F1RWRS 2017 - DE BOCK WDC JONES WCC -- Vote ROTY NOW!!!

[SuperAguri]

Daniel Melville to race for Kamaha

In a shock move, Daniel Melville was promoted to 2nd Kamaha driver. A team spokes person said "After impressive times during official practice and after sponsors said they would give Kamaha money if he drove in the Australian rounds, the team had no hesitation in promoting Daniel to a drive. Bastian van Nieuwenhuijzen was not happy but has been told that he will drive in rounds 7 to 12.". We are trying to find the drivers to get their official responses.

Holden staff go hungry after catering staff fired.

Holden staff went hungry after the 2nd test after the management sacke the entire catering staff after they played for Holden in the pitlane cup. A team member said, "Strewth, we had to chuck our own shrimps on the barbie and after a hard day on the track that is the last thing a bloke wants to do.". Holden did not respond to our calls for a comment.

Shinou Katayama hopeful of a drive later in the season

After Chris Dagnall commented about talented drivers not finding a seat in the series and Shinobu Katayama being named as one driver who should have a seat, Shinobu Katayama who was in the Nurminen garage as their test driver was happy to talk to us and said "It is great when an ex team boss recognises your talent, I am still hopeful that either with Nurminen or another team that I will get a few more chances in FR1WRS and I hope I can prove I am a good driver. Last season with Revolution was a season to forget, the chassis was horrible and a lack of money meant that we couldn't fix any problems, [Hagane] Shizuka did manage a few upgrades to his car but nothing to get us in the race.". We hope that Shinobu can get a drive and will follow her progress this season.

Kamaha - Happy with testing.
After the two tests, Kamaha left the circuits on their way to Australia quite happy. A spokesperson said, "After the tests we were happy with Daniel [Mellville}s times and we think we can score points regularly. We are not sure if we can win but we are going to test all season long to make sure we have a quick car for all three drivers.".

Autosport Season Preview to come
Autosports massive 2017 Season Preview will be out in shops soon. Reserve a copy today from you favourite bookshop or online at OfficialAutosport.jp

[dr-baker]

Holden staff go hungry after catering staff fired.

Holden staff went hungry after the 2nd test after the management sacke the entire catering staff after they played for Holden in the pitlane cup. A team member said, "Strewth, we had to chuck our own shrimps on the barbie and after a hard day on the track that is the last thing a bloke wants to do.". Holden did not respond to our calls for a comment.

Douglas Mann reminds his team that Foxdale, the team that his sister runs, continues to organise barbeques every race weekends. This tradition began in 2013, when the team's engines used to regularly detontate and the barbeques were a symbol of this. Douglas says that members of HRT are welcome to chuck their shrimps on Foxdale's barbeques at any time.

[the Masked Lapwing]

Holden staff go hungry after catering staff fired.

Holden staff went hungry after the 2nd test after the management sacke the entire catering staff after they played for Holden in the pitlane cup. A team member said, "Strewth, we had to chuck our own shrimps on the barbie and after a hard day on the track that is the last thing a bloke wants to do.". Holden did not respond to our calls for a comment.

Douglas Mann reminds his team that Foxdale, the team that his sister runs, continues to organise barbeques every race weekends. This tradition began in 2013, when the team's engines used to regularly detontate and the barbeques were a symbol of this. Douglas says that members of HRT are welcome to chuck their shrimps on Foxdale's barbeques at any time.

I would like to point out that we have no shrimp to throw on the barbeques, because we only source our seafood from Australian waters and therefore we throw prawns on the barbie. Also, we've been sneaking food off the Foxdale barbeques since last year anyway since we'd already sacked our caterers after they played in last year's Pit Lane Cup

[dr-baker]

Holden staff go hungry after catering staff fired.

Holden staff went hungry after the 2nd test after the management sacke the entire catering staff after they played for Holden in the pitlane cup. A team member said, "Strewth, we had to chuck our own shrimps on the barbie and after a hard day on the track that is the last thing a bloke wants to do.". Holden did not respond to our calls for a comment.

Douglas Mann reminds his team that Foxdale, the team that his sister runs, continues to organise barbeques every race weekends. This tradition began in 2013, when the team's engines used to regularly detontate and the barbeques were a symbol of this. Douglas says that members of HRT are welcome to chuck their shrimps on Foxdale's barbeques at any time.

I would like to point out that we have no shrimp to throw on the barbeques, because we only source our seafood from Australian waters and therefore we throw prawns on the barbie. Also, we've been sneaking food off the Foxdale barbeques since last year anyway since we'd already sacked our caterers after they played in last year's Pit Lane Cup

Well, considering Douglas has been at HRT last year and this, and is a stakeholder at Foxdale, I secretly suspect that the "sneaking food off the Foxdale barbeques" was covertly approved anyway, and budgeted for...

[DemocalypseNow]

Voeckler livid with rash Kamaha management

Frederic-Maxime Voeckler, driver manager for Bastiaan van Nieuwenhuijzen, has slammed his client's team's management after he was dropped in favour of Daniel Melville.

"This is a clear breach of contract, and we will sue," said Voeckler. "The contract was agreed on the express written basis that Bastiaan must compete in all sixteen events. There was a clause deliberately written in against him being replaced in this manner, and it has been broken. We will seize any Kamaha assets the courts deem within our power to do so as compensation. If Bastiaan is not in the #14 car, it will not race."

"It's a very regrettable situation, but today Kamaha have shown they are a thoroughly unprofessional outfit, and are downright poisonous to the careers of anyone who drives for them."

Kamaha refused to comment when approached by L'Equipe.

[tommykl]

Aurelien Moll: "I'm free to drive for any F1RWRS team who wants me"

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[Nessafox]

Aurelien Moll: "I'm free to drive for any F1RWRS team who wants me"

To read more, become a premium member by subscribing.

I offer him a drive in the ACO LMC!

[roblo97]

Aurelien Moll: "I'm free to drive for any F1RWRS team who wants me"

To read more, become a premium member by subscribing.

I offer him a F1RWRS drive replacing Dean O' Laughlan from round 2 if Dean fails compared to Voeckler

[Aerond]

Aurelien Moll: "I'm free to drive for any F1RWRS team who wants me"

To read more, become a premium member by subscribing.

I offer him a F1RWRS drive replacing Dean O' Laughlan from round 2 if Dean fails compared to Voeckler

honestly, replace any of your drivers as soon as you can

[roblo97]

I offer him a F1RWRS drive replacing Dean O' Laughlan from round 2 if Dean fails compared to Voeckler

honestly, replace any of your drivers as soon as you can

fine then, please swap O' Laughlan for Moll!

[tommykl]

I offer him a F1RWRS drive replacing Dean O' Laughlan from round 2 if Dean fails compared to Voeckler

honestly, replace any of your drivers as soon as you can

fine then, please swap O' Laughlan for Moll!

Moll prefers to wait until after the first race of the season before he makes a final decision, so you'll have to keep O'Lauchlan for the time being.

[Aerond]

F1RWRS 2017 -- AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Weather: Dry All Weekend

PRE-QUALIFYING

1.Andrej Kremnicky (Revolution) -- 1.10.727
2.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- 1.10.774
3.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- 1.10.845
4.Wouter Lamberigts (Simpson) -- 1.10.889
5.Martin McFry (Nurminen) -- 1.10.968
6.Daniel Martins (Sunshine) -- 1.11.126
7.Pippa Mann (Foxdale) -- 1.11.210
8.Gregor Pascal (Nurminen) -- 1.11.325
9.Tomo Kazama (Gauthier) -- 1.11.374
10.Dave Simpson (Simpson) -- 1.11.650
11.Miko Fakkinen (Fusion) -- 1.11.680
12.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- 1.11.681
13.Barii Mori (Sunshine) -- 1.11.729
14.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- 1.11.919
15.Benoit Voeckler (Boxtel) -- 1.12.596
16.Dean O'Lauchlan (Rob Lomas) -- 1.12.723
17.Geoff Donnelly (Fusion) -- 1.12.963
18.Adelaide Voeckler (Rob Lomas) -- 1.13.279
19.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- No time
20.Connor O Heagan (Boxtel) -- No time

* Foxdale will escape Pre-Q from Round 2

QUALIFYING

1.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- 1.09.817
2.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- 1.09.883
3.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- 1.10.248
4.Ron Mignolet (Voeckler) -- 1.10.290
5.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- 1.10.375
6.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- 1.10.489
7.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- 1.10.580
8.Nathanael Spencer (Voeckler) -- 1.10.655
9.Martin McFry (Nurminen) -- 1.10.682
10.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- 1.10.740
11.Douglas Mann (HRT) -- 1.10.769
12.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- 1.10.844
13.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- 1.10.847
14.Wouter Lamberigts (Simpson) -- 1.10.897
15.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- 1.11.085
16.Dave Simpson (Simpson) -- 1.11.090
17.Pippa Mann (Foxdale) -- 1.11.130
18.Gregor Pascal (Nurminen) -- 1.11.210
19.Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- 1.11.289
20.Hansuke Shioya (Arrowtech) -- 1.11.331
21.Tomo Kazama (Gauthier) -- 1.11.371
22.Philippe Nicolas (Arrowtech) -- 1.11.406
23.David Neuberg (Plus One) -- 1.11.440
24.Nathan McKane (Plus One) -- 1.11.678
25.Daniel Melville (Kamaha) -- 1.11.773
26.Eric Swerts (Gillet) -- 1.11.974
DNQ.Thomas de Bock (Gillet) -- 1.12.161
DNQ.Daniel Melrose (Autodynamics) -- No time

*Autodynamics will participate in Pre-Q from Round 2

RACE

1.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- 1h 46m 16.646
2.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- +9.478
3.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- +20.049
4.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- +1.02.558
5.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- +1.06.028
6.Ron Mignolet (Voeckler) -- +1.12.146
7.Douglas Mann (HRT) -- +1 Lap
8.Pippa Mann (Foxdale) -- +1 Lap
9.Martin McFry (Nurminen) -- +2 Laps
10.Daniel Melville (Kamaha) -- +2 Laps
11.Eric Swerts (Gillet) -- +2 Laps
12.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- +4 Laps
13.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- +5 Laps (*)
DNF.David Neuberg (Plus One) -- Transmission
DNF.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- Suspension
DNF.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- Accident
DNF.Nathan McKane (Plus One) -- Oil Leak
DNF.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- Accident
DNF.Gregor Pascal (Nurminen) -- Accident
DNF.Hansuke Shioya (Arrowtech) -- Engine
DNF.Philippe Nicolas (Arrowtech) -- Water Leak
DNF.Tomo Kazama (Gauthier) -- Accident
DNF.Wouter Lamberigts (Simpson) -- Accident
DNF.Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- Accident
DNF.Nathanael Spencer (Voeckler) -- Transmission
DNF.Dave Simpson (Simpson) -- Accident

FASTEST LAP: Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- 1.11.621
DOTR: Alexey Buyvolov; Pole and Win for the Russian in his first time ever in a competitive car.
ROTR: Diego Alvarez Torrente and Eric Swerts; A shipment of extra front wings from Europe is on the way.

[tommykl]

Disappointment. Pure disappointment. I've never been exceedingly good in qualifying, but this is just embarrassing. I really hope that the car will improve over the season, because it's just not good enough at the moment. I wish Eric luck for the race. He'll need it.

[Aerospeed]

The Fox blames Adelaide kerbs for double DNF
Fresh off a very successful season in 2016, ArrowTech had big expectations for the first race of the 2017 season. However, it was met with disappointment as the team retired both cars during the race. The cars were not very competitive on the field as well, with both drivers qualifying outside the Top 15 and well behind the rest of the field until their retirement from the race. The Fox put immediate blame on the notoriously high kerbs in the Adelaide Street Circuit, which caused other drivers to crash out. "They ruin all of the cars, not just ours," said The Fox during an interview. "They mess up our suspension and it keeps rattling the engine. It's a total mess on the car right now." The Fox says that Adelaide should be dropped from the calendar, given that there already is another Australian event on the calendar in Mount Panorama. "The crowd is good here, but the track is not good for everyone here."

Melrose plan a ruse???
Daniel Melrose was to have made his return to the F1RWRS in return of the suspended Jean Vincent Albertini this weekend in Adelaide, but during qualifying Melrose was a no-show and he DNQed for the race. Reports are now coming from the Autodynamics GP that the plan allegedly was all a ruse to simply make up numbers and that he never planned to race for the team. Why he is doing this we don't know yet. More to follow...

[Aerond]

Next race will be September 21st

[Phoenix]

What can I say? I held good hopes for the race but I still thought we were behind Jones and Voeckler; they managed to make some steps forward with their car in pre-season testing and we didn't, so to finish 1-2 is like a dream, but one that's come true. This is my first ever 1-2 as a team owner and it... it really does feel great, I have no proper wording to describe the feeling. For sure we're not any more confident after this, and only hard work is on our minds after we finish celebrating. Consistency is the key, always is, and we work hard regardless of the results, because we fully know that if we achieve that, results will come, and if not, at least we can feel proud of having given our best. Finally, I want to congratulate Alex on his first F1RWRS win; to do it is special, and when you achieve that the first time you're not saddled with a bad car must be a huge fillip for him. Also Kay did a very solid race, and he'll win races too, you bet on that!

[Salamander]

Obviously a double retirement is never good, but I feel ze pace Danny and Tomo 'ave shown is... simply incredible. Arnaud has made great changes to ze chassis and it 'as really paid off, and Danny could have gotten pole here had the kerbs not disturbed his front wing in Q1. Tomo was unfortunate not to extract the full potential of the ze car in qualifying - but she was running only a few seconds behind Danny when she had her accident.

There is still much room for improvement, especially with the engine, but PURE-Hart is working on a large upgrade which should be ready after the American leg, which, based on our pace here, should make us regular points contenders.

[dr-baker]

After last year, Foxdale are happy to gain a double finish, yet are sad that the Mann siblings just failed to score points. But potential appears to be shown for the rest of the year. Hopefully... Barbeque for all at Foxdale and HRT!!!

[Ataxia]

It's a big shame for me. Since the last time I was here, they changed the curbs and so I was trying all weekend to get them right. Unfortunately, I broke a front wing on the way out of the pits twice in qualifying, so I couldn't get the running in to experience the new curbing on the rest of the circuit. My race pace was great, I want to thank Jones for a great car, but unfortunately the high curbs caught me out again. We looked at the telemetry and I damaged the suspension on one curb, so we had to stop the car. I'm disappointed, for sure we could have got 5th or 6th, but there's always next weekend!

Hopefully they'll cut down the curbing for next year, because there was a big danger with cars launching into the air.

[Nessafox]

Well, at least Ron could save a point (altough i'm slightly dissapointed), and Wouter did what was expected from him: qualify well and screw up in the race.

[DemocalypseNow]

A bad day for us today. Spencer looked like he had some good race pace, but the engine died early on which was very unfortunate. Mignolet on the other hand had a poor race, we'll talk to him about it at the weekend review team meeting later today. He went through a bunch of nosecones and only scraped a point in a car that was capable of more. I think he knows his performance today wasn't acceptable, we'll work towards something better at Bathurst.

The car has some gremlins that need fixed before we can try to escape Pre-Qualifying. Connor wasn't even able to set a time because of similar issues that my car had. We will regroup and try to improve at Bathurst.

I 'ave to apologise to my team-mate Andrej, 'e found the maximum from the car but I could not find the same feeling. I felt like I was fighting the car the 'ole way, it was twiching twitching, very sensitive. I will work more on the setup at the next round and 'opefully will make it through with Andrej to the race.

[Aerond]

FormulaRejects Mag Ratings - Adelaide

Ron Mignolet: 5 - Saved the face of the team by scoring but more is expected in that car.
Nathanael Spencer: 6 - Was looking good until the car stopped
Mark Dagnall: 6 - Really fast but a mistake put him out of the race.
Diego Alvarez Torrente: 5 - Showed signs of speed but also an outstanding ability to destroy nosecones
Alexey Buyvolov: 10 - Perfect weekend for him. Can't ask for more, really.
Kay Lon: 8 - He did what he was supposed to do.
Philippe Nicolas: 3 - Nowhere to be seen. Disappointing
Hansuke Shioya: 4 - See Nicolas
Nicolas Steele: 8 - Rock solid performance to 3rd
Daniel Melrose: 1 - Embarrased by a car that didn't want to start up in qualifying and a teammate that got a podium.
Jean-Luc Schiller: 6 - Somewhat solid performance
Fredo Mestolio: 4 - Faster than teammate but that's worth nothing if you crash the car
Hagane Shizuka: 2 - Disappointing
Daniel Melville: 4 - Kept the car on the track most of the time
Thomas de Bock: 1 - Very disappointing
Eric Swerts: 4 - More nosecones on their way from Belgium thanks to him. At least finished and did impressive first few laps
Douglas Mann: 5 - Ok but clearly beaten by teammate
Alberto Cara: 8 - Great debut with some moments of inconsistency
David Neuberg: 4 - Was he racing?
Nathan McKane: 3 - See Neuberg
Danny van Rijkens: 6 - Was doing a good job until the car expired
Tomo Kazama: 2 - Mugged by teammate, accidentally killed a marshall and massive repair bill.
Daniel Martins: 5 - Did his job
Barii Mori: 3 - Did not do his job
Pippa Mann: 7 - Good performance considering the material at her disposal
Ben Fleet: 3 - Moving chicane
Benoit Voeckler: 3 - Meh
Connor O Heagan: 3 - At least has the car excuse
Dave Simpson: 6 - Was doing a fine job until the car blew up
Wouter Lamberigts: 5 - Amazing in qualifying, but his accident doesn't make up for a good excuse
Jesus Plaza: 3 - Couldn't start the car
Hiroto Tojo: 4 - Didn't look competitive.
Marco Bizzarri: 3 - Can't be happy with his performance
Andrej Kremnicky: 6 - Topped Pre-Q but couldn't make it past.
Martin McFry: 6 - Did a decent job
Gregor Pascal: 5 - He paid for his inexperience
Miko Fakkinen: 5 - Did his job
Geoff Donnelly: 2 - Did not do his job
Dean O'Lauchlan: 4 - Made a bit of effort to Qualify
Adelaide Voeckler: 3 - Not competitive

[RealRacingRoots]

Melrose's Autodynamics-Gillet car left all it's oil on the garage floor as it left for Pre-Q. Did someone intentionally forget to do their or something?

...

Melrose's car is stopped right in front of the scrutineering garage, 50 meters from the Autodynamics pit stall. (picture)

[FMecha]

The moment Plaza started the car, he told us that the oil has leaked. We could not fix that in time, so we can't see our potential yet.

[Ataxia]

FormulaRejects Mag Ratings - Adelaide

Geoff Donnelly: 2 - Did not do his job

Oh, yes, he did!

[AndreaModa]

Naturally I'm rather disappointed to finish the weekend with a double DNF, but the pace of the car is apparent, and that is only going to improve as the season goes on. Mark was taken out by one of many clumsy backmarkers that littered the track throughout the entire race, it wasn't his fault and I have no doubt that he had the pace to win. The Aeroracings look good, but we were saying that this time last year weren't we? As for Diego, he's had somewhat of a baptism of fire in his first F1RWRS race. The front wings are something I'm not getting hung up on, these sort of things happen from time to time, and he's mature enough to understand and improve next time out. He clearly had good pace and without the incidents would have easily scored points too. By the end he just had too much to do and the car was too heavily damaged in the end. We'll dust ourselves down and move on to the next race. The main positive is that Voeckler have only managed the 1 point. I can see them and Aeroracing as our big rivals, so it will be interesting to see how the season develops.

The car is great, we're lacking a little bit of pace but it handles really well which allowed us to really go well on the twisty street circuit. I think we'll struggle at the power circuits but we have a good chance of getting points if we can get the car to the finish, no doubt about that.

What the feck do you want me to say? The car is shite. The whole set-up here is shite. We're running the same fecking engine as Jones and yet we're on our arses waiting for the lightning to strike.

[Nuppiz]

I'm pleased to see that both of our cars made it through qualifying, and although Pascal's race was ruined by an arrogant daddy's boy who doesn't seem to know how to lap cars safely, McFry brought the car home in a very decent position given it was our first race. It's nice to carry on to the next race on the back of this result.

[pasta_maldonado]

It was an uneventful race for us. Avoiding pre-qualifying was our main aim this weekend, and although we were helped Melrose not setting a time, I feel we had the tenacity to avoid it on merit.

[Aerond]

Post-Adelaide budgets updated

[Aerond]

DG Management International press Round-Up

Mark Dagnall said:

Everything was going exactly as planned when Pascal came out of nowhere at the last corner and we collided. I should have punched him in the face right at that moment, but prefer to waste my money on a new Lamborghini than paying fines to the F1RWRS Commission. All in all very happy with the car. It's a pity Torrente didn't take some points for the team in the end but we still have the whole season ahead of us.

Fredo Mestolio said:

That was a stupid mistake on my side. The car is good, some good stuff awaits for us. Now, if you excuse me, let me eat my pasta

Jesus Plaza said:

We had some issues on the car and couldn't complete a lap. Tojo's pace was alright anyway, so I think we should be qualifying regularly. I have faith in my new team.

Hansuke Shioya said:

The car has no grip, but I will work hard to return the faith the team has in me. The race was going more or less fine with us in the back of the pack but all of a sudden the car stops... I was slightly confused at the time not knowing if I had done anything wrong. I will work very very hard. Thank you.

[The Lukas]

This is something amazing, all the time I have the impression that this is my dream, first won qualification and then win the race .. I wanted to thank all the people of Aeroracing particular, you are the best ... I hope it would be a harbinger of what will be in the next races.

[the Masked Lapwing]

Wa-hey, points! A very solid effort from Alberto, and Douglas was none too shabby either. Now we just need to not slide into mediocrity again...

[DemocalypseNow]

Team Ratings - Adelaide

VOECKLER RENAULT
4
They scraped a point, but no-one is quite sure why. Spencer was fast but the car died on him early, and Mignolet had a shocker, constantly breaking his front wing, and even without these errors, wasn't maximising the potential speed of the car. One point is maybe a point more than they deserved.

JONES FORD
5
The speed was there, the car is good, but the drivers were a shambles. Dagnall ploughed into a backmarker and Alvarez Torrente seemed to spend more time in the pits swapping front wings than out on track, and eventually broke his suspension by constantly running over the same kerbs that were knocking his front wings off. The only problem Jones needs to fix for Bathurst is the loons between the steering wheel and the seat.

AERORACING ENGINEERING
10
Perfetto. A flawless 1-2. Buyvolov was imperious, untouchable, and Lon kept his head down to work his way into second place from further down the grid. No team could ask for more on any given weekend.

ARROWTECH-ACURI AUTOSPORT
0
Horrifically slow, Nicolas was constantly in the way of those trying to lap him, and while Shioya had the decency not to get in anyone's way, was equally devoid of pace. A double DNF was probably a blessing, because had they reached the finish, their final placings would have been embarassing for a team that was not far from fighting for the title last season.

BOC AUTODYNAMICS GP
7
Steele had a great run to third place, but several marks down for Daniel Melrose failing to even make it out of the garage in qualifying, and therefore DNQing. Just like last season, the car is clearly at its strongest in Adelaide, and they may have just lost their best chance to get two cars on the podium this season.

MELROSE RACING TEAM
6
The car still has reasonable pace, but Mestolio threw away a promising position through an unforced error. Schiller was at least able to pick up the pieces with 5th place and two points on the board, and they at least look like they have the potential to be there or there abouts in the Top 5 later on.

KAMAHA MOTORSPORTS
2
Melville at least got the car to the finish, but starting 20th on the grid and failing to make any progress up the field bar attrition to those ahead is not a good start to his career. Shizuka was at least a little further up the grid, but hadn't contribued much before the wheels literally fell off the Kamaha wagon. All around a poor performance.

GILLET ECURIE NATIONALE BELGE
1
De Bock DNQing was the nail in the coffin for their weekend. With their team leader sidelined before the race even started, it was left to rookie Eric Swerts to try and salvage something. However, the car is clearly very poor and nothing short of a career defining performance was going to get that Gillet beyond the rear of the field. They were extremely lucky Melrose had technical issues in the Autodynamics, otherwise they'd be in Pre-Qualifying at Bathurst, and they won't be able to climb back out again once they get sent down there.

HOLDEN RACING TEAM
7
A strong performance, from a team that has come on leaps and bounds from this point last year. Rookie Cara is on a rolling contract and needs to perform to stay with the team for the whole year - if he can keep this form up, Holden won't need to search for a replacement driver. A good run to fourth was almost tainted by contact with team-mate Douglas Mann when passing for position, but both cars soldiered on, and Mann was unluckly not to be able to capitalise on Mignolet's woeful form and sneak the final points position. 4th and 7th is still a promising start however.

PLUS ONE KINGFISHER RACING
2
Neuberg has had better races. He was at least mixing it up in the lower midfield before his car died, but McKane was squabbling with Ben Fleet for the wooden spoon before reliability gremlins ended his day as well. Even if the cars can last a whole race distance, it doesn't look like they'll achieve very much.

EQUIPE GAUTHIER
5
Danny van Rijkens had an excellent qualifying, and while he did fall back slightly, he was at least in contention for the smaller points places until the famed Pure-Hart reliability struck. That robbed Gauthier of their only hopes, as the other side of the garage was having an absolute shocker. Kazama was embarassingly slow in the other car, and struck the stationary Dacia of Wouter Lamberigts exiting Turn 1. Many said Kamaha were crazy turning their backs on Kazama in the manner they did last season, but on today's performance, they don't look quite as mad as we first thought.

SUNHINE DAIHATSU
3
Daniel Martins had a decent enough run in PreQ, but Barii Mori once again demonstrated he is past it. The latter will have to improve his hot lap performances for his team's sake.

FOXDALE ART
4
Their package is clearly utterly hopeless. A gutless engine coupled to a basic chassis means they're destined to spend their days at the back of the field with the Gillets of this world. Which makes Pippa Mann's performance all the better - an 8th place finish is really as good as anyone could have hoped for in this year's Foxdale. Her progress was almost halted by her utterly incompetent team-mate Ben Fleet however - the Brit finished four laps down on raw pace alone, and managed to drive into his team-mate while pointing the wrong way. Despite being a four year veteran of the sport, Fleet looked far more out of his depth than any rookie this weekend.

BOXTEL
0
Hopeless. Technical problems stopped O'Heagan making what would be a most likely futile attempt to escape Pre-Qualifying, and Benoit Voeckler was far off the pace. Their prospects look very bleak.

DACIA
4
Lamberigts had a good run in qualifying, but undid his hard work in the race. Dave Simpson was looking decent enough in the few laps he managed before his car succumbed to reliability issues. All in all, not much to judge their true potential on.

TEAM MECHA RACING
3
Plaza couldn't set a lap-time, but there was something promising about their performance - the often derided Hiroto Tojo was on the brink of the Top 10 in pre-qualifying. If such a talentless pay-driver can scrape such a performance, there is hope that Plaza might just drag them into a few races...if his car stops refusing to fire up, of course.

REVOLUTION ENGINEERING
3
Andrej Kremnicky has given them a lot of hope. The basement boys from last season actually looked like they could crack Pre-Qualifying for the first time in a year, with the Slovenian driver topping the timesheets. Unfortunately though, Bizzarri anchored them badly, only managing 14th fastest, and therefore making Revo only the 5th fastest team on aggregate. But someone has to pay the bills, I suppose?

NURMINEN GRAND PRIX
5
Martin McFry looked solid enough, although might be disappointed he couldn't overhaul Pippa Mann whilst in arguably better machinery. Still, it's a decent finish under their belt that puts them firmly at the top of trio of new teams. Pascal's altercation with Dagnall early means we still await to see what the Swiss driver is capable of.

FUSION MOTORSPORT
1
Miko Fakkinen did reasonably well. Geoff Donnelly was, predictably, extremely slow. If Donnelly has a moment of inspration, and loses 100lbs through a pie-free diet, they might scrape into one race out of the fifteen left. Maybe.

ROB LOMAS RACING
0
Both drivers miles off the pace. Completely failed to capitalise on two of their rivals having cars fail to set times at all. Most likely won't get a better opportunity all season.

[RealRacingRoots]

Moll moves to Sportscars
After two weeks of solid speculation, former Gillet F1RWRS driver Aurelien Moll has made his decision about where the next part of his Career will take him. His agent has confirmed, on the lead up to the first round of the new F1RWRS season, that the Belgian will be driving in the GT-Rejects World Championship for Racing Team Solvalou. This comes after a very public offer was sent to Moll from Rob Lomas Racing after he was replaced at Gillet by fellow Belgian Eric Swerts.

"He (Moll) wanted to stay in F1RWRS", Moll's agent told a Autosport Insider today, "but he wants a shot at making the race, which RLR were not offering. RTS were guaranteeing a championship challenge, which made the decision easy for him to move to GT-R."

This is the final full-time seat to be filled in the GT-R WC. The factory Lamborghini went into their Pre-Season Test at the Bahrain International Circuit without a driver to partner with Stefan Kuntz during the season, and had to put Chris Winter in the car to fill the obligations of the test. Moll will make his GT-R début at their season opener at the Potrero de los Funes Circuit in Argentina.

[DemocalypseNow]

DScity Voeckler Renault will conduct a private test on 28-29 March.

Full test details on wiki

[Aerond]

8th March - Suzuka Private test

Weather: Dry

QUALIFYING PACE

1. Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- 1.41.320

RACE PACE

1. Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- 1.43.027

TEST REPORT:

A rear wheel puncture mid simulation made Shizuka go off track and couldn't return the car to the pits. The team couldn't gather enough data to improve the downforce.

[Aerond]

F1RWRS 2017 - NEW SOUTH WALES GRAND PRIX

Weather Info:

Pre-Qualifying: Wet (40%)
Qualifying: Dry
Race: Dry

PRE-QUALIFYING

1.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- 1.45.172
2.Daniel Melrose (Autodynamics) -- 1.45.914 (+0.742)
3.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- 1.46.379 (+1.207)
4.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- 1.46.350 (+1.358)
5.Dave Simpson (Simpson) -- 1.46.762 (+1.590)
6.Gregor Pascal (Nurminen) -- 1.47.104 (+1.932)
7.Miko Fakkinen (Fusion) -- 1.47.380 (+2.208)
8.Wouter Lamberigts (Simspon) -- 1.47.458 (+2.286)
9.Adelaide Voeckler (Rob Lomas) -- 1.48.076 (+2.904)
10.Geoff Donnelly (Fusion) -- 1.49.153 (+3.981)
11.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- 1.49.267 (+4.095)
12.Andrej Kremnicky (Revolution) -- 1.49.348 (+4.176)
13.Connor O Heagan (Boxtel) -- 1.49.807 (+4.635)
14.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- 1.49.891 (+4.719)
15.Martin McFry (Nurminen) -- No time
16.Dean O'Lauchlan (Rob Lomas) -- No time
17.Tomo Kazama (Gauthier) -- No time
18.Benoit Voeckler (Boxtel) -- No time
19.Daniel Martins (Sunshine) -- No time
20.Barii Mori (Sunshine) -- No time

** Autodynamics will avoid Pre-Qualifying from Round 3

QUALIFYING

1.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- 1.38.829
2.Ron Mignolet (Voeckler) -- 1.39.486 (+0.657)
3.Nathanel Spencer (Voeckler) -- 1.39.529 (+0.700)
4.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- 1.39.982 (+1.153)
5.Daniel Melrose (Autodynamics) -- 1.39.997 (+1.168)
6.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- 1.40.063 (+1.234)
7.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- 1.40.073 (+1.244)
8.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- 1.40.143 (+1.314)
9.Wouter Lamberigts (Simpson) -- 1.40.295 (+1.466)
10.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- 1.40.376 (+1.547)
11.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- 1.40.457 (+1.628)
12.Pippa Mann (Foxdale) -- 1.40.761 (+1.932)
13.Daniel Melville (Kamaha) -- 1.40.801 (+1.972)
14.Douglas Mann (HRT) -- 1.40.883 (+2.054)
15.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- 1.40.994 (+2.165)
16.Nathan McKane (PORE) -- 1.41.070 (+2.241)
17.Philippe Nicolas (Arrowtech) -- 1.41.159 (+2.330)
18.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- 1.41.188 (+2.359)
19.Dave Simpson (Simpson) -- 1.41.418 (+2.589)
20.Thomas de Bock (Gillet) -- 1.41.573 (+2.744)
21.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- 1.41.686 (+2.857)
22.David Neuberg (PORE) -- 1.41.770 (+2.941)
23.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- 1.41.844 (+3.015)
24.Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- 1.42.004 (+3.175)
25.Hansuke Shioya (Arrowtech) -- 1.42.193 (+3.364)
26.Miko Fakkinen (Fusion) -- 1.43.016 (+4.187)
DNQ.Eric Swerts (Gillet) -- 1.44.005 (+5.176)
DNQ.Geoff Donnelly (Fusion) -- 1.44.549 (+5.720)

** Gillet drops to Pre-Qualifying from Round 3

RACE

1.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- 1h 33m 34.839
2.Philippe Nicolas (Arrowtech) -- +31.884
3.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) - +42.932
4.Ron Mignolet (Voeckler) -- +1.00.145
5.Nathanael Spencer (Voeckler) -- +1.07.737
6.Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- +1.27.525
7.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- +1.35.720
8.Douglas Mann (HRT) -- +1 Lap
9.Dave Simpson (Simpson) -- +1 Lap
10.Hansuke Shioya (Arrowtech) -- +1 Lap
11.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- +2 Laps (*)
12.Miko Fakkinen (Fusion) -- +2 Laps
13.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- +3 Laps (*)
DNF.Nathan McKane (PORE) -- Oil Leak
DNF.David Neuberg (PORE) -- Water Leak
DNF.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- Engine
DNF.Wouter Lamberigts (Simpson) -- Puncture
DNF.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- Puncture
DNF.Pippa Mann (Foxdale) -- Transmission
DNF.Daniel Melville (Kamaha) -- Engine
DNF.Thomas de Bock (Gillet) -- Electrical
DNF.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- Accident
DNF.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- Accident
DNF.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- Suspension
DNF.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- Puncture
DNF.Daniel Melrose (Autodynamics) -- Accident

Fastest lap: Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- 1.43.942
DOTR: Philippe Nicolas (Arrowtech) -- Totally unexpected podium with sub-par machinery
ROTR: Nathanael Spencer: 1 Collision, 4 Front Wings and 1 Spin speak for his performance

Driver of car #2, Nathanael Spencer, gets a suspended race ban for the next eight races as a result of his collision with car #10 during Lap 2 of the New South Wales Grand Prix

[Ataxia]

What a fantastic day for the team, for Miko to bring the car home in 12th is quite spectacular. Fantastic result for the team, and we come back home with big grins on our faces!

As for Diego, wow. He was just phenomenal. The way he just stayed in the front pack, didn't push too hard and let the others make mistakes was fantastic. He deserves this success so much.

YEEEEES! I'm just so so happy, I cannot take the smile of my face! Bathurst is so tricky, you know, you could go wide in one place and you lose something off the car like so many people did; it's easy to do, for sure! Sammy told me on the pit wall to keep it steady and not fight to hard because on pace we lost a lot to the MRTs and the Aeroracings, but we just did our own race and...well, here I am! Wow...I cannot believe this...I don't think anyone expected this to happen!

[DemocalypseNow]

Voeckler: We deserved nothing

Despite recovering to take five points in the Bathurst Grand Prix, Renault team principal Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler spoke out against his team's performance at the Australian track, and was especially critical of his drivers.

"The driving by our team today was a disgrace," said Voeckler. "This is a championship winning car. We threw away a golden opportunity to score a 1-2 finish with a litany of careless mistakes. I might understand such a woeful performance from a rookie trying to find his feet - but instead the rookie showed how it's done today."

"We deserved absolutely nothing from today. It was the most horrid driving performance I've seen in my life. We should not have been rewarded with five points for a performance that deserved both cars to be outside the Top 10. The car's fantastic performance at this track saved them today."

There are rumours circling the paddock that Nathanael Spencer will receive a ban following his Lap 1 collision with Daniel Melrose, which caused the latter to retire through terminal damage. Voeckler made clear his team has no plans to appeal against any penalty that may be levied at the Brit.

"If he gets a race ban or not from the stewards, it makes no difference. If the Commission doesn't bench him, then I will."

[Aerospeed]

The Fox hails development progress on eve of Bathurst podium
Although all the signs pointed towards ArrowTech not scoring any points this season, all of those rumours were quickly disspelled as Phillippe Nicolas drove brilliantly to a second place finish at Bathurst. Although his final position was slightly aided by race leader Alexey Buyvolov retiring very late in the race, The Fox said that the result gives the team a great boost going into the better part of the season. Meanwhile, Nicolas' teammate Hansuke Shioya finished 10th, though he was well off the pace of the rest of the field. Still, The Fox remains confident of the season's prospects despite their dismal qualifying performances. "It is only a minor thing in the weekend," said The Fox. "What matters is the race result."

---

I'm very thankful for the result today, it was a tough race and there was lots of times when the car wanted to go into the wall. Thankfully, the tires were always good to me, and everyone else ahead of me had technical problems or crashed out on their own. It also helped that I had a good qualifying position as well. I'm also glad the team is out of Pre-Qualifying, we shouldn't have gone there in the first place.