The Return of Lotus(A non OOTP Dynasty)

[Griever20]

Qatar GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

March 19th, 2017

"Forza Rossini, Forza Ferrari," Dieter Wexler screamed off the top step of the podium when he got his winner's trophy for the Qatar GP here in Doha. The German showed raw pace after he got the lead with a gutsy overtake of three cars on the outside of turn two and never looked back.

Steinmann Looking for Answers:
The two Silver Arrows kinda ruined their race by themselves. Nina Holtz from pole position had a bad start but blocked P2(Chapman) and P3(Margate(PAN)), which opened the door for Wexler, Wolfgang Schmidt, and Ricardo Rodriguez in the second corner.

"I had to defend my position and then was overtaken by those guys. My fault at the start, was too tardy," a visibly unhappy Nina Holtz told NSBC after the race. Her teammate Harry Chapman, down in P13, found harsher words.

"Honestly, if she can not start properly, she should at least let me through for the sake of the team. This way, I lost out big time as well, and what happens at the box with this team is still a joke," he said. For the third time, both Steinmann cars came into the pits at the same time, and so Chapman had to wait... for new tyres and a suspension repair on Holtz' car... and lost any chance of points.

"Looking like amateurs," he added.

Six Points for France:
Rick De Graaf was a happy customer after his gutsy one stop race was rewarded with a seventh place for the rookie team, netting six invaluable points in the first race of the season which could go a long way for their survival in the Championship.

"Last season, six points meant survival as there was a team without points, as you all know. This is a win for us," he said. However, with Zoe Sharp in P5, Iker Vidal(LOT) in P8 and Wolfgang Schmidt(REZ) in P10, points were distributed evenly and the ONLY team without points is the Swiss Vélan outfit.

Saarinen Delivers:
In his first race for the cute orange painted Van Dort car, former Rossini 2x winner Niilo Saarinen made quite an impression today. They started on the medium compound of tyre and made that strategy work.

"Thanks to the team, the car was fantastic, and we needed less repairs than the other cars, great factory work," the Finn said after the race. More words than he usually says.

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

Ok, we could've gotten more if Iker would've gotten out on the hard tyre and kept his position, or would've gotten past the three cars on the hard tyre ahead of him in the first stint. In retrospect, going out with the soft tyre just to make sure of that would've been plan b.)

He had free air in the second stint most of the time and matched the pace of the two Windsor cars ahead of him, and had to let it fly in the final stint... and did so. Lots of runners had to pit for repairs or spent alot of time in the box for those, so we got a bit lucky here... but some more teams got even more lucky than us, which is a problem.

As for Woodford... yeah... he is there...

Development Report:
We are moving towards a big step in the front wing department, and are adding more and more performance through reliability through weight stripping, and that is pretty much it.

If you want a plausible reason why Espirit GP driver Rick De Graaf finished in front of us? He is the better driver, and their designer is very good in building reliable parts... they surely did way more weight stripping than us...

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 7th
Gearbox: 8th
Brakes: 7th
Front Wing: 7th
Suspension: 7th
Rear Wing: 9th
Overall: 8th

While we were busy building new front wings, we lost ground to Panther(engine) and Rezzato Corsa(gearbox) in other areas... so be it...

As for the front wing, another intermediate part was build and fixed on the car of Mr. Vidal, and the first of two Mk 5 Jenny Whitehouse Special front wings will be ready for Bejing...

We added some crucial reliability to a number of parts in order to make weight stripping more useful for us... Hopefully, that will show in the race and hopefully, the other cars will continue to struggle with repairs in Yokohama.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Bebelitas(8/8 races) $2.75M upfront
Hyper Tech(6/14 races) $500k upfront, $500k per race
Cortés Tyre Co(5/15) $500k upfront, $400k per race

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Golden Tiger Bank(7/7) $900k upfront, $200k bonus pool for 13th or above
Ishikawa Malt Whisky(1/5) $1M upfront, $1.2M bonus pool for 1st
Condor Telecoms(1/8) $1M upfront, $800k bonus pool for 4th or above

Yeah, that won't work. We will take the upfront money, worth $200k per race for the Whisky, and $125k per race for the US communication tycoon...

The Track:
Back in Japan, Yokohama. Last season, this was a rainy affair where Nina Holtz from pole salvaged a second place with Aki Lipponen in the Windsor collected their first, and only win while we finished P15(Woodford) and P17(Vidal), not able to bring it in the points despite the rain chaos... as we had not enough speed.

A track where braking and medium speed corner are crucial to get into a overtaking position on the main strait and before the final corner, this could be an open race between the Steinmann and the Rossini once again... Our job is to finish ahead of Vélan and net 1-2 points... our goal every race basically...

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
The pole setter of Qatar will not be in the best shape of her life as Nina Holtz of Steinmann Motorsport is fighting through a dodgy neck. "Think the first race of the season and then the flight home did some damage," she said. To make things worse, her teammate Harry Chapman showed similar symptomes after the race... they plan to sue the airline.

Unhappy faces at the Panther garage as Nikolai Surikov has spend the break between the first two races... in a Russian casino, losing some money, and seems a bit out of whack...

[SupermanBSU]

As a racing fan, this is interesting. I'm just curious of two things:
1) Why is this on the OOTP Forum?
2) Are the screen shots of an actual F1 game?

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by SupermanBSU

As a racing fan, this is interesting. I'm just curious of two things:
1) Why is this on the OOTP Forum?
2) Are the screen shots of an actual F1 game?

Heh, I had just sent Griever20 a message, asking him the same thing, before I noticed your post. (I didn't want to break the spell of his consecutive posts without a reply.) I am curious, too; I asked him whether he is playing a simulation game or creating all of this in his head?

[Griever20]

Originally Posted by SupermanBSU

1) Why is this on the OOTP Forum?
2) Are the screen shots of an actual F1 game?

1) I was bored and thought... why not, there is no real page/forum for this game apart from the Steam Community thingy...
2) Yes, it is called Motorsport Manager, released 2016. Can be found and bought on Steam, and if you care, you can download mods in the Steam Workshop to change names/pictures to 2016 or 2017 Formula One, but I usually prefer to play the game as it is. Also, there is a touring car DLC available and stuff

Just did not mention this as it is not exactly a OOTP production obviously

[Griever20]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Heh, I had just sent Griever20 a message, asking him the same thing, before I noticed your post. (I didn't want to break the spell of his consecutive posts without a reply.) I am curious, too; I asked him whether he is playing a simulation game or creating all of this in his head?

And I also answered you

[Griever20]

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

April 1st, 2017

No, this is no April fools joke, but the Saturday report of the Japanese GP here in Yokohama. Scene of the biggest triumph of Windsor Racing in 2016, but there is no rain in sight for this race weekend.

The Steinmann team however landed here with a grim look of determination on their faces, looking for a win and loads of World Championship points, while the midfield teams are looking to find out how exactly the pecking order will look like for 2017.

However, big upgrades were not brought to Japan. "The shedule is so tight between Qatar and Japan, and the teams are still looking to understand their car," explained BBC's Eddie Jordan. "The first big upgrades will come for Bejing."

The free practice showed the usual raw pace by the Steinmann cars as Harry Chapman(1:18.302) led Dieter Wexler(1:18.575) and Nina Holtz(1:18.657) with Zoe Sharp fourth, leading the resurgent Kitano team these days.

Dieter Wexler set the first benchmark, 1:15.841, but saw Harry Chapman show some blistering pace in sector two and three for a 1:15.572 with Holtz posting a 1:15.741 for P2 and Margate fourth as the faster Panther, .459 behind provisional pole.

A rare occurance, Iker Vidal of Lotus ran three hot laps this session. "I had a bad outlap in my first attempt, overheating the tyres, so I wanted another go before the final one. With this being a short, track, it just worked out," he said after the qualifying.

And in the final attempts, mistakes were mixed in as Holtz and Chapman both had lockups in the first sector and the Panthers also made no impression on the rest of the field... so it was Rossini time as Rafael Rodriguez moved into P4... and Wexler let it fly... 1:15.631, .085 behind Chapman's pole time for P2.

Team Radio of the Day:
"That was not good enough, right?" "Not quite, but a good lap, P2, P2. Get him at the start mate."
Dieter Wexler, Rossini after his P2 lap.

--

Either Rick De Graaf is the second coming of Ayrton Senna, or they have a quick first car for him... anyways, Vidal saved $100k and P11 with a great final attempt... and Jeremy failed to keep his car away from P20. Remember, he still has a crappy gearbox and brakes, so this is kinda expected...

Strategy wise, we will take our chances on the 1-stop race with the medium tyre. They approximately last 18-20 rounds, we need 16, which is doable in my book.

[Griever20]

Japanese GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

April 2nd, 2017

Welcome to the Japanese GP, 32 laps of drama, action and raw speed await us. The two Steinmann cars are split by World Championship leader Dieter Wexler and his red caboose and the news of both Silver Arrow drivers struggling with a dodgy neck could become crucial in this race with lots of high G medium speed corners.

Lap 1:

Of the top 10, Saarinen and De Graaf start on the soft, and Iker Vidal is the first runner on the medium tyre, looking for a potential 1-stop strategy. The start will be crucial on the front... if Wexler can get the lead, will he run away like he did in Doha?

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

ALL THREE RUNNERS WITH A GOOD START, CHAPMAN INTO THE FIRST CORNER SIDE BY SIDE WITH WEXLER... AND THE GERMAN GOES WIDE AND LOSES LOTS OF PLACES!

BUT THE KITANO OF AUSSIE ZOE SHARP SHOOTS PAST EVERYONE LIKE A TORPEDO IN THE MEDIUM SPEED FIRST SECTOR AND TAKES THE LEAD!

Chapman goes past Holtz on the outside of the 180R and Wexler ends lap one in P9!

1. Sharp 2. Chapman +0.7 3. Holtz +1.5
Vidal P11 +4.7
Woodford P19 +7.7

Lap 2:
1. Sharp 2. Chapman +0.8 3. Holtz +1.5
Vidal P11 +8.5
Woodford P20 +13.0

Lap 3:
1. Sharp 2. Chapman +1.0 3. Holtz +1.5
Vidal P11 +11.8
Woodford P20 +17.4

Lap 4:
Chapman is closing in on Sharp...

1. Sharp 2. Chapman +0.5 3. Holtz +2.7
Vidal P11 +14.4
Woodford P20 +20.3

Lap 5:
1. Sharp 2. Chapman +0.7 3. Holtz +2.6
Vidal P11 +16.9
Woodford P20 +23.9

Lap 6:
1. Sharp 2. Chapman +0.3 3. Holtz +0.7
Vidal P13 +20.6
Woodford P20 +26.7

Lap 7:
Sharp loses loads of time, close fight between the three drivers... and Chapman AND Holtz go through AND Lipponen follows suit. Wexler is now up to P5 after his teammate let him through...

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.0 3. Lipponen +2.7
Vidal P13 +21.6
Woodford P19 +30.4

Lap 8:
But the Windsor of Aki Lipponen pits early and needs some repairs. Too bad for the Finn.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +1.3 3. Sharp +6.1
Vidal P12 +25.2
Woodford P19 +35.1

Lap 9:
And the Steinmann come in... and the queue again... unbelievable.

1. Sharp 2. Wexler +0.3 3. Margate +1.1
Vidal P11 +18.9
Woodford P18 +38.5

Lap 10:
All soft runners now in the pits... Chapman in P4 the virtual leader.

1. Surikov 2. Saarinen +0.5 3. Flores +9.1
Vidal P6 +14.9
Woodford P19 +31.8

Lap 11:
1. Surikov 2. Saarinen +0.8 3. Flores +9.8
Vidal P6 +15.2
Woodford P18 +28.2

Lap 12:
1. Surikov 2. Saarinen +0.4 3. Flores +10.9
Vidal P5 +16.3
Woodford P18 +29.0

Lap 13:
De Graaf in from P7 and Saarinen from P2... and the Espirit driver will have to wait a bit longer in the pits as he needs repairs... too bad.

1. Surikov 2. Flores +11.7 3. Chapman +12.1
Vidal P4 +16.8
Woodford P17 +29.9

Lap 14:
Chapman already into P2 with a pit stop at hand, but the 1-stop cars look handy here...

1. Surikov 2. Chapman +10.7 3. Flores +12.8
Vidal P4 +16.3
Woodford P15 +31.3

Lap 15:
1. Surikov 2. Chapman +8.9 3. Flores +14
Vidal P5 +18.0
Woodford P15 +33.1

Lap 16:
1. Surikov 2. Chapman +7.1 3. Flores +15.4
Vidal P16 +41.7 PIT
Woodford P20 +65.5

Lap 17:
Surikov and Flores try to get the second stint done on the soft tyre... this could work or hurt them as they are slow on the completely done mediums...

1. Surikov 2. Chapman +5.8 3. Flores +15.8
Vidal P16 +41.5
Woodford P20 +66.1

Lap 18:
And they pit now... and Flores needs a topping up of the hydraulics... the two Silver Arrows 1-2, Margate made some progress with the supersoft... but they all have to pit again.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +12.7 3. Margate +13.6
Vidal P14 +41.5
Woodford P20 +66.1

Lap 19:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +13.6 3. Margate +14.5
Vidal P12 +38.8
Woodford P19 +64.2

Lap 20:
Margate in first.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +14.5 3. Wexler +15.3
Vidal P10 +40.2
Woodford P19 +66.7

Lap 21:
Margate in first.

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +16.4 3. Wexler +16.7
Vidal P10 +40.9
Woodford P19 +68.5

Lap 22:
1. Chapman 2. Holtz +16.9 3. Wexler +18.7
Vidal P11 +42.7
Woodford P20 +71.9
Margate went past again... but there is a good chance for points still.

Lap 23:
Chapman, Wexler in, but all runners apart from Surkov have to pit again.

1. Holtz 2. Surikov +2.4 3. Saarinen +9.7
Vidal P9 +43.7
Woodford P20 +74.4

Lap 24:
Chapman has to overtake the Russian Panther driver on the track if he wants to win.

1. Surikov 2. Chapman +5.0 3. Saarinen +9.0
Vidal P8 +25.9
Woodford P20 +58.7

Lap 25:
And he takes 4.9 seconds out of the lead in one lap...

1. Surikov 2. Chapman +0.1 3. Saarinen +9.2
Vidal P9 +27.8
Woodford P20 +59.4

Lap 26:
And is past easily.

1. Chapman 2. Surikov +1.7 3. Rodriguez +10.5
Vidal P8 +28.9
Woodford P20 +61.5

Lap 27:
1. Chapman 2. Surikov +2.2 3. Rodriguez +11.7
Vidal P7 +29.9
Woodford P20 +64.5

Lap 28:
1. Chapman 2. Surikov +4.1 3. Holtz +18.6
Vidal P7 +32.0
Woodford P20 +68.0

Lap 29:
1. Chapman 2. Surikov +6.8 3. Holtz +18.4
Vidal P6 +35.4
Woodford P20 +72.8

Lap 30:
1. Chapman 2. Surikov +8.0 3. Holtz +17.6
Vidal P6 +36.0
Woodford P19 +75.8
Vidal has Rodriguez on the supersoft and Saarinen on the soft behind him... this will be close...

Lap 31:
1. Chapman 2. Surikov +7.9 3. Holtz +18
Vidal P7 +37.4
Woodford P19 +77.4
Rodriguez through

Final Lap:
And the World Champion puts his name on the board with a dominant win. Harry Chapman wins it from pole with Nikolai Surikov executing a great 1-stop strategy for P2 and Holtz on P3. Wexler P5 and the second Panther P6. Great race.

1. Chapman 2. Surikov +9.1 3. Holtz +19.4
Vidal P8 +40.8
Woodford P19 +1 LAP
Saarinen slipped through, but still a great drive.

[Griever20]

Japanese GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

April 2nd, 2017

And the King is back on the throne as Harry Chapman wins for the first time in 2017. He always had the raw pace today and after a little scare by Zoe Sharp early, and a little scare by Nikolai Surikov later in the race, he grabbed the lead in spectacular fashion.

"I saw the Panther in the distance, and I just went for it, put the pedal to the metal, and made up good ground," he said about the start of his third stint. That was the fastest lap, 1:18.530, and he caught Surikov at the end of the lap, gaining 4.9 seconds, and took him easily next lap.

Recovery Drives:
For Dieter Wexler, he knew it won't be his third win when his car touched the grass on the outside of turn one. "I wanted to make a move on Chapman and the inside was busy with the Kitano parked there, so I went to the outside... Chapman squeezed me a bit, but it was mostly my mistake," Wexler said after the race.

He fell down to ninth and had to fight back to fourth ultimately. Similar story for Nina Holtz, as the Steinmann signature move, queuing cars in the pit lane, saw her chance of challenging for a win end in the pits... again.

She was not available for comment.

Home Team Starts Quick, Falters Later
"Leading the race felt great, but we somehow lost serious ground later in the race and everything was going backwards for me," explained Zoe Sharp, driver for Japan's pride, Kitano Sports-Honda.

The Australian led the race early by putting in a amazing start and first corner, but eventually had to yield to both Steinmann cars, and eventually finished P10, one point, but not exactly what the team hoped for.

One-Stop Success:
Once again, the one-stop strategy was key for points finishes as Nikolai Surikov in the Panther and Iker Vidal in the Lotus only stopped once and for great effect, landing P2 and P8 and way ahead of their raw speed.

"It's all about execution," Dan Martinson of Lotus Racing explained. "You have to exploit the clear track in front of you when you can, and try to do the maximum in the early going without hurting the tyres."

Race Result:

Standings:

[Griever20]

The move back to the one stop strategy was the key here. The other teams got the reliability back to normal, and there were little problems between the fronrunners, so we had to make it work on track... and Iker did a good job there. He defended his position well after the first lap, and did the laptimes we needed with clear track in front of him. Kudos also for our pitcrew.

Yes, we lost two places late in the race, but to top 5 Constructors cars on the softer tyre. That is fine, can not change anything about that for now, that is raw speed we are lacking.

Development Report:
We have three weeks till the Chinese GP and hopefully and wrap up the second Jenny Whitehouse special front wing for Woodford's car and can move on to other components. I said engine earlier, but it most likely will be brakes or gearbox... we have to bring both cars to a similar level so that Jeremy can get some points on a wet track, a lucky day, or well timed safety car...

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 7th
Gearbox: 8th
Brakes: 7th
Front Wing: 6th
Suspension: 7th
Rear Wing: 9th
Overall: 7th

Both front wings are ready and more importantly, ready for the Chinese GP. We won't have much use for them there, to be quite honest, but we have them, and we jumped past Rezzato Corsa WITHOUT even putting in much factory work into performance, which is a good thing.

The next piece coming out of our design center will be some basic, Mk 2 brakes for Woodford, those are literally a 33% improvement from what he got right now... Those will be ready after Bejing, but the front wing is a huge update relative to the rest of the grid.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Hyper Tech(7/14 races) $500k upfront, $500k per race
Cortés Tyre Co(6/15) $500k upfront, $400k per race
Jogo Games(1/12) $250k upfront, $400k per race

A toy company from Brazil, we will get $400k per race, which means our three fixed sponsors will add up to $1.3M, a huge deal for us as that frees up additional money for development or HQ updates if needed.

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Ishikawa Malt Whisky(2/5) $1M upfront, $1.2M bonus pool for 1st
Condor Telecoms(2/8) $1M upfront, $800k bonus pool for 4th or above
Luxina(1/6) $300k upfront, $250k bonus pool for 12th or above

We had financially better bonus pool offers on the table... for 11th/10th or above, but given that half of that money will be payed for qualifying performance, we balked out and took the Luxina offer from a Italian luxus bath and wellness company.

The Track:
We return to Bejing for the Chinese GP, the race where Harry Chapman started his winning streak in 2016. Loads of straits and stop and go with slow corners and acceleration zones, the Chinese GP may feature something more special in 2017.

Rain.

Practice is expected to be cloudy with a little bit of rain, but qualifying should be wet, and there is a chance at a sudden downpour for the race. Our new front wing solution won't help us here. But we always overperform in the rain, and with Vidal collecting a couple of eighth place finishes, overperforming here could mean a ton of points...

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
"She is acting a bit strange," told a unnamed Steinmann engineer the yellow press. Like she has a mid life crisis or something. If that, together with a dodgy neck, is what is bothering Nina Holtz, her Championship push could be in danger...

The sound of a new and improved engine. That is what you can hear when you get close to the Rossini garage as they brought a new engine to China that pushes them past Windsor Racing into second in the horse power rankings.

[Griever20]

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

April 22nd, 2017

"Rain is the small teams best friend," said Eddie Jordan when coverage began on Saturday, and the first pour of rain came early for free practice. However, fans still came in bunches to watch Saturday action despite there being no Chinese driver, nor team on the grid... but there was universal love for the red Rossini cars, and expectations were high, especially due to their new engine.

The rain shower meant that only a few runner managed laps on the soft tyre, but the important ones did. Harry Chapman(1:14.310) P1, Dieter Wexler(1:14.632) P2, and Nina Holtz(1:14.781), the Rossini was the meat in a Steinmann sandwich...

Asked about his strategy in qualifying, Lotus boss Dan Martinson explained that his strategy is to "get a banker lap in in the dry, and then look what happens..." Harry Chapman thought the same thing and put a 1:11.539 on the board as the first front runner and he kept the margin of free practice as Wexler drove a 1:11.928 for P4... as the Van Dort of Niilo Saarinen was .006 faster...

And Ricardo Rodriguez put the second Rossini on second place with a 1:11:777. Not bad. Not bad. The biggest surprise of the runs... Iker Vidal drove a 1:12.396 for provisional P7 and he improved to P5 with a early second try, 1:12.094.

And that was a brilliant decision... as the rain came down and came down hard and washed away any chance for improvement and Chapman got the pole position. Rodriguez(ROS) P2, Saarinen(VD) P3, Wexler(ROS) P4 and Iker Vidal(LOT) and Holtz(SMR) in the third row!

Team Radio of the Day:
"Ok it starts to rain now... what was that lap" "GREAT LAP MATE! Twelve zero for P5!"
Iker Vidal, Lotus Racing after his P5 lap.

--

We take a huge risk. The weather report says rain after the second lap. We will start Woodford on the intermediate compound, taking a risk on him, while Vidal will go with the flow and start on the soft tyre, with his job to push like an animal and come in for inters when it becomes too wet.

[Griever20]

Chinese GP GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

April 23rd, 2017

Welcome to the grid for the Chinese GP here in Bejing on the Bejing International Circuit. This has all ingredients for a cracker and a surprise result. Weather reports are all over the place, via BBC's pit lane reporter Lee McKenzie, and tyre choice could be the key. It is raining 15 miles west of the track and there are dark clouds on the horizon... and we have a interesting grid.

Steinmann, Rossini, Van Dort, Rossini and a Lotus on top of the grid...

Lap 1:
The tyre blankets come off... AND LOOK AT THAT. Margate, Oliveira AND Woodford on the intermediate compound... it is drizzling a bit, but that much... most front runners on the soft compound...

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

CHAPMAN WITH A GOOD START, BUT HE HAS TO MOVE TO BLOCK THE RED CAR OF RODRIGUES... SAARINEN GETS SQUEEZED ON THE OUTSIDE AND HOLTZ GOES PAST WEXLER... AND VIDAL GOES DOWN THE INSIDE AND IS UP INTO P2.

And the Lotus has the best run out of turn three and is side by side with Chapman into four... AND HE IS AHEAD... BUT CHAPMAN HAS THE INSIDE LINE INTO THE NEXT CORNER... AND STAYS IN THE LEAD! WHAT A FIRST LAP!

1. Chapman 2. Vidal +2.3 3. Rodrigues +4.0
Woodford P20 +7.7

Lap 2:
It starts to rain a bit more, but not yet wet enough as the intermediate runners are on the last places...

1. Chapman 2. Vidal +0.7 3. Rodrigues +1.5
Woodford P20 +16.1

Lap 3:
"Push like an animal, burn through the tyres, it is intermediates soon," shouts Lotus race engineer Stuart Yarnham. His driver is in P2 and doing well.

1. Chapman 2. Vidal +4.1 3. Rodrigues +6.5
Woodford P18 +22.6

Lap 4:
The first runners come in for inters, but the leaders don't blink yet... Holtz and Rodrigues fighting for 3rd place... and Holtz makes an nearly impossible braking move into turn 10... and is through!

1. Chapman 2. Vidal +8.5 3. Holtz +12.1
Woodford P15 +33.5

Lap 5:
More pit stops...

1. Chapman 2. Vidal +9.7 3. Wexler +13.4
Woodford P11 +30.8

Lap 6:
VIDAL BLINKS FIRST AS THE INTERMEDIATE TYRES ARE THE ONES TO DRIVE... but the Steinmann and Rossini stay out, Panthers already in...

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +12.7 3. Holtz +16.1
Woodford P10 +27.7
Vidal P1 +28.0 PIT

Lap 7:
Chapman stays out again...

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +11.6 3. Holtz +17.8
Vidal P10 +26.9
Woodford P11 +27.2

Lap 8:
In they come... Wexler, Holtz and Chapman on the HARD TYRE, NOT THE INTERS!

1. Margate 2. Oliveira +1.9 3. Chapman +3.5
Vidal P4 +10.6
Woodford P7 +12.7

Lap 9:
"We expect dry conditions around lap 10," via Steinmann team radio! Margate leads on the intermediate tyre he started on!

1. Margate 2. Oliveira +2.5 3. Chapman +7.6
Vidal P4 +10.2
Woodford P15 +32.6 PIT

Lap 10:
And it is drying a bit, but still damp... will it rain again.

1. Margate 2. Chapman +4.4 3. Vidal +10.3
Woodford P16 +36.0

Lap 11:
"BOX, BOX, BOX," Margate comes in at the end of the lap as his inters took alot of pain in the first laps.
Chapman(hard tyre) 1:19.165
Vidal(intermediate tyre) 1:22.381

1. Margate 2. Chapman +2.4 3. Vidal +9.2
Woodford P17 +38.6

Lap 12:
"We expect heavy rain in two laps, conserve your tyres, Chapman is going to come towards us," via Vidal's team radio.
Vidal and De Graaf P2 and P3 on inters...

1. Chapman 2. Vidal +8.5 3. De Graaf +8.8
Woodford P17 +36.9

Lap 13:
"Tyres are marginal, I want inters," says Wexler in the Rossini.

1. Chapman 2. Vidal +10.8 3. De Graaf +11.5
Woodford P17 +37.8

Lap 14:
AND IT DOES START TO RAIN AGAIN!
Chapman(hard tyre) 1:21.473
Vidal(intermediate tyre) 1:20.643

1. Chapman 2. Vidal +10.0 3. De Graaf +13.7
Woodford P15 +41.5

Lap 15:
Vidal in the Lotus and De Graaf could be in for a podium if they continue to get their strategy right...
Chapman(hard tyre) 1:25.812
Vidal(intermediate tyre) 1:21.281

1. Chapman 2. Vidal +5.4 3. De Graaf +12.3
Woodford P12 +40.1

Lap 16:
AND THERE IT IS! VIDAL ON THE OUTSIDE OF A HELPLESS CHAPMAN... AND THE LOTUS DRIVER LEADS THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX!!!

1. Vidal 2. Chapman +1.8 3. De Graaf +8.4
Woodford P11 +34.7

Lap 17:
But he has to pit for fresh inters and so does De Graaf! Surikov, who went to change for inters after five laps leads, takes Chapman EASY on track and ... and Chapman stays out for another lap!

1. Surikov 2. Chapman +0.1 3. Vidal +4.9
Woodford P11 +23.6

Lap 18:
And he finally pits but will fall a long way back... Margate slithers into P2 and past Vidal, but his tyres are older...

1. Surikov 2. Margate +6.1 3. Vidal +10.0
Woodford P7 +24.9

Lap 19:
Vidal on fresher tyres is already 10 seconds ahead of Oliveira... this could become a CRAZY result... Surikov gets fresh inters...

1. Margate 2. Vidal +4.1 3. Oliveira +14.3
Woodford P5 +21.6

Lap 20:
1. Margate 2. Vidal +4.6 3. Oliveira +15.9
Woodford P5 +22.8

Lap 21:
1. Margate 2. Vidal +5.2 3. Oliveira +17.8
Woodford P16 +46.4 PIT

Lap 22:
Rain intensifies... but not wet enough for the full wets...

1. Margate 2. Vidal +3.7 3. De Graaf +19.7
Woodford P16 +49.4

Lap 23:
1. Margate 2. Vidal +3.2 3. De Graaf +20.3
Woodford P16 +51.0

Lap 24:
1. Margate 2. Vidal +2.4 3. De Graaf +20.1
Woodford P15 +50.8

Lap 25:
"Look after those tyres Iker, we expect slick conditions around lap 30," says Lotus boss Dan Martinson... that could work... and alot of runners would have to put in an extra pit stop before that...

1. Margate 2. Vidal +1.9 3. De Graaf +19.5
Woodford P15 +50.5

Lap 26:
Margate pits... and comes out in P8 ON THE HARD TYRE! THAT IT BOLD BY Panther... or stupid...

1. Vidal 2. De Graaf +18.2 3. Surikov +18.9
Woodford P15 +48.0

Lap 27:
1. Vidal 2. De Graaf +19.4 3. Surikov +20.2
Woodford P14 +48.5

Lap 28:
Surikov with the better car takes P2... it will between him and Vidal for the race win if things don't go horribly wrong for them.

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +19.1 3. De Graaf +22.3
Woodford P11 +47.8

Lap 29:
De Graaf in and out on the hard compound and into P5, but is on pace for P3.

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +18.5 3. Schmidt +23.5
Woodford P10 +48.4

Lap 30:
It is slick territory now... and Vidal pits for the hard compound... AND STAYS AHEAD OF SCHMIDT AND DE GRAAF.

1. Surikov 2. Vidal +4.0 3. Schmidt +5.8
Woodford P7 +31.8

Lap 31:
1. Surikov 2. Vidal +3.2 3. Oliveira +22.4
Woodford P7 +32.5

Lap 32:
The gap is becoming smaller and smaller...

1. Surikov 2. Vidal +2.6 3. Oliveira +22.9
Woodford P15 +55.5 PIT

Lap 33:
The Panther pits... and with NINE LAPS TO GO, VIDAL HAS A 16.7 SECOND LEAD ON HIS FINAL SET OF TYRES!

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +16.7 3. Oliveira +22.6
Woodford P15 +57.1

Lap 34:
1. Vidal 2. Surikov +18.9 3. De Graaf +28.7
Woodford P14 +60.2

Lap 35:
Vidal with a mistake in turn eight... and Surikov is flying towards him...

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +15.1 3. De Graaf +29.1
Woodford P14 +58.9

Lap 36:
Nina Holtz goes past De Graaf for P3, but can she make the tyres last?

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +13.6 3. Holtz +29.3
Woodford P14 +60.3

Lap 37:
1. Vidal 2. Surikov +12.3 3. Holtz +29.2
Woodford P14 +61.7

Lap 38:
"What is the gap," asks Vidal... Answer: "Gap is fine, just keep doing what you are doing."

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +12.0 3. Holtz +29.5
Woodford P14 +63.9

Lap 39:
"Nikolai, we must save fuel, default mode 0-3."

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +15.6 3. Holtz +30.4
Woodford P15 +67.8

Lap 40:
Holtz in for a fresh set of soft tyres, that will cost her alot. De Graaf in the Espirit in for a sensational podium... but he has a angry Dieter Wexler homing in on his ***

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +16.0 3. De Graaf +39.7
Woodford P15 +68.4

Lap 41:
The Rossini is all over his gearbox...

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +15.1 3. De Graaf +39.2
Woodford P15 +69.9

Final Lap:
AND IT IS DONE! IT HAS HAPPENED! IKER VIDAL IN THE BLACK AND GOLD JOHN PLAYER REMINISCENT LOTUS RACING CAR WINS THE CHINESE GP WITH A SENSATIONAL DRIVE AND SENSATIONAL STRATEGY!

Surikov tried to catch him on the medium tyre, but failed, and Rick De Graaf fought like a lion and kept third place! WHAT A RACE!

1. Vidal 2. Surikov +13.8 3. De Graaf +40.6
Woodford P15 +71.7

[Griever20]

Chinese GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

April 23rd, 2017

If you have not watched this race, DO IT NOW AND DON'T READ ON.

"I can not believe it. YEEEESSS! Amazing race, thanks you... thank you so much." Definitely the team radio of the day, with tears streaming in the helmet, as Iker Vidal, 26-year old Spaniard from Barcelona saw the chequered flag as the first of 20 runners and won his first Grand Prix, and the first Grand Prix of Lotus Racing in the World Motorsport Championship.

"Be on the right tyre at the right time is one thing," a visibly shakened Dan Martinson said after the race to BBC. "Being on the right tyre to win the race is another thing." His drivers made alot of progress by being on the intermediate tyre in damp, but almost dry conditions from lap 10 to lap 14, and gained alot of ground by staying out of the pit lane.

Favorites Get it Wrong:
"I guess team bosses should stop aping Steinmann or Rossini, and think themselves," Eddie Jordan added to Martinson's words. Many of the favorites lost our when they went out on slick tyres in the middle of the race and merely gained 6-8 seconds on the intermediate runners, and THEN had to pit again for inters as it rained harder, leaving invaluable time in the pit lane.

Dieter Wexler got that mistake early enough and pitted for inters when he had the choice, but even Nikolai Surikov's teammate Winston Margate got it wrong and had to pit early for slicks... losing what could've been a race win in wet conditions on slicks.

"Timing is as important as tyre choice, you have to get the most of the tyres you got on there, either lap times, or length of the stint," Martinson concluded.

After Three Races:
Things are a mess with Iker Vidal taking 25 points here.

Dieter Wexler is the World Championship leader as he managed to squeeze the most out of a bad race, and he now has 16 points of cushion over Nina Holtz, and 20 over Harry Chapman. Nikolai Surikov also has thrown his hat in the ring by now...

In the Constructors, Panther and Steinmann lead Rossini as Rafael Rodrigues has yet to set the world on fire... Lotus made a huge leap from 2016 and will get a huge chunck of prize money even if they never score again in 2017...

Race Result:

Standings:

Comment by the author: The rain AI still sucks.

The worst case happened here. The water on track dropped below the breaking point between intermediate and slick tyres... barely in lap 10-13 and the AI decided for alot of cars that pitting for the hard or medium tyre would be the right choice.

That is, ignoring the fact that in four laps, it would rain harder again. Result, the intermediate runners lost 2-3 seconds per lap in those three semi-dry laps, and won 5 seconds in the wet + 1-2 pit stops as the dry runners eventually realized their mistake and came in for inters.

Without a upgraded weather station, even my team could see that rain coming again... so the big WMC teams should be able to do so.

Next problem, the AI just uses up the tyre as they want to, and do not really utilize the trade-off between lap time and tyre life span strategically, like nursing a intermediate tyre just at the perfect temperature/speed to get to the cutoff point where it becomes dry...

I'll take the result for now, but there may come the point where I try out the new realism difficulty mode for rain races...

[Griever20]

The perfect storm... literally. We started on the right tyre with Iker, the soft one, and extracted every bit of performance out of it before it became too wet.... and may have waited too long technically, but that gave us tyre life on the inters towards the end... there was a lot of luck involved in that.

Jeremy did not quite come close to the points and that was partially because we started him on the inters. Yes, he moved forward a good bit, but the laps in the dry on the intermediate tyres cost A LOT of tyre life early, and put him out of sync compared to Vidal... who got everything right.

All and all, this means some marketability, and a good amount of additional prize money at the end of the season... sweet. Do not expect us to win anything the rest of the season. This was a fluke.

Development Report:
So, Iker and Jeremy should finally have equal brake balance for next race and we should be able to start a Jenny Whitehouse special brake before the next race. Don't get too over excited, braking performance seems to be limited this season, and has to go through the factory... which means we have loads of potential performance, no flat performance... will take us some time to get them up to speed.

[Griever20]

Lotus Racing:
Engine: 8th
Gearbox: 8th
Brakes: 7th
Front Wing: 5th
Suspension: 7th
Rear Wing: 9th
Overall: 7th

So, the brakes are done and fitted, albeit not with amazing, weight stripping reliability. The big jump came out of the factory... as we pushed the new front wing further and further and past the Windsor for the 5th best on the grid... and I still believe that this component really helped us in China as there were a good number of slow speed corners.

As mentioned, we will need some factory work to get the brakes up to speed once they are finished, so a second Whitehouse special for Woodford's car will be build... and then, we will start building engines. We did sign with Ferrari for a reason.

Sponsors:

Fixed Payment Sponsors:
Hyper Tech(8/14 races) $500k upfront, $500k per race
Cortés Tyre Co(7/15) $500k upfront, $400k per race
Jogo Games(2/12) $250k upfront, $400k per race

Race Bonus Sponsors:
Ishikawa Malt Whisky(3/5) $1M upfront, $1.2M bonus pool for 1st
Condor Telecoms(3/8) $1M upfront, $800k bonus pool for 4th or above
Luxina(2/6) $300k upfront, $250k bonus pool for 12th or above

The Track:
The race track in Tondela, Portugal, the Circuito do Tondela, is one of those twisty, hard to classify tracks where slow corners go over into straits and so, both front downforce, and acceleration and engine power are needed here.

The weather... cloudy in practice, some rain in qualifying, but a sunny sunday is expected for the race... ofc, these are raw forecasts...

Last year, Chapman won his second in a row here, and we finished P16 and P18... with two crashes happening in the race... hopefully, the Type 202 can do better.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
In a rather quick meeting, the WMC has decided to keep the UAE Grand Prix on the race calendar. There was a push to leave it off the calendar for 2018, but the team principals have shown to be very traditional and have yet to agree to a major rule change.

The story continues. According to sources close to the Russian driver, Nikolai Surikov's problems have intensified as he has spend way to much time playing an MMORPG and struggles to focus on his racecraft...

Horrible news from the Windsor team. Aki Lipponen returned home from a sponsorship appointment... to see his house on fire. It burned down to the ground. Poor guy, and this may affect his driving for some time...

The Rezzato Corsa team and Ferrari finished their work on a new engine and brought it to the track, pushing them past Lotus in the top speed rankings.

Bringing the right part at the right race. That seems to be the strategy by Steinmann as they brought a revolutionary front wing to Portugal that pushed them past Kitano into third in front downforce.

Speaking of wings, wrong track, but big upgrade as the Panther Race Team found some big rear wing performance and jumped from seventh to fourth in those rankings... impressive.

[Griever20]

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

May 6th, 2017

So we are here for the Portugese GP for the second year, and after a shocking and surprising Chinese GP two weeks ago, it is time for the Championship contenders to take over this track and show their pace... not only in qualifying, but in the race, and all eyes are on the Silver Arrows and their new front wing solution.

"They need to get on with it. As simple as that. And I don't want to hear this, oh my neck hurts, oh, I'm in a mid life crisis. They are racing drivers and the reigning Constructor World Champions," Dieter Zetsche of Mercedes said in an interview earlier this week... so no pressure.

But in free practice, the qualifying simulation of the pranching horse looked superior as Dieter Wexler led the time sheet with a 1:23.125, .726 in front of his teammate Ricardo Rodrigues who got a hurry up after the Chinese GP. The Steinmann were P3 and P4.

A rain shower came down 10 minutes before qualifying, but the start was dry, and soon, fast sector times were all over the place. Winston Margate managed to set the exact same first sector time, Wexler was fast in sector two... and put in a 1:20.652 and his teammate Rodrigues a 1:20.952 for provisional P2... but the Steinmann were not on the board yet.

Chapman... pink in sector one... green in two... 1:20.962, only third! Holtz... good first sector... good second sector.. that final sector looked awfully good... AND IT'S P1! 1:20.579! Guest in the top 10: Iker Vidal 1:21.281 for P7, ahead of both Windsor cars!

It stayed dry despite other reports, and the Rossini looked fast... Rodrigues... improved and only .024 behind Wexler,but provisional P3. Chapman messed up the first sector... and Nina Holtz got a Vélan in her way... but pink... PINK... Wexler looking fast... POLE POSITION! 1:20.336

Wexler, Holtz, then Rodrigues and Chapman, the qualifying balance of power has changed as this is the first pole position for the German AND the Scuderia Rossini.

Team Radio of the Day:
"P1, P1, you did it!" "THAT IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT"
Dieter Wexler, Rossini putting his car on pole position.

--

So, with Vidal P7, we will start him on the medium tyre, and look if we can switch to hard for a 1-stopper, or soft-soft for a 2-stopper. Woodford... disappointing. He will start on the hard tyre with the job description to stay out of the way...

[Griever20]

Portugese GP GP: Race Ticker
motorsport-live.com

May 7th, 2017

Were are here and looking over the grid for the Portugese GP. No rain expected right now, no tyre bonanza, just straight racing, and the starting grid looks intruiging. Rossini, Steinmann, Rossini, Steinmann. The water has muddied after the Silver Arrows were so dominating in qualifying in 2016...

Lap 1:
Lots of soft tyres on the grid... the first medium tyres on Saarinen(P5), Vidal and Lipponen in P7 and P8. It is time to answer the burning questions. Who has the race pace? Can Wexler deliever from pole for his second win of the season, or will the evil empire from Germany strike back.

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

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!

OH THEY STRIKE BACK! WEXLER MESSES UP THE START AND HOLTZ AND CHAPMAN ARE THROUGH BEFORE THE FIRST CORNER... AND CHAPMAN LEADS THE GRAND PRIX!

But Wexler is not done and exits turn 8 towards the back straight side by side with Holtz... AND GETS THROUGH THE CHICANE P2! Margate slips AND Rodriguez also slip past the Steinmann!

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +1.8 3. Margate +4.0
Vidal P6 +5.8
Woodford P20 +11.5

Lap 2:
But Holtz recovers into P4 as she and Vidal nearly push Rodrigues off the track in turn 9!

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +2.9 3. Margate +5.5
Vidal P5 +11.3
Woodford P20 +19.3

Lap 3:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +2.3 3. Margate +5.8
Vidal P6 +14.8
Woodford P19 +26.2

Lap 4:
Wexler may have the faster car...

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +1.2 3. Margate +5.1
Vidal P7 +17.2
Woodford P19 +29.1

Lap 5:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +1.2 3. Margate +5.6
Vidal P7 +19.4
Woodford P19 +33.5

Lap 6:
1. Chapman 2. Wexler +0.8 3. Margate +5.8
Vidal P8 +21.7
Woodford P18 +37.9

Lap 7:
Pit stops for the soft runners soon...

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +0.6 3. Margate +6.2
Vidal P7 +22.4
Woodford P18 +39.9

Lap 8:
"PIT, PIT, let's undercut," so, Wexler in this lap...

1. Chapman 2. Wexler +0.7 3. Margate +5.6
Vidal P7 +21.8
Woodford P18 +41.7

Lap 9:
Chapman and Holtz in and get queued... because they can... AND THEY MAKE A MISTAKE WITH THE TYRES WITH THE BRIT... OH THAT WILL COST THEM SOO MUCH GROUND!

1. Chapman 2. Holtz +0.7 3. Margate +7.8
Vidal P7 +21.4
Woodford P18 +42.2

Lap 10:
1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +0.7 3. Vidal +13.8
Woodford P16 +39.0

Lap 11:
Wexler is the big winner as Chapman fell way back.

1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +14.3 3. Vidal +15.3
Woodford P16 +37.0

Lap 12:
Vidal and Saarinen in at the end of the lap....

1. Wexler 2. Saarinen +15.3 3. Vidal +17.5
Woodford P19 +56.3 PIT

Lap 13:
AND Vidal comes out ahead! Nifty pit work by the Lotus crew and a mistake for Van Dort!

1. Wexler 2. Margate +16.3 3. Rodrigues +17.1
Vidal P8 +32.8 PIT
Woodford P19 +57.7

Lap 14:
1. Wexler 2. Margate +16.4 3. Rodrigues +17.4
Vidal P8 +34.2
Woodford P19 +59.6
Iker is conserving tyre and fuel, waiting for Lundquist on a 1-stopper to pit so tat he can push with clear air.

Jeremy destroyed his tryes with a couple of lockups... and his race.

Lap 15:
1. Wexler 2. Margate +16.6 3. Rodrigues +17.2
Vidal P8 +36.2
Woodford P18 +61.8

Lap 16:
"You got clear air now mate, give us some qualifying laps," via the Lotus team radio.

1. Wexler 2. Margate +15.0 3. Rodrigues +16.8
Vidal P6 +37.5
Woodford P17 +63.6

Lap 17:
... and he is the fastest out there...

1. Wexler 2. Margate +14.6 3. Rodrigues +16.9
Vidal P6 +35.5
Woodford P17 +65.0

Lap 18:
1. Wexler 2. Margate +15.2 3. Rodrigues +17.4
Vidal P6 +35.0
Woodford P17 +65.9

Lap 19:
1. Wexler 2. Margate +16.1 3. Rodrigues +18.0
Vidal P6 +34.7
Woodford P17 +67.5

Lap 20:
"Holtz is 2.2 seconds in front of you on old mediums. We can overcut her, stay behind and save powder." Lotus is looking racey again...

1. Wexler 2. Margate +16.7 3. Rodrigues +19.3
Vidal P6 +34.8
Woodford P17 +69.3

Lap 21:
Wexler pits AND exits in the lead. This looks like win #2 for the German.

1. Wexler 2. Margate +3.1 3. Rodrigues +5.5
Vidal P6 +24.6
Woodford P17 +71.5

Lap 22:
"Now, give it all Iker!"

1. Wexler 2. Margate +6.6 3. Chapman +9.6
Vidal P4 +23.4
Woodford P17 +58.5

Lap 23:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +12.3 3. Vidal +26.1
Woodford P20 1LAP PIT

Lap 24:
"Rodrigues is on the mediums, you can take him. 1.6 seconds ahead," Panther wants P2 for Margate.

1. Wexler 2. Rodrigues +26.6 3. Margate +28.2
Vidal P7 +42.6 PIT
Woodford P19 1LAP

Lap 25:
Vidal uses the fresh soft rubber and brakes late... to get Holtz to the outside and past in sector three, great manouver!

1. Wexler 2. Rodrigues +25.8 3. Margate +26.7
Vidal P5 +42.3
Woodford P19 1LAP

Lap 26:
And of all people, Chapman gets the last laugh as Rodrigues and Margate tangle in the chicane after the back strait and he slips through and takes both. There is some gravel on the track as Margate got it very wrong...

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +26.9 3. Rodrigues +28.8
Vidal P5 +42.6
Woodford P17 1LAP

Lap 27:
Margate is not done as he and the Rossini go SIDE BY SIDE THROUGH 12... THROUGH 13... AND THE PORTUGESE DRIVER STAYS AHEAD!

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +26.9 3. Rodrigues +32.7
Vidal P5 +43.7
Woodford P17 1LAP

Lap 28:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +25.6 3. Rodrigues +32.9
Vidal P5 +42.5
Woodford P17 1LAP

Lap 29:
And the Brit is back, looking at the pranching horse's gearbox... three to go....

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +24.4 3. Rodrigues +31.3
Vidal P5 +41.2
Woodford P18 1LAP

Lap 30:
"Something is wrong with the steering guys," says Nina Holtz and falls back from the gearbox of Iker Vidal's Lotus.

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +24.7 3. Rodrigues +33.6
Vidal P5 +42.1
Woodford P18 1LAP

Lap 31:
1. Wexler 2. Chapman +24.9 3. Rodrigues +32.7
Vidal P5 +41.5
Woodford P18 1LAP

Final Lap:
AND IT IS A DOUBLE PODIUM FOR ROSSINI! Dieter Wexler extends his World Championship lead with Nikolai Surikov down in ninth and Rafael Rodrigues adds crucial points for the constructors while Iker Vidal confirms his great shape with a P5 finish in front of Nina Holtz.

1. Wexler 2. Chapman +25.1 3. Rodrigues +31.6
Vidal P5 +39.7
Woodford P19 1LAP

[Griever20]

Portugese GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com

May 7th, 2017

"That is win number two, great drive, mix four, pick up rubber," "YES YES YES, PORTUGESE GP WIN, GRAZIE ROSSINI, GRAZIE FERRARI", a visibly happy Dieter Wexler screamed over the team radio when he crossed the chequered flag to win the second Grand Prix of four in 2017.

"Great result for us," via Rossini team principal Ruben Agostini. "Big points in the constructors and a win to get everyone happy again." Mind the last sentence... Dieter Wexler was visibly unhappy after the last two results.

The most happy driver however was Rafael Rodrigues, collecting a podium in his home Grand Prix, spraying champagne all over the place, taking home the first of hopefully many trophies of his WMC career.

Steinmann Screws Up Race By Themselves:
It almost seems like the Steinmann team lost a bet... and has to queue their cars every race because of that, and this time, it cost them double.

First, Harry Chapman had to wait approximately eight additional seconds due to a tyre problem, front left, and then there was Nina Holtz, waiting behind his car. "Get Holtz a lap earlier or later, and she is still 100% in the running for the win. This way, Wexler had no rivals out there," said David Coulthard for BBC after the race.

A steering problem further hurt the German driver as she had to back off and stop trying to overtakeIker Vidal for fourth place.

Saarinen Fuming:
A rare sight after the race... the veteran driver Niilo Saarinen, normally a calm and one worded interview partner, was absolutely livid after his Van Dort pit crew failed to deliver a clean pit stop when they needed it, and he fell behind a long way after the first pit stop.

"We could've been fifth, fourth... what a way to throw away points," Saarinen a tirade that made his press officer duck behind him...

After Four Races:
The momentum swing the Steinmann bosses hoped for did not come, and things got worse. P2 was a salvage operation for Chapman, but subtracting eight seconds from his race time, he still would've been second behind Wexler. +27 for the German.

The Constructors look a bit better for Steinmann, but if Rodrigues gets his act together like he did here, they are in for a long season...

Race Result:

Standings: