1999 F1RGP2C Season - Bathurst Challenge!

[Barbazza]

I am still looking at my options for next season - I don't think it's any surprise that I want a better car.

[dr-baker]

Tom Douglas and Douglas Mann could be an interesting driver combo for names alone, on a par with Brundle and Blundell! Douglas has proved he's fast enough, and would be a strong number 2 (obviously a number two because his dodgy reliability will account for that!).

[Phoenix]

Rory McAllister would like a change of environment. He's been very happy with James James Davies and McLaren, but he wants to try and achieve with Ferrari after parting ways with them in 1994 in a hasty manner.

[Nessafox]

Tom Douglas and Douglas Mann could be an interesting driver combo for names alone, on a par with Brundle and Blundell! Douglas has proved he's fast enough, and would be a strong number 2 (obviously a number two because his dodgy reliability will account for that!).

I sure wouldn't mind having Tom Douglas at Prost

[dr-baker]

Tom Douglas and Douglas Mann could be an interesting driver combo for names alone, on a par with Brundle and Blundell! Douglas has proved he's fast enough, and would be a strong number 2 (obviously a number two because his dodgy reliability will account for that!).

I sure wouldn't mind having Tom Douglas at Prost

That's funny!

[takagi_for_the_win]

Rory McAllister would like a change of environment. He's been very happy with James James Davies and McLaren, but he wants to try and achieve with Ferrari after parting ways with them in 1994 in a hasty manner.

Hey, what about Arrows? We have the most attractive pitgirls in the paddock, and our bagels are always freshly baked; what more could you want?

[FMecha]

Tom Douglas and Douglas Mann could be an interesting driver combo for names alone, on a par with Brundle and Blundell! Douglas has proved he's fast enough, and would be a strong number 2 (obviously a number two because his dodgy reliability will account for that!).

I sure wouldn't mind having Tom Douglas at Prost

Not going to happen.*

*unless you talk to Wizzie

[Shizuka]

Rory McAllister would like a change of environment. He's been very happy with James James Davies and McLaren, but he wants to try and achieve with Ferrari after parting ways with them in 1994 in a hasty manner.

I assume Don Rennis will take Nurminen up to McLaren to replace McAllister, is that correct?

[Phoenix]

Rory McAllister would like a change of environment. He's been very happy with James James Davies and McLaren, but he wants to try and achieve with Ferrari after parting ways with them in 1994 in a hasty manner.

Hey, what about Arrows? We have the most attractive pitgirls in the paddock, and our bagels are always freshly baked; what more could you want?

Maybe a fast car, Tom?

[tristan1117]

Review:
James James Davies clinches his second title with a convincing victory at the Nurburgring, benefitting from yet another retirement from Tom Douglas. Davies managed to overcome an early spin on Lap 15 to win by 29 seconds over Jorg Scrattenheim in the DAMS. Douglas led the early laps of the race before running wide and losing the lead to Rory McAllister. Douglas reassumed the lead after McAllister spun off, and Douglas controlled the race for forty laps. Unfortunately, as has been the case so often this season, Douglas’ engine failed on Lap 55 and Douglas was forced to retire from the lead. The rain played havoc with some drivers, as Douglas Mann wasted his front row start by spinning in to the gravel (earning Mann Reject of the Race in the process) and Lawrence Tucker completely lost control of his Sauber and had a huge crash at Turn 1.

However, the standout performance of the day came from Jorg Scrattenheim and DAMS, who finally managed to break through for the first time in 1999 with a crucial podium finish. Scrattenheim beat Jack Christopherson’s Williams for the third podium spot, as he returned from his self-imposed retirement to score a well-deserved third place in the tricky conditions. JE Voeckler and Miko Fakkinen held onto the next two places, leaving Masta Valsattis in sixth for Benetton. Kazuhiko Takagi, who finished seventh, had an absolutely horrendous race, spinning off twice and finishing outside of the points. Emmanuele Nicchi’s Gauthier suffered a transmission problem on the last lap of the race.

Leaders:
Tom Douglas: 1-4
Rory McAllister: 5-10
Tom Douglas: 11-54
James James Davies: 55-
FL: Tom Douglas (Ferrari) - 1:23.837

Penalties:
None

[tristan1117]

Drivers' Championship Standings:
1. James James Davies - 69
2. Tom Douglas - 36
3. Damon Cannon - 34
4. Rory McAllister - 34
5. Jose Alvarez - 30
6. Kazuhiko Takagi - 30
7. Ralf Alden - 21
8. Frederic-Maxime Voeckler - 19
9. Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler - 18
10. Miko Fakkinen - 14
11. John Zimmer - 13
12. Lawrence Tucker - 10
= Jorg Scrattenheim - 10
14. Andrew Spokes - 9
15. Douglas Mann - 8
= Vic Sunset - 8
17. Niko Nurminen - 4
= Pieter Kickert - 4
= Emmanuele Nicchi - 4
= Ron Mignolet - 4
= Jack Christopherson - 4
= Masta Valsattis - 4
23. Yuuri Jougaseki - 3

Constructors' Championship Standings:
1. McLaren - 103
2. Ferrari - 63
3. Jordan - 52
4. Stewart - 51
5. Williams - 32
6. Sauber - 24
7. Benetton - 18
8. DAMS - 14
9. Gauthier - 12
10. Prost - 11
11. BAR - 4
12. Volga - 3

Penalty Standings:
1. Lawrence Tucker - 7
2. Rory McAllister - 5
3. Vic Sunset - 4
4. James James Davies - 3
= Daniel Moreno - 3
= Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler - 3
6. Jose Alvarez - 2
= Damon Cannon - 2
7. Niko Nurminen - 1
= Emmanuele Nicchi - 1
= Kim Jong-Sung - 1
= Deanna McMohan - 1

[Aerospeed]

DAMS on the podium????? The pigs are really flying now...

[Salamander]

DAMS on the podium????? The pigs are really flying now...

And I won the title anyway. I told you losers not to bother showing up...

[Shizuka]

Oh god, what in the hell is happening this season...

[dr-baker]

Unfortunately, as has been the case so often this season, Douglas’ engine failed on Lap 55 and Douglas was forced to retire from the lead.

I at first assumed this sentence applied to Douglas Mann, but then thinking, "Douglas Mann in the lead? That's crazy!" But then:

The rain played havoc with some drivers, as Douglas Mann wasted his front row start by spinning in to the gravel (earning Mann Reject of the Race in the process)

And I thought, "That's right. He was on the front row!"

[tristan1117]

Round 16: Malaysia

Grid:

Code: Select all

1. Tom Douglas (Ferrari) - 1:36.856
2. James James Davies (McLaren) - 1:37.022
3. Damon Cannon (Jordan) - 1:37.244)
4. Jack Christopherson (Williams) - 1:37.551
5. Rory McAllister (McLaren) - 1:37.598
6. Douglas Mann (Benetton) - 1:37.778
7. Kazuhiko Takagi (Ferrari) - 1:37.786
8. Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler (Jordan) - 1:37.828
9. Masta Valsattis (Benetton) - 1:37.869
10. Andrew Spokes (Williams) - 1:37.877
11. Jose Alvarez (Stewart) - 1:37.994
12. Miko Fakkinen (Sauber) - 1:38.086
13. Pieter Kickert (BAR) - 1:38.199

Code: Select all

14. Ralf Alden (Stewart) - 1:38.205
15. Lawrence Tucker (Sauber) - 1:38.210
16. Francisco Remedio (Prost) - 1:38.308
17. Daniel Moreno (Arrows) - 1:38.434
18. Jörg Scrattenheim (DAMS) - 1:38.529
19. Emmanuele Nicchi (Gauthier) - 1:38.533
20. Niko Nurminen (DAMS) - 1:38.575
21. Ron Mignolet (Prost) - 1:38.643
22. Vic Sunset (Gauthier) - 1:38.743
23. Nicklas Kristiansen (Minardi) - 1:38.847
24. Deanna McMohan (Minardi) - 1:39.074
25. Gonzalo Solari (BAR) - 1:39.229
26. Ben Fleet (Arrows) - 1:39.297
DNQ Kim Jong-Sung (Volga) - 1:39.342
DNQ Yuuri Jougaseki (Volga) - 1:39.347

[dr-baker]

Ahh, Ben Fleet back to qualifying 26th again!!!

[tristan1117]

Review:
This was probably the most boring race of the year, but Tom Douglas isn’t complaining, as he cruised home to his fourth win of the season. I honestly don’t have very much to write about this race, other than that Benetton earned ROTR for a double-engine failure, although they’re employing Douglas Mann, so that’s to be expected.

Leaders:
Tom Douglas: 1-22
Damon Cannon: 23
James James Davies: 24
Tom Douglas: 25-
FL: Tom Douglas (Ferrari) - 1:42.236

[tristan1117]

Drivers' Championship Standings:
1. James James Davies - 73
2. Tom Douglas - 46
3. Damon Cannon - 40
4. Rory McAllister - 35
5. Kazuhiko Takagi - 33
6. Jose Alvarez - 32
7. Ralf Alden - 21
8. Frederic-Maxime Voeckler - 19
9. Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler - 18
10. Miko Fakkinen - 14
11. John Zimmer - 13
12. Lawrence Tucker - 10
= Jorg Scrattenheim - 10
14. Andrew Spokes - 9
15. Douglas Mann - 8
= Vic Sunset - 8
17. Niko Nurminen - 4
= Pieter Kickert - 4
= Emmanuele Nicchi - 4
= Ron Mignolet - 4
= Jack Christopherson - 4
= Masta Valsattis - 4
23. Yuuri Jougaseki - 3

Constructors' Championship Standings:
1. McLaren - 108
2. Ferrari - 79
3. Jordan - 58
4. Stewart - 53
5. Williams - 32
6. Sauber - 24
7. Benetton - 18
8. DAMS - 14
9. Gauthier - 12
10. Prost - 11
11. BAR - 4
12. Volga - 3

Penalty Standings:
1. Lawrence Tucker - 7
2. Rory McAllister - 5
3. Vic Sunset - 4
4. James James Davies - 3
= Daniel Moreno - 3
= Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler - 3
6. Jose Alvarez - 2
= Damon Cannon - 2
7. Niko Nurminen - 1
= Emmanuele Nicchi - 1
= Kim Jong-Sung - 1
= Deanna McMohan - 1

[Nessafox]

Come on! We just need one surprise victory to get away from this depressing 10th place!
Well it could be worse, thankfully we're not driving Arrows-cars.

[tristan1117]

Round 17: Japan

Grid:

Code: Select all

1. James James Davies (McLaren) - 1:37.515
2. Tom Douglas (Ferrari) - 1:37.745
3. Rory McAllister (McLaren) - 1:37.989
4. Kazuhiko Takagi (Ferrari) - 1:38.260
5. Damon Cannon (Jordan) - 1:38.446
6. Douglas Mann (Benetton) - 1:38.603
7. Andrew Spokes (Williams) - 1:38.771
8. Ralf Alden (Stewart) - 1:38.889
9. Jack Christopherson (Williams) - 1:38.935
10. Miko Fakkinen (Sauber) - 1:39.032
11. Pieter Kickert (BAR) - 1:39.061
12. Francisco Remedio (Prost) - 1:39.104
13. Masta Valsattis (Benetton) - 1:39.150

Code: Select all

14. Niko Nurminen (DAMS) - 1:39.160
15. Jose Alvarez (Stewart) - 1:39.233
16. Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler (Jordan) - 1:39.259
17. Lawrence Tucker (Sauber) - 1:39.263
18. Ron Mignolet (Prost) - 1:39.387
19. Jörg Scrattenheim (DAMS) - 1:39.417
20. Daniel Moreno (Arrows) - 1:39.445
21. Gonzalo Solari (BAR) - 1:39.637
22. Yuuri Jougaseki (Volga) - 1:39.769
23. Vic Sunset (Gauthier) - 1:39.814
24. Ben Fleet (Arrows) - 1:39.878
25. Nicklas Kristiansen (Minardi) - 1:39.953
26. Emmanuele Nicchi (Gauthier) - 1:39.986
DNQ Deanna McMohan (Minardi) - 1:40.167
DNQ Kim Jong-Sung (Volga) - 1:40.232

[tristan1117]

Sorry for the long delay; I did this race a week ago but forget to post the results.




REVIEW:
First things first, what the heck happened on lap one? Ron Mignolet started Prost's attempts to move up in the Constructors' Championship with a disastrous decision to lose control of his Prost and rammed into several cars. Eventually, ten cars ended up in an expensive heap on the side of the road, leaving the back end of the field completely decimated. Reject of the Race to Ron Mignolet.

Dramatic event number two, Douglas' throttle gives out on Lap 21. Douglas, who was leading before he pitted, was forced to make a second unscheduled stop. Davies, as he always does, took the lead, and looked certain to finish the season on a high note. But then, with five laps to go, Davies' suspension collapsed and he spun off into the gravel trap! Douglas swept home into the lead and went on to win the final race of the year. Good for him. Also, there was a fairly nasty incident involving Pieter Kickert and Niko Nurminen. Kickert spun off at the turn exiting the 130R and Nurminen rammed into him. Kickert was mildly injured, but it won't matter now.

Leaders:
Rory McAllister: 1
Tom Douglas: 2-17
James James Davies: 18-25
Rory McAllister: 26-28
James James Davies: 29-48
Tom Douglas: 49-
FL: Tom Douglas (Ferrari) - 1:39.272

[tristan1117]

Drivers' Championship Standings:
1. James James Davies - 73
2. Tom Douglas - 56
3. Rory McAllister - 41
4. Damon Cannon - 40
5. Kazuhiko Takagi - 33
6. Jose Alvarez - 33
7. Ralf Alden - 23
8. Frederic-Maxime Voeckler - 19
9. Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler - 18
10. Miko Fakkinen - 14
11. John Zimmer - 13
12. Douglas Mann - 12
= Andrew Spokes - 12
14. Lawrence Tucker - 10
= Jorg Scrattenheim - 10
16. Vic Sunset - 8
17. Niko Nurminen - 4
= Pieter Kickert - 4
= Emmanuele Nicchi - 4
= Ron Mignolet - 4
= Jack Christopherson - 4
= Masta Valsattis - 4
23. Yuuri Jougaseki - 3

Constructors' Championship Standings:
1. McLaren - 114
2. Ferrari - 89
3. Jordan - 58
4. Stewart - 56
5. Williams - 32
6. Sauber - 24
7. Benetton - 22
8. DAMS - 14
9. Gauthier - 12
10. Prost - 11
11. BAR - 4
12. Volga - 3

Penalty Standings:
1. Lawrence Tucker - 7
2. Rory McAllister - 5
3. Vic Sunset - 4
4. James James Davies - 3
= Daniel Moreno - 3
= Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler - 3
= Ron Mignolet - 3
6. Jose Alvarez - 2
= Damon Cannon - 2
7. Niko Nurminen - 1
= Emmanuele Nicchi - 1
= Kim Jong-Sung - 1
= Deanna McMohan - 1

[Aerospeed]

4th in the Constructors is amazing considering the amount of hard luck we've had in the past few years as we've tried to prove our ground. Now, we can start to build on our success. We're sticking with our lineup with Alvarez and Alden, who have helped bring us to greater heights this season. We're also retaining our core designing team since they are the ones who are most familiar with our car. We're very happy to continue what made our team so good this year into other seasons into the future.

[DemocalypseNow]

4th in the Constructors is amazing considering the amount of hard luck we've had in the past few years as we've tried to prove our ground. Now, we can start to build on our success. We're sticking with our lineup with Alvarez and Alden, who have helped bring us to greater heights this season. We're also retaining our core designing team since they are the ones who are most familiar with our car. We're very happy to continue what made our team so good this year into other seasons into the future.

Are you delusional or what? Alvarez is lone gone, how are you going to retain a driver that's talking to both Jordan and Ferrari? He's already packed his bags and heading out the door!

[dr-baker]

Douglas on the podium? He even made the finish? He didn't blow his engine?

And I suppose Ben Fleet is glad to finish the season with a top-10 result, even if it had turned out to be a pointless year.

[Shizuka]

We at least beat Prost. Seems like DAMS could be McLaren's junior team taking Mercedes engines, but Nurminen might be up into the senior team in return. Rumours though.

[tristan1117]

With the season over, time to head back to Australia for the Bathurst Challenge! There are some changes to the format from previous non-championship races. There will be no more "guest drivers", but teams are allowed to run whatever drivers they want as long as they are not under contract with another team (drivers can receive written consent from their teams to drive for another).

[FMecha]

Normal line up for Ferrari, for which this will be Takagi's final race.

[Shizuka]

Nurminen gets first dip to McLaren if he gets called up there.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Nurminen gets first dip to McLaren if he gets called up there.

And indeed he will, as he'll race alongside James James Davies at Bathurst.

Might as well also confirm that pending Shizuka's approval, DAMS will indeed get 1999-spec Merc engines for the 2000 season rebadged as SMART engines, if only so I can refer to them as "Damn Smart" for the entirety of next year

[Phoenix]

Rory McAllister will drive his last race for McLaren at Bathurst before (hopefully) heading to Ferrari.

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Sauber will compete at Bathurst, the seats will be sold to the highest bidder. Is Mikko Fakkinen interested in another year at Sauber in 2000?

[DemocalypseNow]

Jordan will run Damon Cannon and Alik Mori.

Antonio Bizzarri shows up to Sauber's front door with a suitcase full of lire.

[Shizuka]

Might as well also confirm that pending Shizuka's approval, DAMS will indeed get 1999-spec Merc engines for the 2000 season rebadged as SMART engines, if only so I can refer to them as "Damn Smart" for the entirety of next year

I confirm it.
Does Scrattenheim plan to drive for Williams? Also, we have an opening then.

[Salamander]

Nurminen gets first dip to McLaren if he gets called up there.

And indeed he will, as he'll race alongside James James Davies at Bathurst.

Rory McAllister will drive his last race for McLaren at Bathurst before (hopefully) heading to Ferrari.

Well, good luck with that.

Sauber will compete at Bathurst, the seats will be sold to the highest bidder. Is Mikko Fakkinen interested in another year at Sauber in 2000?

Yo dude, I still got IBM backing. And I won a race and everything for you, dude.

Gauthier will run our 1999 lineup of Emanuele Nicchi and Vic Sunset at Bathurst.

[Ataxia]

BAR will run with Pieter Kickert and Natascha Zaugg, pending approval from TMLW and Rated, and we'd also like them for the 2000 season too.

Since the Ferrari seat appears to be non-forthcoming for Alvarez, he's looking at Jordan and Williams for next season should either have racing seats available.

I have no real plans for Nicklas Kristiansen, if anyone fancies taking a punt on him let me know! He did alright at Minardi, which is...erm, alright.

[Nessafox]

We call Mann back to Prost for one last hurrah, but he is free to leave the team next year if we fail to secure BMW engines. (which we will probably fail to)
Obviously Ron Mignolet will drive the race too, because we have never heared of nepotism.

[FMecha]

Rory McAllister will drive his last race for McLaren at Bathurst before (hopefully) heading to Ferrari.

Since the Ferrari seat appears to be non-forthcoming for Alvarez, he's looking at Jordan and Williams for next season should either have racing seats available.

Just a heads-up McAllister and Alvarez - whoever finishes first gets the Ferrari seat.

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Sauber will compete at Bathurst, the seats will be sold to the highest bidder. Is Mikko Fakkinen interested in another year at Sauber in 2000?

Yo dude, I still got IBM backing. And I won a race and everything for you, dude

He is signed then.

Antonio Bizziari will be given a drive at Sauber for Bathurst.

Meanwhile Jorg Scrattenheim is willing to drive where ever he has a contract offer