2017 AutoReject Super Touring season (Completed!)

[Salamander]

I will accept the role of the works BMW team while Takagi is gone. However, I'm a bit unsure on how the upgrading system works or what path BMW's upgrade path was on, so can you explain here or in email how the system works?

Certainly, check your forum PMs.

[Salamander]

ARST 2017: Privateer Round of Italy (Race 10/14) - Treviso
Starting grid



Race Results

Highlight video

Standings

Marco Bizzarri has been disqualified from the results and handed a 10-place grid penalty should he attempt a future ARST race for exceeding the pitlane speed limit by over 80 km/h.

[DemocalypseNow]

Voeckler Talent Troupe - Privateer Quotes Roundup

Antonio Delvecchio
"I am speechless. I knew going in the Alfa was a good package, but to win in my first ever ARST race...incredibile. I am so happy to be in the Final at my home race, and I get to race the other Alfa guys in the works cars! Luca [Pacchiarini] has a ton of experience, but I'll try to race him and see if I can finish highest in the Alfa camp!

Giovanni Roda
"My race was pretty much over by the first lap. Some idiot piledrivered into the rear of my car, and it was impossible to drive at full tilt after that. It's a shame because it would have been a very fast car otherwise, and maybe I could have tried to make my way up to the Top 4."

Marco Bizzarri
"Bad race. No comment."

Antonio Bizzarri
"L'Auto andava imprevedibili per tutta la gara. Non è stata una buona gara per noi, noi siamo naturalmente delusi. Cercheremo di nuovo di fare meglio la prossima stagione."

[Salamander]

ARST 2017: Championship Round of Italy (Race 15/20) - Treviso
Starting grid



Race Results

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Standings

[Salamander]

Championship video and results are now up.

[DemocalypseNow]

Voeckler Talent Troupe Round-up - ARST Treviso

Martin McGovern
"The objective from this point in the year was to make sure nobody else in the title fight ate into my championship lead, and the best way to ensure that is to start from pole and win! I'm sorry to the fans for creating such a boring race, but I honestly prefer this to being stuck in the pack all arms and elbows with everyone! Especially today...I think I counted at least 10 cars crabbing around the track a few laps down, all bent out of shape. Today's race looked like it might have been a car breaker from where I was sitting, so today was a really good day for a lights-to-flag win!

Pressure? Of course there is a little pressure, but at the same time also a little comfort. There are five races to go still, but a lot of the other title protagonists didn't score well today, and there's a reasonable gap in the championship now. The car has always been fast an reliable, so even if I have an off-day, usually the team is able to help me and save me a result. The team has certainly made my job easier this year, that's for sure!"

Adolfo Moretti
"I'm really disappointed...and angry. Melville didn't just ruin my race, he tried to injured me or kill me, I don't know. But he kept pushing my car round and round, which put us both in the barrier, then I could hear him keeping the throttle on full to t-bone me into the concrete wall. He is dangerous, maybe the stewards should take another look at the replays..."

Antonio Delvecchio
"I'm really disappointed at how my home event ended. The midfield was mess on the first lap, especially at the hairpin. Some guys ahead were a bit slow to react to the green flag, and I pranged someone a bit on the rolling start...I don't remember who now, I just know he was sleeping or something.

Then at the hairpin everything went to s**t. There was some big incident a few cars ahead, I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could to avoid the people in front, but it was a cascade...they slowed down so early I couldn't stop in time, I had to slow down so early I got hit from behind...it was just one of those things I suppose, but that incident broke the car pretty badly, and I had to pit. There was no option. Now we just have to look forward to the next races, and hopefully we can do well in the Privateer Cup and maybe make another few features races."

[Salamander]

The deadline for driver changes and new entrants for the Belgian meeting will be January 11th, so be sure to get those in before then. As there are already 35 entrants for the Privateer's Cup race at this meeting, only one further entry will be permitted unless others drop out. The post-Italy upgrades have also been generated and applied: the new stats can be visible here.

I'd also like to make a few announcements for next season - partly so I don't forget most of them.

• First, the division of fields will no longer be designated as Championship and Privateer's Cup. Instead, Championship will be known as A-Class, and Privateer's Cup will be known as B-Class.
• Teams competing in A-Class will be obligated to field 2 cars, constructed by themselves.
• Teams competing full-time in B-Class will be allowed to field 1 or 2 cars.
• No manufacturer may supply more than 4 full-time and 4 part-time B-Class cars.
• Teams competing full-time in B-Class may be allowed to construct their own car, if given special dispensation from the ARST commission. Teams competing part-time in B-Class will be allowed to construct their own car with no inhibitions.
• Teams competing part-time in B-Class may not run more than half the schedule.
• Manufacturers keeping their current car will be entitled to an upgrade during the off-season. The details on how big the upgrade will be will be finalised later.
• All information pertaining to entries, car construction and car upgrading must be posted on the forum, using provided templates (I will provide a link to these whenever they are needed)
• The points system will be changed slightly, to the following layout:
  
  • 50-45-40-37-34-31-28-25-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1
  • Pole position: 5 points
  • Most positions gained: 5 points
  • Fastest lap: 5 points

The schedule for 2018 will also likely be as follows (dates are subject to change).

Round of Australia: Adelaide Street Circuit - March 4th 2018
Round of Bathurst: Mount Panorama - March 11th 2018
Round of Italy: Autodromo Treviso - April 1st 2018
Round of France: Circuit Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler - April 15th 2018
Round of Spain: Circuit de La Colina - April 29th 2018
Round of the United Kingdom: Rockingham Motor Speedway - May 13th 2018 (Oval)
Round of Europe: Brands Hatch GP Circuit - May 20th 2018
Round of Wisconsin: Road America - June 10th 2018
Round of Illinois: Grand Detour Raceway - June 17th 2018 (Oval)
Round of New York: Watkins Glen International - June 24th 2018
Round of Canada: Road Gatineau - July 1st 2018
Round of South Africa: Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit - July 29th 2018
Round of Finland: Karjala Raceway - August 12th 2018
Round of Germany: EuroSpeedway Lausitz - August 26th 2018 (Oval)
Round of Paris: Paris Street Circuit - September 2nd 2018
Round of the Czech Republic: Brno Circuit - September 16th 2018
Round of Hungary: Hungaroring - September 23rd 2018
Round of the Pacific: Calder Park Thunderdome - October 7th 2018 (Oval)
Round of Japan: Kagoshima Speedway - October 21st 2018
Round of Hong Kong: Clubman Stage Route 5 - October 28th 2018

The Showdown at Walt Disney World: Walt Disney World Speedway - November 25th 2018

Keep an eye on this post, it will change as I think/re-think various changes for 2018.

[AxelP800]

Entry for Belgium round

Team name: Markus Mk. Racing
Car: Holden VF Commodore
Driver 1: Giuseppe Markus
Driver 1 number: 50
Driver 1 previous canon experience: F5000 in '70s, *World Sportscar, *LeMans, *V8 Supercars in late '90s and early 2000s. In (*) mark is not canon-based
Livery design: In one or two days
Rounds Entered: Belgium

Is this good?

[DemocalypseNow]

Delvecchio signs as works Alfa Romeo driver

Former RTSS driver Antonio Delvecchio, who made his touring car debut last weekend in Treviso in a privateer Alfa, has been signed to the marque's works team, displacing the disappointing Francesco Fagioli in their line-up.

Delvecchio had stepped into the privateer #92 following Alfa Romeo's decision to enter as a works team in ARST from the Round of Italy onwards, and immediately claimed victory on his debut, taking the spoils in the privateer race and gaining him admittance to the championship feature race, where he would race alongside the two works Alfas Unfortunately, a series of run-ins with other cars on the opening lap damaged his 155 significantly, forcing him to pit for repairs and dropping him well outside the Top 20.

Despite the bad result in the championship race, his privateer victory seems to have convinced Alfa bosses enough to promote him to a works drive in favour of Fagioli, who has failed to impress all-season long at ICE-3 Racing.

"After the feature race, [ICE-3 team prinicpal] Lennart König called me to the team motorhome, and I was a little worried after the messy race I'd had," Delvecchio explaiined. "I couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing when it turned out he was offering me a contract for the works team then and there!"

"I'm really excited to be a works Alfa driver. They have a long history of employing the best drivers out there in touring cars...Brambilla, Tarquini, Larini, Nannini, Giovanardi, Thompson...it's an honour to be in that kind of company."

Despite suddenly being thrown in the deep end, Delvecchio is still confident he can deliver results for his new employers.

"For sure, jumping in mid-season is tough, but I already felt at home at Treviso. I mean ok, I was at home, but you see what I mean. I can't think of any other team I'd rather be driving for. Now it's just time for me to knuckle down, deliver some good results for the team, and hopefully I will be in a Rosso Corsa car again in 2018. This is an exciting new period in my career, and I hope it lasts for years to come."

[RealRacingRoots]

Walt Disney NC Entry

Team name: Ravenwest Autosport
Team nationality: American
Car: Dacia Logan
Driver 1 name: Nathan McKane
Driver 1 number: 101
Driver 1 nationality: Scottish
Driver 1 previous canon experience (if any): F1 with HRT, Mercedes and Ferrari. F1RWRS with Kamaha and PORE, and a test at Walt Disney with CR. RoLFS with Winton, including Kyoto Oval Race.
Livery design: I'll do this one.

[Normal32]

If possible:
Walt-Disney NC:
Team name: Ericadi Racing
Team nationality: Spain
Car: SEAT Ibiza
Driver 1 name: Gretchen Suarez
Driver 1 number: 077
Driver 1 nationality: USA
Driver 1 previous canon experience (if any): At that point, in canon some part-time entries in GT-R 2017 and ACO LMC full-time.
Livery design: On its way.

[DemocalypseNow]

Walt Disney NC Entries

Team name: Infiniti All Stars
Team nationality: Japan
Car: Infiniti G35
Driver 1 name: Jack Christopherson
Driver 1 number: 77
Driver 1 nationality: Brummie
Driver 1 previous canon experience (if any): F1RGP2C, F1RWRS, F1RICS...maybe some other things I forgot, seeing as he originally wasn't my driver!
Livery design: Same as #77 All Stars main-season car

Provisional entry, awaiting confirmation
Team name: Lada Sport
Team nationality: Russia
Car: Lada Granta
Driver 1 name: Alexey Buyvolov
Driver 1 number: 112
Driver 1 nationality: Brummie
Driver 1 previous canon experience (if any): RoLFS, F2RWRS, F1RWRS
Livery design: Small modifications required.

[Salamander]

ARST 2017: Privateer Round of Belgium (Race 11/14) - Spa
Starting grid



Race Results

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Standings

[Salamander]

Privateer results and standings are now up.

[SeedStriker]

USD: Stever must be Banned

After the ARST Privateer race in Belgium, Albert Hoist, Team Manager of Union Saver Developments, was irate after en incident in the first lap between USD driver Hayato Kazami and Sope Stever, which generated a small pileup at Les Combes. "That's two consecutive incidents, in consecutive races, in which that idiot has ruined USD-based drivers races, and although this time was Kazami's Chevy, it only proves that Sope Stever is a danger to anyone in the field. Because of that, USD is formally protesting to the ARST government body to exclude, or at lest, penalize Sope Stever."

Hayato Kazami wrote:
"I was already outbreaking Stever after the run in Kennel and the entrance at Les Combes when he just veered onto me, took me out of my line, which made me hit Medina-Marquez, and by effect, made Hiasakawa tangle with me and catapulted both onto the armco. I don't know if the guy knows how to look into his mirrors, but that was a clear chop. Fortunately, both Hisakawa-san and I are safe, but Stever's antics must be stopped."

[Salamander]

The ARST commission has found nothing particularly wrong with Sope Stever's conduct. While there was a slight movement, Kazami was the one who brought the two cars side-by-side, and failed to leave enough margin between the two cars if he wanted to avoid a collision. No action will be taken, as this was a clear racing incident.

[Salamander]

ARST 2017: Championship Round of Belgium (Race 16/20) - Spa
Starting grid



Race Results

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Standings

[Salamander]

Championship results and standings are now up. The deadline for driver changes and new entrants for the Czech meeting will be January 25th, so be sure to get those in before then.

There are still openings for entries for The Showdown at Walt Disney World - the deadline for that is the same as the Czech meeting.

The ARST commission has found that Jeroen Krautmeir caused an incredibly dangerous situation on lap 2 when he attempted to recover his crashed car and reversed onto the racing line, where drivers were still coming through at high speed. Given this gross negligence on his part, we feel no alternative than to bar him from competing in ARST competition for the remainder of the season. Gessler Richter ST Team will need to nominate a replacement in time for their entry into the Czech meeting.

[RealRacingRoots]

Mitchell Macklin is replacing Jeroen at the Czech ARST Round.

[Salamander]

It's a couple days early, I know, but given that it's been a week and a half, I'm closing driver changes and new entries now.

There are still open spots in the entry list for The Showdown at Walt Disney World, if you are interested in entering, please use this entry form.

Team name: The name of your team.
Team nationality: The nation your team is registered in. Dual nationality teams are not allowed.
Car: The car your team will be running.
Driver name: The name of your driver.
Driver number: The number your driver will be using this season.
Driver nationality: The nation your driver comes from.
Driver previous canon experience (if any): Any previous seasons/events your driver has participated in prior to 2017

[DemocalypseNow]

Single-seater star Mineiro to sample tin-tops with Hunter Autosport

AutoReject 2.0 title protagonist and multiple race winner Mineiro has been announced as the new driver of the #99 Hunter Autosport Triumph 2000 in ARST for the final two events of the season, displacing Dutchman Thomas Westernberg.

Westernberg has had a very disappointing season for the British team, only scoring one-seventh of the points his team-mate Kazuki Hisakawa has been able to collect. With patience finally wearing thin, Hunter announced today that Brno would be the Dutchman's final appearance for them in ARST.

The replacement choice was something of a surprise. Mineiro, a precocious talent from Brazil, is rated very highly in single seater circles, but has far less experience in tin-top racing. Despite this, he did show promise in his first ever outing in a roofed car, finishing 2nd on his GTRWC debut at Interlagos, co-piloting a Corvette C5R with compatriot Pablo da Silva.

"I'm looking forward to this new challenge," Mineiro said. "The team has not had a great run this year and could do with a pick-me-up at the end of the year. Hopefully I can deliver some good results in my brief time here. Of course, I came here to try something new and to have fun, but also I have to do a professional job for the team. They're struggling in the championship this year and need more points on the board."

"The works team's cars are right in the mix for the overall championship, so this gives me a good feeling the package is capable of doing very well. It's just a case of extracting the maximum from what the team has. I think maybe a fresh perspective might help the team get some more speed from the car."

The final two races of the season in ARST occur after the end of the AR 2.0 season, allowing him to fulfil his ARST duties without any clashes.

[Salamander]

ARST 2017: Privateer Round of the Czech Republic (Race 12/14) - Brno
Starting grid



Race Results

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Standings

Julian Clark has been handed a 4-race ban for causing a very dangerous collision. DHL Ziegler Auto Racing will need to nominate a replacement in time for the Japanese meeting, otherwise they will be running Kim Lee-Wang.

[Salamander]

Privateer race is now up.

[V8fan12]

DHL Ziegler Auto Racing wish to protest the 4-race ban of Julian Clark under the basis that the #23 car driven by Clark was pushed off the track by #51 Darren Older Jr. (who was also slightly pushed by one of the Loyer cars, #95 Aron Kagstrom I think), thus leading to the collision. Older Jr. was making a pass on Clark, however we feel that he kept pushing Clark towards the guardrail (which can be seen on the overhead camera shot) and it is not justified to punish Clark for the resulting collision, which was simply a racing incident that has been seen before in the ARST series.

However, if our protest is unsuccessful, Alvin Ziegler will replace Clark for the next two rounds.

[Salamander]

Upon review, DHL Ziegler Auto Racing's appeal has been denied - certainly, Older Jr was at fault for the initial contact, but from onboard footage, it is seen that Clark turned right into the #51 car down the front straight until Older was launched into the barriers. Similarly, from the initial point of contact, Older Jr turned right, attempting to rejoin the circuit, but with Clark also turning in on him, the pair were locked together until the inevitable accident.

This is not the wild west, and we do not need cowboys like Clark attempting to enforce sufficient driving standards; the Commision is perfectly capable of doing that ourselves. Hopefully the ban will allow him to reflect on this and return to the series a more collected racer.

[HawkAussie]

So we are now down to eight competitors left in the private championship and I think Jordan get really take home championship.

[Salamander]

ARST 2017: Championship Round of the Czech Republic (Race 17/20) - Brno
Starting grid



Race Results

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Standings

[Salamander]

Championship race highlights and standings are now up. The deadline for driver changes for the Japanese meeting will be February 7th, so be sure to get those in before then. As there are already 41 entrants for the meeting, no further entries will be permitted.

[FantometteBR]

Will check the videos later, but it's good to have at least one of ours into the main races

[DemocalypseNow]

A perfect race again by Martin McGovern! If he finishes 7th or higher in Japan, the title will automatically be his. I think that would put the teams' championship beyond doubt for Voeckler too. You can't really fault his driving this year, only a single finish outside the Top 8 all season so far. Moretti on the other hand will need to be careful not to get jumped by Tantovich for 2nd in the championship...

[Salamander]

The final upgrade of the season, the Lada upgrade, has been determined and added to the car stats list.

Penalties being carried into Japan are as follows:

Antonio Delvecchio: 10-place grid drop
Yuji Itoh: 10-place grid drop
Alexis Tantovich: 10-place grid drop
Julian Clark: 4 race ban

[Ataxia]

I think I've found something Komarek's actually good at! Fantastic stuff from him.

[DemocalypseNow]

I think I've found something Komarek's actually good at! Fantastic stuff from him.

Indeed. I'm impressed enough that I'll offer him another drive at the season closing Hong Kong weekend, this time in the #112 Lada (the one usually driven by David Koczo).

[Peteroli34]

Oliver Looking for 2018 seat?

Peter Oliver is believed to be looking for a seat for the 2018 season. The Young Brit has impressed driving a Ford Fusion for American team Rick Miller Racing, In A car which is considered to be one of the weakest on the grid. The recent Czech Republic round was a high point for both driver and the team with Oliver finishing the Privateer race in 2nd place behind the Infiniti of Jiri Komárek, this earned a promotion to the Championship race in which Oliver climbed 11 places to finish just outside the top ten in 11th place.
Oliver will drive a Triumph 2000 for Hunter Autosport for the rest of the 2017 season after the teams arranged a driver swap with Kazuki Hisakawa taking over the Ford Fusion seat. Both Hunter and Rick Miller have yet to confirm their 2017 plans.
"I'M keeping my options open for 2018 while i would love to move uo to the Championship class full-time for 2018 , there are a lot of great drivers about and not that many seats, so if i have to stay where i am that fine too"

[Onxy Wrecked]

Hillman has been confirmed to be returning back to IndyCar in 2018 replacing Roy Guidry who has only gotten his start for Onyx in 2017 due to a rule change breaking Natascha Gachnang from the team.

[Salamander]

Since nobody else is entering, I will confirm the entry list for The Showdown at Walt Disney World now.

Entry spots 1-10: Top 10 Championship drivers
1. #27 Atlantean Voeckler Infiniti G35 - Martin McGovern
2. #28 Atlantean Voeckler Infiniti G35 - Adolfo Moretti
3. #4 Triumph Racing Triumph 2000 - Alexis Tantovich
4. #59 Dacia AR Touring Team Dacia Logan - Adriana Gabor
5. #2 Globex Scorpio Racing Dodge Charger - Sylvain Fabron
6. #3 Triumph Racing Triumph 2000 - Darren Cardel
7. #0 FAT Turbo Racing Mercedes C-Class - Turki al Faisal
8. #19 Mazdaspeed Pulsar Racing Mazda 6 - Koyomi Setou
9. #11 Rothmans Pan Am Aeroracing Engineering Volvo S60 - Jack Maddock
10. #60 Onyx Racing Subaru Impreza - Tomasz Gabrysiak

Entry spots 11-20: Top 10 Privateer's Cup drivers
11. #5 Union Saver Developments Honda Accord - Artesia Mass
12. #24 Kiwi Racing Dacia Logan - Carl Jordan
13. #51 HSBC Team Macmillan Mazda 6 - Darren Older Jr
14. #44 Grundig Euromotor International Subaru Impreza - Kieth Remedios
15. #45 Grundig Euromotor International Subaru Impreza - Ernest Saillard
16. #6 Union Saver Developments Honda Accord - Shin Ramirez
17. #94 Loyer Racing Technologies BMW M3 - Lasse Tilkesson
18. #52 HSBC Team Macmillan Mazda 6 - Jasper Lerby
19. #00 Bellman-Mason Motorsports - Aaron Bellman
20. #95 Loyer Racing Technologies BMW M3 - Aron Kagstrom*

Entry spots 21-30: Wildcard drivers
21. #77 Infiniti All Stars Infiniti G35 - Jack Christopherson
22. #78 Infiniti All Stars Infiniti G35 - Natalie Ryder
23. #112 Lada Sport Lada Granta Sport - Alexey Buyvolov (pending driver approval)
24. #90 Far East Associates Racing Mazda 6 - Randall Wade
25. #91 Far East Associates Racing Mazda 6 - Ragnar Larsen
26. #101 Ravenwest Autosport Dacia Logan - Nathan McKane
27. #077 Ericadi Racing SEAT Ibiza - Gretchen Suarez
28. #26 People Power by CR Motorsport Dodge Charger - Hailton Fidelis
29. #73 Blokkmonsta Motorsport BMW M3 - Tanner Jason
30. Not taken

* 20th entry spot taken from Julian Clark due to driving infringements at Brno.

Please note all entries based on top 10 points finishes are subject to remaining in the top 10 after the season finale. All entries handed out this way are considered accepted unless otherwise stated by the controlling user of either the team or driver.

[Klon]

CR Motorsport will enter a wildcard driver: Hailton Fidelis from Brazil. Just use our current number for it.

[CaptainGetz12]

Blokkmonsta will attempt to have a wildcard entry for Tanner Jason in car number 73. We wanna see how the AR 3.5 regular does in the tin-tops.

[Salamander]

Whilst the forums have been down, I have completed the Japanese rounds and posted them on the new Rejectsport website, which will be where all new ARST results posts will be posted from now on. The new format also allows for tables, which makes it easier for me to post laptimes and practice sessions.

Privateer Round
Championship Round

[Salamander]

A couple announcements; first, I will be making the videos for Hong Kong on the weekend at the very latest. Second, with the canon reshuffle, I've rethought ARST's position in the canon, and am deciding to move the series to FIA sanctioning for 2018 onwards. From next season forwards, ARST will be known as the International Pro Car Championship (IPCC).