2017 AutoReject Super Touring season (Completed!)

[Ataxia]

Komarek joins IPCC; will race Skoda Superb

Czech racer Jiri Komarek has moved into the IPCC for 2018, and will drive the new Skoda Superb touring car in the B-Class championship.

Komarek impressed in his outing for Infiniti All-Stars at Brno, and has decided to join the series with backing from a number of Czech sponsors. It is unknown whether the works Skoda team Best In The World will help support the team's efforts, or whether Komarek will go it alone with a self-run entry. The team will race under the Cardion PrimeCell Racing banner.

[DemocalypseNow]

Komarek is doing B-Class? Oh demmet, there goes any hope of Delvecchio roflstomping the field into oblivion on his way to the title then

[Salamander]

The Showdown results are now up on RejectSport.

Highlights

And with this, the 2017 season is complete. Keep an eye on the 18-Meter Debut Forum, however, as I will be soon starting a non-canon series there during the off-season.

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Would there be any way for Chris Short Racing to return for 2018, even as a non factory team?

[Salamander]

Would there be any way for Chris Short Racing to return for 2018, even as a non factory team?

Yes, you can sign up as a B-Class team when the 2018 thread opens.

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Would there be any way for Chris Short Racing to return for 2018, even as a non factory team?

Yes, you can sign up as a B-Class team when the 2018 thread opens.

OK, no problem

[Salamander]

Got bored and wrote a season review. So, here you go.

CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVERS
1. Martin McGovern: 9.5/10
Solid, consistent, and very fast, the recipe for a deserving champion. McGovern was never overly flashy, and did not let himself get wrapped up in fighting for individual wins - he drove with his eye on the championship all year and was duly rewarded.
2. Alexis Tantovich: 9/10
The only driver who ever looked like taking it to McGovern. Tantovich's form from Spain onwards was impeccable, but for an unfotunate mechanical failure in Canada, and a silly mistake in Brno, he could've stood half a chance at wresting the title from McGovern. He's still young though, and has already made his mark in the series.
3. Sylvain Fabron: 9/10
Entering Hong Kong, 2 drivers had scored points in all 18 Championship events: Martin McGovern, and Sylvain Fabron. That Fabron accomplished this feat with a relatively poor Dodge is a testament to his own ability, especially given the trials his teammate faced. If Scorpio and Dodge come up with the goods in 2018, he will certainly be a threat.
4. Koyomi Setou: 8.5/10
Some say the true test of a great driver is what they accomplish in a sub-par car. If this is true, then you can already tick this box off Setou's list - Mazda started off the season with a package better than only BMW. And yet Setou was a constant presence in the top 10 in points, winning a race and scoring 3 other podiums on her way to a very impressive 7th place in the standings.
5. Michael Rohnstock: 8.5/10
Saddled with the worst car at the start of the season, Rohnstock shocked the establishment by qualifying up front and finishing 2nd at Bathurst, behind only the all-conquering Rhys Davies. He then followed this up with a win in the reverse-grid race in France, and finished off the season with 4 top 10s in the last 5 races. It's kind of hard to argue after that that Rohnstock does not belong among the elite of the sport.
6. Adriana Gabor: 8/10
For two-thirds of the season, Gabor was an utter revelation, metronomic in her ability to finish in the top 10. What was even more impressive was that no-one outside of her native Romania had heard of her before the season began. Unfortunately, the tail end of her season was a disappointment, but 13 top 10s in 14 races is not a coincidence, and should Dacia deliver another good car next year, you cannot count her out for another strong run.
7. Turki al Faisal: 8/10
The lesser-known brother of Saeed al Faisal, Turki was effectively Mercedes' only driver capable of scoring points on a regular basis. Without a teammate, he did not let a poor start to the season get him down, as he was a constant threat to the frontrunners and at one stage looked a potential dark horse for the title. The only downside to his season were the two occasions when he was leading in the dying stages of a reverse-grid race... only to narrowly lose out both times.
8. Dean Melville: 8/10
Regarded the lesser talented of the Melville twins before 2017, you could be forgiven for getting the pair the other way around given Dean's superb performances when he jumped into the struggling #15 JLD Holden, and immediately gave the works team's lead driver Henrik Dehn a run for his money at Watkins Glen. Missing the points only twice, Melville has surely secured himself a very strong position in the sport already.
9. Antonio Delvecchio: 8/10
He might be going back to the B-Class for another full season, but you could argue that Delvecchio has already proven himself worthy of an A-Class spot based on his part season. Left without a ride after the collapse of RTSS for most of the year, and receiving the call to drive the Alfa Romeo in the Privateer race in front of his home crowd, Delvecchio delivered in the biggest possible way by dominating the race. A shaky start to his Championship career ensued, but by Hong Kong he looked every bit at home in that division.
10. Luca Pacchiarini: 8/10
Pacchiarini emerged from the wilderness mid-season to give Alfa Romeo a better idea of where their effort stacked up in the Privateer's Cup. When Alfa bought into ICE-3, he got a promotion to the Championship and immediately showed that their pace in the Privateer races was no fluke. While the last pair of weekends did not go his way, there is no doubting his talent.
11. Adolfo Moretti: 7.5/10
Handed the opportunity of a lifetime when hired to drive the second Infiniti, Moretti's rookie year was impressive, yet disappointing. Impressive because for most of the season he shadowed his teammate exactly as his team would've wanted. Disappointing because in the final third, he failed to score 4 out of 6 races. It is telling that he has been loaned to Alfa for 2018 in favour of late-season phenom Peter Oliver.
12. Darren Cardel: 7.5/10
If this guy could qualify worth anything, he'dve won the title. Cardel's racecraft all year was the stuff of legends - which partly inspired his "Intimidator" tribute scheme midway through the year. Too many times, though, he was caught up in silly accidents that were more or less a direct result of his awful qualifying. That he was still in the top 5 in points by the end of the year really underlined both how much ground he made up in races.
13. Henrik Dehn: 7.5/10
For half the season, Dehn was in the same situation as Turki al Faisal - the only driver that could be counted on to wring regular points out of his car. While Holden struggled with a narrow set-up window all season, Dehn was able to get strong results out of it on occasion. Still, there were arguably too many occasions in 2017 when he did not finish or did not score, and he missed out on a top 10 championship finish as a result.
14. Laurent Couteau: 7.5/10
Looking straight at the points, you could be forgiven for thinking Couteau's 2017 was a disastrous blowout, but to do so would be a disservice. On several occasions, Couteau lost strong results due to circumstances not of his making. When all went well, he certainly proved capable of delivering the goods, winning twice.
15. Lee Brockhurst: 7/10
An unproven nobody at the start of the season, Brockhurst was thrown into the unenviable position of being the de facto team leader at Restov when Jack Christopherson Jr quit after only 5 races. Despite the team's future becoming very bleak by mid-season, it is in this position that Brockhurst shined, scoring the majority of his points - including 2 top 10s - in the back 9 races.
16. Jack Maddock: 7/10
Maddock looked like a threat for a strong championship run after a string of 7 consecutive top 10s. However, Volvo's development tailed off markedly in the second half of the season, and this appeared to have an effect on Maddock. Still, at least this time he beat Paul Jenkins.
17. Phoenix McAllister: 6.5/10
It's not reflected in the standings at all, but McAllister was one of the fastest drivers in the Championship this season. No driver suffered more from mechanical difficulties or crashes than the Spaniard, for whom very little seemed to go right. He's got to be hoping 2018 will go better for him.
18. Carlos Torres: 6/10
The other replacement for JLD, Torres was a fairly left-field choice and looked it for most of his time in the #73 car, but ran very strongly in the final two weekends, seemingly realising that this might actually be his best chance to carve a career on the world stage.
19. Stale Oivind Rosbjorgen: 6/10
Rosbjorgen is absolutely a driver that belongs off-road, but given a fairly unfavourable position, he was actually fairly impressive. It took him 9 races to crack the points, but afterwards was a regular in the lower reaches, showing up the undisputed team leader Jorg Scrattenheim on occasion. Will certainly be looking forward to get back to his roots, however.
20. Wojciech Cieslar: 6/10
Out of all the 3 Buick drivers, he looked the least worthless - discounting Adelaide, of course. Cieslar struggled to score points, but was able to score well on occasions, but probably would benefit from a year in B-Class.
21. Paul Jenkins: 5.5/10
How times can change. This time last year, Jenkins was the undisputed master of RTCC, the reigning 2-time champ on top of his game. Then, the ARST regulation changes came and Jenkins never really had an answer, even when his teammate seemed to thrive in the new environment. It is no surprise then that he will be leaving the series, especially after he failed to go out on a high, losing the season-closer to Laurent Couteau.
22. Travis Crabtree: 5.5/10
Given that his car was not the best, and that his teammate was having a career year, Crabtree can be forgiven partially for having a fairly dismal showing this year, but if he wishes to remain with his team without being an anchor to their Teams' Championship hopes, he will need to improve in the future.
23. Yuji Itoh: 5/10
While he was still not as good as the USD Honda drivers, he was by far and away the best driver to sign for Alpha Auto. Not that that says much.
24. Chloe O'Sullivan: 4/10
Was rushed to the Championship and it really showed. The podium in the season-closer may or may not be her career salvation.
25. Jorg Scrattenheim: 4/10
Scrattenheim's swan-song was pretty representative of his career: Lots of promise, a couple good results, but by-and-large a lot of underperformance.
26. Goran Jordanovic: 3.5/10
This might be considered a little harsh given that he was the only driver to get any worthwhile results out of the lamentable Buick, but Jordanovic completely failed to show that his results in Adelaide were anything more than a fluke.
27. Francesco Fagioli: 3/10
Looked better in ARST than in F3, but that does not say much.
28. Iulian Pitea: 2.5/10
Struggled to keep the car on the road most of the time, his only points came in a race of attrition.
29. Garry Jones: 2/10
Given a very strong car at the start of the season, a nobody for a teammate, and what does he do? Waste nearly every opportunity. May very well have just ended his career on the world stage with this - certainly Dacia have no further use for him.
30. Mathilde Thybes: 2/10
Desperately unlucky - deserved at least 12th at Road America - but failure to score any points meant any hopes of a career switch were dashed.
31. Herbert Aston: 2/10
He at least qualified for races... I guess.
32. Catalina Zhang: 1.5/10
Did not belong in the Championship.
33. James Douglas: 1.5/10
Jog on, mate.
34. Tomasz Gabrysiak: 1/10
Only looked good because the succession of stooges that were his teammates were matched only by Alpha Auto's starting lineup for their incompetence. 14th in the standings in a car that should've challenged for the top 5 at least is a disgrace.
35. Clint Hillman: 0.5/10
Never got the hang of ARST cars.
36. Ray Vance: 0/10
Why was he even given a second season?
37. Edward McWilliams: -10/10
Will surely go down in history as one of the most incompetent race drivers of all time.
NC. Jack Christopherson Jr
Might've made the top 10 in points, but perhaps saw some early warning signs from the management.
NC. Chris Whiting
A decent enough sub while Scrattenheim was banned, but did not really advertise his name enough to continue his career at this level.
NC. Andries van Heel
His sacking might've been a bit harsh, especially given how poor his machinery was.
NC. Kalliope Spiros
Was rightly kicked out of the series when she took Cardel out while Cardel was leading and she was being lapped.
NC. Kim-Lee Wang
Probably says something that he bailed out of that car as soon as he could.

CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS
1. Atlantean Voeckler: 9.5/10
Built a very strong car, hired 2 very good drivers, and reaped all the rewards. Could've won more races, but didn't need to, and that's the important part.
2. Mazdaspeed Pulsar Racing: 9/10
To start with two young guns and the second-worst car in the paddock, and turn that into a run to 4th in the Teams' Championship takes an amazing effort from everyone. If they put together a strong car in 2018, watch out.
3. FAT Turbo Racing: 8.5/10
A 1 car team running a driver whose only notable fact of any sort is that he is the brother of a former F1RWRS pay driver who achieved very little does not sound good on paper. Apparently nobody bothered to tell this to FAT Turbo Racing, who spent a good portion of the season 7th in the Teams' Championship with a strong, consistent effort.
4. Triumph Racing: 8/10
Took the team a while to get properly rolling, but once they did, they were arguably the best. However, they need to get Cardel to learn to qualify, and cannot afford another slow start to the season. If they address both points, they could well overhaul Atlantean Voeckler.
5. Blokkmonsta Motorsport: 8/10
Started the season as the customer BMW squad, but took over mid-season as the works effort when Restov moved to pull out of the series. They certainly earned that distinction in 2017, being easily the best BMW team, stealing the odd podium, and winning the contract to be the works Honda squad in 2018.
6. Dacia AR Touring Team: 7.5/10
They started the season a solid 2nd best to Voeckler, but could not maintain this position. While certainly Garry Jones did not keep up his end of the bargain, their failure to keep up with the leaders over a full season raises some question marks.
7. Globex Scorpio Racing: 7/10
Their first season under Hank Scorpio's ownership did not go to plan. A poor starting car put paid to any title hopes, but it was a testament to the team that they put together one of the season-long runs to remember with Sylvain Fabron, and even managed to get Paul Jenkins over some of his issues with the new formula by the end of the season.
8. JLD Motorsport: 7/10
Wasted half the season with two rather useless drivers, but uncovered one of the revelations of the season in Dean Melville, and even got some use out of Carlos Torres too.
9. ICE-3 Racing: 6.5/10
Once they got rid of their dead-weight drivers, it was clear that this was a fairly solid effort. With Alfa Romeo making this their works team in 2018, they may be worth keeping an eye on.
10. Rothmans Pan Am Aeroracing Engineering: 6/10
Started the season with a fairly strong car and two world-class drivers, and they just... collapsed mid-season. They need to regroup for 2018.
11. Mobil Racing ZimSport: 5.5/10
They let too many races go pointless.
12. VW World/Chris Short Racing: 4/10
Completely anonymous all year.
13. Hydook Racing Team: 3/10
Fluked a win and then did nothing the rest of the year.
14. Gazprom Restov Racing: 2/10
There was potential in this team, and it all went to waste.
15. People Power presents Dodge CR Motorsport: 1.5/10
Might've gone a bit better had they chosen a worthier driver.
16. Onyx Racing: 0.5/10
Almost completely wasted one of the best cars in the field.
17. Alpha Auto: 0/10
Completely wasted one of the best cars in the field.

PRIVATEER DRIVERS
1. Darren Older Jr: 9.5/10
The driver of the year, to be honest, had many races go away from him but was always a major factor in the championship fight. That he did this in a poorer car to his rivals should be flashing some warning lights in the A-Class teams he will be competing against in 2018.
2. Peter Oliver: 9.5/10
Put in some very impressive performances in the sub-par Ford Fusion, before being transferred to Hunter Autosport, with whom he would win on his debut. Then, grabbed a net pole in the Championship race, finished 4th, and earned himself a ride with the reigning champions for 2018. Not a bad job at all.
3. Artesia Mass: 9/10
Consistency is always the name of the game when fighting for a title, and that is what Artesia Mass was in 2017. Only 3 times outside the top 10, and outside the points only once. She may never have won, or been the fastest driver, but she gave a strong lesson to everyone in this division that they would do well to heed.
4. Carl Jordan: 9/10
Drove strongly more often than not - aside from that moment of madness in Adelaide, whenever he was out of the top 8, it was usually not his fault. Kept himself in the title fight until his teammate wrecked him out of the last two races.
5. Lasse Tilkesson: 8.5/10
The only multiple-time winner in the Privateer's Cup. Tilkesson could not always find the setup in the BMW, but when he did, he was very difficult to stop.
6. Kieth Remedios: 8/10
Really, he was the fastest driver all season, and showed what the Impreza was really capable of. Unfortunately, had quite a few silly errors which ended up costing him dearly.
7. Ernest Saillard: 7.5/10
Despite earning a reputation mid-season for making too many errors, he scored points in all but 1 race.
8. Jasper Lerby: 7/10
Looked pretty ordinary compared to teammate Older, but when you account his machinery, he was about where you'd expect.
9. Aron Kagstrom: 7/10
A few too many wild moments, but Kagstrom showed plenty of pace over the season, and looks to be a solid future prospect.
10. Steven Mackintosh: 7/10
The driver who showed the most promise in the #03 merry-go-round. Not out-of-this-world fast, but gave a decent enough account of himself.
11. Shin Ramirez: 6.5/10
Looked a serious threat for the championship after winning in Canada, but every opportunity seemed to slip through his fingers. Only one further top-10 result highlighted a disturbing drop in form which allowed his teammate to step up and steal the championship.
12. Aaron Bellman: 6.5/10
A strong start to the season, but started making more and more errors by the end of the year.
13. Jason Gonzi: 6/10
Shocked the paddock with a run to 2nd in his first race in the series, but it took him until the last race to have another run worth talking about. Better than his Lupo Cup efforts indicated, but still needs a lot of work.
14. Ross Clark: 5.5/10
Meh.
15. Julian Clark: 5/10
His season looked somewhat promising, but a string of poor results gave way to a very regrettable incident in Brno.
16. Samson Medina-Marquez: 5/10
Immediately impressed by giving his teammate a strong challenge, however, he took this too far in the final 2 races.
17. Marek Smazlykowksi: 4/10
See: Jason Gonzi.
18. Kazuki Hisakawa: 3/10
Did not do the Triumph justice, but redeemed himself partially with a decent run in the Ford in Hong Kong.
19. Fidel Edwards: 2/10
Awful. Drove like he did not want to be there.
20. Juan Jose Rendon: 1.5/10
Should've done much better than he actually did.
21. Alvin Ziegler: 1.5/10
Belongs on the pit wall, not in the cockpit.
22. Kristina Harris: 1/10
Aside from that decent run in France, looked crap, especially given her car.
23. Thomas Westernberg: 1/10
Drove horrendously until he finally realised he was in the firing line, and then gave a too-little too-late run to 4th in Brno.

PRIVATEER TEAMS
1. HSBC Team Macmillan: 9.5/10
Ran like a well-oiled machine - they might be disappointed that they did not get more out of Lerby, but given they were already behind the 8-ball with the Mazdas, they did well to perform as well as they did.
2. Union Saver Developments: 8.5/10
Although they did win the championship with Mass, they also had better machinery than their rivals at Macmillan, and a better placed driver midway through the season. Ramirez's sudden drop in form must concern them.
3. Kiwi Racing: 8/10
They picked up a good supply of cars, and performed as you'd expect. Jordan was a good find for the team, though you have to wonder why they're called Kiwi Racing if they're not going to run a New Zealander. They do need to have a long chat with Medina-Marquez after he cost Jordan any hope of the title, though.
4. Loyer Racing Technologies: 7.5/10
They have to be favourite to win the B-Class in 2018. Tilkesson looks a real talent, and Kagstrom can only improve. If they pick up a good supply of cars, it could just be theirs to lose.
5. Grundig Euromotor International: 7/10
They were the team to get the most out of the Subarus, but even then they could've gotten more if their drivers were a little more disciplined.
6. Bellman Mason Motorsport: 6/10
Not a bad showing for a garagiste effort.
7. Rob Lomas Racing: 6/10
Did better than you'd expect given their lineup.
8. DHL Ziegler Auto Racing: 5.5/10
Could've and should've done better.
9. Hunter Autosport: 4/10
Wasted a large portion of the year with two mediocre drivers, but redeemed themselves by giving Oliver a platform to showcase his talent alongside the Championship competitors.
10. Vermilion Automotive Collective: 1.5/10
Utter waste of time.

MANUFACTURERS
1. Infiniti: 10/10
Very fast, and very reliable. Lost ground towards the end of the year, but not enough to put a dent in any of their leads.
2. Subaru: 9/10
Kieth Remedios, when he got clear air and wasn't hindered in any way, could be from a half-second to a full second faster than any other car on the track. Imagine what could've been done with this car had Onyx Racing employed a championship-caliber driver.
3. Triumph: 8/10
Triumph was not the best positioned car to start the season to challenge the Infiniti's, but they made development gains when others floundered, and deserve credit for doing so.
4. Dacia: 7.5/10
Dacia started the year very well, but their works team floundered towards the end. What was telling, though, was how Kiwi Racing remained fairly competitive, which indicates that it was not all down to the car falling behind in development.
5. Honda: 7.5/10
It's hard to tell exactly how good the Honda was, especially given that their works team was so committed to wasting everyone's time. But certainly, they will do better with Blokkmonsta in 2018.
6. Volvo: 7/10
It was not a bad car to start the season, and was still capable of strong results by the end of the season, but for whatever reason, Aeroracing was not able to get the best out of the car in the second half more often than not.
7. Mercedes: 7/10
It was a good enough package to allow al Faisal to have a solid run inside the top 10 in Championship points. How much is up to the driver and how much is up to the car is pure speculation - but it is sure that neither can be particularly terrible.
8. Dodge: 6.5/10
A mediocre car, especially when considering this was built by the same team that made the title-winning BMWs of 2015 and 2016. Enough to keep its drivers in the mix, but was flattered by Fabron's driving.
9. Holden: 5/10
A good car ruined by a narrow set-up window.
10. Volkswagen: 4/10
Average and anonymous.
11. Mazda: 3/10
Started off bad, improved with mid-season upgrades but never really made a huge step forward.
12. BMW: 1.5/10
Did well to score any kind of points in every race, though they did notice an uptick in results once Blokkmonsta took on the role of works team.
13. Buick: 1/10
Pretty much irredeemable

[DemocalypseNow]

Just a reminder that experienced canon GT racer Jans Zeitner is looking for a ride (ideally) with a German manufacturer for 2018. May also consider B-Class offers.

Uruguayan GT driver Santiago Guglielminpietro, who finished 4th overall in the GT class of SARS in 2016 (having won the season finale), and was scheduled to race for the works Ferrari GT team in the 2017 LMC before it collapsed, is listening to all offers of employment - preferably full-time rather just a few appearances.

[TomWazzleshaw]

As agreed in the chat, JLD Motorsport will sign Diego Mauricio Batistuta and Jans Zeitner for 2018. Therefore, Carlos Torres is available to any customer BMW team for next season, preferably in a full-time gig.

[DemocalypseNow]

Batistuta, Zeitner to join works BMW programme

Former GT drivers Diego Mauricio Batistuta and Jans Zeitner are expected to be announced as new members of the factory BMW roster within the coming days, with both earmarked to spearhead a revamped team for the Bavarian marque in IPC.

With the works BMW programme for ARST in disarray, following the collapse of Restov, and replacement 'works' designated team Blokkmonsta defecting to Honda, it has been left to JLD Motorsport to pick up the pieces.

JLD are no strangers to BMW, as the team has close links to the works BMW outfit in single seaters, Melrose Racing Team. Their lead driver choice is similarly familiar, with Argentine driver Batistuta having piloted one of their Saleens in GTRWC this year. Zeitner is similarly qualified, having raced GTs for both Rojo and Trueba over the past few seasons.

"I am happy to be renewing my deal with JLD," said Batistuta. "I am not entirely certain what my programme will be next season, but I have had a great season with them in GTRWC, and no matter which series I end up in with them, they have great infrastructure and plenty of resources to help me succeed."

German pilot Zeitner meanwhile was more coy on his immediate future, but alluded to a deal with the Bavarian marque having been sealed.

"I have made it clear for a while now what my intentions were," he said. "For a while it looked like it wasn't going to happen. But racing is a funny thing in these ways, one day you are a dead man walking, and the next you catch the break of your entire career. Maybe there can be happy ending after all."

[V8fan12]

As agreed in the chat, JLD Motorsport will sign Diego Mauricio Batistuta and Jans Zeitner for 2018. Therefore, Carlos Torres is available to any customer BMW team for next season, preferably in a full-time gig.

Ziegler Auto Racing would like to offer Torres a ride.