CCYoshi's 'Blasted Irony' Race Report: Barcelona
GTP F1 S7 Barcelona Grand Prix Champion: Blake Haswell, Renault
Now it's clear why he did so average last season - he's been saving all the karma for this run. 3 races, 2 wins, lowest finish 2nd. Started midfield in Barcelona and just glided his way up. Only question is - will he run out of steam by season's end?
Silver Medal: Bruce McLaren, McLaren
Ran a distressingly slow first stint - but it was all according to plan. A mid-race SC and 2 pits in the last 25 laps kept him light on fuel on new tires when it counted. Lost 4 seconds in the pits though - enough to cost him a win.
Bronze Medal: Brad Horton, McLaren
Double podium for McLaren! An easy race, always remaining in the top 10. Survived an early collision without harm, and only loses 4 points to Blake. Gap is now 9 to the leader!
Point Scorers:
4th - Paajanen, Toro Rosso (Stalled at start but clawed back up due to 3-stop strategy)
5th - Smith, Midland (Led early in the race, but throttle issues slowed him and relegated him to mediocre points)
6th - Whitcomb, Renault (Was leading at about halfway but maybe pitted too soon after SC came out)
7th - Beyens, Ferrari (Same race as Whitcomb, different car. Led early, faded late)
8th - Orchard, Red Bull (Incident on lap 16 forced 2 pits in 6 laps. Managed to fight to a point)
Casualty Report:
Kawasie (Lap 1): Shot off the line straight into Taylor who was right in front of him. Game over.
Dubois (Lap 10): Chopped across Henson's wing when trying to defend and spun off. SC came out.
Mason (Lap 20): Went off into the sand, and then the grass, and then the wall from 5th. Resulted in Safety Car while officials cleaned up the sudden redecoration of the track.
Chang, Machiels (Lap 27): Locked wheels and went into synchronized spinning into opposite barriers, scattering debris. SC came out for the third and final time.
Domingues (Lap 60): Reported gearbox issues which sent him into a spin on lap 57 from the lead. 3 laps later the clutch began giving out and eventually destroyed the engine (overheating through clutch slippage or something. I don't know this stuff >_>), bringing him to a halt in front of his adoring, and now quite shocked, fans.
Consistency Award: Yuuji Kawasie + Bruno Domingues
Kawasie ran a special 'Kamikaze Kawasie' paintjob for this race after some jokes shared with his old Midland partner McLaren. True to his name, he promptly went out of the race after 4 seconds after gunning it right into Taylor. (not on purpose, I swear!)
Also, Domingues can't seem to shake the mechanical ghouls. That's 4 retirements in a row for him. Talk about not being able to catch a break!
Defining Moment: Domingues's Retirement (again), Lap 60
I'm sure the BMW mechanics will be sleeping with the fishes if these performances keep up. Domingues was leading, at home, and then the car fell to pieces under him in just 3 laps. What can you do?
)
Points will be a miracle..
