Spoiler-tastic ahead...!
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CCYoshi's Random Race Report Returns! (Competition Version)
Round 12: Istanbul
On the Grid:
Overview:
Qualifying was close as always but McLaren seemed strongest on the grid (as always?), with Trendell first and Horton 5th. Ferrari held 4th and 7th and the rest of the top 10 was a complete toss-up as BMW (Beyens), Williams (Chang), Red Bull (Machiels), Aguri (Davidson), Spyker (Smith), and Toro Rosso (Haswell) all managed to get a driver in the upper half, in roughly that order. Renault and Toyota had the most work to do, with their drivers averaging roughly 16th place.
Incidents:
Quali was also rather messy with 3 drivers failing to record a time. Newly rebranded Williams driver Hayha (Shepherd) was the first to plant it firmly into the barriers 11 minutes in on his outlap, and Butler's Honda went zero-emissions again around the 20-minute mark. The big moment during quali though was 2 minutes later, when Rees's BMW went off into a wall in a large manner, eventually sliding back onto the track and collecting the unlucky Mason (Toro Rosso) and Charkaoui (Aguri), with only the latter completing any laps.
Race Report:
At the Lights:
The start was relatively clean with all drivers getting away without spinning the wheels. However there was much chaos at the front of the grid as Dunstan and Haswell, who both qualified strongly, got into a bit of a mix-up and fitted wet tires for the start, promptly shooting to the rear of the field. Meanwhile, Kamikaze Kawasie was living up to his name for the third race in a row, jumping a few places before colliding with AlMomen, forcing both drivers to pit next lap. Unfortunately Kawasie would not get that far, as he collided with Hayha as soon as he got back on track, spinning the Williams driver out and turning the Spyker into a tricycle.
The Safety Car comes out.
Lap 3:
Under Safety Car conditions, Mason's car still managed to fail catastrophically, and rather early even by Toro Rosso standards. However, being in 17th race, perhaps they were just ending his hopes early.
Lap 16:
Davidson in the Amazing Aguri machine shot up to 2nd during the period between the SC and now, but this is because he had a short fuel load, which is evidenced by him being the first to pit. Hayha grabs a bit more of the highlight reel in the Williams when he goes off at turn 7 and doesn't come back. BMW driver Beyens, who is running in the top 5, takes turn 9 a bit wide, with a bit wide being defined as 'brushing the wall and continuing on.' He drops 3 places the next lap.
Lap 18:
Sharky's sucktacular pit crew carries on as they service his teammate Machiels to the tune of 18 seconds, which will hurt giving his previous position in 3rd.
Lap 19:
The Williams crew, competitive as ever, does the Red Bull team one better and gets then-leader Chang out in 19 seconds. He drops to 18th.
Lap 20:
Completing the pattern, Ferrari driver Hutchinson pits from P2 and spends a good 20 seconds in there before coming out in the back. At this point the trend is starting to get a bit ridiculous.
Lap 25:
Horton pits from the lead and somehow, Butler manages to get around the BMW of Beyens to take the lead, shocking everybody as a Honda leads a lap. The trees cheer.
Lap 28:
Butler pulls into the pits on what appears to be a one-stop strategy, and stalls the car momentarily while the mechanics try to find enough compost to fuel the engine. Suddenly, it's a Renault 1-2, which means that we should probably look to see how cold it's getting down in the underworld.
Lap 30:
Just past halfway here, and Skywalker makes the first driver error in a while when he sees his father in the stands and pays a bit too close of a look. Butler gets past but thanks to pit stops the Red Bull driver maintains his 8th place.
Lap 33:
Meanwhile, in irrelevant land, Dunstan and Nikolakopoulos collaborate to get some TV time by driving into each other and not causing much. The latter driver's scathing 18th-place-winning pace is notably lessened.
Lap 34:
Things are heating up again as Dunstan collides again with a different driver, this time Rees, and both of them do a synchronized spin into a half-axel flip into the gravel trap. Both are unscathed but with turn 14 looking like a war battlefield the SC is brought out for the second time.
Lap 40:
The safety car pulls in for hopefully the last time, and nobody moves on the first lap of the 17-lap shootout. The order is mixed but Davidson in 3rd is in the middle of a Renault-McLaren sandwich. Meanwhile, Haswell continues being entertaining when his in-car TV cuts out and he is forced to pit to repair it.
Lap 48:
With 10 to go, the top 10 are still only separated by 10 seconds, and Horton decides to let them have some fun as he spins out of the lead pack at turn eleven, carrying on.
Lap 51:
Nikolakopoulos, who hasn't done much except drive into things this race, overshoots the first corner by about a million years and parks the car in pieces in a wall.
Lap 52:
Beyens makes BMW the first team to be completely eliminated from this race when he is a bit too distracted by his female fans in the grandstands.
At the Flag:
Taylor, surprisingly enough, has opened up enough of a lead over the rest of the field to comfortably drive to victory by 7 seconds in the Renault, earning their first win of the season. Trendell garners the silver in a typically good McLaren drive, while Super Bee takes 3rd, barely avoiding wiping the face of the car halfway around the final lap. Graham comes home 4th in Renault's best finish of the season. The final 4 drivers dash across the line in a pack, with Butler leading Machiels, Chang, and Hutchinson.
Championship Outlook:
Horton continues to have a strong 24-point lead with 5 races remaining, but the rest of the field is particularly interesting as Hutchinson, Trendell, and Smith all are tied for runner-up with 39 points. The Super Duo holds joint 5th, 6 points back of the 2nd-place fight, and Chang is rather lonely in 7th, 2 points behind the Aguri team. It may not be the most exciting fight for the championship but the battle for runner-up should be extremely interesting if the drivers can forget the fact that runner-up is the first loser.
Onward to Monza...
