Season 2 Week 2 results

Silverstone is the first of our European circuits and all the teams seemed to be prepared for the race. Qualifying times are all pretty even with Zoomy taking pole.

HiWind got an awesome start that launched him from 4th to 2nd, right behind Zoomy. They both had so much speed going into the turn 2/3 chicane that they both slid off the track allowing both Crazy and Tex to get by. They both quickly rejoined the track with Zoomy still ahead of HiWind. Up ahead, Crazy and Tex were neck and neck finishing lap 1. Going into turn 1, Tex had the outside line while Crazy hugged the apex. Tex got a little wide and when he came back onto the track, he came together a bit with Crazy which slowed them both down enough to let Zoomy get a run on both of them.

He caught them going into the turn 2/3 chicane, which is not usually a good place to pass, but he had so much speed that he couldn't give that up! He went blasting by Tex on the inside to get the apex to turn 3 but Tex appeared to have not seen him because he turned into the side of Zoomy's car spinning himself out.

Zoomy went blasting by Tex, probably didn't even feel the hit, and had such a run on Crazy that he couldn't slow down enough and tapped Crazy's bumper turning him around. Zoomy still couldn't slow down enough for turn 4 and slid off the track as well! Meanwhile, HiWind, who had had a bit of trouble getting back on the track at the hairpin, was able to catch up and get by both Crazy and Tex, moving into 2nd place.

Everybody kinda settled into place until lap 4 when HiWind dropped a couple of wheels off the track just after the turn 2/3 chicane causing a lazy sideways slide. Crazy was able to make the pass but HiWind recovered quick enough to get ahead of Tex, who was in fourth. HiWind pressured Crazy pretty good for 2nd place but that's how the race ended up. Zoomy was in first place, Crazy second, Hiwind third and Tex fourth. Zoomy had the fastest lap of the race so he receives the bonus point.

Silverstone race results

Our next race on the schedule was the Zandvoort Grand Prix. Qualifying was a little more spread out with Zoomy taking pole once again, with both Tex and Hiwind about one and a half seconds back. Crazy's lack of seat time showed up here with him another couple of seconds back from them.

The start was clean with HiWind getting another tremendous start. He couldn't capatalize on it though as both Zoomy and Tex got good starts and were side by side going into turn 1. Tex was a little bit ahead of Zoomy so HiWind slotted in behind Tex, maybe hoping to be able to get by Zoomy as well. Crazy was close behind and hot into the corner! His car understeered into the rear corner of HiWind turning him around. Crazy got by leaving HiWind facing the wrong way on the track!

His advantage was short lived tho' as his cold tires caught him out at the T4 hairpin. He gassed it too much and spun coming out of the corner. HiWind got back by, moving into third place, while Crazy was getting turned around. And that was pretty much the race. :) Zoomy pressured Tex pretty much the whole race. He got loose coming out of the T4 hairpin as well, so that lost him a bit of time, but it didn't hurt him too bad and he was able to close back up for the last lap but didn't have anything to get by Tex for the lead. Both HiWind and Crazy had their moments during the race but neither was able to advance their positions.

The race finished with Tex in 1st, Zoomy 2nd, HiWind 3rd and Crazy 4th. Zoomy received the bonus championship point for the fastest race lap.

Zandvoort race results

We move inland about 200K northeast towards the TT Circuit Assen, the site of our next race. Qualifying was kind of a mixed bag with Tex taking pole and Zoomy only a tenth back. Both Crazy and HiWind struggled a bit, clocking times about 4 seconds off the pace.

The start saw HiWind making his usual start launching past Zoomy to vault into second place, right behind Tex. This left Zoomy susceptible to the 'chrome horn' of Crazy which he used going into turn 1. This coming together forced Zoomy wide onto the grass while Crazy gathered it back up and motored on. It didn't cost Zoomy too much time as he was able to save it and rejoin the track quickly. Things sorted themselves out shortly tho' as Crazy had a bobble coming out of the left had De Bult corner and Zoomy got into the back of him, turning him around.

HiWind, still running second, lost it at the long left hand sweeper leading up to the S/F line and Zoomy was close enough to take advantage of HiWind's mistake, moving into second place. The rest of the race went without major incident with Tex in 1st, Zoomy 2nd, HiWind 3rd and Crazy 4th. Tex receives the bonus point for fastest lap. It's worth noting that both HiWind and Crazy improved on their qualifying times by over a half a second during the race!

Assen race results

The Oschersleben GP is next at Motopark Oschersleben in northern Germany. A very challenging track for all the drivers. Tex was able to secure pole position with the only time under 1:30's with 1:29.84. Zoomy was a half second behind with HiWind and Crazy in 3rd and 4th respectively.

Zoomy and HiWind both got a good start in the race and got out in front of Tex. Crazy, working on a three race hitting streak, dove deep into the corner and while getting ahead of Tex, he tags HiWind in the rear quarter panel getting him a little sideways and making him get off the throttle. He gets straightened out just as Tex is going by and they have a little bump as well!

HiWind prevails and stays out in front of Tex. Both drivers race towards the 180 degree Hasseroder hairpin where they find Crazy in the runoff area trying to recover from an off track excursion. HiWind appeared to be distracted by the car on the side of the track as he left the door open for Tex to get thru at the corner.

Tex took advantage and was able to get by at the exit of the corner, setting off to track down the leader, Zoomy. HiWind was pushing hard and went off the track at the triple, rejoining the track at Kurve 4 where Crazy was just passing by. They hit hard as HiWind came back onto the track with Crazy getting the worst of it by being shot off out into the kitty litter.

Tex was pushing hard and caught up to Zoomy at the Sachsen-Anhalt Kurve, or better known as the f%&^!#g corner right before the S/F line. The two drivers raced down the front stretch with about a half second gap between them. They touched coming out of Kurve 4 with Tex getting into the back of Zoomy, getting him loose but he was able to recover and maintain his lead with Tex close behind.

Lap 3 was more of the same close racing action until that last damn corner (again) when Tex got loose coming out of the corner and gave up some time to Zoomy. He was able to correct his car and get back into the chase quick enough that he caught Zoomy, on lap 4, going into Kurve 4. Zoomy got off line at the McDonald's Esses and that left the door open at Kurve 6 for Tex to get beside him setting up the pass at the Shell Esses. Tex had the inside line on the right hander but Zoomy didn't want to give up the track so he tried to go wide thru the corner and didn't have enough grip to make it stick. Two of his wheels got off the track and his car looped around on him allowing Tex to take the lead.

Zoomy got back on track in time to keep second place but he was too far back to challenge for the lead again and that's the way the race finished. Tex was in 1st place, Zoomy in 2nd and HiWind was in 3rd. Crazy retired at the end of the 3rd lap with 'transmission' troubles for a 4th place finish. Tex adds to his points total from the race with the fastest lap bonus point.

Oschersleben GP race results


It's a short jaunt south as we head to the Hockenheimring where we'll be using the National circuit for our race. Qualifying showed mixed results with Zoomy taking pole position by almost a second in front of Tex in 2nd place. HiWind and Crazy were both a couple of seconds back from each other in 3rd and 4th respectively.

HiWind got an amazing start and was in the lead going into the 1st corner. He battled with Zoomy to keep the lead and was successful until they got to the tight hairpin before the parabolika curve where Zoomy did a bump and run to get by. HiWind stayed in second with Tex close behind in third. Crazy went wide to avoid the melee and it cost him the most as he got slowed down by the runoff area.

The front three pulled away and were battling neck and neck with no more than a second covering them. Zoomy still had the lead going into the second lap with Tex pressuring HiWind, sitting right on his bumper. Tex got a big run on HiWind coming out of the hairpin just past the parabolic curve. He was able to get up along side him but he was on the outside so he couldn't get past HiWind for the pass but as they were going thru the corner, HiWind gassed his car too much causing the tail end to slip out and throwing him off the track. He was able to get back on the track without spinning out but Tex had already gone by into second place.

Tex pushed hard to catch up and got close but couldn't get past Zoomy for the lead. On lap 3 Tex lost the back end of his car coming out of the hairpin and was able to save it and get back on track without losing too many seconds to the leader.

The start of lap 4 saw both Zoomy and Tex get loose at the Parabolic Entrance, neither one gaining or losing position but allowing the gap to close up and also allowing HiWind to close up the gap between them and himself as well.

Tex was beating on Zoomy's bumper trying to get by without any luck at all until lap 5 when Zoomy once again got loose at the Parabolic Entrance and Tex was able to get up alongside him. As they started to race along the Parabolic, Tex dropped two wheels off the track and spun out to the infield.

He spun once again trying to get straighted out allowing HiWind to close up and get by for second place. Tex got his car pointed in the right direction and on the track in third place, just ahead of Crazy.

It was an exciting race from start to finish with multiple leaders and drama throughout the race. There was even a bit of a post-race drama when HiWind was DQ'd for going the wrong way on the track. Because of this development, Tex was elevated to second with Crazy assumed third. The fastest lap went to Tex for the extra championship point.

Hockenheim race results

Season 2 Week 1 standings
Tex - 43 + 3 bp = 46 pts
Zoomy - 44 + 2 bp = 46 pts

HiWind - 29 pts

Crazy - 29 pts

Season 2 driver totals
Tex 96 pts
Zoomy 82 pts
HiWind 66 pts
Crazy 56 pts

Season 2 Week 1 results

Season 2 started off with all drivers present and accounted for. Crazy is still suffering from a hairline fracture in his forearm but he's soldiering on! Good to have him back.

Our schedule remains the same, the one substitute being Laguna Seca replacing Sears Point. We still race in the same area so our sponsors shouldn't give us too much grief.

A quick survey thru the paddock found all the teams finding the new BMW M3's a good challenge. There's no doubt that the teams will figure things out but as this is the first week in the new machines, the championship is open for everyone.

Our first race finds us at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Qualifying was close with Tex taking pole position for the first race. Timing and scoring is still having problems with the start lights. Hopefully that can be fixed before we race there again.

The race started without incident and was led from start to finish by Tex. Crazy did better than expected after his long hiatus, managing to finish his first race back. The battle of the race was between Zoomy and HiWind with HiWind getting the better of the two at the line. The difference being only .067 thousandths of a second. That's two races in a row that HiWind has been battling for position at the finish line! Tex was able to set the fastest lap and received the bonus point.

Montreal race results

Race 2 was at Mosport Raceway. It didn't take the teams long to set up the paddock and get to the business of qualifying. It was another close qualifying session with Zoomy taking pole.

The race had a good start with everyone getting thru turn one cleanly. Crazy got his tires out into the dirt in turn 2 and it pulled him off the track. He rejoined the race quickly a few seconds back. Zoomy had a quick off and on at Moss' corner but Tex and HiWind were able to get by. On lap 2 HiWind got loose in turn 3 and Zoomy, who had a huge run on him, got by easily.
The running order to start lap 3 was Tex in first, Zoomy second with HiWind third and Crazy in fourth place.

Everyone settled into their race pace and the race finished in that order with Tex getting the extra championship point for fastest lap.

Mosport race results

After two races in a row it was time for a small break so the teams took some time off to relax, have a smoke and get ready for the next two races.

Toronto was up next and promised to be real competitive. All the drivers were ready to get wheel to wheel in the concrete jungle! Qualifying was about a second faster than the race pace with Tex getting his second pole of the season.

The race started with everyone getting thru the first corner without any problems. HiWind dive bombed Tex into turn 3 but made it stick and took the lead. Zoomy was able to close up and get by Tex at turn 5 for second place, leaving Tex in third and Crazy in fourth.

HiWind went on to record his first win of the new season! He withstood the pressure that both Tex and Zoomy put on him by not making any mistakes. Both Tex and Zoomy swapped places while making mistakes with Zoomy ahead at the end of the race.

The running order at the end of the race was HiWind, Zoomy, Tex and Crazy with Zoomy getting the bonus point for fastest lap.

Toronto race results

After the Toronto race the teams packed up the transporters and headed off to beautiful upstate New York, arriving at Watkins Glen next. The tents went quickly up and the cars hit the track. All the drivers were real familiar with this track and it showed in qualifying where Tex took pole by .002 thousandths of a second over Zoomy.

The start of the race saw Hiwind spin out and go nose first into the guardrail. In doing that he must've knocked the air valve stem off because he ended up with a flat tire and retired from the race shortly thereafter. Zoomy and Crazy chased Tex through the esses up to the bus stop chicane where Zoomy tried forcing his way through. He couldn't do it though which allowed Crazy to slip by at the exit of the bus stop chicane into 2nd place. Crazy saw an opportunity to get by Tex going into turn 10 but couldn't get all the way by ending up letting Zoomy get ahead.

Turn 1 of the second lap saw Crazy get into the back of Zoomy spinning him out and causing him to do a few barrel rolls! Amazingly Zoomy's car never shut off and landed on his wheels so he shoved it into gear and got back onto the track!

Crazy was definitely feeling the heat as he went off the track three times in a row at the exact same place finally giving up second place on the last lap, at the second to last corner. Disappointment for sure but Zoomy had huge pressure on him and it finally cost him. The finishing order was Tex, Zoomy, Crazy and HiWind out early with his punctured tire. Tex had fastest lap of the race securing an additional championship point.

Watkins Glen race results

We finally rolled into Lime Rock Park for the last of our first weeks races. We decided to make the race longer because of the short lap times. So Lime Rock was changed to a 10 lap race at the drivers meeting. After making some changes to allow for the longer race everyone got out onto the track and proceeded qualifying. The session was fast and furious with Tex taking his 4th pole of this young season.

Everyone got off to a good start with HiWind getting a great jump and pulling into the lead. Followed by Tex, then Zoomy and Crazy. Crazy had a bit of an off but quickly got back onto the track hardly losing any time at all. Zoomy was pushing hard to keep up with Tex and HiWind but had a couple of small moments costing him valuable time, allowing Crazy to close up and challenge for third.

It was an epic battle with both drivers beatin' and bangin' to try and get ahead of the other driver. Zoomy was finally able to pull ahead but lost it on the hill corner, slamming into the guardrail and nosing the car into the ground. There was too much damage to continue so he retired from the race. Crazy went on to third place with HiWind in second and Tex in first. The extra point for fast lap went to Tex.

Lime Rock race results

Season 2 Week 1 standings
Tex - 46 + 4 bp = 50 pts
HiWind - 37 pts
Zoomy - 35 + 1 bp = 36 pts
Crazy - 27 pts

Scoring Revision

Hey there race fans!

I was looking thru the GTR2 manual and I found the FIA GT points distribution list. It awards points a little differently and looked like it would keep the standings a little closer. So, I went back over season 1 and recalculated the season using the FIA points and it did make the points closer week to week. Overall the results were the same, just a closer spread which, with the addition of bonus points, could spice things up a bit.

With all that being said, I'm gonna go ahead and score the results using the FIA points to score our races. The points awarded are:

1st = 10 pts
2nd = 8 pts
3rd = 6 pts
4th = 5 pts

Fastest lap during the race = 1 bonus point

Hopefully this works out okay, the fast lap bonus could prove to be pretty valuable throughout the season.

Season 1 Week 4 results

The final races have been run for Season 1 and Zoomy took the weekly honours with a total of 38 points having garnered two first place finishes with his remaining finishes in second place. HiWind also had two wins but had a couple of third place finishes placing him second in the weekly standings with 32 points.

After dominating for the last two weeks, Tex wasn't able to string any good finishes together. Fortunately he did have a win but a second place along with a trio of thirds relegated him to third in the weekly standings with only 25 points.

The racing was really good with everyone having their turn up front. The deciding factor, as in most races, was who was going to make the least amount of mistakes.

Estoril race results
Valencia race results
Laguna Seca race results
Portland race results
Edmonton race results

The final (revised) standings for Season 1 are:
Tex - 185
Zoomy - 167
HiWind - 148

* revised records include fast lap bonus points and new FIA GT points distribution

Next season we race with the BMW M3 machines. The horsepower increase should make things interesting, something to look forward to. Here's to a close, competitive Season 2!