Q1 Time 1.44.695 Q2 Time 1.47.116 Tyre of Choice Extra Soft Expected Pit Stops 3 stops
6th place seems to be our qualification spot this season and it is also this time around in Valencia, Spain. After a podium finish on Paul Ricard, there is no doubt that it will be hard to replicate that result. Especially on a track like Valencia with low temperatures, it will be very very hard to progress up from 6th, so therefore our race goal is to maintain this spot. We were sad to lose 5th place on the grid by 0,002 seconds, so there might be a spot available.
However it is a race with only one viable strategy and extra soft runners will go out in traffic very early, so its about ending the correct place after the 1st pit stops. In France we got a podium for knowing our tyre limits, but it won't be as easy to outsmart our competitors here. Overall we hope that our pit stop crew can safe us a bit and that Inoue can stay in contact with the frontrunners early.
Spain, 18
Rookie 67
Starting Position 6th
Final Position 6th
Fastest Lap 1.40.854
6th race on the calendar is over and as predicted it was almost impossible to replicate the result from France. Overall it was a pretty uneventful race, where we in the 2 first laps were as high as 5th and low as 7th. Mid way through our first stint we overtook Lanet, who had been holding us back a bit and managed to catch Scanzani down to a 2 second gap. Here we were lucky not to hit much traffic, only getting hold up for a few laps by Magisalu. Everyone else in the top 6 were on a 3 stopper on extra softs, so we maintained 6th. However Scanzani gained 5 seconds more after the pit stop round, so 5th place seemed far gone. After a quiet 2nd stint keeping Scanzani within a reasoble gap we pitted again.
This time with no traffic at all and 5th place were once again an possibility. Scanzani did however seem to be able to maintain a good pace with lower tyre wear than us. So his longer stint put him in 1st position for around 5 laps, before making his final stop. Here once again he had gained time and were now 11 seconds away. Rest of the race we had a quicker pace and narrowed down the gap to 5 seconds. So 6th was our final position, but 5th would've been possible with faster pit stops and if Lanet had not held us back at the start. Now on to the Red Bull Ring on Friday, where lots of viable strategies are back. So we definitely have a chance to fight for the podium this time around
@Ripley Yes it has been good to get a capable driver, that hopefully with training is strong enough to promote from Rookie
Qualification Report | Austrian GP
#
Nat.
Manager
Qualifying Time
Difference
1
Philippe Taffonneau
2.35.087
st.
2
Sylvain Kuberski
2.37.375
+2.288
3
Jean Lanet
2.38.167
+3.080
4
Daniel Andersen
2.38.232
+3.145
5
Mirko Vukovic
2.38.266
+3.179
6
Zlatko Vlasta
2.38.689
+3.602
7
Stephen Cornford
2.38.777
+3.690
8
Adrian Vladislav
2.39.225
+4.138
9
Kestas Baranauskas
2.39.304
+4.217
10
Stefano Scanzani
2.39.565
+4.478
11
Humberto Madeira
2.39.627
+4.540
12
Marko Magisalu
2.39.903
+4.816
13
Todor Todorov
2.40.564
+5.477
14
Dani Piho
2.40.638
+5.551
15
Lee Porter
2.41.166
+6.079
16
Mark Horvath
2.41.557
+6.470
17
Thomas Fricke
2.42.015
+6.928
18
Marton Laszlo
2.44.553
+9.466
Verdict
Q1 Time 1.18.428 Q2 Time 1.19.804 Tyre of Choice Hard Expected Pit Stops 2 Stops
4th place is our starting position for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring and it is our season best starting position. As we're on the Hard compound, it is even more impressive to see us here. While our Q1 time only was 8th best on the grid, it was our Q2 time that pulled it all off. Being 2nd best in Q2 is both surprising to us and also makes the race hard to predict. As it should mean that we have lower starting fuel than most ahead of us in Q1, so therefore it seems some will be able to pull of a 1 stop on Hards, while some might've miscalculated. All will show in the race for sure, but so far 4th is an fantastic starting position and we hope to take advantage of that here. Perhaps our best chance of winning a race this year?
Austria, 18 Rookie 67 Starting Position 4th Final Position 3rd Fastest Lap 1.14.281
As the Formula 1 had an awesome race at the Red Bull Ring this time around, however in Rookie 67 the race was less eventful. Inoue started from the 4th position on the grid and took advantage of that on the first lap resulting in 1st position. We quickly got a head start on around 5 seconds down to our competitors, however were unsuccesful at expanding this gap. To make things worse Cornford was able to chase us down and we were down to 2nd position on the 11th lap. Jumping to lap 37 we were down to 3rd position after the 1st pit stop round, however just 1 second behind Kuberski, whom we had to fight for this position for rest of the race.
After ending official 2nd at the end of our 2 stint, we could see that the chance for a podium would be very tight. The 3rd and final stint would prove to be a fight stuck behind Kuberski, where Vukovic were able to escape our vicinity and with Taffoneau in a comfortable lead. This would prove to be a hard fought battle, but on the last lap we overtook Kuberski for 3rd and final position on the podium for us. Overall it was an interesting race, where we could've won it with a bit more consistency in overtaking, but overall 3rd is an awesome position for a hard race. On to the 7.281km long track of Bremgarten in Switzerland next race and with a wet Q1 there's a chance to make an surprising result for us
Q1 Time 2.11.349 Q2 Time 1.59.153 Tyre of Choice Soft Expected Pit Stops 2 stops
After a hopeful Practice session it looked like we were going to have a good chance of scoring a good starting position, just like we did in Austria last race. Inoue held up his pace here and in the Q1 session he scored the fastest lap time of everyone. Q2 in dry conditions were also (surprisingly) good and we scored 3rd position here, which meant we start the Swiss GP from pole position by 0.042 seconds down to Vukovic. This is a rare feat for us even in Rookie and therefore really awesome after an unsuccesful start to the season. This is only our 4th pole position ever and while they haven't meant a certain win, it is the best position on the grid for a reason. Hopefully we will get as just a good an end to this race, as the start have been.
in case you were wondering, I currently don't have time to do this story. It will however return for next season in a new format. We won on Turkish GP yesterday, but sadly we are out of contention with promotion.
sgdanny wrote: in case you were wondering, I currently don't have time to do this story. It will however return for next season in a new format. We won the Turkish GP yesterday, but sadly we are out of contention with promotion.
The season ends with us in 5th position á points with Jean Lanet, who gets the 4tj and final promotion spot. With the signing of Aguri Inoue at the season start, it was clear, that this season wasn't to be about promotion, but about training Inoue for promotion next season. This didn't mean that we could sit back and relax, but instead try and go for some bolder strategies and have some fun. We even managed to win 2 consecutive victories in Instanbul and Hockenheim. So it wasn't because we couldn't fight for wins. Podiums on Paul Ricard, A1-Ring, Anderstorp and the Hungaroring were also a clear highlights of the season.
Now we'll just have to wait for the next season's first race in Estoril, Portugal on the 10th of August. Where we will begin our fight for promotion and perhaps even for the total win of the Rookie 67 division, which we expect to remain in. This time around Inoue has been trained throughout the season and while he will continue this training, he now possess the ability to go for promotion. Now as for our updates, there will come a new format to our race coverage, other than that we can only link next season's calendar below and see you for the Portuguese GP in Estoril next week.
