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

Aerond · Post by **Aerond** » 09 Jul 2014, 19:59

I've sent e-mails to Warren Hughes and Tristan about their plans for the new season. If I don't get an answer in about a week I'll sort out their entries to somebody else.

Post by **Ataxia** » 10 Jul 2014, 00:19

The Daily Growl wrote:The final pieces in the driver market?

Even though the majority of the F1RWRS field has been filled, there's still a few berths left for some drivers to try their luck. Let's have a look at the teams with some spaces left to fill.

Autodynamics

Although they re-signed Nicolas Steele and Jean-Vincent Albertini, the latter driver received a ban for reckless driving in the PDVSA Twin 100. To fill the seat for a few races, it is rumoured that either Kamaha reserve Daniel Melville or Nurminen back-up Shinobu Katayama will fill in for the team as they look to improve on their excellent 5th place in the WCC last season. Ashley Watkinson could also be an option.

Boxtel

The Dutch team have a few cashflow issues, and so only a paydriver could be on the cars. Irish driver Connor O'Heagan has signed for Boxtel's LMC team, but could be persuaded to take his Shannon backing to the F1RWRS team.

Team Mecha Racing

Jesus Plaza has signed for the Indonesian team, but since he requires a salary Mecha are looking for someone with money to be his team-mate. Former F2RWRS Luc Pellerin is currently looking for new managers to look after his affairs, and if they manage to find him backing he may be a viable option. Although new team Fusion signed Hiroto Tojo as a reserve driver, Mecha may swoop for the former Dofasco driver if they have no other options. Former RoLFS and IFRC driver Viktor Pasitchnjuk could be a left-field choice.

Prospec

All is quiet on the Prospec front, amid rumours that the British team are to close their doors. Ashley Watkinson is still a free agent, but since he brings no cash the former Kingfisher driver may miss out on a race seat in 2017. Martyn Rietacher signed a reserve deal with Plus One recently.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 10 Jul 2014, 10:51

Gazzetta dello Sport presents
2017 F1RWRS season preview - Part 1/2

After a rollercoaster finish to the 2016 season, where many teams battled for the championship, and the team's title was taken at the death by Alitalia, more uncertainty awaits us going into the new racing season. GdS has analysed the teams one by one, considering their fortunes for the year ahead.

VOECKLER RENAULT
#0 Spencer / #2 Mignolet
The former Il Barone Rampante was purchased by the aristocratic Voeckler family in the closing months of 2016, but the reigning constructors champions still look strong. The won more races than anyone else in 2016, and given their 2017 car is said to be an evolution rather than revolution of the previous year's model, they are starting from a good base. With Spencer and Mignolet, they have a very experienced lineup, probably the best all-around pairing on the grid. Both drivers were beset by reliability issues in 2016 which stopped either from making a title challenge, but if Voeckler manage to get the car home more often, more often than not, it may well be for wins again.

Verdict: Retaining the WCC, Spencer the 'next best' contender for the WDC.

JONES FORD
#3 Dagnall / #4 Torrente
Jones dominated the drivers' championship with Rhys Davies last season, but their second car was far from dependable. Both Vantini and his replacement Mestolio are gone, replaced by the reigning F2RWRS champion Diego-Alvarez Torrente. They are certainly flush for cash given their already large budget being aided by Torrente's sponsorship and F2RWRS Champion's Bonus. Mark Dagnall, who somehow after all these years has still not been apprehended by authorities for extremely blatant doping, will regain his pre-2016 form after a shocking year at MRT and most likely win the title. Torrente could be hit-and-miss; Tomo Kazama won a race as the reigning F2RWRS champion in 2016, but also racked up a DNQ. The rookie probably won't be able to do enough to stop Voeckler retaining their WCC.

Verdict: ROIDS! ROIDS! ROIDS! Dagnall to win WDC.

AERORACING ENGINEERING
#5 Buyvolov / #6 Lon
Kay Lon appeared to be a serious title contender during last season, but as the team's form waned towards the tailend of the season, so did his title aspirations. He can mix it with Dagnall and Spencer if the car is up to it, but with a slightly smaller budget than Voeckler and Jones, and a performance defecit to overcome, he may have to settle for fighting to be the best of the rest. The disappointing Pippa Mann has been released in favour of Russian pay-driver Alexey Buyvolov. The former Dofasco driver has shown flashes of pace during his career, but has little in terms of solid results to back up his perceived talent. He is certainly there because of his significant sponsorship package from Lukoil, but his inexperience in top level machinery might hinder his performances.

Verdict: Upper midfield. Lon to mount an early title challenge before fading away.

ARROWTECH-ACURI AUTOSPORT
#7 Nicolas/ #8 Shioya
ArrowTech followed a similar and even sharper trajectory to Aeroracing. In the first half of the year they looked to be Jones Racing's best challenger for the world title, but by the season's end, they were struggling to even finish in the points. Phillippe Nicolas got the best out of the car on most occasions, but Mirko Bosevic was far off the Frenchman's pace, and has retired as a consequence. His replacement is Hansuke Shioya, who took a shock second place for Gauthier at the Canadian GP last year. However, he saw out the last seven races of the season with consecutive DNFs, so his form going into this season is unpredictable. He should be a solid pair of hands, but don't expect him to match Nicolas.
Arrowtech's biggest worry is cashflow - with Western Union visibly scaling back their sponsorship of the team, and their steady tumble down the order in 2016, it seems unlikely they will be able to keep up in the development race comparing to other top and upper midfield teams around them.

Verdict: Starting the season on the fringe of podiums, slowly falling further back to lower midfield. Nicolas to abandon ship sometime during the season once the rot has set in for MRT. Marie Simon to replace him.

AUTODYNAMICS
#9 Steele / #10 TBA/Albertini
Autodynamics are a strange combination of engineering geniuses mixed with inept management. The car is a good one, and the Gillet engine is being developed well. They have a potentially race winning car at their disposal. However, their weakness comes on the driving front. Nicolas Steele is an experienced hand, but has never demonstrated anything special during his time in F1RWRS. This point was really rammed home at the Dutch GP last season, when in an Autodynamics 1-2, he ended up being second to his rookie team-mate Jean-Vincent Albertini. He was more consistent over the course of a season than JVA, but that performance in particular showed he would never become a top driver. They'd hired the natural successor to Nick Heidfeld.
In the other seat, Albertini showed he was there for more than just the sponsorship he brought, but his erratic driving was costly - he not only had a two race suspension midway through the year, but continued mistakes and poor judgement in his F2RWRS campaign led to an RWRS-wide 8 race ban for 2017. Despite being in line to miss half the season, Autodynamics have kept faith in the Monegasque driver, and are still searching for someone to plug the gap in the first eight races.

Verdict: Potential wasted on goons. Will pick up a few podiums, might finish Top 5 overall again, will definitely finish Top 10.

MELROSE RACING TEAM
#11 Schiller / #12 Mestolio
To use the word goons on this crew is an understatement. Something closer to "imbeciles" seems more appropriate. MRT have this god-given gift at throwing results away, and making the stupidest decisions possible at every juncture. They fired Kay Lon after one race and saw him score more points than the whole of MRT combined after leaving, and while replacement Jean-Luc Schiller did win in Austria, he did nothing else for the rest of the year. Taking Schiller's results for Autodynamics out of the question, he was still only a point off of reigning triple champion team-mate Mark Dagnall, who suffered the worst season of his career. Sometimes the car would let him down, sometimes he would let himself down - his performance at Brands Hatch looked like one of a man suffering a mental breakdown. MRT and their buffoonery turned the most successful driver in F1RWRS to a broken man. And that really says it all about MRT.
They start this year having retained Jean-Luc Schiller, and also having hired Fredo Mestolio to replace Dagnall, who sensibly terminated his three year contract early to move to Jones. Both have a career victory each, both have buckets of sponsor money, but neither have consistency. The car is decent when it isn't parked on the side of the road being melted by the flames of its deceased BMW powerplant, at least.

Verdict: More of 2016 - expect a good performance or two dispersing a litany of mechanical failures and driver errors. A year to refocus for a title charge in 2018.

KAMAHA MOTORSPORTS
#13 Shizuka / #14 van Nieuwenhuijzen
Kamaha had a very strange 2016. On the one hand they won races, and their car/driver combination was certainly up to it, but they also had a trainwreck of a season. Getting mired in pre-qualifying, suffering DNQs on raw pace, drivers going AWOL, the team appealing against a penalty their driver had alraeady pleaded mea culpa to, it was complele bananas from the team management. Sensibly both 2016 drivers left for pastures new, and in their place come two very different drivers - Shizuka is a veteran of the sport who has close ties to Kamaha, and who took one of the two race wins for this team as a super-sub last season, while the other is rookie Bastiaan van Nieuwenhuijzen, who has shown flashes of speed in F2RWRS, but overall seems more of a consistent driver than a blindingly fast one. Given their crazy 2016, I think Kamaha might settle for consistent.

Verdict: If they fix the right areas of the car, they can return to the Top 5 overall. If they don't address the fundamental flaws of their 2016 car, it's curtains for them - especially van Nieuwenhuijzen.

GILLET ENB
#15 De Bock / #16 Moll
Every year, this review is the shortest. Surprise surprise, Thomas De Bock and Aurelien Moll are renewed. The car is basically the same as well, which isn't a positive. The engine is decent, as demonstrated by Autodynamics, but the works team's chassis isn't up to much.

Verdict: Huh? What's a Gillet?

HOLDEN RACING TEAM
#17 Mann / #18 Cara
HRT expected even themselves to have a shocking season in 2016, and while they started bad, they gradually improved, with old man Zimmer sneaking a podium in the season finale. That 2-4 result in Japan catapulted them up the standings into the Top 10. The Holden engine is slowly getting better as well. They are a team slowly on the up. The only truly questionable thing is the driver lineup; Douglas Mann is past his best, and Alberto Cara's form is wildly inconsistent. He can be the best driver in the field on some days, and absolutely nowhere on others, with little explanation as to why. HRT have noted this and only given him an 8 race contract to prove himself - but likely just one good finish might be enough to secure his ride for the rest of the year, given the slim pickings elsewhere in the driver market.

Verdict: Solid midfielders, with one special performance by Cara giving them a boost.

PLUS ONE KINGFISHER RACING
#19 Neuberg / #20 McKane
A critical part of their season has been achieved already; retaining David Neuberg. The young German has carried this team for several seasons now, and was responsible for 10 of their 11 points last season. While the second seat constantly rotates from pay driver to has-been and back to pay driver, Neuberg has remained as the number one, consistently picking up points when it's been questionable the car deserves any. The latest in a long line of team-mates for him is Nathan McKane, who stormed out of the Kamaha chaos midway through last year, and finished the season with Plus One Kingfisher. What the team sees in him is unclear - he was much poorer than both Kazama and Neuberg in his debut year, and robbed Neuberg of making three late-season races. He's shown nothing to deserve his place in F1RWRS, and GdS suspects this will be his final season.

Verdict: Neuberg brilliance stunted by hopeless team-mate. Stuck in PreQ until McKane is replaced with a quali specialist, followed by Neuberg points every once in a while.

That wraps up the top half of the field from 2016. Remember to purchase tomorrow's edition of Gazzetta dello Sport to read Part 2 of 2!

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 10 Jul 2014, 17:48

Steele a stooge? We'll see about that

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 10 Jul 2014, 17:52

Right then, actually had this done a while ago so might as well toss it into the ring now, the 2017 Jones 109 livery, in 8 bit BMP format:

Ataxia - I assume you've been able to source the Jones spotters' guide image from that compilation image I made a while ago? If not, I have the individual car on file at a very nice resolution if you need it - just shout.

SuperAguri · Post by **SuperAguri** » 10 Jul 2014, 21:41

Had issues with uploading a BMP so here is a PNG of Kamahas 2017 livery.

Sponsorship from

Yamoto Transport
Aiwa
PIAA
Suzuki
Tamaya

tristan1117 · Post by **tristan1117** » 10 Jul 2014, 23:07

Boxtel will officially sign Connor O'Heagan for the F1RWRS team. He is a pay driver.

Pointrox · Post by **Pointrox** » 11 Jul 2014, 09:04

Can JVA do the testing during his 8-race ban? If so, then he'd rather stay with Autodynamics

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 11 Jul 2014, 09:21

Pointrox wrote:Can JVA do the testing during his 8-race ban? If so, then he'd rather stay with Autodynamics

Mr Douglas has decided that he is allowed to test during those 8 races. Maybe it'll teach him how not to be a moran in the meantime

Aerond · Post by **Aerond** » 13 Jul 2014, 20:13

Just been noticed by Warren Hughes that he's leaving F1RWRS. His entry will be taken by roblomas52 as Wafflecat and Pi have decided to let their turn pass. Sent an e-mail to Roblomas52 and will start sorting out tyre manufacturers soon.

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 13 Jul 2014, 21:50

I can confirm that I have accepted the offer from Aerond and that I am genuinely surprised and honoured to be given this opportunity.
I can also confirm that it will be a new team called…
Rob Lomas Racing. More details will be posted when I have the time tomorrow to sort all the required deals out.

Post by **Ataxia** » 13 Jul 2014, 22:32

www.espn.co.uk/rwrs wrote:Fusion to protest potential number reallocation

With the departing Prospec being replaced with new outfit Rob Lomas Racing, it has become apparent that Fusion Motorsports will protest a potential number reallocation, citing marketing reasons. Fusion are also a new entrant, although they've been a well known name on the racing scene.

"If the F1RWRS commission take our numbers and give them to Rob Lomas Racing, then we'll officially appeal to change that." said team principal Jacques Couteau. "We've had all of our merchandise and marketing documents branded with the current numbers (39 and 40) and to change them at this late stage would be a great expense to us. We hope they'll either give them Prospec's old numbers or the next ones along."

Rob Lomas Racing have already courted controversy by using the old Prospec name, with the team announcing themselves as "Prospec by Rob Lomas Racing". Although some team principals may contest this, Couteau refused to be drawn on the matter.

"It's just a name. We thought about helping the team live on in name with us; we'd have been Fusion-Prospec Motorsports. But we have our own legacy to create and if Rob Lomas Racing want to use it, good luck to them."

The new F1RWRS season starts on the 5th of March at Adelaide.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 13 Jul 2014, 22:57

Generally summing up my thoughts on the issue in a more melodramatic way below. Awfully clumsy use of the name. Poor decision.

Autosport wrote:Jones furious at use of Prospec name

Reports have recently emerged that the British Prospec team have folded prior to the 2017 F1RWRS season, and will subsequently be replaced on the grid by Rob Lomas Racing. The new entrant however has caused controversy by allegedly acquiring the rights to use the Prospec name, having announced that their entry will be run under the name of "Prospec by Rob Lomas Racing"

Perennial F1RWRS team boss Sammy Jones has made clear his displeasure with the name controversy, stating that the Prospec name "shouldn't be passed around the paddock like a half-smoked fag behind the school bike sheds".

The Jones Racing owner added, "the Prospec name is synonymous with F1RWRS. The team have been here since the start. Gary Cameron has given his absolute all to the hard task of bringing them back to the front of the grid, but it hasn't worked out. Now they've closed their doors, it seems like everyone is running around wringing their hands wondering if the sky will fall in when Prospec don't turn up for the first race of the new season. The fact is, we should do the dignified thing and let the name rest, live on in the history books, and not get dragged through the dirt by being clumsily attached to have-a-goers queuing up round the block. It's exactly the same as when Pacific tried to shoehorn the Lotus name into their own for 1995. In reality it was nothing more than a PR stunt. Rob Lomas should concentrate on building their own identity and history, and not piggyback on the efforts of others to get a free pass into the elite of single seater racing."

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 13 Jul 2014, 23:03

roblomas52 wrote:I am genuinely surprised and honoured to be given this opportunity.

http://youtu.be/us3dQ0nnlHY?t=10s

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 14 Jul 2014, 06:16

I have changed the name to Rob Lomas Racing.
Ataxia, I will try and get you the spotters guide livery emailed tonight.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 14 Jul 2014, 06:34

Guillaume Gauthier wrote:'Onestly, I don't see why Sammy Jones' opinion matters at all. If Rob Lomas 'as the legal ability to do so, and wishes to use the Prospec name, this is 'is decision, and his alone. He should not be bullied or coerced by some English thug, or anyone else, in either way.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 14 Jul 2014, 10:05

La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote:McCracken and Voeckler favourites for RLR seats

With Rob Lomas Racing being a hasty addition to the F1RWRS grid, and all of Prospec's former drivers having left for pastures new, the new team is left with difficult choices for who should drive their cars in 2017.

Despite this, two candidates have emerged as early favourites to land the drive. Phil McCracken, who has previous participated in F1RWRS for Virgin Inter Corse, is tipped to make a comeback at the top level, and alongside him way well be the older sister of recently signed Boxtel driver Benoit Voeckler, who spent last season in IFRC - Adelaide Voeckler.

GdS have obtained leaked memos from McCraken's management company detailing their attempts to begin contract negotiations with the newly formed British team, however no proper contract discussions appear to have begun as of yet. Meanwhile, rumours out of France suggest Adelaide Voeckler is looking to bounce back from her Formula Female drive falling through, by securing the second seat at RLR, although once again it would appear no formal contract talks have commenced yet. Her manager Guillame Gauthier was recently spotted at the former Prospec HQ, presumably holding informal talks about the possibility of Voeckler driving for RLR in 2017.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 14 Jul 2014, 11:56

With the demise of Prospec, TV money has been reallocated, and the updated budgets are now as follows:

Voeckler: 570
Jones: 575
Aeroracing: 515
ArrowTech: 610
Autodynamics: 610
MRT: 523
Kamaha: 518
Gillet: 356
HRT: 415
Kingfisher/PORE: 314
Gauthier: 653
Sunshine: 291
Foxdale: 480
Boxtel: 78
Dacia: 186
Mecha: 223
Revolution: 326
NRE: 1000*
Fusion: 1000*
RLR: 1000*

*Must build chassis + sign engine and tyre contracts

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 14 Jul 2014, 20:06

Gazzetta dello Sport presents
2017 F1RWRS season preview - Part 2/2

2016 saw a big shake-up to the championship hierarchy thanks to significant rule changes, and while changes for 2017 are much more muted, there is still scope for progress for smaller teams who were further down the order last season. GdS reviews the fortunes of those who finished in the bottom half of F1RWRS last season, along with those making their debuts in 2017.

EQUIPE GAUTHIER
#21 van Rijkens / #22 Kazama
Gauthier look the most likely team of any to make significant progress up the field relative to their 2016 performance. The only rookie team of the previous season, they had a somewhat wayward opening year, mixing highs of Hansuke Shioya's 2nd place at Canada with a string of disappointing performances by both Shioya and team-mate Jesus Plaza. Neither driver has been retained, making way for former F2RWRS and F3RWRS champion Tomo Kazama, who has Danny van Rijkens alongside her. Van Rijkens isn't the only arrival from CR Motorsport - the Spanish-American team closed their doors late in 2016, and Gauthier were quick to snap up their valuable assets in a hugely cut price deal, giving them a big financial boost. That extra money will likely propel them to places they'd have otherwise not reached.

Verdict: Plenty of points, plenty of pole positions and an outside chance of a win for the more talented Kazama. Van Rijkens is a solid driver, but his cash will likely be more valuable than the odd points he manages to pick up.

SUNSHINE DAIHATSU
#23 Martins / #24 Mori
This team is in a whole world of trouble. They have been in a slow, steady decline for a number of years, and the lack of dramatic changes that are required to arrest the slide indicate management that's out of ideas and out of f***s to give. Daniel Martins, despite having done absolutely nothing to justify his place on the grid in a long time (arguably in his entire career even), remains as the lead driver. Alongside one has-been is another has-been, Barii Mori. He had a chance to be a hero during a late-season stint at Aeroracing, but threw it away, proving his 'reputation' as a steady-handed veteran is nothing more than a misconception. The engine lacks grunt and the chassis is conservative in design, and thus mediocre in performance. This team is the antithesis of the once closely related Kamaha - dull and predictable.

Verdict: Might as well stay at home, for how little anyone is going to notice them. Probably going to slide into pre-qualifying, and make it into the race about half the time.

FOXDALE AUTO RACING TEAM
#25 P Mann / #26 Fleet
Foxdale is a team without much to look forward to. Pippa Mann has returned to her own team from Aeroracing to try and steady the ship, but short of a revolution, there isn't much she can do by herself to turn around the fortunes of Foxdale. A limp engine coupled to an ageing chassis saw them the slowest car that made the grid consistently, and were little more than a nuisance for other midfield cars to overtake. They'd finish at the rear, or not at all, with much consistency. Then there was Argentina, where Martin McFry saw red mist and wiped his own team-mate out in a fit of rage. Needless to say, McFry is now gone, and Ben Fleet is the driver to keep his seat, even if he was consistently slower last year. Lead driver change aside, everything else remains the same for Foxdale. When you're stuck in a rut, keeping everything the same is never going to bring improvement.

Verdict: More tail-end misery. Their qualifying edge won't last forever as teams around them make improvements, and so Foxdale will eventually be failing to make the cut at some late-season races. Zero points.

BOXTEL ENGINEERING
#27 B Voeckler / #28 TBA
Once upon a time, this team were solid midfielders. Those days are long gone. It didn't seem significant at the time, but ever since firing Collin Pratchett while they were known as ARC, this team has been declining quickly. They're circling the drain, with little hope of reversing their fortunes. Before this year they'd stuck to the ethos of having two salaried drivers, but both Kekkonen and Battani have moved on, and with crippling money problems, Boxtel have resorted to finding rich pay drivers. It's indicitive of a team's fortunes when one is forced to hire a driver that's been passed around junior formulae teams more than a slut in a Magaluf nightclub - said person being Benoit Voeckler. They were trying hard to secure the services of Wouter Lamberigts, but the Belgian sensibly took his money and his raw one-lap pace elsewhere. Realistically however there's little Lamberigts was going to change for Boxtel - they are condemned.

Verdict: Terminal wallet failure. Few signs of life. They will be the punching bag for other PreQ teams. Bowing out at the end of the year might even be more dignified than trying to blindly stumble their way into 2018 with even less hope.

DACIA SIMPSON
#29 Simpson / #30 Lamberigts
Simpson have done little of note in their brief existence, but there is a chance for them to edge closer to the Top 10 this year. An on-form Dave Simpson is still a good driver to have, and with Wouter Lamberigts at his side, they should be able to escape Pre-Qualifying regularly. With Lamberigts' money, they should be okay on the financial side too. We know from Voeckler GPE's recent form that the powerplant is good, the drivers are decent, the only question left is how good the chassis will be. Their old rig was less hit and miss, more straight up wide of the mark, but a revolution on the car design front might propel them further up the field.

Verdict: There is potential for progress this season, they need to take it with both hands while the window is open. Could make a few cameos in the top half of the field if things go their way.

TEAM MECHA
#31 Plaza / #32 Tojo (TBC)
Most teams that end up in the bottom third of the field are there thanks to either inexperience or financial troubles. Team Mecha are neither of these things. They are an oddity in what is supposed to be a super competitive sport. A team that appears really quite content to stay exactly where they are - 18th. Their finances are actually in respectable condition, mostly thanks to spending so little. However, no team has ever progressed up the field by playing it safe. This is essentially their problem - they make safe, predictable choices, meaning that every season, a couple of teams that were previously behind them sail past, and a couple who were ahead go tumbling down behind them. Steve Mackintosh, Nathan Scott, and now Jesus Plaza - three sets of dependable, solid hands, but none who will ever achieve anything of note in F1RWRS. As for the second seat, Mecha left it late to find a team-mate to Plaza, and such their options are drying up fast. Mecha have all but confirmed that Tojo will partner Plaza, short of divine intervention gifting them another minted driver who actually has something even close to a speck of talent.

Verdict: Who are these crazy people that continue to bankroll Mecha? Why are they doing it? They'd be better off spending it all on lottery tickets instead.

REVOLUTION ENGINEERING
#33 Bizzarri / #34 Kremnicky
Revolution had ambitions that didn't match their budget and equipment last season. On paper, a lineup of Hagane Shizuka and Shinobu Katayama looked a very strong choice, but turned out to be even worse than the already condemned Prospec. Despite having the strong Renault engines, their chassis was so deplorable the drivetrain couldn't mask the rest of the car's crippling deficiencies. Shizuka did what he could with the pile of junk his team had churned out, but Katayama managed to destroy her reputation completely by being a long way from Shizuka's pace all year. She would be stone dead last in PreQ with alarming frequency. While Shizuka abandoned ship for the more competitive Kamaha team, he has changed the team's hiring strategy completely, taking in two rookies. Bizzarri is clearly there for his espresso sponsorship (and possibly the espresso itself, it does taste quite nice), but with Andrej Kremnicky, they're at least showing they're willing to take a risk to improve. The Slovenian driver has had a turbulent junior career, winning consecutive races with ease at times, and completely self-destructing and making horrendous errors at others. If he can calm his wild streak down and channel his talent into more mature peformances, Revolution might actually have a decent driver on their hands.

Verdict: Unless they can start 2017 with a completely new chassis, they won't make any progress. But at least the wholesale changes on the driver front show the right intentions from management.

NURMINEN RACING ENGINEERING
#35 McFry / #36 Pascal
The first of the new teams, and potentially the strongest of the three. With none of the trio of debutants having revealed their technical packages as of yet, it's hard to gauge where each of the three will land in terms of performance, so all there really is to go on at this moment is the drivers each team has declared. NRE at least have an experienced, reasonably competitive driver leading the team. Martin McFry, when not boiling over with rage, has proven to be reasonably fast behind the wheel - for example, he scored pole position in Adelaide and was robbed of a podium in his one-off race for Alitalia last season by unreliability. He brings a sponsorship package as well, making him a sensible hire - as long as he can keep his temper issues in check. Gregor Pascal is less experienced and appears to be less talented than his team-mate, having a pretty bad showing at the same race McFry went off the rails - he spent most of his time spinning off at Turn 1. However, his junior career results are respectable at least, and he too brings valuable cash.

Verdict: Will stay clear of the bottom five. Best rookie team of 2017.

FUSION MOTORSPORTS
#37 Fakkinen / #38 Donnelly
Fusion's team principal has already admitted he expects little from this season. Very little. They start their F1RWRS quest already focusing on next season. Their driver lineup isn't much to look at - Fakkinen at least has previous experience, albeit at whipping boys Tropico in 2014, then a handful of so-so performances for Autodynamics a year later. Geoff Donnelly however is already well into his forties, and is probably heavy enough to reach the minimum weight limit before adding in the car. Even if Fakkinen scrapes a performance competitive enough to escape PreQ, Donnelly will ensure Fusion won't progress to proper qualifying.

Verdict: Fighting tooth and nail...with Boxtel and RLR, for the wooden spoon.

ROB LOMAS RACING
#39 A Voeckler (TBC) / #40 TBA
Prospec's collapse at the turn of the new season opened a last minute gap in the entry list, which Rob Lomas Racing has swooped in and grabbed. With such little preperation, maybe little is to be expected from them, but then again, they are at least free of the chains of the Prospec engine they were at risk of inheriting as a legacy contract. On the driver front, they are already engaged in serious negotiations for former IFRC driver Adelaide Voeckler, but the other seat remains a mystery. The smart money is on...well, money. With little expected on the performance front, they would do better with a pay driver than a half-decent salaried driver.

Verdict: With so little time to prepare, their season is over before it's begin. A WCC position between 18th and 20th beckons.

Post by **Ataxia** » 14 Jul 2014, 20:38

Gazzetta dello Sport presents
2017 F1RWRS season preview - Part 2/2

FUSION MOTORSPORTS
#37 Fakkinen / #38 Donnelly
Fusion's team principal has already admitted he expects little from this season. Very little. They start their F1RWRS quest already focusing on next season. Their driver lineup isn't much to look at - Fakkinen at least has previous experience, albeit at whipping boys Tropico in 2014, then a handful of so-so performances for Autodynamics a year later. Geoff Donnelly however is already well into his forties, and is probably heavy enough to reach the minimum weight limit before adding in the car. Even if Fakkinen scrapes a performance competitive enough to escape PreQ, Donnelly will ensure Fusion won't progress to proper qualifying.

Verdict: Fighting tooth and nail...with Boxtel and RLR, for the wooden spoon.

Autosport wrote:"The wooden spoon is ours" - Couteau

In response to an F1RWRS preview from Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport, Fusion team principal Jacques Couteau has continued to paint a bleak picture of the team's chances in 2017.

The preview suggested that Fusion would be a team at the back of the grid, and Couteau confirmed that the team would be focusing their efforts on 2018 from the get-go.

"We've come up with many plans of attack for F1RWRS, and we're now following the one that will probably be the most effective for us long-term. This means we've had to sacrifice the entire 2017 season in terms of results. Unless any other team is absolutely terrible, we'll definitely be right at the back. The wooden spoon is definitely ours."

Fusion will confirm their engine supplier and chassis development path in the next few days when the market is expected to reopen.

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 15 Jul 2014, 13:46

Rob Lomas racing have signed Adelaide Voeckler and Dean O'launchlan as drivers this season.

Post by **Ataxia** » 15 Jul 2014, 15:01

roblomas52 wrote:I have changed the name to Rob Lomas Racing.
Ataxia, I will try and get you the spotters guide livery emailed tonight.

If you haven't started it yet, I'll take it on. Just give me an idea of your livery and I'll make the spotters' guide image and the game-ready car for you.

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 15 Jul 2014, 17:35

There is one fact that people forget about my team: we are the Coloni of F1RWRS

I would sign Tojo as Mecha's second driver; that means taking him out of Fusion's reserve contract. I might sign a TRRS driver in place

Aerond · Post by **Aerond** » 17 Jul 2014, 11:05

Due to the difficulty of finding suitable drivers, the commission has decided to relax the two reserve drivers rule and reduce it to one. However, please note that the driver in your reserve list as per the wiki will automatically go into the car in case it's needed unless you directly contact me. The reserve driver in the wiki must have a license ready although he can run in another series as long as it can be freed up for F1RWRS in case it's needed (you can also put a driver which can't be freed up and contact me with your replacement in case you need to make use of it). The commission will also grant a public test for reserve drivers (one per car) after Race 8.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 17 Jul 2014, 15:15

Being in a new role has allowed me to actually enjoy this series for a change :lol:

it's been quite interesting seeing it start to unfold....

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 17 Jul 2014, 16:50

I'm assuming then that for this public test after race 8 if a team has two reserve drivers, it can run two cars simultaneously to allow both to drive?

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 17 Jul 2014, 16:52

Aerond wrote:Due to the difficulty of finding suitable drivers, the commission has decided to relax the two reserve drivers rule and reduce it to one.

Thank you.

Post by **Nuppiz** » 17 Jul 2014, 20:08

Phil McCracken is available for any team desperate enough for a reserve driver with sponsorship money. He doesn't have an active license though, so you'd need to run him in the pre-season tests to ensure he's actually of some use if the need arises.

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 17 Jul 2014, 21:56

Nuppiz wrote:Phil McCracken is available for any team desperate enough for a reserve driver with sponsorship money. He doesn't have an active license though, so you'd need to run him in the pre-season tests to ensure he's actually of some use if the need arises.

Is it ok if Rob Lomas Racing have him as our tester?

Post by **Ataxia** » 17 Jul 2014, 22:04

AndreaModa, I had a spare 5 minutes, so to thank you for taking on a couple of my drivers and doing your liveries I've "res'd" up the National logo a bit for you. Hope it's alright.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 18 Jul 2014, 00:06

Ataxia wrote:AndreaModa, I had a spare 5 minutes, so to thank you for taking on a couple of my drivers and doing your liveries I've "res'd" up the National logo a bit for you. Hope it's alright.

Ah lovely thanks for that! The only ones kicking about on Google are pretty small so that will come in very useful in future!

Post by **Nuppiz** » 18 Jul 2014, 18:38

roblomas52 wrote:
Nuppiz wrote:Phil McCracken is available for any team desperate enough for a reserve driver with sponsorship money. He doesn't have an active license though, so you'd need to run him in the pre-season tests to ensure he's actually of some use if the need arises.

Is it ok if Rob Lomas Racing have him as our tester?

He'll gladly accept the offer.

Aerond · Post by **Aerond** » 18 Jul 2014, 21:30

Numbers 3 to 7 in Waiting List contacted about tyre manufacturing

Hope to have this sorted out by Monday.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 18 Jul 2014, 22:05

Right, I'm not sure whether we went over this a while ago when the last season ended, but I need some clarification regarding the use of Torrente's 200cr F2RWRS bonus payment.

In the rules it states I can only spend that money after the market closes. However the rules also state that I can scrap a chassis and build a new one at any point during the season as well. Thirdly, at no point do the rules state that I cannot not have a chassis prior to the first race. As long as I have a chassis, engine and tyre contract by race 1, then I comply with all of the rules.

So what I'm going to do is as follows. I'm going to sell back my existing Minardi M197 chassis - either to the market or to a buyer if one comes forward. I will then wait until the market is closed, ensuring my engine and tyre contracts are already finalised. Then, during the pre-season testing period, I intend to build a new chassis, using the additional credits granted by Torrente's bonus payment, thus giving me a complete package well in advance of the first race.

There's nothing there that breaks the rules, but I want a clarification. Obviously it is bending them a bit and I expect everyone to come down like a ton of bricks on me for even entertaining the idea, but I want to be transparent and fair so that there's no finger pointing further down the line.

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 18 Jul 2014, 22:10

AndreaModa wrote:Right, I'm not sure whether we went over this a while ago when the last season ended, but I need some clarification regarding the use of Torrente's 200cr F2RWRS bonus payment.

In the rules it states I can only spend that money after the market closes. However the rules also state that I can scrap a chassis and build a new one at any point during the season as well. Thirdly, at no point do the rules state that I cannot not have a chassis prior to the first race. As long as I have a chassis, engine and tyre contract by race 1, then I comply with all of the rules.

So what I'm going to do is as follows. I'm going to sell back my existing Minardi M197 chassis - either to the market or to a buyer if one comes forward. I will then wait until the market is closed, ensuring my engine and tyre contracts are already finalised. Then, during the pre-season testing period, I intend to build a new chassis, using the additional credits granted by Torrente's bonus payment, thus giving me a complete package well in advance of the first race.

There's nothing there that breaks the rules, but I want a clarification. Obviously it is bending them a bit and I expect everyone to come down like a ton of bricks on me for even entertaining the idea, but I want to be transparent and fair so that there's no finger pointing further down the line.

If you want, Rob Lomas Racing will buy the M197 chassis from you.

Aerond · Post by **Aerond** » 19 Jul 2014, 18:44

AndreaModa wrote:Right, I'm not sure whether we went over this a while ago when the last season ended, but I need some clarification regarding the use of Torrente's 200cr F2RWRS bonus payment.

In the rules it states I can only spend that money after the market closes. However the rules also state that I can scrap a chassis and build a new one at any point during the season as well. Thirdly, at no point do the rules state that I cannot not have a chassis prior to the first race. As long as I have a chassis, engine and tyre contract by race 1, then I comply with all of the rules.

So what I'm going to do is as follows. I'm going to sell back my existing Minardi M197 chassis - either to the market or to a buyer if one comes forward. I will then wait until the market is closed, ensuring my engine and tyre contracts are already finalised. Then, during the pre-season testing period, I intend to build a new chassis, using the additional credits granted by Torrente's bonus payment, thus giving me a complete package well in advance of the first race.

There's nothing there that breaks the rules, but I want a clarification. Obviously it is bending them a bit and I expect everyone to come down like a ton of bricks on me for even entertaining the idea, but I want to be transparent and fair so that there's no finger pointing further down the line.

Credits are given to you actually after testing period, just for Pre-Q race 1. In case you want to do that, the way to go would be racing 1st race with your old chassis and then buying the new one afterwards. I'll make sure that section is rewritten so there's no more doubts about it

tristan1117 · Post by **tristan1117** » 20 Jul 2014, 13:04

Slightly changed but still mostly crap. The Boxtel livery.

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 20 Jul 2014, 17:42

Hiroto Tojo, speaking to J.O.U.R.N.A.L., wrote:With all of these rumors of I being linked to a drive with Team Mecha Racing, and in light of the relaxation of the compulsory reserve driver rule, I am confirming that I am trying to transfer my Fusion reserve contract to Team Mecha as a full-time driver.

Post by **Ataxia** » 20 Jul 2014, 18:04

We'll release Tojo from his reserve contract, but we take no pleasure in doing so.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 20 Jul 2014, 23:44

Aerond wrote:Credits are given to you actually after testing period, just for Pre-Q race 1. In case you want to do that, the way to go would be racing 1st race with your old chassis and then buying the new one afterwards. I'll make sure that section is rewritten so there's no more doubts about it

Hmm interesting. Appreciate the clarification, and amending the rules is a good idea. I understand it's a pretty obscure loophole I was trying to exploit, but at least we all know for future now!