2016 F1 Rejects IndyCar Series season

[SeedStriker]

I believe the idea is to give a racing spectacle, not a high-speed crash fest

[pasta_maldonado]

I believe the idea is to give a racing spectacle, not a high-speed crash fest

Adding more downforce is the worst way to try and improve the 'spectacle'. Everyone has so much grip it's hard to get an edge over the guy in front.

[DemocalypseNow]

I believe the idea is to give a racing spectacle, not a high-speed crash fest

Adding more downforce is the worst way to try and improve the 'spectacle'. Everyone has so much grip it's hard to get an edge over the guy in front.

When did he say anything about downfroce?

If you don't like it, you're welcome to withdraw your entry at any time

[FMecha]

EXCLUSIVE! Secret images of 2017 Indy car uncovered by Indy Chronicle

The Indianapolis Chronicle is proud to present the first image of the new generation of Indy cars debuting in 2017, obtained for us through a highly trusted source.

The new car is a stark departure from the former choice of chassis, which trace their roots back to the early 2000s. The radical design is extremely drag efficient, with claims it may reach a staggering 300mph on Superspeedways.

With ratings dwindling and manufacturers heading for the exits, series bosses felt a drastic change was required to lure fans and sponsors back to the sport, and the new car appears to be just that.

Here is the exclusive spy shot acquired by the Indianapolis Chronicle earlier today:



What do you think of the new car? Is it a refereshing change, an insult to history or a step too far altogether? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

We rather have a DeltaWing design instead of that, unless you can warrant that the driver could not pass out at such speeds.

[DemocalypseNow]

That's just Red Bull X2010.

NO WAY! Really?! Well god dammit, now I can't use it anymore! Let's call the whole thing off!

[FMecha]

[redacted]

NO WAY! Really?! Well god dammit, now I can't use it anymore! Let's call the whole thing off!

It's a "Captain Obvious" joke dude, calm down. I just removed the that comment btw.

[Onxy Wrecked]

Still not withdrawing, but I might make Onyx a road course only team come 2017 if this chassis becomes fruition.

[DemocalypseNow]

California 500 // Auto Club Speedway, Fontana
27 November 2016

The finale, the last stop on the F1RICS tour, and it all comes down to one race. Ryder v Pratchett ends here. The latter goes in with a 9 point advantage, but with 20 on offer for the winner, anything can happen here today.

A mere footnote for today - three part-time entries return for this race; Frederic-Maxime Voeckler is back for Mastercard Lola after almost winning the Indy 500, Commonwealth return with a third Mazzacane in four races - Gaston this time - and Buddy Lazier is also at Fontana this week.

Free Practise 1

Code: Select all

 1 Frederic-Maxime Voeckler (Mastercard Lola)        31.360
 2 Jack Christopherson (Mastercard Lola)             31.419
 3 Martin van der Meyde (Michael Bright Racing)      31.462
 4 Jules Vergne (Mastercard Lola)                    31.506
 5 Michael Robertson (Mastercard Lola)               31.523
 6 Ralf Schumacher (Hasselhoff Motorsport)           31.626
 7 Ryan McReynolds (Michael Bright Racing)           31.631
 8 Kohei Hirate (Onyx Racing)                        31.722
 9 Clint Hillman (Cassidy Racing)                    31.925
10 Claude Speed (Rockstar Engineering)               31.959
11 Antonio Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)       31.989
12 Rafael Carlos (Aurico Autosport)                  31.999
13 Dean O'Lauchlan (Euromotor International)         32.062
14 Jiri Komarek (Tassie Racing)                      32.248
15 Natacha Gachnang (Onyx Racing)                    32.348
16 Lance Vance (Rockstar Engineering)                32.361
17 J. J. Davies (Michael Bright Racing)              32.422
18 Collin Pratchett (Mastercard Lola)                32.432
19 Ashley Cassidy (Cassidy Racing)                   32.534
20 Joao Cavalcanti (Horizon Motorsports)             32.634
21 Beth Lestrade (Euromotor International)           32.693
22 Jose Maria Lopez (NeoV Competition)               32.744
23 Veronika Asimov (Dreadnought Racing)              32.747
24 Vidal Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)         32.883
25 Janneau Esmeijer (Hasselhoff Motorsport)          32.996
26 Matteo Vasquez (NeoV Competition)                 33.128
27 Jeremy MacMillan (Aurico Autosport)               33.169
28 Natalie Ryder (Cassidy Racing)                    33.204
29 David Lee (Dreadnought Racing)                    33.544
30 Tim Horan (Restov Racing)                         33.764
31 Gaston Mazzacane (Commonwealth Racing)            33.809
32 Elinor Yurko (Tassie Racing)                      33.852
33 Nikola Nikolov (DSR Racing)                       33.969
34 Rusty Gannit (Aurico Autosport)                   34.235
35 Buddy Lazier (Lazier Partners Racing)             34.595
36 Daniel Melrose (Horizon Motorsports)              35.133
37 Johannes das Schaf (Checkered Flag Motorsport)    35.210
38 Al Unser III. (Hasselhoff Motorsport)             35.883
39 Damon Cannon (Checkered Flag Motorsport)          35.986
40 Phil McCracken (Michael Bright Racing)            37.283
41 Roy Guidry (Onyx Racing)                          39.352

It seems the Mastercard Lola package is fast here, and Cassidy are struggling. Ashley Cassidy down in 19th, and title challenger Ryder all the way down in 28th! Some consolation though in that Pratchett was the only Mastercard Lola to struggle, he's less than a tenth ahead of Cassidy in 18th.


Free Practise 2

Code: Select all

 1 Martin van der Meyde (Michael Bright Racing)      31.296
 2 Frederic-Maxime Voeckler (Mastercard Lola)        31.304
 3 Jack Christopherson (Mastercard Lola)             31.413
 4 Ralf Schumacher (Hasselhoff Motorsport)           31.505
 5 Kohei Hirate (Onyx Racing)                        31.573
 6 Ashley Cassidy (Cassidy Racing)                   31.581
 7 Natalie Ryder (Cassidy Racing)                    31.647
 8 Dean O'Lauchlan (Euromotor International)         31.703
 9 Michael Robertson (Mastercard Lola)               31.727
10 Jules Vergne (Mastercard Lola)                    31.787
11 Antonio Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)       31.908
12 Claude Speed (Rockstar Engineering)               31.915
13 Lance Vance (Rockstar Engineering)                32.030
14 Rafael Carlos (Aurico Autosport)                  32.089
15 Damon Cannon (Checkered Flag Motorsport)          32.274
16 Veronika Asimov (Dreadnought Racing)              32.352
17 Rusty Gannit (Aurico Autosport)                   32.389
18 Beth Lestrade (Euromotor International)           32.420
19 Elinor Yurko (Tassie Racing)                      32.532
20 Jeremy MacMillan (Aurico Autosport)               32.544
21 Matteo Vasquez (NeoV Competition)                 32.549
22 Joao Cavalcanti (Horizon Motorsports)             32.559
23 Janneau Esmeijer (Hasselhoff Motorsport)          32.583
24 Vidal Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)         32.607
25 Collin Pratchett (Mastercard Lola)                32.624
26 David Lee (Dreadnought Racing)                    32.745
27 J. J. Davies (Michael Bright Racing)              32.918
28 Daniel Melrose (Horizon Motorsports)              32.955
29 Jose Maria Lopez (NeoV Competition)               32.990
30 Ryan McReynolds (Michael Bright Racing)           33.093
31 Jiri Komarek (Tassie Racing)                      33.177
32 Roy Guidry (Onyx Racing)                          33.196
33 Natacha Gachnang (Onyx Racing)                    33.570
34 Tim Horan (Restov Racing)                         33.638
35 Gaston Mazzacane (Commonwealth Racing)            33.813
36 Clint Hillman (Cassidy Racing)                    33.907
37 Buddy Lazier (Lazier Partners Racing)             34.046
38 Nikola Nikolov (DSR Racing)                       34.916
39 Phil McCracken (Michael Bright Racing)            35.070
40 Johannes das Schaf (Checkered Flag Motorsport)    35.402
41 Al Unser III. (Hasselhoff Motorsport)             36.443

Natalie Ryder is now up to speed, but is Pratchett cracking under pressure? He falls further back into 25th. Worrying times for the championship leader, with everything on the line for this race.

QUALIFYING ONE

Code: Select all

 1 Natalie Ryder (Cassidy Racing)                    31.275
 2 Martin van der Meyde (Michael Bright Racing)      31.298
 3 Collin Pratchett (Mastercard Lola)                31.299
 4 J. J. Davies (Michael Bright Racing)              31.381
 5 Ralf Schumacher (Hasselhoff Motorsport)           31.448
 6 Frederic-Maxime Voeckler (Mastercard Lola)        31.476
 7 Kohei Hirate (Onyx Racing)                        31.514
 8 Ashley Cassidy (Cassidy Racing)                   31.552
 9 Claude Speed (Rockstar Engineering)               31.711
10 Jules Vergne (Mastercard Lola)                    31.782
11 Lance Vance (Rockstar Engineering)                31.843
12 Jack Christopherson (Mastercard Lola)             31.859
13 Clint Hillman (Cassidy Racing)                    31.915
14 Daniel Melrose (Horizon Motorsports)              32.116
15 Dean O'Lauchlan (Euromotor International)         32.140
16 Rafael Carlos (Aurico Autosport)                  32.283
17 Jiri Komarek (Tassie Racing)                      32.307
18 Rusty Gannit (Aurico Autosport)                   32.319
19 Michael Robertson (Mastercard Lola)               32.422
-----------------------------------------------------------
20 Ryan McReynolds (Michael Bright Racing)           32.455
21 Matteo Vasquez (NeoV Competition)                 32.476
22 Janneau Esmeijer (Hasselhoff Motorsport)          32.512
23 Natacha Gachnang (Onyx Racing)                    32.520
24 David Lee (Dreadnought Racing)                    32.578
25 Veronika Asimov (Dreadnought Racing)              32.788
26 Roy Guidry (Onyx Racing)                          32.990
27 Damon Cannon (Checkered Flag Motorsport)          33.135
28 Beth Lestrade (Euromotor International)           33.281
29 Joao Cavalcanti (Horizon Motorsports)             33.348
30 Vidal Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)         33.439
31 Tim Horan (Restov Racing)                         33.592
32 Buddy Lazier (Lazier Partners Racing)             33.903
33 Jose Maria Lopez (NeoV Competition)               34.019
34 Nikola Nikolov (DSR Racing)                       34.425
35 Elinor Yurko (Tassie Racing)                      34.437
36 Phil McCracken (Michael Bright Racing)            35.057
37 Jeremy MacMillan (Aurico Autosport)               35.100
38 Antonio Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)       35.160
39 Gaston Mazzacane (Commonwealth Racing)            35.277
40 Al Unser III. (Hasselhoff Motorsport)             36.987
41 Johannes das Schaf (Checkered Flag Motorsport)    37.281

Natalie Ryder does all that she can, the best job she can do - sticks it on pole for the race. However, Pratchett has upped his game and will start directly behind his title rival. The only surprise of Q1 is Ryan McReynolds narrowly missing the cut.

QUALIFYING TWO

Code: Select all

 1 Ryan McReynolds (Michael Bright Racing)           31.717
 2 Jeremy MacMillan (Aurico Autosport)               32.052
 3 Vidal Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)         32.071
 4 Antonio Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)       32.280
 5 Janneau Esmeijer (Hasselhoff Motorsport)          32.447
 6 Natacha Gachnang (Onyx Racing)                    32.500
 7 Damon Cannon (Checkered Flag Motorsport)          32.547
 8 Elinor Yurko (Tassie Racing)                      32.641
 9 Veronika Asimov (Dreadnought Racing)              32.883
10 Jose Maria Lopez (NeoV Competition)               32.941
11 Beth Lestrade (Euromotor International)           32.955
12 Gaston Mazzacane (Commonwealth Racing)            33.368
13 Matteo Vasquez (NeoV Competition)                 33.425
14 David Lee (Dreadnought Racing)                    33.816
15 Nikola Nikolov (DSR Racing)                       34.226
16 Buddy Lazier (Lazier Partners Racing)             34.232
17 Joao Cavalcanti (Horizon Motorsports)             34.396
18 Roy Guidry (Onyx Racing)                          34.665
19 Johannes das Schaf (Checkered Flag Motorsport)    35.410
20 Phil McCracken (Michael Bright Racing)            35.437
21 Tim Horan (Restov Racing)                         35.440
22 Al Unser III. (Hasselhoff Motorsport)             35.771

McReynolds breezes through to the race in 20th - the same position he finished in Q1. The first to miss the cut is one of the three one-offs for this race, Gaston Mazzacane in the Commonwealth car coming so close to making the race. Buddy Lazier also heads home along with the usual suspects.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP DECIDER

Code: Select all

 1 Collin Pratchett (Mastercard Lola)              2:54:07.966
 2 Kohei Hirate (Onyx Racing)                      2:54:13.437
 3 Ashley Cassidy (Cassidy Racing)                 2:54:15.989
 4 Clint Hillman (Cassidy Racing)                  2:54:26.188
 5 Janneau Esmeijer (Hasselhoff Motorsport)        2:54:29.584
 6 Vidal Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)            -1 lap
 7 Antonio Reyna-Sanchez (Horizon Motorsports)         -2 laps
 8 Rusty Gannit (Aurico Autosport)                     -2 laps
 9 Ralf Schumacher (Hasselhoff Motorsport)             -2 laps
10 Dean O'Lauchlan (Euromotor International)           -3 laps
11 Elinor Yurko (Tassie Racing)                        -4 laps
12 Beth Lestrade (Euromotor International)             -4 laps
13 Jiri Komarek (Tassie Racing)                        -5 laps
14 Daniel Melrose (Horizon Motorsports)                -5 laps
15 Claude Speed (Rockstar Engineering)                 -6 laps
16 Damon Cannon (Checkered Flag Motorsport)            -6 laps
NC Lance Vance (Rockstar Engineering)              DNF lap 240
   J. J. Davies (Michael Bright Racing)            DNF lap 239
   Martin van der Meyde (Michael Bright Racing)    DNF lap 238
   Michael Robertson (Mastercard Lola)             DNF lap 229
   Veronika Asimov (Dreadnought Racing)            DNF lap 199
   Ryan McReynolds (Michael Bright Racing)         DNF lap 167
   Jack Christopherson (Mastercard Lola)           DNF lap 144
   Jose Maria Lopez (NeoV Competition)              DNF lap 86
   Natacha Gachnang (Onyx Racing)                   DNF lap 61
   Frederic-Maxime Voeckler (Mastercard Lola)       DNF lap 46
   Jeremy MacMillan (Aurico Autosport)              DNF lap 13
   Natalie Ryder (Cassidy Racing)                    DNF lap 9
   Jules Vergne (Mastercard Lola)                    DNF lap 9
   Rafael Carlos (Aurico Autosport)                  DNF lap 8

You have to hand it to Pratchett. While Ryder buckled under pressure on the run-in to the championship finale, Collin notched up seven Top 5 finishes - including three wins - on his way to the title. He held his nerve to take maximum points and seal the championship in style. Hirate will be pleased with second to end his year, but it's a bittersweet podium for Ashley Cassidy, after her team-mate lost the title with a DNF. The third Cassidy car is in 4th, and the surprise of the day is Janneau Esmeijer taking his first ever Top 5 in the Hasselhoff car.

The 2016 F1 Rejects Indy Championship Series title is awarded to...

Collin Pratchett
1st Championship
4 wins / 4 podiums / 234 points

Congratulations to those who made the Top 5 in the 2016 championship also;
2nd Natalie Ryder - 205pts
3rd Jack Christopherson - 188pts (2016 Borg-Warner Trophy Winner)
4th Ryan McReynolds - 184pts
5th Ashley Cassidy - 166pts

And that's a wrap folks! Another chapter of Indy comes to a close. Come back again next year and witness a new era of Indy begin!

[mike robers]

Wow, heartbreaker for Ryder. Rookie mistakes cost her. But i'm sure she'll learn from it. I think she or Cassidy are threats to win the title next year.