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FRL Fridays: Issue Seven
Pole Position
10th Le Mans Classic Report as well as BIG news for ToCA13. With all the usual sections, enjoy FRL Fridays – Editor, Rob Adams
The Big Picture
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Ninners leads the pack away from the line for the first time this ToCA season.
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!
ToCA Is Back! And With A Bang!
After a long break, the heavily anticipated ToCA12 season go underway last weekend at Brands Hatch in Kent. After the cars got out on track for the first time in anger this season it was clear that the FAS-Polestar Volvo’s were the cars to beat after
@Ninners qualified the car on pole position ahead of his team mate
@DrifterJoe in a similarly liveried Volvo. The SYM boys were the first of the Hyundai’s starting on the second row or
@snowgt and
@Yeratel84 respectively, with the independent FAS Volvo of
@Furinkazen lining up in 5th.
After an alright get away by the pole sitter it was Volvo-Hyundai-Volvo-Hyundai-Volvo as Snow managed to squeeze past the second placed car and nearly into the lead by Paddock Hill for the first time. After the first lap the field were separated by little over 7 seconds and the action had only just began. A coming together between FRL boss Furi and
@RyanRacer in the Renault saw the American tumble to last position. This promoted
@gtpanoz to 5th in the Nissan and @racorama123432 to 6th with a good showing after being somewhat out of pace for the last 2 and a half seasons. He was now leading the Jack Sears Trophy from @skengdigi and
@Roflwaffle in their Mazda’s and the recovering Furinkazen who had slipped to the bottom of the top 10. A great battle for the final podium slot entailed between Joe and Yeratel after they switched positions for lap after lap. After finally making it past Joe, Yera proceeded to throw it all away again on lap 17 going through Paddock Hill. He had dropped as low as 6th but spent the rest of the race catching back up to toe independent Hyundai of O’rama. On the last lap he completed a daring move around the outside of the British driver through the corner he’d had an off on 7 laps prior. It was Ninners however who set the scene and took the flag first ahead of Snow who had a 10 second gap back to the second of the Volvo’s, Joe. Yeratel finished 4th with the Jack Sears win going to the similar car of O’rama. Panoz finished 6th in the first of the DHS cars who was also recovering after a bad couple seasons driving for Mazda. Skeng claimed second in the Jack Sears from Furinkazen in 8th. Roflwaffle was the second of the Mazdas with debutant
@AudiMan2011 in 10th overall and fist of the HSR-Renaultsport cars.
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Race Two saw the first of the seasons reverse grid races for the ToCA12 season. Despite going a lap down in the previous race, Cami led the first lap who was being chased down by the fast starting Nissan of Chris with Marmite in third. The front runners from race 1 were very close and it was inevitable that there was going to be contact as the more likely candidates for race wins were trying to put other cars in-between them. O’rama was the unlucky one who had made it up to 10th from 12th as he was pushed into the clearways gravel traps which dropped him to last. It was lap three that Cami was relinquished from his lead, his mistake exiting Druids held up DK and Ryan put a wheel on the grass to avoid. This spun him across the track and he was collected by Skeng which dropped the two drivers to the back of the pack. The impressive debutant AudiMan from R1 made a small mistake through paddock which dropped him down the order, DK was also the cork in the bottle on lap 7 and was passed by Ninners, Yera, Joe and Furi. After slow progress initially, SnowCrash made his way back up to 4th by lap 14. Karma was dealled out to Furi as he was pushed wide trough clearways and dropped 4 positions. Race one winner Ninners was showing he was the man to beat as he took the lead from Chris who’d led from lap 3. However, he was the one to drop a wheel through Paddock, which spun him across the track and back on again, collecting the Austrian driver, SnowCrash. This promoted Yera and Joe up two positions and dropped these two drivers right into the mid pack scrap. After tussles for position, it was the same top 5 as race one with O’rama coming up through the pack from the back at the end of lap one. But it was Ninners again who lifted the winner’s trophy aloft from his team mate Joe and the other SYM car of Yera, getting his first podium of the season. Snow recovered to 4th and O’rama was 5th, but was the first of the Jack Sears cars past the flag claiming two wins from two in that class.
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Onto race three and again it was the American Nissan driver on pole from the DHS car of DK. The Mazda of Roflwaffe had an ignition failure and was unable to make it to the grid, or out at all during the race. A good start from Cami saw him the first through Paddock. However it was the Irishman who was first out of Druids. However, drama entering Druids for the front runners of the previous races saw Joe miss is braking point and spin backwards into the gravel. He was able to slam it into reverse and carry on without getting stuck. However, his run to catch back up to the field was helped by a spinning Cami in front of the pack. He was collected by several cars but all we able to carry on. This handed DK a 2 second lead from the Renaultsports of Marmite and Ryan with Furi in 4th. The Hyundais of Yera, O’rama and Snow had made a much better start than Ninners and Joe and were in 8th, 9th and 10th respectively at the end of lap 2. A great run through Paddock Hill saw Furi overtake both Renault’s round the outside of Druids! Marmite then ran wide and became a sitting duck for Ryan, Panoz and Siggers. The #84 Hyundai of Yeratel ran into the back of race leader of round 2 Chis’ Nissan through Paddock which meant he was passed by his team mate in the #72 car and O’rama in the similar car, but differently liveried. Snow had built up some good momentum and passed the ailing Chris round the outside of Paddock Hill, O’rama followed. The pairing were straight onto the back of Marmite who held up Snow going through Graham Hill. This gave O’rama the speed advantage and he passed the Austrian through Surtees. Meanwhile, Yeratel had also made his way past the #93 Nissan and was setting about closing down his team mate. SnowCrash was keen not to lose time and used his draft advantage to pass O’rama back through Paddock and then dispensed with Marmite. The reverse of the previous lap saw the #43 Hyundai held up by the #55 car Yeratel was able to follow his team mate past the two cars. But the Renault driver hadn’t given up and was determined to impress on his debut. He came from a long way back to slot the car in a small gap. However, there was a banging of doors and Yera was sent on a trip to the gravel trap. The battle at the front was hotting up between two ToCA veterans, DK and Furi. However, their party was about to spoilt by SnowCrash and Ninners who had been passing cars every lap. A great battle at the head of the field then pursued, Ninners move past SnowCrash was a little eyebrow raising though. He was the first car across the line but was later demoted to second so it was a win for SYM and SnowCrash! Ninners was still classified second bring home a good points haul for the reigning champ. Furinkazen finished on the final spot of the podium and was happy with his performance. He was also the first Jack Sears car home. O’rama was 4th and just missed out on making it 3 JS wins from 3. Panoz lead his DHS teammate and erstwhile race leader DK to 5th and 6th respectively with Yera recovering to 7th. Ryan had his best finish of the weekend in 8th and Joe was a disappointing 9th in his last ToCA race for the foreseeable future.
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Round 1 Race Result
1. Ninners (GBR) – Volvo S60 T5 Sport (FL 0:46.911)
2. SnowCrash (AUT) – Hyundai Genesis 3.8T (+04.503)
3. JoeOfTheFire (GBR) – Volvo S60 T5 Sport (+15.552)
4. Yeratel (POR) – Hyundai Genesis 3.8T (+19.447)
5. O’rama (GBR) – Hyundai Genesis 3.8T (+19.723)
(Jack Sears Winner)
6. GTPanoz (USA) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+22.495)
7. Skengdigi (USA) – Mazda6 5-door (+23.385)
8. Furinkazen (GBR) – Volvo S60 T5 Sport (+28.511)
9. Roflwaffle (GBR) – Mazda6 5-door (+38.301)
10. AudiMan (GBR) – Renaultsport Megane RS (+38.526)
11. Siggers (GBR) – Mazda6 5-door (+39.464)
12. Driftking (ROI) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+40.372)
13. ChrisJohnson (GBR) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+40.754)
14. RyanRacer (USA) – Renaultsport Megane RS (+44.209)
15. Marmite (GBR) – Renaultsport Megane RS (+48.798)
16. CAMikaze (USA) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+1 Lap)
Round 2 Race Result
1. Ninners (GBR) – Volvo S60 T5 Sport (FL 0.47.027)
2. JoeOfTheFire (GBR) – Volvo S60 T5 Sport (+11.559)
3. Yeratel (POR) – Hyundai Genesis 3.8T (+11.653)
4. SnowCrash (AUT) – Hyundai Genesis (+17.991)
5. O’rama (GBR) – Hyundai Genesis (+20.934)
(Jack Sears Winner)
6. ChrisJohnson (GBR) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+21.880)
7. Skengdigi (USA) – Mazda6 5-door (+22.176)
8. Furinkazen (GBR) – Volvo S60 T5 Sport (+23.488)
9. Roflwaffle (GBR) – Mazda6 5-door (+24.063)
10. GTPanoz (USA) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+24.464)
11. Siggers (GBR) – Mazda6 5-door (+26.119)
12. Marmite (GBR) – Renaultsport Megane RS (+28.490)
13. AudiMan (GBR) – Renaultsport Megane RS (+38.081)
14. DriftKing (ROI) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+39.490)
15. RyanRacer (USA) – Renaultsport RS (+40.208)
16. CAMikaze (USA) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+1 Lap)
Round 3 Race Result
1. SnowCrash (AUT) – Hyundai Genesis 3.8T
2. Ninners (GBR) – Volvo S60 T5 Sport (FL 0:47.037) (PEN)
3. Furinkazen (GBR) – Volvo S60 T5 Sport (+06.354)
(Jack Sears Winner)
4. O’rama (GBR) – Hyundai Genesis 3.8T (+07.837)
5. GTPanoz (USA) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+08.798)
6. Driftking (ROI) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+10.152)
7. Yeratel (POR) – Hyundai Genesis 3.8T (+10.160)
8. RyanRacer (USA) – Renaultsport Megane RS (+11.077)
9. JoeOfTheFire (GBR) – Volvo S60 T5 Sport (+11.206)
10. Skengdigi (USA) – Mazda6 5-door (+11.764)
11. Siggers (GBR) – Mazda6 5-door (+14.163)
12. AudiMan (GBR) – Renaultsport Megane RS (+22.704)
13. CAMikaze (USA) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+32.169)
14. Marmite (GBR) – Renaultsport Megane RS (+34.534)
15. ChrisJohnson (GBR) – Nissan Skyline 370GT (+40.336)
Not Classified
Roflwaffle (GBR) – Mazda6 5-door (DNS)
World Sportscar Championship 10th Running Of The Le Mans Classic
The Le Mans Classic started with a depleted field for its tenth running.
@Downhill Dino(#23 Ferrari GTO) blew the engine during qualifying and the car could not be repaired.
@PatrisS136plans of a debut in the #36 Shelby Daytona were ended by a massive crash in the Porsche Curves in qualifying, and
@LancerEvo7's attempt to win the race for Ferrari in the #043 330 P4 were thwarted by gear selection issues that meant the car broke down going to the grid.
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When the field was assembled, it was a first WSC pole in a very long time for the #54 Ford Mk IV of
@Furinkazen, taking it from
@jammy21 in the final appearance in the premier class of the WSC for a GT40 Grp.4 .
@chrisjohnson93 took his Jaguar to 3rd, running a low aero configuration that paid off down Mulsanne.
@gtpanoz took the 2nd #38 Mk IV to 4th with
@FlyingFoxwinding up 5th rounding out the GT-P field.
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@Andil on his second appearance of the season took his #77 Mercedes to pole in GT-O with a triple threat of Ferrari's behind -
@Yeratel84 (#12 GTO) and
@snowgt (#72 GTO) sandwiching
@raceorama123432's (#43) older 250GTB.
@R0ssingt0n would start 4th attempting to make it two Le Mans wins in a row, with
@DK (#94) in a fresh 250GTB and
@gokartman's (#2) BMW rounding out the field.
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The standing start is usually chaotic and even with just 12 of a maximum 16 entries, proved this again. A lightning start would see Chrisjohnson93 taking the lead in the Jaguar before cold tyres put him sideways at the bottom of Dunlop Esses, the car struck Furinkazen and they both sustained wheel damage forcing a pit stop. Panoz and Jammy being cautious meant that FlyingFox jumped into the race lead in the Shelby Daytona, before spinning off in the Porsche Curves! Behind in GTO O’rama had spun at the start and Rossington had jumped to first. After the first lap the race settled down with Panoz going after Jammy and Furi and Chris over half a minute back. Ross went off at Arnage on the second lap and Andil eased his way to the front and began to slowly move away from Snow in second.
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The race settled down and was fairly uneventful. Furi was on average 1-2 seconds a lap faster than Panoz but having to be more aggressive and using his tyres more. Jammy and Panoz were still battling as the sun went down. Soon, pit stops would mean the Mk IV army of Furi and Panoz get even closer as the older Ford of Jammy was less economical and tougher on tyres. Gokartman retired his GTO BMW with a fuel leak whilst Yeratel went off and out the race after an incident at Tetre Rouge in the night.
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The second stint was a quiet game under the night of cat and mouse, which came alive at the end of it as Furi took major chunks out of his teammate and Jammy and made it 3 cars covered by 0.4 seconds under the darkness. Jammy missed a gear at Mulsanne Corner on his in lap, putting Panoz in the lead. Furi half spun trying to avoid and was lucky to not have a more serious crash. The Gulf coloured car however was struggling, and this was emphasised when Furi managed to pass Jammy around the outside of the Porsche Curves. GT-O was still very much quiet and the same, Andil extending his lead further, with Snow and Orama both having delays but running very much in close proximity.
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As morning came around, and the sun rose over La Sarthe, Panoz was holding a steady lead over Furi. Jammy had dropped back a little and Chrisjohnson after early race issues had been steadily keeping pace with the leaders albeit over a minute back. All this changed however when Panoz took too much kerb at Dunlop chicane and ended up in the gravel. Furi would pass by and take a lead he would ultimately never lose. The Shelby of Fox was retired in the morning with suspected engine problems.
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Furi would reel off the laps and take his 4th career WSC win and 2nd at Le Mans, some 9 events after the inaugural running. Chris managed an ambitious strategy well to take 2nd with Panoz 4th. In GT-O however real late final hour drama. After leading nearly the entire way, Andil had a clash with DK who was being lapped at Tetre Rouge. The steering arm was damaged and needed a quick fix. When repaired, he was behind Orama and Snowgt, with the former holding off the latter for the GTO win, albeit with Andil running a very close 3rd mere seconds behind.
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It was the final race of the GT-P era at La Sarthe in its current guise. Next season sees the advent of turbochargers. Lap times are expected to fall by some 10 seconds per lap, and the legend of the Le Mans Classic will live on, renewed.
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The 10th Le Mans Classic Classifications
GT-P
1. Furinkazen (GBR) – Ford Mk IV (FL 3:54.045)
2. ChrisJohnson (GBR) – Jaguar XJ13 (+15.317)
3. GTPanoz (USA) – Ford Mk IV (+29.561)
4. Jammy (FIN) – Ford GT40 Gr.4 (+40.739)
5. FlyingFox (GBR) – Shelby Daytona Coupe (RET)
6. LancerEvo (USA) – Ferrari 330 P4 (DNS)
7. Patris (POL) – Shelby Daytona Coupe (DNS)
GT-O
1. Orama (GBR) – Ferrari 250 GTB (GT-O PRO Winner)
2. SnowCrash (AUT) – Ferrari 250 GTO (+0.436)
3. Andil (GBR) – Mercedes 300 SL (+0.965)
4. Lout (GBR) – Shelby Mustang GT350 (+1:26.534)
(GT-O AM Winner)
5. DriftKing (ROI) – Ferrari 250 GTB (1 Lap)
6. Yeratel (POR) – Ferrari 250 GTO (RET)
7. GoKartMan (GBR) – BMW 507 (RET)
8. Daiba (USA) – Ferrari 250 GTO (DNS)
Blue Oval Returns To ToCA
We're in touch here in the FRL Media Department with all things, and around the ToCA Paddock we have been all ears. Around Brands Hatch it may have been start of T12, but we managed to get all kinds of information. Most interesting was a whisper we got in our ear about something returning.
So looking up and down the paddock, Ford had some people around. Instantly we managed to grab a word and get some interesting information. Ford had tested for ToCA9 and ToCA11 a Mustang. A V8 ToCA car. This was apparently cleared by ToCA bosses due to the car having a low HP output of approximately 300 despite the engine size, but never got out testing phase.
However, these have:
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Ford Racing are returning to ToCA, with the older-shape bodyshell Focus ST. And they won't be the only ones according to FRL boss Furinkazen.
“End Of An Era” For WSC
This weekend sees the final race of the WSC VIII season at Spa-Francorchamps. However, this is not just the end of a season, but an era! Since the inaugural season of WSC, The prototype class (formerly C1) has run with minimal tuning. Well no longer. From WSC IX onwards the prototype class will be run in two divisions. P2 will be based on the cars currently ran in the WSC, however, P1 cars (Ford Mk IV, Ferrari 330 P4, Jaguar XJ13) will be ran with the added power of a turbo charger. This is expected to be the more popular format and if the P2 category does not take off then expect the prototype class to consist of the P1 cars only.
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What’s to come this week?
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Despite early speculations, ToCA will be racing this Saturday in the South African hills of Cape Ring. The triple hairpin layout invites for close racing and lots of overtaking. Expect the Volvo’s of Ninners and Andil to be fast in the last section and the start finish straight, but the Hyundai’s of the SYM boys to be dominant rounding the twists and turns of the middle part of the track. This will be the first outing for last season’s title contender Andil after replacing the retired Joe for FAS for the rest of the season.
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It’s the final race of the season for the WSC at Spa this Sunday after the event was postponed due to several track safety issues. However, these issues have been rectified and the race will go ahead. This will be the final race for the current spec GT-P cars as they make way for the turbo era as of next season (full write up in FRL Fridays: Issue 6) to sort the best for the rest as both GT-P and GT-O overall championships have been decided. Can Furinkazen make it two from two to end off his season, or will the Jaguar of Chris have better luck than he did at Le Mans and claim a win. Orama has shown good pace here in practise earlier in the year, but will SnowCrash add to his WSC VIII win tally?
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