"Grand Prix 2" Championship

[Shizuka]

Seventh place, with a Didn't Finish retirement... almost!

[BlindCaveSalamander]

Oh hell yes. About bloody time we got to the finish.

[tristan1117]

Round 5: Spain
Qualifying

Code: Select all

1. John Zimmer (Benetton) - 1.27.693
2. Daniel Moreno (Williams) - 1.27.922
3. Douglas Mann (Williams) - 1.28.051
4. Padraig O'Connell (Ferrari) - 1.28.524
5. Kazuhiko Takagi (Benetton) - 1.29.112
6. James Davies (McLaren) - 1.29.988
7. Damon Cannon (Jordan) - 1.30.074
8. Leonhard von Gottorp (Jordan) - 1.30.079
9. Tom Douglas (Ferrari) - 1.30.649
10. Rory McAllister (McLaren) - 1.30.728
11. Dennis Mignolet (Ligier) - 1.31.302
12. Reiko Megumi (Ligier) - 1.32.058
13. Pieter Kickert (Sauber) - 1.32.586

Code: Select all

14. Poppy Whitechapel (Tyrrell) - 1.32.937
15. Pablo da Silva (Sauber) - 1.33.932
16. Andrew Spokes (Minardi) - 1.33.984
17. Jorg Scrattenheim (Simtek) - 1.34.073
18. Kazuyoshi Hoshino (Footwork) - 1.34.216
19. Gio van Dycke (Tyrrell) - 1.34.652
20. Miko Fakkinen (Minardi) - 1.35.142
21. Samael Meerwick (Footwork) - 1.35.665
22. Ben Fleet (DAMS) - 1.36.147
23. Artiom Zielenkovski (Pacific) - 1.37.246
24. Anton Kaliniczenko (Pacific) - 1.37.806
25. George Tramontani (Simtek) - 1.38.251
26. Pippa Mann (DAMS) - 1.38.474
DNQ Masta Valsattis (Forti) - 1.38.766
DNQ Sebastian Gazurek (Forti) - 1.39.528

A fairly uninteresting qualifying session. The road hazard, a.k.a Sebastian Gazurek, has not qualified this time so we won't have any crazy antics to keep my interest late in the race. Oh, and Gio van Dycke, Y U NO beat Simtek and Minardi?

[This]

Oh, and Gio van Dycke, Y U NO beat Simtek and Minardi?

As long as he beats Fäkkinen, there's no need to worry. Everything is under control. Except for one thing, which is under control of ...

[AdrianSutil]

PaddyPower.com:
Odd's on Valsattis qualifying for one race this year have risen from 5/1 to 10/1

The Sun.co.uk:
'Valsattis seen entering PaddyPower shop and placing a large bet...'

[Wizzie]

McLaren plan to protest the Qualifying results on the basis that James Davies should be on pole with his fastest time, not 6th

[BlindCaveSalamander]

McLaren plan to protest the Qualifying results on the basis that James Davies should be on pole with his fastest time, not 6th

Uh, yeah! What he said! I am clearly the best driver here, I should be on pole! And stuff! I'd like to these those other guys try to qualify this car as well as I have!

[tristan1117]

Appeal denied.





This one was rather dull. Zimmer dominated again and didn't put a foot wrong for the entire race and Moreno was the only one who could stay with him.

Positives:

John Zimmer: Another spectacular win for John. No one was even close to catching the Benetton driver and Moreno was the only driver within more than one lap down on him!

Daniel Moreno: There was nothing Moreno could do really. The car was clearly not up to the Benetton here and it showed in the results. At least he is now within striking distance of Zimmer after these last two podiums.

McLaren: McLaren took their first double-points finish of the year as they are getting back into form. Rory McAllister outdrove Davies for the first time this season, taking a well-deserved fourth place. Also, ex-McLaren driver Tom Douglas had a good race as well.

Negatives:

Douglas Mann: Mann was this close to getting Reject of the Race this time around. Mann was nowhere near his teammate's pace and he was running in a distant third place. Then, he tried to stop John Zimmer from lapping him (unsuccessfully). A few seconds later, Mann went off at Turn 9 (where Kovy crashed a few years ago) and slammed into the wall, shattering his front wing. He later retired with a transmission failure before he was about to be lapped again.

Kaz Takagi: Looks like he's back to his typical bad luck.

Pacific: Two non-classifcations? Anton Kaliniczenko put on probation for ignoring blue flags? Who the heck got RoTR anyway?

Reiko Megumi's Pitcrew: I'll set the scene a bit: "Its lap two. Reiko Megumi is battling with a bunch of cars for thirteenth position, including Poppy Whitechapel and Pablo da Silva. Suddenly, Megumi's wheel, not fastened properly at the start of the race, began to fall off. Reiko was unable to avoid getting tapped into a spin by Whitechapel and blocks the track at Turn 1." For not putting on the wheel nut properly, Reiko Megumi's pitcrew wins Reject of the Race.

Drivers' Championship
1. John Zimmer - 36
2. Daniel Moreno - 20
3. Kazuhiko Takagi - 16
4. Padraig O'Connell - 14
5. Douglas Mann - 12
6. Leonhard von Gottorp - 7
=7 Tom Douglas - 5
=7 James Davies - 5
9 Pablo da Silva - 4
=10 Damon Cannon - 3
=10 Rory McAllister - 3
=11 Pieter Kickert - 2
=11 Gio van Dycke - 2
=12 Dennis Mignolet - 1
=12 Miko Fakkinen - 1

Constructors' Championship
1. Benetton - 52
2. Williams - 32
3. Ferrari - 19
4. Jordan - 10
5. McLaren - 8
6. Sauber - 6
7. Tyrrell - 2
=8 Ligier - 1
=8 Minardi - 1

[East Londoner]

Right, whoever put that gearbox from Monaco in my car, be prepared to run! The car was running so well before it jumped into 4th and neutral

What the hell was Reiko doing, slowing to a crawl at the apex of Turn 1? I was lucky not to wreck my front wing. After that, the shitbox burned out its electrics and I had to park it. I wonder if Gio liked being the filling in an Sauber sandwich at the end of the race?

[JeremyMcClean]

It was a positive result, second place is better than an DNF!

Bah, the car was slow all weekend. At least it was reliable!

[dr-baker]

Last night, I went to borrow a razor blade from Ben Fleet and a book from my sister, when I saw something that I knew happened but which I didn't wish to see or think about. After all, they have been dating for a long time time. But... Ewww and Euuugggghhhhh. Anyway, at least I was still on course for a (distant) podium place...

Yeah, it was awkward for us too, Dougie. You just totally ruined the atmosphere. And I am disappointed to just miss out on a top-10 finish. What a weekend...

[JeremyMcClean]

Last night, I went to borrow a razor blade from Ben Fleet and a book from my sister, when I saw something that I knew happened but which I didn't wish to see or think about. After all, they have been dating for a long time time. But... Ewww and Euuugggghhhhh. Anyway, at least I was still on course for a (distant) podium place...

You had to tell me that Douglas? The only relationship I'm interested in is my own... bleh

[BlindCaveSalamander]

Last night, I went to borrow a razor blade from Ben Fleet and a book from my sister, when I saw something that I knew happened but which I didn't wish to see or think about. After all, they have been dating for a long time time. But... Ewww and Euuugggghhhhh. Anyway, at least I was still on course for a (distant) podium place...

You had to tell me that Douglas? The only relationship I'm interested in is my own... bleh

Yeah, way too much information dude. Also, clearly I would've gotten another podium, perhaps even a win if the FIA had given me my rightful pole position. They even changed my awesome time by 3 tenths to fit in with their flawed and biased records. This is blatant discrimination against me for... being me, and I cannot stand for it. Furthermore...

Davies continued ranting for another 2 hours, though everyone knew better at that point than to interupt or pay heed to him.

[dr-baker]

Last night, I went to borrow a razor blade from Ben Fleet and a book from my sister, when I saw something that I knew happened but which I didn't wish to see or think about. After all, they have been dating for a long time time. But... Ewww and Euuugggghhhhh. Anyway, at least I was still on course for a (distant) podium place...

You had to tell me that Douglas? The only relationship I'm interested in is my own... bleh

Yeah, way too much information dude. Also, clearly I would've gotten another podium, perhaps even a win if the FIA had given me my rightful pole position. They even changed my awesome time by 3 tenths to fit in with their flawed and biased records. This is blatant discrimination against me for... being me, and I cannot stand for it. Furthermore...

Now you understand why I was off the pace today... But as you implied, it IS best to change the subject, anything to get my mind off that business.

Beer anyone?

[This]

What the hell was Reiko doing, slowing to a crawl at the apex of Turn 1? I was lucky not to wreck my front wing. After that, the shitbox burned out its electrics and I had to park it. I wonder if Gio liked being the filling in an Sauber sandwich at the end of the race?

I don't want to sound annoying, but technically spoken, that would be a Gio Van Dycke Sandwich. Truth be told ,there are better alternatives than Saubers to use as sandwich

[FMecha]

What a bad day for my engine. BATHPLUG!

Ligier pitcrews, Y U NO trained properly?

Meanwhile...

Ligier fined for Megumi's loose wheel

Ligier has been fined $5,000 for the running unsafe car for Reiko Megumi during yesterday's Spanish Grand Prix.

At the start, before the race, Megumi asked for a harder tires (the team was going to start with softs). Following the start, Megumi had hit left the starting line when one of her wheel was detached having being insecurely tightened.

Unable to get herself into the pitstop, Megumi went tapped into a spin by Poppy Whitechapel, resulting in both blocking the track at turn one. Megumi's race was effectively over.

The stewards decided subsequently ruled that Ligier was running a unsafe car for Megumi, and handed the French team a $5,000 fine.

(sightly adapted from this)

[Shizuka]

Footwork is even more pathetic than Lotus was.

[tristan1117]

Round 6: Canada

Qualifying

Code: Select all

1. Daniel Moreno (Williams) - 1.28.379
2. John Zimmer (Benetton) - 1.28.477
3. Douglas Mann (Williams) - 1.28.659
4. Padraig O'Connell (Ferrari) - 1.29.106
5. Kazuhiko Takagi (Benetton) - 1.29.243
6. Damon Cannon (Jordan) - 1.29.931
7. Leonhard von Gottorp (Jordan) - 1.29.967
8. James Davies (McLaren) - 1.30.319
9. Tom Douglas (Ferrari) - 1.30.801
10. Rory McAllister (McLaren) - 1.30.851
11. Dennis Mignolet (Ligier) - 1.32.289
12. Reiko Megumi (Ligier) - 1.31.870
13. Pieter Kickert (Sauber) - 1.32.549

Code: Select all

14. Poppy Whitechapel (Tyrrell) - 1.32.680
15. Pablo da Silva (Sauber) - 1.33.502
16. Kazuyoshi Hoshino (Footwork) - 1.33.615
17. Andrew Spokes (Minardi) - 1.33.656
18. Jorg Scrattenheim (Simtek) - 1.33.809
19. Gio van Dycke (Tyrrell) - 1.33.897
20. Miko Fakkinen (Minardi) - 1.34.438
21. Samael Meerwick (Footwork) - 1.34.637
22. Artiom Zielenkovski (Pacific) - 1.35.639
23. Ben Fleet (DAMS) - 1.35.693
24. Anton Kaliniczenko (Pacific) - 1.35.987
25. Pippa Mann (DAMS) - 1.36.128
26. George Tramontani (Simtek) - 1.36.325
DNQ Masta Valsattis (Forti) - 1.36.665
DNQ Sebastian Gazurek (Forti) - 1.36.780

Daniel Moreno grabs pole for his home race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a track he normally does well at. Both Fortis DNQ again, both Jordans look good and Gio van Dycke qualifies poorly again. On to the race!

[East Londoner]

Yeah baby! That's what we're talking about. We're seriously on the ball this weekend, and should the gearbox maladies not return, it looks like we could take home a sackful of points.

Yet again, I'm stuck in the Twilight Zone, where the car is not good enough to be rejectful, but not good enough to be challenging for points.

A little later on...

Did I really say that on air? Bloody hell

[JeremyMcClean]

Great qualifying session in front of the fans, hopefully the same can be said for the race.

[tristan1117]

Round 6: Canada





(Note: Tom Douglas was disqualified after the race.)

And this time around, I'm doing a switch-up and announcing Reject of the Race before I even start the race review. For his Jean-Louis Schlesserian antics, Tom Douglas wins Reject of the Race this time around. Why? I point you to this video. Tom Douglas, I must mention, was being lapped before taking out Zimmer, which could lead to penalties in the next few hours. Alright, now for the review.

EDIT: I lied, Douglas was already lapped; he was trying to regain the lap by passing Zimmer at the chicane. (Lots of cars tried this, btw, and I don't know why. Douglas made the only successful maneuver.)

Positives:

Everyone who decided to go on a one-stop strategy: This was basically the decision that decided the race. If you went on one-stop, you were set. If you went for two, you were not. At the start, Zimmer took the lead briefly before losing out to Moreno on Lap 3. Moreno and Zimmer were about equal on pace but Zimmer was one-stopping and Moreno was two-stopping. They were both, however, much faster than anyone else behind them. Moreno made his two stops on Laps 16 and 38, and Zimmer made his on Lap 30. After Moreno's second stop, the order was Zimmer, Takagi, Mann and Moreno as it looked like Benetton could take a 1-2. But alas, the Tom Douglas incident occurred and Takagi assumed the lead on Lap 41.

After that, it was a matter of time before Moreno roared back to take the lead. With only 19 laps remaining, he made up a 28 second gap ( ) , passed his teammate and Takagi, and put out an eight second lead to boot. Meanwhile, Zimmer made a desperate attempt to come back from his broken front wing but failed to catch Mann in time. As further proof that the one-stop was infinitely superior, Leonhard von Gottorp and James Davies were both on two-stoppers and both finished lower than their starting positions (with Davies getting beaten handily by his teammate).

Andrew Spokes: Another good performance from Andrew Spokes. Although he has not scored since his miraculous podium finish at the British GP last year, he has consistently been in the points but his car couldn't last the distance.

Negatives:

DAMS: A double-DNF and getting beaten by both Pacifics? Not a good result from them.

Padraig O'Connell: It seems that the famed Ferrari reliability of 1995 is catching up on O'Connell. He has retired from the last three (I think) races and is falling way behind in the championship race. Here, he was on a one-stop strategy and was running in second place after Moreno's first stop. Had he stayed in the race, he might have been able to hold off Moreno and take a Ferrari win! With Gilles' number! At the '95 Canadian Grand Prix! We can only dream, can't we...

Pablo da Silva: Pablo didn't do such a bad job but he basically ran Daniel Moreno off the road while getting lapped. Moreno popped up into the air, just like Zimmer, and if he had broken his suspension, we may be talking about a Kaz Takagi win right now.

And as a sidenote, what should Tom Douglas' penalty be? The F1RGP2C Commission has allowed the Internet to decide the punishment! I hope nothing unreasonable comes out of this.

Your Voting Options:
A. 25 second penalty
B. No penalty
C. Disqualification and Probation
D. Other (Submit your own!)

The people have decided on disqualification and a one-race ban.

Lead Changes:

Zimmer: 1-2
Moreno: 3-16
Zimmer: 17-30
Moreno: 31-38
Zimmer: 39-40
Takagi: 41-49
Moreno: 50-59

Drivers' Championship (unofficial)
1. John Zimmer - 40
2. Daniel Moreno - 30
3. Kazuhiko Takagi - 22
4. Douglas Mann - 16
5. Padraig O'Connell - 14
6. Leonhard von Gottorp - 8
=7 Tom Douglas - 5
=7 James Davies - 5
=7 Rory McAllister - 5
10. Pablo da Silva - 4
11. Damon Cannon - 3
=12 Pieter Kickert - 2
=12 Gio van Dycke - 2
=13 Dennis Mignolet - 1
=13 Miko Fakkinen - 1

Constructors' Championship
1. Benetton - 61
2. Williams - 46
3. Ferrari - 19
4. Jordan - 11
5. McLaren - 10
6. Sauber - 6
7. Tyrrell - 2
=8 Ligier - 1
=8 Minardi - 1

[BlindCaveSalamander]

Balls in a balls balls balls balls balls. That sucked massively. Which one of you was it that convinced me that 2-stopping was unbeatable? Because I have a wrench here with your name on it.

Also, clearly Douglas' move was bloody inexcuseable. The man should be disqualified and banned from the next race, that was the most reckless thing I've seen in my life.

[Wizzie]

Rumours the McLaren garage has been trashed prove true as Tom Douglas' manager Don Rennis is reportedly absolutely furious with the Brit's driving.

[eurobrun]

If Douglas Mann spent less time trying to get a girlfriend and more time focusing on the race he would get a better result.

I had to

[East Londoner]

Damn and blast. The two stop strategy backfired, with me and Leonhard both out of the points. However, all is not lost, as we plan to protest the result. That piece of driving from Tom Douglas was terrible, and he really shouldn't be in an F1 car if he just lazily wanders into the path of others. He should be disqualified.

I'm getting slightly bored of this mediocracy...

[Ferrim]

BTW I believe there are editors for GP2 that allow you to change the number of laps.

[Klon]

My, my, this strategy was not so successful wasn't it? On behalf of Jordan Grand Prix and myself, I propose a 25 second penalty for Douglas, the incident was pretty amateurish.

Off-Topic: That penalty would push a Jordan in the points, wouldn't it?

[dr-baker]

If Douglas Mann spent less time trying to get a girlfriend and more time focusing on the race he would get a better result.

I had to

OK, so I'm disappointed to only have half the number of points of my teammate in the championship, but I still have scored another podium today, and I am still in the hunt to become champion. And as for me trying to get a girlfriend, we'll see about that... If I find a nice one, Mr Walik, think of the publicity it could bring to the team....

[dr-baker]

DAMSit. Dammit. Dammit. Let's have a barbeque while we enjoy seeing Douglas get another podium...

Both Mann siblings and Ben Fleet reckon a race ban ought to be imposed with Martin McFry taking the seat for a race trial...

[JeremyMcClean]

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! AND YES AGAIN! WOO!

Bollocks. Finishing three laps down doesn't help at all.

Looking at the incident, it was a racing incident, though Douglas was very defensive. No penalty for Tom Douglas. Please!

[the Masked Lapwing]

What was that idiot doing?! Who tries to unlap themselves there! Disqualification and a race ban is in order!

[tristan1117]

F1RGP2C Makes Decision On Douglas

By popular demand, the F1RGP2C Commission had disqualified Tom Douglas from the 1995 F1RGP2C Canadian Grand Prix and banned him for one race. This puts Leonhard von Gottorp into the points. The points standings will be changed to reflect this. Douglas needs a replacement for the next race and several options (including the ever-present Giovanni Roda, Martin McFry and Sebastien Belo) have arrived to offer their services.

[AdrianSutil]

Masta Valsattis would like a single opportunity to prove he has what it takes to race at the front of the grid. The 18 year-old posted on Twitter earlier:

"I'd love a chance to race for a big team. I have the speed, I just want someone to take a gamble on me!"

[tristan1117]

Masta Valsattis would like a single opportunity to prove he has what it takes to race at the front of the grid. The 18 year-old posted on Twitter earlier:

"I'd love a chance to race for a big team. I have the speed, I just want someone to take a gamble on me!"

Luca de Montmelo has chosen Masta Valsattis to drive for one race. Who's going to drive for Forti now? If no decision is made in 24 hours, then Giovanni Roda will drive for one race.

[Klon]

The 18 year-old posted on Twitter earlier:

Tick, tock, you hear the anachronism ticking.

[FMecha]

The 18 year-old posted on Twitter earlier:

Tick, tock, you hear the anachronism ticking.

It's common in AdrianSutil posts here (see also Valsattis thread).

And why Megumi have yet to score point(s)?

[AdrianSutil]

The 18 year-old posted on Twitter earlier:

Tick, tock, you hear the anachronism ticking.

It's common in AdrianSutil posts here (see also Valsattis thread).

And why Megumi have yet to score point(s)?

Ha. Yeah sorry, forgot it was 1995

[tristan1117]

I changed my mind. Martin McFry has been selected to drive for Forti (with Forti's seatholder, Francois Albertini, absent).

[tristan1117]

Round 7: France
Magny-Cours
Qualifying, Dry

Code: Select all

1. Daniel Moreno (Williams) - 1.21.597
2. Douglas Mann (Williams) - 1.21.719
3. John Zimmer (Benetton) - 1.22.139
4. Padraig O'Connell (Ferrari) - 1.23.091
5. James Davies (McLaren) - 1.23.269
6. Damon Cannon (Jordan) - 1.23.554
7. Kazuhiko Takagi (Benetton) - 1.23.596
8. Masta Valsattis (Ferrari) - 1.23.760
9. Leonhard von Gottorp (Jordan) - 1.24.301
10. Rory McAllister (McLaren) - 1.24.546
11. Dennis Mignolet (Ligier) - 1.25.137
12. Reiko Megumi (Ligier) - 1.25.886
13. Pieter Kickert (Sauber) - 1.25.937

Code: Select all

14. Andrew Spokes (Minardi) - 1.26.507
15. Kazuyoshi Hoshino (Footwork) - 1.26.762
16. Poppy Whitechapel (Tyrrell) - 1.26.763
17. Jorg Scrattenheim (Simtek) - 1.27.136
18. Gio van Dycke (Tyrrell) - 1.27.175
19. Miko Fakkinen (Minardi) - 1.27.212
20. Pablo da Silva (Sauber) - 1.27.467
21. Anton Kaliniczenko (Pacific) - 1.28.300
22. Ben Fleet (DAMS) - 1.28.470
23. Artiom Zielenkovski (Pacific) - 1.28.599
24. Samael Meerwick (Footwork) - 1.28.727
25. George Tramontani (Simtek) - 1.29.264
26. Pippa Mann (DAMS) - 1.29.425
DNQ Martin McFry (Forti) - 1.29.614
DNQ Sebastian Gazurek (Forti) - 1.29.815

For the first time this year, a team has locked out the front row of the grid with both Williams cars occupying the first two spots. This relegated John Zimmer to third place. His teammate, Kazuhiko Takagi, could only manage seventh. IIDOTR of the qualifying has to go to James Davies who somehow put his underpowered McLaren in fifth place. Masta Valsattis, filling in for Ferrari, will start his first race of the season in eighth. Martin McFry was unable to crack the top 26 but was faster than George Tramontani in Q1. Also, I have no idea why Pablo da Silva is starting in 20th and Andrew Spokes is in 14th.

[BlindCaveSalamander]

Booyeah! That's how it's done people; take notes, there will be an exam.