FRL Fridays: Issue Four
Pole Position
Was a weekend of what ifs for me after narrowly missing out on a win in WSC. Plenty of news, enjoy – Editor, Rob Adams
The Big Picture
Green, green, green! WSC action as the field goes pedal to the metal!
In The Paddock
Reports from the inside as we bring you the news announced this week, interviews with drivers and the reports from the weekends racing!
Ferraris Please Tifosi!
A less eventful round of WSC this weekend saw little drama. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t any close racing!
A fairly routine start saw pole sitter
@DrifterJoe convert his fastest qualifying lap into an early lead from
@Phouchg,
@Ninners with
@Furinkazen slipping to 6th from 2nd. Then, much to the dismay of the tifosi, Niko in the sole GT-P Ferrari struck an issue which saw him drop to the back of his class.
@jammy21 in the sole GT40 made up two positions off the start passing erstwhile front row man Furinkazen. These two then proceeded to exchange positions for several laps before an issue for the Finnish driver saw him hit the pits. There was also a close battle for second overall early on as
@gtpanoz duelled with last week’s winner Ninners at one of the Shelbys worst events. Both Ford MkIV drivers pitted on the same lap and exited at similar times. This promoted jammy to 3rd and a recovering Niko to 4th. However, all four cars we separated by a mere 20 seconds. However, the longer stint didn’t work out for the gulf livery car and he dropped to the back of the quartet. An issue struck the lead Daytona Coupe with 2 laps to go and saw him drop two places much to the delight of the local hardy fans whose favourite car was now in the podium positions. It was the British marque however that lifted the trophy aloft and extended his championship lead to 14 points over the unlucky Daytona coupe driver this weekend. Second went to Panoz, his highest finish this season from the Ford driver.
It was a weekend of what ifs for both these drivers this weekend after both having their best Qualifying yet.
Qualifying saw a new face on the front row in the form of FRL Fridays editor Orama, who lead a Ferrari 1-2-3 for most of the race. After a brief switch of positions,
@snowgt was 2nd from
@Yeratel84. In the early stages the home advantage saw a Ferrari 1-2-3-4 with
@Downhill Dino leading the GT-O AM class.
@RyanRacer was heading his fellow Mustang driver
@Siggers with
@chrisjohnson93 completing the field, and the Jaguar sandwich. An issue struck the 3rd Ferrari in line and Yeratel dropped to 5th. However, such was the pace of the front row car it was a mere 4 laps before he resumed his position. It was the AM class battle that encapsulated fans as all 4 cars lapped within 15 seconds of each other. It was Siggers in the end who won that fight ahead of Chris despite a lap one pit stops for both drivers. Ryan came home 6th in GT-O with Daiba ending a lap down on the battle due to a collision with Ninners. However,
@raceorama123432, who lead the class for 1 hour and 20 minutes stuck an issue and was destined for the pit lane after a collision with a lonely
@FlyingFox from the GT-P class rounding Curva Grande. This handed yet another win to the Austrian Ferrari driver at a track that saw fellow countryman Niki Lauda take his final podium of his 1977 championship winning season. Orama recovered to 2nd and Yeratel 3rd after a final spin with 4 laps to go. This saw that across both classes there were 4 Ferrari’s on the podium out of the total 6 cars to lift the trophies ending a good weekend for the local marque.
Snake Bite Love...
When the World Sportscar Championship adopted the original ACO "GT" class regulations, one car stood out above all others. The AC Cobra was an impressive car with the power and chassis to win the WSC and Le Mans. Since then the Shelby American team have been exceptionally busy with projects including the Mustang GT350, continued development and assistance with the Mk IV GT-P programme and the development of the GT-P Daytona.
In the GT-O class the Mustang has been a strong contender but the arrival of Ferrari and the 250 series in GT-O has raised the bar for all concerned. Gone are the days of arriving in your car to the race, racing it and driving it home. These are competition thoroughbreds and as such, Shelby need one. So, where better place to start than with the original dominator?
Meet the new Shelby Cobra 289 Competition Roadster for the GT-O class in WSC IX.
Swifts Entries Open
Official Suzuki Swift Sports Cup entries opened this afternoon, 1 month before racing begins. If you were looking at a small hatchback drive or a way into the FRL Members Group then FlyingFox Systems (FFS) has a great way to do so. There’s also a success penalty devised to limit repeat winners and could well be the defining factor on who wins and who doesn’t. The cars will have 170bhp and will weigh less than 1000Kg. Each meeting will comprise of two races, a Sprint Race, and then a double length, or longer track variant Feature Race with a reverse grid. The calendar is European based, starting on the Streets of Rome, before heading to the hills of Matterhorn, then Madrid, Brands Hatch, Red Bull Ring and finally Nürburgring (not the Nordschleife, don’t be silly). Expect 3 wheel action and it all to be reported here, with FRL Fridays.
Roflwaffle Aims For WSC GT-O Am Title!
@Roflwaffle pictured at Matterhorn (#16)
Only man to beat the SnowCrash this WSC season, how do you rate your chances to do that again this season?
Not that high, sadly. I think Monza was my best chance to do a repeat of it, but a testing crash meant I had to miss the race. I think my best chance would be if Snow had an accident at a later round, but that doesn't happen often, and let’s not forget the others in the highly competitive GT-O Grid, including Yeratel, Orama and Lout. All of them pose serious challenges.
So you're not running a full season campaign. Where do you see yourself finishing in the standings?
My hope is to be top of GT-O Am, and in the top 4 in GT-O overall. I think these goals are very much in my reach.
What are your plans for next season? Are you gunning to knockdown the tifosi?
I'm unsure for next season. Of course Mercedes have provided me with a wonderful car for this season with which to race with, but there are still several options open for next season, including even joining the prancing horse.
The prototype class is often considered the epitome of endurance racing. Has the thought crossed you mind to race in this class?
Yes it has on a few occasions, but I see GT-O as a more competitive class and its much easier to start as a rookie driver there as well as you can adapt to the cars quicker. GT-P is often more spread out than GT-O as well, but I'm still considering it as a future career move.
Who do you think you main rival has been this season?
I haven't had many battles on-track, but I'd say that I and Orama have banged doors a few times. I enjoy racing with him as I know he will give me space and won't try a silly move which you can expect other drivers to do. I've battled with him in various other series as well, so I have a lot of respect for him.
Andil Doubts ToCA12 Spec Meganes Performance
After narrowly missing out on the ToCA11 title, what opportunities do you think ToCA12 will present to you?
As with last season I'll have to drop a couple of rounds so I'm not sure a title challenge is really possible but we'll see, anything can happen.
You recently left Humberside Racing after disagreements with the team. What factor finally made your decision to leave them?
We ran some preseason tests and honestly with the new regulations the Megane just wasn't working for me, I'm not sure it's a competitive option for the season ahead; so that was my only motive to move away, it's important for me to remain competitive.
This season you'll be running a Volvo in an independent team. How does the S60 stack up to the Megane?
When I initially tested the Volvo, it felt brilliant and very responsive, but many hours of running later and it's far from that - I've actually grown to hate it already! I'd say it's a bigger brother of the Megane, same big torque and power but probably a bit less understeer than the Renault, it's quite similar in style.
I understand that there are a few teams who have gained interest in you. Will you leave your options open for next season?
Yes I think so, I don't really want to deliberately run as an independent, so a team option is always a priority for me. Hopefully something will come together for next season and we can look at a proper title challenge.
Who do you think will be your toughest opponents for the Independents title?
I've had a quick look through the entry list and I think the one name that stands out most is Furinkazen. I've heard great things about this guy so I'm looking forward to watching his lines and being able to learn from him and ultimately improve as a driver.
Last season was a brawl between you and Ninners. Do you have much respect for each other on-track?
Yeah definitely. I think we first came properly 'door to door' at Spa back in the Clio Cup together. We spent the majority of the lap side by side, without contact. That sort of respect is hard to come by and it's a great thing when you can have hard but fair racing with a driver you can trust.
HSR-Renault Confirms Second ToCA12 Driver
Scotsman
@AudiMan2011 joins Humberside Racing’s ranks for ToCA12 as the number two driver. After a quiet spell from team boss and number 1 driver
@Scaniabebe, AudiMan himself confirmed his seat at the Northern English based team earlier this week. Due to other circumstances, Scaniabebe is currently unsure of his race schedule. AudiMan’s ToCA pace is not yet known until he makes his ToCA debut this season, but he has big boots to fill after
@Andil left the team after narrowly missing out on the ToCA11 crown from
@Ninners and the FAS (formerly RPM) Ford Focus. If the intense rivalry between HSR and FAS will continue this season is unknown, but I’d expect SYM to be the team that has the greatest chance of beating the factory Volvo’s.
What’s to come this week?
More World Sportscar Championship this weekend and it’s the home event for most of the drivers for the Autosport 6 Hours! They will be using the fan favourite Historic GP Layout, so the drivers had better learn their lines if they want to win! Expect fireworks and, most likely, RAIN!!!
