ben! You can imagine the amount of attention that the European Racing League will be getting following this race. They say the first impression is what always counts, well, the first impression of the ERL is definitely going to be positive!

BE: Now then, back to the stops, and it seems Pizzonia has jumped on Wilson and Krolby, pardon me, Kolby, in the pits. Now this is most likely because they didn't have to put in as much fuel, so, Jungle Boy has jumped up to 14th we believe. And Gonzalo Rodriguez has stalled in the pits! There he is, and the Stewart team trying to get him going again, and, they can't find the starter! It's total chaos down there!

JS: Oh dear! This isn't looking very good for Rodriguez! He had been passed by Fontana, and I guess he was a bit too eager in wanting to get ahead of the Argentinian.

BE: And they finally get him going. And the Stewart team lucky that they are still under yellow. I'm sure neither Gonzalo or Jackie and Paul Stewart would have wanted to see a repeat of the Sarrazin situation. And, um, speaking of Sarrazin, we didn't really manage to get a glimpse of what happened. Here's the replay, we're onboard with Sarrazin. He's entering Surtees, and, oh, he definitely entered the turn too quickly. He realized his mistake, hit the brakes, turn the wheel left, but on cold tyres and having overshot your braking point like that, there really was no chance he was going to save it.

JS: I think his head was just being overwhelmed there. Nobody is going to be in their right mind when you've been leading the rest of the field by at least 40 seconds, and all of the sudden your pit stop goes wrong, and you're down into third. Understandable perhaps, but an experienced driver such as Luca Badoer, in my opinion, wouldn't have commited that error.

BE: So let's just recap the top 10 for you. In the lead, we have Marc Hynes from Luca Badoer. Then it's Warren Hughes, Tomas Enge, Jason Watt, Nicolas Minassian, Norberto Fontana, Darren Manning, Luciano Burti and, listen to this, Narain Karthikeyan!

JS: I've been quite impressed by Narain, he's been doing a solid job all weekend, and, he loves this track, he was dominant at this venue in British F3 last year, and he's backed that up with this good one-off in ERL.

BE: 20 laps have been completed, we'll be back for the restart, after these commercial breaks.

END OF BRANDS HATCH RACE - PART 2

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Ben Edwards: Welcome back to Eurosport's coverage of the inaugural European Racing League race. We are just getting ready for the restart now. Marc Hynes is up front with Luca Badoer behind him. And here they come through Clearways, we now switch to a view of the Brabham Straight. This is where they'll be roaring through in a moment. And, there you can see, the starter with the flags in his hands. And here we go! Marc Hynes gets the race back underway!

Jeremy Shaw: And look at Jason Watt! Jason Watt! From fifth, I believe, has jumped ahead of both Enge and Hughes, so he's now in third place behind Luca Badoer. Great start from the Dane.

BE: Norberto Fontana also made up a place, here you can see the onboard replay. He just dived down the inside of Nicolas Minassian, and then inched away from him. So the top 10 is now Hynes, Badoer, Watt, Hughes, Enge, Fontana, Minassian, Manning, Burti and Karthikeyan.

JS: And look at the gap that Marc Hynes has built! They've only cleared Surtees, and Hynes is already a car length ahead of Luca Badoer.

BE: Indeed, and. Well you can see there Jason Watt putting Badoer under a bit of pressure there. And behind Watt is Warren Hughes, onboard with him now.

JS: Yes, and you can see Hughes, not really trying to make a move on Watt. He just wants to stay with Watt, and, woah! Massive lockup from Jason Watt there! I wonder if this is the opportunity Hughes needs!

BE: Well Hughes takes a look down into Westfield, he's still behind Watt, but he may just be able to make it. Will he try?

JS: Annnddd, no! Hynes. I mean, sorry, Hughes decides against a move, so Watt keeps his third place, but Hughes is still the same distance behind him, so Watt better be watching his mirrors.

BE: Speaking of Hynes, take a look at that! This is Dingle Dell Corner, you just saw Hynes negotiate that. And we're still waiti.. And there! There's Luca Badoer. Marc Hynes has already built a significant lead in this first lap of green.

JS: And James Allen in the pitlane, with Stephane Sarrazin!

James Allen: I am indeed with Stephane Sarrazin, Jeremy. And, Stephane, I know that this day hasn't exactly gone to plan, how does it feel?

Stephane Sarrazin: Oh, it doesn't feel that good at all. I mean I was leading very comfortably, and then I came in for my pitstop, and, well I just messed up when I tried to get going again. I got out okay, and then accidentally lifted off, and then it died. So, they had to pull me back, and they had to start me up again.

JA: And what about that spin?

SS: I think I was over, err, a bit, erm, how you say, well I was a bit too optimistic in that corner. I really wanted to get by Tomas, I think it was, and I think Warren was ahead of him, so I just pushed too hard going into that corner.

JA: So do you accept the blame for today's events?

SS: Sorry?

JA: Are all these incidents, your fault?

SS: I think you can say so.

JA: Thanks Stephane. Well, a very disappointed Stephane Sarrazin guys.

BE: Very disappointed indeed!

JS: But it isn't like he needed to push that hard, Ben. Both Enge and, err err, Hughes still needed to stop so he would have taken his lead back.

BE: Yes, but when you're the driver in these things, you don't have very good communication to the, 'outside world' we should say. You don't have radio communication with your team, so it's all, um, up to you to decide. And who knows? That could have been another situation where Enge and Hughes had already stopped, and his pushing would be justified, somewhat. So we're on lap 24 now. No changes in order, but Watt and Hughes have caught up with Badoer, and, our cameras are not there yet. But, ah, here they are! Three way battle for second place, and Watt taking a look at Badoer there.

JS: I'm surprised how badly the Ferrari is doing, Ben. Early on, the Ferrari looked like a very good car to be in, Badoer had little trouble in driving it. But, now, just take a look at that! It's still sliding all over the place, even on these fresh tyres, so all of the sudden, Badoer very susceptible to attack.

BE: The gap between Hynes and Badoer on the last lap was 6 seconds! So Badoer very obviously in trouble, but I don't think they'll bring him in unscheduled.

JS: And lets not forget, these guys at the back are pushing just as hard! Jorg Muller has found an opening, and he's going for it!

BE: Jorg Muller in the Zakspeed going down the inside at Clark Curve! He's side by side with Narain Karthikeyan! Will he do it?

JS: And Karthikeyan gives up the place! So Jorg Muller not having to do much to pass Narain Karthikeyan.

BE: Well pardon me Jeremy, but he was stuck behind that Panoz for lap after lap, I think he'll breathing a very deep sigh of relief!

*simultaneous chuckling*

BE: Anyway, here's someone we should be keeping an eye on. We're riding with Gonzalo Rodriguez, and remember he stalled in the pitlane, so that demoted him to the back, but luckily for him, it was a full-course yellow, so he didn't lose as much as he would have had it been a green flag. And, Rodriguez is doing a good job, he's already made it past 3 cars; Kolby, Wilson and Pizzonia. And he set his personal best, and the second fastest lap of the race that past lap, so he's on a charge.

JS: It's good to see that the terrible, terrible crash he had at Laguna Seca hasn't taken much out of him. In fact, if anything, he's driving harder than he ever has before, and that's very nice to see.

BE: Indeed. And, oh! We have an engine failure! And that's Soheil Ayari with the Judd engine. So, Judd's so called reliability not withstanding it seems.

JS: And he's gone off near Clearways, but I don't see a need for a full-course yellow, so racing goes on with a yellow flag in that part of the track.

BE: AND LOOK AT THIS! This is the three-way battle between Badoer, Watt and Hughes, and their coming THREE WIDE DOWN PADDOCK HILL! Surely one of them has to give in! And no!! Their going in side by side! Badoer has the outside, Watt in the middle and Hughes on the inside! And I think Badoer is going to lose out! NO! He keeps his places! In fact they all keep their places as they brake for Druids! Excellent racing!

JS: Those three men definitely have nerves in them Ben! I have never, in my entire life, seen three open-wheel cars side by side at Paddock Hill! Absolutely amazing stuff!

BE: Riding onboard with Warren Hughes! Their going into Surtees now, AND HUGHES ON THE OUTSIDE!

JS: Yes! He can't take him there, but now he has the inside line going into Hawthorn and Westfield! And Hughes! His front tyres now adjacent with Watt's rear tyres! He is going to try! I will tell you that!

BE: DOWN PILGRIM'S DROP! WARREN HUGHES IS CLOSING IN ON WATT! THEIR SIDE BY SIDE! BUT HUGHES EDGES AHEAD! AND NOW INTO HAWTHORN, AND HUGHES TAKES BADOER! WARREN HUGHES!! ABSOLUT... *panting*

JS: Calm down Ben, I'll take over for you! But yes, Warren Hughes, fantastic stuff! He's moved up 2 places to second, in what was essentially just one move! And here's the replay! We're onboard with Hughes. He uses the draft, and gets by Watt, and look at your top left! That's Badoer! And Badoer was taking the outside line. He thought he could just slide down back onto the racing line, but by the time he turns in, Hughes is using his momentum to speed in, so Badoer has to jerk the wheel to the left to avoid contact, and so Badoer lost two places there! Watt managed to squeeze in as well.

BE: So Warren Hughes is now second place! And, *pant*, that was fantastic racing by Warren Hughes! I've seen that before, but it's been some time since I last saw it! Now then, Warren Hughes is in second place, and Marc Hynes is now 15 seconds ahead of these three cars!

JS: Yes, Marc Hynes indeed, has taken full advantage of this squabble to pull away a bit, and his lap times have stabilized, so I think he's learned not to go all out after, erm, after what happened last time around.

BE: And Hynes, dare I say it, extremely lucky this afternoon. He had to pit early for those tyres, he got topped off with fuel, and he lost quite a bit of time as he was passed by Enge and Hughes. And remember, he was racing Sarrazin, so what happened a lap after, it was just the puzzle falling into place for Marc Hynes. But with the race he's doing right now, he's certainly showing that he deserves it. And there's Hynes passing the line to complete the 27th lap. We'll be back with more action, after these messages.

END OF BRANDS HATCH RACE - PART 3

[dinizintheoven]

Note3: dinizintheoven made me want to do something like his championship, so royalties will be paid, promise...

Just call me Bernie. Heh.

I'll need a wad of euros to take to Wacken in a couple of months anyway...

*Ad for Wizzie's Popcorn*

I'm half expecting to see an add for discounted tickets to watch Scunthorpe United - in another reality, seeing as Chris Dagnall is still a schoolboy, and it would be 10 years before he signed for The Iron.

Patrick Lemarie: Well, basically I tried to, err, um, overtake the, Kevin McGarrity I think. So I nearly hit him at the first turn. And then I later hit him, so, ya, maybe it's because of me.

You've really set him up as the butt monkey for the season here...

Note2: This Will Never Be Finished

Unlike F1RMGP 2012, which is drawing to a conclusion, and the Silly Season has already started as to who's going where for 2013...

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Ben Edwards: Well Marc Hynes keeping hold of the lead at the moment, but err, I wonder for how much longer. Because, er, Warren Hughes has been setting some pretty good times. Now Hughes should have the fresher tyres, remember he stopped a lap later than Hynes, but one could argue that up front, and with a sizable lead, there wasn't really any need for, um, Marc Hynes to push that hard.

Jeremy Shaw: Jason Watt is in third place, but he hasn't been able to keep up with Hughes' pace. He's now about 2 seconds behind the Brit, and Luca Badoer's times have faded even worse. He's just dropped 3 seconds back from Watt, so, the Italian really in trouble there with his rubber.

BE: Riding onboard with, um, race leader Marc Hynes. Let's just talk about Hynes here, for a moment. He's the reigning British Formula Three champion, also won the 1997 Formula Renault series, so he's definitely a man, with, er, a lot of pedigree there, as you can see him downshifting into Druids after completing the, er, 33rd lap. Now Hynes was offered, the, um, test driver role for Prost GP, and was also offered a place in the Gauloises Formula team, which is Prost's F3000 team. But he refused, and instead chose to ride with the proven Super Nova team in this new series, the ERL, and the race is certainly going well for the 22-year old.

JS: Indeed, and he's put himself in a good position, as you see Warren Hughes crossing the line, and let's just have a look at the gap. And it's down to 11.7 seconds! So Hughes has taken a whole second out of Marc Hynes' lead.

BE: Well ideally Hynes would like to have as big a gap as possible, but, err, he really only needs a gap bigger than 5 seconds to ensure that after his pitstop he comes out, in a, err, a place where he can easily retake the lead when Hughes stops. So I think Hynes has that in his head, because he's just keeping the car on the road at a solid pace. Hughes is hunting him down, but I think Hynes is fine going at his current pace. Now, we are looking at the battle between Luca Badoer and Tomas Enge! Enge lost out quite a bit during that restart, and hasn't really been able to catch up, but now he's caught up with a fading Luca Badoer, and just look at the Czech! He's all over the Ferrari, and going down the inside at Dingle Dell Corner!

JS: And I think he's made it stick! Yes! He's made it stick, so Tomas Enge is now up to third position. Good move there by the Astromega driver.

BE: And look at this! We're riding with Gonzalo Rodriguez in his Stewart-owned Panoz-Hart. And, the Uruguayan totally unstoppable at the moment! Remember he had that stall, but since then, he has set a string of fast laps, in fact the top 5 fastest laps belong to him, so Rodriguez definitely has the pace. And Rodriguez taking the outside at Paddock Hill! He's trying the outside line to overtake Jorg Muller in the Zakspeed for tenth. I think he'll make it! And he does! Massive lockup there as they enter Druids! But I think he's made it stick, so Gonzalo Rodriguez now in tenth place, and a points scoring position, superb stuff. Now we look at Hynes lapping Bas Leinders in the Zakspeed. And, Zakspeed have been pretty anonymous all week, haven't they Jeremy?

JS: Indeed they have Ben! Zakspeed have plenty of experience in building their own turbos in categories such as sports cars, but when it comes to open-wheel, you just have to take a look at their Formula 1 results, to jump to the conclusion that their Straight-4 Turbo isn't very effective.

BE: And the two drivers, Jorg Muller and Bas Leinders have both complained about the chassis. They say that the car basically has no balance. You make one tiny adjustment and the whole thing oversteers and has no grip, and you make another small adjustment and the car then has massive understeer and no speed. So quite a big problem the team are having, but Jorg Muller doing a very good job in 11th, remember he was running in 10th for a while, but then had to succumb to pressure from, err, Gonzalo Rodriguez.

JS: And, err, we're just looking down from our commentary booth, and we can see the Ferrari pitcrew getting ready with tyres, maybe we'll be seeing Luca Badoer in for a stop soon. And James!

James Allen: Yes Jeremy, I'm down here at the Ferrari box, and I was having a chat to Piero Ferrari, who's in charge of running the ERL outfit, and he said that their planning to show the Badoer the 'PIT' board, the next time he comes by. Back to you.

BE: So Luca Badoer, very obviously unhappy with his tyres, and with the way he's slipping back, it's hard for the team not to take notice, so here he comes! Up Clark Curve and onto Brabham Straight. There is the 'PIT' board being shown to him, and right behind him, is Norberto Fontana! And Fontana diving down the inside at Paddock Hill, and takes fourth place fairly easily.

JS: Yes, and Badoer just gave up the place there. His tyres are really just worn out like mad, and, it still puzzles me really. Maybe this Ferrari chassis not very caring towards the rubber, I'm sure the Ferrari engineers will be taking a look at that.

BE: Just a note here, Warren Hughes took another second off Marc Hynes' lead during that last lap, so, Hughes looking quite strong right now. In fact, I think the Arden team will be leaving him out longer than Hynes, so when Hynes comes in for his stop, Hughes can push as hard as possible during his temporary lead, and in the long run, he might just close the gap even more.

JS: That would be very daring of Christian Horner and his team, but it's worth a shot I guess.

BE: Here's an interesting battle that's going on. Gonzalo Rodriguez, whom we have mentioned so many times today, especially after that disastrous pit stop, is now all over the gearbox of Luciano Burti, his very own teammate! AND BANGING WHEELS THERE!

JS: Hoho! Take care not to take each yourselves out Gonzalo! I don't think Jackie and Paul Stewart would be very pleased if that occured! Haha!

BE: And Rodriguez is trying again! This time he's trying at Dingle Dell Corner! Gonzalo Rodriguez the Uruguayan! Trying desperately hard to get by his teammate, and he's made a slight mistake there! Rodriguez just got his wheels on the grass there, so he has lost some time to Burti!

JS: But already he's lunging back, just look at that! And all of this while just behind them there, is the #4 car of Marc Hynes trying to lap them! He better make sure that he doesn't get tangled up in this mess!

BE: And Rodriguez using the outside line as they enter Paddock Hill! This will be close! Burti blocks him! Rodriguez swerves to the inside! Burti is ahead but Rodriguez is going for it! RODRIGUEZ! AND THEY TOUCH! Rodriguez and Luciano Burti have touched!

JS: And Rodriguez seemingly unharmed by the hit, but Burti is on the grass! I think he's kept the engine going, and, erm, he has. Burti has the engine going, but now he's a lap down, and he's lost a place to his own teammate. That was extremely aggressive stuff from Rodriguez, and in my opinion quite unnecessary.

BE: Well yes indeed! And, Rodriguez... As we see Luca Badoer come into the pitlane, Luca Badoer for his second pitstop of the day, down to James Allen.

JA: Thanks Ben. Luca Badoer has just entered the pitlane, his mechanics are ready for the stop, Piero Ferrari looking on from the wall, and here he is. And, just look at those tyres! We're looking at the rear left that just came off, and it looks like it just came out of a blender! Luca really did a good job to keep the car on track. The tyres are changed, waiting for the fuel, annndddd, go! He's off, after a 12.7 second stop, so plenty of fuel in there. Back to you Ben.

BE: So, Luca Badoer making his second stop, let's just hope he doesn't manage to ruin his tyres as badly as last time. And where does he come out? And, hoho! Look at that Jeremy! Luca Badoer has just inched ahead of none other, than Gonzalo Rodriguez! Rodriguez on the warm tyres has the momentum! But I don't think he'll make it pas... OR WILL HE!? Rodriguez on the outside, but nonetheless ahead at Druids! Will he squeeze Badoer onto the grass? And, no he doesn't put him on the grass, but he certainly forced Badoer to slow down quite a bit.

JS: And Luca Badoer actually a lap down now! He was passed by Marc Hynes just before he was released from the box, but I'm pretty sure he'll regain that lap when Hynes comes in for his pitstop.

BE: Now, here's a replay on Rodriguez's move on Luciano Burti.

JS: So riding onboard with Burti. He's ahead of Rodriguez as they enter the Brabham Straight, he then sees Rodriguez in his mirrors, and decides to take the inside. Now their going down the hill, and Burti realizes Rodriguez has too much momentum, so he dodges to the outside, but Rodriguez takes the inside, and then punts Burti off when his front-left tyre hit Burti's rear-right. And here's another replay, this is Jackie and Paul Stewart, looking in awe at the TV screens, and.. Hahaha!!! Poor old Jackie Stewart! The poor man must have had a heart attack!

BE: And you could see there Paul Stewart, throwing his pen into the distance! Father and son can't believe what they saw just happened!

JS: And, a few stern words will mostly likely be heard coming out of either one of their mouths after the race I would presume!

BE: I wouldn't be surprised if a few stern words came out from both of their mouths!

*simultaneous chuckling*

BE: And, erm, we're on lap 37, just about to enter the 38th lap, and it's interesting to note that Luca Badoer has made it through Rodriguez. We were too busy looking at some replays, so here's the replay showing the move. Their coming up to Westfield, and, well, Badoer made that look very easy, didn't he?

JS: Well once your fresh tyres are up to temperature, remember that just like CART, this series does not utilize tyre warmers, so it's cold tyres when you stop and when you start the race. Anyway, as I was saying, once your fresh rubber has reached its operating temperature, you'll really begin to feel the boost, and Luca Badoer just cruising past Gonzalo Rodriguez there.

BE: I'm just looking at the timing computers here, Jeremy, and if my eyes don't deceive, then I do believe Hynes has just pulled a further tenth ahead of Hughes, so Hynes is absolutely fine with his current set of rubber. And in his pitbox is Luciano Burti. New tyres obviously going on, and, their taking a look at the rear-right. That's where Rodriguez hit him, and, well all seems well, tyre goes on. Jack goes down, and off he goes. And, let's see, Leinders passed us awhile ago, and, and he's come out ahead of race leader Marc Hynes, who lapped Pizzonia for a second time last time around. So by my calculations, Burti has rejoined in 13th position. And, well here's a replay of something involving Nicolas Minassian, this is at Stirlings bend, turning left into Clearways, and, woah! Fantastic save by the Frenchman!

JS: And here's the view from his cockpit. Just forces the throttle a bit too hard there, and, it's not something we haven't seen today, in fact, we've seen it quite a few times, but like you said, good catch by Minassian, and James Allen with Soheil Ayari.

JA: Soheil, engine failure yeah?

Soheil Ayari: Yeah, my engine just let go at Clearways. I wanted to try to get to the pits, but there was no chance that was happening.

JA: Was there any warning that the engine was about to blow?

SA: Nope, it just let go like that.

JA: Thanks Soheil.

BE: Marc Hynes crosses the line to complete the 40th lap out of a total 77. We'll be back after these messages.

END OF BRANDS HATCH RACE - PART 4

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Ben Edwards: Welcome back to the Royal Bank of Scotland Kent 200. We are on lap 42 now, and while you were away, third-placed Jason Watt came in for a stop, and he's rejoined the field in sixth place. But this is getting interesting now, because we're now in the window where you'd expect the field to come in for their pitstops.

Jeremy Shaw: Just looking at Marc Hynes' pitbox, and, the err, it doesn't look like the mechanics are doing much, so I don't think we'll be seeing race leader Hynes in on the next lap, and James Allen from the pitlane.

James Allen: Well Jeremy, I've been walking back and forth here, and it looks like Minassian and Enge will be making their stops on the next lap, because I see the #25 and #11 crews out in the box. Other than that, nobody but the backmarkers getting ready, although Warren Hughes' crew looked as though they were preparing a set of tyres. Back to you.

BE: Here is Marc Hynes crossing the line to complete the 43rd lap of the race, and we're expecting Nicolas Minassian and Tomas Enge down in the pitlane. It'll be some time before they come into view, as we see Warren Hughes cross the line. Norberto Fontana is in fourth place at the moment, fantastic drive by the Argentinean driving for the Fortec outfit, whose future in this series is already in doubt following the breakdown of several sponsor negotiations. But there's no doubt in my mind that if Norberto can keep up the hard work, then sponsors will be rushing to Fortec's doors, as Tomas Enge enters the pitlane for his stop!

JS: It'll be interesting to see how much fuel they put in the car, because if they want to gamble on a two-stop strategy, then plenty of fuel will be going in the Czech's car. And now he enters his box.

BE: The, um, tyres there, coming off the car. Like Jeremy said, let's see how long they keep Enge in the box. Fresh tyres are on now, the hose is thrown back into the garage. And, err, long stop here for Enge! 19 seconds! And, and oh! I think he's stalled it! He's going very slowly, but, I, the mechanics, and, I, and he's got it up to speed! As Minassian enters the pitlane. The French driver, and OH!!! LUCA BADOER! Luca Badoer takes Darren Manning for fifth! Fantastic pass by the Italian!

JS: And that was down at Druids! So plenty of action happening at that action! I mean, sorry, corner!

BE: So Luca Badoer up to fifth place now, and he will take fourth place once Norberto Fontana comes in for his stop, and, speaking of stops, Jason Watt is in a very good position right now. If he can get by Fontana, he will be in place to take the lead once Marc Hynes and Warren Hughes come in. But, the Argentinean is holding the Dane up at the moment, and this is working in favour of Hynes and Hughes.

JS: Incidentally, on that last lap, both Hynes and Hughes set some very fast laps, so obviously their respective teams have given them the board to step on it. They will need at least a 35 second gap over Watt to ensure that they come out ahead of Watt.

BE: Lets hold our breath Jeremy, and recap the top 10. Leading the race is Marc Hynes driving for Super Nova Racing, and he has an 8 second lead over Warren Hughes in second place. Third is Norberto Fontana, who has Jason Watt breathing down his neck. Fifth is Luca Badoer, sixth is now Tomas Enge after Darren Manning pulled in for his stop. Nicolas Minassian is seventh, Manning now down in eighth, Gonzalo Rodriguez ninth, and Jorg Muller capping the top 10. Now the only drivers in the top 10 who have not made a pitstop, are the first three on the road; Marc Hynes, Warren Hughes and Norberto Fontana, and Fontana is really beginning to get on Jason Watt's nerves.

JS: Indeed Ben, plenty of defensive maneuvering by Fontana, and this is not doing Watt any wonders. The Dane is effectively racing for the win with Hynes and Hughes, and Fontana is holding up Watt big time. This is extremely good news for Hynes and Hughes, who now can push as hard as they can on their current set of rubber, build up the 35 second gap required, and then come out ahead of Watt. I actually doubt that Hughes will come out ahead of Watt, but, here's Hynes crossing the line. Let's wait for a moment, and, hold on, hold on! And there's Hughes. The gap in fact down to 6 and a half seconds between Hynes and Hughes! So Warren Hughes has been able to reel in on Hynes on that past lap by a full 2 seconds.

BE: And to make matters worse for Jason Watt, he has Luca Badoer reeling in on him on something like a second per lap, riding with Badoer now as he enters Dingle Dell Corner.

JS: And, lets remember that Fontana has every right to prevent Watt from going through. He is not a backmarker, and this is really frustrating Jason Watt and the entire Super Nova team.

BE: Well maybe not the entire Super Nova team, Jeremy. Lets not forget that Marc Hynes, race leader, is driving for Super Nova as well. Hynes is driving the green Petrobras car and Watt is in the blue Benetton car. It's very unlike Formula 1 where all the teams have the same liveries. So once again, a part where ERL is identical to CART and IRL. We're not used to these liveries yet, so it'll take some time before we can name the cars without taking a look at the spotter guide!

JS: Fontana and Watt just passed the line while you were talking, Ben, and the gap between Hughes and Fontana is now over 31 seconds! It's not boding well for Jason Watt!

BE: I think the Fortec team showed the 'PIT' board to Fontana that time around, hopefully we'll get confirmation from that from James in the pitlane. Up ahead! And it's Hynes from Hughes, and, the two Brits are now within striking distance of one another! Hughes has really managed to slash up the gap Hynes established, and I wonder if Hynes is struggling with tyre wear, as James Allen in the pits gives us an update. James, what do you have?

JA: Well Ben, I can confirm that Norberto Fontana has been given the board to pit this time around, and, interestingly, the #4 and #17 pitboxes are now a hive of activity. Tyres are being put in place and the mechanics are getting the fuel hose ready. I spoke to Christian Horner, Warren Hughes' boss, so to speak, and he told me that they'll be showing the PIT board to Hughes the next time he passes the line. I haven't been able to speak to David Sears, but I can only assume that the two leaders will be coming in at the same time. Back to you.

BE: And that is very interesting news indeed! With Hynes and Hughes literally tenths away from each other, it'll really be up to the pitcrew to get their man ahead. Jeroen Krautmeir must be really pleased with himself. He's already seen the first aim achieved, that is for driver skill to play an utmost importance. And soon, we'll be seeing the other side of the racing team making battle. Absolutely fantastic stuff. Here we are, riding onboard with Warren Hughes. Up to Hawthorn Bend, and Hughes taking a look down the inside! But, err, Hynes closing the door.

JS: And we have a replay of a mistake that Marc Hynes made not too long ago. Remember the gap between Hynes and Hughes was just over 6 seconds when they crossed the line, but all of the sudden, Hughes is right behind Hynes. And here is Hynes. You can see it's the run down to Druids. And he gets on the brakes a tad too late Ben! Locks up his tyres, and now he's onto the grass, struggling for grip, and look at the movement in that cockpit! That is driver talent! And now he's back on the road, opposite lock there, but Hynes manages to keep it on the road, albeit with Warren Hughes all over his gearbox.

BE: And they've just entered Stirlings Bend now, and Hughes taking another look! This time on the outside! Will he go for a move? No! He moves back behind Marc Hynes, and look on your right! Err, left now! You can see two boards with three letters on them, 'P-I-T'. Those will be orders for both Hynes and Warren Hughes to drive into the pitlane the next time around for their stop. And look at this! This is the other main battle on track! It's Norberto Fontana vs Jason Watt vs Luca Badoer! Fontana still doing a good job of keeping Watt and Badoer behind.

JS: Almost too good if I may add, Ben. He's really spoiled this race for Jason Watt, and, well in the end, he did have the right to do everything in his power to keep his position, but I mean in my opinion, the slower car really should move aside for the faster car, and in this case, and unfortunately for Jason Watt, Fontana did not heed to that.

BE: Entering Clearways now, and Fontana will be making a harder turn to the right for his pitstop, and here he comes! And, haha!! Look at that! Jason Watt shaking his fist at Norberto Fontana as the Argentinean pulled off the track! There's one very upset Dane inside that helmet!

JS: Well Watt now has clean air, but he has Luca Badoer's Ferrari all over his gearbox! The hunter has become the hunted, in only a matter of seconds! Super stuff we're seeing here at Brands Hatch!

BE: And Jason Watt will definitely be pushing his car to the limit, and beyond! He's got to try and take his mind off the Ferrari that's behind him, and try and close the gap between him and the duo of Marc Hynes and Warren Hughes.

JS: The gap that time around was nearly 37 seconds! Hynes and Hughes will want to get to the pitlane as quickly as possible! Mark my words, Jason Watt and Luca Badoer will be eating as much of that gap as they can possibly chew!

BE: Hynes and Hughes, going into Dingle Dell now! And Hughes is all over the back of that Dallara-Hart! Hughes takes a look on the outside at Dingle Dell Corner! Annnddddd!! No! Hynes manages to keep the place. In fact, I think he's lost a bit of ground there! And that will be really helpful for, erm, Marc Hynes' cause.

JS: Listen to this Ben! Both Badoer and Watt set the best sector 1 time of the entire race! They have closed in a full 2 seconds on... AND LOOK AT THAT!

BE: LOOK AT THIS! Luca Badoer makes a move on Jason Watt for third place! They touch wheels! Watt loses a bit of momentum! It's now down to the power of the engine as they approach Hawthorn Bend! Who is going to take it!?

JS: Watt moving back behind Badoer to try and get some of his slipstream there! And he turns back onto the inside line! This is a crucial moment! Badoer just ahead of Watt! But he's on the outside! I'm not sure if he's going to try and turn in now! It will be awfully risky, and HE DOES IT! Luca Badoer snatches third place away from Watt!

BE: And Watt coming back at Westfield! OH! They touch tyres! Watt looks like he's an inch ahead, but no! Badoer is on the power earlier and he takes a hold on his third place! Great racing from both parties involved!

JS: I wonder, however, how much this has affected the gap between these two and the other two, Hynes and Hughes, who are in the pits now! James Allen!

JA: Yes Jeremy! I'm down at Warren Hughes' pitbox which is the second box from the end. Marc Hynes is two boxes behind. This is going to be absolutely spectacular, as the two cars come rolling down! Hynes is into his box, and here is Hughes! The crew is working frantically! All four tyres are on in just under 5 seconds by my reckoning! That is crazy fast! Now it's the fuel! And they'll putting a lot of fuel to run to the end! Maybe 18 or 19 seconds! The revs are extremely high! Neither one of these drivers want a stall! And Hynes is out! He's coming AND HUGHES GOES OUT! THEIR SIDE BY SIDE AND THEY TOUCH WHEELS! I think Hynes is just ahead though. Amazing! Wheel banging in the pitlane, back to you!

BE: And as these two come out look right behind them! It's Luca Badoer and Jason Watt! They are going to go down into Paddock Hill at least three by three! Hughes has the inside! With Hynes the meat of the sandwich and Badoer on the outside! Badoer has the momentum! I think he will complete the pass! Braking point at Druids! And Badoer taking a hard right turn! AND HE'S THROUGH! Luca Badoer leads at the Royal Bank of Scotland Kent 200! Marc Hynes is second, and Jason Watt is threatening Warren Hughes for third place!

JS: Wow! I'm just speechless! That has to be the closest piece of racing I have ever seen! Here's a replay! On your left, Marc Hynes side by side with Warren Hughes as they exit the pitlane, and right behind them, Jason Watt taking the inside of Luca Badoer, but then Badoer realizes that Watt will be unable to complete the pass, with the two cars ahead of them blocking the way. So the Italian takes the outside, uses his momentum to just inch ahead of the three cars! Absolutely fantastic! And then he turns in, blocks the way for the other three, and off he goes!

BE: And here's the view from Jason Watt's onboard! He's right next to Luca Badoer, and then see right in front of him come the Super Nova and the Arden cars. Now he finds his door slammed shut, and look at that evasive maneuver! Jason Watt very nearly ploughing into the back of Marc Hynes' car! Here's another view from Marc Hynes' camera. Just look at that! He's only just ahead of Warren Hughes as they exit the pitlane. The two of them struggle back on track, they block Watt's way, and just look at how Hynes is squeezed in the middle! And the Ferrari of Badoer just using its momentum to get ahead of his three opponents.

JS: So Badoer leads the way from Hynes, Hughes and Watt, as they come to lap traffic at Dingle Dell Corner. I believe that's the trio of Kristian Kolby, Antonio Pizzonia and Justin Wilson. Yep, indeed it is. They won't be wanting to make a mess, by right they should just be getting out of the way, not interfering with the affairs at the front.

BE: And indeed, the three cars move aside as they exit the corner, and Badoer has a slight lead over the three cars tailing him now. So the Ferrari now suddenly in tip-top form, after looking so disastrously unbalanced earlier on.

JS: Hughes taking a look as they enter Clearways. And, Watt seems to have faded away a bit. Remember, from this lot of four cars, Watt pitted the earliest, no, hold on, Badoer did. But I think Watt is going to try and stay out there, whereas Badoer is probably going to try and push as hard as possible, and then somewhere at the end, stop for a splash and go.

BE: Well it's become very interesting here at Brands Hatch! Lap 46 out of 77, Luca Badoer leads from Marc Hynes, Warren Hughes and Jason Watt. We'll be back with more coverage of the Kent 200, after these messages, stay tuned.

END OF BRANDS HATCH RACE - PART 5

[Malinth]

LUCA BADOER FTW!

Really enjoying the race thus far!