Grand Prix Rejects

Nuppiz wrote:WTF happened to McFry? Or a whole bunch of PQ drivers for that matter...

FormulaRejects Mag Ratings - Bathurst

Ron Mignolet: 5 -- Yes, blew away a chance of winning, but at least got some points
Nathanael Spencer: 4 -- Punted off the leader in Lap 2, destroyed 3 front wings, spun once but also performed an overtaking fest and ended up in the points.
Mark Dagnall: 3 -- Not a zero because he was leading and got yet another fastest lap. No excuses for his accident, though.
Diego Alvarez Torrente: 8 -- Not the fastest guy around but he didn't make any silly mistakes and ended up winning because of that.
Alexey Buyvolov: 10 -- Perfect drive only to be let down by the car in the dying stages.
Kay Lon: 6 -- Silly spin and was being a bit embarrased by his mate performance until the car died.
Philippe Nicolas: 10 -- How he finished there with that car nobody will ever know.
Hansuke Shioya: 3 -- Poor performance.
Nicolas Steele: 7 -- Another solid yet unspectacular performance by the American.
Daniel Melrose: 8 -- Amazing start and early lead only to be punted off the track by Spencer.
Jean-Luc Schiller: 6 -- Decent performance only to be let down by the car
Fredo Mestolio: 7 -- Made a couple of silly mistakes but you can't blame him seeing as the car died on him near the end.
Hagane Shizuka: 6 -- Not brilliant but at least saved the face of the team by scoring a point.
Daniel Melville: 7 -- Was running in Top 10 when his car died.
Thomas de Bock: 5 -- He was let down by his car.
Eric Swerts: 1 -- His qualifying performance has led the team to Pre-Qualifying.
Douglas Mann: 5 -- One of his anonymous days.
Alberto Cara: 5 -- No traces of the man seen in Adelaide.
David Neuberg: 6 -- Couldn't do more with the material at his disposal.
Nathan McKane: 6 -- See David Neuberg.
Danny van Rijkens: 5 -- Did his job.
Tomo Kazama: 1 -- Silly Pre-Q weather prediction meant her car was still in the garage when time ended.
Daniel Martins: 1 -- See Tomo Kazama.
Barii Mori: 1 -- See Tomo Kazama.
Pippa Mann: 5 -- Somewhat decent performance until the car died.
Ben Fleet: 2 -- Slow and Silly.
Benoit Voeckler: 1 -- No need for explanation.
Connor O Heagan: 1 -- See Benoit Voeckler.
Dave Simpson: 5 -- He was Ok I guess.
Wouter Lamberigts: 5 -- Very good qualifying, sub-par race pace.
Jesus Plaza: 5 -- Not that you can do much when your car dies on lap 4. At least qualified the car.
Hiroto Tojo: 6 -- Not only managed to qualify the car but outqualified teammate.
Marco Bizzarri: 3 -- Slow.
Andrej Kremnicky: 3 -- Slow.
Martin McFry: 1 -- See Tomo Kazama.
Gregor Pascal: 5 -- Did a good time only to be let down by teammate.
Miko Fakkinen: 7 -- Did a superb job despite having a huge power deficit.
Geoff Donnelly: 4 -- At least Pre-Qualified the car.
Adelaide Voeckler: 5 -- Her time was somewhat decent.
Dean O'Lauchlan: 1 -- See Tomo Kazama.

Sammy Jones wrote:I'm thrilled for Diego, it's the perfect way for him to bounce back after what we can all agree was a bit of a nightmare debut in Adelaide. The win will give him the confidence to go out there and know that what he is doing in the car is spot on, and exactly what I'm looking for. Some are saying that Diego is showing a similar career path to Vantini but in all honesty the two couldn't be more different. Rosco was unrefined, a fast, but fragile talent, and we saw last year that when things didn't fall into place for him, he struggled badly. We can already see that Diego isn't cut from the same cloth. He's picked himself up, applied himself fantastically over the whole weekend, and got the result he very much deserved.

As for Mark, we all know he's damn quick, he's just been unfortunate on two separate occasions now and I have no doubt that come the end of the year, he'll be very much in the fight for the title. The key thing to take away from this weekend is that consistency will once again pay off in this championship. We have a reliable, quick car, and I've no doubt that once Mark gets himself going on the scoreboard, there'll be no stopping him.

Danny van Rijkens wrote:Can't do much about that can I? Think we could have easily made the race if my teammate hadn't been sleeping when the track was good. She's had her career handed to her on a plate. Some of us have had to work to get where we are and know what it's really like to get a team to the front!

Connor O'Heagan wrote:Come and fecking talk to me when we qualify you eejit.

The Sun - Sport wrote:
"Mecha is dog turd" - Scott

Former Mecha Grand Prix driver Nathan Scott has stuck the BOOT into his old stomping ground, expressing his dismay in their latest car. The BRIT was quoted as saying "this year's Mecha looks no different to last year's. They seem to have dialled in the Pure Hart engines after a year of using them, but ultimately the car is just a carbon-fibre dog turd". Both Mechas retired within FIVE laps of the start of the New South Wales Grand Prix at Bathurst.

Donnelly gets dressed up

Fusion Motorsports driver Geoff Donnelly has become involved in the CLOTHING industry; at least, he will allegedly appear in the latest adverts for men's plus-size clothing outlet Jacamo. Donnelly prides himself on his CONSIDERABLE weight - having been a spokesman for the bakery chain Greggs in the past - and will be expected to help sell clothes for the LARGER gentleman.

DG Management International; Bathurst press round up

Mark Dagnall:
No, it's not the ideal result and I am not happy with the result either. That's what you get for the slightest lack of concentration in a track like this I guess. I'm eager for Brands Hatch to come and put a good show in front of the British fans.

Fredo Mestolio:
No idea why the car stopped. It's always heartbreaking when you are about to score a podium and the car stops like this, but there's nothing I could do about it. By the way, I tell you, Australian pizzas are shite, I can't wait to eat some decent one at Monza

Jesus Plaza:
It was pleasant to be able to qualify the car and I'm quite happy with the new upgrades we brought for Bathurst. I'm convinced we'll be able to qualify a few more times during the season and, if we solve our reliability issues, we'll have made a huge step forward.

Hansuke Shioya:
Not good. Rack of Grippu. Car difficat to drivu. Good finish for the team. Team Spirit!

La Gazzetta Dello Sport wrote:Team Ratings - Bathurst

VOECKLER RENAULT
1
A farce. A complete and utter farce. It was clear to see the Voeckler car was the fastest of all on the track today, and both drivers utterly wasted its potential. Nathanael Spencer had the worst race of his life, and it was entirely his fault. An easy stroll to victory was turned into an endless fight to stay in the points, caused repeatedly by incidents entirely of his own making. Mignolet made less mistakes than Spencer, but he was off the pace as well.

JONES FORD
7
Mark Dagnall was once again imperiously fast, but clearly got overexcited by finally leading a race again, and forgot how to brake at the trickiest section of the track. The race victory would have been his without such a fundamental error. Conversely, Alavarez Torrente drove within the limits of the car - not particularly rapid, but consistent enough to keep him near enough the front, that when everyone else around him lost their heads, he was ready to pick up the pieces and the 10 points.

AERORACING ENGINEERING
6
Kay Lon is being embarrased by his new team-mate. Alexey Buyvolov once again drove a perfect race, a superb balance of speed and consistency, and was set to win with another stellar performance before his car failed him. Kay Lon also looked fast, but he suffered from an amateurish spin before hsi car failed on him as well. They can't afford more weekends like these if they want to be title contenders.

ARROWTECH-ACURI AUTOSPORT
7
All seven of these points belong to Phillippe Nicolas. He dragged the ArrowTech kicking and screaming to a position it simply did not belong. His result will likely be the high point of their entire season, as the technical package at Nicolas' disposal is a rather dreadful one. Shioya showed what is really to come with an anonymous performance, not bothering the Top 10 at any point, only breaking into it right at the death thanks to a string of DNFs further up the road.

BOC AUTODYNAMICS GP
8
What heartbreak for Autodynamics. Daniel Melrose made an incredible start to leap up to the start, before being mercilessly removed from the equation by Spencer. Nicolas Steele put in a measured drive to take the final podium position, unable to live with the possessed Nicolas. What could have been?

MELROSE RACING TEAM
6
Both drivers made some small mitsakes, but in the end reliability was their downfall. Mestolio was in a podium position when his MRT gave up. Schiller on the other hand wasn't having a brilliant race, but could perhaps have scored a point or two had his car survived.

KAMAHA MOTORSPORTS
5
An marked improvement on Adelaide, a first point of the season and Daniel Melville looking a bit more competitive. They now at least have something to build on.

GILLET ECURIE NATIONALE BELGE
2
Gillet weren't able to fend off the inevitable for long, as Saturday confirmed they will plunge into Pre-Qualifying, perhaps not to be heard or seen from in the races for the rest of the season. Swerts made it two DNQs out of four, managing to get himself outqualified by both Mechas (yes, even Tojo!) and Fakkinen's gutless Fusion. De Bock trundled around a bit before predictably, the electronics failed.

HOLDEN RACING TEAM
5
Pretty tepid stuff. Cara's performance at Adelaide was capitvating - it was anything but here. They were able to bring both cars home, but outside the points. High attrition and farcical driving from the top teams was a window for them to capitalise and get both cars into the points, which they failed to take. Perhaps on a better day Cara would have been fighting Nicolas for that final podium place.

PLUS ONE KINGFISHER RACING
5
A better showing this time compared to Adelaide, McKane and Neuberg both faired better in the midfield squabble before reliability gremlins took them out of the equation.

EQUIPE GAUTHIER
3
Danny van Rijkens did a good enough job in PreQ, but Kazama was nowhere to be seen. Her diva personality is interfering again, if she keeps her poor attitude up for the rest of the season, she won't be at Gauthier next season, that seems certain.

SUNHINE DAIHATSU
0
They spent the whole of PreQ sat in the garage, unable to set times. They could have saved some money and simply skipped Adelaide altogether. Or perhaps cost-saving actually had something to do with them not leaving the garage...

FOXDALE ART
3
They no longer even have lightning quali pace to bank on. They started the race deep in midfield, and as is the case with Foxdale, the only way is down. Fleet threw it in the wall, and Pippa Mann's car died on her. There's really not much to say about their race.

BOXTEL
0
Hopeless. Technical problems stopped Voeckler making what would be a most likely futile attempt to escape Pre-Qualifying, and Connor O'Heagan was far off the pace. Their prospects look very bleak.

That was literally a copy-paste from Adelaide, albeit with the names switched. I can probably do this for the rest of the season and still be right on the money...

DACIA
4
Once again, a good qualifying failed to deliver anything. Lamberigts dropped like a stone, and Simpson himself was rather anonymous on his run to 9th place. They are lacking a spark. Most likely they are counting the days to Monaco, where they will hope Lamberigts can qualify high up the order and then act like a rolling roadblock for the entire race.

TEAM MECHA RACING
7
Given what is expected of them this year, Bathurst was a sensational performance. Even Tojo was on the pace, actually managing to run with his more esteemed team-mate and actually start the race two grid slots ahead of Plaza. Being able to get both cars into the race is a very positive step, but something being stuck in PreQ hadn't alerted us to is the car's dreadful reliability. The race was only a handful of laps old before both drivers were sidelined through reliability. Still, this was the most competitive outing they've had in a long time, and they will be pleased with their progress since Adelaide.

REVOLUTION ENGINEERING
0
A plethora of teams racked up automatic DNQs with one car, and yet Revolution failed to capitalise. Kremnicky, who was so rapid in Adelaide, went off the boil here, and Bizzarri was equally slow as before, leaving them far away from making the cut. Poor show.

NURMINEN GRAND PRIX
2
Pascal's performance wasn't particularly good, but it might have been enough if qualifying specialist Martin McFry had been able to set a laptime. He was not, and thus NGP were anchored in PreQ.

FUSION MOTORSPORT
9
Another small team that dragged themselves into the main event. Drag is perhaps literal when it comes to Geoff Donnelly, as one imagines the car weight with driver included is far beyond the minimum limit. Somehow, Donnelly was able to help team-mate Miko Fakkinen scrape into main qualifying, and this was enough for the Finn to beat Swerts' Gillet and earn Fusion their first F1RWRS start. What's even more extraordinary is Fakkinen being able to complete the race distance. The resulting 12th place may be crucial come the end of the season in defeating their pre-quali rivals for WCC position.

ROB LOMAS RACING
2
Adelaide Voeckler managed to place in the Top 10 in pre-quali. That's somewhat respectable, however team-mate O'Lauchlan failing to set a time spoiled the party for them. It's something, at least, and perhaps an impetus to improve further.

Aerond wrote:[Shitty and misused meme]

Phoenix wrote:Aeroracing will test at Brands Hatch for 2 days after the GP weekend, with Kay Lon attending the test. The focus of the test will be Reliability.

dr-baker wrote:

Phoenix wrote:Aeroracing will test at Brands Hatch for 2 days after the GP weekend, with Kay Lon attending the test. The focus of the test will be Reliability.

Can Foxdale join this test with Pippa Mann and Peter Port please? Also focus on reliability please.

Aerospeed wrote:Glad there's at least a few teams wanting to test! I asked this since I wanted a better benchmark on comparing the cars that run - there's a frontrunner, a Pre-Q team and a midfielder, so I can compare my teams pace to everyone else's. And in a test session, the stats are less randomized.

Anyways, here is the test schedule for ArrowTech

Day 1
Hansuke Shioya
Marie Simon

Day 2
Rosco Vantini
Marie Simon

Aerond wrote:

Aerospeed wrote:Glad there's at least a few teams wanting to test! I asked this since I wanted a better benchmark on comparing the cars that run - there's a frontrunner, a Pre-Q team and a midfielder, so I can compare my teams pace to everyone else's. And in a test session, the stats are less randomized.

Anyways, here is the test schedule for ArrowTech

Day 1
Hansuke Shioya
Marie Simon

Day 2
Rosco Vantini
Marie Simon

What's your area of focus?

Aerond wrote:There's just room for one more team wanting to run the same pairing of drivers or the same driver both days

Rob Lomas wrote:Dagnall should be banned for 2 races, the move he made on Katayama was disgraceful she was having a faultless race when he took her out, she has done nothing to him.

Rob Lomas wrote:Dagnall should be banned for 2 races, the move he made on Katayama was disgraceful she was having a faultless race when he took her out, she has done nothing to him.

Luke Knight wrote:The replay quite clearly showed that Katayama had suspension failure on entry to the corner, and Dagnall simply had no where to go.

As for Kingfisher, it was another trying weekend for us. David showed what we're capable of, and if wasn't for Fleet being moronic and forcing a collision, we could be looking at points today.

Rob Lomas wrote:Dagnall should be banned for 2 races, the move he made on Katayama was disgraceful she was having a faultless race when he took her out, she has done nothing to him.

Jacques Couteau wrote:If you actually had a...uh, technical team rather than getting ze Kamaha team to do everything for you, you'd notice her suspension was already broken! Dagnall was careless, but 'e was not crashing on Shinobu on purpose!

I think we came across a good way to get Geoffrey in shape! We stick a fishing rod to 'is 'ead with a sausage roll on the end, and then we put him on the treadmill!...actually, he ate the first three, so Miko had to stand across ze gym rustling a paper Greggs bag! Horrid English food...

AndreaModa wrote:DAGNALL CRASHED OUT AGAIN???!

Mignolet punished for error-riddled start to year with Gillet demotion

After a horrid start to the year by Ron Mignolet, with three error-ridden performances leading to below-par low points finishes at the first two events, followed by throwing his car off the road into retirement of his own accord at Brands Hatch, the Belgian driver has been demoted to compatriots Gillet from the next race.

Heading in the other direction to fill the void of Mignolet's departure will be fellow Belgian racer Thomas de Bock. One of the most experienced racers on the grid, Voeckler will no doubt be hoping he exerts a calming influence upon a team that has been in relative disarray in the opening three races.

"We didn't want to make this change, but we felt some tough decisions had to be made," said team principal Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler. "Unfortunately Ron doesn't seem to be in the best frame of mind coming off the back of last year, and perhaps a less pressurised and more familiar environment in Gillet might be beneficial to him."

"His Voeckler career isn't over. However, we feel he needs a change of surroundings and change of pace to get back to his best. Hopefully this change of scenario re-energises him."

Klon wrote:

AndreaModa wrote:DAGNALL CRASHED OUT AGAIN???!

He survived without damage and didn't even lose time. Quit your whinging, he will win the title soon enough.

AndreaModa wrote:

Klon wrote:

AndreaModa wrote:DAGNALL CRASHED OUT AGAIN???!

He survived without damage and didn't even lose time. Quit your whinging, he will win the title soon enough.

Yeah I know! AND YOU'LL ENJOY IT!