2017 TRRS: Draft some drivers!

[DemocalypseNow]

Northwind Traders Sentinel Motorsport would like to offer two co-driver seats for ACO-LM Indy race for Walze and Bandini.

The signing window for both Klaus Walze and Aurelio Bandini will slam shut on Thursday 18 at 2003 BST / 2103 CEST.

[DemocalypseNow]

Voeckler offers Cesar Vialpando the following;
He is guaranteed a series official test and reserve role in the newly formed Indy Academy series, helping put the new car through its paces before the season begins. Should Voeckler GPE be successful in its attempt to enter the series, which admittedly being bottom of the waiting list is touch-and-go, he would also get a drive in one of their two cars for the 2017 season in AutoRejects Indy Academy. If Voeckler is unsuccessful in securing an entry, they will accept bids for Vialpando's services from the same series by teams considered to be of a high calibre, i.e. with a reputation for success elsewhere.

Voeckler Management also wishes to sign John Bean as a client. He will be Lavezzi NISMO's lead driver in F5000 in 2017, and the future is wide open for him, where he could either continue in F5000 or change to sportscars.

The signing window for Cesar Vialpando and John Beanwill close on Saturday 20th at 1542 BST / 1642 CEST.

[Pointrox]

I would like to bring Colin Peynirci back to racing on a full-season contract for 2017, if Hydook will be granted an entry for AR Indy Academy.
As it is the case with Cieslar - if he does well, his contract will be extended for another season, with a clause for a possible transfer to different series over time.

[DemocalypseNow]

Signing window for Colin Peynirci will shut on Sat 20th at 2201 BST / 2301 CEST.

OK, it's RNG tiem!

Alexey Pchelintsev
Alexey has a completely mixed bag of offers, ranging from being a development driver to stepping straight into the Le Mans Cup, or a guaranteed works drive a year from now. Tough choices ahead for the Kazakh.

1-50 Tempted to go through most of the year on the sidelines to get a works touring car drive in 2018
51-90 Takes the Boxtel LMP2 drive
91-100 Signs with Ferdinand United

The result is...1! That's rather unequivocal, he takes the works offer from Atlas Cars to do ARST in 2018 and anything else that may come inbetween.

Kandasamy Latif
Latif had little success in SARS last year and turned up for the Last Chance Saloon - and has only gone and bagged himself an offer. However, it's not the greatest offer, being rather short term. Nevertheless, it's his only option to keep racing.

1-90 Signs with Taiwan Motorsport
91-100 Retires and goes back to tending the farm

75. Latif prolongs his 'career' by heading to ARST.


Tune in tomorrow for the RNGs of Giuseppe COLOMBO, Klaus WALZE and Aurelio BANDINI!

[Ataxia]

Astro would like to offer a management deal to Herberto Dominguez. We intend to give him an F3RWRS seat, since the plan is to move Matt Grove into F5000.

[Rated]

ICE-3 Racing will offer a contract to Jan Mayländer. We will try to get him a F5000 seat, if it fails, he will compete as a privateer in ARST this season.

[DemocalypseNow]

Deadline for offers to Herberto Dominguez will be Sun 21 at 1355 BST / 1455 CEST, and offers for Jan Mayländer will come to a close at 1552 BST / 1652 CEST on the same day.

Seeing as the deadline for him has already passed, let's do another roll of the dice...

Giuseppe Colombo
Colombo only has the one offer, and given he was a rookie single seater driver previously, the chance to compete full-time in the Le Mans Cup is an alluring one, even if for a team that isn't the most highly-rated in the paddock. However, with the recent formation of both F5000 and AR IA, he's still pondering whether he might get an offer to get his single seater career going again.

1-90 Boxtel LMP2
91-100 Waits for single seater offers

Result is...39! After a whole host of drivers passed up on Boxtel's LMP2 outfit, they finally secure a driver - Colombo signs on the dotted line.

Klaus Walze and Aurelio Bandini will follow later today.

[tristan1117]

Boxtel will make an offer for Jan Maylander, same LMP2 drive.

[DemocalypseNow]

Klaus Walze
Walze wants to be in ARST most of all, and while he might certainly going to ACO LMC if a good offer came, a one-off with a team that isn't particularly well respected in the paddock hasn't really piqued his interest. Given it's been a while and nothing else has even come close to materialising, he's seriously considering giving up altogether.

1-30 Takes the drive
31-60 Wait for something else
61-100 Give up waiting and retire

RNG says...38! He doesn't want to stop racing just yet, but he wants to do more than just one race a year.

Aurelio Bandini
Bandini on the other hand, is a youngster who is desperate to drive anything. He'll take most opportunities that will come his way, so even though it's only a one-off, he's more interested in the position offered, and if he isn't, doesn't want to give up on his hopes and dreams just yet.

1-40 Takes the drive
41-90 Wants more races or other better offer
91-100 Retires

RNG says...54! Bandini really doesn't want to give up on his dreams, and will bide his time, hoping something better will come along in time.


The next driver RNGs will be on Saturday, when the fates of John Bean, Cesar Vialpando and Colin Peynirci will be decided. Tune in then for the next episode of RNG TIEM!

[Normal32]

We want to offer John Bean a drive in the Valerian F5000 entry,with a seat for the LMP2 full-time in 2018.

[FMecha]

When the RNG declares "waits", what will happen next? I might add more races to my ACO LM GT entry.

[Salamander]

When the RNG declares "waits", what will happen next?

Presumably they wait for someone else to give them a better offer.

[DemocalypseNow]

More RNG Tiem has arrived!

Colin PEYNIRCI
Has an offer from Hydook to race in AR Indy Academy.

1-95 Takes the offer
96-100 Is too proud to accept a drive from a team that once released him from their squad

The result is 80. Peynirci is heading for the States.


Cesar VIALPANDO
Vialpando also has an ARIA offer, from Voeckler. It's 50/50 whether they make it in or not though.

1-80 Takes it
81-95 Wait for something else
96-100 Give up entirely and retire

53. Vialpando joins Peynirci in his journey to the US.


John BEAN
*RNG averages were provided by Ataxia and pasta_maldonado
Bean has two similar offers - F5000 in 2017 with either Lavezzi NISMO or Valerian, but Valerian have already offered him an LMP2 drive upfront in 2018 too.

1-45 Signs for Voeckler-run Lavezzi NISMO
46-95 Signs with Valerian
96-100 Has had enough and retires.

6!


Tune in again tomorrow for the next episode of RNG TIEM, featuring Herberto Dominguez and Jan Mayländer!

[DemocalypseNow]

Herberto DOMINGUEZ
Herberto Dom...ok, no need, he signs with Astro's F3RWRS team.

Jan MAYLANDER
This lad actually has a decision to make - stay in single seaters and trust ICE-3 to find him an F5000 drive, or head for the (slightly) safer option of Boxtel's LMP2 team.

1-45 ICE-3
46-90 Boxtel
91-100 Wants better offer

71! Boxtel finally have another driver to add to their squad.

[Rated]

Since Mayländer decided against joining us. It's time for another bid, for de lel.
ICE-3 Racing will offer a management contract to Alexandra Kustova. We will give her a few ARST privateer entries this season. If she does well in these, she could be in the race for a full time seat in the main team. Oh and when she's not racing, she can serve drinks to the team members, or be the team's secretary... I don't know. Double dutying, moar monies ! This is an offer she cannot refuse, really !

[DemocalypseNow]

Offers for Alexandra Kustova will expire at 1803 BST / 1903 CEST on Thursday 25 Sept!

[FantometteBR]

Is there anyone else available for bidding?

[DemocalypseNow]

Is there anyone else available for bidding?

All drivers in second post that aren't in red or blue are still available.

[V8fan12]

Okay, Peak Driver Talent would like to offer in order:
Tony Scrugham III
Ed Weaver
Mika Yagami
Oscar Duck III

An AR IWC drive (as there is one seat available), joining Steven Mackintosh as his team mate (depending on if our application is accepted) and/or AR IWC Academy drives (of which there are two; also depending on if our application is accepted).

Of course, should both of Peak's applications be refused, the offers are null and void and none of the driver's DECs will be taken up by Peak.

[FantometteBR]

Gotham Racing International F5000 team want to attempt for its second seat:

Aurelio Bandini
Olivierio Cinotti
Ed Weaver

[TomWazzleshaw]

The MRT Driver Academy would like to bid for the REC for Oscar Duck III and offer him a permanent spot in the Far Horizon RejectTruck Super Series team after some promising performances last year.

In addition, the academy would like to claim Carlos Torres as a reserve driver for the JLD-BMW ACO, GT-R and ARST teams, as well as offer him funding for a full-time drive in the Caribbean Racing League during the off-season.

[FMecha]

Northwind Traders Sentinel Motorsport will try Tony Scrugham III and Oliverio Cinotti for their ACO LM seat, now comprising of Le Mans, Spa, and Adelaide in addition to Indy.

[DemocalypseNow]

Should have posted this earlier;
Deadlines are as follows for drivers currently under bidding;

Fri 26 Sept - 0121 BST / 0221 CEST
Tony Scrugham III
Ed Weaver
Mika Yagami
Oscar Duck III

Fri 26 Sept - 0321 BST / 0421 CEST
Aurelio Bandini
Olivierio Cinotti

Fri 26 Sept - 0331 BST / 0431 CEST
Carlos Torres


There's also one driver making a decision today!

Alexandra Kustova
Part time in ARST for ICE-3

1-90 Takes offer
91-100 Wants better terms

9. Kustova is ARST bound.

[tristan1117]

Boxtel will put in bids for Weaver and Duck III for the third LMC seat.

[DemocalypseNow]

Trueba Racing Team would like to hire Oliviero Cinotti and Aurelio Bandini to be their GT development drivers, being tutored by former F1RWRS driver and current works Maserati driver Giovanni Roda.

Both will compete at the Le Mans Cup in a Ferrari 474, as team-mate to Roda, in the following rounds; Paul Ricard, Spa-Francorchamps, Le Mans, Sepang, Adelaide.
They will also compete a limited GTRWC campaign in a Ferrari 575 alongside their LMC duties, where they will race as co-pilots without Roda at the following events; Silverstone, Paul Ricard, Monza, Spa-Francorchamps.

[DemocalypseNow]

This is the busiest Draft Day for some time! Seven participants today, with offers from all over the place. Let's get down to business!

Tony Scrugham III
Tony can either head back for Indy, or do a part-time gig in the Le Mans Cup. Not too difficult a choice, surely...
1-80 IWC with Peak Motorsport
81-100 ACO LMC with Senitel Motorsport

4! Scrugham III signs with Peak.


Aurelio Bandini
RNG ranges by Salamander and Ataxia, rolled by Klon
Bandini can either do F5000 with Gotham or GTs with Trueba.
1-63 GTs with Trueba Racing Team
64-96 F5000 with Gotham
97-100 Wait for an improved offer

97! Bandini shocks everyone by turning down the offers that came his way. Could that be a costly decision?


Oliviero Cinotti
RNG ranges by Salamander and Ataxia, rolled by Klon
Cinotti in a similar situation to compatriot Bandini, but also with an offer from Senitel Motorsport for ACO LMC.
1-50 GTs with Trueba
51-80 F5000 with Gotham
81-97 LMC with Senitel
98-100 Wants more

20. Cinotti fills one of Trueba's two positions in their GT team.


Ed Weaver
Weaver had an offer from Peak for IWC before Scrugham III beat him to it, so his options have narrowed - F5000 or LMC. He prefers single-seaters but the Boxtel offer has a bit more security, with their entry in LMP2 already ratified, unlike Gotham's position where the organisers haven't confirmed which teams are in and which are out yet.
1-50 Gotham F5000
51-90 Boxtel LMP2
91-100 Wants to see what happens vis-a-vis F5000 entries before making a decision

30! He doesn't want to wait around, and so he plumps for F5000 with Gotham.


Oscar Duck III
His IWC offer gone, he can either continue in Rejectrucks with FARmy or go to LMP2 with Boxtel. He has a good relationship with FARmy, but LMP2 is a chance to stay in a higher level of racing.
1-50 FARmy
51-100 Boxtel

67! Duck III has defected from the FARmy to head to the Le Mans Cup. He could theoretically end up doing both though, given their respective small schedules.

Mika Yagami
Yagami was on Peak's shortlist, but unforuntately for him, with the offer going elsewhere, he has nothing to choose from! He'll have to wait longer for an offer to turn up...

Carlos Torres
1-90 Takes offer
91-100 Wants a guarantee of at least a couple of races in one of the three categoies he will be backup in for JLD/MRT.

7. He's happy with the offer's current form and accepts.



That concludes the current round of drafting!

[FMecha]

Hey, I thought Yagami was female. Anyway, Sentinel Motorsport LMC GT will take a shot on Mika-san.

[Pointrox]

If I may, I want to present Oliviero Cinotti with an offer he cannot possibly refuse - a full-time drive in F5000 for Hydook for two seasons, of course with a performance clause and possible transfers to other series where Hydook Racing Team is present.

[DemocalypseNow]

If I may, I want to present Oliviero Cinotti with an offer he cannot possibly refuse - a full-time drive in F5000 for Hydook for two seasons, of course with a performance clause and possible transfers to other series where Hydook Racing Team is present.

Cinotti has already been drafted and is no longer available.

Hey, I thought Yagami was female. Anyway, Sentinel Motorsport LMC GT will take a shot on Mika-san.

I wasn't aware Mika was a female first name in Japan.

Her draft deadline is set once again to Mon 29 Sept at 2022 BST / 2122 CEST.

[DemocalypseNow]

Only the one RNG to do today;

Mika Yagami
1-60 Accepts offer
61-90 Demands a promotion to single seaters in 2018 along with the drive
91-100 Declines

48. Takes the offer.


In other news, I will offer Jans Zeitner the Trueba gig, doing 5 rounds of ACO LMC and 4 rounds of GTRWC in a Ferrari 474/575. A works Porsche drive in future is the hope for him.

[Hermann95]

Is Giconie Okorie still available?
I would like to offer him a deal with Loyer Racing Technologies for the Indy Academy, with a possibility to get to the Indy World Cup next season, if the results are good and i have still a team there

[DemocalypseNow]

Is Giconie Okorie still available?
I would like to offer him a deal with Loyer Racing Technologies for the Indy Academy, with a possibility to get to the Indy World Cup next season, if the results are good and i have still a team there

Giconie Okorie is indeed still on the table. His bidding period will end on Sat 4 Oct at 1203 BST / 1303 CEST.

Also to clarify, the bidding period for Jans Zeitner will come to a close on Fri 3 Oct at 1947 BST / 2047 CEST.

[Hermann95]

Is Giconie Okorie still available?
I would like to offer him a deal with Loyer Racing Technologies for the Indy Academy, with a possibility to get to the Indy World Cup next season, if the results are good and i have still a team there

Giconie Okorie is indeed still on the table. His bidding period will end on Sat 4 Oct at 1203 BST / 1303 CEST.

Also to clarify, the bidding period for Jans Zeitner will come to a close on Fri 3 Oct at 1947 BST / 2047 CEST.

Zeitner would also be interesting. I could offer him a seat in ARST for the remaining season and could organise a Aston Martin works drive in ACO for the next season. He would also be the Aston Martin's first sub for ACO in 2017.

[DemocalypseNow]

Totally forgot we had some in-progress draftees! Better late than never...

Jans Zeitner
Jans has a split choice between getting a ride now, or maybe getting one in the future. While a works drive with Aston Martin sounds interesting, it was less of a guarantee and more of a simple possibility. His preference is GTRWC, and so signing with the same organisation that runs the works Maserati outfit in the series is an interesting idea.

1-65 Go for the now and sign with Trueba-Voeckler
66-95 Signs with Aston Martin
96-100 Wants a full-time schedule in GTRWC or ACO LMC in 2017

55. Heads for Trueba.

Giconie Okorie
Okorie was already struggling to keep his career going, mostly doing bit-part drives in IFRC and truck racing in 2016. A shot at redemption with a full season in Indy Academy is about as good as it could get for him.

1-99 Takes offer
100 Retires

82. Okorie is heading for America.

[DemocalypseNow]

Lada Sport offers Andraz Velikonja the opportunity of becoming the official development driver of the new ARST spec Lada Granta Sport, including racing the new car at selected events late in the 2017 season. He will continue to race in a Gazprom Lada in 2018 at selected events.

Deadline for counter offers is this Sunday, 0052 GMT / 0152 CET.

[DemocalypseNow]

We're close to the end of 2017 now, so it's time to do another round of RNG on the guys who just didn't want to give up on their hopes of getting an offer.

Brett Miller (USA)
Has been out of the loop for some time now, his last major racing gig all the way back in 2002 - he was surprisingly determined not to give up, but even now it's becoming clear the only way into a drive for him at this point is to buy his way in. Given his age, it's perhaps time to hang up his helmet and focus full-time on his "normal" career.

1-80 Retired
81-100 Will return for Race of Rejects in Jan 2018, trying to impress once again to get a contract
68. Brett realises his time is up and won't continue trying to make a comeback

Akira Kobayashi (JAP)
A so-so tin-top racer, Kobayashi was hoping to lure one of the many Japanese manufacturers and teams in ARST into hiring him. It didn't materialise, but given the increasinly packed grids in the B-Class of what is about to become IPC, he hasn't quite given up every last bit hope of racing again.

1-60 Realises his chance has gone
61-100 Will return to Race of Rejects to try and impress an IPC team into getting a drive for 2018
13. Decides it's too much of a long shot, having been away from touring cars for several seasons now. Hangs up his helmet.

Ernest Bruno (USA)
While in the greater sense of things his career may not have any direction, he hasn't simply sat on the bench all year either. He had some races in 2017 thanks to pre-arranged deals from the year before, and did okay in them. This gives him hope he can still find a gig in 2018 for GTs or touring cars - especially Class B, which has plenty of opportunity at least for part-time schedules. He might even do both. He's positive, at least.

1-80 Will return for Race of Rejects hoping to land a full-time deal somewhere in 2018
81-100 Realises his racing career is running out of steam and looks for a new profession
40. He'll give it all he's got.

Klaus Walze (GER)
A similar case to Akira Kobayashi. Out of the sport for a few years now, he'd have to buy his way into a drive, but the B-Class of ARST/IPC is littered with drivers in the same position as him. It's a crowded marketplace. Perhaps time to focus on something else.

1-80 End of the road
81-100 Hangs on tooth and nail to his racing dream
51. Walze goes the 'sensible' route and turns his back on racing.


Aurelio Bandini (ITA)
It's coming up to four years now without him having a drive. He even had chances to make the odd appearance here and there in 2017. He wants to do this properly or not at all, and given it's been so long since TRRS finished, he sees the 2018 RoR as the next best chance to impress and lure potential employers to him.

1-75 Will stick around for Race of Rejects 2018 at the least
76-100 Realises he made a mistake passing on those bit-part drives earlier in the year and folds
40. He'll be back for one more round at least.

Maven O'Connor (USA)
Same situation as Brett Miller. Last time in the limelight was FIFTEEN years ago. It's a surprise he hadn't given up already. So clearly he's a determined fellow, but surely your determination must wear thin at some point when no offers, even derisory ones, are coming in?

1-60 Realises this is the end
61-100 Still somehow claws onto his raw determination not to give in
75. O'Connor still won't give in. He might not have as much to offer as many of the other competitors in next year's RoR, but it says something that he still won't give in after all this time out.

Emmanuel Nthala (MWI), Woo Dong-Geon (KOR), Laurindo Coelho (POR) & Alberto Fabián (MEX)
Amateur enduro drivers. Would like to buy their way into GTRWC and/or IPC seat(s) but not sure they can scrape the cash together to do it - not that anyone has shown any interest in the cash they had before anyway.

1-80 Their bank account can't sustain his racing career any longer
81-100 Finds the money, will try to use RoR to help them buy a seat in something for next season
Emmanuel Nthala - 47. Decides his money can be better spent on other things.
Woo Dong-Geon - 9. Motorsport was just a passing interest in the end.
Laurindo Coelho - 86. He has the cash, and he still wants to race. RoR 2018 beckons.
Alberto Fabián - 54. The tap has run dry.