The Return of Lotus(A non OOTP Dynasty)

[Griever20]

German GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

June 12th, 2016

"Get in there Harry! Four in a row baby," so Harry Chapman's race engineer Jeffrey Bacheler after the Steinmann car crossed the start finish line in first in rainy German Grand Prix and under the happy eyes of Mercedes Benz boss Dieter Zetsche who threw out the chequered flag.

Puncture, Puncture!:
We got robbed of a great finish when Dieter Wexler's two lap old Cortés intermediate tyre on the left front started to unravel with a puncture that sent the Rossini driver through the gravel and ultimately off the podium and to P7.

"It suddently was gone. Either Cortés screwed up, or I ran over some carbon-fiber from a earlier crash and got the puncture. Hope we get some clarity soon about that. Lost me alot of points," he said after the race. No home win for Dieter Wexler.

The Scrutineering Saga Continues
Several Rossini engineers caused an upset after the race as they demanded to attend the scrutineering of the two Steinmann cars... and never got close to the car and were thrown out by GMA race stewarts and officials.

"This got to be a joke," Steinmann technical director Paddy Lock offered his opinion about this incident. "They of course would love to peek into our garage and find out why we are faster then them. Fat chance."

Close, but no Cigar...
For Lotus Racing as they missed a World Championship point by one place and 13 seconds on track. Still, a great drive by Iker Vidal into P11, bringing the car home despite worn out intermediate tyres and inferior equipment.

With P11 in this race, Lotus tied the best position by Thornton, so there is now literally nothing between them.

With Six Races in the Books:
More dominance by Harry Chapman. We have 10 more races to go, but if he wins the championship, those four races will be something they look back to. Right now: 44 points in the Constructors for Steinmann, 31 points in front of Lipponen and Wexler in the Drivers Championship... that is more than a race win of cushion.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

Perfect driving, perfect pit stop strategy as we got the most out of the medium tyre, and perfect execution on the intermediate tyre, getting track position after the second stop and rolling with it till the end.

Vidal defended P11 like a lion against the two Rezzato Corsa's... but we did not get the point we really need. We right now are P9 in the standings because... our name starts with L and theirs with T, aka we now lead Thornton by the slimmest of margins, positions below P10 and some voodoo magic calculations.

The weight stripping tactic will be used again and again going forward as we had no reason to repair anything in Vidal's car and the performance showed on track.

Good news, Mr. Henderson, the owner of this circus, was very happy with the performance and called me after the race to congratulate us. Big mistake by him as I managed to coax $2.5M of additional funds out of him... He wasn't happy, but we need every bit we can get.

Development Report:
The new and exciting engine will be ready before South Africa. If it is an upgrade, a waste of time, or even illegal. I don't now. What we design after that... Well, South Africa is predicted to be sunny and dry, so no reasons to put alot of eggs into THAT basket.

We look at the British and Italian GP in July and at the start of August as there is a non-zero chance of rain there. Rear wing seems to be the part of choice and there is ALOT of ground we need to gain there.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 9th
Gearbox: 9th
Brakes: 10th
Front Wing: 10th
Suspension: 10th
Rear Wing: 10th
Overall: 10th

The Jenny Whitehouse Special Mk. 5 Engine hit the testing rack... and it was worth the wait. A jump by roughly 15% compared to the model used in Germany, it also jumped the best Kitano-Honda aggregate, and with some nifty work by our engineers, we may improve that to 20%.

Those engineers buffed our gearbox a bit and we got back into 9th there, not bad for a team everybody gave up on.

We will bring a marginally improved rear wing to Cape Town, not that it would do us much good there, but we are planning for the British GP and the Italian GP. We expect the big jump in rear wing performance for Italy though.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Brutus Tyres(3/6 races) $500k upfront, $100k per race
Kashima(7/13 races) $300k per race
Balmina(7/12 races) $4M upfront

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Wan Chai Industries(7/8 races) $750k upfront, $450k bonus pool per race for 9th or above
Gustavo Cruises(2/4) $800k upfront, $400k bonus pool per race for 10th or above
Ishikawa Malt Whisky(1/5) $1M upfront. $1.2M bonus pool for 1st

Some liquor advertisement. Strange choice and I'm surprised this is allowed... but it is $1M upfront, or $200k per face. Worth the anger of the fans.

The Track:

Apart from the obvious problem for our car, the predicted dry race, the track in Cape Town offers a number of interesting challenges for the drivers. A narrow street track, the barriers are never too far away and getting as close as you can get without touching is the key to a good lap time.

A good gearbox, good brakes and high front downforce for the slow corners is key. 2/3 things we did some work on, so MAYBE, with the weight stripping and some marginal influence by the new engine and rear wing, we can avoid finishing P19/P20... one can hope?

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors

The GMA decided that using a standard suspension for 2017 is not in the cards. Most team principals voted against that initiative, however some of the smaller teams complained about that. Too bad for them.

The Van Dort Racing team got their hands on a new Honda engine spec developed inhouse and continue to out shame on Honda's partner team Kitano in that department.

Windsor Racing technical director Pat Russell and his team worked hard the last week to bring a new gearbox to South Africa, and they managed to bring some extra acceleration to the Grand Prix.

The Scuderia Rossini continue to put everything the get into their car, bringing a new front wing to South Africa right out of the factory without testing, but they are sure it will help them in a big way.

Both Kitano and Panther have put a new rear wing iteration to the car. This will be interesting to watch in the upcoming races.

[Griever20]

South African GP: Free Practice and Qualifying Report
motorsport-live.com

July 2nd, 2016

The fans love it, the sponsors love it, the teams... fear for their cars and the drivers are split between love and hate. The narrow slow speed track in Cape Town has seen crashes, drama and lots of destroyed carbon fiber over the years, and every sponsor is loving it.

And there was some serious showboating going on in free practice. Harry Chapman was to be expected in P1 with 1.09.983, but the fact that he had a gap of almost one second to the second place driver, and that that guy was Iker Vidal in the Lotus with a 1:11.062 is... a bit strange to be honest.

"We just wanted to test a new engine spec, no reason to get excited about that practice result," Stuart Yarnham, race engineer of Iker Vidal said after the session.

Chapman repaired that one when he crossed the line as the first car in qualifying with a 1:07.782, putting the usual three seconds between him and the Lotus cars, and Chapman was the man to beat.

Wexler was P2 after the first round of runs and was left in the dust by half a second, and Nina Holtz managed little better, .758 behind her teammate with Sharp, the best Panther, .885 behind and the Windsors no where near.

But, in the second run, Nina Holtz was looking for blood and was pink in sector one... sector two... and put a 1:07.784 on the board... .002 behind Chapman... what a margin. That was it for improvements at the sharp end of the grid and the Steinmann cars go into the race with a 1-2 on the grid. Who can stop them?

Team Radio of the Day:
"Half a second gap to Wexler mate" – "Here we go again, that was a sexy lap!"
Harry Chapman, Steinmann, after the attempt that got him the pole.

--

Ok, the usual problem, we are three seconds behind the leader and one behind the next best car. To make this more scary, there is a Thornton on P11... move on, move on, nothing to see here. Let's make the most of it. Given that our biggest strength(engine) does not figure in here much, it is not that bad.

We will try to go long on the soft tyre and see what we can grab.

[Griever20]

South African GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

July 3rd, 2016

It was a packed grid for the South African GP here in Cape Town as everyone wanted a piece of the action and wanted to be close to a WMC car as the series has become a global phenom over the span of six races and lots of news coverage.

Lap 1:
And here they come around on the formation lap, hopefully everybody finds their way around the first corner when they fire up the cars in anger, especially the two Steinmann cars had their moments there earlier this season. All front runners on the ultra soft tyre here for a short, quick dash towards the first pit stop in this 42 lap race.

The red lights are on... one.. two... three... four... five...

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

CHAPMAN AND HOLTZ COME AWAY CLEAN BUT WEXLER EVEN BETTER AND HE TAKES HOLTZ IN THE THIRD CORNER! AND THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE FOR HER AS SHE GETS THE ENTRANCE INTO THE ROUNDABOUT TRAFFIC WRONG AND GONZALEZ AND SURIKOV SLIP THROUGH!

Some drama in the back there as Ribeiro in the Vélan and Moreno in the Thornton miss the third corner and juust avoided the barrier.

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +3.0 3. Gonzalez +4.5
Vidal P17 +11.4
Woodford P18 +11.7

Lap 2:
Chapman is flying away...

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +4.6 3. Gonzalez +6.7
Vidal P17 +19.5
Woodford P19 +20.7

Lap 3:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +4.9 3. Gonzalez +7.6
Vidal P19 +26.1
Woodford P19 +27.6

Lap 4:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +5.1 3. Gonzalez +8
Vidal P18 +31.3
Woodford P20 +32.4

Lap 5:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +5.8 3. Gonzalez +8.6
Vidal P18 +37.8
Woodford P20 +38.4

Lap 6:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +6.4 3. Gonzalez +8.8
Vidal P18 +41.7
Woodford P20 +44.7

Lap 7:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +5.9 3. Gonzalez +9
Vidal P18 +44.4
Woodford P20 +48.4

Lap 8:
Wexler pits early to get rid of the ultrasoft tyre, let's see if that works out.

1. Chapman 2. Gonzalez +9.3 3. Saarinen +14.9
Vidal P17 +46.3
Woodford P20 +51.0

Lap 9:
Chapman comes in... this will be close... he exits JUST IN FRONT OF WEXLER, Lap 10 will be a close one for those two.

1. Gonzalez 2. Saarinen +5.3 3. Surikov +9.4
Vidal P16 +48.5
Woodford P18 +53.7

Lap 10:
AND IT ALL KICKS OFF. Wexler streaks away and Chapman gets overtaken and held up by Zoe Sharp who pits at the end of the lap. Oliveira gets ran over by the Rossini on the pit straight and Wexler leads the Grand Prix as Gonzalez pits.

1. Wexler 2. Oliveira +0.3 3. Chapman +1.4
Vidal P15 +29.0
Woodford P18 +39.1

Lap 11:
Oliveira gets out of the way for the showdown.

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.5 3. Oliveira +2.5
Vidal P13 +28.8
Woodford P18 +36.3

Lap 12:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.3 3. Oliveira +3.4
Vidal P14 +31.3
Woodford P17 +39.0

Lap 13:
Chapman getting ragged behind the leader...

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +1.0 3. Oliveira +3.6
Vidal P14 +35.1
Woodford P17 +39.0

Lap 14:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.6 3. Holtz +12.7
Vidal P19 +59.4 PIT
Woodford P020 +66.9 PIT

Lap 15:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.8 3. Holtz +11.9
Vidal P18 +60.3
Woodford P20 +70.4

Lap 16:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.5 3. Holtz +11.7
Vidal P18 +62.3
Woodford P20 +73.2

Lap 17:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +1 3. Holtz +9.2
Vidal P18 +64.3
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 18:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.7 3. Gonzalez +22.1
Vidal P17 +65.8
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 19:
Intense fight as both leaders are ways away from the competition, but Wexler is displaying the widest Rossini ever seen... but they need to pit at least one more time.

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.5 3. Gonzalez +22.5
Vidal P17 +67.5
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 20:
Chapman is besides him on the pit straight...

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.0 3. Gonzalez +24.3
Vidal P17 +69.2
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 21:
And the German closes the door in turn three again.

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +1.4 3. Oliveira +22.2
Vidal P17 +68.8
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 22:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.4 3. Oliveira +20.2
Vidal P17 +69.8
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 23:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.5 3. Oliveira +19.9
Vidal P17 +69.7
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 24:
"Tyres are in phase two," says Wexler, does that mean he has to pit? We are seeing some blisters from up here.

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +0.7 3. Oliveira +19.6
Vidal P16 +70.4
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 25:
AND THEY COME IN AT THE END OF 25, WHOSE PIT CREW DOES THE BETTER JOB... IT IS THE STEINMANN CREW! CHAPMAN IS RELEASED!

1. Oliveira 2. Chapman +3.5 3. Gonzalez +6.9
Vidal P16 +71.4
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 26:
Wexler out on the ultra soft tyre, he has to pit again? What is this strategy?

1. Oliveira 2. Chapman +2.0 3. Gonzalez +8.1
Vidal P15 +56.4
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 27:
1. Oliveira 2. Chapman +0.4 3. Wexler +9.5
Vidal P15 +58.1
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 28:
Wexler needs inhuman speed on those tyres to make the strategy work.

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +7.3 3. Holtz +10.2
Vidal P13 +58.5
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 29:
Oh look at that! A mistake in the pits by the Lotus crew of Vidal. That ends their dream of not finishing P19 and P20.

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +6.7 3. Holtz +12.3
Vidal P19 1 LAP PIT
Woodford P20 1 LAP PIT

Lap 30:
1:12.124 for Wexler, the fastest lap, but the tyres will maybe hold up four more laps.

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +4.9 3. Holtz +11.9
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 31:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +4.6 3. Holtz +12.2
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 32:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +4.7 3. Holtz +13.6
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 1 LAP

Lap 33:
It is not going to work for Wexler again... he has to pit in the next laps.

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +3.2 3. Holtz +16.5
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAP

Lap 34:
And he and Holtz come in, P3 for now for Wexler on another set of ultra softs. The big winner: Ana Oliveira in the Windsor, making a strategy on the super soft work. She is P2 but will be the Rossini driver's prey.

1. Chapman 2. Oliveira +18.7 3. Wexler +23.6
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAP

Lap 35:
1. Chapman 2. Oliveira +18.4 3. Wexler +20.6
Vidal P18 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAP

Lap 36:
1. Chapman 2. Oliveira +19.3 3. Wexler +19.7
Vidal P18 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAP

Lap 37:
1. Chapman 2. Oliveira +19.5 3. Wexler +20
Vidal P18 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAP

Lap 38:
Iker Vidal laps his teammate Jeremy Woodford... don't see stuff like that very often...

1. Chapman 2. Oliveira +20.0 3. Wexler +21.2
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAP

Lap 39:
And Wexler has done it. P2 for him after sweeping past the Windsor in the Grand Hotel hairpin.

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +20.1 3. Oliveira +20.9
Vidal P19 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAP

Lap 40:
AND IT ALL GOES WRONG AGAIN. Wexler's front wing falls apart on a kerb and he has to pit and falls back... way back... P8. Oliveira also pits for tyres! A 1-2 for Steinmann!

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +25.7 3. Oliveira +39.1
Vidal P18 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAP

Lap 41:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +25.8 3. Oliveira +36.8
Vidal P18 1 LAP
Woodford P20 2 LAP

Lap 42:
And Chapman makes it five wins in a row with a gutsy drive and some bad luck by his rivals. Holtz lacked the speed she had in qualifying but finishes second, and Ana Oliveira in the Windsor got third place with a strange rubber bonanza.

[Griever20]

South African GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

July 3rd, 2016

The pitchforks are out at the Rossini garage, and let's be honest, imagine how bad it would be if you are a Steinmann engineer and do not like the taste of champagne as Harry Chapman looks like the clear cut favorite for the first World Motorsport Drivers Championship now.

Front Wing Drama:

"The front wing was completely fine for the last races, I don't know what happened there. Maybe he ran a bit too high over the kerbs, or he touched with a car earlier and we did not see it," A Rossini member said in German television after the race.

Dieter Wexler was heartbroken after the race as he lost out on a safe podium due to that front wing problem... and a strange strategy. "I did not quite understand what we were trying there, we will have to analyse that one at home in Maranello. No need to blame anybody so far," he said. "But there will be..."

The King Stays on his Throne:
"Close race huh," Harry Chapman conceded in the presser. "Wexler defended that first place with everything he got and more. I personally think he moved under braking and should've been penalized, but people do stuff like that when they are desperate. We had the pace and they did not," he said.

His team principal was a bit less... engaging and simply told us that "this is a great run and we should enjoy it while it lasts. The others will soon catch up, trust me."

Pit Stop Problems:
The stopwatch stopped at close to 16 seconds. That is how long the Lotus of Iker Vidal had to wait for his rear tyre to be delievered to his car. "I thought they were trying to refill the antifreeze and that took them so long," the driver joked around in an interview with BBC's David Coulthard.

He lapped his teammate during the race, which poses questions about those two cars being equal, but neither Jeremy Woodford nor Iker Vidal commented on that matter.

With Seven Races in the Books:
You know the story by now. The Panther, Rossini's and Windsor'S will have to work hard if they want any inaugural Championship title. In the midfield, Van Dort has a solid lead and in the drivers championship, it may come down to a duel between teammates.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

P18 and P20 looks bad. If you subtract the 16 seconds of the tyre change mistake... we are P15, maybe P14 with Vidal which looks WAAY better on paper. That race was a step forward in my opinion. At least for Vidal. Else, there is not much to talk about. Same strategy, better results. At least better than being P19 and P20 without any hope... Compared to the qualifying pace, we are losing less time in the race to the front runners and the midfield, which gives us some hope.

Jeremy of course is now the poor lad with the bad car, and that is mostly because of his engineer not being able to nurse the car home with the weight strapped... and Vidal earned the parts with his performance in Germany.

Development Report:
Some more engine performance, and we will try to get a new rear wing iteration ready for our home Grand Prix and it will be another Jenny Whitehouse special part. It will all depend how her magical "I have a legendary design idea that I'm not going to share"-idea will work. We had some big success with the engine, let's try it again.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 9th
Gearbox: 9th
Brakes: 10th
Front Wing: 10th
Suspension: 10th
Rear Wing: 10th
Overall: 10th

It does not show in this numbers... but we got ourselves new hot rear wing. 10-15% performance gain when our engineers are through with it, and it is reliable enough for Vidal's car. Those legendary design ideas by Jenny can save our *** here.

We started the production of some new brakes to bridge the gap to a Jenny special here... we are making big progress. It is not quite showing in the raw numbers, but in relation to where we started..

Gearbox: 11% performance increase
Rear Wing: 13% performance increase, potential for 20%
Brakes: 8% performance increase
Engine: 25% performance increase, potential for 27%
Suspension: 9% performance increase, potential for 12%

It is just that we started way down the food chain...

The factory and design center will be ready after this Grand Prix.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Brutus Tyres(4/6 races) $500k upfront, $100k per race
Kashima(8/13 races) $300k per race
Balmina(8/12 races) $4M upfront

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Wan Chai Industries(9/8 races) $750k upfront, $450k bonus pool per race for 9th or above
Gustavo Cruises(3/4) $800k upfront, $400k bonus pool per race for 10th or above
Ishikawa Malt Whisky(2/5) $1M upfront. $1.2M bonus pool for 1st

The Track:

The bad news, there is no real hard rain predicted for the British GP here in Guildford right in front of our doors. The good news, the new gimmicks we got on our car should all help us with raw performance on this track.

High and medium speed corners, and lots of engine power is required here as most of the track is flat out with little braking going on and literally no low speed corners. No pit stop mistakes, and we could get something here.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors

Steinmann's Harry Chapman promptly got caught partying like it is 1999 and footage of him being completely drunk beyond proper speaking is all over the internet...

According to some new magazines in Brazil, Ana Oliveira of Windsor Racing spend some long nights in the casinos of Rio de Janeiro, playing baccarat and losing money.

Not only does Panther's Nikolai Surikov still have some neck problems, he raised a fuss about wanting a new contract and more importantly, a better status in the team.

Good news for him, Panther brought a serious brake update to the Grand Prix that puts them on top of the table. Bad news, it is a race too late and won't help them much in Guildford.

Thornton felt the need to bring a new rear wing iteration to their home Grand Prix. They are feeling the hot breath of the Lotus team.

[Griever20]

British GP: Free Practice and Qualifying Report
motorsport-live.com

July 16th, 2016

It is the home race of many teams, including Lotus and Van Dort who have their factory basically a stone throw down the road, but the man of the moment is not driving for those two teams... but for Steinmann.

"Dieter said the same thing, and I agree with him. Winning the home Grand Prix is a dream, and a dream that I want to fullfill for myself here," Harry Chapman twittered two days before qualifying.

Here, at the legendary home of British motorsports, he can make it unbelievable six wins in a row.

And as if that is not enough fun, we kicked practice of with a nice little british rain shower that killed some of the training programs right away. "We did not really get enough time in to get a feeling for the super soft trye, or a dry setup." Rick de Graaf(REZ) said.

The time sheet was all over the place with Nina Holtz with a 1:19.799 on the super soft on top of the time sheet and the super soft runners, while Chapman set his fastest time with the intermediate rubber.

And that one was used for a quick one early in qualifying. A little rainshower left some of the runners wondering in the first attempt, including Chapman, who was caught out in the rain at at some point, Iker Vidal led the time sheets with a 1:21.365, .069 in front of Chapman for some minutes.

That went away when Nina Holtz put a 1:18:44 on the intermediate tyre on the board, and that would be the best lap of the first runs. And for a sudden, small window, it was dry... between two showers of rain.

And the that was when the Van Dort, Velán, Lotus nailed it. Wolfgang Schmidt put his car on pole position with a 1:18.166 in front of Chapman who drove a MONSTER of a lap in the rain to be .066 behind him. Also using this window were the two Lotus for P12 and P16.

We are in for a thrilling race tomorrow as the grid is all mixed up and a good old rainshower on the former WW2 airport turned racetrack is always in the cards.

Team Radio of the Day:
"Dry enough, dry enough, I'm trying to nail this one!"
Wolfgang Schmidt, Van Dort Racing, before he started his pole lap.

--

We narrowed the gap to the other teams and used the weather to our advantage... again.

This is going to be an interesting one for sure. Rain is in the forecast early, but not enough and hard enough to change or start on inters... to the shaman said, and we will be watching the other teams closely.

Thing is, starting on inters for a chance would cost us too much time before it even becomes wet...

[Griever20]

British GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

July 17th, 2016

Here, at the home of British motorsport, we are in for a rainy day and the rain coats are a must today for the sold out 122.000 people crowd in the grand stands, on the hills and wherever they sit or stand for this Grand Prix. It is a little bit damp down in the western part of the track... what trye to start on? How long can the Van Dort hold the lead? 28 laps of thrilling action.

Lap 1:
And here they come around on the formation lap, still dry and nobody on inters. Schmidt starts on the soft, the rest of the favorites on the super soft.

The red lights are on... one.. two... three... four... five...

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

MARIA GONZALEZ NAILS CHAPMAN AND SCHMITT WITH A GREAT START AND IS IN THE LEAD. SCHMITT FALLS BACK BEHIND BOTH SILVER ARROWS! The field starts to sort itself a bit with the two Vélan and Lotus falling back.

1. Gonzalez 2. Holtz +0.9 3. Chapman +1.4
Vidal P15 +7.2
Woodford P20 +8.6

Lap 2:
Top three streaking clear...

1. Gonzalez 2. Holtz +0.8 3. Chapman +1.2
Vidal P18 +12.4
Woodford P20 +13.6

Lap 3:
Gonzalez with solid speed and Schmidt blocks the two Rossini's... and the rain starts to come down. Looks like a small shower.

1. Gonzalez 2. Holtz +0.7 3. Chapman +1.2
Vidal P18 +16.8
Woodford P20 +18.4

Lap 4:
1. Gonzalez 2. Holtz +0.9 3. Chapman +1.4
Vidal P18 +21.1
Woodford P20 +22.9

Lap 5:
1. Gonzalez 2. Holtz +1.4 3. Chapman +1.9
Vidal P19 +27.4
Woodford P20 +28.9

Lap 6:
1. Gonzalez 2. Holtz +2.4 3. Chapman +3
Vidal P19 +31.1
Woodford P20 +33.1

Lap 7:
Gonzalez found big speed this lap!

1. Gonzalez 2. Holtz +4.1 3. Chapman +5
Vidal P19 +34
Woodford P20 +36.7

Lap 8:
1. Gonzalez 2. Holtz +2.9 3. Chapman +4.6
Vidal P19 +35.8
Woodford P20 +40.1

Lap 9:
The cars on the super soft come in... and Gonzalez stays in front of Chapman and Holtz... just so that Holtz has fallen back behind the pack big time.

Lipponen pits with a technical problem on his engine...

1. Schmitt 2. Sharp +9.9 3. Lundquist +11.9
Vidal P18 +36.3
Woodford P20 +41.7

Lap 10:
1. Schmitt 2. Oliveira +13 3. Gonzalez +13.4
Vidal P16 +31.7
Woodford P17 +37.9

Lap 11:
1. Schmitt 2. Oliveira +13.1 3. Gonzalez +13.4
Vidal P15 +33.6
Woodford P18 +41.3

Lap 12:
And now it has gone away from Gonzalez as she tried to overtake Ana Oliveira and went too deep into Maggots. Chapman went through, Oliveira yields one corner later but too late for the Van Dort.

1. Schmitt 2. Chapman +11.5 3. Gonzalez +12.3
Vidal P14 +34.5
Woodford P19 +43.5

Lap 13:
Schmitt pits and Harry Chapman leads the Grand Prix... deja vu.

1. Chapman 2. Gonzalez +0.5 3. Oliveira +4
Vidal P14 +34.5
Woodford P19 +43.5

Lap 14:
The pit stop roulette keeps on spinning as Oliveira comes in.

1. Chapman 2. Gonzalez +1.0 3. Surikov +7.7
Vidal P13 +26.6
Woodford P20 +58.7 PIT

Lap 15:
1. Chapman 2. Gonzalez +2.0 3. Surikov +10.7
Vidal P18 +49.8 PIT
Woodford P20 +61.6

Lap 16:
Surikov should've pitted a lap earlier, or two, as he was taken in Beckham's by Holtz.

1. Chapman 2. Gonzalez +3.9 3. Holtz +11.4
Vidal P17 +52.1
Woodford P19 +64

Lap 17:
1. Chapman 2. Gonzalez +4.9 3. Holtz +11.7
Vidal P16 +54.5
Woodford P19 +67.7

Lap 18:
1. Chapman 2. Gonzalez +5.3 3. Holtz +12
Vidal P16 +56.1
Woodford P19 +70.9

Lap 19:
"Can't shift into fourth gear, I repeat, can't shift into fourth gear." Gonzalez into the pits with a gearbox problem. Chapman also in.

1. Holtz 2. Schmidt +8.2 3. Sharp +11.4
Vidal P16 +57.4
Woodford P19 +73.6

Lap 20:
Schmidt leads on the medium tyre, but can he go to the end?

1. Schmidt 2. Chapman +2.6 3. Oliveira +4.2
Vidal P15 +45.1
Woodford P19 +63.7

Lap 21:
Chapman is right behind him already...

1. Schmidt 2. Chapman +0.5 3. Oliveira +4.5
Vidal P16 +41.5
Woodford P20 +58.7

Lap 22:
AND SIDE BY SIDE THEY CROSS THE LINE...

1. Schmidt 2. Chapman +0.0 3. Oliveira +4.4
Vidal P16 +44.4
Woodford P20 +62.9

Lap 23:
THE HOME CROWD IS LOVIN' IT! Chapman takes the lead on the hanger strait.

1. Chapman 2. Schmidt +1.0 3. Oliveira +1.9
Vidal P16 +43.2
Woodford P20 +64.4

Lap 24:
1. Chapman 2. Schmidt +2.9 3. Oliveira +4.7
Vidal P16 +44.9
Woodford P20 +67.7

Lap 25:
1. Chapman 2. Schmidt +5.3 3. Oliveira +8.3
Vidal P17 +49.7
Woodford P20 +73.2

Lap 26:
1. Chapman 2. Schmidt +6.7 3. Oliveira +8.2
Vidal P16 +52.4
Woodford P20 +78.1

Lap 27:
1. Chapman 2. Schmidt +6.7 3. Oliveira +9.7
Vidal P16 +53.7
Woodford P20 +82.1

Lap 28:
And he does it again. Chapman wins his home grand prix after a wild qualifying and his direct rivals failed to score big points today. Schmidt with an important haul for his team, and Oliveira also did a good job on a different strategy.

1. Chapman 2. Schmidt +8.6 3. Oliveira +14.5
Vidal P16 +56.1
Woodford P20 +85.9

[Griever20]

British GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

July 17th, 2016

The British GP was a story of success. For the fans, the track owners of the BRDC, the fans, the television stations, and for Harry Chapman, whose 2016 has Michael Schumacher-esque proportions by now.

And yet, there were some heated discussions around his car, and his race engineer was in the middle of it together with Steinmann technical director Paddy Lock.

Caught Cheating in the Pit Lane:
For the second time this season, Nina Holtz and her Steinmann failed the post race scrutineering tests as the front wing was deemed illegal. Testing found that it would bend lower than the allowed 50mm under load, deeming it a flexible wing not legal in the WMC rulebook.

Holtz was demoted four places and once again, a stream of opposing engineers, political advisors lined in front of Harry Chapman's pit, demanding another scrutineering of the race winning car... they did not get their wish.

"This is outrageous. How can the second, slower car be illegal, and the faster car be legal every race. Are you kiddin' me?," a rival executive said.

Also caught in the scutineering trap was the Rezzato Corsa of Rick De Graaf, whose engine was using up additional oil to eek out some additional performance, not legal guys. He lost two World Championship from going down from ninth to eleventh.

Van Dort Cashes In Great Qualifying:
"Yes, we did not get the win, but a podium and a fourth place and especially Maria showed some raw speed and was able to match Chapman for a while with the super soft tyre," via their technical director.

This gives them a total of 65 points and pretty much cements fifth place in the Constructors barring a mad push forward by them, or by the Rezzato Corsa or Kitano from sixth and seventh.

With Eight Races in the Books:
The race for second place in the Championship is on. The Windsor's got themselves a early lead with Lipponen's win early in the season, but Rossini and Panther are scoring points very consistently and are in for it.

There are four drivers between five points from 89-94 points, the lead drivers of the other teams... and Nina 'My Parts are Illegal' Holtz.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

That was a bit of a bummer. We were on the wrong tyre to be honest. The soft rubber was a good bit faster and the other runners made that one work nearly as long as we did the medium tyre... and still 'only' 13 seconds off a points finish. Learned something today.

One thing I'm thinking of for some races now. I think when it comes to tyre heating and tyre degradation, our chassis is solid... but compared to the other cars, we look like we are below average. Can't be helped , we had to take the suppliers we could get.

By the way, Jeremy is now very unhappy with his car and is considering offers... that would be a pretty big problem...

Development Report:
Deceleration time. We will get a throw-away brake in a couple of days and then will try to build a Whitehouse special, hopefully in time for the Italian Grand Prix. All of her special parts have been a success so far, so we'll keep this up. Those will be the final iterations for 2016 as we lack the research facilities to push further so...

The factory will be ready in a weeks time, which will give us a shot at really pushing the car a bit more as we can employ more engineers to work on performance and reliability, and we have some room for growth there.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 9th
Gearbox: 9th
Brakes: 7th
Front Wing: 10th
Suspension: 10th
Rear Wing: 10th
Overall: 10th

We are still the slowest car in the race circus, but there is now significant progress here. The new brakes are there, and will be ready for the race. What we can not do with them right now is stealing additional performace by stripping weight as reliability is nip and tuck for the Grand Prix, but we jumped Thornton and Van Dort in brake performance here.

In addition to that, our factory staff in our IMPROVED factory managed to get some more performance out of the engine and rear wing. Not enough to jump another team, but it is small progress..

Next development stop, a new Whitehouse special gearbox. That one will take us a while though. We will get a throw away gearbox on August 10th, so we figure the new race gearbox won't be ready before August 22nd, four days after the Belgian GP. Too bad, but as I said, we can now look to get the maximum performance out of the parts, and maybe, we can get a result late in the season.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Brutus Tyres(5/6 races) $500k upfront, $100k per race
Kashima(9/13 races) $300k per race
Balmina(9/12 races) $4M upfront

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Gustavo Cruises(4/4) $800k upfront, $400k bonus pool per race for 10th or above
Ishikawa Malt Whisky(3/5) $1M upfront. $1.2M bonus pool for 1st
Ambrosia(1/3) $300k upfront, $700k bonus pool for 6th or above

We had an offer for $1M upfront for eight races, but we took the offer from the French deli online shop that would pay us $300k upfront for three races, giving us a shot at a new sponsor after the United States GP.

The Track:

A track oozing motorsport history, the Royal Park of Milan is a high speed, high downforce circuit that challenges engines and brakes like few tracks in the calendar. Located in northern Italy in a forest, the track is usually good for a sudden downpour and changable conditions, making it rather dangerous due to it's high speed characteristics.

Not this weekend, at least in the race as the forecast is sunny and dry for Sunday.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors

It seems like all the success has gotten into Harry Chapman's head as he recently visited a popular late night show in the US and told everyone that Steinmann should be 'happy to have a ace driver like me' and that they would be 'nowhere' without me. Don't think their chairman will be happy with that.

And there is more trouble in paradise as Nina Holtz is reported to have had a big row with Steinmann chairman Anna Lipschitz about the development focus of the team. Insiders say she is unhappy with the recent penalties due to illegal parts.

The team however was laser focused in improving the car and brought a new suspension to Italy. "We expect a solid step forward in medium speed corners," Paddy Lock told BBC in a rare interview with the BBC.

Meanwhile, Kitano brought a new rear wing to Milan. They wanted that one badly for Guildford, but the development was stalled due to a problem with the sides parts. It is deemed a major improvement by experts.

[Griever20]

Italian GP: Free Practice and Qualifying Report
motorsport-live.com

August 1st, 2016

The Italian fans came in bunches for the practice session and qualifying and the red flags were out for the Scuderia Rossini and Dieter Wexler. The news of the Friday was that the red cars did not bring a significant update to the race, but that was to be ignored, via Niilo Saarinen.

"That does not mean we have given up on this year's Championship," he said. "Also, the race for second in the Constructors is important for the team so..."

The free practice was a disappointment for the Italian crowd as the cars with the pranching horse engines were behind the two Steinmann cars with Harry Chapman(1:10.937) and Nina Holtz(1:11.187) in P1 and P2.

Chapman also was the first front runner to cross the line qualifying with a 1:08.797 with his teammate Cheater Holtz .182 behind him in front of Sharp, Saarinen, Lipponen and Wexler. Agony in the grandstand.

That was aggrevated when the second flying lap started... and Chapman improved to a 1:08.718, Holtz followed suit with a 1:08.858 and the others failed to move up significantly... we are in for another Steinmann show here at Rossini's home race...

Team Radio of the Day:
"Spoiled the fun for the Italian fans huh?"
Zoe Sharp, Panther Race Team, after she put her car on P3 in front of both Rossini.

--

We are just .209 behind the second Kitano and roughly .800 behind P12 in qualifying. That is serious improvement for Vidal. Unfortunately, the race will be dry according to every weather shaman we can get our hands on, and the simple question is, what dry tyre strategy are we going to roll?

My reasoning is that if you stop here on this track, where it is like 320 kph on the pit strait, it costs you a massive amount of time. We'll try a 1 stopper with the hard compound.

[Griever20]

Italian GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

July 31st, 2016

It is the Italian GP here live from Milan, the Frecciarossa race track in the northern part of the country, and the Italian fans are gathered together with spectators from all over the world for this spectacular high speed event. The two Steinmann cars will be on the front end of the grid and it would need some mighty by the other teams to steal a victory from them today.

Lap 1:
Lots of soft tyres at the front while the backmarkers, including the two Lotus, are on the hard tyre trying to make a 1-stopper work, which was the ideal strategy in Formula One days... when there is no safety car.

The red lights are on... one.. two... three... four... five...

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

AND CHAPMAN HAS SCREWED IT UP! CHAPMAN GOT INTO THE ANTI-STALL AND FALLS WAY BACK, SAARINEN WITH A MONSTER OF A START TAKES THE LEAD INTO TURN WON AND THE FANS ARE LOVIN' IT.

Holtz is also losing out big time and look at the line the Panther of Zoe Sharp has taken there... she catapults out of the Parabolica and breezes past two cars for the lead of the Grand Prix!

Schmidt had a great start and is into third while Chapman is down to eighth.

1. Sharp 2. Saarinen +0.2 3. Schmidt +1.7
Vidal P15 +6.4
Woodford P17 +7.0

Lap 2:
1. Sharp 2. Saarinen +0.3 3. Schmidt +1.6
Vidal P14 +9.2
Woodford P17 +10-7

Lap 3:
Lipponen on the medium tyre is falling back behind the soft runners, Chapman up to seventh.

1. Sharp 2. Saarinen +1.0 3. Schmidt +2.1
Vidal P15 +12.4
Woodford P17 +14.3

Lap 4:
And now sixth as he went past Surikov for P6. And look at the Lotus of Vidal in P12! He looks racey earlier.

1. Sharp 2. Saarinen +1.0 3. Schmidt +2.3
Vidal P12 +15.2
Woodford P17 +17.1

Lap 5:
Chapman with the fastest lap, trying to get back to the pack...

1. Sharp 2. Saarinen +0.6 3. Schmidt +2.4
Vidal P12 +17.5
Woodford P17 +20.9

Lap 6:
1. Sharp 2. Saarinen +0.7 3. Schmidt +2.9
Vidal P12 +20.1
Woodford P17 +25.0

Lap 7:
Wexler falls pray into the turn 2 braking zone and Harry Chapman is in P5.

1. Sharp 2. Saarinen +0.7 3. Schmidt +2.9
Vidal P12 +22.8
Woodford P17 +29.1

Lap 8:
And there is Cheater Holtz doing the same thing to Wolfgang Schmidt... those Steinmann's are the fastest cars out there right now.

1. Sharp 2. Saarinen +0.8 3. Holtz +4.0
Vidal P12 +24.1
Woodford P18 +31.5

Lap 9:
OHH NO! Ana Oliveira bins it in the final corner, she got it wrong, on the grass and into the gravel... and the waves to the crowd, she is fine. No safety car

1. Sharp 2. Saarinen +0.8 3. Holtz +2.6
Vidal P10 +25.6
Woodford P16 +33.6

Lap 10:
Saarinen and Wexler in the pits and the German has a problem! The rear wing is damaged... he falls a long way back.

1. Sharp 2. Holtz +1.8 3. Chapman +2.5
Vidal P8 +25.4
Woodford P16 +34.7

Lap 11:
Here come comes Sharp and the two Steinmann... and the GERMAN PIT CREW WORKED SOME MAGIC! Holtz exits in front!

1. Surikov 2. Lipponen +0.8 3. De Graaf +11.9
Vidal P5 +16.1
Woodford P16 +36.5

Lap 12:
De Graaf loses out on the outside of the Parabolica to Saarinen already, the Rossini is in for a win with a great pit strategy.

1. Surikov 2. Lipponen +0.5 3. Saarinen +9.6
Vidal P5 +17.4
Woodford P19 +53.5 PIT

Lap 13:
And the two leaders go around another lap...

1. Surikov 2. Lipponen +0.5 3. Saarinen +8.2
Vidal P5 +16.4
Woodford P19 +54.5 PIT

Lap 14:
They, and Vidal from fifth pit and the Rossini nailed it in the pit strategy and suddently are 1-2 WITH THE HARD tyre. Holtz and Surikov are on soft and they have to pit again...

1. Saarinen 2. Wexler +10.6 3. Holtz +11.1
Vidal P16 +40.7 PIT
Woodford P19 +55.8

Lap 15:
1. Saarinen 2. Wexler +10.7 3. Holtz +11.5
Vidal P16 +35.9
Woodford P19 +52.1

Lap 16:
Holtz with the softer tyres and the better engine takes Wexler on the outside.

1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +5.8 3. Wexler +8.5
Vidal P15 +33.4
Woodford P19 +51.3

Lap 17:
1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +5.8 3. Wexler +8.5
Vidal P13 +34.2
Woodford P19 +53.5

Lap 18:
Oh another shunt. Ribeiro got too much of the kerbs in turn eight and into the gravel. He is out.

1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +3.7 3. Wexler +8.8
Vidal P13 +35.7
Woodford P18 +55.9

Lap 19:
1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +4.1 3. Wexler +9.0
Vidal P11 +36.7
Woodford P18 +58.8

Lap 20:
1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +5.5 3. Wexler +9.1
Vidal P11 +38.8
Woodford P18 +61.7

Lap 21:
And Holtz really has to pit, that is a 1-2 for Rossini.

1. Saarinen 2. Wexler +9.3 3. Schmidt +13.0
Vidal P11 +40.4
Woodford P18 +64.9

Lap 22:
OR NOT! Wexler in with another technical problem!

1. Saarinen 2. Schmidt +12.9 3. Chapman +15.0
Vidal P11 +41.4
Woodford P18 +68.2

Lap 23:
1. Saarinen 2. Schmidt +14.1 3. Chapman +14.7
Vidal P11 +42.8
Woodford P18 +71.2

Lap 24:
1. Saarinen 2. Schmidt +13.3 3. Chapman +14.1
Vidal P11 +43.3
Woodford P18 1LAP

Lap 25:
Schmidt PITS FROM P2 with one lap to go...

1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +13.9 3. Lipponen +16.2
Vidal P11 +43.4
Woodford P18 1LAP

Final Lap:
AND Niilo Saarinen, the 36-year old veteran of motorsport, breaks the winning streak of Harry Chapman and finally gets the first win for the Scuderia Ferrari... Rossini in 2016 and the WMC.

1. Saarinen 2. Schmidt +14.0 3. Lipponen +16.1
Vidal P11 +43.8
Woodford P18 1LAP

[Griever20]

Italian GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

July 31st, 2016

"I just dropped the ball. Pulled the clutch, slipped, stalled the car, race was over," Harry Chapman put to protocol. Fact is, he drove a great recovery drive into P2 and will keep a very comfortable lead in the Championship as his rivals could not cash in any more points.

Rossini Off the Mark:
"We really wanted that and I'm happy I could deliver. It was a hard race and we made it a win by going in when the softs just hit the cliff and brought the race home on the hard one," Niilo Saarinen said after his first Grand Prix victory and the first one for Rossini.

"Sorry about what happened to Dieter though," he added. Wexler had a horrible race as he had to stay in the pits longer for a rear wing repair, and then had to come in again to get a refill of the hydraulic system, costing the home team a 1-2 finish.

Team Radio of the Day:
"Not bad for a number two driver.
Niilo Saarinen after crossing the chequered flag.

Busted... Again:
The Rezzato Corsa, operating out of the old Minardi factory in Faenza, also tried something special to impress... and shot themselves in the foot. With P10 in the bag, Rick De Graaf's bolide went to scrutineering... and was busted for using an active suspension.

"I didn't know. Honestly, I did not know," De Graaf twittered after the race, already on the way to the airport.

Late Surprise
Two hours after the race, a sudden eruption happened in the pit lane when Lotus team principal Dan Martinson got the call that De Graaf got demoted four places and therefore Iker Vidal would be P10, earning a World Championship point.

"Brilliant drive in the first stint," BBC expert David Coulthard put to protocol in their aftershow when the news broke. "Look at that! Vidal overtook seven runners in the first four laps. Yes, they lucked into tenth with the penalty for De Graaf and Ana crashing out, but they are doing a great job down there in Guildford," Eddie Jordan added.

Bad Day for Brazil:
Brazilian fans were sad customers today as first, Ana Oliveira, and then Esteban Ribeiro binned it this race.

"Got wide on the entry, hit the grass, rear broke out, end of story," a visibly pissed Oliveira described the end of her race. Ribeiro told the media that she had some "sudden oversteer and suddently drove over the kerbs and then out of the race at the exit."

With Nine Races in the Books:
A Steinmann 1-2 in the Drivers Championship is all you need to know on that table. Saarinen got the glory today, but he was way behind in the championship.

On the Constructors side, the Panthers lost out a bit this race due to slow pace, while the great winners in the darker parts of the Championship are Lotus Racing as they now ninth on World Championship points.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

Post-Race Analysis: Italy(9/16)

YES YES YES. Kudos to Iker Vidal and the engineers and to the Rezzato Corsa team for building an illegal part. Vidal's first four laps were absolutely sensational. A total of nine overtakes put us in front of the runners on the hard compound and slowly brought us into P11 on the track with some nifty pitwork, tyre management and engine management.

We still lost some time on the track due to our tyre wear compared to the other teams, as some of them went hard -> medium and still finished with some rubber on the caucus... oh well, we can not change the chassis for this season anyways. The fact that we are starting so far behind is also a big reason why we have to claw and fight so hard, but that is the reality of our car performance.

The big news is that we scored a point in a dry race and there are some rainy days ahead... next stop, Spa-Francorchamp for the reworked Belgium GP... and as always in the Ardennen Forest, rain is in the forecast.

For our survival, we still have to push. The Thornton car is still ahead in raw pace, and the chance of them finding one or more points down the road is high. More points in Belgium would help us out there.

Development Report:
Not alot of progress will be made for Belgium as we only have two weeks time between Milan and Spa and will start building the final gearbox between the races. What will be going on is steady improvement of the reliability of our new brakes, and performance upgrades for the Whitehouse-special parts.

That also won't be finished before the race, but we have a way more solid base to work with now, and pushing the reliability of the new brakes will give us the option to strip additional weight out of them, pushing their performance a bit more still.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 9th
Gearbox: 9th
Brakes: 7th
Front Wing: 10th
Suspension: 10th
Rear Wing: 10th
Overall: 10th

As expected, the new gearbox won't be ready and the intermediate part that we build to get there is not race ready, and we won't waste factory time on that when we can not afford it. Marginal improvements yes, big jump expected for the US GP due to the new gearbox.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Brutus Tyres(6/6 races) $500k upfront, $100k per race
Kashima(10/13 races) $300k per race
Balmina(10/12 races) $4M upfront

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Ishikawa Malt Whisky(4/5) $1M upfront. $1.2M bonus pool for 1st
Ambrosia(2/3) $300k upfront, $700k bonus pool for 6th or above
Golden Tiger Bank(1/9) $900k upfront, $200k bonus pool for 13th or above

Two things. First, we got ourselves a new sponsor in the Chinese based Golden Tiger Bank. Given our poor performance in the Chinese GP, that is surprise, but the big thing is that they would pay us $200k when we finish 13th in qualifying and race. Likely scenario, we get $100k for the race as our qualifying speed is not that great.

Other thing, with Woodford finishing his media training, Iker Vidal being a popular guy as well, and our team marketability going up due to our recent success, we are now able to attract four star sponsors, so and with some sponsorship deals running out soon, that could give us a big financial boost.

The Track:

The Belgium GP is will be held on one of the most famous and well loved tracks in the Grand Prix calendar, Spa-Francorchamp. It has everything. High speed sectors where engine power is key, a slow mickey mouse sector where you desperately need front downforce(which we don't have), and the fact that this is one of the longest tracks in the calendar makes race strategy really interesting.

And then, there is the rain. It can come surprisingly, it can announce itself and then suddently disappear, and it can pour like hell, making for an chaotic race. And it could be our biggest ally this weekend.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
Turmoil in Maranello, Italy. According to an anonymous source, Rossini's ace Dieter Wexler is acting like a "complete prat" when working with his engineers. That is definitly not what they need. Especially now that they put a new front wing on his car that, via BBC's F1 Development Report, could push them past Steinmann for Spa.

Thornton, now last in the Constructors, brought a new gearbox to Belgium. They need everything they can find now.

[Griever20]

Belgium GP: Free Practice and Qualifying Report
motorsport-live.com

August 20th, 2016

The summer is slowly coming to the end and the WMC calendar has flipped to Spa-Francorchamp, the last European race on the calendar. The track was vastly reworked after a couple of horrible crashes in 2012 and 2013 and some of the great corners have disappeared.

Yet, it is a joy to visit and watch WMC cars driving in anger, and more than 100.000 fans from all of Europe were expected, despite the rain. And that one played a part all day long. The it rained at the start of free practice, and it poured at the end of it. Only a few drivers got in some laps in the dry, and the headliners were Harry Chapman(1:38.584) and Jeremy Woodford(1:38.661).

And the rain played his part in qualifying aswell and turned everything upside down at the start. Most runners went out on slicks and got caught out and only a handful of runners went out on the right rubber... and after the first runs... Iker Vidal was on provision pole with a 1:39.785.

The rain ended with seven minutes to go and none of the runners got caught out on track with intermediate tyres and everything was set up for a mad dash on dry tyres right towards the end, too bad for the Lotus driver.

The first competitive time was a 1:35.559 by Wolfgang Schmidt, and the times came thick anf fast after that. Wexler 1:35.209 P1. Ana Oliveira in the Windsor... 1:35.095 P1. Niilo Saarinen 1:35.014 P1.

And then, playtime was over and Harry Chapman crossed the line and humiliated all the other drivers with a 1:34:481, half a second faster then second place. What a qualifying.

Team Radio of the Day:
"That is P1 Iker, P1. Rain should stop soon, get back quick please. "Can you make a pic of that time sheet please? "
Iker Vidal, Lotus Racing, while being on provisional pole.

--

Just stay over the track, rain, goddamit. Iker still tailored together a pretty rock solid lap, putting his beautiful green car in front of both Kitano's who unsurprisingly are struggling with engine performance.

Rumors about a big jump in performance for Rossini seem greatly exaggerated, but that is not our concern right now. Our race.

Sunday, with 15 minutes to go, it is wet, rainy, and every sensible person will start on the intermediate tyre. That wet phase should go for 7-8 laps maximum, so getting the tyres there and changing to the dry rubber at the right time will be crucial as this is a long lap. Let's see if we can get us some points.

[Griever20]

Belgium GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

August 21st, 2016

And the rain is here. According to a number of executives, the intermediate tyre is the one to go with but this race will be fascinating to watch. Get caught out on the wrong side of the pit lane when the rain starts, and your race can be ruined.

Lap 1:
At the sharp end of the grid, it's all business as usual with Chapman on pole, just there is another Rossini in Saarinen besides him. The tyre blankets come off... and everyone is on the inters as expected, no reason to take a risk here.

The last cars are on the grid, and we are ready. The marshal with the green flag is running behind the drivers...

The red lights are on... one.. two... three... four... five...

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

AND SAARINEN ACED THE START AND IS CLEAN AWAY THROUGH THE FIRST CORNER! OLIVEIRA PASSES CHAPMAN IN THE BRAKING ZONE TO TURN FIVE ASWELL, IT HAS GONE WRONG FOR THE POLE SETTER!

Oliveira fails to make an impression in the slower corners and Holtz jumps both her and Chapman for P2, but Saarinen has worked out himself a small lead.

1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +1.4 3. Chapman +2.6
Vidal P19 +9.6
Woodford P20 +10.2

Lap 2:
The three leader are 5.4 seconds clear of Surikov in P4 already!

1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +1.2 3. Chapman +1.8
Vidal P18 +15.9
Woodford P20 +16.6

Lap 3:
1. Saarinen 2. Holtz +1.0 3. Chapman +1.4
Vidal P17 +22.2
Woodford P20 +23.4

Lap 4:
Chapman locks up his front tyres... but passes Holtz in the Bus Stop chicane and will go off chasing Saarinen now, but that fight has cost the two Steinmann lots of laptime

1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +3.4 3. Holtz +4.3
Vidal P17 +25.4
Woodford P19 +27.2

Lap 5:
1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +2.8 3. Holtz +4.2
Vidal P17 +26
Woodford P19 +29.5

Lap 6:
1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +2.3 3. Holtz +4.1
Vidal P18 +28.2
Woodford P20 +32

Lap 7:
The Rossini driver keeps the laptimes reasonable and keeps the World Championship leader within 1.5-2.5 seconds now. His teammate is only P5.

1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +1.9 3. Holtz +3.8
Vidal P18 +31
Woodford P20 +34.3

Lap 8:
"Hammer time," says the voice in Chapman's ear. We know what that means.

1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +0.7 3. Holtz +4.6
Vidal P18 +35.3
Woodford P20 +38.2

Lap 9:
Ohh a shunt there... Woodford slides off the track in sector two. He is out of the race as his Lotus is stuck in the gravel.

1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +2.3 3. Holtz +5.8
Vidal P18 +36.3
Woodford OUT

Lap 10:
By the way, it is still raining, so don't think about slicks.

1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +2.5 3. Holtz +6.1
Vidal P19 +63.6 PIT
Woodford OUT

Lap 11:
"Those inters are starting to struggle," says Lipponen in the P8 Windsor.

1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +3.0 3. Holtz +6.8
Vidal P19 +63.4
Woodford OUT

Lap 12:
Vázquez out of the pits... ON THE MEDIUM TYRE! Whyyyy?

1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +3.0 3. Holtz +7.5
Vidal P19 +64.6
Woodford OUT

Lap 13:
More cars out on the medium tyre while it is still wet. Strange decision. Chapman does the same thing.

1. Saarinen 2. Chapman +3.6 3. Holtz +8.1
Vidal P15 +64.6
Woodford OUT

Lap 14:
Saarinen pits and comes out roughly 20 seconds ahead of Chapman on the soft tyre. They changed the tyre too early. Fastest man on track: Vidal on fresh inters with a 1:44.477.

1. Surikov 2. Oliveira +3.6 3. Saarinen +6.7
Vidal P11 +68.8
Woodford OUT

Lap 15:
The runners that stayed out longest or pitted for fresh tyres are the winners here and that includes the top three and Iker Vidal in the Lotus who is still driving circles around the opposition on the damp track.

1. Saarinen 2. Surikov +4.3 3. Oliveira +7.7
Vidal P10 +35.2
Woodford OUT

Lap 16:
1. Saarinen 2. Surikov +4.7 3. Oliveira +9.1
Vidal P11 +57.5 PIT
Woodford OUT

Lap 17:
1. Saarinen 2. Surikov +3.3 3. Oliveira +8.1
Vidal P11 +57.9
Woodford OUT

Lap 18:
1. Saarinen 2. Surikov +3.5 3. Oliveira +7.9
Vidal P11 +58.6
Woodford OUT

Lap 19:
HOLTZ GETS ON A WET PATCH AND SLIPS INTO THE PIT WALL! SAFETY CAR, SAFETY CAR, the cars will drive through the pit straight to avoid the debris.

1. Saarinen 2. Surikov 3. Oliveira
Vidal P10
Woodford OUT

Lap 20:
Nobody pitting so far, but there are some worn soft tyres out there and it will take some time for the safety car to.

Holtz looks shakened, but fine despite this being a 250+kph crash. Marshalls are collecting the debris and the car... or what is left of it gets towed away.

1. Saarinen 2. Surikov 3. Oliveira
Vidal P10
Woodford OUT

Lap 21:
Safety car this lap, six laps to go. A little roundup. Saarinen could struggle to get the tyres to the end, so could Chapman in P4. Oliveira is on the hard compound and could lose out at the restart or capitalize on the tyres later.

1. Saarinen 2. Surikov 3. Oliveira
Vidal P10
Woodford OUT

Lap 22:
Saarinen hits the throttle and we are go again! Surikov got caught napping and is falling back! Wexler and Schmidt jumped Chapman and Saarinen looks handy in the lead!

1. Saarinen 2. Oliveira +2.7 3. Wexler +3.8
Vidal P10 +6.3
Woodford OUT

Lap 23:
1. Saarinen 2. Oliveira +3.4 3. Wexler +4.1
Vidal P10 +9.5
Woodford OUT

Lap 24:
Chapman is now in P6 after he also got squeezed in the Bus Stop by Zoe Sharp in the Panther. This could be a huge haul for the Rossini's in the constructors, and another point for the Lotus Racing team if Vidal can hold on to P10, some vicious fighting in the midfield there.

1. Saarinen 2. Oliveira +3.8 3. Wexler +4.6
Vidal P10 +12.3
Woodford OUT

Lap 25:
"Tyres are marginal," team radio by Chapman. This could become interesting in the final two laps.

1. Saarinen 2. Oliveira +4.5 3. Wexler +5.1
Vidal P10 +16.3
Woodford OUT

Lap 26:
AND THEY ARE MARGINAL INDEED! DRIVERS GOING WIDE LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTER! Saarinen P1... Wexler... P2, Oliveira P3... and Vidal past Gonzalez for P9... and it is a RED FLAG! THE RACE IS OVER! A 1-2 for Rossini as the race director ends the race after 26 laps to avoid a big shunt by a driver on the worn out, old tyres. The race result after lap 26 counts.

Never seen anything like this. Sensational race.

It seems like I broke it. The lap counter went from 25/27 to 27/27 and the leader ran another lap to screw up the end result so that it looks like he lapped everyone.

I did not really gain an advantage from that as Vidal would've probably gotten another place with another lap since everyone ran wide but... makes for a good story this way.