If I may, a few comments on the effects of the new qualifying rule regarding tire selection:
The difficulty is that if the race distance is unknown until 24 hours before qualifying time submission, the wrong qualifying tire may be selected.
If, after a qualifying time is submitted, the driver determines a tire and pit strategy which may produce a quicker race time based on the number of race laps, but which requires starting on a different tire than was used in qualifying, the driver is honor-bound not to use that strategy and is forced to do something which may well result in a slower race time. If the submitted qualifying time is not fast enough to reward the driver with any points, the driver will find himself in the unhappy position of getting no qualifying points and knowing that he will have handicapped himself in the actual race which pays many more points than qualifying.
It seems that the only way to know which tire to use for qualifying and for the start of the race is to complete tire testing in order to be able to predict which tires produce the best average speed over a known stint distance, then wait until the number of race laps is known, then do the calculations to determine the quickest race time based on tire selection and stint length and thereby deciding on which tire is the ideal start tire, and then go out a get a decent qualifying time with that ideal start tire, hoping desperately that the effort produces at least one valuable qualifying point.
With the presently determined schedule between race laps announcement and qualifying time submission, there would be just twenty-four hours to do that.
And still there exists the possibility that, during race week, the driver may find another combination of tire selection and pit strategy that will produce a quicker race time, for some previously unknown reason, and he will be unable to change his race plan during that week of racing following submission of qualifying time.
For a driver like myself, these difficulties are worth pondering. During Season One I never found myself on the podium after qualifying, but I never found myself off the podium after the race. My approach is therefore that I cannot count on getting any points from qualifying, I can only hope to gain maximum possible points from the race itself and if I make a mistake on tire selection for qualifying I'm almost certainly going to reduce my only advantage in the overall competition.
Re-reading the rules carefully has led me to assume that, as in Season One, there is no penalty for simply not qualifying at all. In my case that would seem to be the only reasonable thing to do, because I did find on occasion during Season One that late in the week a fresh idea on strategy produced a quicker race time.
So for me, even though I would prefer to qualify if only to participate in that part of the competition, and unless there is some Season Two sanction for non-submission of a qualifying time, it would be smarter to forget qualifying altogether and just do my careful tire testing, retaining the option of making any changes I wish during race week which will produce my quickest race time.
Respectfully submitted.
Appalari Racing