Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

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WaffleCat
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Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

Three Lap Championships

-- You have three laps in this alternative championship!

-- Be in the lead at the end of lap 3, and you win the race!

-- Qualify on pole? You have three laps to hold your car there!

-- Gained the lead on lap 4? Sucks to be you, because the race is only three laps long!

-- Qualified in 22nd? Better get a bloody move on, only got three laps to get points!

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Okay, I think you all get the point pretty well.

Gaining inspiration from F1 games where the sprint races last three laps, Jack White because he's my favourite musician and he likes the number three and Spyker for some odd, indiscernible reason, the races is this championship last a total of three laps long. And that's the only gimmick.

And I should probably stop the annoying pink font.

Some rules:

-- This was sourced from StatsF1's lap by lap chart, the same one tommykl used for the Johnny Claes Memorial Championship. And because some people were probably sleeping on the job and the lap chart is incomplete, some of the early races will have to be omitted in the end results. I'll state what races when the time comes.

-- DSQ's for technical infringements still apply, but only if they were post-race. This includes the 1984 Tyrrell scandal and Benetton in 1994 among others. Driver's DQ'ed or penaltied for incidents after lap 3 will be ignored, which means Schumi's results stands in '97 and I pull more hairs out looking at DQ lists.

-- No F-Lap or Indy 500. Cannot see fastest lap info by lap 3 and Indy 500 is useless results-wise.

With that said, let's begin the Three Lap Champs!

I thought I turned that damn pink font off...
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Driver's Championships (scroll quickly past to avoid spoilers)
1950 -- Juan Manuel Fangio -- Alfa Romeo
1951 -- Juan Manuel Fangio -- Alfa Romeo
1952 -- Alberto Ascari -- Ferrari
1953 -- Alberto Ascari -- Ferrari
1954 -- Juan Manuel Fangio -- Maserati // Mercedes-Benz
1955 -- Juan Manuel Fangio -- Mercedes-Benz
1956 -- Eugenio Castellotti -- Ferrari
1957 -- Stirling Moss -- Maserati // Vanwall
1958 -- Stirling Moss -- Cooper-Climax // Vanwall
1959 -- Stirling Moss -- Cooper-Climax // BRM
1960 -- Jack Brabham -- Cooper-Climax
1961 -- Phil Hill -- Ferrari
1962 -- Jim Clark -- Lotus-Climax
1963 -- Jim Clark -- Lotus-Climax
1964 -- Jim Clark -- Lotus-Climax
1965 -- Jim Clark -- Lotus-Climax
1966 -- Jack Brabham -- Brabham-Repco
1967 -- Jim Clark -- Lotus-BRM // Lotus-Ford
1968 -- Jackie Stewart -- Matra-Ford
1969 -- Jackie Stewart -- Matra-Ford
1970 -- Jacky Ickx -- Ferrari
1971 -- Jackie Stewart -- Tyrrell-Ford
1972 -- Jackie Stewart -- Tyrrell-Ford
1973 -- Ronnie Peterson -- Lotus-Ford
1974 -- Niki Lauda -- Ferrari
1975 -- Niki Lauda -- Ferrari
1976 -- James Hunt -- McLaren-Ford
1977 -- James Hunt -- McLaren-Ford
1978 -- Mario Andretti -- Lotus-Ford
1979 -- Gilles Villeneuve -- Ferrari
1980 -- Alan Jones -- Williams-Ford
1981 -- Alain Prost -- Renault
1982 -- Rene Arnoux -- Renault
1983 -- Nelson Piquet -- Brabham-BMW
1984 -- Nelson Piquet -- Brabham-BMW
1985 -- Ayrton Senna -- Lotus-Renault
1986 -- Nelson Piquet -- Williams-Honda
1987 -- Nigel Mansell -- Williams-Honda
1988 -- Alain Prost -- McLaren-Honda
1989 -- Ayrton Senna -- McLaren-Honda
1990 -- Ayrton Senna -- McLaren-Honda
1991 -- Ayrton Senna -- McLaren-Honda
1992 -- Nigel Mansell -- Williams-Renault
1993 -- Alain Prost -- Williams-Renault
1994 -- Michael Schumacher -- Benetton-Ford
1995 -- Michael Schumacher -- Benetton-Renault
1996 -- Damon Hill -- Williams-Renault

Constructor's Championships (Post-1958)
1958 -- Ferrari
1959 -- Cooper-Climax
1960 -- Cooper-Climax
1961 -- Ferrari
1962 -- Lotus-Climax
1963 -- Lotus-Climax
1964 -- Lotus-Climax
1965 -- Lotus-Climax
1966 -- Brabham-Repco
1967 -- Lotus-Ford
1968 -- Matra-Ford
1969 -- Matra-Ford
1970 -- Ferrari
1971 -- Tyrrell-Ford
1972 -- Ferrari
1973 -- Lotus-Ford
1974 -- Ferrari
1975 -- Ferrari
1976 -- Ferrari
1977 -- McLaren-Ford
1978 -- Lotus-Ford
1979 -- Ferrari
1980 -- Ligier-Ford
1981 -- Williams-Ford
1982 -- Renault
1983 -- Ferrari
1984 -- McLaren-TAG
1985 -- Lotus-Renault
1986 -- Williams-Honda
1987 -- Williams-Honda
1988 -- McLaren-Honda
1989 -- McLaren-Honda
1990 -- McLaren-Honda
1991 -- McLaren-Honda
1992 -- Williams-Renault
1993 -- Williams-Renault
1994 -- Williams-Renault
1995 -- Williams-Renault
1996 -- Williams-Renault

Race Winners (Might be a long-ish list)
Ayrton Senna -- 53
Nigel Mansell -- 30
Nelson Piquet -- 29
Alain Prost -- 29
Jim Clark -- 27
Jackie Stewart -- 23
Damon Hill -- 22
Niki Lauda -- 19
Juan Manuel Fangio -- 16
Ronnie Peterson -- 15
Michael Schumacher -- 15
Alberto Ascari -- 14
Stirling Moss -- 14
Graham Hill -- 13
Gerhard Berger -- 13
Jack Brabham -- 12
Jacky Ickx -- 12
Mario Andretti -- 12
Rene Arnoux -- 12
Clay Regazzoni -- 11
Jody Scheckter -- 11
Riccardo Patrese -- 11
John Surtees -- 10
Gilles Villeneuve -- 10
Keke Rosberg -- 10
Carlos Reutemann -- 9
James Hunt -- 8
Alan Jones -- 7
David Coulthard -- 7
Jose Froilan Gonzalez -- 6
Phil Hill -- 6
Jochen Rindt -- 6
Jacques Villeneuve -- 5
Giuseppe Farina -- 4
Mike Hawthorn -- 4
Denny Hulme -- 4
Jean-Pierre Jabouille -- 4
Didier Pironi -- 4
Patrick Tambay -- 4
Jean Alesi -- 4
Eugenio Castellotti -- 3
Richie Ginther -- 3
Chris Amon -- 3
Carlos Pace -- 3
John Watson -- 3
Patrick Depailler -- 3
Jacques Laffite -- 3
Peter Collins -- 2
Masten Gregory -- 2
Jean Behra -- 2
Joakim Bonnier -- 2
Lorenzo Bandini -- 2
Bruce McLaren -- 2
Andrea de Cesaris -- 2
Michele Alboreto -- 2
Elio de Angelis -- 2
Thierry Boutsen -- 2
Karl Kling -- 1
Luigi Musso -- 1
Tony Brooks -- 1
Dan Gurney -- 1
Wolfgang von Trips -- 1
Trevor Taylor -- 1
Pedro Rodriguez -- 1
Johnny Servoz-Gavin -- 1
Jackie Oliver -- 1
Jo Siffert -- 1
Jean-Pierre Beltoise -- 1
Emerson Fittipaldi -- 1
Francois Cevert -- 1
Vittorio Brambilla -- 1
Hans-Joachim Stuck -- 1
Jean-Pierre Jarier -- 1
Bruno Giacomelli -- 1
Last edited by WaffleCat on 05 Jan 2022, 08:39, edited 53 times in total.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by WaffleCat »

1950 Season(Best 4 Races from 5) (Points:8-6-4-3-2)
MISSING RACE: 1950 French Grand Prix
Image
Fangio, probably some time after taking his first ever three lap victory in the season's second race at Monaco

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Juan Manuel Fangio -- 28 (32) -- 3 Wins: MON SUI BEL
2. Guiseppe Farina -- 28 (32) -- 2 Wins: GBR ITA *FRA
3. Luigi Fagioli -- 14
4. Alberto Ascari -- 12
5. Raymond Sommer -- 6 (1 3rd)
6. Luigi Villoresi -- 6 (2 4ths)
7. Birabongse Bhadunej -- 4
8. Reg Parnell -- 3
=. Louis Chiron -- 3
=. Consalvo Sanesi -- 3
11. Philippe Etancelin -- 2
=. Piero Taruffi -- 2

First season, first major asterisk. The French Grand Prix was omitted from the standings due to the traditional French lack of competence when it came to noting down who was where each lap. However, the leaders throughout the race was noted down. It was noted that, on lap 3, Giuseppe Farina was leading the race. With the results forgotten, Farina's win was wiped.

If that win stood, no matter where else Fangio placed, Farina would have won the championship.

MAJOR asterisk there, ladies and gentlemen.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by tommykl »

I've been through these for the lap points championship as well. I'm looking forward to the inevitable Jean-Pierre Jarier victories.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by UncreativeUsername37 »

Fangio deserved 1950 anyway.

Goooo Trulli!
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by WaffleCat »

1951 Season(Best 4 Races from 7) (Points:8-6-4-3-2)

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Fangio in the season-closing Spanish Grand Prix, when his title was already sealed without a shadow of a doubt this time

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Juan Manuel Fangio -- 30 (39) -- 3 Wins: SUI GER ITA
2. Alberto Ascari -- 28 (36) -- 2 Wins: FRA ESP
3. Giuseppe Farina -- 22 (28) -- 1 Win: BEL
4. Jose Froilan Gonzalez -- 17 -- 1 Win: GBR
5. Luigi Villoresi -- 15 (19)
6. Felice Bonetto -- 9
7. Consalvo Sanesi -- 7
8. Piero Taruffi -- 4
9. Toulo de Graffenreid -- 2

Close as this table may look like, in reality Juan Manuel Fangio already had his title secured the race before at Italy, where he managed to hold off Alberto Ascari's advances throughout the early stages of the race until…lap four. Close run thing, but in reality, Fangio was the faster driver throughout the season, as his three wins goes to show. Last season's runner-up Farina managed to steal a win under Luigi Villoresi's nose in Belgium. Also, note the extremely low amount of points scorers this season, so much so that the picture is bigger than the standings for once.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by Bleu »

He will love this!

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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by WaffleCat »

1952 Season(Best 4 Races from 8) (Points:8-6-4-3-2)

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Alberto Ascari on track to one of his many, many wins this season in Belgium.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Alberto Ascari -- 32 (46) -- 5 Wins: BEL FRA GBR GER NED
2. Giuseppe Farina -- 26 (38) -- 1 Win: SUI
3. Piero Taruffi -- 15
4. Robert Manzon -- 9
=. Mike Hawthorn -- 9
6. Jose Froilan Gonzalez -- 8 -- 1 Win: GBR
7. Jean Behra -- 8 (1 3rd)
8. Maurice Trintignant -- 6 (1 3rd)
9. Luigi Villoresi -- 6 (2 4ths)
10. Stirling Moss -- 4
=. Dennis Poore -- 4
12. Andre Simon -- 3
=. Ken Downing -- 3
14. Rudi Fischer -- 2

Alberto Ascari dominates this season, taking five wins and thus maximum possible points. Giuseppe Farina kept it really close, winning the one race Ascari was absent and finishing second in every race Ascari won. Jose Froilan Gonzalez also scored a win in his sole appearance in Italy, while two Brits named Stirling Moss and Dennis Poore each scored a podium in their sole score for the season.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by RonDenisDeletraz »

Poor Webber doesn't stand a chance here
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

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1953 Season(Best 4 Races from 7) (Points:8-6-4-3-2)
MISSING RACE: 1953 Italian Grand Prix
Image
Alberto Ascari on the tricky cobblestones of Reims in one of the few races he didn't win.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Alberto Ascari -- 32 (48) -- 5 Wins: ARG NED GBR GER SUI *ITA
2. Jose Froilan Gonzalez -- 26 -- 2 Wins: BEL FRA
3. Juan Manuel Fangio -- 22 (29)
4. Luigi Villoresi -- 17 (21)
5. Mike Hawthorn -- 15
6. Giuseppe Farina -- 13 (17)
7. Onofre Marimon -- 3
8. Felice Bonetto -- 2

Ascari wins again. No, rephrase. Ascari dominates again. Another 5 win season for the dominant Italian, which would have been six had it not been for Italian timekeepers taking their afternoon siesta during the race. Only Jose Froilan Gonzalez could really match Ascari, and he didn't even bother to show up for the full season. He did manage to beat the returning Juan Manuel Fangio into second in the championship, though, with dropped points coming to the rescue.

Also, look at the size of that field. Even I have more friends than the number of drivers classified in this championship.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

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1954 Season(Best 5 Races from 7) (Points:8-6-4-3-2)
MISSING RACE: 1954 Argentina Grand Prix
Image
Juan Manuel Fangio at the Swiss Grand Prix with a crowd of onlookers admiring the Mercedes W196 that he would take to victory and inevitably the championship.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Juan Manuel Fangio -- 42 (36) -- 4 Wins: BEL FRA GER SUI
2. Jose Froilan Gonzalez -- 26 -- 1 Win: GBR
3. Mike Hawthorn -- 20 (23)
4. Karl Kling -- 16 -- 1 Win: ITA
5. Stirling Moss -- 13
6. Alberto Ascari -- 11 -- 1 Win: ESP
7. Maurice Trintignant -- 8
8. Giuseppe Farina -- 6 -- *1 Win: ARG
=. Harry Schell -- 6
10. Hermann Lang -- 4 (1 3rd)
11. Jean Behra -- 4 (2 5ths)
12. Onofre Marimon -- 2

Juan Manuel Fangio returns to the top in his second season back, especially helped by the introduction of the revolutionary Mercedes W196 that was the car you'd need in the field. Hell, even Karl Kling won a race in one after his lightning start in the Italian Grand Prix. And, just like last year, Jose Froilan Gonzalez looked like the only driver capable of matching the champion through the season, winning the British Grand Prix like he normally does.

Two races that were the abnormalities of the season were the Argentina and Spanish Grand Prix. As noted earlier, nobody bothered to keep track of the Argentina Grand Prix, robbing Giuseppe Farina of yet another race win in one of his two race entries this year. And Spain…well, Alberto Ascari's career choice of moving to Lancia may not have been the best, but he did win the race in which they finally appeared in, with Harry Schell coming out of nowhere to finish second.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

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1955 Season(Best 5 Races from 6) (Points:8-6-4-3-2)

Image
Juan Manuel Fangio, again in his dominant Mercedes, at the British Grand Prix, one of two races he didn't win in a tragically shortened season.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Juan Manuel Fangio -- 38 (44) -- 4 Wins: MON BEL NED ITA
2. Stirling Moss -- 30 (34) -- 1 Win: GBR
3. Eugenio Castellotti -- 12
4. Alberto Ascari -- 11 -- 1 Win: ARG
5. Jean Behra -- 9 (1 3rd)
6. Karl Kling -- 9 (1 4th)
7. Luigi Musso -- 4
=. Piero Taruffi -- 4
9. Jose Froilan Gonzalez -- 3
=. Giuseppe Farina -- 3
=. Roberto Mieres -- 3
12. Hans Herrmann -- 2

A look at the scoreboard shows a dominant season by Mercedes. A look beyond, and the 1955 season unravels a story of tragedy and a new spark of talent into Formula One.

The tragedy comes with Alberto Ascari. Signing up for the new Lancia team last year may not have been the best career choice, but 1955 looked promising, with the car looking like a healthy challenger for the Mercedes cars. And challenge they did, with Ascari scoring the first win of the season in the blazing heat of Argentina. However, at the Monaco Grand Prix, having already scored good points in the Three Lap Championship, saw his car somersault into the harbour. Despite his miraculous escape, he would sadly be killed testing with Eugenio Castellotti for their upcoming 1000km endurance race at Monza, cutting his tragically short.

Speaking of Castellotti, he would now have the difficult task of raising the team spirits of Lancia after their loss of their lead driver and being knee-deep in financial trouble. However difficult it may be, though, the enigmatic Italian did a wonderful job in the Lancia, taking pole and ending up third in the Belgian Grand Prix to add on to his second place in Monaco to take Castellotti to third in the championship after a grievous season for him.

However fast Castellotti may be, he was no match for the pace of the Mercedes-Benz. Barring the first two races, when the Lancias were around before their pull out from the sport, they scored a one-two in every race. And every time, it would be Fangio on top, though Moss would take the lead on lap 3 in the British Grand Prix to take a popular home victory. Whether Fangio backed off on that lap is still a subject for debate.

However, yet another tragedy would fall on Formula One, though indirectly, through the 1955 Le Mans disaster, where Pierre Levegh would crash into the main grandstand in his Mercedes, killing 80. The shock was felt throughout the racing community. Several Grand Prix were cancelled. Drivers like Lance Macklin, who was directly involved in the accident, would retire. And Mercedes-Benz, at the end of the season, would pull out of Formula One for good.

(P.S. I'm looking forward to 1956, so I wanted to rush this one out there. Of course, this review length is a 'rush' for me.)
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

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1956 Season
SEASON PREVIEW

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From top to bottom: Peter Collins, Eugenio Castellotti, Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio. Four drivers at their prime.

This season is probably the greatest season ever in Three Lap Champs. And I'm not kidding you. Some season reviews in these alternative championships just show you the standings. Some have a brief, maybe even one word description about how the season generally went down (JONES.) and some go on extremely lengthy, detailed, storytelling, almost race-by-race season reviews.

This season is so good, though, I feel like giving it a season PREVIEW. And in this review, I'll go on about the four drivers that would contest for the title throughout the season. They each have their own, compelling stories to tell

Eugenio Castellotti

Let's start with the one you probably have heard about the least, but one of the most compelling. Eugenio Castellotti was the Hollywood definition of a racing driver in the 1950's: A young gentleman with dashing looks, with loads of cash in his wallet (he was able to buy a Ferrari at age 20) and some amazing driving skills to go along with that, as evidenced by his successes in sportscars.

Last season, he was filled with grief after 2-time champion Alberto Ascari fatally crashed while testing with him, forcing the closure of the Lancia team. However, all the Italian media was interested in was his high-profile affair with Delia Scala, the famed Italian ballerina. With cash, talent and a gorgeous girl by your side, surely Castellotti stands for a good shout this year?

Peter Collins

If Eugenio Castellotti is the Hollywood definition of a Formula One driver, Peter Collins would definitely give him a good fight for that role in auditions. Also young, also fairly well-off, the Brit made his name in endurance racing and the 500cc Coopers in Britian, where his fights with Stirling Moss gave him some Formula One drives with Henry Walker Motors, BRM and Vanwall. Try as Collins might, though, he just couldn't get any results whatsoever, and it looked like Collins would have been just another young British driver that fell off the wayside.

However, his saving grace came in the form of his old rival in 500cc's. Stirling Moss persuaded Mercedes to have Collins as his partner in the infamous Targa Florio at the end of that year. The two Brits went on to take victory in the endurance race, probably the biggest victory of Collins' career. And then came the biggest call of Collins' career. Enzo Ferrari was so impressed by Collins, he was ever willing to take a punt on him for the 1956 season. Will Collins be a great gamble, capturing the form he had in the Targa Florio, or will he continue his dry run in Formula One? Time to find out.

Stirling Moss

As good as Peter Collins may be, the newest British talent was, undoubtedly, Stirling Moss. Started off in oh-so similar circumstances to Collins, Moss has had the better side of luck and more presentable opportunities coming his way. Some podiums, fastest laps and decent point hauls in the Three Lap Champs landed him a drive with the top Mercedes team.

That year saw considerable success for the Brit, challenging Fangio throughout the duration of the championship, getting second place in nearly every race and stealing his first race win at his home event in Great Britian. With the new season on the horizon and joining the Maserati side of the brewing Ferrari-Maserati battle, will Moss continue on this fine run of form into 1956?

Juan Manuel Fangio

This guy needs no introduction, but is unlike anyone else contending for the 1956 championship. His rivals are all young, handsome, strapping European/British fangirl-attracting hotshots with a passion for motor racing since youth and plenty of wealth to back up that passion. Fangio, meanwhile, was hitting 45, had balding hair, initially wanted to play football, got spotted as a good driver while in the army, and not that much money to accompany him.

Despite that, he is the most successful driver in Formula One be it over Three Laps or a whole race. With the closure of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One, Fangio has joined forces with Ferrari in what is sure to be a successful partnership. Best team, best driver, what can possibly go wrong?

Season Review is next…actually may be a while if studies hold well.
Last edited by WaffleCat on 31 Oct 2015, 09:22, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by WaffleCat »

1956 Season(Best 5 Races from 7) (Points:8-6-4-3-2)

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From top to bottom: Peter Collins, Eugenio Castellotti, Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio. Four drivers at their prime.

This season was, as I mentioned, one of the best I've ever done. I genuinely feel excited before writing this review, which will pretty much be race-by-race,given how there are only seven races in the season.

The season started in bright and sunny Argentina, which would prove to be the oddest race on the calendar. Only Maserati and Ferrari bothered to show up for the race with only thirteen entrants. Jose Froilan Gonzalez and Carlos Menditeguy, both taking part in their only race of the year, would finish first and second in the race. Third went to Eugenio Castellotti, having just joined the Ferrari team. Although Juan Manuel Fangio started on pole, he had an awful start, showing that you need to do more than get pole to win in Three Lap Champs. He dropped to fifth by lap one, then out of the points altogether when Stirling Moss overtook him on lap 2.

The next race at Monaco was an all Stirling Moss affair as he led lights-to-lap-3. Fangio had a better start than last time out, but stuffed it in the hay bales on lap 2, dropping off the podium and into 5th in the process. Peter Collins showed Enzo Ferrari his gamble was worth it by finishing second, and third again went to Castellotti, which was just as well given that he lost third to Jean Behra a lap later.

The main show, though, was Stirling Moss, dominating in his Maserati where the Ferraris couldn't, taking yet another win in Belgium, with Fangio finally producing a decent performance, overtaking Castellotti on lap 3 to take second, gifting Castellotti yet another third place, no doubt rewarding Castellotti with the most consistent driver award.

But Castellotti was one man who wasn't pleased with consistency. In France, he went on to take victory with his first laps ever led in Formula One, with Fangio second place once again. Collins completed the all Ferrari podium ahead of the Vanwall of Mike Hawthorn, while Stirling Moss suddenly found his Maserati struggling for pace, something that would again strike the Brit as he headed into his home Grand Prix.

Indeed, the British Grand Prix was the one standout race of the lot, with only Fangio and Collins being the real title contenders to finish in the points in third and fourth as Hawthorn took the win. This result pretty much told the story of the season,though, despite it's oddity. (Heck, Roy Salvadori finished fifth). The Ferraris (*ahem*Lancias*ahem) were seriously consistent barring driver errors, but struggled for absolute pace or wins. After all, Castellotti was the only driver to pick up a win in a Ferrari.

This little tidbit presented Castellotti as a serious contender to win the entire championship, but what about the guy with the early advantage, Moss? He had two race wins on the trot, and a struggling Maserati he may have, but it would take more than that to keep Moss down. And for Collins and Fangio, they were deathly consistent, and in this season where race wins were traded between outsiders, contenders and part-timers like Halloween candy, perhaps consistency is the key. Perhaps you could win the championship without winning a race.

--------------------------------------------
Driver's Championship: 1956 British Grand Prix(2 Rounds to Go)

1. Eugenio Castellotti -- 20
2. Stirling Moss -- 18 (2 wins)
3. Juan Manuel Fangio -- 18 (2 2nds)
4. Peter Collins -- 16
--------------------------------------------

The next race was at the long, long Nurburgring. Three laps here is almost enough for a full race. And though Collins got the jump at the start, Fangio finally started to pull into the lead for once, and, I can't believe I'm saying it this late into the season, Fangio gets his first win of the season. And the better news for Fangio? Castellotti had a shocker of a race. Electrical problems plagued the poor Italian from the start, dropping him down the order, sandwiched between Horace Gould and Andre Milhoux. Haven't heard of them? Neither have I, and that's how far Castellotti dropped down the order. Moss finished off the podium to bring a showdown into the final race.

And what a showdown it would be. It was the Italian Grand Prix. At the ferocious combined Monza circuit. The banked oval and the main circuit combined. Fangio was well in the lead, four points ahead of rivals Moss and Collins, and six ahead of Castellotti, making chances near impossible for the Italian. In Castellotti's and Moss favour, though, were dropped scores. Due to Fangio's and Collins' sheer consistency, they had already amassed five points scores. Thus, if they were to score points at the Italian Grand Prix, they'd need to drop points, Fangio dropping a maximum of two and Collins a max of three. With the maths done, let's head to the race.

Qualifying couldn't have gotten better for Fangio, taking pole with his furthest, and most outside chance to win Castellotti placing second, with Moss and Collins a lowly sixth and seventh. Come race day, however, someone else had plans. Three someone's, in fact.

From the word go, Castellotti and Musso sped off into the middle distance before half a lap was already completed. Musso was racing for pure pride, having had a terrible season so far. Castellotti, however, was racing for the championship. He knew what he had to do, for three laps, these two had the most intense battle of their lives, slipstreaming their way through the circuit and oval. Following them was the slipstreaming group of Fangio, Moss, Collins, and the unusual oddity of Harry Schell, taking his Vanwall to heights unseen. That third someone I mentioned earlier? That was Schell.

Lap 1: Castellotti was leading, Musso second, Fangio third, Schell fourth. Fangio was starting to worry. This result, combined with dropped scores, would see Castellotti take the championship on count back.

Lap 2: Castellotti still leading, Musso second, Schell third, Fangio fourth. Nevermind, Fangio, you can pull that gap back onto Schell, overtake the Vanwall, and hope Castellotti loses his battle to Musso.

Then the Vanwall pulled away. There was no hope for Fangio now.

Just pray that Musso overtakes Castellotti.

Castellotti was not going to let him.

Lap 3: Eugenio Castellotti is still leading.

Out of nowhere, the rich, handsome Italian with the famous, gorgeous girlfriend has won the Three Lap Champs of 1956.

Image
Eugenio Castellotti piloting the Lancia-Ferrari around the streets of Monaco in 1956.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Eugenio Castellotti -- 28 -- 2 Wins: FRA ITA
2. Juan Manuel Fangio -- 27 (29) -- 1 Win: GER
3. Stirling Moss -- 22 -- 2 Wins: MON BEL
4. Peter Collins -- 22 (24)(2 2nds)
5. Mike Hawthorn -- 11 -- 1 Win: GBR
6. Luigi Musso -- 9
7. Jose Froilan Gonzalez -- 8 -- 1 Win: ARG
8. Carlos Menditeguy -- 6 (1 2nd)
=. Tony Brooks -- 6 (1 2nd)
10. Jean Behra -- 6 (2 4ths)
11. Harry Schell -- 4 (1 3rd)
12. Alfonso de Portago -- 4 (2 5ths)
13. Maurice Trintignant -- 2
=. Roy Salvadori -- 2

And with that, I take a 1 month or so break from my alternative championships to focus on my 'A' Levels. See ya.
Last edited by WaffleCat on 31 Oct 2015, 09:22, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by UncreativeUsername37 »

Agree that that season is amazing.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

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And I thought Lap Points had done the unthinkable by giving Castellotti one win...
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

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1957 Season(Best 5 Races from 7)(Points:8-6-4-3-2)

Image
Stirling Moss taking the win after full distance (and 3 lap distance) at the Pescara Grand Prix on the longest circuit ever in Formula 1.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Stirling Moss -- 32 -- 4 Wins: MON GBR PES ITA
2. Juan Manuel Fangio -- 26 (28) -- 1 Win: GER
3. Jean Behra -- 25 (28)
4. Peter Collins -- 19
5. Luigi Musso -- 16 -- 1 Win: FRA
6. Mike Hawthorn -- 13
7. Tony Brooks -- 10
8. Eugenio Castellotti -- 8 -- 1 Win: ARG
9. Stuart Lewis-Evans -- 3
10. Harry Schell -- 2
=. Masten Gregory -- 2

Simply put, every time Moss scored, he won. Only four times, yet he won every time. That gave him the competitive edge over rivals Fangio and, from out of the blue, Jean Behra, who showed fine form despite not getting a win all season. Moss was six points behind Fangio before Pescara with two races left, but Moss won both races as Fangio had to drop points, gifting the title to the Brit.

Elsewhere down the order, Luigi Musso barely won a race by the skin of his teeth in France, while in the season opener, Eugenio Castellotti began his title defence with his a strong win in Argentina that would unfortunately prove to be his last. He was killed in a test session in Modena trying to beat Behra's recent lap record set there just 25 days before he and his girlfriend were to marry. After 1957, the championship will be renamed the Eugenio Castellotti Cup in his honour.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

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1958 Season(Best 6 Races from 10)(Points:8-6-4-3-2)

Image
Stirling Moss taking on the Karussell in the 1958 German Grand Prix

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Stirling Moss -- 42 (49) -- 3 Wins: NED GER MOR
2. Mike Hawthorn -- 38 (46) -- 3 Wins: ARG FRA POR
3. Peter Collins -- 26 -- 2 Wins: BEL GBR
4. Tony Brooks -- 22 (24)
5. Jean Behra -- 20 -- 1 Win: MON
6. Phil Hill -- 11 -- 1 Win: ITA
7. Stuart Lewis-Evans -- 11 (1 2nd)
8. Harry Schell -- 10
9. Luigi Musso -- 8
10. Juan Manuel Fangio -- 6
11. Wolfgang von Trips -- 4
=. Joakim Bonnier -- 4
13. Jack Brabham -- 3
=. Roy Salvadori -- 3
=. Olivier Gendebien -- 3
16. Maurice Trintignant -- 2

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Ferrari -- 48 (60)
2. Vanwall -- 42 (57)
3. BRM -- 24 (26)
4. Cooper-Climax -- 9
5. Maserati -- 8

This season could have been won by one out of four men, much like 1956. Jean Behra had some fantastic early season form, winning in Monaco, but dropped in competitiveness as the season neared its end. Peter Collins picked up the reigns impressively for Ferrari, finding that mid-season form, but unfortunately passed Stirling Moss to duke it out for the title.

These two were incredibly evenly matched throughout the entirety of the season, matching win for win, tit-for-tat. The only problem was that Hawthorn couldn't finish 2nd. He'd only ever finish 1st or third, which might seem like a trivial fact you tell to impress your parents, but that was the fact that would decide the championship, as Moss would often finish 2nd whenever possible, helping him take the championship by a meagre three points.

This season also saw the introduction of the Constructor's Championship, a title that Ferrari easily took thanks to Peter Collins' impressive mid-season performances alongside Hawthorn's championship efforts. Vanwall, though their driver Moss took the driver's title, couldn't match Ferrari with the rest of their team, with Tony Brooks putting up lacklustre performances at best.

Finally, this season saw four-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio retire from the sport, having taken a record 16 wins in his tenure in the Eugenio Castellotti Cup.
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

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1959 Season(Best 5 Races from 8)(Points:8-6-4-3-2)

Image
Stirling Moss guiding his BRM around Aintree on the way to a third consecutive Castellotti Cup.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Stirling Moss -- 34 (36) -- 2 Wins: POR USA
2. Jack Brabham -- 27 (35) -- 1 Win: GBR
3. Masten Gregory -- 26 -- 2 Wins: NED GER
4. Tony Brooks -- 18 -- 1 Win: FRA
5. Phil Hill -- 16 -- 1 Win: ITA
6. Joakim Bonnier -- 12
7. Harry Schell -- 10 (1 2nd)
8. Dan Gurney -- 10 (2 3rds)
9. Jean Behra -- 8 -- 1 Win: MON
10. Bruce McLaren -- 8 -- 2 3rds
11. Cliff Allison -- 3
12. Innes Ireland -- 2

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Cooper-Climax -- 40 (56)
2. Ferrari -- 34 (39)
3. BRM -- 22
4. Lotus-Climax -- 2

This season was harder than the past two for Stirling Moss as he struggled in quite a few races, failing from pole to outside the points in the Netherlands and retiring on lap 1 at AVUS. In the meantime, Jack Brabham was Mr. Consistent and Masten Gregory was Mr. Quick, with Gregory holding a three point lead over Brabham heading into the final three rounds of the season.

In those three rounds though, Moss became the game changer, winning two of the last three rounds to secure the cup that had slipped from Masten Gregory's grasp as he only finished in the points once in the final three races. Brabham continued his consistent form though. While it got him close to Moss in terms of overall points, once dropped scores were factored in, he almost lost runner-up in the championship to Gregory.

Leaders aside, this was a very, very open season, with the eight races this season being won by six different drivers: Brabham, Phil Hill, Tony Brooks, Jean Behra, Gregory and Moss. Moss' win total matches the least wins for an Eugenio Castellotti Cup champion with the title's namesake himself, Castellotti back in 1956.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

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1960 Season(Best 6 Races from 9)(Points:8-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
Jack Brabham at the 1960 British Grand Prix in Silverstone, a race he dominated quite like how he dominated the season

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jack Brabham -- 46 (48) -- 5 Wins: NED BEL FRA GBR USA
2. Joakim Bonnier -- 29 (30) -- 2 Wins: ARG MON
3. Stirling Moss -- 24 (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. Phil Hill -- 24 (25)(2 2nds, 1 3rd)
5. Innes Ireland -- 19
6. Dan Gurney -- 12 -- 1 Win: POR
7. Graham Hill -- 11
8. John Surtees -- 9
9. Richie Ginther -- 8 -- 1 Win: ITA
10. Wolfgang von Trips -- 5 (1 3rd)
11. Bruce McLaren -- 5 (1 4th)
12. Alan Stacey -- 4
=. Giorgio Scarlatti -- 4
14. Tony Brooks -- 3
=. Brian Naylor -- 3
16. Willy Mairesse -- 2 (1 5th)
17. Olivier Gendebien -- 2 (2 6ths)
18. Chris Bristow -- 1
=. Jim Clark -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Cooper-Climax -- 46 (50)
2. BRM -- 37 (39)
3. Lotus-Climax -- 32 (36)
4. Ferrari -- 26 (27)
5. Cooper-Masterati -- 4
6. JBW-Maserati -- 3

Well…I don't think I can do a long write-up about this season at all. Jack Brabham absolutely trashed and embarrassed the rest of the field, taking five victories en route to an easy title for the Australian. The only driver swho really did keep up with Brabham were defending three-time champion Stirling Moss and Joakim Bonnier. However, Moss's heavy accident in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix ruled him out for a decent chunk and though Bonnier took the championship lead winning the first two races of the season, his inconsistency relegated him to second place.

The real anomaly of the season was at the Italian Grand Prix, where the major British manufacturers of Cooper, Lotus and BRM withdrew for safety reasons at the large banking. This allowed for a fair few drivers and constructors their chance to shine. Richie Ginther won having only had two other unsuccessful starts in the season, Giorgio Scarlatti finishing on the podium in his only start of the season and Brian Naylor taking fourth for his own JBW team, gifting a decent points haul to his homemade chassis.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

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1961 Season(Best 5 Races from 8)(Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
The iconic sharknose Ferrari taking both the constructor's and the driver's title with Phil Hill at the wheel, pictured here at the 1961 German Grand Prix

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Phil Hill -- 42 (48) -- 4 Wins: BEL FRA GBR ITA
2. Stirling Moss -- 30 (32) -- 2 Wins: GER USA
3. Wolfgang von Trips -- 29 -- 1 Win: NED
4. Richie Ginther -- 26 -- 1 Win: MON
5. Jack Brabham -- 8
6. Graham Hill -- 7 (1 3rd)
7. Jim Clark -- 7 (2 4ths)
8. Joakim Bonnier -- 7 (1 4th)
9. Olivier Gendebien -- 6 (1 2nd)
10. Dan Gurney -- 6 (1 3rd)
11. Bruce McLaren -- 5 (1 3rd)
12. John Surtees -- 5 (2 5ths)
13. Ricardo Rodriguez -- 4
14. Giancarlo Baghetti -- 3
=. Masten Gregory -- 3
16. Tony Brooks -- 2
=. Hans Hermann -- 2

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Ferrari -- 40 (54)
2. Lotus-Climax -- 28 (31)
3. Cooper-Climax -- 13 (14)
4. Porsche -- 11 (12)
5. BRM-Climax -- 9

This was the year of the Ferrari. Three out of the top four drivers were all members of Enzo's team, and this group alongside Stirling Moss stretched out a massive gap from the rest of the pack from race 2 onwards. Clearly the constructor's title was Ferrari's to lose with their innovative shark nose design. But who was to win the championship?

The answer was actually pretty simple. Phil Hill was clearly the more dominant of the three out front. Hell, he had a fantastic three race win streak stretching from Belgium to Great Britian. However, all this time, von Trips was playing a really, really close second fiddle, keeping the title race as tight as possible. However, come Italy, von Trips would perish in a horrendous accident at Monza along with 14 spectators when his Ferrari climbed up an embankment and struck the spectator guardrail. Phil Hill would go on to win that race and the title with it.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

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1962 Season(Best 5 Races from 9)(Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
Jim Clark on the way to one of his victories at the British Grand Prix, a crucial victory in retrospect in the title chase.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jim Clark -- 40 (44) -- 4 Wins: NED GBR USA RSA
2. Graham Hill -- 39 (54) -- 3 Wins: FRA GER ITA
3. Bruce McLaren -- 24 (31) -- 1 Win: MON
4. John Surtees -- 23 (26)
5. Dan Gurney -- 20 (21)
6. Richie Ginther -- 10
7. Trevor Taylor -- 9 -- 1 Win: BEL
8. Jack Brabham -- 8
9. Phil Hill -- 6
10. Willy Mairesse -- 4
=. Tony Maggs -- 4
12. Lorenzo Bandini -- 3
13. Innes Ireland -- 2 (1 5th)
14. Joakim Bonnier -- 2 (2 6ths)
15. Ricardo Rodriguez -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Lotus-Climax -- 45 (51)
2. BRM -- 39 (54)
3. Cooper-Climax -- 25 (33)
4. Lola-Climax -- 23 (26)
5. Porsche -- 20 (21)
6. Ferrari -- 10

There will be a year where points will not be dropped. Unfortunately for Graham Hill and BRM, 1962 was definitely not that year. Jim Clark, even over the space of three laps, suffered reliability problems through the year, stalling on the grid at Germany and suffering gearbox issues in Italy. These were both races Graham Hill won, helping him claim a staggering ten more points than Jim Clark overall. This should have been a Graham Hill cakewalk.

Then we enter in dropped points. Best five results out of nine. Clark won four races to Hill's three. Hill's scored four second places, but even they were not enough to counter Clark's solitary third place as Clark, miraculously took the title by one point with two wins in the final two races, an incredible feat in itself.

More incredulities throughout the season was a surprise win for Trevor Taylor at the Belgian Grand Prix and John Surtees taking the new Lola chassis to incredible heights, fighting for podiums and victories and nearly pipping the Cooper of Bruce McLaren to third in the championship.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

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1963 Season(Best 6 Races from 10)(Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
Jim Clark, yet again at the British Grand Prix, displaying the supremacy that would, once again, take him to the title.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jim Clark -- 51 (65) -- 5 Wins: BEL NED FRA MEX RSA
2. Graham Hill -- 41 -- 3 Wins: MON ITA USA
3. John Surtees -- 32 (37) -- 1 Win: GER
4. Richie Ginther -- 26 (27)
5. Jack Brabham -- 25 (27) -- 1 Win: GBR
6. Dan Gurney -- 23
7. Bruce McLaren -- 13
8. Tony Maggs -- 6
9. Willy Mairesse -- 4
10. Lorenzo Bandini -- 3
11. Trevor Taylor -- 2
12. Innes Ireland -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Lotus-Climax -- 51 (65)
2. BRM -- 45 (53)
3. Ferrari -- 33 (40)
4. Brabham-Climax -- 30 (36)
5. Cooper-Climax -- 15 (17)
6. Lotus-BRM -- 1

This season was, actually, a really, really close fight. Graham Hill went ahead first, looking for revenge from his previous season's defeat on dropped scores to Jim Clark, and a win in the season opener at Monaco proved his intent all too well. Then Clark took over. And won three races in a row. With only six scores deciding the title, was that challenge over for Hill? Not really.

Hill kept up well with Clark during his winning streak, maintaining two second places to at least grab on to Clark's coat tails. The next few races for Hill were dismal for Hill as he scored a shocking two points while Clark took a rest from winning, allowing Jack Brabham to score his first race win in three years. However, Hill was still hanging on to Clark's coattails, and come Italy, Hill had hopped right onto Clark's shoulders with his second win of the season. The next race in the United States should have been the momentum shifter. Right at the start, Clark's Lotus developed a battery problem, dropping him down to last on lap 1, behind even Peter Broeker. Graham Hill, meanwhile, took yet another victory, and was all but ready to strip Clark of his coat and hang it nicely on his hanger.

Well, that would be the case if not for the final two, anticlimatic events in the calendar. Jim Clark won both races comfortably, and Graham Hill suffered a shocking drop off in form in these final two races. The brevity of this summary of the season ending reflects how sudden Hill's great form came to a halt while Jim Clark kept steaming forward for a second title on the trot.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

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1964 Season(Best 6 Races from 10)(Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
Image
Jim Clark (above) and John Surtees (below). Both dominated this season, but who took the title in the end?

A season run rampant by a wave of domination from not one, but two drivers. The first driver, Jim Clark, is no stranger to the top of the leader board. I mean, he's already proven his worth, winning the previous two championships. The second, though, is a bit of an outsider. John Surtees sure was fast in his Ferrari, but he never really threatened for any title before. However, the pace within Clark's countryman was evident in previous editions of the Eugenio Castellotti Cup. After all, he had won in last year's German Grand Prix and hauled his Lola all the way to fourth in the title in 1962, so I don't think no one would be surprised by Surtees actually launching an attempt at the title.

What was also unsurprising was Clark's incredible run of form in the first half of the season. Four wins in the first five races and a third placing in the fifth, no one would be surprised if this championship would be Jim Clark's first true cakewalk to the title, especially since his past two championships had rough challenges from Graham Hill, who was struggling to hold his own this time around. The only race Clark didn't win this half of the season was in Belgium, where Surtees took victory after a last lap pass on Dan Gurney's Brabham. Surtees had his own problems with gearbox issues in Monaco and a split oil pipe in France robbing Surtees of a sure third position. If John Surtees wanted to even smell the top 5 of the championship, he would need to win more races.

So in Germany, he won.

Then in Austria, he won after passing Gurney for the lead.

Then in Italy, he won after passing Gurney for the lead.

Then in USA, he won.

Wait, what just happened?

All of a sudden, John Surtees won four races in a row. Jim Clark wasn't off the pace, hell, he was fighting with Surtees and Gurney most of the time. And Gurney even was in hot form, though his title hopes were all gone after coming runner-up to Surtees in three of those four races. And with the 6 races out of 10 rule, Clark needed a minor miracle to eclipse Surtees in the title race, with the four-time motorcycle champion just one more win away from maxing out the points total this season. And there was one race left: Mexico.

Race day came and everyone was eagerly awaiting the start of this three lap shootout. Clark was on pole, Surtees was on the second row, but knowing him it would be easy to catch up to the back of the Scotsman. As long as his car was working in the fine and dandy condition it has always been…

Lap 1, Surtees' engine misfires, relegating him to 13th at the end of the lap. He would score no points.

Lap 3, Clark ends up in first position to take 9 full points.

For those doing the math at home, here was how the top two looked on total points…

Jim Clark -- 60
John Surtees -- 54

And on dropped scores

Jim Clark -- 49
John Surtees -- 49.

Oh joy. Time to go to advanced statistics. Both Clark and Surtees failed to finish in second place in any race -mainly because Gurney ended up with six runner-up positions, three of them being wins stolen by Surtees - so it was time to look into third places…

John Surtees -- 1 (GBR)
Jim Clark -- 3 (BEL GER ITA)

And, all thanks to the third step of the podium, your 1964 Eugenio Castellotti Cup winner and three-time Three Lap Champ is Jim Clark. Tough luck Surtees. Shouldn't have had that split oil pipe.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jim Clark -- 49 (60) -- 5 Wins: MON NED FRA GBR MEX (5 Wins, 3 3rds)
2. John Surtees -- 49 (54) -- 5 Wins: BEL GER AUT ITA USA (5 Wins, 1 3rd)
3. Dan Gurney -- 36 (45)
4. Graham Hill -- 26
5. Jack Brabham -- 18 (19)
6. Lorenzo Bandini -- 10
7. Mike Spence -- 9
8. Bruce McLaren -- 7
9. Peter Arundell -- 6
10. Richie Ginther -- 4
=. Phil Hill -- 4
12. Innes Ireland -- 3
=. Joakim Bonnier -- 3

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Lotus-Climax -- 51 (63)
2. Ferrari -- 49 (58)
3. Brabham-Climax -- 36 (51)
4. BRM -- 26 (29)
5. Cooper-Climax -- 11
6. BRP-BRM -- 3

Lotus-Climax take the constructors title over Ferrari by only a slightly wider margin than the drivers, mainly thanks to Mike Spence's second place in the USA. You could rephrase Brabham's points total as Gurney's second places, BRM relied heavily on Graham Hill, Cooper confirmed their downturn and Innes Ireland's heroics helped to put British Racing Partnership on the leaderboard at the very least.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

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1965 Season(Best 6 Races from 10)(Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
Jim Clark easily making his way to victory in the 1965 German Grand Prix, though this wouldn't be the exact race where he'd clinch the championship.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jim Clark -- 54 (62) -- 6 Wins: RSA BEL FRA GBR GER USA
2. Graham Hill -- 45 (54) -- 3 Wins: MON NED ITA
3. Jackie Stewart -- 30 (34)
4. Richie Ginther -- 21 -- 1 Win: MEX
5. Mike Spence -- 19
6. Dan Gurney -- 17
7. John Surtees -- 16
8. Lorenzo Bandini -- 15
9. Jack Brabham -- 6
10. Bruce McLaren -- 5
11. Jo Siffert -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Lotus-Climax -- 54 (68)
2. BRM -- 45 (63)
3. Honda -- 21
4. Ferrari -- 20 (26)
5. Brabham-Climax -- 18 (19)
6. Cooper-Climax -- 5
7. Brabham-BRM -- 1

This season could be considered a Clark cakewalk. With Ferrari dropping off spectacularly (they finished behind HONDA in the constructor's standings), Clark had little competition on his way to an unparalleled fourth title on the trot to officially become the most successful driver in the Eugenio Castellotti Cup. Although, while I did say little, I didn't say zero.

Graham Hill and BRM were putting up a hell of a fight. Clark would win five out of the first seven races, signalling his domination. Hill wasn't all out of the fight, though, and wins in the Monaco Grand Prix (where Clark was in the USA, steamrolling in the Indy 500) and the Dutch Grand Prix after Clark was thrown a spanner in the works by Richie Ginther's Honda, gave Hill a chance in the final three races. He just needed to win all three and hope Clark suffers some sort of abject failure in those events (a.k.a finish lower than second, which would feel like failure for a driver of Clark's calibre)

Race 1, Italy. Hill took the win after an intense slipstreaming battle between him, Clark, and the rookie Jackie Stewart, who was having a very impressive debut season. Stewart helped out in Hill's cause by passing Clark for second in the final (or shall I say, third) lap.

Race 2, United States. With a rainstorm leaving the track relatively damp, Hill zipped ahead of Clark for the lead and went to defend his lead mercilessly for almost two whole laps. Suddenly, the BRM garage had their spirits raised. Maybe, just maybe, Hill could pull off the impossible. Maybe Hill could win three consecutive races in a straight, no unreliability needed duel against the now-undisputed greatest driver ever in the Eugenio Castellotti Cup. Hill could pull off the great upset.

Then, as the rain started to pick up again with force, Hill slid wide on the final turn on the second lap, and just like that, Clark slipped through. And he was impossible to get past on lap 3. It was time for Hill to abandon all hope, and for Clark to finally celebrate his fourth Eugenio Castellotti Cup in a row, tying Fangio at the very top.

And then in race 3, Mexico, Ginther won in a Honda.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

Post by Aislabie »

I love the fact that this (as many Alt Championships do) recognises Jim Clark for the legend he is. But really, I'm looking forward to 2007...

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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

1966 Season(Best 5 Races from 9)(Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

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Jack Brabham piloting his own car to victory at the 1966 German Grand Prix

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jack Brabham -- 42 (55) -- 4 Wins: GBR NED GER MEX
2. John Surtees -- 37 (43) -- 3 Wins: MON BEL ITA
3. Jochen Rindt -- 26
4. Lorenzo Bandini -- 22 -- 2 Wins: FRA USA
5. Jim Clark -- 17
6. Denny Hulme -- 12
7. Graham Hill -- 11 (12)
8. Mike Parkes -- 10
9. Jackie Stewart -- 8 (1 2nd)
10. Dan Gurney -- 8 (1 3rd)
11. Richie Ginther -- 6
12. Chris Amon -- 3
13. Bob Anderson -- 1
=. Guy Ligier -- 1
=. Ludovico Scarfiotti -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Brabham-Repco -- 42 (55)
2. Ferrari -- 40 (42)
3. Cooper-Maserati -- 33 (42)
4. BRM -- 14 (15)
5. Lotus-Climax -- 10
6. Eagle-Climax -- 8
7. Lotus-BRM -- 7
8. Honda -- 4
9. Brabham-Climax -- 2

No, Jim Clark couldn't make it five. Not with the Climax engine sinking his Lotus' performances well below the new regulations. Not with the complex and heavy, though lovely H16 engines. This indeed was Jim Clark's worst season since 1961 with just 17 points to his name.

In 1961, Ferrari were the constructor's champions. And with John Surtees behind the wheel, they looked all set and fair for yet another constructor's title and a highly possible chance with a driver's title for Surtees. Indeed, the former motorcycle world champion took victory in the first two races, the second of which coming in the chaos that was the Belgian Grand Prix. However, he was incensed at Ferrari's sporting director, Eugenio Dragoni, for leaving the current leader in the Three Lap Champs out of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and promptly jumped ship to Cooper in a huff.

As Cooper had to wait until France to get Surtees in the car, which really took its time to improve, and with Ferrari pulling out of the British Grand Prix due to worker's strikes and coupled with the not-as-fast-but-still-quick-ish duo of Mike Parkes and Lorenzo Bandini, this only left Jack Brabham and his very own car to take home the championship almost by default. As much as Brabham did dominate mid-season, he did win nearly by default.

And yes, in the chaos at Belgium, Guy Ligier really did score a point.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

1967 Season(Best 5 from first 6, best 4 from last 5)(Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
In case you couldn't read the blindingly gigantic nameplate on the front, that is indeed Jim Clark on his way to a fifth Eugenio Castellotti Cup

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jim Clark -- 60 (64) -- 6 Wins: BEL GBR BER CAN ITA MEX
2. Graham Hill -- 42 -- 2 Wins: NED USA
3. Jack Brabham -- 38 (40) -- 1 Win: FRA
4. Denny Hulme -- 35 -- 2 Wins: RSA MON
5. Dan Gurney -- 32
6. Jackie Stewart -- 16 (2 2nds)
7. Chris Amon -- 16 (1 3rd)
8. John Surtees -- 9
9. Jochen Rindt -- 8
10. Lorenzo Bandini -- 4 (1 3rd)
11. Bruce McLaren -- 4 (1 4th)
12. Pedro Rodriguez -- 2
=. Moises Solana -- 2
14. Mike Spence -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Lotus-Ford -- 69 (78)
2. Brabham-Repco -- 57 (62)
3. Eagle-Weslake -- 32
4. Ferrari -- 20
5. BRM -- 16
6. Honda -- 9
7. Cooper-Maserati -- 8
8. Lotus-BRM -- 1
=. McLaren-BRM -- 1

In the first few races, you would've seen Brabham doing all their business up at the top, with Denny Hulme taking two consecutive race wins. But for the non-casual spectator, for the insiders, you would've have known what was coming. It was gonna be something big. Hulme knew his lead wouldn't last. Brabham knew it. Everyone in the paddock definitely knew it. Their attention turned to one team.

Lotus.

And they had three lovely letters to show the world.

D. F. V.

With the amazing Cosworth engine, Lotus only let one race in the Three Lap Champs slip, the French Grand Prix. As for the rest, Graham Hill and Jim Clark most certainly went ahead and steamrolled the field. However, there would be no intra-team battle, for Jim Clark went to simply untouchable levels. Domination not seen since Brabham's title back in 1960. A fifth Eugenio Castellotti Cup well deserved by the Scot.

And as a side note, give a shout out to Dan Gurney and his very own Eagle-Weslake. Gurney took the Eagle to incredible heights, scoring five podiums and managing to usurp the old guard of Cooper-Maserati, BRM and even Ferrari.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Eugenio Castellotti Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

1968 Season(Best 5 from first 6, best 5 from last 6)(Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

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The pre-race driver's briefing at the 1968 Canadian Grand Prix

This season is amazing

No, that warning is not click bait. It really is amazing.

Maybe not up to the standards of 1956, but it's all the way up there. So much so this season deserves to be split into two parts.

Part 1 will be a brief summary of each of the first ten races, won by TEN different drivers. Yup, you saw that right.

Part 2 will look into the championship contenders at the end of those crazy ten races, and will explore how the title race pans out from there.

For now though…

1968 Season: Part One
The ten races, the ten winners and ten stories

Race 1: South Africa -- Jim Clark. Who else but the undisputed king in the Three Lap Champs would go on to take a dominant victory in the first round, overtaking Jackie Stewart on lap two and never looking back. In a tragic turn of events however, the five-time Three Lap Champs winner and two-time World Champion would perish in a Formula Two race at Hockenheim before the next race. As such, the Scotsman will be memorialised alongside Eugenio Castellotti, who similarly perished after winning his first race in a title defence, as the trophy will be renamed the Castellotti-Clark Cup.

Race 2: Spain -- Pedro Rodriguez. Despite a much-needed win for the languishing BRM team, the mood surrounding the team was still subdued after the death of Rodriguez's teammate, Mike Spence, in a testing crash for the Indianapolis 500 before this race. To add salt to the wound, BRM would never really recover the results they had before this season, with Rodriguez's second place in France being the only other highlight of the season for them.

Race 3: Monaco -- Johnny Servoz-Gavin. You read that right. Johnny Servoz-Gavin. In only his second race for Matra. And he was only called up to substitute for Jackie Stewart, who suffered an injury at an F2 race in Jarama. Blasting past Graham Hill off the line, the dropout from Magny-Cours racing school (no, I'm not kidding) was still leading by lap three to take his first Castellotti-Clark Cup victory. And good timing too -- his driveshaft failed that very lap, pitching him into the wall and out of the race. But still, a win over three laps is a win here.

Race 4: Belgium -- John Surtees. Even with Ferrari showing up with those new-fangled things called 'wings' for Chris Amon, it was Surtees and his Honda that would pass the New Zealander's Ferrari on Lap 2 for the Three Lap victory. And though Surtees would take the lead in the championship with the victory, the hopes for the upstart Japanese manufacturer would catastrophically decline as they halted development on their current chassis to develop the ill-fated RA302, in which Jo Schlesser fatally perished during the French Grand Prix. Surtees would refuse to drive the chassis, opting to continue in the underpeforming RA301, though he still managed a fair few respectable results in the Three Lap Champs with it.

Race 5: Netherlands -- Graham Hill. Forced to take up the mantle of the Lotus team after the death of Jim Clark, Hill, truth be told, was having a tough time living up to Clark's reputation, especially over the opening three laps. The Briton redeemed himself today, though, doing just enough to outlast Jackie Stewart, coming back from his injury the previous race, in the wet and Zandvoort. And I really do mean just enough, as he would succumb his lead to Stewart on Lap 4. Thank goodness this championship is only over three laps.

Race 6: France -- Jacky Ickx. Ferrari seemed to be struggling for the past two season despite a competent chassis in the 312, with John Surtees' sensational firing in 1966 while leading the championship an Lorenzo Bandini's fatal crash in 1967. 1968 looked much more different for the Italian outfit however, with Chris Amon performing right up there near the top, but his teammate Jacky Ickx was not going to be left out. Though the race was marred by tragedy (see above), Ickx cleverly opted to use full wet tyres instead of intermediates for the rest of the field, and by the end of lap three he took Ferrari's first victory of the season and also their first since Bandini way back in 1966.

Race 7: Great Britian -- Jackie Oliver. In the wake of Jim Clark's death, Jackie Oliver was drafted in to replace the Scotsman, and it was looking very, very unlikely that Oliver would ever live up to Clark's reputation. And indeed he didn't. He was almost fired on the spot after colliding with a stricken Bruce McLaren in his very first lap in a Formula One Grand Prix. Rain in Spa ruined his qualifying. Electronics failed him in Zandvoort. And he didn't even make the start in Rouen, having a spectacular accident in qualifying. However, Brands Hatch was Oliver's stomping ground. With an aged chassis, Oliver plonked his car on the front row and instantly rocketed into the lead off the grid. And, after three laps, his first points in the Castellotti-Clark Cup was a victory on home turf.

Race 8: Germany -- Jackie Stewart. It was about time Stewart got a win in the Three Lap Champs this season. He'd been driving his Matra nicely and smoothly all season, but still a race win evaded him. Well, up until this race in Germany. Stewart's greatest ever drive. Given how much has been written about that race, need I say more?

Race 9: Italy -- Bruce McLaren. With Jack Brabham's team bombing with the unreliable and underpowered Repco engines, it would be Bruce McLaren's own outfit that would be the better driver-owned team this season. But even then, they had hit quite a slump. With all other teams experimenting with aerodynamics, McLaren got lost in the shuffle of it all. But in Monza, we don't need no aero. And with Goodyear's new set of tyres, the orange Kiwi cars became extremely fast, and McLaren himself dominated the slipstreaming battle for the first few laps to take the victory over three laps, he himself having only scored one point before this race.

Race 10: Canada -- Chris Amon. With teammate Jacky Ickx ending his season prematurely as his throttle stuck open and crashed in qualifying, it was all down to Chris Amon to fly Ferrari's flag in Canada. And boy, didn't he fly it. Right from the get go, Amon held the lead, and he never looked back. Seriously, he was so dominant in the first few laps of this grand prix. He'd been doing quite a good job all year, and with that performance, Amon was the tenth driver to win this season in ten races, and he was also shaping up to be quite a contender for the Castellotti-Clark Cup…


Part 2 still to come
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Re: Three Lap Champs!

Post by WaffleCat »

1968 Season, Part Two(Best 5 from first 6, best 5 from last 6) (Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

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Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Chris Amon. Despite this season's insanity, these three managed to all be in contention for the title.

Graham Hill

The aging British driver has been the true definition of a bridesmaid throughout his career in the Three Lap Champs. In four out of Clark's five titles, it has been Hill who's always been playing second fiddle, who I suppose never really recovered from 1962, where he lost the Eugenio Castellotti cup by a solitary point, and only thanks to dropped scores. He's always been a friend of Clark's, though, making the Scots fatal crash at Hockenheim all the more devastating to Hill, who had just rejoined Lotus the year prior. Now, though, Hill seems more than ready to fight for that tile like never before, especially with his amazing run of mid-season form pushing him closer and closer to the title.

Jackie Stewart

Jackie Stewart, in only his fourth season of Formula One, could recognize a sinking ship when he saw one. With BRM, the team he's been with since his debut, results have been steadily declining and declining. And out of nowhere came a wild offer. This innovative French manufacturer called Matra, led by one Ken Tyrrell. And results were sure to come at the start of the season. Well, that was until a crash in a Formula Two event at Jarama sidelined him for a few races. During which, he saw Johnny Servoz-Gavin pilot his car to a three-lap win at Monaco. This surely would lead to amazing results, Stewart probably thought, given that an inexperienced driver took the lead right away. Well....eh. Yeah, he managed to get himself into the Castellotti-Clark Cup race, but was it the downright amazing pace Stewart was expecting?...not quite.

Chris Amon

Chris Amon was one who never got any luck over a full race distance. And so it seemed to be the case over Three Laps as well. A pole in Jarama dampened by a poor start, leaving him in third. A certain three-lap victory in Spa ruined by a limping Jo Bonnier. And great potential results in the Netherlands, France and Germany all ruined by the Ferrari's dreadful ability to handle in wet conditions. And yet, with his consistent pace - a rarity in 1968 - and dominant win in Canada, Chris Amon had just launched himself into the title hunt...

The Title Picture
--------------------------------------------
Driver's Championship: 1968 Canadian Grand Prix (2 Rounds to Go)

1. Graham Hill -- 35
2. Jackie Stewart -- 34
3. Chris Amon -- 32
--------------------------------------------

United States of America

The three title contenders all lined up from second to fourth on the grid at Watkins Glen, in the order of Stewart - Hill - Amon. Yet, on pole, would be this one driver who was rather successful in the local scene. His name was Mario Andretti, and he was making his debut. At the start, Jackie Stewart inevitably nudged his was past Andretti, which left Amon, now in third, to make minced-meat of the rookie American who had never been to the Glen before this weekend.

And yet, Andretti's Lotus kept the New Zealander at bay for two more laps. On lap three, Mario Andretti was second, and Chris Amon third. Graham Hill was fourth, not the best but still good enough.

And, with the way dropped points worked this season, there was no way Chris Amon could catch Jackie Stewart. As quickly as he shot up into the championship battle, he was knocked out.

--------------------------------------------
Driver's Championship: 1968 Canadian Grand Prix (2 Rounds to Go)

1. Jackie Stewart -- 43
2. Graham Hill -- 38 (Max Possible Points: 45)
3. Chris Amon -- 36 (Max Possible Points: 43)
--------------------------------------------

Mexico

Likewise, as you may have seen in the standings above, Graham Hill could also be heavily affected with said dropped scores. All Hill had to hope for was a flawless first three laps from him and a dreadful first few laps from Stewart.

And so it seemed he didn't even need Stewart to have a dreadful couple of laps, for the Scot had botched his qualifying and only ended up seventh. Hill was third, with only the already-eliminated Amon and teammate Jo Siffert ahead of him.

And like clockwork, Graham Hill made it to the lead after the first lap, and held onto the lead until lap three. Just what he needed.

Behind him, though, Jackie Stewart went mad.

Seventh to third on lap one alone.

Third to second by lap three.

And, with only two wins in a twelve race season, Jackie Stewart is your new Castellotti-Clark Cup winner, and the first new one since namesake Jim Clark himself back in '62.

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Jackie Stewart in the middle of his greatest ever drive, the 1968 German Grand Prix

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jackie Stewart -- 49 -- 2 Wins: GER USA
2. Graham Hill -- 45 (47) -- 2 Wins: NED MEX
3. Chris Amon -- 36 (38) -- 1 Win: CAN
4. John Surtees -- 27 -- 1 Win: BEL
5. Jacky Ickx -- 18 -- 1 Win: FRA
6. Jochen Rindt -- 18 (3 3rds)
7. Pedro Rodriguez -- 17 -- 1 Win: SPA
8. Jo Siffert -- 15
9. Denny Hulme -- 11
10. Bruce McLaren -- 10 -- 1 Win: ITA
11. Jim Clark -- 9 -- 1 Win: RSA
12. Johnny Servoz-Gavin -- 9 -- 1 Win: MON
13. Jackie Oliver -- 9 -- 1 Win: GBR
14. Jean-Pierre Beltoise -- 8
15. Mario Andretti -- 6
16. Jack Brabham -- 4
17. Dan Gurney -- 4
18. Richard Attwood -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Matra-Ford -- 62 (64)
2. Lotus-Ford -- 61 (64)
3. Ferrari -- 45 (47)
4. Honda -- 27
5. McLaren-Ford -- 22
6. BRM -- 18 (1 Win)
7. Brabham-Repco -- 18 (3 3rds)
8. Matra -- 2
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

Post by UncreativeUsername37 »

As also shown in In-Betweener, you are just the best at presenting alternative seasons.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

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1969 Season(Best 5 from first 6, best 5 from last 6) (Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
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Jochen and Jackie. A win for you and a win for me. Jochen and Jackie. Firing up the end of the sixties.

Two people won races this year. Two. And they were the two people up above, Jochen Rindt and Jackie Stewart. The melting pot of 1968 race winners were long gone, as now everyone had struggles to find a race win in their competitive cars.

You'd expect Rindt to have the most troubles after the second round in Spain, where his wing snapped off and suffered a dramatic crash to miss Monaco. Most crashes would remind most drivers to tone it down a little and maybe chill. Rindt ain't that guy. He bounced right back to continue splitting wins with Stewart.

And continue splitting wins Stewart.

And continue the split.

By the time the final round at Mexico came around, Stewart and Rindt had split the win so much, they'd decided to go the whole hog and split other points finishes between them too:

--------------------------------------------
Driver's Championship: 1969 Mexico Grand Prix (Final Round)

1. Jackie Stewart -- 61 (66)
2. Jochen Rindt -- 61
--------------------------------------------

Yep. Tied on points with just three laps in Mexico City to decide it all. And, with these two constantly trading wins all season, only a win could do it for either driver, though it looked mighty unlikely with Stewart third and Rindt 6th. Even more unlikely with the resurgent Brabhams and the still strong Denny Hulme all in the mix. Right off the start, Stewart gets hot and takes the lead from the Brabhams, though Jacky Ickx is right on his tail. Jochen Rindt gets a similarly hot start and leaps into fourth, behind the Brabhams and Stewart, but with Hulme on his tail.

What Stewart and Rindt would do next with the drivers on their tails determined the outcome of the championship....

Rindt succumbed to Hulme right away on lap 2.

Stewart was barely able to hold onto the lead from Ickx heading into lap 3.

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Jackie Stewart in the 1969 Dutch Grand Prix, barely taking his second Castellotti-Clark Cup in a row.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jackie Stewart -- 70 (75) -- 6 Wins: RSA MON FRA GER ITA MEX
2. Jochen Rindt -- 61 (63) -- 5 Wins: ESP NED GBR CAN USA
3. Jacky Ickx -- 24 (3 2nds)
4. Denny Hulme -- 24 (1 2nd)
5. Graham Hill -- 20
6. Jo Siffert -- 19
7. Chris Amon -- 17
8. Jack Brabham -- 12
9. Jean-Pierre Beltoise -- 10
10. Bruce McLaren -- 5
11. Pedro Rodriguez -- 3 (1 4th)
12. Piers Courage -- 3 (1 5th)


Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Matra-Ford -- 70 (75)
2. Lotus-Ford -- 63 (68)
3. Brabham-Ford -- 34 (35)
4. McLaren-Ford -- 24
5. Ferrari -- 19
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

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1970 Season(Best 6 from first 7, best 5 from last 6) (Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
Jacky Ickx in spectacular form in the 1970 Mexican Grand Prix.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jacky Ickx -- 76 (80) -- 6 Wins: FRA GBR GER AUT ITA MEX
2. Jackie Stewart -- 69 -- 5 Wins: RSA ESP MON CAN USA
3. Pedro Rodriguez -- 27
4. Jochen Rindt -- 25 -- 1 Win: NED (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
5. Chris Amon -- 25 -- 1 Win: BEL (1 2nd, 1 4th)
6. Jean-Pierre Beltoise -- 22
7. Clay Regazzoni -- 21 (22)
8. Jack Brabham -- 15
9. Jackie Oliver -- 12
10. Denny Hulme -- 9
11. Ignazio Giunti -- 5
12. John Surtees -- 3 (1 4th)
=. Jo Siffert -- 3 (1 4th)
14. Henri Pescarolo -- 3 (1 5th)
15. Bruce McLaren -- 2
=. Francois Cevert -- 2
17. John Miles -- 1


Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Ferrari -- 76 (80)
2. March-Ford -- 56 (57)
3. BRM -- 35
4. Lotus-Ford -- 25
5. Tyrrell-Ford -- 24
6. Matra -- 23
7. Brabham-Ford -- 15
8. McLaren-Ford -- 11
9. Surtees-Ford -- 3

Oh, what a season this could have been for Jackie Stewart. Three, dominant, all flat out wins in the Three Lap Champs in the first three races alone. This almost seemed like a whitewash not unlike the days of Jim Clark a few years prior, given that his nearest competitors were the aging Jack Brabham and occasional impressor Jean-Pierre Beltoise. Sure, his streak snapped in a tight, locked battle with Chris Amon in Belgium, but it all seemed to be going in Stewart's favour...

...Jacky Ickx, enter the story.

Jacky Ickx had a decent start to the season -- second in Monaco -- but his infamous incident with Jackie Oliver at Jarama that ended up with the Belgian on fire put his performances on the back burner for quite a bit. At the Netherlands, though, Ickx heralded his return to form, leading the first two laps before losing out to Jochen Rindt on lap three. No matter, because, in the next five races, Ickx hit his absolute peak (well, over three laps anyway)

France -- Ickx wins over three laps. (Retired lap 15 with engine troubles)
Great Britian -- Ickx wins over three laps. (Transmission gives way on lap 7)
Germany -- Ickx wins over three laps. (Loses out the slipstreaming battle to Rindt)
Austria -- Ickx wins over three laps. (Exception to the rule. Wins the race leading every lap bar lap one.)
Italy -- Ickx wins over three laps. (Loses the lead on lap 4, retires on lap 25.)

That's right. Five wins in a row for Ickx. And where was the other Jackie, you might ask? Stewart suffered from substandard qualifying performances in his March, and his finishes were barely in the points. Nevermind, said Ken Tyrrell. Tyrrell started developing his own chassis with Derek Gardner, the 001. Proving to be immediately competitive in the non-championship Outlon Gold Cup, the new chassis was all ready to be introduced come Canada. And Stewart suddenly regained his competitiveness he hard at the start of the season, taking wins in Canada and the United States.

Despite all that though, it was too little, too late, as the 25 year old Belgian went on to win the Mexican Grand Prix for his first Castelotti-Clark Cup as well as Ferrari's first constructor's title since 1961.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

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1971 Season(Best 5 from first 6, best 4 from last 5) (Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
Jackie Stewart in the beautiful Tyrrell 003 at the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jackie Stewart -- 64 (67) -- 5 Wins: MON FRA GER CAN USA
2. Clay Regazzoni -- 51 -- 3 Wins: RSA GBR ITA
3. Jacky Ickx -- 33 -- 2 Wins: ESP NED
4. Jo Siffert -- 33 -- 1 Win: AUT
5. Pedro Rodriguez -- 18
6. Ronnie Peterson -- 17
7. Denny Hulme -- 11 (1 2nd)
8. Francois Cevert -- 11 (1 3rd)
9. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 8 (1 2nd)
10. Jean-Pierre Beltoise -- 8 (1 3rd)
11. Chris Amon -- 6
12. John Surtees -- 3
=. Mark Donohue -- 3
13. Reine Wisell -- 2 (1 5th)
14. Tim Schenken -- 2 (2 6ths)
15. Mario Andretti -- 1
=. Howden Ganley -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Tyrrell-Ford -- 64 (67)
2. Ferrari -- 62 (67)
3. BRM -- 46 (48)
4. March-Ford -- 17
5. McLaren-Ford -- 14
6. Matra -- 11
7. Lotus-Ford -- 10
8. Surtees-Ford -- 3
9. Brabham-Ford -- 2

Sure, this championship was blown away by Jackie Stewart winning the last two races while Regazzoni couldn't keep up at all in the same events, but it's fair to say that the Ferraris had quite a fight going on about them. Indeed, Regazzoni was only two points back after an impressive win in Italy. The main problem though, with Regazzoni's title hopes wasn't really Stewart. Nor could he blame his impressively fast Ferrari.

His main problem was his teammate and defending Castellotti-Clark Cup holder, Jacky Ickx.

Why? Well, for the first part of the season, Ickx was actually competitive, winning the Spanish Grand Prix and taking the championship lead after winning the Dutch Grand Prix, obviously hampering Regazzoni's results a little. After that, Ickx's season collapsed catastrophically. Engine problems in the French Grand Prix sidelined him, but for the next two races in Great Britian and Germany, let's say Ickx wasn't exactly the best teammate...

In Great Britian, Regazzoni had one of his finer starts, going straight into the lead on lap one and holding it for the three lap victory. And, on the first lap, he had Jacky Ickx as rear gunner. Ickx could have challenged for the lead, but didn't quite have the pace, so it was his task to defend against two other title challengers, Stewart and the impressive BRM of Jo Siffert. Should be easy, right? Nope. Ickx was simply swept aside by the Scot and the Swiss, giving them vital points. Then, in Germany, Stewart raced off into the lead with Ickx behind and Regazzoni in third. And then Ickx spun around and Mega Regga made a detour trying to avoid his teammate, losing more vital positions and points.

So, while one can say it was all down to Jackie Stewart and his incredible Tyrrell 003 that led him to the championship, you can't help but wonder what could have been for the Ferrari boys. And also thanks to Ickx's mishaps, the Ferraris lost out to Tyrrell in the constructor's championship as well. By TWO points. Ickx's incidents in those two races alone cost them four.

I don't want to say champ to chump, but this wasn't Ickx's year, to put it more politely.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

1972 Season(Best 5 from first 6, best 5 from last 6) (Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

ImageImage
Jackie Stewart (top) and Jacky Ickx (bottom), the definitive rivalry of the early 70's

Fair to say this season had it's...idiosyncrasies. Five one-race winners? That may be just half of 1968 season's standards, but that's fairly crazy nonetheless. Especially when one of the main title contenders that emerged in the first half of the season, Emerson Fittipaldi in the Lotus 72, didn't even win a race the entire season. Jackie Stewart seemed to be the leading man from the word go, but a nasty stomach ulcer sidelined him from the Belgian Grand Prix, allowing the sprightly youth Fittipaldi, the aging Denny Hulme and the Ferrari of Clay Regazzoni to close right in and make in a tight four horse race. Eventually, through the next few races, Regazzoni and Hulme fell back slightly, which surely left Fittipaldi as the sole contender to Stewart for the Castellotti-Clark Cup...

...well, enter Jacky Ickx.

His start of the season had been alright, but kept a distance behind the main championship pack. After the French Grand Prix, where Chris Amon stunned everyone with the most dominant performance ever in his Matra, Ickx got down to business as his Ferrari found miraculous pace. Back-to-back victories at Great Britian and at his favourite track, the Nurburgring, shot him right up the ladder, and Stewart's transmission in the Italian Grand Prix gave up the ghost after a wonderful zero feet, Ickx's and Regazzoni's 1-2 before the tifosi left the championship standings like this:

--------------------------------------------
Driver's Championship: 1972 Italian Grand Prix (2 Rounds To Go)

1. Jackie Stewart -- 43
2. Jacky Ickx -- 41
3. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 39
4. Clay Regazzoni -- 34
--------------------------------------------

Now clearly, this has to be the time of the prancing horse, right? They've got the momentum, the numbers game, the kick in performance they needed in the season, so they've surely gotta win this fight. Right?

...well, the 312B was two years old by now. And, unfortunately for Ickx, he started to feel the 312B's age in Canada and the USA. He only qualified 8th and 12th in those races respectively, leading to poor Three Lap results. Regazzoni couldn't convert his slightly higher grid positions into anything much. Fittipaldi in the Lotus still didn't win. And this left good old consistent cakes Stewart to win his fourth Castellotti-Clark Cup, tying up with Juan Manuel Fangio's tally and one shy of record holder Jim Clark.

Well, don't feel too bad for Ferrari. At least they got the constructor's title.

Image
Jackie Stewart flying high in the sky at the 1972 German Grand Prix

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Jackie Stewart -- 58 -- 4 Wins: ARG RSA AUT USA
2. Jacky Ickx -- 47 -- 3 Wins: GBR GER ITA
3. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 42 (44)
4. Denny Hulme -- 36 -- 1 Win: ESP
5. Clay Regazzoni -- 35 -- 1 Win: BEL
6. Ronnie Peterson -- 17 -- 1 Win: CAN
7. Jean-Pierre Beltoise -- 14 -- 1 Win: MON (1 3rd)
8. Chris Amon -- 14 -- 1 Win: FRA (1 4th)
9. Carlos Reutemann -- 9
10. Mike Hailwood -- 9
=. Peter Revson -- 9
12. Francois Cevert -- 5
13. Jody Scheckter -- 4
14. Helmut Marko -- 2 (1 5th)
15. Tim Schenken -- 2 (2 6ths)
16. Mario Andretti -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Ferrari -- 61 (63)
2. Tyrrell-Ford -- 59 (60)
3. Lotus-Ford -- 42 (44)
4. McLaren-Ford -- 41
5. March-Ford -- 17
6. BRM -- 16
7. Matra -- 14
8. Brabham-Ford -- 9
9. Surtees-Ford -- 8
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

1973 Season(Best 7 from first 8, best 6 from last 7) (Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
A flat-out Ronnie Peterson on his way to total domination.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)


1. Ronnie Peterson -- 97 (100) -- 8 Wins: ESP MON SWE GBR NED AUT ITA USA
2. Jackie Stewart -- 52 -- 1 Win: GER
3. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 48 -- 1 Win: BRA
4. Denny Hulme -- 36 -- 1 Win: ESP
5. Francois Cevert -- 33 -- 1 Win: BEL
6. Jody Scheckter -- 19 -- 1 Win: FRA
7. Clay Regazzoni -- 15 -- 1 Win: ARG (1 2nd)
8. Niki Lauda -- 15 -- 1 Win: CAN (1 3rd)
9. Carlos Reutemann -- 14
10. Jacky Ickx -- 12
11. Carlos Pace -- 9
12. James Hunt -- 6
13. Peter Revson -- 5 (2 5ths)
14. Jean-Pierre Beltoise -- 5 (1 5th)
15. Arturo Merzario -- 3
16. Mike Hailwood -- 2
17. Jackie Oliver -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Lotus-Ford -- 103 (107)
2. Tyrrell-Ford -- 68
3. McLaren-Ford -- 48 (49)
4. BRM -- 31
5. Brabham-Ford -- 14
6. Surtees-Ford -- 11 (1 3rd, 1 4th, 2 5ths)
7. Ferrari -- 11 (1 3rd, 1 4th, 1 5th)
8. March-Ford -- 6
9. Shadow-Ford -- 1

Let's open the record books, shall we?

Most Points in a Season (Total): 80 Points by Jacky Ickx, 1970
Most Points in a Season (Dropped Scores Accounted For): 76 Points by Jacky Ickx, 1970
Most Wins in a Season: 6 Wins by Jim Clark, 1965 & 1967 -- Jackie Stewart, 1969 -- Jacky Ickx, 1970
Largest Gap from 1st to 2nd in a championship: 18 Points by Jim Clark to Graham Hill, 1967.

This was the pre-1973 record book. Now, let's take a look at the post-1973 record book...

Most Points in a Season (Total): 100 Points by Ronnie Peterson, 1973
Most Points in a Season (Dropped Scores Accounted For): 97 Points by Ronnie Peterson, 1973
Most Wins in a Season: 8 Wins by Ronnie Peterson, 1973
Largest Gap from 1st to 2nd in a championship: 45 Points by Ronnie Peterson to Jackie Stewart, 1973

The common saying is that records are meant to be broken. It's not common that every record is completely and truly smashed, but that's exactly what Ronnie Peterson did to the poor record book. Granted, this season had more races than ever before, but that's no real excuse. The gap from Peterson to his nearest competitor, Jackie Stewart, is monumental. 45 points and seven more wins. Plenty of drivers did win a race this season, though, with Niki Lauda being a shining surprise in the wet in Canada, but no one ever won more than once.

Most surprising of all, though, was the disappointment from last year's Constructor's champions Ferrari, who had a brilliantly shining turd of a chassis for this year. And if you think those standings are wrong because Jacky Ickx scored more points than Ferrari, think again. Ickx jumped ship to McLaren for the German Grand Prix and managed a podium finish. Which means those standing are indeed correct. Ferrari finished behind SURTEES.

But, anyway, back to Peterson. Eight wins from NINE poles. And he's also the first driver ever to crack that 100 point barrier in total points won. In just a single season, Ronnie Peterson has made himself a Castellotti-Clark Cup legend...

...and he only finished third in the actual WDC.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

1974 Season(Best 7 from first 8, best 6 from last 7) (Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
The shining star in his first season in Ferrari, Niki Lauda on the edge at Interlagos.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Niki Lauda -- 81 -- 6 Wins: RSA NED FRA GBR ITA CAN
2. Clay Regazzoni -- 65 -- 3 Wins: BEL MON GER
3. Carlos Reutemann -- 57 -- 4 Wins: ARG BRA AUT USA
4. Ronnie Peterson -- 46 -- 1 Win: ESP
5. Jody Scheckter -- 41 -- 1 Win: SWE
6. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 27
7. James Hunt -- 12
8. Mike Hailwood -- 10
=. Carlos Pace -- 10
10. Patrick Depailler -- 8 (1 3rd)
11. Jacky Ickx -- 8 (1 4th)
12. Jean-Pierre Jarier -- 4
13. Jochen Mass -- 3
14. Denny Hulme -- 1
=. Peter Revson -- 1
=. John Watson -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Ferrari -- 99 (102)
2. Brabham-Ford -- 57
3. Lotus-Ford -- 46
4. Tyrrell-Ford -- 43
5. McLaren-Ford -- 32
6. Hesketh-Ford -- 12
7. Shadow-Ford -- 5
8. Surtees-Ford -- 3

In last year's edition of the Castellotti-Clark Cup, I mentioned a name in a brief passing mention. In the year of Ronnie Peterson's complete domination of the Three Lap Champs, there was a young Austrian fellow who managed to overcome all the odds in the struggling BRM team and snatch a win in the wet in Canada. Enzo Ferrari clearly took note of the flashes of talent shown by this young guy, and signed him up into Ferrari's squad in 1974.

And in his first year for Ferrari, Niki Lauda wins the Castellotti-Clark Cup

It wasn't all smooth sailing for Niki though, as teammate Clay Regazzoni and Brabham's Carlos Reutemann had fantastic starts to the season. However, as Rikky von Opel somehow managed to suck all performance out of the Brabham team mid-season, giving Carlos Reutemann some rough results, it was just a duel between the Ferrari drivers, which Lauda all but sealed up with an impressive three win streak from the Netherlands to Great Britian.

This was a definite improvement for Ferrari in general this year, with whatever improvements they did to the 312B working an absolute treat. From finishing below Surtees last year, they wiped out the field this year, finishing forty or so points ahead of Brabham and Lotus, where Ronnie Peterson struggled a whole lot with their new, problematic Lotus 76 chassis, even having to switch back to the old and decaying 72 for one more year. Funnily enough though, his only Castellotti-Clark Cup victory came in the terrible 76. Who knows. Lotus could have had potential in this completely fictional championship with no significance whatsoever had they made the stupid-in-real-life decision to stick to the ailing 76...
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

1975 Season(Best 7 from first 8, best 5 from last 6) (Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
Niki Lauda guiding his way in his Ferrari the British Grand Prix.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. Niki Lauda -- 71 (74) -- 6 Wins: MON NED FRA GER AUT USA
2. Carlos Pace -- 43 -- 2 Wins: BEL GBR
3. Carlos Reutemann -- 34 -- 2 Wins: ARG BRA
4. Jody Scheckter -- 30 -- 1 Win: RSA
5. James Hunt -- 29 -- 1 Win: ESP
6. Clay Regazzoni -- 28 -- 1 Win: ITA
7. Vittorio Brambilla -- 22 -- 1 Win: SWE
8. Patrick Depailler -- 19
9. Jean-Pierre Jarier -- 14 (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
10. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 14 (1 2nd, 1 4th)
11. Tom Pryce -- 11
12. Ronnie Peterson -- 10
13. Mario Andretti -- 6 (1 2nd)
14. Jochen Mass -- 6 (1 4th)
15. John Watson -- 4
16. Rolf Stommelen -- 3
=. Hans-Joachim Stuck -- 3


Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Ferrari -- 76 (80)
2. Brabham-Ford -- 58
3. Tyrrell-Ford -- 47
4. Hesketh-Ford -- 29
5. Shadow-Ford -- 25
6. March-Ford -- 22
7. McLaren-Ford -- 19
8. Lotus-Ford -- 10
9. Parnelli-Ford -- 6
10. Surtees-Ford -- 4
11. Hill-Ford -- 3

This year would be yet another dominant season for Niki Lauda, but the first half of the season actually would've indicated a chaotic table. Carlos Reutemann won the first two races in Argentina and Brazil, but dropped off the radar completely after the next round in Spain. From Brazil to Sweden, the six races were all split with six different winners each. James Hunt sneaked in a shock victory in Spain, but perhaps even more stunning was Vittorio's impressive victory from pole in Sweden.

In the midst of all this chaos, it wasn't Niki Lauda that emerged from the pack. No, it was Carlos Pace. Through the simple factor of consistency, the Brazilian was at the forefront of the Castellotti-Clark Cup standings, with Lauda, Reutemann and Jody Scheckter playing a close catchup. Alas, Niki took over. Five wins in the last seven events well and truly solidified his grasp on a second consecutive championship. Though Pace almost kept up with a win in Great Britian, he couldn't keep his good run going forever and dropped well off Lauda, though he maintained his runner-up spot in the championship.

Carlos Reutemann finished third in the standings, mostly thanks to his opening two victories, and then chaos. Scheckter, surprise package Hunt and Lauda's teammate Clay Regazzoni were locked in a heavy battle for fourth in the championship come the final round in the United States, where...none of them finished. And remained status quo in their position. Also, shout-out to Lotus for having an absolutely terrible season. 1973 dominator Ronnie Peterson could do absolutely nothing in his aging Lotus 72, only scoring 10 points all season. They would've finished last in the constructors had it not been for the wild Spanish Grand Prix that somehow gifted Parnelli, Surtees and Embassy Hill, of all teams, points in that event.
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Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup - 2018 so far

Post by Aislabie »

Although this isn't my Championship, I'm giving it a bump because it was one of my favourites and I kinda miss it. Also because the standings this season are really interesting.

Drivers Championship as of German Grand Prix
1/ Sebastian Vettel - 209 points (6 wins)
2/ Lewis Hamilton - 157 points (4 wins)
3/ Valtteri Bottas - 148 points (Best: 2nd)
4/ Kimi Raikkonen - 122 points (Best: 2nd)
5/ Max Verstappen - 120 points (Best: 2nd)
6/ Daniel Ricciardo - 99 points (1 win)
7/ Kevin Magnussen - 54 points (Best: 4th)
8/ Nico Hulkenberg - 45 points (Best: 6th)
9/ Carlos Sainz - 43 points (Best: 3rd)
10/ Esteban Ocon - 28 points (Best: 6th)
11/ Romain Grosjean - 26 points (Best: 6th)
12/ Charles Leclerc - 18 points (Best: 6th)
13/ Pierre Gasly - 15 points (Best: 4th)
14/ Fernando Alonso - 11 points (Best: 7th)
15/ Sergio Perez - 8 points (Best: 8th)
16/ Lance Stroll - 6 points (Best: 7th)
17/ Brendan Hartley - 1 point (Best: 10th)
18/ Stoffel Vandoorne - 0 points (Best: 11th)
19/ Marcus Ericsson - 0 points (Best: 11th)
20/ Sergey Sirotkin - 0 points (Best: 12th)

Some interesting points:
  • Only three race-winners so far this season; Hamilton and particularly Vettel have absolutely dominated. The only race to break the pattern was the Monaco Grand Prix, where Daniel Ricciardo took the win.
  • Valtteri Bottas has eight podiums, including six second-places, but no wins yet.
  • On the other extreme, Daniel Ricciardo has a win, but his next-best finishes are a brace of fourth-places.
  • Kevin Magnussen has been consistently excellent off the start line, with four top-five inishes.
  • Sergio Perez has had an absolute stinker.

Constructors Championship as of German Grand Prix
1/ Ferrari - 331 points (6 wins)
2/ Mercedes - 305 points (4 wins)
3/ Red Bull-Tag Heuer - 219 points (1 win)
4/ Renault - 88 points (Best: 3rd)
5/ Haas-Ferrari - 80 points (Best: 4th)
6/ Force India-Mercedes - 37 points (Best: 6th)
7/ Sauber-Ferrari - 18 points (Best: 6th)
8/ Toro Rosso-Honda - 16 points (Best: 4th)
9/ McLaren-Renault - 11 points (Best: 7th)
10/ Williams-Mercedes - 6 points (Best: 7th)

Some interesting points:
  • Renault and Haas are considerably better than the rest of the midfield, which is clearly demonstrated here.
  • The bottom four teams between them have had only one point contributed by their second drivers.
  • McLaren clearly do not have the best chassis.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

Thanks for the update Aislabie. I want to keep on doing this, but my time has just...drained away with other stuff, I guess hahahah.
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Re: Three Lap Champs! -- The Castellotti-Clark Cup

Post by WaffleCat »

1976 Season(Best 7 from first 8, best 7 from last 8) (Points:9-6-4-3-2-1)

Image
There's a reason why they made a movie based on Lauda's and Hunt's 1976 season. The Castellotti-Clark Cup isn't the main reason, but we could make another movie based off of all that...

Yes, we know the drama that was the Lauda versus Hunt rivalry in the 1976 season for the World Championship. And, in a similar vein, the Castellotti-Clark Cup was also a hotly contested battle between the two frenemies, if that is an apt word to describe the relationship between Lauda and Hunt.

However, at the start of the season, Hunt was merely playing second fiddle, not just to Lauda, but to both Ferraris, with Clay Regazzoni splitting wins with Lauda through the first four rounds of the season. However, for the next five races, Lauda won four. The only one that got away from him was when Mario Andretti won in Sweden after jumping the start. Though officials handed a one-minute time penalty to Andretti, I couldn't possibly translate that penalty into the Three Lap results, so I let Andretti keep the win. He needed it too. The rest of his Castellotti-Clark Cup campaign was awful.

Anyway, back to the title showdown. Lauda was the runaway leader after Brands Hatch, keeping a mammoth gap of 27 points ahead of Hunt and 29 ahead of Regazzoni, who fell behind the Brit thanks to Hunt's sheer consistency with podiums galore. Heck, Lauda even had to drop points in Sweden, which would have left him with a 29 point gap over Hunt had those dropped points counted. Niki was on top of the world.

And then Germany happened. Yeah.

In the restarted race, Hunt took the win. In the most unfortunate of circumstances, it seemed that James Hunt would be the one to steal the title. After all, he had the most consistent form aside from Lauda for the first half of the season. It seemed certain that Hunt would dominate in Lauda's absence...

...nope. Instead of James Hunt, in steps Ronnie freakin' Peterson. The 100-pointer, world dominator from 1973 had a meh start to 1976, only taking one podium in the first half of the season. After Nurburgring, though, Peterson and his March came alive.

In Austria, Peterson stole the win from John Watson and his Penske on lap three. The next race in the Netherlands, Ronnie just had to hold everybody off from pole to take another win. Hunt could only finish third in both races, which became even worse as he qualified last at Monza after fuel irregularities in qualifying. Obviously, in the Three Lap Champs, this led to nul points. Lauda bravely returned to action in Monza too, but didn't improve his tally in the Castellotti-Clark Cup after dropping to 12th place at the start. Peterson's win streak also snapped in Monza, but it was still a third place and four points gained on the championship leaders.

Finally, as if things couldn't get worse for Hunt, his second place from Britain was wiped after his results from Brands Hatch, along with Regazzoni and Jacques Laffite, were nullified after their lap one incident. As a result, Hunt's second and Regazzoni's third in the Three Lap Champs were wiped, given that their black flag incident happened on lap 1. This pushed Hunt further back from Lauda and left Regga hanging by a string in the title picture...

--------------------------------------------
Driver's Championship: 1976 Italian Grand Prix (3 Rounds to Go)(Brackets indicate dropped points)

1. Niki Lauda -- 63 (65)
2. James Hunt -- 47
3. Ronnie Peterson -- 38 (2 wins, 1 2nd)
4. Clay Regazzoni -- 38 (2 wins, 4 3rds)
--------------------------------------------

For either Peterson or Regazzoni to steal the title going into the final three rounds, they'd practically need to win all three races and pray that Lauda didn't score any points. And, at Canada, step one of three was done, as Peterson held Hunt off for three laps and Lauda couldn't get past Scheckter to score a solitary point. What seemed like the impossible for Peterson at the halfway point of the season suddenly seemed probable.

--------------------------------------------
Driver's Championship: 1976 Canadian Grand Prix (2 Rounds to Go)(Brackets indicate dropped points)

1. Niki Lauda -- 63 (65)
2. James Hunt -- 53
3. Ronnie Peterson -- 47
--------------------------------------------

However, as soon as Peterson had propelled himself into the title battle, he got booted right out, especially as his teammate, Vittorio Brambilla, held Ronnie back in fourth for the first three laps at Watkins Glen. Hunt had also found his groove, landing yet another second place in the United States. However, any illusion that Hunt would take this title easily was shattered by Lauda holding onto fifth place at Watkins Glen, scoring two of the most vital points in the Austrian's career.

In fact, it shifted the weight of the Castellotti-Clark Cup race a ton.

--------------------------------------------
Castellotti-Clark Cup situation -- Final Round of 1976 at Fuji

Hunt wins if:
He wins, Lauda doesn't finish in the points

Lauda wins if:
Literally anything else happens
--------------------------------------------

Fuji. Japan. Final round. It was wet. Really wet. Hunt qualified second, Lauda third. Hunt gets the jump off the line. Overtakes Andretti for the lead. Lauda falls back on lap one. We know what happened to Lauda. What was going through his mind. Pulled into the pits on lap two. Race done for Lauda.

All Hunt needed to do was win. End of lap one, Hunt was in the lead, John Watson following behind.

End of lap two, Hunt was in the lead. Watson made a mistake behind and speared into the escape road.

And, at the end of lap three, Hunt was in the lead. This was only his second victory this year. And, somehow, the Castellotti-Clark Cup was his.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. Kazuyoshi Hoshino ended up in fifth after three laps, scoring two points. He started 21st. Give him a round of applause.

Driver's Standings(Dropped points/Tiebreaker criteria in brackets)

1. James Hunt -- 68 -- 2 Wins: GER JAP
2. Niki Lauda -- 65 (68) -- 6 Wins: RSA ESP BEL MON FRA GBR
3. Ronnie Peterson -- 50 -- 3 Wins: AUT NED CAN
4. Jody Scheckter -- 43 -- 2 Wins: ITA USE
5. Clay Regazzoni -- 39 -- 2 Wins: BRA USW
6. Patrick Depailler -- 32
7. Vittorio Brambilla -- 28
8. Mario Andretti -- 19 -- 1 Win: SWE
9. John Watson -- 13
10. Jacques Laffite -- 10
11. Jochen Mass -- 8
12. Gunnar Nilsson -- 5
=. Chris Amon -- 5
14. Tom Pryce -- 4
=. Carlos Pace -- 3
16. Jean-Pierre Jarier -- 2
=. Kazuyoshi Hoshino -- 2
18. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 1
=. Carlos Reutemann -- 1

Constructor's Standings(Dropped Scores/Tiebreaker Criteria in brackets)

1. Ferrari -- 83 (85)
2. March-Ford -- 68 (3 Wins)
3. McLaren-Ford -- 68 (2 Wins)
4. Tyrrell-Ford -- 60
5. Lotus-Ford -- 24
6. Penske-Ford -- 13
7. Ligier-Matra -- 10
8. Ensign-Ford -- 5 (1 4th)
9. Shadow-Ford -- 5 (1 5th)
10. Brabham-Alfa Romeo -- 3
11. Fittipaldi-Ford -- 1
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