Grand Prix Rejects

Boxtel
Engine: Honda RA121E V12 from 1991
Acceleration: 4
Handling: 2
Reliability: 4

We will have both drivers we introduced initially for the whole season.

After sucking so much last season, Robin Frijns will take whatever he can get. As for Bertrand Baguette:
1-35: Takes two-year contract
36-100: Asks for one year
72, he wants one year

Renntechnologie and Autodynamics still need to design their cars.
Benelux and Autodynamics still need drivers.
Renntechnologie need to say how long their contracts are.

If no one says anything within the next sometime but at least a day, they'll keep the drivers they had last season on one-year contracts.

Will will give him 1 year

I will withdraw completely from this league

Augusto Farfus has a two-year contract with Renntechnologie, while Joey Hand has a one-year contract.

Chassis Stats
Acceleration: 45
Cornering: 55
Reliability: 20

It'd be unfair not to do the same thing with Farfus as I did with Baguette...
78, he wants one year

Sorry for taking a while on that. Also, I wonder what I'm going to do for 2015 since it won't be anywhere near 2015 when the season's finished. Oh well.

Auto Motor und Sport wrote:
Women Drivers Association withdraws from Formula Golden Ratio

Before the new season has even started, WDA's executive Monisha Kaltenborn has now confirmed, that the WDA's South African Division will be shut down completely and restructured to serve a different, currently undefined purpose in the near future. Therefore, the Desire Wilson controlled Team will no longer participate in any motorsport-based activities with immediate effect.
"The Team was ill-equipped and would have had a hard time fighting for decent results anyway", Kaltenborn stated in an interview with motorsport.com. "Money is short and we can't spend it on fruitless adventures."

OOC: I know, there isn't much to do in this series during the season, but my already tight working schedule has recently become even more tighter. So I figured: Leaving this series altogether would be a lot more polite than letting it run by itself and never comment or contribute on it. I'm very sorry. I hope, you're okay with my decision.

Farfus takes pole at Cataluña! Rockenfeller and Davidson take their positions from last year, and Pagenaud debuts in fourth with Kimball being useless down in 16th. Makowiecki posts a respectable fifth, da Costa doesn't quite take on Rockenfeller but still does okay, Kartikeyan gets seventh, and Henri show that they mean business with 8th and 11th. Baguette is ninth, meaning someone has to retire, Hand could get a point or two, and van der Garde is twelfth for last year's non-scorers. Andretti is the better Riccetti in eleventh, Castroneves and Sato qualify adjacent to each other, Briscoe gets 17th for the current worst team. Larry Dixon doesn't completely embarrass himself. Frijns is crap as ever, but the honour of worst qualifier goes to Boris Said, and all with a teammate who managed 12th in the same car.

Spanish Round 4.655 * 11 = 51.205 km

ROTR: Commonwealth, dropped like stones
IIDOTR: Henri, 6-7 on debut

Good race for us. Hopefully we can go on like this

It's going to be a long year for us, methinks.

BRITISH ROUND — QUALIFYING
Silverstone Circuit (Arena)

First off: yes, I will make a race report this time.

So Pagenaud takes pole for Gauthier, with Rockenfeller continuing to channel Felipe Nasr. Davidson leads a Commonwealth 3-4, Kimball in the other Gauthier manages fifth, previous winner Farfus is sixth, Karthikeyan and Duval are in minor points positions again. Baguette is consistent as ever, da Costa is down in 12th, and then the best cars for Riccetti, VRT, Fantomette (Sato and not Castroneves for once), and Boxtel all come at once. Boxtel and Said still can't do anything.

A very consistent qualifier we are. 8th and 11th in qualifying in 2 races. Funny thing was it was in the same order for the drivers

That's more like it.

BRITISH ROUND — RACE
5.891 * 13 = 76.583 km
An hour before the formation lap, it was a decently cloudy day for the British Formula Golden Ratio round. Half an hour before the formation lap, it was an overcast day for the British Formula Golden Ratio round. And as the cars were all lined up the grid ready to start the formation lap, it started raining. Just a drizzle, no reason to delay the race. By the time the last car came onto the grid, the rain was intensifying, but the lights still went on. A random moneyed sports car driver and a drag racer in light rain on soft dry tyres, what could go wrong?

Davidson bogs down at the start, going down to sixth. Makowiecki shoots into second. Hand gets a good getaway and gains two places. Andretti and Sato go for the same piece of road and break each other's suspensions. Davidson loses another position to Karthikeyan at turn three. Makowiecki thinks about Pagenaud at Brooklands, but goes back onto the line. Davidson is on Karthikeyan as they exit Luffield, darts to the inside after Woodcote, and Karth lets him have it. The lost momentum lets Hand take him down the outside... inside... the right half of Maggotts-Becketts. Castroneves takes Dixon at Copse.

Makowiecki threatens Pagenaud for Stowe, but backs out of it once again. There's a yellow flag for turns 1 and 2 for Andretti and Sato, but turn 3 is open for overtaking. Makowiecki keeps following him. Lap 2, down the Wellington Straight, he goes to the inside, but Pagenaud holds the outside and Luffield works out in his favour. Meanwhile, Rockenfeller bides his time a few hundred metres behind them. Davidson pushes Farfus throughout the lap, not making any overtaking attempts but waiting for a good opportunity. Dirty air makes Makowiecki run wide at Copse, and Rockenfeller takes it. They go side-by-side and Rockenfeller gets unambiguously ahead at Becketts. Pagenaud is told "avoid kerbs, M1". Makowiecki, who is now named Fred, settles into his mission of taking second from Rockenfeller.

The yellow flag is still up. Nothing tried at turn 3, he's going for Brooklands. They both go to the inside and there's almost a Webber-Kovalainen moment, but Fred stands on the brakes and loses a bit of time. Kimball gets alongside on the outside as they come to Brooklands, but gives him the corner. He spends the rest of the lap catching Rockenfeller, who spends the lap catching Pagenaud. They all go in an orderly line through the first two corners and the tight arena section, and Pagenaud is already hitting the kerbs again. He’s gaining a clear advantage doing that. They follow each other onto the old main straight, Fred goes to the right for a moment but they follow each other through Copse, and Davidson runs wide trying to overtake there and Hand repasses him. Pagenaud is told "Avoid kerbs. M1.". Fred has a better Becketts and goes to the outside. Instead of a thrilling side-by-side battle, he clears him well before the braking zone and Rockenfeller steers onto the line behind him. AND OIFmd PAGENAUD! His front left suspension snapped as he turned into Club! Makowiecki leads!

Lap 5. With the start fully settled, everything is pretty calm. Davidson goes to the inside of Hand down the Wellington Straight, but doesn't develop the overlap and lets him have the corner. Rockenfeller doesn't seem particularly interested in the lead, keeping up but not at all pushing. Kimball is a bit behind them but could definitely do something if they start holding each other up, Farfus is fairly isolated, Davidson is trying to overtake Hand literally right now okay never mind, and no one else seems to be doing much. The rain is stopping, but the track will still be damp. Everyone seems to be handling it fine, though.

Fred completes lap 5, Rockenfeller still right there but not doing anything. At least we have Davidson's repeated overtaking attempts to entertain us. He'll try the inside of Brooklands again, he might have this one. They go side-by-side, then Hand comes out ahead out of Luffield. Davidson catches up through the high-speed corners, but he's not close enough to try something at Stowe. They go through there and he gains visibly again through Club. The yellow flag is gone, by the way. Davidson stalks him through the Arena complex, and he might have a chance here. He's about half alongside as they go into the braking zone, and he gives it up. Wasn't feeling that one, apparently. Once again he turns the rest of the lap into catching up.

Lap 8 now. di Grassi is close to Baguette into turn 1, he'll exit on the right for turn 2... pulls back, but he's sent a warning there. Anyway, Davidson isn't going for it into Brooklands, but follows him closely. They come down to Copse and it's becoming clear that he's interested in Stowe. He follows through Maggotts and Becketts just fine, but does he have the exit speed? The power? I would hope so, he's in a top team. But the answer appears to be no. He doesn't make the slightest of moves at Stowe. di Grassi does, though. He's on the outside, he's just ahead, they both go into the corner but he doesn't beautifully swoop around. Baguette has it better and he keeps the position.

Davidson is right on him into turn 1, he exits wide out of turn 2 but slots back in. Here they come onto the Wellington Straight again, Davidson is gaining. He'll go to the inside, and it's just like a couple laps ago, but he isn't giving it away this time. Neither is Hand, and Davidson tries to keep alongside all the way around Luffield but can't do it. di Grassi, though, he'll go down the inside, but he has the relative speed. Fully alongside as they brake and he takes ninth. Through Copse again, Davidson is right there, through Becketts he carries some speed. Hand doesn't go on the defensive at all, Davidson pulls out of the slipstream, then the direction cuts to van der Garde on the side of the track. He wasn't on for points or anything, but it was an okay day. We cut back to see Hand leading Davidson into Club.

Well, four laps to go, and Davidson will take a wide line out of turn two, he's barely alongside and Hand takes an outside line through turn 3, Davidson gains massively but now he's on the outside and Hand will take turn 4 for himself. So Makowiecki still leads from Rockenfeller, who as it stands will take the championship lead. Nothing happening with Hand and Davidson at the moment, but he'll likely try a few more times. And that's a Boxtel stopped early on the Wellington Straight, it's Ryan Briscoe. He was on for twelfth. Davidson clearly has a pace advantage on Hand, as he's proving yet again, but he can't get the overtake done. Follows him closely through Stowe, he'll go the inside for Club, then thinks better of it.

It’s lap 11, he's running out of chances now. They come into the arena section, Davidson noticeably gaining again. They come out of turn 5, he goes to the inside, and he just might have it this time. Maybe. Well, not if he locks up like that. Now he's got to catch up again, and it looks like there's a small flat spot on the tyre now. Hand looks comfortable, but Davidson doesn't look like he'll be giving up. He knows he can gain time through Copse, Maggotts, and Becketts, and he does visibly gain out of Copse here. He might have half a chance if—he spins! He's gone wide on the exit of Becketts! Stopped and facing the wrong way, and, well, he pulls a 180 and carries on, but he's been passed by Karthikeyan, here come the Henris down the straight... three points gone for him and Commonwealth. It looks to be another finish just out of the points.

Fred and Rockenfeller come out of turn 5, the latter still not taking any risks. Kimball is still sort of there if either of them decide to screw up, which they won't. Farfus goes through, Hand a bit further back, as is Karthikeyan... the Henris are separated enough that no team orders are really needed there either. So as they come through Woodcote, Rockenfeller actually has a bit of a run on him here, but after denying so many possibly stupid opportunities, he's not about to take a definitely stupid one. Follows a few tenths behind, as he has done for most of the race now. Although, he has better pace again through Becketts, he has a slipstream... Makowiecki will stick to the racing line, Rockenfeller to the inside, but the moisture offline isn't doing him any favours. He doesn't overtake. Baguette's on the inside of Davidson on the north straight before Copse, whatever it's actually called, and... Davidson will practically yield to him. After a race where they both came so close to points, Baguette and Davidson will have another race where they come really close to points.

Final lap now. It took a mechanical failure and a content rival, but Makowiecki's driven well today, and there's Dixon on the screen, he's put it into the wall at Copse. Here's the replay. He just touches the kerb, and yeah, passenger from there. The right side of the car smashes into the wall at high speed. He's gotten out of the car, though. So Fred comes through the scene of the accident, he's done well today. Especially for only his second race, though everyone else has about 400 kilometres of experience at the very most. So maybe it's not that big a difference. They come down the Hangar Straight, or possibly the Hangar straight, don't ask me, and like the past entire race, Rockenfeller has a slight chance but decides to be sensible about it. So through that left-hander, through Club, and Frédéric Makowiecki wins the British FGR Round. Rockenfeller is second, Kimball crosses the line third. Farfus is a good fourth, though he’ll be two points behind Rockenfeller now, and look at that, Hand finally does something with fifth. Karthikeyan gets three more points for San, and Duval and di Grassi get three more points for Henri. They come through Club and Baguette takes a disappointed ninth, Davidson an even more disappointed tenth.

Team Radio wrote:Great drive, Frédéric. Beautiful start, beautiful pressurising on Pagenaud. Congratulations.

Yes! Thank you, guys! I don’t know what you did over the month, the car was fantastic. Next step, championship.

ROTR: Anthony Davidson, couldn't recover from a bad start then spun away his consolation points
IIDOTR: Commonwealth, they're back

Dammit. If only Dixon could have hung on.....

BELGIAN ROUND — QUALIFYING
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps


It's Pi Day, so let's celebrate the irrationality with Formula Golden Ratio! Rockenfeller takes pole at Spa again, Fred backs up his win with second, and Pagenaud gets in the top three for Gauthier. The big surprise is Castroneves in seventh, just ahead of the complete antisurprise of Baguette in eighth. Hopefully they don't collide at the start. van der Garde could get points for VRT if the right retirements happen, as could Andretti for Riccetti. The Henris aren't looking good on this track, Boxtel improve but still kind of suck, and still none of the rejectful drivers are having IID moments.

The type 1 is utter shite.

Nationality:Italy/Russia
Team name:Life Racing Engines
Engine:Life F35 W12
Driver 1:Mark Webber(Rest of the season)
Driver 2:Danica Patrick(Rest of the season)

Aceleration:4
Handling:3
Reliability:3

The chassis name is LifeL214F.

BELGIAN ROUND — RACE
7.004 * 11 = 77.044 km

Davidson lost two positions at the start, Baguette lost one, and Dixon gained three. They all sorted themselves into a single file line for Eau Rouge, and position changes at Les Combes were van der Garde overtaking Baguette and da Costa overtaking di Grassi. da Costa also passed Dixon at Rivage. Karthikeyan's brakes failed as he tried to brake for Les Combes and he went into the wall. He was out of the race, but he got out of the car and an ice pack was the only medical care needed. They all followed each other through the second sector. Coming out of the kink before the final chicane, Makowiecki went to the inside, but nothing came of it. Something did come of a similar move by Briscoe on Duval, and Hand swerved left after Blanchimont to take di Grassi around the outside.

Makowiecki was compromised from the overtake attempt and Pagenaud briefly looked to the inside at La Source, but went back to the line. Kimball got a bad run out of La Source and van der Garde got a run on him for Eau Rouge; Kimball yielded the place. Going down the Kemmel Straight, Briscoe got alongside Andretti and outbraked him, right ahead of da Costa making a much more effortless move on Duval, clearing him well before the braking zone. Patel's engine went up in smoke and he pulled to the side of the road. A yellow flag was brought out affecting the Kemmel Straight, but not any corners. Andretti repassed Briscoe at Rivage. Coming up to the chicane, Makowiecki went to the inside. They went side-by-side all the way to La Source, where Makowiecki took the lead.

Down the Kemmel Straight, Rockenfeller had the speed to repass, but listened to the flag. A couple other cars had the same thing. van der Garde continued his charge at Pouhon, taking Castroneves on the inside for sixth. Rockenfeller kept up with Makowiecki and went to the right for the chicane, but lost that particular braking duel. Duval had a slight lock-up defending from Dixon and let him through.

Frijns overtook Daly at La Source. That's it for lap 4.

Rockenfeller once again got a run on Makowiecki down the Kemmel Straight, but he'd have do it around the outside. So he did. He held the outside, had the advantage coming out of the second turn, and took the line for the third. Frijns took di Grassi down the inside in a much less interesting standard chicane overtake. Makowiecki had a much better exit from Pouhon and he tried to go down the inside at Fagnes without much overlap, but Rocky held the outside and the second part of Fagnes was his. They filed through Blanchimont, Pagenaud staying a bit back but still in that group, then continued to file as they went through the final chicane.

As they came out of La Source, Rockenfeller dragged away a bit, which continued all throughout the first sector. And the second, although Pagenaud had looks at Rivage and Pouhon. In non-frontrunner news, van der Garde kept in Davidson's slipstream and took him for Rivage, and Kimball had a more simple overtake at Les Combes. Pagenaud followed Makowiecki closely through Blanchimont, but didn't try much for the chicane.

He had a better La Source, but it was useless. A smoother exit out of Eau Rouge was not useless, and he went to the inside for Les Combes. Makowiecki didn't give it up easily, but neither did Pagenaud, and the third turn worked in Pagenaud's favour. Frijns gained a place on Duval. No overtakes happened in the twisty part, but Hand rolled through Pouhon and stopped the car. At the chicane, Andretti was ahead and Baguette was on the inside, they both thought they had a right to the apex, wheels touched, and suspensions broke. Baguette swerved around a spun Andretti to the pit entrance, and Andretti went down the home straight to see if he could carry on. He decided he couldn't and stopped at the runoff of La Source.

Davidson tried to defend from Kimball at Les Combes, but to no avail. Besides this, lap eight was uneventful on its own, but Pagenaud gained on Rockenfeller, having gained half a second to be 1.1 behind across the line. (OOC: You don't pay any attention to the actual times xkoranate generates, right? Because I don't.) van der Garde was within striking distance of Farfus as they come to the chicane, but he wasn't about to risk four points for VRT over an overtake he wasn't confident of.

Three laps to go. The top three were still separated, but VDG provided entertainment for those with short attention spans. He was great out of La Source and went alongside to the right, but an overtake around the outside of Eau Rouge wasn't something he fancied and he pulled back. He kept on Farfus and had the left picked for him as they went down the Kemmel Straight alongside each other. Side-by-side, but Farfus going to the inside paid off for him and he kept the place. Les Combes saw more action when di Grassi went down the inside of Duval, who didn't give him much of a fight. Sato retired with an oil leak.

Two laps to go, Pagenaud six tenths behind at the start of the lap. Farfus and van der Garde were still together. Farfus tried the same trick as last lap with the same results. Pressure from Frijns caused Dixon to put it in the gravel at Rivage; he lost the place, but kept the car running. Pagenaud was two tenths down out of the second sector and caught a slipstream, which didn't prove useful when he ran wide at Blanchimont. Daly retired with no power out of Paul Frere.

Three tenths was the margin when Pagenaud crossed the line. He wasn't close enough to make a move at Les Combes. Incidentally, van der Garde was, and they both kept it alongside throughout the entire complex for Farfus to take it at Rivage. But Pagenaud was right on the back of Rockenfeller at Pouhon. He followed him through the rest of the sector, followed him through Blanchimont, went to the outside... it was going to be close, except it wasn't because Rockenfeller locked up and completely missed the corner. He lost not only a potential win to Pagenaud, but a definite second to Makowiecki. van der Garde went around the outside of Farfus at the final chicane to finish fourth for VRT, Kimball came home a disappointed sixth, Davidson got an even more disappointed seventh, and Castroneves held the outside of da Costa to score a point for Fantomette.


IIDOTR: Giedo van der Garde, fourth for VRT!
ROTR: San, both cars out in the first two laps

Crap, bad race I guess. And qualifying. Maybe high speed isn't quite our thing. Although if that is the case, how did we do so well at Silverstone?!

Castroneves in fifth, Rockenfeller in seventh, and Davidson in thirteenth are the highlights. Farfus gets his second pole of the season, and Rockenfeller's three main rivals are the top three with him in seventh.

I don't know, it's been over a week and I just can't come up with an interesting report for this one. But here are the results:


IIDOTR: Loïc Duval
ROTR: Mike Rockenfeller

HAHA!!!

It's a good day for Gauthier. Pagenaud takes pole, with Kimball a respectable third behind a Rockenfeller who continues to look towards Heidfeld for driving inspiration. Fred is fourth, far ahead of Davidson in 12th. Not much in the way of surprises, but there's still an entire race to be run.

Nice to see this back up running

4.381 * 17 = 74.477 km

And there goes Said into his slot. Waiting for the lights... here they are. One light, two, three, four, five... er... and... there seems to be a technical issue with the lights. I can’t think of another time I’ve seen this... and, well, now they’re off, but the drivers don’t know what to do, they’re staying put. What will race control do here?

Okay, the start procedure will start again. So the lights light up one by one again.... And now they’re off! Pagenaud slow off the line, Rockenfeller goes to the inside! Kimball makes it three wide on the outside! Down into turn 1, Rocky takes the lead, Kimball doesn’t challenge Pagenaud too much and he keeps second. Fred now taking a look at Kimball down into turn 2! Kimball holds the outside, he’ll be inside for turn 3, and Fred lets him have it. After that it’s Karthikeyan, Farfus, da Costa, and Castroneves.

Pagenaud reminding Rockenfeller he’s there at the chicane, but nothing more. He’s all over him now, but nowhere to get through. He’ll just concentrate on a good exit out of 11. Here they come, Pagenaud goes to the inside, but he can’t get alongside that much. Rocky will take turn 12. Farfus off! He’ll blame dirty air for sure, and now he’s coming right back into the train, forcing Duval to make room for him. He’s lost three positions to that.

Rockenfeller comes out of the final corner to lead lap 1. Pagenaud lost a bit of time exiting the corner, no scary moment, though. Maybe he was just a bit conservative with the throttle. Anyway, no overtaking chance for the moment. Not for him, anyway, here comes Kimball! There was respect at the first corner, but what about now? Down the straight, Kimball gaining, he might have a case for an overtake... locks up, runs onto the tarmac runoff. F1 fans should note that unlike current F1 tyres, a lockup with these isn’t the end of all your dreams, but anyway he’s been passed by Makowiecki. Duval on Castroneves at turn 1, takes him easily. Had the inside, almost ahead, nothing to argue. Baguette will try Davidson, and again that’s pretty easy.

(Nothing happened for a lap because it’s the Hungaroring.)

Pagenaud comes out of the final corner as we complete lap 2. Fred right behind him, and you can sense he’s pushing a little bit more. Slightly but noticeably wider exits. Does he have a chance here? They come down to turn 1 now, he has a look! No, he pulls back to the line. Too late to make something happen. He’ll still be stalking him, maybe he’ll try turn 4 if he’s feeling really confident, but it’s only lap 3 of 17 and endurance racing has hopefully trained him not to do anything stupid. We’ll find out now, and no, not even a hint. Follows Pagenaud through turn 5, look at that exit again compared to him, and now to the inside! Pagenaud takes the line. It’s a lot like turn 1 earlier this lap, nothing really serious, more to build pressure perhaps than actually attempt an overtake.

They’re out of the twisty bits now, down to turn 12, nothing. Not even a look. He’s there, though, Pagenaud has to hit his marks. Out of the final corner to start lap 4, what will he do? And hey, what kind of name is Makowiecki anyway? It looks Polish, not French. Whatever, his name isn’t important, unlike Marco Andretti further down the field. The answer, apparently, is nothing, no attempt into turn 1. He’s not falling back, really, he could probably string together a qualifying-like lap near the end and overtake if he really wanted to.

What’s this? It’s a replay off Farfus going off again, at the chicane. Trying to make up the lost places, obviously, but right now he’s doing the opposite. He knows his teammate is useless, this is very irresponsible of him.

Baguette’s past van der Garde now. Another points finish for Benelux would be fantastic, give them a little comfort over Fantomette, especially with Castroneves looking set to tie it up, not considering count-back of course.

We return to Pagenaud and Fred. Down into turn 12, Makowiecki to the inside, but again he lets Pagenaud have the racing line. He doesn’t quite have the edge to put up something substantial, so he’ll need to find it, or do something really clever.

Hand on Castroneves into 12. Castroneves holds the outside. He’ll have the inside for 13, and Hand is slightly ahead going in, but it looks like he’ll give it up. Baguette staying a bit clear, he’s probably expecting something dumb to happen between them. Out of the final corner, Hand has the tow, ever gaining, goes to the inside. They’re coming to the braking zone, Hand might have enough, no, he lets Castroneves have the apex. He’s not taking any chances either.

Makowiecki really close to Pagenaud out of turn 5. He’ll pull alongside, he’s really going for this one! Pagenaud takes the outside line and claims the apex of turn 7. Makowiecki looks at turn 8 but he pulls back to the line, no way he’s getting anything from that, especially with turns 9 and 11 being the opposite direction. That was a real attempt at a move, finally. He’s on him as they go through 10, and 11. Fred pulls to the inside again. He’s faster down the straight. Oh, this is ambiguous, it could end badly. Pagenaud holds the outside again, he’ll have the inside of turn 13 but Makowiecki is ahead into the braking zone. Side by side, now Pagenaud comes out ahead. He has a better exit, too, drifting out to the side of Makowiecki like he’s just the side of the track. He’ll give it up again and Pagenaud keeps the position. But it’s on now, no more looks, no more getting the front wing alongside then braking early. Makowiecki wants this position. Well, entering the final corner on the inside has actually given a bit of time to Pagenaud. But Makowiecki can certainly make it up, he is the faster car here.

Hand has a lot of speed on Castroneves down the main straight. Castroneves gradually going to the inside, Hand immediately goes to the inside and Castroneves rather abruptly finishes his own lane change. Hand to the outside now, and he’ll give the short term to Castroneves, but he’s clearly trying an over-under, a switchback, whatever the kids call it these days. Castroneves will take the inside for turn 2, Hand will then take the outside. He’ll try to hold it, he has a wheel to keep Castroneves from drifting out this time, but turn 3 would be crazy at this rate and he lets Castroneves have the position for—he’s run wide through turn 3, so another lap at best.

Rockenfeller ticks it over to lap 7. He’s no longer involved in the race, he’s pulling away like Sebastian Vettel. Do the consistency sentences end here? Well, there’s over half the race left, and whilst there are no pitstops, still. But anyway, Pagenaud and Makowiecki out of the final corner. Makowiecki has been showing his intent all through the final sector, the late apexes, the confident exits, he thinks this is his. He’s pulling up with the tow, he comes out of the tow and he’s still pulling up, they come to the braking duel, and Pagenaud is later. Practically squares off the first half of the corner as well, not leaving Makowiecki a choice. How he did that with that braking and kept it, I don’t know, maybe Fred was just being a bit shy again. So Makowiecki’s lost a bit of time to that, but he gained it back no trouble before and I’m sure he can do it again.

Here’s Hand again trying the outside of Castroneves into turn 1, well ahead this time, it looks like Hélio’s the one trying the overtake. He’ll cede the corner and the last point to Hand; for now, anyway. Baguette is right there too, though, so he might also have a defending job to do.

Team Radio wrote:Makowiecki: He cut me off at the hairpin! I’m lucky he didn’t hit me! You can’t do that!
Calm Engineer Voice: We’ve seen it, we’ve brought it up with the stewards. Keep driving.

Well, that’s what Makowiecki thinks of the incident. He’s been getting closer and closer every time, you think the overtake will come eventually. But we’ll have to wait and see, Pagenaud may just have him covered. I don’t really know. There’s Narain Karthikeyan; 5th would equal San’s best result this year and, more importantly, put them ahead of VRT. It’s clear what San have done in the skill/money tradeoff, perhaps, but Karthikeyan’s been a good driver in this series. Probably. It’s hard to tell when his only teammate has been some guy only the team’s scouts have heard of. But probably.

Pagenaud now completes lap 7. Makowiecki not close enough for a move, but by the next lap things should be on once again. Pagenaud not willing to give any space, Makowiecki perhaps waiting until the right time comes, although that might just be from not having a major chance yet. And that’s Baguette’s car being pulled through a gap in the barriers, he’s retired from something. Shame, he could’ve collected a point or two for a team that would quite appreciate a single point.

Sato on Briscoe at turn 1, surely he can’t do that! Small lockup. Briscoe acknowledges his existence, takes the outside! Sato with the better exit, Briscoe trying to keep alongside for turn 2, but decides to let him have it. Sato into 16th.

Makowiecki, look at that, using all of the kerb, doing all he can to catch up. And it’s working. No chance into turn 12, but he’ll have a shot into turn 1 if he gets the last corner right. Pagenaud still isn’t keeping to the inside at all, just taking a normal line, I don’t know if he’s acknowledged there’s a battle going on recently. Makowiecki certainly doesn’t think so. Around the last corner. Across the line, Makowiecki pulls out of the slipstream. He’s got a real chance here! If he can just nail the braking... Pagenaud takes the outside! Makowiecki ahead out of turn 1, but Pagenaud with the better drive. Through turn 1½, and Pagenaud with his overlap and inside position takes the corner. No battle to turn 3 or even to the exit, Makowiecki wants the position but he wants to keep his car above all else, it would seem.

There’s Sato on the inside of Andretti! It’s another tight one, Andretti thinks the corner—Sato’s locked up and he’s smashed into Andretti! He’s managed to destroy his suspension and T-bone him in the same move! Shards of suspension on and around the exit of 12, and more or perhaps less importantly considering the points on offer, Sato and Andretti both out. Another metre, a little more on the brakes, and that could’ve been Pagenaud and Makowiecki. But no doubt they’ll blame each other, I had the corner, no, I did. They’ve both gotten out of their cars and yep, they’re already making long arm gestures. Now, will this be a safety car or will they try and sweep it up without it? There’s still something of a gap between the last and first cars. Here comes Patel, going completely off the track onto the tarmac runoff to avoid the debris, Said doing the same. Now here come the marshals with their brooms. They have a bit time before Rockenfeller comes around, so maybe it’ll be fine.

The yellow flags are gone, everything is good. Rockenfeller comes out of turn 11 just in time to not see anything out of the ordinary. I don’t know what happened to the Hungarian marshals, whether they were exhaustingly trained or fed to sharks or what, but it’s gotten better. Rockenfeller’s been great here so far, Loyer deserve this little bit of sponsor time they’re getting. But now, we cut to what’s really important, Pagenaud and Makowiecki. Out of turn 10, and now 11, Fred again with the wider line. Is he close enough to make a move? Well, he doesn’t think so.

They’ve been orderly throughout the lap, but what wonders does lap 10 bring. Let’s find out. Makowiecki really nice here, he moves out of the tow once again—Pagenaud cuts across, and Fred immediately jinks back to the left, how there’s not a little endplate in the air I don’t know. But there’s a battle on now, Makowiecki not gaining, though, and Pagenaud is ahead with the inside as they come into the braking zone. Pagenaud will take the corner, but it’s one battle in the war. Makowiecki, what can he do? He swings to the right, but Pagenaud takes the apex of turn 1½ and they both take the normal line for 2. Through 3, and—radio.

Team Radio wrote:Makowiecki: What is he doing?! Look at the telemetry, I had to brake in the middle of the straight!
Calm Engineer Voice: Understood. We’ll have a look and we’ll tell the stewards if we see anything serious.

Well, I don’t need to tell you how he feels there. He can’t let this affect this driving, though—or maybe he can, he has been a tiny bit worse on the brakes, it seems. From looking the battle on the telly, anyway. Out of turn 5, to the chicane, nothing. This battle started with the occasional poke in with the front wing then changing his mind, and now it is absolutely on with nearly half the race still to go. Following him through the twisty bits—the ones after the chicane, it’s the Hungaroring so I don’t want you to get confused—and now, turn 12 once again. Makowiecki a little wide out of 11, all four wheels, and he won’t attempt anything this time. But, he’ll still he right on the back of him for turn 1.

The duelling Frenchmen make it to lap 11 unharmed, but until they make it to the nonexistent lap 18, that doesn’t mean much at all. No further action on the squaring off of the hairpin, it’s been decided, but they’ve still got that sudden swerve on their hands. Makowiecki, what does he try this time? Pagenaud not defending. Makowiecki makes a late move to the inside, but he immediately pulls back in. Still waiting. No move for turn 2. The chicane was probably where he made a battle of it the most, besides maybe at turn 12 that one time, but he hasn’t done anything serious there again. Out of turn 5 now, let’s see what he does here. It’s nothing. Again, he’s waiting for that sure overtake, and if it never comes, then a podium is a good result. At least that’s the analysis from a non-psychologist who did one BMW Talent Cup exhibition race for open-wheel commentators and crashed out defending the penultimate position. That’s not relevant to the outcome of this battle anyway. Out of turn 11, Pagenaud taking it a bit more seriously than he has in the past, and still no move from Makowiecki.

Here’s van der Garde at the chicane, nicely done on Castroneves! Unfortunately we only got to see the end of that, but a nice move from van der Garde to get on the edge of points. With Karthikeyan of course in fifth, VRT would really like a point or two here. As we start all over yet again, what can Makowiecki do again, down the home straight they go, he pulls out of the slipstream and it’s going to be tight down into the first corner, Makowiecki plays it safe again. And now, van der Garde on Hand, goes to the inside for turn 12. Can he do it? He can, no problem. That’s a point. VRT of course mainly remembered for their zero-point season last year, but a new season and van der Garde have put them in sixth so far. It’s been good for them, not that it could’ve really been bad.

What’s this replay? It’s Makowiecki... carrying too much through turn 6, running onto the high kerb in turn 7, and needing some fancy steering to save it. He’s still right behind Pagenaud as they go through turn 11, and down towards turn 12... nothing. Pagenaud, though, looks completely unfazed by the attempts at pressure that Fred’s been playing. He’s driving calmly, doing what he needs to do, and getting some useful points at the moment.

Five laps to go. Still a lot to do here with five laps. Makowiecki will try it down the inside again, he’s alongside, he’s more alongside, what happens? Pagenaud holds the outside again. Who has it better out of the turn? It’s Makowiecki. He’s faster. Pagenaud on the inside for turn 2, though, there they go. He’s marginally behind on entry, but look at that grip. Makowiecki fully behind once again. We’ve seen it here, at the chicane, at turn 12: unless Makowiecki can be very fast or very clever, Pagenaud’s got a response to everything. Fred runs a bit wide through turn 3, but that doesn’t matter, he wasn’t overtaking at turn 4. What do we need grass for, man? You wanna run off the track, sure, whatever, it’s 2014. It’s your life, man.

Anyway, Hand wants that point! Down the inside of turn 1, and he’s got it back. Pretty easy, really. Despite van der Garde, VRT don’t have much money to do, well, anything to their car. Makes that 6th place, or 7th if these positions stand, all the more amazing. Moving up a level for a team is quite hard, and, well, it’s a long, long way to go to see if they had what it takes all along. After this season, though, the big four in the current standings and Henri could be quite tough to crack. We’ll wait and see, though. Long way away.

Makowiecki not feeling it like he has been all race through the middle sector, he’s dropped back a bit. He’ll have to gain something late in the lap if he wants a chance into turn 1. That’s Castroneves, with Davidson right behind him as they go through turn 4. Davidson has a chance out of 5, he’ll swoop immediately to the inside, and it’s a bit banzai, he runs over the turn 7 kerb but he’s got it done thanks to some respect from Castroneves. He needs to make something of this race, he’s had a terrible year so far, in Formula Golden Ratio anyway.

Pagenaud makes it four laps left. Well, for him personally, Rockenfeller did that a while ago. Makowiecki not as close as the past few laps, I suspect he’ll just inch up again throughout this one. The laps are ticking down, though, but he’d still be leading the championship after this race by one point from Rockenfeller. Farfus would be next, ten points away from Makowiecki, so a nice gap there. They come out of turn 1, nothing to note, Pagenaud still looking very comfortable in that G2.

Castroneves could be overtaken again in this race, Farfus looking at him. I’m sure he’d rather forget this one, Farfus, two offs have ruined what could’ve been a few points. He hasn’t pulled anything, going into the final corner now, what can he do. He’s right on the back of the Fantomette, comes out of the slipstream, and it looks like it’ll be easy going for the BMW. He’s alongside. Now he’s ahead. And just before the corner, he goes back onto the line. Easy.

Pagenaud still leading Makowiecki by as small a margin as he can hold. Into the final three corners. Is Makowiecki just happy with this. Considering the brief battles, maybe he’s doing all he can. Now out of the last corner again. He’s very close already. He start his move to the inside, but Pagenaud reacts. He’ll go to the outside. He’s faster, but we’ve seen this before. Who will claim the apex? Will the other take it to turn 2 anyway? Makowiecki’s got a good lead into the braking zone... he’s done it! He takes a completely normal line, Pagenaud is the compromised one now, and will he pull away or is there more still to come? Nothing for turn 2.

And that’s a Loyer up in smoke! It’s Rockenfeller! Rockenfeller’s engine billowing smoke like it’s the 1990s! He comes through the chicane at a Life’s pace and he parks the car. Absolute tragedy. That one win in Spa is so far away now, and it was looking as though he’d finally win one again. He gets out of the car, and look at him. So disappointed. Not angry in the slightest, not passive-aggressive, just disbelieving. And the championship, too. One point in the last two races. A great drive has counted for nothing.

Here come Makowiecki and Pagenaud through the chicane. Yellow flags from turns 6 to 8, so overtaking at the chicane absolutely impossible. Which brings us to the good side of this mechanical failure: this battle is now for the win. And Pagenaud is still absolutely on him. He has not pulled away in the slightest, they’ve switched roles. So get excited! I know I just deliberately tried to make you sad, but now be excited. Pagenaud is really pushing now, Makowiecki is trying to keep the car on track. Out of turn 11. Pagenaud to the inside, and that’s some nice drive he has. Does he get the position back? Yes, he does. Pagenaud back into what is now the lead of the race. So it is absolutely not over, but Makowiecki has to do it all over again and last time it took him fourteen laps he doesn’t have now.

Through the last turn, onto the main straight. A small nugget of tyre flies off of Makowiecki. He pulls out of the slipstream at the last possible moment, here he comes, he’s got this, surely. Maybe not, it’s marginal again into 1, Pagenaud will keep the outside, Makowiecki will drift onto every bit of track he doesn’t take. Pagenaud has the inside, though, now, and they’re about level as they come into turn 2, and Pagenaud keeps the lead. Through turn 3. Makowiecki to the right. He’ll try the outside of 4. Can he? No, he thinks better of it, but not in enough time for Pagenaud not to take a very slow line. Fred goes to the left, Pagenaud of course with the inside, and he’ll have the exit easily. But Makowiecki now, no, no switchback, the yellow flags are still waving, now for a Boxtel. It’s Ryan Briscoe, so Briscoe out from 13th. Not a major event in itself, but who knows what it just did to the race result. Anyway, Makowiecki takes a wide line for 9, totally unnecessary. But he’s there as they come through turn 11 and literally down to the still new-feeling to me turn 12. Takes a look, but pulls right back. Charlie Kimball’s next in line to win this race if this ends in disaster too.

Here they come, then, for the final lap. Makowiecki pulls to the inside, again it looks just barely in time, but Pagenaud not taking any defensive line. If the same trick worked before, it should do again. But Makowiecki, he’s really got it this time, he nailed the final corner, he’s well alongside as they come to the braking. He gains massively, Pagenaud looks to take the outside line again, but Makowiecki firmly pushes him wide. This is my corner, he says, and Pagenaud has no choice but to go off the track and rejoin right behind him. Pagenaud follows Makowiecki through turn 2. Can he pull it off at turn 12 again? That’s all he had to do last time, but his first old reliable trick his lap wouldn’t work. Up to turn 4, no mistakes from either of them. No yellow flags for the chicane this time around. What does Pagenaud have on him through turn 5? He takes a look... no, changes his mind. They come out of the chicane practically connected. But look at Makowiecki. Look at him now. He’s shaking him off through 9. Here they come through 11, and Fred is really pushing now. Two wheels barely on the white line, the entire rest of the car over the outside tarmac. Can Pagenaud do anything? He’s not even trying, and Makowiecki with a much more relaxed turn 12, not Pagenaud, though, here he comes! Turn 13! And it’s a firm no from Makowiecki, there goes a piece of Pagenaud’s wing! He runs clean over it as another piece of tyre comes off of Makowiecki, quite a bit larger than the marble from last time. You can see the hole in the tyre, even at this kind of RPM. But it doesn’t matter. Makowiecki comes through the last corner, no speed lost from that chunk of tyre, just has to drive straight, and Frédéric Makowiecki wins in Hungary! Pagenaud a ridiculously close second, just over a car’s length to separate them. The crowd absolutely cannot believe it. What an absolutely lovely race. Radio.

Team Radio wrote:Commonwealth guy: Great job, Frédéric. What a battle. Never make us that worried again, okay?
Makowiecki: Yes! Thank you, guys! Three wins! I love you guys! Thank you!

Team Radio wrote:Gauthier dude: So P2, as you know. Bad ending, but think about this: Gauthier 18, Commonwealth 12. So that’s something.
Pagenaud: This was great fun. Yeah, I lost, but wow. This is why we all love racing.

None of the incidents that occurred earned penalties.

IIDOTR: Narain Kartikeyan, 4th place is his best result of the season
ROTR: FGR's lack of clear overtaking rules

New rules for 2015
*The series will be run in GP2. If we get fewer than thirteen teams, hopefully that doesn't happen but with the current 11 + the two other people who have expressed interest, it should work. If it doesn't, then I'll let the top teams from 2015 run junior teams if they want.
**If you don't submit a livery (obviously you're expected to do it in the off-season, not now), you will have a generic one based on your team's country.
*The races will be 150 km, as I originally wanted.
*Since GP2 only has BHP for car stats, acceleration will be renamed power and handling will be grip. They will still make your car faster on fast and twisty circuits respectively.
*You'll be able to put performance clauses in contracts.

JAPANESE FGR ROUND — QUALIFYING

Rockenfeller on pole, ready to avenge his own engine last time out. But look at Davidson, actually doing something! IIDOTQ for him. Gauthiers on row 2, championship leader by 14 points Makowiecki in 5th, Castroneves with another strong qualifying in 7th. Andretti could get a point for Riccetti from 11th, whilst van der Garde is only 13th, and Baguette only 14th.

2014 JAPANESE FGR ROUND — RACE
5.807 * 13 = 75.491 km

Castroneves, di Grassi, and Daly all gained two positions at the start. Briscoe came back on Daly at the hairpin, and Frijns also passed Dixon there. Makowiecki went wide exiting the Spoon Curve and gave up two positions.

On lap 2, Duval got alongside Andretti for turn 1, but he held the outside. He was on the inside for 3 and Duval let him have the position. He continued to follow him closely and passed at the hairpin. Karthikeyan had a better Spoon than Makowiecki and passed him at 130R.

Duval got close to da Costa through the Esses and passed him at the hairpin. At the Casio Triangle, Andretti was pressured into missing his braking point. He rejoined but lost four positions.

Makowiecki passed Karthikeyan at turn 1, but was repassed at the hairpin. Duval was now within range, and he went through the first apex of the Spoon Curve side-by-side, then took the place. He passed Karthikeyan at the chicane. After a denied attempt at the hairpin, Frijns also passed Daly at Casio.

The order after 4 laps was Rockenfeller, Davidson, Pagenaud, Kimball, Castroneves, Farfus, di Grassi, and Duval. A train had developed behind da Costa, and he was passed by van der Garde at the hairpin and by Baguette at the right-hander after it. Now fairly close to Sato, Andretti tried too hard in catching up through the first part of the lap and had to exit too far to the left at the fourth Ess. He kept pushing and crashed at Degner 2.

Nothing happened on lap 6, but at the start of lap 7, Makowiecki couldn't believe he was being threatened by a VRT and a Benelux. He took a defensive line through the hairpin, but he didn't expect van der Garde to come at him at the corner after it. He realised just quickly enough to avoid a collision. Duval attempted to overtake di Grassi at the chicane, but di Grassi still took the normal line, and he had to cut the first turn to avoid contact.

On lap 8, Makowiecki went wide exiting turn 2 and Baguette went past. di Grassi let Duval through at Degner 1. Hand passed da Costa at the chicane.

After an aborted attempt at the hairpin, van der Garde made a move on Karthikeyan at the Spoon Curve. Like Duval and Makowiecki, they battled through the first turn, then VDG took the place.

Baguette had been in qualifying mode ever since Makowiecki let him through, and after a beautiful Casio, he caught Karthikeyan's slipstream, but his car wasn't fast enough out of it. Karthikeyan went wide at the Dunlop Curve and Baguette got another free position.

With three laps left, Baguette was catching VDG just quickly enough for a battle in the last lap. The same applied to both of them and di Grassi. However, that lap, di Grassi suddenly started slowing on the straight before Spoon. He went at a very slow pace along 130R's straight and ultimately pulled into the pits to retire.

Rockenfeller, meanwhile, was running away with it again. Then, with two laps to go, he went off at the hairpin. He smashed into the barrier at high speed, and it looked to be a brake failure, which is what it was eventually confirmed as. Nothing else significant happened.

On the final lap, Baguette was right on VDG coming out of Degner 2, but the yellow flag was still active. He then tried him at Spoon Curve and they went through the first turn together, but VDG had it through the second and Baguette came out behind him. van der Garde went to the inside for the Casio Triangle, but Baguette used this to get a better exit and outdragged him to the line. Frijns passed Briscoe at the final corner.

Results

IIDOTR: Anthony Davidson; he's back, at least this weekend
ROTR: Loyer-Audi; two failures from the lead have destroyed Rockenfeller's campaign

The 2015 F1 grid is actually fully announced, so now's a good time to finish up an "any drivers but not F1" series. Just two more races before I have to stop making the races up.


Pagenaud on pole, Makowiecki alongside. da Costa is being useful in 7th, Duval is only 13th, and van der Garde is only 15th. Nothing too surprising.

I tried to write this race, but it was just too stupid. Here are the results, after my secret anti-stupidity measure:


IIDOTR: Bertrand Baguette
ROTR: Loyer drivers

Pagenaud and Makowiecki go into the final race on 52 points each, with Makowiecki winning if neither score. Kimball on 45 has an outside chance. Gauthier are constructors' champions.

Let's blow this popsicle stand! (Not the entire series, just xkoranate. Not that anyone would care if this disappeared, I mean look at last time )


Pagenaud on pole, Makowiecki second. Dramatic. Rocky third, Davidson useful again, and Karthikeyan, Castroneves, Duval, and van der Garde all looking at possible points.

14 * 5.303 = 74.242 km

van der Garde stalled at the start. Makowiecki lost a place to Rockenfeller, Kimball got ahead of Karthikeyan, and Hand gained two places. Dixon passed Sato at turn 3, then Briscoe at 7. Makowiecki had a better exit out of 12 than Rockenfeller and made it count at Ascari.

Kimball passed Farfus at turn 1, which brought Karthikeyan within range. Farfus went defensive at turn 3, but missed his braking and let Karthikeyan through. Kimball made a late, diagonal move on Davidson at 9, but kept it on the track and kept the place. At the same corner, Duval and Castroneves had a "misunderstanding" about the apex. There was no contact, as Castroneves reacted quickly, but ran off the track and lost a couple places, then another at 11 from the lack of momentum.

Makowiecki hadn't been gaining any time on lap 2, and he decided the only option was to push a little harder. To put it bluntly, he went off at turn 1 and slammed into the barrier, DNF lap 3, THE END. Probably. Pagenaud was promptly told about the crash and told to adjust a dial and press a couple buttons. All he needed to do was take a point to win the title, so it was time to just drive the car and hope. Close behind, Kimball was still charging, and he passed Rockenfeller at turn 3.

Not much happened on lap 4. Duval messed up the entry to 12 a bit and da Costa went through.

Baguette looked at Duval into turn 3, but let him have the corner. The battle didn't last much longer, as he just passed him at turn 9. di Grassi looked like he was going to pass Andretti there as well, but he went defensive. Then di Grassi was able to take the normal line and got him down the straight.

Lap 6, Kimball closing in on Pagenaud. There was no hint of a move at turn 3, or 7. Then he switched to the inside after coming out of 8, but didn't like his chances and pulled back in. In return, he got this:

Gauthier radio wrote:Do not overtake.

So that was all the race's excitement gone, again. Later, di Grassi did a similar thing to Castroneves at the same corner, and took another look at turn 11. Of course, it was turn 11, so he didn't do anything. But he slipstreamed Castroneves through the kink and went to the inside, and it was ultimately an easy pass. Then Briscoe was slowing as he went out of the kink, and he went to the escape road and retired. It perfectly summed up Boxtel's season.

Karthikeyan almost made a move on Davidson at turn 1, but didn't. He was still all over him at turn 3, Farfus close behind. Davidson momentarily let the pressure get to him and missed the apex of turn 7. He went off and lost the two positions.

On lap 8, there were technically two overtakes at turn 9. They were di Grassi and Duval, then Dixon and Andretti, and there wasn't much suspense involved in either. There were no explicit team orders, just teammates doing what they do.

Sato looked at Andretti into turn 1, but nothing came of it. He followed closely through 3, then began his move out of 5. Using the halfway alongside rule—of course, FGR doesn't use that, or any overtaking rules for that matter—it was hard to tell, but Andretti let him have the place. He didn't drop back, though, and was close out of 12. He went to the inside for Ascari, but nothing came of it.

Andretti wasn't close enough to try anything at turn 1, but he was at 3. He went to the inside, but broke early and waited for a better chance. He wasn't close for turn 9, then out of 12, things got interesting. He was as close as dirty air would let him be, and he went to the inside out of the kink. It was tight into Ascari—so tight that they both thought they had won, and Sato turned into Andretti/Andretti wouldn't let Sato have his apex. Sato made a huge correction and ran off the track for a second, but Andretti had it much worse with broken suspension. He went into the pits to retire.

Sato was the slowest car on the track, as he had some tyres to clean up. Daly never tried to overtake, but reeled him in over the lap. Out of turn 1 on lap 12, Sato's tyres were of course a lot better, but it didn't seem like it would matter against the approaching Boxtel. Sato went to the inside for 3, which worked, but he didn't defend as hard for turn 9, and Daly took 14th.

Two laps to go for Pagenaud to take the title. The Gauthiers had been steadily pulling away at Pagenaud's pace, making Kimball's demands for his first win in Formula Golden Ratio of no interest to the team. Throughout the second half of the season, he had been the Patrese to Pagenaud's Mansell. Six podiums from eight races as it stood, which was great as far as Gauthier were concerned. He had to repeatedly remind himself: you'll still be second in the championship, don't be an idiot and punt your teammate off. Also Joey Hand lost a position to da Costa. Which almost gave third in the championship to Loyer, but didn't. Three more points.

The cameras continued to follow Pagenaud as he made his final circuit of the season unchallenged. Not the most thrilling, adrenaline-pumped, racing way to win a championship, but that was of no concern to him. Maybe it was of concern to Kimball, for whom a duel ending in tears would've crown him the champion, but anyway. Simon Pagenaud gently accelerated out of the final corner to win the 2014 Formula Golden Ratio title. Then at the penultimate corner, Baguette nicked a point for Benelux.


IIDOTR: Narain Karthikeyan (again, and now correctly typed)
ROTR: Frédéric Makowiecki; seriously, nice job

Congrats to Salamander/Gauthier for double double titles.

Formula Golden Ratio 2015
New year for people using the Gregorian calendar, new year for Formula Golden Ratio. I already told you about the rule changes, so here's the other stuff.

Schedule
1. Spanish Phi Prix* — Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya-Philippe (Mar 21)
2. Italian Phi Prix — Autodromo di Monza (Apr 18)
3. Hungarian Phi Prix — Monaco w/o houses (May 16)
4. Belgian Phi Prix — Best circuit in the world (not Suzuka) (Jun 20)
5. British Phi Prix — THE ARENA (Silverstone layout) (Jul 18)
6. Canadian Phi Prix — Circuit Mont-Tremblant (Aug 15)
7. Japanese Phi Prix — Best circuit in the world (not Spa) (Sep 19)
8. Malaysian Phi Prix — Kuala Lumpur, Sepang, Malaysia (Oct 17)
*"Phi" is pronounced as in Greek, so "fee", not "fai". Yes, it's supposed to be like ePrix.

Budgets
Gauthier: 200
Commonwealth: 180
Renntech (this is your new short name, five syllables is long): 160
Loyer: 140
San: 120
Henri: 100
Benelux: 80
Fantomette: 60
VRT: 40
Boxtel: 20
Riccetti: 15
New guys: 10

Signup rules
You can sign up for the full season at any time before the fourth race is run. After that, you can participate in a single race, but your team must be from the race's continent. Russia, Caucasian countries, Turkey, and Cyprus are European. To make things less boring for the last two races, ASEAN countries are Oceanian.

You can submit a livery whenever, I'll wait unless it gets really ridiculous. You don't even have drivers yet so right now would even be ill-advised.

Riccetti Competition will return next year and will run the Type II in the blue/white of 'Murica! I ran my Nova like this for awhile, so why not?

Gauthier will return for 2015.

Henri returns for 2015.

Fantomette will return in 2015