Women's GT Junior Cup - Season 1

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Turbogirl
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Women's GT Junior Cup - Season 1

Post by Turbogirl »

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Foreword

Hello and welcome to the new and improved Women’s GT Junior Cup! In case you might be confused about the fact that this name not only makes an unexpected comeback, but is also supposed to replace the promised Lotus Ladies Cup, then let me explain my reasons:

While the Lotus Ladies Cup might have sounded quite nice, it was far too short-sighted for what I have in mind, and I’ve recognized that during my vacation in September. There was also still the problem of how to incorporate the old Women’s GT World Championship and its Junior Cup into the modern narrative, so that most things we did back then were not in vain.

Basically, the first season of this new Junior Cup will be a reimagination of the old Women’s GT World Championship, while the second season will do the same with the original Junior Cup season. And although I will have to take a lot of liberties to make the old material fit into the new narrative, you will still be able to recognize the old projects underneath all the added layers. I won’t go into too much detail here, just to not spoil it for you, but as soon as we start off this series properly, you’ll quickly notice what I’m going for and where I’m going with this.

Here are the important cliffnotes for you: We’ll have 12 rounds all over Europe (with the finals in Adelaide, Australia), 4 drivers per team (including driver changes mid-race), all teams/brands will field GT3 cars, and the focus is supposed to be on rookie drivers. Unfortunately for you, just like the WTCC and the now replaced Lotus Ladies Cup: You can’t join and manage teams, sorry. This will change at a later point, however, but for now I need certain events to happen a certain way.

But does that mean that Lotus doesn’t get in-universe support for their foray into the Women’s GT Masters as promised? On the contrary, because Lotus is part of this little experience as well, testing out their Exige GT3 before advancing to the Masters series, as well as giving their original Lotus Ladies Cup drivers a chance to showcase their talent in a battle against much stiffer competition than a one-make series could ever offer.

To conclude my little introduction, here is how this alteration affects the proposed fictional timeline:

Season 1
Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Women’s GT Junior Cup (you are here)

Season 2
Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Women’s GT Junior Cup

Season 3
Women’s Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Women’s GT Junior Cup
Women’s GT Masters

Season 4
Coming soon...

I would like to invite each and every team owner from the Women’s GT Masters to have a look at this and search for drivers who might be an ideal fit for their own line-ups. Expect a few of these ladies to crop up in the factory driver lists for the Women’s GT Masters!

This series will not use GPL as a simulator but the very same D20 RPG system I intend to use for the Women’s GT Masters, so you can already get a small glimpse of what will be coming your way once that series shifts into gear.

I think that’s all for now. Let’s dive right into the pre-season tests, shall we? :)
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Turbogirl
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Women's GT Junior Cup - Pre-Season Tests

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Normally, one shouldn’t read too much into the pre-season tests, because you’ll never fully know who gave it their all and who just bluffed. But since we have nothing else of substance to talk about yet, let’s try and get some predictions out of what we’ve witnessed under the spanish sun.

First and foremost: Giovanna Amati did her team no favour by agreeing to the factory-backing from the FIAT Group. The Italian manufacturer wanted to see a Maserati team in the Women’s GT Junior Cup, and now they can, but if they actually wanted to see said team shine as bright as the Maserati team did with the MC12 GT1 in the now defunct FIA GT1 World Championship a few seasons back, they’re going to be severely disappointed.

Secondly: Team Lotus was also nowhere to be found. After announcing their return to the world of endurance racing as a full-blown works effort, one would have expected to see a much more dignified performance. Even if they were just bluffing, and we don’t believe they were, these lap times are simply abysmal. Their entire driver line-up was recruited from their infamous Lotus Ladies Cup, a series dubbed an „on-track model contest“ by many, and it shows. For an outfit aiming to compete in the soon-to-come Women’s GT Masters, a World Championship, if rumors are true, there’s too much left to be desired.


Test Session 1, Saturday

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:46.527
02.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:46.610
03.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:46.633
04.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:46.648
05.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:46.649
06.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:46.742
07.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:47.030
08.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:47.101
09.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:47.186
10.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:47.432
11.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:47.457
12.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:47.563
13.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:47.831
14.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:48.144
15.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:48.278
16.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:48.335
17.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:48.340
18.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:48.438
19.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:48.485
20.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:48.573

But let’s talk about some positive performances: From the looks of things, we should get to see Lamborghini battling Aston Martin for the championship title in the inaugural season. Both teams receive factory support, and all four driver pairings consist of some of the best female drivers you can find. The Beechdean Aston Martin Racing squad might have given themselves an additional handicap by following this series rules closely, though.

Said rules clearly state that each driver pairing must consist of one rookie and one driver with a little more experience, so that the rookie can learn from her „mentor“. The only weakness of this rule, however, is it’s awfully vague wording (something we’re all too familiar with FIA rulebooks, unfortunately). What is considered „a little more experience“? Well, Rhino’s Team Modena has found their own interpretation of this term and hired Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook. Both can even be considered rookies, as none of them actually has an entire GT3 season worth of experience behind her. But that’s stretching the boundaries quite a lot, if you ask me! Yet, it seems to be legal, and no one has spoken out against their participation so far. So now we have a driver pairing consisting of an American touring car expert and a British Indy 500 regular, who has more than 150 races worth of experience, competing in a series called Junior Cup. Yeah, sounds about right...


Test Session 2, Sunday

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:46.507
02.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:46.545
03.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:46.642
04.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:46.730
05.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:46.800
06.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:46.824
07.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:46.932
08.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:47.003
09.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:47.057
10.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:47.119
11.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:47.244
12.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:47.285
13.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:47.371
14.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:47.463
15.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:47.465
16.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:47.502
17.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:47.678
18.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:47.799
19.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:47.914
20.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:48.146

This is promising us an interesting season, folks! So stay tuned for the official driver presentations, coming up next! :)
Last edited by Turbogirl on 28 Sep 2018, 12:13, edited 2 times in total.
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dr-baker
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Re: Women's GT Junior Cup - Season 1

Post by dr-baker »

Turbogirl wrote:I think that’s all for now. Let’s dive right into the pre-season tests, shall we? :)

Please do!
watka wrote:I find it amusing that whilst you're one of the more openly Christian guys here, you are still first and foremost associated with an eye for the ladies!
dinizintheoven wrote:GOOD CHRISTIANS do not go to jail. EVERYONE ON FORMULA ONE REJECTS should be in jail.
MCard LOLA
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Turbogirl
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Women's GT Junior Cup - Official Season Preview (Part 1)

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Rhino’s Team Modena is a cute name for an outfit that could just as well be called Lambo works team. The italian squad has already redefined who counts as a rookie. No one in their right mind would openly call heavyweights like Pippa Mann, Shea Holbrook, or even Sarah Bovy „rookie“. Portuguese Carina Lima fits that description very well, and she may be the only real handicap this team has given itself. Everything else about this foray cries „title contender“, and we’re going to expect nothing else from Rhino’s Team Modena.
Team Principal: Monica Bregoli-Sipsz / Team Manager: Lucie Horová
Tyre Supplier: Michelin / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #11: Andrea Stella / Race Engineer Car #12: Gabriele delli Colli


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The factory-backed Aston Martin outfit is at least fully playing by the rules, even though these are horribly vaguely worded. There is one true rookie in each of the two driver pairings, and still this is more than your average junior team in your average Junior Cup. The Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 is a remarkably fast and reliable car, and with Christina Nielsen and Fiona Leggate, Team Principal Andrew Howard has signed two potential race winners (in Nielsen’s case a proven race winner). We should expect to see the Aston Martins battle the Lambos for the title, with a slight chance for Matech Competition to grab the occasional win or two.
Team Principal: Andrew Howard / Team Manager: Ines Koschutnig
Tyre Supplier: Pirelli / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #90: Humphrey Corbett / Race Engineer Car #91: Bradley Joyce


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This team is not backed by the Ford Motor Company itself, but by Matech Concepts, the Swiss tuner that has built both the Ford GT3 and the Mustang FR500 GT3, with which the team originally wanted to participate. But development on the Ford Matech GT3 showed how very superior this sleek reimagination of the classic GT40 is in comparison to the Mustang, so Team Manager Claire Magnant opted for the new design instead. She brought on Natacha Gachnang to lead the team and partnered her with former F3 driver Shirley van der Lof. The second car is piloted by American Nascar specialist Jennifer Jo Cobb and former Formula Palmer Audi winner Emma Kimiläinen. Although on paper, this team looks like another potential title contender, their first season is going to be dedicated to further development on the Ford Matech GT3. An occasional podium or even a win can be expected, but any more is out of the question at the moment.
Team Principal: Martin Bartek / Team Manager: Claire Magnant
Tyre Supplier: Michelin / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #21: Frances Buckley / Race Engineer Car #22: Bonnie Beard


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Despite how this team’s name might sound to you, Team Green is only a Dodge customer team, although Team Principal and leading driver Rachel Green had hoped for more. But even without factory-backing, the team will be equipped with a machine capable of scoring points, maybe even podiums on a regular basis. The driver line-up is also stretching the official rulebook quite a lot, since neither Green herself nor any of her teammates can be called „rookie“ with a straight face. From what the pre-season tests have shown us, Team Green is going to compete mostly against Team Teasdale and Team Rosqvist for points and occasional podiums.
Team Principal: Rachel Green / Team Manager: Nicole Melleg
Tyre Supplier: Michelin / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #36: Katelyn Supan / Race Engineer Car #37: Andrea Mueller


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You might call the Teasdale driver line-up a huge risk, considering who has been signed by a lot of their immediate rivals. But actually, Teasdale Chevrolet might field the most legit junior squad we discussed in this first part of the presentation yet. They stuck as closely to the rules as they probably could – a little too close, maybe – and signed three rookies alongside Nascar refugee Johanna Long. We understand the strategy the other teams are going for, but it’s still quite refreshing to see a customer team going for a true junior cup approach without actually endangering their operation. Despite their drivers’ inexperience with GT3 material, the Corvette C6 is a proven race winner and should provide the all-American quartet with a weapon to fight for points regularly and for podiums occasionally, should the title contenders falter for one reason or another.
Team Principal: Kat Teasdale / Team Manager: Tiziana Borghi
Tyre Supplier: Yokohama / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #17: Greg Zipadelli / Race Engineer Car #18: Tiffany Daniels
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Women's GT Junior Cup - Official Season Preview (Part 2)

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Another customer team, another refreshing junior cup approach! Only this time, Team Principal Leni Rosqvist – granddaughter of reknown rallye driver Ewy Rosqvist and former rallye co-driver herself – made it her mission to save as many former F3 drivers from falling into unjustified obscurity as possible. These four ladies share a common bond: They all ran out of funds before making it big in Formula 3. And now they’re tasked to try their hands on two Porsche 911 GT3-R’s. This is not only an easy to handle car, but also a solid frontrunner, if the team running it is capable of setting it up correctly.
Team Principal: Leni Rosqvist / Team Manager: Iris Dorr
Tyre Supplier: Michelin / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #9: Rosella Manfrinato / Race Engineer Car #10: Rob Smedley


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Giovanna Amati wanted to go big or not at all, so she struck a deal with the almighty FIAT Group to field two factory-backed GT3 cars of their choice in the inaugural Women’s GT Junior Cup season. The higher-ups a FIAT wanted to dust off their Maserati brand, which had been sitting rather quietly on their shelf ever since the FIA GT1 World Championship went bust. Too bad that Scuderia Amati could not actually use the outdated GT1 cars, because they would’ve probably been a much better choice than the GranSport Coupés they’re now forced to endure. And judging from the pre-season tests, it’s going to be quite the endurance test for the Scuderia.
Team Principal: Giovanna Amati / Team Manager: Francesca Valdani
Tyre Supplier: Michelin / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #77: Claudio Balestri / Race Engineer Car #78: Antonio Cuquerella


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This is a tragic story of a totally different kind. Team Lotus wanted to tie their recent efforts to the golden days of the brand, but due to some rather strange decisions, they totally botched it up. Whoever thought that signing a driver line-up consisting only of former Lotus Ladies Cup drivers was the way to go, should be shown the door immediately. We do not doubt for a second that the sleek Lotus Sports Exige GT3 is a potential points finisher, maybe even more, but with this driver line-up you couldn’t even win a flower pot.
Another prestigious name connected to the Lotus brand is also making a surprising return: Natalie „Nat“ Coundley, granddaughter of reknown Lotus driver Pat Coundley, is at the helm of this operation. „I have fuel in my veins, just like my grandma, but I was never as good a driver as she was.“ She might be a much better Team Principal, though, since she owns a master’s degree in finance and economics from Cambridge University.
Team Principal: Natalie „Nat“ Coundley / Team Manager: Victoria Haynes
Tyre Supplier: Michelin / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #97: Xevi Pujolar / Race Engineer Car #98: Ayo Komatsu


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The all-french Venturi outfit is a well put together operation, even though they’re most likely only going to compete for a single season, tops. The Venturi management is trying to test their new GT3’s competitiveness on track, hoping to sell it to the highest bidder afterwards. Since they couldn’t find a suitable customer team in time, they asked Gerard Larrousse to build a team specifically for this endeavour. Lap times in pre-season testing suggest that the GT3 Heritage is not race-ready yet, and it remains to be seen, if the Larrousse team is able to improve that until the end of the season. The drivers, however, are top-notch, even though it’s quite baffling to see that the two ladies with experience share one car, while the two rookies share the other. The team would definitely get a more ideal synergy effect by mixing the pairings.
Team Principal: Gerard Larrousse / Team Manager: Julie Berthelot
Tyre Supplier: Michelin / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #40: Elise Acker / Race Engineer Car #41: Remi Taffin


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Britain’s second premier marque is also making its debut this year, but unlike Aston Martin, the Silverjet Jaguar squad is most likely going to be struggling for pace all season long. Somewhere along the road, Jaguar seems to have forgotten how to build fast racing cars, which is quite sad, given their illustrious heritage. Their driver choice is amazingly decent and would be fighting for the occasional championship point, hadn’t they been tasked to drive a Jaguar. Team Principal Tony Purnell was formerly linked to the ill-fated Jaguar F1 effort, and we don’t expect him to change into a capable Team Principal all of a sudden. Parent company Ford should have invested all their money and support into the Matech outfit instead.
Team Principal: Tony Purnell / Team Manager: Deborah Lyall
Tyre Supplier: Michelin / Fuel Supplier: Shell
Race Engineer Car #47: Paul Monaghan / Race Engineer Car #48: Phil Prew
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Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 01 - Portugal

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Qualifying

Christina Nielsen took the first pole position of the season, besting Natacha Gachnang by almost one tenth of a second. The Lamborghini of Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook shared the second row with the Aston Martin of Fiona Leggate and Alice Powell.

Scuderia Amati fared much better than expected, considering their lackluster Maseratis, with team leader Giovanna Amati setting a time good enough for 15th place. „Still, we had hoped to battle for points this season, but I don’t think we’re going to be anywhere near the top ten this round“, Vicky Piria told reporters after the qualifying. The young Italian had to be content with 17th position on the grid.

Team Lotus was disappointed as well. While Liesette Braams had managed to grab 14th position, the sister car with the equally experienced Sheila Verschuur struggled for grip all Saturday long. The crew of the #98 Lotus couldn’t figure out if it was a setup issue, a tyre issue, or an issue of a totally different kind altogether. „Maybe we find the missing grip during the race“, Verschuur said laconically. They wouldn’t, though luck would get them as far as 14th in the end.

Code: Select all

01.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:39.469
02.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:39.543
03.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:39.621
04.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:39.622
05.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:39.645
06.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:39.670
07.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:39.704
08.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:39.766
09.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:39.778
10.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:39.819
11.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:39.929
12.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:40.041
13.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:40.163
14.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:40.171
15.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:40.247
16.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:40.249
17.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:40.254
18.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:40.288
19.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:40.318
20.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:40.325

Race Report

Christina Nielsen made a quick getaway and took the lead from Pippa Mann, who had already passed Natacha Gachnang at the starting line. Fiona Leggate made a first attempt to overtake the Matech Ford as well, but Gachnang shut the door at the last second and thus held on to third position, with the second Aston Martin of Fiona Leggate in tow.

Despite the slow start, Gachnang managed to pull away steadily on the following laps, and Fiona Leggate found herself unable to keep up with the faster Ford. The leading Aston Martin pitted after 28 minutes, and rookie Jamie Chadwick took over from Nielsen. Rhino’s Team Modena had planned for a much later stop, thus Pippa Mann took the lead and tried to set some personal fastest laps in order to increase the gap between her and Chadwick’s Aston Martin.

Mann finally pitted after 34 minutes and traded places with teammate Shea Holbrook. They also changed tyres, just like their immediate rivals in the Aston Martin garage had done during their stop. But when Holbrook left the pitlane, she found herself immediately stuck behind the much slower Maserati of Giovanna Amati and the equally slow Venturi of Laffite, who not only hadn’t pitted yet but who were also entangled in a battle for positions.

As Holbrook tried to find a way to pass them both as quickly as possible, the Aston Martin of Chadwick had just crossed the finish line, closing in faster than expected. Laffite left the racing line to make way for both Holbrook and Chadwick, but Giovanna Amati couldn’t move out of the way fast enough, so both the Lambo and the Aston Martin got stuck behind the Maserati for two more turns. That gave Chadwick the time she needed to get into the Lambo’s slipstream. When Amati finally gave way, Chadwick attacked Holbrook, who had had no real chance to warm up her tyres yet, and passed her at the Parabolica Interior, thus winning back the lead.

When Sarah Bovy’s Pirellis began to wear off during the closing laps, Alice Powell realized her chance to attack the struggling Lamborghini for 4th position and increased the pressure on Bovy. The Lambo jinked from side to side, and Bovy hoped to fend Powell off that way, but the British woman just kept her cool and waited for the ideal moment to attack, which finally came on the penultimate lap.

Alice Powell went far wide on the way to Curva 1, while Sarah Bovy stayed on the inside. Then suddenly, Powell jumped inside as well, bumped Bovy and went by. Since the next turn, Curva 2, was also a right-hand bend, Powell stayed on the inner side and thus had no problem fending off Bovy, who would’ve probably tried to win back 4th place, had she gotten the chance to do so.

Code: Select all

01.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   61:45.115    9
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         7.641    6
03.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   10.956    4
04.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3      15.167    3
05.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R        15.577    2
06.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             18.198    1
07.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   21.688
08.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 22.201
09.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             23.192
10.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      24.909
11.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              29.936
12.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   31.653
13.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            31.811
14.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            32.104
15.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              37.663
16.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 39.658
DNF)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3   Hydraulics
DNF)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3          Gearbox
DNF)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R          Engine
DNF)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                Gearbox

FASTEST LAP:

      90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:41.539

Drivers’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    9 Points
      90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    9 Points
02.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      6 Points
      11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      6 Points
03.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 4 Points
      21  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 4 Points
04.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    3 Points
      91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    3 Points
05.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2 Points
      12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2 Points
06.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1 Point
      18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1 Point

Teams’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         12 Points
02.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                    8 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                     4 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                     1 Point

Constructors’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Aston Martin                          12 Points
02.)  Lamborghini                            8 Points
03.)  Ford                                   4 Points
04.)  Chevrolet                              1 Point
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Turbogirl
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Location: Germany

Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 02 - Spain

Post by Turbogirl »

Image


Qualifying

Rhino’s Team Modena was unbeatable under the spanish sun, taking pole position and second place on the grid without breaking in sweat. Pippa Mann was even able to set a lap time almost one tenth of a second faster than what Christina Nielsen could manage in her Aston Martin. „That doesn’t bother me too much“, Nielsen stated. „They can have the pole, if we get the win.“

More surprisingly: The Teasdale Chevrolet of Jessica Brunelli and Johanna Long was able to break into the Aston Martin phalanx and grab 4th position. Long, who was responsible for that miraculous lap time, was the most sought after driver all Saturday long. „We knew we could pull this off sooner or later“, she told reporters, and teammate Jessica Brunelli added: „I’m surprised it happened so early in the season.“

In the meantime, Maserati had reached rock bottom, even outpaced by both Lotuses. Team Principal Giovanna Amati was not too happy about this predicament: „I thought FIAT wanted to see us win. They do know where the front end of the grid is, right?“ Silverjet Jaguar Racing, on the other hand, seemed to have closed the gap to the midfield, with the #48 car of Seatter and Tillett grabbing 13th position, and their sister car close by in 15th position. „It seems that the Dodge in front of us has some kind of setup trouble“, Laura Tillett commented. „Maybe we’re lucky, and they’re still sitting ducks tomorrow.“

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:45.113
02.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:45.178
03.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:45.209
04.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:45.251
05.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:45.312
06.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:45.334
07.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:45.346
08.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:45.372
09.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:45.387
10.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:45.416
11.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:45.428
12.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:45.517
13.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:45.549
14.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:45.600
15.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:45.645
16.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:45.688
17.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:45.711
18.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:45.759
19.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:45.813
20.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:45.898

Race Report

This round ended with Beechdean Aston Martin Racing not scoring a single championship point, despite both cars making it to the finish line in one piece and without any technical difficulties. But more surprising than that was the fact that, with just a little more luck, this round could have been won by a Teasdale Chevrolet.

Pippa Mann had won the start with ease, but the mandatory pitstop did not go as planned. The driver change was done masterfully, the timing after that was terrible. As the rulebook clearly states: The mandatory pitstop has to be 1 minute long for all teams. If you cross the white line at the pitlane exit before that, you get sentenced to a drive-through penalty. And the stewards are quite pedantic. Shea Holbrook, who took over from Pippa Mann, crossed the line 0.001 seconds too soon.

The drive-through penalty handicapped the leading Lambo so much, that the then second-placed Johanna Long was able to slip through at the exact moment as Holbrook re-entered the racing line. And Long also won the sprint to Curva Expo ’92, with Holbrook’s Lambo hot on her tail. The Chevrolet driver stayed on the inside, holding on to the lead at Curva Michelin as well. Holbrook’s tyres weren’t fully warmed up yet, so she had to let the faster Chevrolet off the hook.

At least, in theory she would have. In reality, she refused to let Johanna Long pull away so easily. „It was my mistake we we’re in that position“, Holbrook explained afterwards. „I wanted to make up for it, and I wasn’t sure if I could catch the Chevy once it got away.“ This led to quite the sight, as Johanna Long started playing with Holbrook for a while. In the following few laps, the Lambo was visibly slower than the Corvette and also seemed to have a little less grip. Team Principal Kat Teasdale explains: „The Michelin is harder to warm up than the Yokohama. That made the difference. Once the Michelin is warmed up, though, the Yokohama stands no chance against it.“

Shea Holbrook did her best to stay as close as possible to the leading Corvette, but she was clearly no match at that point in the race. Johanna Long allowed Holbrook to close in on her, but then responded and was able to hold off the Lambo by a couple of car lengths. „I felt like an amateur“, Holbrook stated. „There I was, driving the fastest car on the grid, not able to catch up to a Chevy.“ Then, two laps later, the tide turned.

„I guess I got overconfident“, Johanna Long shrugged. „I should’ve known her tyres would get better sooner than later.“ Holbrook’s tyres finally began to function properly, and the Lambo attacked at Curva Dry Sack. Long tried to shut the door, but Holbrook was already on the inside of that corner and went through. Long and Holbrook traded some paint, and the Lambo steadily pulled away, leaving Johanna Long in second place. „It’s a podium after all. I don’t think for a second that we really could’ve won today. We were only in that lucky position, ’cause the Lambo’s made a small mistake.“

At the back of the grid, Emma Selway and Laura Tillett were struggling with their Jaguars. The handling had gotten worse over time, and not even a tyre change could do something about that predicament. The understandibly frustrated British ladies radioed in for further instructions and were told to retire in the pits, which they finally did. They were dead last at that point in the race anyway. Their crews started searching for the problem immediately, but no news on their discoveries ever reached the press.

In the closing laps, Dodge driver Erin Crocker steadily closed in on the second-placed Chevrolet of Johanna Long in front of her. Still two laps to go, and the Viper was visibly faster than the Corvette. „Unfortunately, the Michelin has another advantage over the Yokohama“, Team Principal Kat Teasdale further explains. „It lasts longer. Maybe three or four laps, tops, but during the final laps of a race, that’s worth a lot.“ Johanna Long started driving a blocking line, unwilling to let Crocker take second place away from her.

Long was able to fend off Crocker’s attacks, but it was obvious that Crocker herself was not willing to go full risk anymore. „Third place and four valuable points versus stuck in the gravel empty-handed. Do your own math.“ So Crocker stayed close and finished the race in third place without trying another attack during the final lap. „It was obvious that Johanna’s tyres were already dead“, Nicolle Melleg (Team Manager of Dodge Racing Green) told reporters. „But she countered Erin’s attacks as if her life depended on it. So I radioed Erin to hold positions. I was afraid that Johanna could lose control of her car, had Erin gone for the gap, and that collision could have taken both of them out. I think Erin was pretty relieved by my orders.“

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     62:01.001    9
02.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3              2.270    6
03.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R              2.391    4
04.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         4.474    3
05.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                    4.643    2
06.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             10.308    1
07.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3      15.536
08.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3      15.726
09.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             17.409
10.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 19.005
11.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   25.212
12.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            29.100
13.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              31.797
14.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      35.316
15.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            36.498
16.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      46.433
17.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              49.695
DNF)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R              Tyre Damage
DNF)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                Handling
DNF)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                Handling

FASTEST LAP:

      37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:46.774

Drivers’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     15 Points
      11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     15 Points
02.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    9 Points
      90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    9 Points
03.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points
      17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points
04.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 6 Points
      21  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 6 Points
05.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      5 Points
      12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      5 Points
06.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           4 Points
      37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           4 Points
07.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    3 Points
      91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    3 Points
08.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points
      18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points

Teams’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   20 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         12 Points
03.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                     8 Points
04.)  Matech Competition                     6 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     4 Points

Constructors’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Lamborghini                           20 Points
02.)  Aston Martin                          12 Points
03.)  Chevrolet                              8 Points
04.)  Ford                                   6 Points
05.)  Dodge                                  4 Points
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Turbogirl
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Joined: 20 Jan 2014, 16:23
Location: Germany

Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 03 - France

Post by Turbogirl »

Image


Qualifying

Dijon-Prenois greeted the teams and drivers of the Women’s GT Junior Cup with sunny weather and not a single cloud in sight. A large crowd had come to visit the on-track action and was excited to witness one of the closest qualifying results yet. It was obvious that Rhino’s Team Modena and Beechdean Aston Martin Racing were on par with each other, closely followed by Matech Ford and Teasdale Chevrolet.

FroGreen Team Rosqvist was remarkably competitive too, with both of their cars beating the Dodge Racing Green Team, despite Green’s more experienced driver line-up. On the other end of the grid, Scuderia Amati was dead last once again, with the duo of Amati and Diana being almost three tenths of a second slower than the slowest Lotus, and Bernardoni/Piria even slower! The Maseratis remained the only cars never to set a lap time of 1:16.xxx the entire qualifying.

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:16.434
02.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:16.466
03.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:16.482
04.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:16.497
05.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:16.513
06.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:16.551
07.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:16.580
08.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:16.612
09.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:16.654
10.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:16.669
11.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:16.681
12.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:16.690
13.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:16.747
14.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:16.762
15.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:16.798
16.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:16.835
17.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:16.842
18.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:16.945
19.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:17.376
20.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:17.534

Race Report

The wonderful summer weather stayed at Dijon-Prenois for the race on Sunday, even though a few weather forecasters believed to have seen at least one smaller cloud heading towards the circuit.

What an exciting race this proved to be, right from the start! Pippa Mann stayed inside as she and her rivals headed towards Double-Droite de Villeroy and kept the lead, closely followed by Christina Nielsen in second and Fiona Leggate in third. Leggate had already passed the second Lambo of Carina Lima right at the start. Behind that came Natacha Gachnang in fifth and the Teasdale Chevrolet of Jessica Brunelli in sixth.

Unlike one race prior at Jerez, the Chevrolets found themselves unable to keep up with the faster Matech Fords, and on lap 4, Mishael Abbott came under pressure from Jennifer Jo Cobb in the second Matech. Abbott had to give up 7th position to Cobb on lap 6, when the Ford driver outbraked her at Virage de la Combe.

Pippa Mann once again dominated the first half of the race, until her one and only pitstop became due. She felt safe, considering the fact that Christina Nielsen hadn’t tried a single overtaking maneuvre up until that point. „I tricked her into believing that I could barely keep up with her, but I only saved my tyres. We were faster in race trim than we were during qualifying“, said Nielsen in an interview. „After Pippa pitted, I did my best to build up a gap, so that Jamie just had to take over from me and cruise home.“

And that’s exactly how it went down. Nielsen pitted after setting some remarkably fast lap times and let her teammate Jamie Chadwick handle the rest. When the British woman left the pits, Shea Holbrook was still 3.5 seconds away. And before taking the chequered flag, Chadwick even managed to increase the gap between her and the second-placed Lambo to a little over 4 seconds!

In the meantime, Shirley van der Lof had passed Sarah Bovy for 4th place, while the Ford sister car of Emma Kimiläinen took care of Long’s Corvette. The only retirement at that point in the race had been the #97 Lotus of Braams and Marenec, which was due to clutch problems.

Near the end of the race, Miranda Throckmorton’s Corvette began to slide in the fast corners of the circuit. Her Yokohamas no longer provided enough grip, and Gina-Maria Adenauer was closing in fast. Despite Throckmorton’s best efforts to defend her position as long as she could, Adenauer overtook the faltering Corvette two laps later at Gauche de la Bretelle and took 8th place.

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01.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   61:21.843    9
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         4.260    6
03.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       5.213    4
04.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                    6.275    3
05.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         6.803    2
06.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                    9.847    1
07.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             11.402
08.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 12.643
09.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             13.006
10.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 13.478
11.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             13.999
12.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             18.974
13.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              22.790
14.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   23.891
15.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   24.534
16.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            29.045
17.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      34.472
18.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      37.167
19.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              38.840
DNF)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3         Clutch

FASTEST LAP:

      90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:17:675

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     21 Points
      11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     21 Points
02.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   18 Points
      90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   18 Points
03.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 9 Points
      21  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 9 Points
04.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    7 Points
      91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    7 Points
05.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      7 Points
      12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      7 Points
06.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points
      17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points
07.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           4 Points
      37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           4 Points
08.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points
      18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points
09.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1 Point
      22  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1 Point

Teams’ Championship

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01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   28 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         25 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    10 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                     8 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     4 Points

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Lamborghini                           28 Points
02.)  Aston Martin                          25 Points
03.)  Ford                                  10 Points
04.)  Chevrolet                              8 Points
05.)  Dodge                                  4 Points
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Turbogirl
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Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 04 - Great Britain

Post by Turbogirl »

Image


Qualifying

Great Britain surprised the teams and drivers of the Women’s GT Junior Cup with yet another warm and sunny race weekend, despite the fact that it had been raining cats and dogs on the island for almost three weeks in a row not even four days earlier.

Fiona Leggate took pole position for Beechdean Aston Martin, with Pippa Mann hot on her heels in second place, and the sister Lambo of Carina Lima in third position. Both Teasdale Chevrolets had left their rivals at Dodge Racing Green far behind once again, and even the lackluster Maseratis weren’t dead last anymore. „I think that’s more due to the nature of Oulton Park“, said Deborah Lyall, Team Manager of Silverjet Jaguar Racing. „It’s not the easiest circuit for inexperienced drivers. And the last row today consists of the two most inexperienced pairings on the grid.“

Meanwhile, the Silly Season had started behind the scenes, and a few early news began to seep in already. Alpina had finished development on their rumored B6 GT3 model for BMW and thus were keen on entering a factory-backed effort for Season 2. Alpina’s CEO Andreas Bovensiepen wanted to sign Claudia Hürtgen for his campaign, but due to Hürtgen’s current contract situation (WTCC), chances were rather slim that she could actually be roped into such a project so soon.

Rumors had it that Bovensiepen was already in negotiations with tyre supplier Yokohama, which made Kat Teasdale quite worried, as she herself admitted: „At the moment, we are Yokohama’s top team in this series, but since we’re only a privateer entry, I don’t think we stand any chance against a factory-backed outfit in terms of marketability. It’s possible that I might be forced to think of alternatives pretty soon, but I hope they acknowledge the good job we’re doing.“

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01.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:32.998
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:33.049
03.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:33.116
04.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:33.121
05.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:33.154
06.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:33.178
07.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:33.191
08.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:33.226
09.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:33.337
10.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:33.432
11.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:33.496
12.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:33.512
13.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:33.549
14.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:33.553
15.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:33.567
16.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:33.604
17.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:33.640
18.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:33.672
19.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:33.713
20.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:33.724

Race Report

Fiona Leggate was seemingly nervous before the start. She had never been in such a position before in her entire career. But as soon as the lights went out, she was controlling the whole race from start to finish. Her speed in the Aston Martin throughout the first laps was impressive, and not even the Lamborghinis or her teammate Christina Nielsen could catch up with her.

Natacha Gachnang had tried to pass Carina Lima right at the start, but the Lambo driver fended off the attack before diving into Old Hall Corner ahead of the Ford. Christina Nielsen held on to fifth position, but ran into gearbox trouble after 10 laps and had to retire early. „I wasn’t quite as fast as Gachnang today, but it would’ve been a points finish for sure“, the Dane said in an interview afterwards. „And we’re in desperate need of some points right now.“

The first ones to pit of the top five were the Lambos of Mann and Lima. Natacha Gachnang inherited second place, but pitted a mere one lap later. Fiona Leggate kept the lead, now followed by Deborah Renshaw in second, who had passed Jessica Brunelli’s Corvette six laps earlier. Leggate finally pitted after 33 minutes, two minutes before the pitlane would close, and after the one minute long pitstop without changing tyres, the Aston Martin, now with Alice Powell behind the wheel, re-entered the race, still in the lead.

Shea Holbrook came second, Sarah Bovy third, Shirley van der Lof fourth. And through a clever pitstop strategy, Emma Kimiläinen in the second Matech Ford had taken fifth position in the meantime. Behind her, Erin Crocker and Johanna Long were battling for sixth place. „The Yokohamas may be better in qualifying, but over the course of a race, the Michelins clearly are the superior compound“, Kat Teasdale concluded.

It was obvious that in the dying laps of this race, the Michelin tyres still had enough grip in comparison to the Yokohamas, so that Erin Crocker was able to open up a gap of more than 2 seconds to Johanna Long. Long soldiered on to finish seventh, but was not at all dissatisfied with her performance. „I had plenty of time to study the Viper’s strengths and weaknesses while driving behind Erin. I think I’m starting to notice some patterns.“

Miranda Throckmorton, in the meantime, managed to defend 8th place against a much stronger Maryeve Dufault in the second Dodge Viper. Dufault made several attempts at passing the somewhat sliding Corvette, but never found a way to counter Throckmorton’s desperate blocking line.

At the back of the grid, Marika Diana (Maserati) passed Charlotte Dalmasso (Venturi) for 15th place. Scuderia Amati had done a rather terrible pitstop and thus had fallen behind the slower Venturi in the process. The same had happened to the sister Maserati of Vicky Piria, but while Marika Diana could manage to overtake the Venturi during the closing laps, Piria was already too far behind to even try a passing maneuvre anymore.

And the Venturis weren’t quite as weak as expected, either. The duo of Sylvie Delcour and Marguerite Laffite gave proof to what that car was truly capable of, if set up correctly. 11th position came quite as a surprise to Team Principal Gerard Larrousse as well. „I wish we’d had that result at Dijon. That would’ve made things much easier for the team.“ We would discover soon enough what the Frenchman meant by that...

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01.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   61:38.750    9
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         2.765    6
03.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         4.282    4
04.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                    5.126    3
05.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                    6.491    2
06.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R              8.279    1
07.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             10.923
08.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             11.584
09.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             12.945
10.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 16.692
11.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              20.734
12.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            27.489
13.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   27.798
14.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            31.000
15.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      34.221
16.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              34.807
17.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      35.999
18.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   48.575
DNF)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R              Fuel Pump
DNF)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   Gearbox

FASTEST LAP:

      21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:33.819

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     27 Points
      11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     27 Points
02.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   18 Points
      90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   18 Points
03.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   16 Points
      91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   16 Points
04.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                12 Points
      21  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                12 Points
05.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     11 Points
      12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     11 Points
06.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points
      17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points
07.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           5 Points
      37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           5 Points
08.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 3 Points
      22  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 3 Points
09.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points
      18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points

Teams’ Championship

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01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   38 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         34 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    15 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                     8 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     5 Points

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Lamborghini                           38 Points
02.)  Aston Martin                          34 Points
03.)  Ford                                  15 Points
04.)  Chevrolet                              8 Points
05.)  Dodge                                  5 Points
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Turbogirl
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Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 05 - Netherlands

Post by Turbogirl »

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Qualifying

The halfway point of the season was just around the corner, and there was no clear title contender yet. As expected, seeing how promising both the Lamborghini and the Aston Martin line-ups were during pre-season testing already. We had hoped for an exciting inaugural season, and we haven’t been disappointed so far. Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook led the Drivers’ Championship by 9 points, but Rhino’s Team Modena was only 4 points ahead of Beechdean Aston Martin Racing in the Teams’ Standings.

And even at the back of the grid, we could witness a fierce battle for positions. Silverjet Jaguar Racing, Larrousse Venturi, Team Lotus, and Scuderia Amati were all within three tenths of a second, and they repeated that feat at Zandvoort once again. Though, Scuderia Amati had become the center of attention for a totally different reason in the meantime.

The rumors surrounding WTCC driver Michela Cerruti had also reached the Junior Cup paddock, and one italian newspaper in particular wanted to link Cerruti to Scuderia Amati for Season 2. Giovanna Amati could only laugh at that. „I wish I could get a hold of her“, she admitted. „But the WTCC is one level above us, and Miki has a two year contract with Mercedes-Benz. She’s completely out of my reach, trust me.“

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01.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:38.658
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:38.701
03.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:38.763
04.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:38.822
05.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:38.856
06.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:38.890
07.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:38.907
08.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:38.954
09.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:39.015
10.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:39.073
11.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:39.146
12.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:39.253
13.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:39.328
14.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:39.409
15.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:39.516
16.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:39.623
17.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:39.647
18.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:39.704
19.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:39.768
20.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:39.771

Race Report

When the drivers faced the starter, it was still warm and dry, although a few darker clouds lingered over Circuit Park Zandvoort. Not a clear indicator for rain, but chances were higher than many teams wanted them to be. „If it starts raining cats and dogs, the pitlane will open accordingly, so that no one has to risk their life on slicks out there“, Lucie Horová (Team Manager of Rhino’s Team Modena) explained. „But there will be quite the chaos in the pitlane, if that situation occurs.“

Christina Nielsen had a very good start and stayed in the lead, closely followed by Pippa Mann in second and Fiona Leggate in third, who had already passed Natacha Gachnang before approaching Tarzanboocht. Deborah Renshaw had taken advantage of a rather mediocre start from Jennifer Jo Cobb and took sixth position in the process. But the most tremendous start was performed by Romana Bernardoni in her Maserati, who overtook 4 rivals right at the start, taking 16th place.

Light rain set in about seven laps into the race and began to slowly soak the circuit. Since this was no cause for alarm, the pitlane kept closed, and all drivers stayed out on slicks. Natacha Gachnang won back third position from Fiona Leggate at Marlboroboocht. When the rain increased noticably, race control decided to open the pitlane, and immediately, all drivers started pitting for wets, turning the pitlane into a hornet’s nest.

The first driver to pit was Deborah Renshaw, who then also traded places with teammate Erin Crocker and changed to wets. Christina Nielsen and Pippa Mann came in right behind the Dodge Viper. All had to stay in for one minute at minimum, but whoever would re-enter the race after that would be the new leader. Shea Holbrook decided to leave the pits as soon as her car was ready and literally crept towards the pitlane exit at a snail’s pace. Jamie Chadwick saw her approaching and pulled out immediately, getting right in front of the Lambo. Both exited the pitlane in due time, with Chadwick maintaining the lead ahead of Holbrook.

Erin Crocker had made no attempt at outsmarting either Chadwick or Holbrook. „There was no reason to“, she said later at the press conference. „The heavy rain was already bad enough, but trying to hold up an Aston AND a Lambo in that condition? I’m dreaming of performing great deeds sometimes, but I’m not crazy.“ She re-entered the race in third position and would go on to take the chequered flag without any real opposition.

The Matech Ford GT3 of Natacha Gachnang and Shirley van der Lof called it quits shortly after their pitstop. White smoke from the back of the car told of an engine failure. „And we were in such a good position“, sighed a disappointed van der Lof. The Corvettes of Long and Throckmorton were struggling as well. „I have almost no experience in the rain“, said Johanna Long. „But that wasn’t my only problem, believe me.“ She never explained what she meant by that statement, but from a Chevrolet engineer who likes to remain anonymous we heard that the Yokohama wets were „pretty much worthless in the rain“.

The constant rain on the slippery and quite sandy circuit slowed the times and led to a bunch of spins. Johanna Long spun on lap 25, Miranda Throckmorton did the same on lap 26, and Emma Selway even spun three times, which ultimately led to a quite disappointing result for the second Jaguar. When Selway re-entered the race after her second pirouette, she had a seemingly light collision with Veronika Vanyova. While it seemed light at first, it had damaged the right rear wheel case of the Lotus so badly that a sharp part cut into the tyre. Vanyova suffered a blown tyre just 2 laps after her run-in with Selway and spun into the sand trap as a consequence.

With Christina Nielsen’s and Jamie Chadwick’s win in the heavy rain of Zandvoort, they were now only 6 points behind Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook in the Drivers’ Standings. The Teams’ Standings were even closer than that. One more win like that, and Beechdean AMR could finally begin dreaming of grabbing the title this year. One more round before the mid-season break, and what a busy break it was going to be...

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01.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   61:42.996    9
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         2.578    6
03.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R              4.792    4
04.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         6.605    3
05.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       8.527    2
06.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   10.818    1
07.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             16.061
08.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 17.111
09.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             21.736
10.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              21.862
11.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 25.924
12.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             26.365
13.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            27.432
14.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      32.686
15.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      33.700
16.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   34.873
17.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              37.308
18.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   50.246
DNF)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3         Tyre Damage
DNF)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                Engine

FASTEST LAP:

      37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:39.561

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     33 Points
      11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     33 Points
02.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   27 Points
      90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   27 Points
03.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   18 Points
      91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   18 Points
04.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     14 Points
      12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     14 Points
05.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                12 Points
      21  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                12 Points
06.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
      37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
07.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points
      17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points
08.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 4 Points
      22  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 4 Points
09.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points
      18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points

Teams’ Championship

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01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   47 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         45 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    16 Points
04.)  Dodge Racing Green                     9 Points
05.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                     8 Points

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Lamborghini                           47 Points
02.)  Aston Martin                          45 Points
03.)  Ford                                  16 Points
04.)  Dodge                                  9 Points
05.)  Chevrolet                              8 Points
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Turbogirl
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Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 06 - Belgium

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Qualifying

For the first time since the season opener at Estoril, Natacha Gachnang was able to put her Matech Ford GT3 on second place during qualifying. „While Estoril was a fluke, this time it’s because we’ve been making quite some progress in development“, the Swiss woman explained. „We might not be able to fight for wins yet, but podiums should come much more frequently from now on.“

Team Teasdale and Team Green had noticed Matech’s newfound speed as well. „The air at the front has gotten thinner“, said Deborah Renshaw, who had to be content with 10th position on saturday. „In qualifying, the Corvettes can always rely on the qualities of their Yokohamas“, she added. „But Matech uses the same compounds as we do, and I have no idea where that sudden speed boost is coming from.“

Those who could take their eyes away from the on-track action for a while, could notice an unfamiliar guest in the Larrousse garage. And suddenly, we all started remembering Gerard Larrousse’s rather cryptic comment after the surprisingly good performance from Delcour and Laffite at Oulton Park: „I wish we’d had that result at Dijon. That would’ve made things much easier for the team.“

The unfamiliar guest was an envoy from Nismo Europe, seemingly negotiating with Larrousse about a possible future of his team with the asian marque. Rumors had it that after the quite underwhelming performance at Dijon-Prenois, their homerace, the higher-ups at Venturi had come to the conclusion that their GT3 Heritage was not race-ready yet and had signalled their intention to end their relationship with Equipe Larrousse at the end of Season 1, as per contract.

Larrousse, not keen on shutting down the operation he had built solely for the purpose of competing in the Women’s GT Junior Cup, had obviously started looking elsewhere for support. Judging from the current looks of things: A deal with Nismo, no matter what kind of deal it would be in the end, could be a huge step up for the french team and could bring them way closer to the top ten than Venturi could have ever managed.

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01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2:19.361
02.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 2:19.445
03.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    2:19.547
04.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    2:19.560
05.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2:19.668
06.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 2:19.673
07.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2:19.680
08.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2:19.685
09.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           2:19.699
10.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           2:19.726
11.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               2:19.747
12.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               2:19.772
13.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 2:19.854
14.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    2:19.925
15.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          2:19.968
16.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    2:20.183
17.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            2:20.202
18.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            2:20.336
19.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          2:20.598
20.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 2:20.755

Race Report

Do you still remember the times when the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps pretty much guaranteed exciting races? Yeah, those were good times, simpler times. But those times seem to be gone for good. Or maybe that was just Spa in the rain. I’m not too sure about that one anymore...

This race was an open and shut case for Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook. They never lost their lead, not for a single second, and they didn’t even have to change tyres during their mandatory pitstop in order to push harder. Beechdean Aston Martin, while never far behind, were no real threat this weekend. The stiffest competition wasn’t even coming from Nielsen/Chadwick, but from Leggate/Powell instead, who managed to finish second ahead of their sister car.

Fiona Leggate had outbraked Christina Nielsen at Rivage on lap 7, and that’s all there was to that. Now, while the front end of the grid delivered quite the dull race, everyone else still played by the rules that once applied to the entire grid at Spa-Francorchamps: It was a fierce battle for positions between each and every car. After the Matech crew had lost second place during their mandatory pitstop, they immediately came under pressure from the second Lambo of Sarah Bovy.

The other Matech Ford had its own little pitstop Waterloo and was relegated to a lowly 8th position. Both Teasdale Corvettes fought for sixth place, while the FroGreen Porsches of Team Rosqvist had completely outclassed both Dodge Vipers. Near the end of the race, Gina-Maria Adenauer even managed to pass Emma Kimiläinen for 8th, while the second Porsche of Michelle Bumgarner came close, but never found a way past the Matech Ford.

Amy Castell had eliminated herself and Venturi driver Anouck Abadie through a collision shortly after the start at Raidillon, and the sister Venturi ran into braking trouble, which ended their race prematurely on lap 16. Sylvie Delcour retired in the pits with a broken brake disc. She didn’t mind too much, considering the sad fact that the Venturis weren’t as competitive here as they had been at Oulton Park and Zandvoort.

The pitstops were also quite ineffective in shaking things up. The only difference they made was that the Dodge Vipers traded places. Erin Crocker won a position from her own teammate Maryeve Dufault. Both Scuderia Amati cars were sandwiched between the Lotuses, and Vicky Piria was finally able to showcase her full potential by fending off the highly-rated Marika Diana and the second Lotus of Veronika Vanyova, who tried one attempt at attacking the Maseratis in front of her and then never again for the remainder of the race.

The Silverjet Jaguars were nowhere all sunday long. Amy Castell had taken herself out of the equation with an overly enthusiastic maneuvre to pass Anouck Abadie, which ended in the aforementioned collision at Raidillon, but the second Jaguar, usually much more competitive in the hands of Natasha Seatter and Laura Tillett, could never keep up with the slower Lotus of Verschuur and Vanyova and took the chequered flag in last place.

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01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     62:21.085    9
02.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       1.930    6
03.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       2.956    4
04.)  21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                    5.378    3
05.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         6.139    2
06.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             13.000    1
07.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             13.504
08.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 17.207
09.)  22  Cobb/Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   18.126
10.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 18.468
11.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             20.411
12.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             26.809
13.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            27.425
14.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      29.707
15.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      32.138
16.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            33.862
17.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   39.135
DNF)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage           Brakes
DNF)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage           Collision
DNF)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                Collision

FASTEST LAP:

      11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2:19.906

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     42 Points
      11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     42 Points
02.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   31 Points
      90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   31 Points
03.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   24 Points
      91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   24 Points
04.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     16 Points
      12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     16 Points
05.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                15 Points
      21  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                15 Points
06.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
      37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
07.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           7 Points
      17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           7 Points
08.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 4 Points
      22  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 4 Points
09.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points
      18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points

Teams’ Championship

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01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   58 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         55 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    19 Points
04.)  Dodge Racing Green                     9 Points
05.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                     9 Points

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Lamborghini                           58 Points
02.)  Aston Martin                          55 Points
03.)  Ford                                  19 Points
04.)  Dodge                                  9 Points
05.)  Chevrolet                              9 Points
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Turbogirl
Posts: 619
Joined: 20 Jan 2014, 16:23
Location: Germany

Women's GT Junior Cup - Mid-Season Break

Post by Turbogirl »

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One would have never thought that a mid-season break in a lower level series such as the Women’s GT Junior Cup could be so busy.

Rachel Green, lead driver and Team Principal of Team Green, had begun negotiations with Alpina, who had signalled interest in turning the current customer Dodge team into a factory-backed BMW outfit for Season 2. Some new driver names were also being thrown around by the higher-ups at Alpina. Rumors had it that, with some help from BMW’s Head of Motorsports, Annette Meeuvissen, they were able to sign Ashley Freiberg and Aurora Straus for one of the cars.

In the meantime, Tony Purnell, Team Principal of Silverjet Jaguar Racing, was facing a rather bleak future. Venturing on with the lackluster Jaguars would just be a waste of time and money. And especially the money would be transferred to Matech Competition from next season onwards, if the newspaper articles from Germany were to be believed. Ford Germany had already announced that they would transform the Matech operation into a factory-backed campaign, retaining both Natacha Gachnang and Emma Kimiläinen as drivers for another year. Cobb and van der Lof were still in negotiations at this point.

With the Jaguar campaign shutting down, Audi had already signalled their interest in entering the Junior Cup alongside the Prosperia Abt outfit. They would be fielding Audi’s brand new R8 LMS, which had been designed by the same crew that had also designed the Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R that’s fighting for the championship title at the moment. Since all reknown Audi drivers are currently contracted for the WTCC campaign, we can expect to see Prosperia Abt Racing giving a lot of Audi rookies a chance.

More news had also surfaced on the possible fate of Equipe Larrousse. If french sources were to be believed, Nismo had already purchased the team with the intention of turning it into the new Nismo Racing Academy from next season onwards. This will probably lead to the introduction of the Nismo GTR GT3, possibly driven by some japanese ladies from Nismo’s young driver programme.

Though, the biggest bomb to be dropped was Giovanna Amati’s announcement that her team was going to be rewarded with 2 more years of factory-backing for practically ruining their entire season with the gutless Maseratis. But that would be ancient history as soon as Season 2 started properly, because Ferrari was going to supply Scuderia Amati with their latest GT3 model, the F430 Scuderia GT3. Experts believe this car to be a potential title contender right from the get-go.

Even though Mercedes-Benz were still denying any rumors surrounding WTCC driver Alessandra Neri, quite a few insiders reported that they saw Neri meeting with Giovanna Amati in Rome. Whether it was just a friendly visit or honest contract negotiations can’t be verified at this moment. But it would not come as a big surprise. Only a week prior, german touring car specialist Catharina Felser had done some testing for Mercedes-Benz at Hockenheim, and it was no secret that Alessandra Neri had somewhat fallen from grace at Stuttgart.

Team Lotus had received some harsh criticism for their driver choice. All four ladies were coming from the infamous Lotus Ladies Cup, a series many experts liked to nickname „model contest with cars“. And there was definitely a lot of truth to that statement. While Liesette Braams and Sheila Verschuur represented the rare case of good drivers appearing in the Lotus Ladies Cup by accident, their teammates Marenec and Vanyova clearly didn’t have the skill to compete in anything more prestigious than the Lotus Ladies Cup.

This wouldn’t have been such a huge problem, hadn’t Team Lotus made their ultimate goal crystal clear from the very beginning: They intended to go big and field a factory-backed outfit in the upcoming Women’s GT Masters Cup, which could be considered a World Championship by all accounts. Honestly, with results like the ones they had produced until now, Team Lotus should think this through at least two more times. We can clearly see in what direction the Junior Cup is heading in the next few years. When Lotus is already at the back end of the grid now, where will they end up as soon as big players like BMW Alpina, Audi, and Ferrari enter the scene?
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Alexandra
Posts: 36
Joined: 10 May 2021, 14:30
Location: Germany

Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 07 - Germany

Post by Alexandra »

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Important Announcement

While I’m definitely going to continue the WTCC after its second season, this new iteration of the Women’s GT Junior Cup is not going to be so lucky. But since I had already worked on some of the remaining rounds during the end of 2018, it’d be wasteful not to post them. Who knows what I might make of this stuff in the unforseeable future? And maybe some of you will enjoy the read. That’s reason enough for me to do this.

Just keep in mind that any continuity this series has shared with the WTCC so far is now null and void. The Opel squad, for example, is staying right where they currently are and my plan to form a powerful Matech Competition team with the driver trio of Allemann, Frey and Gachnang is also postponed. Same with all the plot points I had already dropped during the mid-season break and the ones coming up.

But again: Who knows? They might still come into play at a much later point in time. At least the driver results might, so let’s just continue the way this series was intended without changing too much of the original narrative.

Oh, and in case you might be wondering: No, I haven’t designed any new headers for the Junior Cup. Only the WTCC gets the shiny new ones. ;)


Qualifying

Just as the second half of the inaugural Junior Cup season had started, Nismo announced that they had purchased Equipe Larrousse and would transform it into the Nismo Racing Academy from next season onwards. „It was a no-brainer“, said Team Principal Gerard Larrousse in an interview. „Venturi is going to withdraw at the end of this season and Nismo was offering us at least three years of backing, if we become part of their official young driver development program. If I read them correctly, their ultimately gunning for an entry in the upcoming Women’s GT Masters World Cup and they would like to have a few japanese drivers amongst their line-up.“

Sylvie Delcour and Marguerite Laffite were already confirmed for another season, while Anouck Abadie and Charlotte Dalmasso might be shown the door in order to make room for the first wave of japanese rookies. Both race engineers and Team Manager Berthelot were also retained, but Gerard Larrousse described his future role as „Team Advisor“ rather than Team Principal. „It won’t be my team anymore, although I don’t know who Nismo is going to give the job of Team Principal to, yet.“

Another interesting news was the announcement over at Team Green, the future BMW works team, where WTCC driver Lindsey Adams had been presented as the third driver of the team for next season. Since Ashley Freiberg and Aurora Straus had already been confirmed, this meant that three former Dodge drivers were currently looking for a drive. Team Principal Rachel Green kept it a secret for now, if she would be part of next year’s driver line-up or not. Her vast experience would make her a perfect mentor for either Adams or Straus, that’s for sure.

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01.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:21.682
02.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:21.706
03.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:21.757
04.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:21.771
05.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:22.020
06.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:22.074
07.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:22.187
08.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:22.310
09.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:22.498
10.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:22.576
11.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:22.728
12.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:22.814
13.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:23.023
14.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:23.085
15.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:23.164
16.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:23.257
17.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:23.470
18.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:23.483
19.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:23.627
20.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:23.645

Race Report

Matech Competition had returned from their mid-season break even stronger than before. After a rather surprising driver switch (Kimiläinen was now partnered with Gachnang, while van der Lof became Cobb’s new teammate) and an even more surprising pole position for Natacha Gachnang on saturday, both her and new teammate Emma Kimiläinen went on to win sunday’s event in an unexpectedly dominant fashion.

The second Matech Ford finished second, coming from 4th on the grid, which ultimately prooved that the team’s new driver pairings were even more efficient than before. Well, the fact that both Jennifer Jo Cobb and Shirley van der Lof had also been confirmed for yet another season might have given them an additional motivation boost, one would assume.

While it had rained quite a bit on saturday evening, it stayed dry but overcast on race day. Natacha Gachnang made a brilliant start and kept the lead, immediately shadowed by Christina Nielsen in second. Jennifer Jo Cobb managed to pass Pippa Mann for third place at the first corner.

The Lamborghinis were no match for either Aston Martin or Ford that day, as Cobb had already opened up a gap of almost 1.5 seconds to Mann on lap 15, and on lap 17 Leggate passed Mann for fourth place. The sister Lambo of Carina Lima had encountered gearbox trouble in the meantime and was forced to retire during their pitstop, when Sarah Bovy, who had taken over from Lima, was unable to shift into first gear at all.

Christina Nielsen made an early pitstop and also changed tyres, so that teammate Jamie Chadwick could push harder and maybe get past the leading Matech Ford. Leggate decided to pit five laps later, but due to her already huge gap of more than 2 seconds to teammate Nielsen, she stuck to the used tyres in order to defend third place against the Lambo of Mann and Holbrook, who went for fresh tyres in order to attack.

But instead of Jamie Chadwick increasing the pressure on the leading Kimiläinen, it was the young British woman who came under pressure from the second Matech Ford in third position. Shirley van der Lof, who had taken over from teammate Cobb, closed in remarkably fast over the next ten laps and reduced the previous gap to Chadwick (almost 1.2 seconds) to a measely 0.4 seconds. Chadwick and van der Lof battled for a few laps, until the Dutch woman took advantage of the small gap Chadwick always left open at Turn 13 due to her inexperience on the Sachsenring.

Van der Lof attacked on the penultimate lap and went by, relegating Chadwick to second place. Of course, the young British woman was quite furious about her rookie mistake, although there was no real reason to be. Alice Powell in the sister car managed to keep Shea Holbrook at bay until the chequered flag, despite the fact that Holbrook had the fresher tyres. This meant that Nielsen and Chadwick had reduced their gap to Mann and Holbrook in the Drivers’ Standings by another 2 points, while Kimiläinen’s victory didn’t make a difference in the grander picture. The Matech duo Gachnang/Kimiläinen was too far behind in the standings to pose a real threat at this point.

Teasdale Chevrolet had managed another points finish and they were even able to keep both Dodge Vipers at bay. „We’ve passed Team Green in the standings and that’s a reason to celebrate“, said Kat Teasdale. And Johanna Long added: „I was closing in on both the Lambo and the Aston Martin. If only the race had continued for a little while longer...“

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01.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                61:23.542    9
02.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                    2.450    6
03.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       3.077    4
04.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       4.163    3
05.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         4.556    2
06.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3              5.184    1
07.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             11.832
08.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             15.524
09.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             16.111
10.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 16.366
11.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 17.198
12.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            21.793
13.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   22.945
14.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      23.580
15.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      27.354
16.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              32.027
17.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            35.779
DNF)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage           Fuel Pump
DNF)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     Gearbox
DNF)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                Tyre Damage

FASTEST LAP:

      21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:22.636

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     44 Points
02.)  11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     44 Points
03.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   35 Points
04.)  90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   35 Points
05.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   27 Points
06.)  91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   27 Points
07.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                24 Points
08.)  22  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                21 Points
09.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     16 Points
10.)  12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     16 Points
11.)  21  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                13 Points
12.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                10 Points
13.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
14.)  37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
15.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           8 Points
16.)  17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           8 Points
17.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points
18.)  18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points

Teams’ Championship

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01.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         62 Points
02.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   60 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    34 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                    10 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     9 Points

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Aston Martin                          62 Points
02.)  Lamborghini                           60 Points
03.)  Ford                                  34 Points
04.)  Chevrolet                             10 Points
05.)  Dodge                                  9 Points
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Alexandra
Posts: 36
Joined: 10 May 2021, 14:30
Location: Germany

Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 08 - Czech Republic

Post by Alexandra »

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Qualifying

FroGreen Team Rosqvist had confirmed their driver line-up for Season 2. The team retained all four ladies and, so far, both race engineers would also stay on board. Team Principal Leni Rosqvist had high hopes for the future, even though the noticeable increase of teams with various degrees of factory-backing made her a little bit worried: „Of course, I do hope for at least a single championship point until the end of this season. Next year will be a lot tougher for us – well, for any customer team in general. The Junior Cup has become quite political over just a single mid-season break.“

Business as usual at the front end of the grid, where Rhino’s Team Modena managed to secure the front row. But much to their surprise, Beechdean Aston Martin had been outqualified by Matech Competition. And not by small margin, either. „We’re two tenths of a second behind Cobb and even further behind Gachnang“, Christina Nielsen said, quite contemplated. „I’ve heard they’ve had a busy mid-season break, but I’d never thought they’d become this competitive in just four weeks.“

„We have been working on some setup solutions for quite a while now“, said Jennifer Jo Cobb when she heard about Nielsen’s statement. „Most of the first half of the season was used to figure out what worked and what didn’t. We just took the mid-season break to concentrate on the useful setups and made a few more tests accordingly. There’s no magic behind all of this, only a lot of hard work and all of us doing overtime.“

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01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2:00.124
02.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2:00.258
03.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 2:00.381
04.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 2:00.554
05.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    2:00.751
06.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    2:00.846
07.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2:01.007
08.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           2:01.088
09.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2:01.114
10.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               2:01.159
11.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           2:01.202
12.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               2:01.316
13.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    2:01.378
14.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 2:01.392
15.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    2:01.403
16.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            2:01.485
17.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 2:01.497
18.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          2:01.526
19.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            2:01.577
20.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          2:01.584

Race Report

Another beautifully sunny weekend greeted both fans and drivers alike. Although everything seemed like business as usual for Rhino’s Team Modena, by the end of the day they would also have to face the fact that Matech Competition had stepped up their game significantly.

Natacha Gachnang was able to outsmart both Carina Lima and Pippa Mann right at the first turn and took the lead. And though it would be a fierce battle right to the chequered flag, the Matech duo of Gachnang and Kimiläinen was never really in danger of losing the lead this entire race.

Jennifer Jo Cobb in the second Ford made quite the marvelous start as well and already had her nose up Carina Lima’s exhaust pipes during the inaugural lap. She chased Lima relentlessly for three more laps, then managed to outbrake the Lamborghini during lap 4 and took third place in the process.

Sanna Pinola was the first to retire on lap 10 by crashing her FroGreen Porsche. „Something broke and I lost control of the rear“, a visibly shaken Pinola told reporters after the race. Luckily, the impact looked more vicious on camera than it actually was. Pinola was taken to the nearest medical center, but was allowed to leave soon after. She had sustained no injuries at all. „This proves how safe these modern GT cars really are“, said Leni Rosqvist. „But I got to admit that for a second I was really worried about Sanna.“

Shortly before the pitstops, Natacha Gachnang came under increasing pressure by Pippa Mann, who seemed determined to give her teammate Shea Holbrook a head start right after they’d traded places. Unfortunately for them, this strategy would fail immediately. Shea was let go a second too early, and although she took the lead, she would be called in for a drive-through penalty a few laps later. This cost the Lamborghini the lead and Emma Kimiläinen cruised to an unthreatened second victory.

The battle for third place also came to an abrupt end after a breathtaking climax during lap 22, when Sarah Bovy attempted a passing maneuvre on a seemingly unprepared Shirley van der Lof, who tried to close the door at the last possible second. Both cars traded some paint, but while the Ford was able to pull away immediately, Sarah Bovy had to find her footing first, which cost her valuable seconds.

Another trade of paintjobs further down the grid ended in far more debris on lap 29. Emma Selway, who had taken over the #47 Jaguar from teammate Amy Castell tried to attack the FroGreen Porsche of Michelle Bumgarner, who had fallen back quite a bit due to an abysmal pitstop caused by a faulty wheel gun. But Selway was a little bit too enthusiastic and tried to force her way past Bumgarner, who clearly had the line and left no gap to dive in.

Both cars collided, both were left stranded in the gravel. Bumgarner was furious about the ruined race and wouldn’t take any apology from Selway for the rest of the day. „It was an unnecessary maneuvre and I take full responsibility for it“, Selway later told reporters. „I guess I shouldn’t be mad at her for trying“, Bumgarner was quoted a day later. „If I had this dog of a car, I probably would have been just a desperate as she was.“

And so the race ended with four overjoyed Ford ladies on top of the podium, while Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook stood by and tried to understand how their former dominance could have been broken so easily. „We’re still ahead in the championship“, Pippa Mann shrugged. „But if Matech keeps on beating us like this, the rest of the season might become a pretty tight one.“

Code: Select all

01.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                62:11.525    9
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         3.298    6
03.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                    4.571    4
04.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         6.223    3
05.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       9.815    2
06.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             11.909    1
07.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3      12.667
08.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             13.058
09.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             14.879
10.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             17.498
11.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      18.990
12.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      19.852
13.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   20.500
14.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              21.166
15.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            27.053
16.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              28.764
DNF)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R              Accident
DNF)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                Accident
DNF)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3         Hydraulics
DNF)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R              Accident

FASTEST LAP:

      21  Gachnang/van der Lof     Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 2:01.933

Drivers’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     50 Points
02.)  11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     50 Points
03.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   37 Points
04.)  90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   37 Points
05.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                33 Points
06.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   27 Points
07.)  91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   27 Points
08.)  22  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                25 Points
09.)  21  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                22 Points
10.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     19 Points
11.)  12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     19 Points
12.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                14 Points
13.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
14.)  37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
15.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           9 Points
16.)  17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           9 Points
17.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points
18.)  18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2 Points

Teams’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   69 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         64 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    47 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                    11 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     9 Points

Constructors’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   69 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         64 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    47 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                    11 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     9 Points
User avatar
Alexandra
Posts: 36
Joined: 10 May 2021, 14:30
Location: Germany

Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 09 - Slovakia

Post by Alexandra »

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OOC: Alright, let’s finish this season while I gave myself some breakaway time from the WTCC. I’ve found it quite difficult to alternate between projects, so I’ll finish the Women’s GT Junior Cup first and then focus solely on the WTCC. That will also give me the much needed time to think about certain ideas I have for the series overall.


Qualifying

Beechdean Aston Martin Racing hadn’t lost their footing completely yet, as it seemed. At the Slovakiaring, Christina Nielsen and Jamie Chadwick managed to once again outqualify the vastly improved Matech Competition and snatched second place on saturday – which was actually a big disappointment, as they could have almost beaten archrivals Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook to pole position, if it hadn’t been for a small braking error on Nielsen’s final attempt.

The second Aston Martin was not so lucky, as Fiona Leggate and Alice Powell found themselves sandwiched between both Matech Ford. „And that may be a problem tomorrow“, said Leggate. „Cobb is doing the first stint until the pitstops, and she’s a very fast and very skilled starter. I had hoped to be able to attack right away, but from the looks of things, I’ll probably have to watch my back more closely.“

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2:02.645
02.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    2:02.669
03.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2:02.691
04.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 2:02.710
05.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    2:02.728
06.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 2:02.747
07.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2:02.753
08.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           2:02.785
09.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               2:02.844
10.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           2:02.887
11.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           2:02.932
12.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               2:02.945
13.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    2:03.011
14.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    2:03.086
15.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          2:03.100
16.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 2:03.238
17.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            2:03.349
18.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          2:03.387
19.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 2:03.399
20.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            2:03.431

Race Report

Jamie Chadwick’s „this sunday was an overall desaster“ may be the most accurate description of this race for Beechdean Aston Martin Racing. Not only did Chadwick herself throw away the win through a rookie mistake, but the sister car of Leggate and Powell had their own personal Waterloo during the pitstop, which cost them a podium. But let’s start at the beginning...

As soon as the starting lights went out, Christina Nielsen shot into the lead and shut the door behind her, leaving Pippa Mann with no chance of fighting back. In the meantime, Fiona Leggate managed to keep Jennifer Jo Cobb at bay, even though she had to let Natacha Gachnang off the hook immediately. Gachnang had made such a marvelous start that she had already passed Carina Lima for third place. And after Leggate had built up some distance between her and the second Matech Ford, she started chasing Carina Lima for the following laps.

At the front, Christina Nielsen was determined to defend her lead as long as possible, but Pippa Mann was already closing in, setting one fastest lap after the other. Fiona Leggate finally snatched fourth place from Carina Lima on lap 9 and even began to slowly pull away from the second Lamborghini. „I had no real hope of catching Natacha, but I wanted to try my best.“

This continued until the mandatory pitstops. Nielsen and Mann came in on the same lap, but thanks to a magnificent pitstops from the Beechdean crew, Jamie Chadwick was already well on her way before Shea Holbrook had even left her pit. „I don’t think I could have caught Jamie on my own“, Holbrook later said at the press conference. „Without that accident, we probably wouldn’t have won today. Not in these poor conditions.“

Rain had started flooding the Slovakiaring shortly before the pitstops. Chadwick tried to go slow, but she hit a stain of water and spun off into the gravel, where she dug herself in – the race was over, and a devastated Jamie Chadwick made her return to the Beechdean garage, while Shea Holbrook inherited the lead and kept it to the chequered flag. „It was a rookie mistake“, Chadwick later admitted. „We had already faced heavy rain during practice on friday. I knew there would be huge stains in some of the corners, and I knew exactly which corners that were. This should’ve not happened to me.“

But Chadwick’s bad luck would soon be completely overshadowed by what happened to the second Aston Martin upon its pitstop. Fiona Leggate made it into the pits while still in fourth position, so close behind Natacha Gachnang that a battle for third position was already an option. Gachnang had been forced to slow down by the heavy rain setting in, as it had taken her and almost all other drivers by surprise. After the rainy friday practice, weather reports had predicted only dry weather for the rest of the weekend. „Shows what they know“, Gachnang later joked.

But in this particular case, not only were the drivers completely taken by surprise, but the crew of Leggate and Powell as well. Despite Fiona Leggate calling in for wets, only half of the mechanics seemed to have heard her radio message. Both front tyres were wets, while the two rear ones were not. By the time the mechanics had grabbed the correct tyre set, both Matech Ford and both Teasdale Chevrolets had already slipped through. A frustrated Alice Powell rejoined the race in 8th place behind Erin Crocker’s Dodge, which she managed to pass 5 laps later.

Powell also started closing in on Miranda Throckmorton’s Corvette, but to no avail. „The race was over before I could catch her. Everything looked like a secure podium for us, but we left the track without a single championship point.“

The podium that had fled Fiona Leggate and Alice Powell went to Jessica Brunelli and Johanna Long instead, who did everything right and even had a little luck on top. Brunelli radioed in as soon as the rain began to flood the circuit and was given the okay to pit one lap earlier than planned. This meant that she pitted on the same lap as Gachnang, Leggate and Cobb. The Teasdale crew then outdid itself with the pitstop, and Johanna Long left the pits in front of Shirley van der Lof in the second Matech Ford.

That was the part where Brunelli and Long had done everything right, and here comes the lucky part: When the rain began to drizzle out, Long, although not really a wet weather specialist, had already managed to close in on Emma Kimiläinen in the other Matech Ford. Though the rain was dying down, the stains it had created were still there. Kimiläinen hit one of them and almost lost control of the car – just as it had happened to Jamie Chadwick before. Johanna Long immediately attacked and took third place. „I must admit that I didn’t even think for a second. I saw Emma getting into trouble and my racing instinct just took over. I’m actually lucky I didn’t make contact with the Ford. Kat (Teasdale) showed me the scene on TV after the race, and it looked a little too close for comfort. Kat even told me she had to look away, ’cause she was so certain we’d collide. But I really didn’t notice it was that close when I attacked. Like I said – racing instinct just took over.“

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     63:03.940    9
02.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         5.407    6
03.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             19.952    4
04.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   20.182    3
05.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   20.839    2
06.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             21.286    1
07.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3      21.600
08.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             22.090
09.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 22.238
10.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             22.764
11.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      24.757
12.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 25.297
13.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      26.372
14.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            28.188
15.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              31.921
16.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            36.249
17.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   37.888
18.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   41.645
19.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              46.280
DNF)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   Spun off

FASTEST LAP:

      11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      2:03.843

Drivers’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     59 Points
02.)  11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     59 Points
03.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   37 Points
04.)  90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   37 Points
05.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                36 Points
06.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   27 Points
07.)  91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   27 Points
08.)  22  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                27 Points
09.)  21  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                25 Points
10.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     25 Points
11.)  12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     25 Points
12.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                16 Points
13.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3          13 Points
14.)  17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3          13 Points
15.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
16.)  37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
17.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           3 Points
18.)  18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           3 Points

Teams’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   84 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         64 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    54 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                    16 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     9 Points

Constructors’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Lamborghini                           84 Points
02.)  Aston Martin Racing                   64 Points
03.)  Ford                                  54 Points
04.)  Chevrolet                             16 Points
05.)  Dodge                                  9 Points
User avatar
Alexandra
Posts: 36
Joined: 10 May 2021, 14:30
Location: Germany

Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 10 - Austria

Post by Alexandra »

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Qualifying

Beechdean Aston Martin had begun to falter, Matech Competition was getting stronger with each round, but (on paper) none of them was any match for Rhino’s Team Modena yet. Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook still topped the championship standings by 22 points over Christina Nielsen and Jamie Chadwick, and by grabbing another pole position at the Red-Bull-Ring, they had set sail for another dominant showing on their way to winning the Women’s GT Junior Cup this year.

In the meantime, Teasdale Chevrolet had been beaten by Dodge Racing Green once more – a sight that had become quite rare in recent times. „The Corvette and the Viper are pretty much on equal terms when it comes to overall pace“, Rachel Green told reporters. „It’ll all depend on the drivers’ skills on sunday.“

Sanna Pinola, who was sandwiched between both Corvettes, seemed rather relaxed: „The best possible outcome for us would be a collision straight ahead, taking both Vipers and Corvettes out of the race and rewarding us with our first championship points.“ No chance otherwise? „Depends on the weather, unfortunately. If it stays sunny and dry, chances are slim. Our Porsche is fast, but not as fast as a Viper or a Corvette.“

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:33.706
02.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:33.823
03.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:33.938
04.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:34.170
05.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:34.242
06.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:34.319
07.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:34.455
08.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:34.537
09.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:34.646
10.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:34.725
11.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:34.781
12.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Teasdale           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:34.838
13.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:35.011
14.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:35.115
15.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:35.238
16.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:35.313
17.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:35.339
18.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:35.354
19.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:35.408
20.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:35.537

Race Report

The weather on sunday was indeed dry and sunny, and there was not a single cloud in sight. Sanna Pinola got passed by Mishael Abbott on lap 14, after she had fended off the second Corvette ever since the start, and had to retire soon after. „Seeing how the race ended, we wouldn’t have had a chance either way“, Pinola said with a shrug. „We’re gonna need a lot more luck than we had anticipated at the beginning of the season.“

Pippa Mann had a tremendous start and defended her lead against Natacha Gachnang in second and the sister Lambo of Carina Lima in third place. Jennifer Jo Cobb held on to 4th, followed by both Aston Martins in 5th and 6th position. As mentioned before, Mishael Abbott managed to pass Sanna Pinola on lap 14, and thanks to a quick pitstop, her teammate Miranda Throckmorton could get ahead of the sister Corvette.

Natacha Gachnang had been shadowing the leading Pippa Mann since the start, but pitted a lap earlier than the Lamborghini, which turned out to be the perfect decision. Pippa Mann ran into a group of stragglers, which slowed her down significantly. This gave Emma Kimiläinen, who had taken over the Ford from Gachnang, the opportunity to pass the pitting Lamborghini with ease on the next lap. Shea Holbrook, who took over from Mann, rejoined the race in 3rd place and had to wait another 2 laps for the sister Lambo of Carina Lima in 2nd to pit.

While Emma Kimiläinen was slowly but steadily pulling away, Carina Lima finally pitted and Holbrook inherited 2nd place. She then immediately started chasing after the leading Ford. The second Matech Ford was already under siege by the Aston Martin of Jamie Chadwick and thus posed no threat.

Holbrook managed to close in on the leading Kimiläinen on lap 31, ahead of Sarah Bovy in 3rd, already 4 seconds behind. Jamie Chadwick passed Shirley van der Lof on lap 35 and was now in 4th position. Emma Kimiläinen noticed Shea Holbrook appearing in her rearview mirrors and began to speed up again. „I wanted to cruise to the finish line, but Shea obviously wasn’t happy with that and tried to attack me. So I just let her eat some dust.“ Was it really that easy? „The Red-Bull-Ring is twisty, but when you’re in the faster car, you still have the advantage. And though the Lambo has pretty good topspeed, our aerodynamic package is better overall. So, yes, it really was that easy.“

Oh, Emma, I can’t wait to see you finally showing up in the WTCC...

Though in the end, despite only coming in at a mildly disappointing second place, the true winners of this weekend were Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook. With only two more rounds to go and a maximum of 18 championship points to be awarded, not even Natacha Gachnang would be able to beat the Lambo duo anymore. And with a total of 6 pole positions, 3 wins, 2 fastest laps and 65 championship points so far, who would argue that they didn’t fully deserve that championship title?

Now, all there is left to look forward to this season is the battle for second place. And seeing how close Aston Martin and Matech Ford are in that battle, we can definitely expect it to be a hot one until the very end...

Code: Select all

01.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                61:37.156    9
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         1.290    6
03.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         5.578    4
04.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       6.016    3
05.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                    7.365    2
06.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3      11.674    1
07.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             12.153
08.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             13.845
09.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             18.452
10.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             19.322
11.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            23.000
12.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 25.430
13.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      27.909
14.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      28.921
15.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   30.533
16.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            34.444
17.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              40.077
18.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   42.010
DNF)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R              Engine
DNF)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage           Handling

FASTEST LAP:

      21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:34.631

Drivers’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     65 Points
02.)  11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     65 Points
03.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                45 Points
04.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   40 Points
05.)  90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   40 Points
06.)  21  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                34 Points
07.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     29 Points
08.)  12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     29 Points
09.)  22  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                29 Points
10.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   28 Points
11.)  91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   28 Points
12.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                18 Points
13.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3          13 Points
14.)  17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3          13 Points
15.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
16.)  37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
17.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           3 Points
18.)  18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           3 Points

Teams’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                   94 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         69 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    65 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                    16 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     9 Points

Constructors’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Lamborghini                           94 Points
02.)  Aston Martin                          69 Points
03.)  Ford                                  65 Points
04.)  Chevrolet                             16 Points
05.)  Dodge                                  9 Points
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Alexandra
Posts: 36
Joined: 10 May 2021, 14:30
Location: Germany

Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 11 - Italy

Post by Alexandra »

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Qualifying

As expected from an italian car on an italian track, both Lamborghinis were unbeatable the entire weekend long, with a double pole in qualifying and a double win in the race itself. It doesn’t really matter, if we spoil that result for you, since Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook have already won this year’s championship title, so nothing they do or don’t do is going to change that.

What we will focus on during these final two rounds, however, is the battle for second place in the drivers’ and constructors’ standings, as both Aston Martin and Matech Ford still have a realistic chance of grabbing the silver medal in the end. As do both driver pairings. Gachnang/Kimiläinen share equal points with Nielsen/Chadwick, with a slim chance for outside interference from Carina Lima and Sarah Bovy, especially after their well-deserved victory here at Imola.

Both Teasdale Corvettes had once more outqualified their immediate rivals in the Dodge Racing Green Vipers, and with Sanna Pinola and teammate Gina-Maria Adenauer starting on the 4th row, championship points might finally be in reach for FroGreen Team Rosqvist.

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:42.509
02.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:42.544
03.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:42.575
04.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:42.612
05.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:42.636
06.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:42.793
07.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:42.857
08.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:42.918
09.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:43.174
10.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:43.186
11.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:43.223
12.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:43.247
13.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:43.385
14.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:43.441
15.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:43.702
16.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:43.763
17.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:43.804
18.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:43.845
19.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:43.880
20.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:43.909

Race Report

The italian fans were mostly only interested in seeing the Lamborghini duo dominate the race, but what happened behind Team Modena was much more exciting than anyone could have ever hoped for. It all began right away, when both Aston Martins botched their start and were already relegated to positions 5 (Nielsen/Chadwick) and 6 (Leggate/Powell) by the Teasdale Corvette duo.

Jessica Brunelli and Mishael Abbott had the start of their life, and Brunelli almost attacked Carina Lima for second position down Tamburello, but had to back off at the last moment. From then on the Lamborghini train pulled away, leaving Brunelli and Abbott to fight for their freshly conquered positions, as Christina Nielsen and Fiona Leggate began to increase the pressure on the Corvettes.

While the Aston Martin duo was more than eager to fight anything and anybody for each and every last championship point there was to earn, Matech Competition gave us a rather bleak and lackluster performance the whole weekend. They seemed to be so off the pace, as if they were driving in a completely different league than their immediate rivals. Instead, they had to duke it out with the Vipers of Team Green and even the Porsche of Pinola and Adenauer. „I was totally surprised when I saw a dark blue car appear in front of me“, Gina-Maria Adenauer later stated. „Normally, we shouldn’t even be near them, but right after I took over from Sanna, one of the Matechs came in sight. I had to ask my crew, if I was allowed to attack or if van der Lof was merely lapping me.“

She wasn’t, and Adenauer immediately put up an amazing fight, even though her Porsche was clearly not on the same level as the Ford. But the young german tried again and again to pass van der Lof’s Matech and was in very high spirit after the race. „That felt amazing! I thought I had her a few times, but she always managed to keep me at bay. Sure, I would have loved to beat Shirley, but despite that, it was my kind of battle!“ Shirley van der Lof, on the other hand, saw the situation a bit more sober: „We were too far off the pace. I felt more like a sitting duck than anything else.“ So, Adenauer had indeed a good chance of beating you on track? „Don’t ever tell her that. She might get cocky in the end.“

In the meantime, Jamie Chadwick had passed Miranda Throckmorton for 4th, but could not close in on Johanna Long in the other Corvette. Throckmorton slowly fell back and got under threat by the second Aston Martin, eager to double its point gain. Emma Kimiläinen, who tailed them in 7th position, was already 3 seconds behind and failed to close the gap. In the end, she even came under attack by Erin Crocker in the Dodge Viper, who had gained several positions due to a flawless pitstop and a brave passing maneuvre on Shirley van der Lof at Variante Bassa.

It had already become apparent that the Lambo of Lima and Bovy was the faster one, so, thanks to a clever pitstop strategy, the Lambo duo traded places, which might have been a team order, but one so cleverly done that no one would start arguing about it. Rhino’s Team Modena had already won everything there was to win this season – drivers’ championship at Austria, teams’ and constructors’ championship here at Imola – the only thing still up for the grabs was vice champion.

And with another victory at the final round at Adelaide, Carina Lima and Sarah Bovy could still pull that one off, if (and that’s a big if) Gachnang and Kimiläinen continue to be off pace and Nielsen and Chadwick can’t score higher than 4th place. Let’s see, how big this if really is...

Code: Select all

01.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     61:46.018    9
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         1.050    6
03.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3              6.089    4
04.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       7.258    3
05.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3              9.886    2
06.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3      10.937    1
07.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   14.493
08.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             15.505
09.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   20.421
10.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 21.177
11.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      24.282
12.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             25.114
13.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      26.440
14.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 28.653
15.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              30.686
16.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   38.978
17.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            43.249
18.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              52.104
DNF)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3         Accident
DNF)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                Accident

FASTEST LAP:

      12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:44.481

Drivers’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     71 Points
02.)  11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     71 Points
03.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                45 Points
04.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   43 Points
05.)  90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   43 Points
06.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     38 Points
07.)  12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     38 Points
08.)  21  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                34 Points
09.)  22  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                29 Points
10.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   29 Points
11.)  91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   29 Points
12.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                18 Points
13.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3          17 Points
14.)  17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3          17 Points
15.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
16.)  37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
17.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           5 Points
18.)  18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           5 Points

Teams’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                  109 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         73 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    65 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                    22 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     9 Points

Constructors’ Championship

Code: Select all

01.)  Lamborghini                          109 Points
02.)  Aston Martin                          73 Points
03.)  Ford                                  65 Points
04.)  Chevrolet                             22 Points
05.)  Dodge                                  9 Points
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Alexandra
Posts: 36
Joined: 10 May 2021, 14:30
Location: Germany

Women's GT Junior Cup - Round 12 - Australia

Post by Alexandra »

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Qualifying

The final round of the inaugural season of the Women's GT Junior Cup is upon us, and it would see the same dominant performance by Rhino’s Team Modena as Imola had seen a fortnight earlier. Carina Lima and Sarah Bovy were in very high spirit after their win at Imola, and with their very first pole position this season, they felt more than ready to fight for the title of vice drivers’ champion, no matter how slim the chances were.

After their defeat at Imola, both Beechdean AMR and Matech Competition swore revenge, and at least Aston Martin would stand a realistic chance of posing a threat here at Adelaide. Carina Lima and Sarah Bovy managed to secure pole position at the very last second, with both Aston Martins in 3rd and 5th position.

Matech Competition were outqualified by not only Beechdean AMR, but by one of the Teasdale Corvettes as well. It would also be the very last time this would ever happen in the foreseeable future, as Team Teasdale and Matech Competition were about to merge during the winter break, fielding Ford GT3 cars from Season 2 onwards.

Other news from the paddock had emerged as well: Silverjet Jaguar Racing was developing a new version of their XK-R GT3 model, and Team Rosqvist would trade their somewhat lackluster Porsche for the more sophisticated Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3. A lot was about to go down in the coming months, and we shall see, if it will be enough to make me actually work on a second season of this...

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01.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:20.288
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:20.293
03.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:20.306
04.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:20.347
05.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3    1:20.365
06.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:20.422
07.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           1:20.528
08.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:20.650
09.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:20.774
10.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                 1:20.869
11.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           1:20.927
12.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:21.043
13.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R               1:21.161
14.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3    1:21.203
15.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:21.304
16.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage            1:21.313
17.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:21.329
18.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:21.404
19.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                 1:21.521
20.)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3          1:21.749

Race Report

Carina Lima used the advantage of her pole position and took the lead right away, with Pippa Mann in second and a tremendously started Jessica Brunelli in third position. Lima would later state that she had to push her Lamborghini Gallardo to its limits at this moment already, just to stay in front of the sister car and keep the lead.

Until the pitstops, not much would change, except Mishael Abbott outbraking Natacha Gachnang and thereby conquering 6th place. But this seemingly unimportant overtaking maneuvre meant a lot more, because it took Gachnang out of the run for vice champion. Emma Kimiläinen later tried to catch up to Miranda Throckmorton, who took over the Corvette from teammate Abbott, but to no avail, as the Chevrolets were superior to the Ford here on the twisty streets of Adelaide.

The pitstop turned into a desaster for Pippa Mann and Shea Holbrook, which ultimately aided their sister car in winning this race. No faulty wheelguns this time around, no wrong tyres either, but when Shea Holbrook tried to put in first gear, nothing happened. The engine just roared in protest, but the car wouldn’t move an inch. It took almost ten seconds until Holbrook managed to force in first gear and could rejoin the race in 4th position.

When Carina Lima stopped two laps later, everything went exactly as planned, and Sarah Bovy rejoined in second place, with the Teasdale Corvette of Jessica Brunelli now leading the race. Then Brunelli also entered the pits, and Christina Nielsen in 3rd place followed suit. Now Shea Holbrook started driving as if to push for pole position. „I was furious about that pitstop and I wanted Sarah to work a bit harder for her victory.“

Sarah Bovy, who had inherited the lead from Brunelli again, tried to cruise to the chequered flag, too scared to risk anything at the very last moment. „And then I saw Shea closing in. I knew she would try to attack me, because there was no teamorder in place. It was either her or me today, and it had to be me, no matter what. So I sped up.“

While the Lambo duo started duking it out for the lead, further back Jamie Chadwick had already given up all hope at gathering another podium. „The Corvette was unusually strong today. I just couldn’t close the gap between us, no matter what I tried.“

With only 6 laps to go, Shea Holbrook had closed the gap to Sarah Bovy and was already attacking, when she suddenly slowed down dramatically. „I had lost fourth gear“, she later explained. This reprise by the faulty gearbox forced Holbrook to let go of the leading Sarah Bovy and shift her focus to everything behind her, because 6 laps were more than enough time for Johanna Long to close in on the damaged Lamborghini.

And so she did, appearing in Holbrook’s rearview mirrors for the first time with 3 laps still to go. While Sarah Bovy took another well-deserved win, Shea Holbrook had to fight tooth and nail to stay in front of the relentlessly attacking Corvette. And because Jamie Chadwick wasn’t far behind either in her Aston Martin, she also could see the slowing Lamborghini and started closing the gap.

Then came the first and only retirement of the entire race: Veronica Vanyova crashed her Lotus at Clarion Corner and caused a full-course yellow, which lasted until the end of the race. This ultimately spared Shea Holbrook the loss of a single position, while she nursed the crumbling gearbox to the chequered flag.

With that, Carina Lima and Sarah Bovy had indeed managed to grab the title of vice champion at the very last moment, relegating Christina Nielsen and Jamie Chadwick to third position and Natacha Gachnang to fourth.

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01.)  12  Lima/Bovy                Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     61:22.574    9
02.)  11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R         7.650    6
03.)  17  Brunelli/Long            Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3              7.963    4
04.)  90  Nielsen/Chadwick         Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3       8.578    3
05.)  91  Leggate/Powell           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3      13.376    2
06.)  18  Abbott/Throckmorton      Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3             15.607    1
07.)  21  Gachnang/Kimiläinen      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   16.889
08.)  22  Cobb/van der Lof         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                   18.954
09.)  37  Renshaw/Crocker          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             19.435
10.)   9  Pinola/Adenauer          FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 20.300
11.)  78  Bernardoni/Piria         Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      21.038
12.)  36  Green/Dufault            Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R             21.456
13.)  48  Seatter/Tillett          Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   22.693
14.)  97  Braams/Marenec           Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3            25.005
15.)  77  Amati/Diana              Scuderia Amati                   Maserati GranSport Coupé GT3      27.924
16.)  10  Hertzberger/Bumgarner    FroGreen Team Rosqvist           Porsche 911 GT3-R                 29.541
17.)  40  Delcour/Laffite          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              32.126
18.)  41  Abadie/Dalmasso          Larrousse Venturi                Venturi GT3 Heritage              33.048
19.)  47  Castell/Selway           Silverjet Jaguar Racing          Jaguar XK-R GT3                   37.799
DNF)  98  Verschuur/Vanyova        Team Lotus                       Lotus Sports Exige GT3         Accident

FASTEST LAP:

      11  Mann/Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R      1:21.922

Drivers’ Championship

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01.)  11  Pippa Mann               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     77 Points
02.)  11  Shea Holbrook            Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     77 Points
03.)  12  Carina Lima              Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     47 Points
04.)  12  Sarah Bovy               Rhino’s Team Modena              Lamborghini Gallardo GT3-R     47 Points
05.)  90  Christina Nielsen        Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   46 Points
06.)  90  Jamie Chadwick           Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   46 Points
07.)  21  Natacha Gachnang         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                45 Points
08.)  21  Emma Kimiläinen          Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                34 Points
09.)  22  Shirley van der Lof      Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                29 Points
10.)  91  Fiona Leggate            Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   31 Points
11.)  91  Alice Powell             Beechdean Aston Martin Racing    Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3   31 Points
12.)  17  Jessica Brunelli         Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3          21 Points
13.)  17  Johanna Long             Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3          21 Points
14.)  22  Jennifer Jo Cobb         Matech Competition               Ford Matech GT3                18 Points
15.)  37  Deborah Renshaw          Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
16.)  37  Erin Crocker             Dodge Racing Green               Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R           9 Points
17.)  18  Mishael Abbott           Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points
18.)  18  Miranda Throckmorton     Teasdale Chevrolet               Corvette C6 Z06-R GT3           6 Points

Teams’ Championship

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01.)  Rhino’s Team Modena                  124 Points
02.)  Beechdean Aston Martin Racing         78 Points
03.)  Matech Competition                    65 Points
04.)  Teasdale Chevrolet                    27 Points
05.)  Dodge Racing Green                     9 Points

Constructors’ Championship

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01.)  Lamborghini                          124 Points
02.)  Aston Martin                          78 Points
03.)  Ford                                  65 Points
04.)  Chevrolet                             27 Points
05.)  Dodge                                  9 Points

Thank you and goodbye!

And that is the end of the Women’s GT Junior Cup, at least for now. There won’t be any season statistics this time around, as I find it pretty pointless to create one when there aren’t any more seasons to compare the current results to. But, despite my original intentions, I can’t hide the fact that working on this during the last couple of weeks has reignited a spark in me I long believed to be dead.

What if I would resurrect the Women’s GT as a full-blown management series? Would anybody reading this be interested in joining such a revival? It would take a bit more time to put together a new rulebook, as the original one vanished years ago when my old notebook went up in smoke...

But working on these few last rounds brought back so many memories, including parts of the last iteration of my ruleset, that I really would love to try it one more time. Please let me know what you think! Would this be worth all the time and effort?

Also, let me know if you liked this style and presentation of the Junior Cup? Should I continue like this, are there things to improve, things to scrap? I'd love to read your opinions. :)
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