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

[TomWazzleshaw]

MRT will run a 4 day downforce test from the 17th to 20th of October in Argentina with Mestolio and Schiller as the two drivers. Additionally, we'll run a 3 day reliability test from the 19th to 21st at the Nurburgring, with Malros 1.0 as the sole driver

[Shizuka]

** Revolution drops to Pre-Q from Round 15.

YES!!!

[Peteroli34]

Would it be possible to join the waiting list for a entry sometime in the future

[Aerond]

Done

[SuperAguri]

Mori to end career in Japan
Barii Mori will replace the exhausted Daniel Melville who did two days of solid testing to improve his driving skills at the Japanese GP. Mori who has raced for a number of teams will come back to the team he owns and attempt to prequalify and then qualify the disappointing Kamaha. Mori said in the press conference "Daniel Melville has done a good job and we are extending his contract for the next season, we will continue to invest in him as we believe he does has talent. As the poor lad did two solid days of testing, pounding out 3 grand prix distances in two days, we have decided to give him a rest and I will come back and attempt to bring the Kamaha on the grid for what is our proper home grand prix. I am excited and I hope I can finish in the points if we can drag the car out of the lottery that is the prequalifying. I guess I am not going to win a race and my record of most GPs without a win will stay for a while. Apart from that we are pleased that Yamaha are coming back and we will be the works team. We thank Suzuki and Audi for the engines over the last two years, we wish they could have fixed the problems with the engine as it always seemed to be us that had the engine failures. We are hoping that next years car will be better, I think me and Shizuka are likely to retire next year and we will need to find a new lead driver, who that will be? Well we have some shortlists but we are going to struggle. There are rumours that I will sell the team at the end of the season and I would like to deny this, we have a healthy bank balance and will improve. See you on the track.".

[Klon]

We are richer for having lost him.

[Aerond]

No point in giving laptimes at this time of the season so I'll go quickly through this;

Testing results between Argentina and Japanese GP's

MRT: Small improvement for the German based squad; 0,2 DF and 150 rel

Gillet: Marginal improvement for their drivers. More progress for Walsh

Kamaha: A bit of improvement for Melville

Mecha: Did a tiny bit of improvement in handling and a bit of improvement for their drivers in Qualifying pace.

[Aerond]

F1RWRS 2017 -- ROUND 15/16 -- JAPANESE GRAND PRIX -- Fuji

Weather:

Pre-Qualifying: Wet - 60%
Qualifying: Dry
Race: Dry

PRE-QUALIFYING

1.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- 1.29.184
2.Martin McFry (NRE) -- 1.29.851 (+0.667)
3.Andrej Kremnicky (Revolution) -- 1.30.023 (+0.839)
4.Hansuke Shioya (Arrowtech) -- 1.30.378 (+1.194)
5.Marie Simon (Arrowtech) -- 1.30.466 (+1.282)
6.Michael Robertson (HRT) -- 1.30.656 (+1.472)
7.Nathanael Spencer (Boxtel) -- 1.30.808 (+1.624)
8.Shane Skeelenberg (RLR) -- 1.31.207 (+2.023)
9.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- 1.31.614 (+2.430)
10.Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- 1.31.736 (+2.552)
11.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- 1.32.007 (+2.823)
12.Barii Mori (Kamaha) -- 1.32.051 (+2.867)
13.Jean-Vincent Albertini (Autodynamics) -- 1.32.127 (+2.943)
14.Shinobu Katayama (NRE) -- 1.32.333 (+3.149)
15.Miko Fakkinen (Fusion) -- 1.33.211 (+4.027)
16.Daniel Melrose (Boxtel) -- 1.33.527 (+4.343)
17.Daniel Moreno (Gillet) -- 1.33.694 (+4.510)
18.Adelaide Voeckler (RLR) -- 1.34.486 (+5.302)
19.Geoff Donnelly (Fusion) -- 1.34.568 (+5.384)
20.Eric Swerts (Gillet) -- 1.34.847 (+5.663)

** HRT will skip Pre-Q at Round 16

QUALIFYING

1.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- 1.22.116
2.Rhys Davies (Voeckler) -- 1.22.477 (+0.361)
3.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- 1.22.553 (+0.437)
4.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- 1.22.644 (+0.528)
5.Thomas de Bock (Voeckler) -- 1.22.752 (+0.636)
6.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- 1.22.765 (+0.649)
7.Philippe Nicolas (Simpson) -- 1.22.789 (+0.673)
8.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- 1.22.837 (+0.721)
9.Wouter Lamberigts (Simpson) -- 1.22.840 (+0.724)
10.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- 1.22.846 (+0.730)
11.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- 1.22.949 (+0.833)
12.Du Lei (Gauthier) -- 1.22.963 (+0.847)
13.Martin McFry (NRE) -- 1.23.229 (+1.113)
14.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- 1.23.436 (+1.320)
15.Alessandro Lucarelli (PORE) -- 1.23.469 (+1.353)
16.Shinobu Katayama (NRE) -- 1.23.512 (+1.396)
17.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- 1.23.633 (+1.517)
18.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- 1.23.710 (+1.594)
19.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- 1.23.710 (+1.594)
20.Daniel Martins (Sunshine) -- 1.23.797 (+1.681)
21.Gregor Pascal (Sunshine) -- 1.23.952 (+1.836)
22.David Neuberg (PORE) -- 1.23.993 (+1.877)
23.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- 1.24.150 (+2.034)
24.Douglas Mann (Foxdale) -- 1.24.152 (+2.036)
25.Andrej kremnicky (Revolution) -- 1.24.267 (+2.151)
26.Marie Simon (Arrowtech) -- 1.24.514 (+2.398)
DNQ.Hansuke Shioya (Arrowtech) -- 1.24.593 (+2.477)
DNQ.Michael Robertson (HRT) -- 1.24.681 (+2.565)

** Foxdale will run in Pre-Q at Round 16

RACE

1.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- 1h 40m 29.021
2.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- +11.134
3.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- +24.106
4.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- +28.416
5.Du Lei (Gauthier) -- +1.16.216
6.Philippe Nicolas (Simpson) -- +1.17.974
7.Alessandro Lucarelli (PORE) -- +1 Lap
8.David Neuberg (PORE) -- +1 Lap
9.Wouter Lamberigts (Simpson) -- +1 Lap
10.Marie Simon (Arrowtech) -- +2 Laps
11.Martin McFry (NRE) -- +2 Laps
12.Thomas de Bock (Voeckler) -- +7 Laps
DNF.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- Loose Wheel
DNF.Daniel Martins (Sunshine) -- Puncture
DNF.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- Engine
DNF.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- Engine
DNF.Gregor Pascal (Sunshine) -- Engine
DNF.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- Puncture
DNF.Andrej Kremnicky (Revolution) -- Engine
DNF.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- Puncture
DNF.Douglas Mann (Foxdale) -- Oil Leak
DNF.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- Loose Wheel
DNF.Shinobu Katayama (NRE) -- Engine
DNF.Rhys Davies (Voeckler) -- Engine
DNF.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- Accident
DNF.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- Accident

Fastest Lap -- Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- 1.23.234
DOTR -- Gauthier drivers -- Both van Rijkens and Lei did an extremely solid job for first big double finish of the team
ROTR -- Ben Fleet -- Was a liability for everyone trying to lap him the whole time

[DemocalypseNow]

Enough of this nonsense. Foxdale must be thrown out of the championship immediately. They are completely unprofessional, their car is not of the required standard to compete in F1RWRS - it probably couldn't even win an F3 race. Their drivers are downright hopeless, incompetent and dangerous. Fleet showed a complete lack of awareness of the other cars on track today. He ran into De Bock while three laps down and broke his suspension. He was constantly blocking other cars as well. THREE LAPS DOWN! No, go home and don't dare come back. Foxdale are a disgrace to F1RWRS and shouldn't be allowed to participate ever again. They reflect badly on the rest of us. It's like allowing toddlers to play with high powered weapons. Downright irresponsible.

[TomWazzleshaw]

MRT will remain in Fuji for a four day test from the 30th of October to the 2nd of November. Daniel Melrose will be the sole driver with Downforce being the main focus of the test

[Shizuka]

Engine and puncture. Oh well, at least Revolution is now a guaranteed second in PQ.

[Salamander]

It was a fantastic drive for both Danny and Du, Danny in particular did very well to spend half the race I think it was ahead of Buyvolov, who we know is a very talented driver. Du also had a very good battle with Nicolas, and had probably I would say her best race in her career.

... I would also probably be remiss to not thank Fusion for agreeing to loan us their chassis. Without it, we likely would not have finished any of these races.

[The Lukas]

I am delighted to race this season was a excellent in my performance could feel unsatisfied that I lost a chance to win the championship, but I'm glad I hope me to keep a job in the team, I have something to prove!

[Miguel98]

Uhm... Buyvolov still has a chance.

[pasta_maldonado]

We had a great race today, to get both cars home in the top 10 for the second time this season is a great result. Of course, had someone else in top six fallen foul of the attrition we could have walked away with a point - but to see both cars to the finish, when reliability has been lacking this year is a good sight.

[tommykl]

I'm absolutely disgusted by these last two races. I should have won the title by now, but that's twice in a row that I've had to retire so close to the end because of someone else's incompetence. Shinobu [Katayama], Jean-Luc [Schiller] and Ben [Fleet] all drove like complete imbeciles, and instead of winning the title, I have Mark [Dagnall] 4 points behind me. If I end up losing the championship, then you can be sure I won't be happy.

[AndreaModa]

I'm quite disappointed if I'm honest, yes Diego has scored a good result with third palce but with Voeckler not scoring again we had a real opportunity to seize the initiative but instead Mark was out early on and Aeroracing have taken a 1-2. We still have a chance with one more race to go but it's going to be tough. All we can aim for is two solid drives to the flag and hope that misfortune strikes our rivals.

[Aerond]

Dagnall Management Int. Japanese GP driver Round-Up

Mark Dagnall: I don't know what happened. My start had been ok and when I pushed the breaks for the first corner I got hit from behind and the suspension broke. There's nothing I could really do to avoid it ... that's another good haul of points lost and it's a pity because looking at final result I could have got a precious number of points today. We still got one chance; one race to go and everyone in the team is focused in bringing home both championships. I know we can do it. Let's make it happen!

Fredo Mestolio: I'm sorry I let everyone in the team down that way. I tried a risky overtake and it simply didn't work, plus, Japanese pizza it's so bad! They fulfill it with the weirdest ingredients. I'm furious!

Hansuke Shioya: I'm disappointed to not have been able to qualify the car in front of my home crowd. The car was not perfectly balanced and, as other races this season, we suffer in straight line speed, so it was not possible for me to set a better a time. Now, I can't wait for Macau and try to finish the season in a high.

Jesus Plaza: Another race and another retirement! Well, we already knew we'd have some problems with our car, as has been the norm this season, but I'm quite glad we, on the other hand, will finish the season out of pre-qualifying. This has been a huge step for this small outfit and I'm proud to form part of it. Hiroto also delivered in front of his home crowd and we didn't experience any troubles to qualify the car. I was comfortably running around 10th place when the engine stopped, and that's all, it's not a new problem and we know these Pure-Hart engines are quite unreliable without the latest spec, which unfortunately we cannot afford. Anyway, and all in all, quite happy

[Aerond]

Mark Dagnall heats Season Finale

British F1RWRS driver Mark Dagnall has hit at rival Thomas de Bock before season finale at Macau next weekend. Talking about the happenings of the Japanese Grand Prix, in an interview at NHK Tokyo Dagnall was quoted saying "The fact that they tried to blame Fleet the retirement speaks volumes about their incompetence. If you watch the replay, the suspension breaks on the opposite side where De Bock hits Fleet!! How can they blame him?? The poor-sod had enough with me banging his wife. I'll tell you something, maybe they are a little bit nervous for not being able to take the championship with the best car?? Yes, yes they are." It's yet to see if Dagnall really said these words or the Japanese translator was confused with Dagnall's Brit accent.

[DemocalypseNow]

Marco Bizzarri
The qualifying went well, and this set me up for a run at the points. I was running in the Top 10 most of the day, very happy with the pace and the feeling of the car, it had a good balance today and we had enough straight-line speed to go with it. We could have been on for a great result, but unfortunately reliability has been our Achilles heel all year, and it happened again, another technical DNF. Hopefully the car can reach the finish in the final event.

Alessandro Lucarelli
We were seventh, and ok, on paper this is an okay result, but for me the race was a disaster. The car was horrible to drive, it behaved differently one lap to the next, I felt like I was fighting against it the entire distance. I don't know, maybe something in the car was broken, I was shocked how bad the car felt in the first couple of laps - I think I dropped all the way to last place after the start! But I just stuck with it, bumping and grinding my way along, and at least finished ahead of a few other cars. I suppose it's something that both cars made it to the end, but it looks like David [Neuberg] didn't have a much better time today than me either.

[AndreaModa]

Jones Delighted At Mori's Retirement

Sammy Jones has revealed that he is "over the moon" that Japanese driver and former bitter on-track rival Barii Mori will be retiring this year.

Jones and Mori have had a bad-tempered relationship ever since the 2011 season when the pair, along with Australian Rhys Davies, were involved in a series of crashes and spats. Since then, controversy has never been far away from the pair - Jones was accused of copying Mori's Kamaha team's 2013 design, an allegation that was later proven false.

Mori has had a journeyman career as a driver and never quite realised the potential his performances promised in his early days. Jones has gone on record to say that "it's about time" that Mori hung up his helmet.

"He's been way past it for ages now" Jones said. "To be honest, I don't think he was ever good enough to be in F1RWRS from the beginning. Clearly McAllister was desperate for a cheap driver who would grab his poor excuse of a team some headlines. Even without our history, I can certainly say I'd have never hired the guy. The sport will be a better place without him. When I heard my drivers wouldn't have to be avoiding him at another race weekend, I was over the moon."

[the Masked Lapwing]

RUMOUR: Zimmer to abandon F1RWRS?
After yet another retirement and failure to qualify at last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, rumours from the Holden Racing Team have suggested that Frank Zimmer has become disillusioned with the sport, and may turn his back on the series he helped create.
Reports from an insider at the team suggest that after several disputes with current F1RWRS Commission president Daniel Prieto, including a spat over supposed contradictions in pre-qualifying regulations, Zimmer has had growing doubts about the long-term sustainability of the F1RWRS compared to the rival FIA Formula 1 championship, and may return to the series he broke away from 8 years ago.
While Zimmer denied the rumours when contacted, his business partner Jimmy Rosenforth confirmed that "we will be competing in 2018 in one form or another".

[Aerond]

FINAL 2018 ARWS CALENDAR TAKES SHAPE

We take a look at what looks to be the 2018 ARWS Calendar; final confirmation to take place in the next few weeks:

1. 11/3 -- AUSTRALIAN GP -- Adelaide
2. 18/3 -- NEW SOUTH WALES GP -- Bathurst
3. 8/4 -- ITALIAN GP -- Monza
4. 22/4 -- MOROCCO GP -- Marrakech
5. 13/5 -- CALIFORNIA GP -- Long Beach
6. 20/5 -- UNITED STATES GP -- Phoenix
7. 3/6 -- CANADIAN GP -- Toronto
8. 24/6 -- BRITISH GP -- Brands Hatch
9. 8/7 -- AUSTRIAN GP -- Red Bull Ring
10. 15/7 -- GERMAN GP -- Norisring
11. 29/7 -- SCANDINAVIAN GP -- Åss Fartway
12. 2/9 -- BELGIAN GP -- Spa
13. 9/9 -- MONACO GP -- MonteCarlo
14. 30/9 -- SOUTH AFRICAN GP -- Welkom
15. 14/10 -- BRAZILIAN GP -- Sao Paulo Indy
16. 21/10 -- ARGENTINA GP -- Buenos Aires
17. 4/11 -- JAPANESE GP -- Fuji
18. 11/11 -- GRAND PRIX OF MACAU

[Ataxia]

Fusion: We're Innocent

Having signed a deal with tooth decay magnates Coca-Cola, Fusion Motorsports have elected to support their subsidiary Innocent Smoothies with a brand new livery for 2018. Fruit-molesters Innocent have earned plaudits for their casual approach to marketing, and the new tie-up will see Fusion adopt a bright pink scheme.

2018 drivers Fredo Mestolio and Terry Hawkin have spent time in the Innocent factory developing a new "Fredo + Terry" special edition drink which will be available in Sainsbury's; the drink contains bananas, lychee and guarana and will be marketed towards athletes, as well as people who become athletes for one month every four years every time the Olympics is on.

Milka will also sponsor the team with their brand of overly sweet chocolate, ensuring that the Fusion team rack up a large amount of dentist bills.

Obvious April Fool is obvious.

[Aerond]

TESTING PRE-MACAU

MRT -- FUJI; Weather -- Dry

6/8 race simulations completed for Daniel Melrose. Good progress with a gain of 0,5 DF

GILLET -- SPA; Weather -- Dry

Small progress by Shane Walsh in race trim as he continues racking up laps in the Gillet. No progress from Moll, though.

[Aerond]

F1RWRS 2016 -- ROUND 16/16 -- MACAU GRAND PRIX

Weather

Pre-Qualifying: Wet - 30%
Qualifying: Dry
Race: Dry

PRE-QUALIFYING

1.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- 1.57.454
2.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- 1.57.574 (+0.120)
3.Andrej Kremnicky (Revolution) -- 1.57.576 (+0.122)
4.Rosco Vantini (Arrowtech) -- 1.58.089 (+0.635)
5.Douglas Mann (Foxdale) -- 1.58.183 (+0.729)
6.Shinobu Katayama (NRE) -- 1.58.333 (+0.879)
7.Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- 1.58.454 (+1.000)
8.Daniel Melville (Kamaha) -- 1.58.504 (+1.050)
9.Martin McFry (NRE) -- 1.58.532 (+1.078)
10.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- 1.59.112 (+1.658)
11.Nathanael Spencer (Boxtel) -- 1.59.183 (+1.729)
12.Jean-Vincent Albertini (Autodynamics) -- 1.59.337 (+1.883)
13.Adelaide Voeckler (RLR) -- 1.59.431 (+1.977)
14.Hansuke Shioya (Arrowtech) -- 1.59.468 (+2.014)
15.Daniel Moreno (Gillet) -- 2.00.262 (+2.808)
16.Miko Fakkinen (Fusion) -- 2.00.632 (+3.178)
17.Daniel Melrose (Boxtel) -- 2.00.757 (+3.303)
18.Shane Skeelenberg (RLR) -- 2.01.428 (+3.974)
19.Eric Swerts (Gillet) -- 2.02.397 (+4.943)
20.Geoff Donnelly (Fusion) -- 2.02.607 (+5.153)

QUALIFYING

1.Rhys Davies (Voeckler) -- 1.51.986
2.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- 1.52.262 (+0.276)
3.Wouter Lamberigts (Simpson) -- 1.52.425 (+0.439)
4.Thomas de Bock (Voeckler) -- 1.52.738 (+0.742)
5.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- 1.53.027 (+1.041)
6.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- 1.53.101 (+1.115)
7.Alessandro Lucarelli (PORE) -- 1.53.103 (+1.117)
8.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- 1.53.179 (+1.193)
9.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- 1.53.193 (+1.207)
10.Martin McFry (NRE) -- 1.53.275 (+1.289)
11.Du Lei (Simpson) -- 1.53.314 (+1.328)
12.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- 1.53.354 (+1.368)
13.Philippe Nicolas (Simpson) -- 1.53.393 (+1.407)
14.David Neuberg (PORE) -- 1.53.625 (+1.639)
15.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- 1.53.628 (+1.642)
16.Shinobu Katayama (NRE) -- 1.53.716 (+1.730)
17.Daniel Martins (Sunshine) -- 1.53.798 (+1.812)
18.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- 1.53.830 (+1.844)
19.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- 1.53.873 (+1.887)
20.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- 1.53.956 (+1.970)
21.Gregor Pascal (Sunshine) -- 1.54.079 (+2.093)
22.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- 1.54.230 (+2.244)
23.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- 1.54.244 (+2.258)
24.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- 1.54.322 (+2.336)
25.Douglas Mann (Foxdale) -- 1.54.355 (+2.369)
26.Andrej Kremnicky (Revolution) -- 1.43.355 (+2.369)
DNQ.Jean-Vincent Albertini (Autodynamics) -- 1.54.633 (+2.647)
DNQ.Michael Robertson (HRT) -- 1.54.787 (+2.801)

RACE

1.Thomas de Bock (Voeckler) -- 1h 42m 14.130
2.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- +1.03.239
3.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- +1.03.969
4.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- +1.07.413
5.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- +1.17.177
6.Rhys Davies (Voeckler) -- +1 Lap (Out of fuel)
7.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- +1 Lap (Out of fuel)
8.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- +1 Lap (Out of fuel)
9.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- +1 Lap (Out of fuel)
10.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- +1 Lap (Out of fuel)
11.Daniel Martins (Sunshine) -- +1 Lap
12.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- +1 Lap
13.Du Lei (Gauthier) -- +1 Lap
14.Alessandro Lucarelli (PORE) -- +1 Lap
15.Wouter Lamberigts (Simpson) -- +1 Lap
16.Martin McFry (NRE) -- +1 Lap
17.Andrej Kremnicky (Revolution) -- +1 Lap
18.Douglas Mann (Foxdale) -- +1 Lap
DNF. Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- Puncture
DNF. Philippe Nicolas (Simpson) -- Accident
DNF. David Neuberg (PORE) -- Accident
DNF. Alberto Cara (HRT) -- Accident
DNF. Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- Engine
DNF. Gregor Pascal (Sunshine) -- Accident
DNF. Shinobu Katayama (NRE) -- Accident
DNF. Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- Engine

Fastest Lap -- Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- 1.54.360
DOTR -- Danny van Rijkens; Did a solid job and capitalised on the late retirements ahead to score that podium
ROTR -- Fuel strategists; No explanation needed.

[Ataxia]

I was seriously lucky at the end of that race! So happy to have helped Jones get this Constructors' title, and I hope I can stay for the next year to help the team even further.

Now for my ROTY votes...

3rd - Jean-Vincent Albertini - Sure, the Autodynamics team wasn't exactly on form after he'd finished his ban, but Steele still managed to retain some perkiness as he led the ailing team to some good finishes. Albertini didn't really try, and ended up with a few DNQs. Poor stuff from the man who was one of the surprise packages of 2016.

2nd - Sunshine-Daihatsu - If the team were to adhere to the Trades Descriptions Act, the team would probably be called Overcast. Bland lineup, reliability ruined chances of any good results...they're better off throwing 2017 in the bin and starting over.

1st - Gillet Ecurie Nationale Belge - Wow. The Belgian team have really fallen from grace. A pointless year, inability to get out of pre-qualifying and committing the cardinal sin of signing a non-Belgian ensured that Gillet had an absolute 'mare.

[RealRacingRoots]

Reject O' Der Yearr

3rd: Holden
2nd: Sunshine
1st: Gillet

[TomWazzleshaw]

Reject of the year:

3rd - Sunshine
2nd - Geoff Donnelly
1st - Gillet

[Shizuka]

1. Gillet
2. Sunshine
3. I think I also have to go with Albertini here.

[Salamander]

This was an incredible drive by Danny, simply incredible. 'E looked completely in place when fighting ze Voecklers, Jones, and MRTs, being on ze same strategy as most of them. About lap 37, he reported an issue with ze brakes, and we were quite worried about zis, but he brought the car back expertly, and really zis was something of a blessing in disguise since we were on ze same strategy as Dagnall. We were able to put a few more litres in ze car while we reset the brakes, and that meant we were just able to finish ahead of Schiller.

ROTY
3rd - Geoff Donnelly: The Pie Man certainly had a lot of fan support throughout the season, but none of this changed the fact that he was a giant anchor tied around the neck of Fusion - which is why they hired him. Incredibly slow all year.
2nd - Sunshine-Daihatsu: The last two years were disappointing for Sunshine, but I'm sure now they'd trade anything to have them back. Not a single point scored, and by the end of the season they had to rely on the lowly Gregor Pascal to augment their bank balance. And there still appears to be no end in sight for their woes.
1st - Gillet: How quickly the tides can change. Gillet lost both of their longtime drivers this season - Moll was fired, and de Bock jumped ship after 3 races when it was clear that this was the worst Gillet yet. Gillet was left with a couple cameo appearances from Ron Mignolet, before making way for Daniel Moreno, who is as over the hill as ever. And replacing Moll? The abysmal Eric Swerts, who managed to find a way to be slower than Geoff Donnelly more often than not. If there is any consolation, it is that surely things cannot get much worse.

[Klon]

4th place, mostly due to the other idiots out there screwing up their fuel economy, is not quite how I imagined the final race of my career - then again, had you told me in 2010 that I would still be around in 2017, I probably would have doubted it, so so much for that. Despite having throttle issues, it was a fun drive and fun was all it was about after Alexey's race engineer was too dumb to plan Q2.

I want to congratulate both champions: whilst Thomas de Bock and I aren't close friends, I still feel great for him, given as we both came in in 2010 and have driven every weekend so far. He had a good season and deserve this. My history with Jones Racing is well known, I still got a few of my guys over there. They deserve this title and should enjoy himself, although I probably will not have made them happy when I was ahead of DAT for a while and refused to let him go.

Now, after my last race, there are a number of people I need to thank: first off my professional idols, James James Davies and Michael Schumacher, without my entire career would not have happened to begin with; Tatsuya Kahama, who hired me at the end of 2009 to allow me to make the step to the big leagues and was on my side during the first difficult years, his confidence in me was crucial for what happened in the years thereafter.

Next are my good friend Sammy [Jones], as well as Shinji Zanmai, who saved my career in 2013 when that egocentrical idiot Mori and that dumb bitch what's-her-name ... Gan Something? ... tried to end it. Next are Daniel Melrose, who taught me that emotionally-charged management doesn't get the job done, a valueable lesson for the BITW teams, and Phoenix McAllister, who entrusted me with Aeroracing's fate the last two years.

Last, but not least, I have to thank every designer, mechanic and guy in the back that worked to provide me with the cars I had the pleasure of driving from 2010 until this very day. Their effort sometimes gets lost in the big headlines, yet without them, even the Best In The World™, read: me, would be literally nothing. Speaking of Best In The World: anyone working for the brand must be praised as well.

Now, as far as my future is concerned, I can say the rumours are true: Best In The World Uster will be running a Skoda works entry in the International Pro Car Championship. I will be both overseeing the development of the new Skoda and joining Sandra Yoo in driving the cars for the 2018 IPCC season. With Koyomi Setou still driving the Mazda, BITW fans should really do themselves a favour and check the series out.

[dr-baker]

Foxdale Auto Racing Team to withdraw from F1RWRS with immediate effect

Foxdale is to cease competing in F1RWRS and will not return for the 2018 season, having suffered their first pointless season. Many of their sponsorship deals (all of which were with firms from the Isle of Man) contained performance clauses, most of which demanded that the team score points, or to qualify well. Neither was seen by the team in 2017, despite introducing a new chassis for the final four races of the year.

This follows a gradual decline in the team’s performance over the life of the team. The team began in 2013 as a merger between the AMR and MAN teams, and was often seen on the front row of the grid and running at the front of the pack until their inevitable double-DNFs, with the exception coming at the Macau race (the 13th round of the year), where one of the cars survived to win. The following season saw an increase in reliability and thus scored their highest team points total of 27, including another win in France. Each subsequent season saw a decrease in the number of points scored until this season, where the total finally reached zero.

With Pippa Mann and Peter Port having already announced their intentions to retire from their driving careers, they are now also joined on the retirement list by Ben Fleet, the husband of Pippa Mann, and Douglas Mann, Pippa’s brother and one of only a few drivers to have been entered into each and every F1RWRS race to date. Martin McFry, who is managed by the Mann siblings, will continue however, for as long as he is needed. Douglas Mann will miss the camaraderie of the paddock, but feels that now is the time to move on and start a more relaxing life on his home island.

----------------------------------------------------

Real life interlude: I am about to start my final Occupational Therapy placement (running from mid-April to mid-June) and thereafter, I hope to have less time by being a fully-qualified professional... Plus my team's results suggest that I never really have mastered this new era of the championship. I think it's time that I allow someone else to join who will gain more enjoyment from this. I am sorry to leave this, I have had good and bad times in this, but now seems to be an apt time to move on. I will continue to follow this series though, as I still have a driver to manage!

(And if anyone wants to persuade Douglas Mann or Ben Fleet to continue: every driver has their price. Ben Fleet can still qualify adequately for those teams stuck in pre-q...).

[The Lukas]

despite our great hope that I have had during the season, then I can say that this season was excellent in my performance, excellent work of the team that prepared an excellent car, and a good partner in the team (thanks Kay!), I hope it'll stay in the team for the new season , much count on it, but if there is any concrete proposal from another team do not despise ..

Finally, there has been progress in my career, I was able to score points in the season, which was not an easy task, I'm happy and I hope the next step forward in your career ..

[DemocalypseNow]

Plaza joins Voeckler GPE in reserve role

Jesus Plaza, who spent the 2017 F1RWRS season racing for Team Mecha, will join Voeckler GPE as a reserve driver for the 2017 season.

However, despite the deal tying him to the French team in 2018, it is widely expected he will still be free to pursue race drives elsewhere, albeit with the caveat he will need replaced if he is called up by VGPE at any point.

[FMecha]

A couple of interesting factoids here. Every F1RWRS champions has been British, and every constructor's champion has had at least one British driver.

Now that's no more...

Also, Mecha will state their farewell for Foxdale from the sport, and here's our ROTY nominations:

3. Holden
2. Sunshine
1. Gillet

[DemocalypseNow]

A couple of interesting factoids here. Every F1RWRS champions has been British, and every constructor's champion has had at least one British driver.

Now that's no more...

Still partially true. IBR had Spencer last season and Jones had Dagnall this season. MRT just scrapes inside the definition for 2015 thanks to employing Dagnall for the last four races of 2015. And Rhys Davies was champ in 2016...so nothing has changed for this season compared to last.

Anyway, on to ROTY nominations;

3. Ron Mignolet
After such a fantastic season last year, coming 2nd in the WDC, a completely flat and tepid display from him this time around. With hindsight, looking at the results other drivers got from the VGPOne, his stints at Voeckler were disappointing, and turned in some ineffective performances at Gauthier. Not the way he would have wanted to bow out of F1RWRS.

2. Gillet
Once a solid upper-midfield team, scoring podiums and the like, Gillet have massively fallen from grace, and perhaps the team management should have seen the decline coming before it took hold. Thomas de Bock abandoned ship for Voeckler when it became clear the Gillet vessel was doomed to sinking into the abyss. They replaced Moll for Eric Swerts in a desperate attempt for more cash, but not even his 20 credits a race could help save Gillet's season. He was an anchor to their chances to rise above the bottom of the timesheets, and a brief stint from Ron Mignolet that saw him leave as quickly as he entered compounded the issue. That meant they had to use up their last driver change of the season to bring in Daniel Moreno to replace him, leaving them stuck with Swerts. It was an unmitigated disaster, but at least with Moll returning and a promising youngster in Shane Walsh partnering him, Gillet might have a better time next season.

1. Foxdale
This was a team already on the decline, but 2017 really took the cake for them. They had one good driver in Pippa Mann, who was moved aside for the hopelessly over the hill and inept Douglas Mann. That was one of two key poor decisions - the other was investing in building a new chassis mid-season that was even worse than the one it replaced. The icing on the cake was second driver Ben Fleet's incredibly poor driving, constantly harrassing other cars while he was several laps down. It was a comedy of errors from Foxdale, a season that was an embarrasment even by their recent standards.

[Salamander]

Here's some driver and team rankings because why not.

DRIVERS
1. Thomas de Bock: 9/10
The most complete driver all year, effectively had 3 less races to fight for the title when compared to his rivals but still managed it, even when he lost 2 more races to poorly-behaved backmarkers. Thoroughly deserved the title.
2. Alexey Buyvolov: 8.5/10
The breakout star of the season, Buyvolov took full advantage of the opportunity with Aeroracing, showing up his star teammate Kay Lon and keeping Aeroracing in the fight for both titles. Lost a point from a relatively poor final 2 races which ultimately scuppered his title hopes, especially Macau.
3. Philippe Nicolas: 8/10
Was probably the only person at Arrowtech who really even cared about doing well. Was able to score 3 incredible podiums, and should be in line to return to title contention if MRT make the smart move and take him back.
4. Fredo Mestolio: 8/10
Despite MRT's unreliability hurting him far more than teammate Jean-Luc Schiller, Mestolio was clearly the faster driver, which is why he was an early target for Fusion Motorsports. Although he had an occasional wild moment, he looks a far more complete driver now than he did at the end on 2016.
5. Nicolas Steele: 8/10
Although he scored only 3 points in the final 14 races, Steele was the only thing preventing Autodynamics from completely falling into oblivion in terms of on-track pace.
6. Danny van Rijkens: 8/10
Van Rijkens suffered the brunt of reliability issues throughout the season, but the temporary chassis swap between Gauthier and Fusion allowed the South African to close 2017 with a flourish: points in the final 4 races, including a pole and matching Gauthier's best finish, saw driver and team surge up the grid. Three of those races also saw him claim DOTR in whole or in part.
7. Marco Bizzarri: 8/10
Given expectations at the start of the year, Bizzarri has stunned his critics. Widely derided as an incompetent pay-driver, towards the end of the season, the second-generation driver matched and beat his more highly-rated teammate Andrej Kremnicky, and could've scored the upset of the season had his car not failed at Monaco.
8. Jean-Luc Schiller: 7.5/10
Although he was the slower of the MRT pair, Schiller became an outside threat for the title until his car failed while leading at Fuji. It is by this virtue that Schiller has kept himself in contention for a seat at MRT, though the smart money says he'll wind up at Dacia.
9. Dave Simpson: 7.5/10
After a few difficult years, Dave Simpson reminded the world why he won 4 F1RWRS races, with a brilliant drive to 2nd in Austria. It was a pleasant and welcome surprise to see him return and end his F1RWRS career competitively.
10. Shinobu Katayama: 7.5/10
Katayama's career remains largely in the gutter, driving for Rob Lomas' mob for most of the season. She managed to miraculously scrape a point in Canada, the lone bright spot in a season where she was largely languishing in DNPQ-land.
11. Mark Dagnall: 7/10
Probably should've won the title on pace, but for some severe brain fade at the start of the season. Running himself out of fuel at Macau didn't help either.
12. Alberto Cara: 7/10
Cara's junior career has seen him show some incredible pace, marred by some bafflingly poor driving. So, it was certainly a surprise to see him consistently the better driver at HRT, and like some others high up on this list, was the only thing keeping the team afloat towards the end of the season.
13. David Neuberg: 7/10
Another year, another season of Neuberg pointlessly remaining with a team that is really only holding him back.
14. Du Lei: 7/10
A surprise return following Tomo Kazama's ragequit, Du Lei was not expected to do much more than qualify, but for a good portion of the season she held Gauthier's only point. Scoring two more at Fuji elevated her out of reject status, something nobody could've predicted at the end of 2016.
15. Daniel Martins: 7/10
Although Sunshine continue to death spiral, Martins refuses to go down without a fight. He repeatedly dragged the car on the grid, a car which belonged in DNPQ-land. It wasn't enough to score points this year, but at least he's still giving his all.
16. Diego Alvarez Torrente: 6.5/10
DAT's main attribute was his well-reputed qualifying pace... which seemed to desert him this season. Although some sensible driving netted him a couple race wins, and he just barely sealed the WCC for Jones, he had some more wild moments than was really necessary, including breaking Jones' entire supply of front wings on his debut.
17. Wouter Lamberigts: 6.5/10
The Great Wall of Belgium got a drive for two reasonshis otherwordly pace in qualifying, and his giant bags of money. As soon as Dacia acquired Autodynamics' chassis, Lamberigts was delivering the goods, with 4 poles, and even managing 5 points. It really only confirmed what we knew Lamberigts' career would bepropping up lesser teams in qualifying.
18. Nathanael Spencer: 6/10
2 podiums in 7 races is extremely disappointing when you ended 2016 as the form driver. All of Spencer's work in resurrecting his career went up in smoke as he could not be the lead driver Voeckler needed... eventually being bumped out of the team entirely. He soon resurfaced as Boxtel's new owners desperately tried to claw their way back into respectability, but only once could he get them out of pre-qualifying. There's no word on where he'll be in 2018, but surely only backmarkers will be knocking on his door now.
19. Rhys Davies: 6/10
Voeckler brought the 2016 WDC out of retirement to secure their WCC ambitions. Despite Davies being as fast as ever and dominating Monaco, he failed to show the consistency that won him the title last year, and failed to do the job he was paid to do. A rather pointless comeback, truth be told.
20. Martin McFry: 6/10
McFry's job was to lead the newcomer Nurminen squad through their first season with his experience and strong qualifying pace. This he accomplished. He snagged a pole and a 5th place finish for the team as well towards the end of the season, but I feel he could've achieved more.
21. Hansuke Shioya: 6/10
Japan's top-ranking driver in the championship looked to be handed a golden opportunity when he was offered an Arrowtech drive this season. However, Arrowtech failed to reverse their slide from the end of 2016, and although Shioya scored twice later in the season, he failed to take advantage of the car while it was still relatively strong. Back the the tail end for him, it seems.
22. Alessandro Lucarelli: 6/10
Lucarelli seemed to be an exciting prospect at the end of 2016... however, 2017 was a different story in F2RWRS. Still, he received a call-up to Plus One once Du Lei returned to Gauthier, and performed fairly decently, though nowhere near as good as he looked at the end of 2016.
23. Daniel Melville: 6/10
Was alright.
24. Hagane Shizuka: 5.5/10
Scored Kamaha's only point, but was given more trouble by Melville than he should've been. Probably picked the right time to bow out.
25. Kay Lon: 5/10
Lon spent most of the season trailing Buyvolov: the German seemed to have lost his love for F1RWRS, and although he put in a great performance at Fuji to win his 3rd GP, seemed more interested in picking up his paycheck than racing.
26. Daniel Melrose: 5/10
Why do people keep giving him drives?? He's not good anymore...
27. Jean-Vincent Albertini: 5/10
The half-season layoff seemed to badly affect JVA's confidence and speed. Although the Autodynamics he returned to was nowhere near as good as the one he left, he was the one dragging the team down.
28. Jesus Plaza: 5/10
Seemed to fit Mecha GP's ethos perfectlyPerformed adequately but never took risks.
29. Andrej Kremnicky: 4.5/10
Crashed less than you would've expected, but his much lauded pace equated to nothing in F1RWRS. A great disappointment.
30. Ron Mignolet: 4/10
After winning 4 GPs for Voeckler, Mignolet spent this season underperforming, and bouncing from team-to-team like a hot potato. Only once did he appear to be giving his all: for Gauthier at Road America. He finally called it a career after the Belgian GP this year: a shadow of the driver he was only 12 months prior.
31. Douglas Mann: 4/10
Got his ass kicked by Cara, got his ass kicked out the HRT front door, got his ass kicked by unreliablity, and got his ass kicked by most every driver in the field by the end of the season.
32. Miko Fakkinen: 3/10
Still getting rides nobody else really wants. He performed decently from time to time, given the anchors that were his teammate and the Great Wall engine.
33. Hiroto Tojo: 2.5/10
He actually qualified fairly regularly. But his racing was terrible.
34. Pippa Mann: 2/10
I forgot she even raced this year.
35. Barii Mori: 2/10

36. Gregor Pascal: 2/10
Incompetent.
37. Connor O'Heagan: 2/10
Him too.
38. Daniel Moreno: 2/10
To quote JJD; "Hey Moreno! YOUUUUU SUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"
39. Shane Skeelenberg: 1.5/10
Now, on what planet does putting some random guy whose only career result was finishing 3rd on an oval in Formula Nippon? On planet Rob Lomas, of course!
40. Michael Robertson: 1/10
Did not do those who argue for the talent of drivers driving IndyCars any favours.
41. Benoit Voeckler: 1/10
Was Benoit Voeckler.
42. Adelaide Voeckler: 0.5/10
Was Adelaide Voeckler.
43. Eric Swerts: 0/10
In a field with a man who is grossly overweight and scoffs Gregg's sausage rolls at every opportunity, who is driving a car powered by a Great Wall, he managed to be slower. Fairly regularly, too. Is there a medal we can give him for that?
44. Geoff Donnelly: 0/10
He was the only driver to turn up at event and never made it to the race. At least he seemed to be enjoying himself.
45. Ben Fleet: -1/10
Couldn't even qualify well. And his racing abilities reached a new low, resulting in his new nickname among the paddock; 'Ban Fleet'.
NC. Marie Simon
I don't think even she knew why she was driving.
NC. Quentin Reatherson
Looks promising.
NC. Nathan McKane
Finally realised he didn't belong in F1RWRS.
NC. Tomo Kazama
Well, that was dramatic and pointless.
NC. Carter Simpson
Meh.
NC. Peter Port
Who?
NC. Dean O'Lauchlan
Whyyyyyyy?
NC. Rosco Vantini
*Exasperated sigh*

TEAMS
1. Dacia: 9/10
After 2 years spent DNPQ'ing like they're Coloni in 1990, Dacia pulled off the move of the decade by convincing Autodynamics to swap chassis. They immediately picked up a pole and 10 points from a 2nd and a 4th at Austria, and surged to 6th in the WCC. One of the most amazing turn-arounds seen in racing.
2. Voeckler: 8.5/10
The defending WCC team struggled initally as their drivers seemed to have lost all competence over the off-season. Saving Thomas de Bock's career was a masterstroke driver move which allowed both driver and team their first WDC, though Rhys Davies' comeback did not allow them to swipe the WCC from Jones for a second successive season.
3. Aeroracing: 8.5/10
Despite Lon driving only half-heartedly, they still remained in the fight for both titles all year. Buyvolov was the revelation of the season for them, and led the team heroically.
4. Jones: 8/10
Sammy Jones' squad finally secured that elusive WCC... but suffered again this season from driver underperformance. Their car was also not as bulletproof as we are used to seeing.
5. MRT: 8/10
For a team who planned to write off the entire year as a building program for a 2018 title charge, they were ominously fast.
6. Gauthier: 7.5/10
Struggled horribly with reliability woes for 12 rounds until they negotiated a temporary chassis swap with Fusion. This re-energised the team, and lead driver Danny van Rijkens in particular, who scored 12 of the team's 15 points as a direct result.
7. Revolution: 7/10
After being infuriatingly idle through 2016, Revolution finally began moving up the grid. Although Kremnicky took their only points, it was the surprising Marco Bizzarri who was the star driver for the team, putting the team in line for a shock podium at Monaco before his car sadly failed.
8. Nurminen: 6.5/10
A solid and dependable, if not flashy, start for the Nurminen team. A surprise pole by Martin McFry was the highlight of their season.
9. Kingfisher: 5.5/10
Took a step back this season: although they retained their position in the WCC: and it's getting difficult to see how they are going to be able to make the next step forward.
10. Holden: 4/10
Obviously stopped caring once the team left Australia.
11. Arrowtech: 3/10
Nicolas carried them.
12. Autodynamics: 2.5/10
A massive financial blunder forced them to give up their brilliant chassis, and thus any hope of performing anywhere near as well as in 2016.
13. Rob Lomas: 2/10
Showed up to round 1 with Kamaha's old boat and two useless paydrivers. And they scored a point. How? The world may never know.
14. Mecha: 1.5/10
Mecha qualified 19 times this season. They finished exactly 0.
15. Kamaha: 1/10
Finished level on points with the team that bought their old boat. That should explain everything.
16. Sunshine: 1/10
There is no Sunshine.
17. Fusion: 0.5/10
Enjoy this while you can: if Gauthier's results with their chassis are any indication, next year is going to be big for Fusion.
18. Boxtel: 0.5/10
And they are finally out of their misery.
19. Gillet: 0/10
Gillet's misery, however, is not yet over.
20. Foxdale: -1/10
Foxdale's genius idea to save their entire team revolved around putting everything they had into a brand new car which would be completed mid-season. This car turned out to be even worse than the one they sold for scrap to finance it.

[FMecha]

.
14. Mecha: 1.5/10
Mecha qualified 19 times this season. They finished exactly 0.

To be honest, our next target is to get a balance between qualifying speed and race reliability.

[AndreaModa]

Well well well! Finally managed a WCC! Maybe one day my team will win both titles in one season!

Jones will retain both Mark Dagnall and Diego Alvarez Torrente for 2018, so quiet with all that speculation!

Terry Hawkin will be at Fusion, Danny van Rijkens will remain at Gauthier.