AltF1 1976 - Season over, refer to history books

Post by **Nuppiz** » 13 Jan 2017, 19:56

Thomas Nurmester wrote:I should be overjoyed by a result like this, but I just can't feel happy knowing that one of my fellow competitors perished in a horrible accident. While we all accept that there's always an element of danger involved with motor racing, I seriously hope the FISA has learned a lesson now and implement measures that improve our safety on a rapid schedule.

Normal32 · Post by **Normal32** » 13 Jan 2017, 21:11

Team Name: Moscow Motors (SSR)
Chassis (Lola or March): March
Number: 92
Driver #1: Ivan A. Kobylyansky (SSR)

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 14 Jan 2017, 13:33

DemocalypseNow wrote:Ferrari will not attend the next race. We will reach out to Patrick Depailler to rejoin the team full-time after the French GP, for the remainder of the 76 season. Full reaction to come.

How much do Ferrari offer to pay Patrick Depailler for the 8 races?

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 14 Jan 2017, 18:24

pasta_maldonado wrote:
DemocalypseNow wrote:Ferrari will not attend the next race. We will reach out to Patrick Depailler to rejoin the team full-time after the French GP, for the remainder of the 76 season. Full reaction to come.

How much do Ferrari offer to pay Patrick Depailler for the 8 races?

120K.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 14 Jan 2017, 23:39

DemocalypseNow wrote:
pasta_maldonado wrote:
DemocalypseNow wrote:Ferrari will not attend the next race. We will reach out to Patrick Depailler to rejoin the team full-time after the French GP, for the remainder of the 76 season. Full reaction to come.

How much do Ferrari offer to pay Patrick Depailler for the 8 races?

120K.

Patrick Depailler
Depailler has an offer from Ferrari to reprise his role within the team, replacing Niki Lauda. The Frenchman has previously driven for Ferrari at the International Trophy, and is more than happy to rejoin the team in the tragic circumstances.

1-90 Ferrari
91-100 Declines
12! Depailler signs with Ferrari for eight rounds, beginning with the British Grand Prix.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 15 Jan 2017, 20:06

Gazzetta Dello Sport wrote:LdA: Ferrari 'distraught' over Lauda loss

Ferrari's team manager Luca di Montezemolo has made La Scuderia's first public statement since the death of Niki Lauda at the Soviet Grand Prix, reacting to the incident in which the 1975 World Champion perished.

"The team is distraught. Niki was firmly a member of the Ferrari family," he said. "He was a dedicated, motivated individual, and a complete professional. As both a driver and a person, he is irreplaceable".

"He was a fantastic driver, one of the best to ever race. I am certain he would have gone on to become one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. His contract with us ran all the way until 1978, and I could certainly have anticipated it continuing beyond this point."

"Out of respect for Niki, we will not attend the French Grand Prix. Everyone at Maranello needs time to digest the loss of a great driver and a great friend to us all. We know motorsport is dangerous, that drivers put their lives on the line every time their helmet goes on, but this does not make the bitter pill of a driver passing away any easier to swallow."

Di Montezemolo then made a brief comment on Ferrari's plans for Lauda's successor from the British Grand Prix onwards.

"We have an obligation with FISA to run two cars, so while we cannot simply replace Lauda, we must field an alternative driver. To honour Niki, the #1 will not be used for the remainder of the season. Instead, to drive what is now the #0 car, we have called once more on the services of Patrick Depailler, who is an individual of known quality, and with whom we have recently established a working relationship."

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 16 Jan 2017, 23:31

Entry List

Pre-Race

Whilst most of the Formula One paddock made it's way across the Iron Curtain for the Soviet Grand Prix, the smaller teams made their way to Cheshire and the picturesque Oulton Park circuit for the 23rd International Gold Cup. Like at the BRDC International Trophy, it's a full entry list of 26 cars for this event, although none of the drivers present have made a Grand Prix start thus far this season. Alongside the privateer teams who have attempted to make a start, are several smaller teams from juniour/lesser series, including LEC Refrigeration Racing and Melchester Racing, both of whom are rumoured to be entering Grand Prix later in the season. Louis Stanley and his resurrected BRM team will compete for the first time in 1976, with Harvey Jones and Tony Trimmer attempting to make the best of the P201B, alongside mysterious newcomers ÖASC, who no-one can remember seeing before. Alessandro Pesenti-Rossi attempts Formula One again for Scuderia Rondini after his Berta outings previously this year - he's having a middling season in Formula 2 - whereas Brian McGuire brings his own team, albeit running Marches, alongside Formula One rookie Jonothon Hunter. Boy Hayje will partner van Lennep this time for F&S, with the latter predicted to be near the front of the grid, whereas B&S Fabrications are looking for a boost after their double DNQ in Monaco. Wheatcroft will hope to beat the hopeless Dywas again today, Guy Edwards being partnered by Ray Mallock, and ATS and Team P R Reilly continue on from the BRDC Trophy with the same line-up. Team VDS make the step up from F5000, with Lolas and the untested pairing of De Dryver/Bourgoignie, with the Soviet entry of Moscow Motors and a March-Ford combination driven by Ivan Kobylyansky another unknown.

It is unclear who will set the pace thus far, with bookmakers having suspended bets on Amos Saxon and Brian Henton. It's 1,000 to 1 for the Dywa pairing of Martini/Zorzi for anyone who likes long odds.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 17 Jan 2017, 00:34

Qualifying

It was the Thistle of Saxon that takes pole, ahead of Jonothon Hunter and the second Thistle of Pulver. It's all to play for at the front, with the top 6 all in with a shout of race victory. The midfield will be a close battle, whereas at the back of the field, it'll be the Wheatcrofts and Dywas again. Both Oppitzhauser and Stuppacher were hilariously off the pace.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 22 Jan 2017, 16:11

Race

Fastest lap: Jonothon Hunter - 1:40.928

Jonothon Hunter took victory at Oulton Park in the McGuire Racing entered March-Ford, ahead of Mike Wilds' Lola and Ivan Kobylyansky's March in a shock podium finish. Just 11 cars made it to the chequered flag around Oulton Park, with polesitter Saxon, Henton, Galicia, McGuire, Hayje, van Lennep and Pulver - all challengers for victory - succumbing to issues in Cheshire. Surprisingly Zorzi and Stuppacher made it to the end, albeit 4 laps down, Kozarowitzky and Pesenti-Rossi ruing the loss of brilliant finishes, and Tony Trimmer kept the BRM on the road to finish 4th.

Link to the recording of the race can be found below.

Post-race - Prize Money
Due to the high level of attrition, Oulton Park have generously decided to not count retirements in prize money allocations, awarding £20,000 to those who retired. The following amounts of prize money have been awarded to the below teams.

Brian McGuire Racing - £50,000
Team P R Reilly - £50,000
Moscow Motors - £50,000
Stanley BRM - £50,000
LEC Refrigeration Racing - £50,000
Team VDS - £50,000
Wheatcroft Racing -£30,000
Dywa - £30,000
OASC - £20,000
Scuderia Gulf-Rondini - £20,000
ATS Wheels - £20,000
Melchester Racing - £20,000
F&S Properties - £20,000
B&S Fabrications - £20,000
Thistle Racing -£20,000

Teams marked in blue are F2/F3/Group 8 teams that have not yet been assigned a budget. If any of these teams enters a Championship round under any user, this prize money (along with prize money from the BRDC International Trophy) will be added to their budget.

Race Video

Gold Cup:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo3lTZjz-Co
I have also found the recorded footage of the International Trophy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nROGe9bxIcY

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 22 Jan 2017, 16:52

Due to Ferrari's decision to skip the French Grand Prix, FOCA have refunded the team travel money of £20,000.

All budgets have been updated. On a new sheet of the workbook, all Non-Championship teams that have entered a NC race and earnt prize money are listed. The "user priority" section refers to the user who first entered that team, who will get priority entering said team into the World Championship proper.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 23 Jan 2017, 20:01

Pre-Race
The motorsport world mourns the loss of a World Champion. 13 of 14 FOCA teams arrived in Le Castellet for the French Grand Prix, all sporting tributes to the late Niki Lauda. Ferrari are notably absent, withdrawing from the event in honour of Lauda. Motorsport has always been dangerous, but the loss of those doing what they love has never been taken lightly, and as such, FISA have launched a Committee into improving safety standards within the sport. Results are to be expected not long after the season draws to a close.

With Ferrari vacating a guaranteed starting spot, four teams will progress from pre-qualifying this weekend. Wheatcroft, Thistle, Dywa and B&S attempt to make the grid again, and will be joined by Stanley BRM, the first entry of 1976 for the BRM team.

Pre-Qualifying

Rebaque again tops the session for Boro, but it's Hesketh who top the session on combined times. Penske will progress to qualifying proper for the first time in two races, whilst the battle for the fourth team to progress is won by B&S Fabrications, Palm and Quester just edging out Pulver. Saxon put in a brilliant lap, but stern looks will be directed Pulver's way, as he has blown the team's best chance of making it into the race. Thomas Nurmester cannot drag anything out of the Wheatcroft after second place for Ligier in the USSR, whilst the Dywas are again laughably off the pace.

1) Hesketh-Ford 3:52.829
2) Boro-Ford 3:53.480
3) Penske-Alfa Romeo 3:54.853
4) March-Ford 3:57.023
5) Thistle-Ford 3:57.617
6) Wheatcroft-Ford 4:03.193
7) Renzo-Ford 4:05.455

Ciaran · Post by **Ciaran** » 23 Jan 2017, 21:05

Just to reiterate what I said in the IRC channel a few minutes ago, Mitsuoka would like to offer a seat to Motoharu Kurosawa.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 24 Jan 2017, 13:19

Qualifying

It's the Ligiers who have the advantage for their home race, with Laffite taking pole buy 2 tenths of a second over championship leader Reutemann, and Henri Pescarolo seeing off Mario Andretti's Lotus for third. Andretti will start fourth, the highest starting position for Lotus all season, with Clay Regazzoni putting in a stunning lap to start sixth in the Williams. Emerson Fittipaldi will be hoping for points from 12th, whilst Shadow seem to have the upper hand over March. Both Penskes make the grid, but the same cannot be said for B&S - Palm and Quester slide to a DNQ by 4 tenths.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 25 Jan 2017, 16:16

Race

Fastest Lap: Jacques Laffite - 1:58.089
Reject of the Race: Henri Pescarolo - earns himself a disqualification from career-best second after ridiculous move
Drive of the Race: James Hunt - A drive with passion from Hunt, the Brabham has some weaknesses but he gave it all to be up there today.

Laffite was right at home in his Ligier, leading all but a handful of laps and leading home a Ligier 1-2 - on the road, at least. Whilst Laffite and Ligier scored their first ever win, Reutemann struggled with a poor setup, with McLaren's best chance at winning evaporating as a mistimed pit stop brought the Argentine out into traffic. He was running 3rd when an oil leak ended his afternoon. Hunt had a better afternoon, Hunt was running second in the opening, and an early pit stop helped to keep the Brabham ahead of Reutemann and the Lotuses towards the end - who themselves showed strong pace throughout the race.

It was another weekend of misery for Lella Lombardi. Out of her depth again in the Brabham, she carelessly ran into the back of Gunnar Nilsson's retiring Ensign, loosing her nose cone and forcing another stop. However, she was still running - albeit way down the field - when Henri Pescarolo, attempting to lap her, careened into the back of the Brabham, forcing her off the road and into retirement whilst the Ligier carried on. FISA began to review the footage, and after conclusion of the race, dtermined that Pescarolo would not have made the corner if it were not for Lombardi, and the Frenchman was disqualified from second position.

This promoted Francois Migault's Ensign into the points, after a fierce battle with regular Williams team-mate Regazzoni. Regazzoni himself moved up to 5th, but if it had not been for an unplanned second stop due to a slow puncture, he would've been much closer to the front.

Medical Report
Lella Lombardi
1-95 Unharmed
96-100 Misses next race
52- Lombardi suffers at worst a slight bruise

Post-Race

FISA Official Press Statement wrote:Car #25 has been disqualified from the final classification of the French Grand Prix due to driving in a dangerous manner. Ligier have consequently been fined £50,000

Henri Pescarolo has been disqualified, but Ligier have the chance to appeal his disqualification. If they wish to appeal, they will not be fined immediately, and FISA will schedule a hearing for one month's time - following the German Grand Prix, to hear out their case.

Appealing a disqualification rules
- Any team can appeal a disqualification. If the appeal is successful, the disqualification will be overturned, the driver's finishing position reinstated, and any fine rescinded. However, if the appeal is unsuccessful, the disqualification stands and any fine is doubled.
- Other teams can support or protest the appeal. FISA may, or may not, be swayed by teams arguing either side of the case. Support for the offender may cause FISA to reduce the penalty. Protest against the offender may cause FISA to increase the sentence. To support or protest an appeal, post a statement from a senior team member or driver explaining your side of the case.
- If a team looses an appeal, they may not appeal again.
- However, another team may appeal the results of an appeal. However, FISA will dismiss any frivilous or ungrounded appeals.

Ligier have until the deadline for upgrades to appeal against Henri Pescarolo's disqualification

Upgrades
As 8 races of the season have been completed, upgrades can now be purchased again. For a reminder of the upgrade rules, view this post, or the first post. As a reminder, if they have the budget, privateer teams that constructed their own chassis may purchase upgrades. Teams may also sack drivers in order to hire pay drivers, but bear in mind a wage-paid driver will keep the wages for the rest of the season as a parting gift.

Teams are eligible to purchase the following upgrades (bear in mind Beta, Delta and Theta upgrades are not permitted during this period):

Ferrari: Any
Tyrrell: Epsilon
Lotus: Any
Brabham: Gamma
March: None
McLaren: Epsilon
Shadow: Gamma
Williams: Any
Ensign: Any
Hesketh: Any
Ligier: None
Fittipaldi: Any
Boro: Any
Penske: Gamma

Budgets have been updated with French GP prize money.
You have until 1:00 AM GMT Saturday, 28th January 2017 to post your upgrades.

Race Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBGFP34T81A&feature=youtu.be

This Could Be You · Post by **This Could Be You** » 25 Jan 2017, 17:43

Hesketh will purchase an Alpha upgrade as previously stated; hopefully this should get us back into the top 10 (and maybe even give us a slim chance at points) after getting close in the past couple of races,.

pi314159 · Post by **pi314159** » 25 Jan 2017, 18:15

Williams will develop a Gamma upgrade.

Post by **Ataxia** » 25 Jan 2017, 18:44

Zeta upgrade for Lotus, please!

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 25 Jan 2017, 19:13

Driver RNG

Motoharu Kurosawa
Kurosawa has rejected a Kojima drive already, so he is wary about accepting the Mitsuoka bid.

1-60 Mitsuoka
61-100 Rejects
97! - Kurosawa decides Formula One is not for him, and stays in Japan.

Upgrades

Hesketh: +49DF, -28BQ
Williams: +58DF, +3BQ
Lotus: +169DF, -156BQ

V8fan12 · Post by **V8fan12** » 25 Jan 2017, 21:25

Shadow will take the Gamma upgrade

Peteroli34 · Post by **Peteroli34** » 25 Jan 2017, 22:15

Brabham will take its Gamma Upgrade

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 25 Jan 2017, 22:29

Edit: nevermind, i really don't have the time to get fired up over a court case and arguments and stuff.

Instead i will appeal with zero arguments, stating that 'the footage speaks for itself, we are innocent'

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 25 Jan 2017, 23:20

Ensign will buy a Zeta upgrade.

Morris Nunn from Ensign also supports the decision FISA has made. In the context of the race (Pescarolo had no need to be pushing as hard as he did) and in light of recent events in the previous race, we agree with the stance that using competitors cars as brakes is not on. Also, calling it a 'minor incident' when Lombardi could have been injured in that wreck is rather egregious at best.

Normal32 · Post by **Normal32** » 25 Jan 2017, 23:22

Epsilon Euskadi upgrade for Fittipaldi

Alpha upgrade for Kojima.

Fittipaldi would like to appeal against Ligier's appeal.

FantometteBR · Post by **FantometteBR** » 26 Jan 2017, 00:04

Tyrrell buy an Epsilon upgrade then

Pinkd56 · Post by **Pinkd56** » 26 Jan 2017, 00:19

If it's possible, I'd like to extend Brett Lunger's pay driver contract until the end of the season.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 26 Jan 2017, 01:09

Driver RNGs
Brett Lunger
He's not too happy with the performance of the Penske, however, he does feel a sense of loyalty towards Roger and co. for giving him his existing 12 race contract.
1-70 - Signs on for 4 more races
71-100 - Leaves to drive elsewhere
69! - Lunger is just about talked into staying.

Upgrades

Shadow:+14DF, -130BQ
Brabham:+78DF, -69BQ
Ensign:+143DF, -92BQ
Fittipaldi:+104DF, +50BQ
Kojima:+48DF, +11BQ
Tyrrell:+39DF, -39BQ

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 26 Jan 2017, 02:11

Autosport wrote:1976 Formula One Mid-Season Review - Part 1

1) McLaren-Ford: 60 points Reutemann has proved his consistency, scoring good results when others have struck misfortune - however, can his recent pace be held when Ferrari brings an updated 312T to Silverstone? Mass, whilst running well earlier in the season, has slipped further off the pace. Question marks surround the team dynamic, with reports coming in that Mass is unsatisfied with his treatment by the team.

2) Ferrari: 51 points Ferrari - and Formula One - has been saddened by the tragic loss of reigning champion Niki Lauda, who was in contention for the title with two sublime victories after being robbed of sveral more. Patrick Depailler has a lot of boots to fill in the #0 Ferrari after a strong showing in the International Trophy, whilst Jody Scheckter leads the Prancing Horse charge, and will be looking to grace the top position of the podium at Brands Hatch.

3)Ligier-Matra: 33 points Guy Ligier is one of the many team owners resorting to a revolving door of drivers to get Ligier onto the grid, but the merry-go-round has caused more trouble than it's worth, racking up two DNQs for the two podium finishes. Thomas Nurmester is clearly a talent but it's Jacques Laffite who is the main man at the French team, and after a rousing first victory at Paul Ricard, he and the team will be looking for more in the second half of the season.

4)Lotus-Ford: 20 points The Lotus 77 has retired from more races than it's finished, but that may have been a blessing in disguise. A calculated second place for Andretti at the season opener was the high-point, with Andretti spinning out of another podium at Long Beach and Peterson investigating the Soviet gravel being the only other times the car was on the pace. A second wind in France will boost morale ahead of Brands Hatch, where Colin Chapman is expected to bring a strong upgrade package.

5)Brabham-Alfa Romeo: 15 points Limitations in car and engine have hampered coup signing James Hunt's valiant efforts on most occasions this season. Podiums in the USSR and France will keep the Brit around for a little longer. Lella Lombardi, on the other hand, has only finished one Grand Prix in 8 - when the car wasn't letting her down, she was finding novel ways to take an early bath. Bernie Ecclestone's outfit have also been developing the car, and Hunt will hope for a strong showing in front of the home faithful at Brands.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 26 Jan 2017, 07:54

Can you please recount Ferrari's budget? It seems disproportionately low considering I haven't bought any upgrades.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 26 Jan 2017, 09:34

DemocalypseNow wrote:Can you please recount Ferrari's budget? It seems disproportionately low considering I haven't bought any upgrades.

After a recount, Ferrari have a budget of £454,652.50. The accountants offer their apologies for the mistake.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 26 Jan 2017, 13:33

Autosport wrote:1976 Formula One Mid-Season Review - Part 2

=6) Williams-Ford: 8 points
The joint operation between enigmatic Canadian Walter Wolf and Frank Williams has only started to bear fruit with the signing of Clay Regazzoni to replace the dismal Neve, who recorded 3 eleventh places in 4 starts with the team before enough was enough. Clay has come in from the cold to score a podium at Monaco, the team's first, and a great recovery drive for 5th in France, proving he still has reason to be on the grid. Migault has consistency but lacks the sheer speed of his team-mate, but overall, this is a lineup and team with promise.

=6) Ensign-Ford: 8 points
Gunnar Nilsson has excelled so far this season, with brilliant drives in Argentina and Spain. Nilsson has provided stability amongst the revolving door policy in the second seat, but reliability and luck haven't always been on his side. However, it is clear to see that Nilsson is one to watch for the future. In the second seat, Riberio, Ian Scheckter and Francois Migault have put in respectable performances, with the rest leaving much to be desired. Ensign will struggle to get back ahead in the fight with Wolf-Williams without reliability improvements.

8) March-Ford: 3 points
The works March effort has delivered less than hoped for thus far this season, a slightly weak chassis offering pegging the team to the middle of the pecking order in pace terms. Better reliability than those around them has seen two point scoring finishes, but a recent increase in retirements may cause the team to fall back. On the driver front, John Watson has proven to be ahead on pace but down on luck, with Brambilla scoring all the team's 3 points thus far. Vittorio has not been far off, but it'll take improvements across the board for the team to score more than one points finish in the second half of the season.

=9) Fitipaldi-Ford: 1 point
Many expected Emerson Fittipaldi, one of the best drivers of the decade, to comfortably have the measure of the lofty Leonhard von Gottorp. However, the German has proved them all wrong, scoring the team's only point in South Africa in a race where Emerson threw away points himself - a move that vaulted Fittipaldi out of Pre-Qualifying. The pressure of representing the family team appears to be getting to the younger of the Fittipaldi brothers, who has yet to finish ahead of his lesser-rated team mate, and threw away points again in the Soviet Union by taking a late race excursion into the gravel. Emerson still has the pace, as evidenced in qualifying, but he needs to find consistency again to vault his team up the order.

=9) Shadow-Ford: 1 point
The team with conflicting ideas about such things as nationality has had a disappointing season at best. Mired in lower midfield, Tom Pryce, Arturo Merzario and Michel Leclere have had an awful lot of work to do to drag the car anywhere else. Relaibility has been patchy, with three straight double DNFs an issue for the team, but the solitary point from Pryce in Spain - beating the March of John Watson - will give the team hope. Cash from UOP and new upgrades in time for Brands Hatch will be needed to improve the team's fortunes.

Ciaran · Post by **Ciaran** » 26 Jan 2017, 16:29

pasta_maldonado wrote:Driver RNG

Motoharu Kurosawa
Kurosawa has rejected a Kojima drive already, so he is wary about accepting the Mitsuoka bid.

1-60 Mitsuoka
61-100 Rejects
97! - Kurosawa decides Formula One is not for him, and stays in Japan.

Goddammit Gan-san!

*ahem* I mean, we at Mitsuoka regret Kurosawa-san's declining of a race seat for our home Grand Prix. We were greatly impressed by Naoki Nagasaki's showing back in May's JAF Fuji Grand Prix, and would greatly appreciate it if he could bring some funding too.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 26 Jan 2017, 19:03

Scuderia Ferrari shall purchase an Eta upgrade.

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 26 Jan 2017, 20:28

Since it seems that I still don't have a 2nd driver (with Hasemi going to Kojima instead), I'll try to make an offer for Kuniomi Nagamatsu.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 27 Jan 2017, 15:21

Driver RNG

Naoki Nagasaki
1-90 Mitsuoka
91-100 Rejecys
45 - signs with Mitsuoka

Kuniomi Nagamatsu
1-90 Heros
91-100 Rejects
12 - signs with Heros

Upgrades

Ferrari: +130DF, -295BQ
Dywa: +23DF, -40BQ

McLaren, Penske and Boro have until 1:00 AM GMT Saturday, 28th January 2017 to post your upgrades.

Autosport wrote:1976 Formula One Mid-Season Review - Part 3

NC) Boro-Ford: Best Finish 8th x1
The small Dutch team, with hardly any funding, have knocked Tyrrell into Pre-Qualifying. A statement that would've seen you laughed out of any motorsport magazine's office 6 months ago came true thanks to a spirited drive from Gianfranco Brancatelli in the USSR to finish a superb 8th - ahead of both Tyrrells, a Hesketh, Emerson Fittipaldi and the Estonia of Barkovskii on the road. The team have not recorded a DNPQ in 3 races, but with that 8th set to launch the team out of Friday morning, Rebaque and Brancatelli will now face the threat of a double DNQ.

NC) Tyrrell-Ford: Best Finish 9th x3
The Tyrrell P34 was meant to be a revolution. However, before it could even attend a Grand Prix weekend, the radical 6-wheeled concept was banned by FISA. It was up to Ken Tyrrell and co. to scramble to develop a replacement chassis, but the rushed nature of the Tyrrell 008 has translated into it's performance. Jose Carlos Pace and young Aussie Alan Jones is a good enough lineup on paper, but they've struggled with the unruly chassis, Pace even sliding to a DNQ in Argentina. There's been upgrades, but they've failed to correct the car's horrendous handling, to the point where without an 8th or higher at Brands Hatch Tyrrell will find themselves in Pre-Qualifying. Jones and Pace will be in for a difficult 8 races, especially if they succumb to the Friday Morning lure.

NC) Penske-Alfa Romeo: Best finish 9 x1
Roger Penske has the patience of a saint. His team find themselves languishing at the back of the field, falling to two straight DNPQs against privateer teams. The decision to match the unreliable and hefty Alfa Romeo engine to the back of the PC4 has been far from inspired, and the same comment can be applied to Hans-Joachim Stuck. Brett Lunger has been the team's saving grace, showing better pace more consistently than his higher-rated team mate. But will it be enough to stop the team folding at the end of the year?

NC) Hesketh-Ford: Best finish 11 x2
Lord Hesketh may not be bankrolling the small British team any longer, but none of the racing bug has burst out of Bubbles Horsley. However, all the will in the world does not guarantee results, and that is demonstrated by Hesketh's 1976 season. The line-up of Chris Amon and Harald Ertl is uninspiring at best, and whilst there hasn't been a failure to Pre-Qualify, both drivers have racked up a DNQ apiece. With an upgrade to come at in time for the British Grand Prix, the team hope to improve on a dismally bland first 8 races.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 28 Jan 2017, 09:21

Gimme dat Epsilon upgrade.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 28 Jan 2017, 14:19

Upgrades

McLaren: +140DF, -20BQ

With that, having had confirmation Boro will not be upgrading via the chat, upgrades are now closed.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 28 Jan 2017, 22:49

Pre-Race
Driver Changes:
- Ferrari: Patrick Depailler has been drafted in to replace Niki Lauda, after a strong showing at the International Trophy earlier this year. He is expected to run strongly, but question marks remain as to whether he'll be told to back off from Scheckter.
- Ensign: Brian Henton is the lucky man on the magic roundabout this weekend.
- Ligier: Patrick Neve is in the second seat this time around, after a dismal season everywhere else he's been.
- Shadow: After a race in the hopeless Dywa, Merzario is back at Shadow, Leclere completing the first part of his rota.
- B&S Fabrications are back, but this time with Divina Galicia partnering Conny Andersson. Will they make the race at home?

Pre-Qualifying

1) Thistle-Ford 2:58.441
2) Boro-Ford 2:58.602
3) March-Ford 2:58.731
4) Hesketh-Ford 2:59.105
5) Penske-Alfa Romeo 2:59.400
6) Wheatcroft-Ford 3:03.583
7) BRM 3:04.580

The short track at Brands provides the biggest pre-qualifying upset of the season - Thistle top the session, with Boro and B&S being the other teams to progress! Hesketh have Harald Ertl to blame for missing qualifying for the first time this season, whereas Penske were off the pace, again. Thomas Nurmester continues to show his talent in the woeful Wheatcroft, and the injection of cash from Louis Stanley continues to not translate into any pace whatsoever for BRM.

This Could Be You · Post by **This Could Be You** » 28 Jan 2017, 22:58

Wait, so the upgrades have actually made us slower?

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 28 Jan 2017, 23:05

This Could Be You wrote:Wait, so the upgrades have actually made us slower?

Harald Ertl dropped the ball, Amon is more representative of the Hesketh's actual pace (albeit on the bottom end).

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 29 Jan 2017, 01:09

B&S urges the FISA to write Galica's name correctly and not confuse her with a province in northern Spain.