We have two reports for you this time around. Macau and Road America. Jack wrote half the report for Macau, helping greatly as I didn't have time. More excellent results from us and we now are at the top of the drivers championship table with Oscar 3 points ahead of Jaap Wagenvoort as we head towards our home race at Donnington. Slava and Jack also make their race returns on that weekend so hopefully we can score big and come away with some big team points as well as taking the drivers championship down to the wire. So congratulations to my entire team we have really pulled together and made something special happen. Here is a small intro and the reports for Macau and Road America. MACAU After the great achievements of the previous race weekend, we came into the weekend with pride thanks to Oscar Williams and his fantastic double back-to-back wins in Germany. It was yet another superb drive from Oscar Williams here at Macau, coming home with a double podium for Vermin and some very valuable championship points. Slava, after a well driven race came home with P9 in race one, and a very respectable P7 in race two. Both were great efforts from our drivers, especially on an unforgiving track such as this. To see how the races unfolded, the race report is below: Qualifying got underway then with Martijn Van T Land leading the pack through the tight walls of Macau, however a mistake from the leader going into the hairpin hinders his first lap. Tommi Tanttu takes advantage of Van T Land’s mistake, posting a 2:12.847. Oscar Williams swiftly follows in second with a 2:13.812 but that is quickly taken away from him by Sammy Salem with a 2:13.406. On the next lap the drivers had to show their worth as only a few would make it for a third attempt before time was up. Van T Land soars up the time sheets, placing himself in second with a 2:13.139. However, it would be Junger GP’s OnlyVision who steals the top spot on the next lap with a 2:12.750. Sammy Salem is next to take a bite at the top spot and does so with ease placing in a 2:12.185, a good 0.565 seconds ahead of OnlyVision’s lap time. Stakes were higher than ever then as Van T Land had found 3 tenths on his best heading into the hairpin, but calamities as he hits a crashed NGP car, ruining his chances at pole. OnlyVision was next pushing his hardest, which turned out to be a little too hard as he touches the wall, losing him valuable time and leaving him with no choice but to retire. Qualifying was over then, and it was an eventful session indeed. It was a fantastic effort from Sammy Salem who took the top spot followed by OnlyVision and Tanttu. Van T Land Van T Land was next in 4th followed by Oscar Williams and Nick. A disappointing result for Jaap Wagenvoort placed him down in 7th position with Clive Melbourne right behind him. Syntax Ohl places his car 9th with Alex Cochrane looming behind. Vyacheslav Potapenko places his Vermin car 11th with djb265 and Jelle Lamers right behind, and Colton Fox brings up the rear in 14th. RACE 1 After a short break for the drivers, the cars lined up on the grid. Tensions arose as five red lights illuminated over the track. Lights out and an instant mistake from pole sitter Sammy Salem as he wheelspins into the wall, allowing OnlyVision and Tanttu to take advantage. Van T Land and Oscar also weave their way through to P3 and 4 respectively. Potapenko took to a flying start moving up to P9 and a contrasting start for Wagenvoort meant that he lost a position to Clive Melbourne placing him in 8th. Heading down past turn one and cars were moving left and right all trying to find a gap. Unfortunately, one driver pushed it a little too far causing half the pack to crash in a spectacular pile up heading into T3 leaving the marshals no choice but to red flag the session. A quick reset and all the cars were brought back to the grid ready for attempt number two. Five red lights once again as stakes were now higher than ever. Lights out for the second time here in Macau and a great start from Salem this time around, retaining the lead. A better start from Jaap saw him move up to 6th position, however the same cannot be said for Potapenko as he unfortunately gets a bad start moving down to P13. Heading through T2, Williams manages to push his way into P3 Davenport also making progress moving into P5, taking over from Van T Land who now settles for P6 for the time being. Heading into T3 and OnlyVision has a moment, hitting the left-hand wall and losing time, allowing Williams to steal P2. Then, another mistake from OnlyVision forces him to retire his car. He is followed by djb265 and Lamers, both needing to retire from the race. However, these retirements are music to Potapenko’s ears as he manages to move up into P8. Melbourne also made great progress, taking Wagenvorrt for P5. Wagenvoort could not seem to make it back past Melbourne as the race went on. Lap number two and the order stays the same. Salem began to form a gap of 1.6 seconds between him and Oscar Williams, and Tanttu keeps hold on P3 0.9 seconds behind Oscar. Wagenvoort, who seemed to lose pace had dropped to P10. Potapenko was now under pressure from Syntax who now only ran 0.2 seconds away from him. Syntax took advantage of the draft from Potapenko’s car and breezed past him into T3 to take P7. Fox is the victim of Macau as a mistake glitches his car past the track walls, forcing him to retire with major damage. Further on up the field, Williams had found a second wind and began closing the two-second gap between him and race leader Salem. However, with Tanttu looming behind him, that gap needed to close quicker than it was doing. Van T Land decided he wanted a slice of the cake and began closing in on Tanttu. The top four were now separated from the rest by 11 seconds. Van T Land continued to breathe down the neck of Tanttu, however dirty air from Tanttu’s car caused major under steer and Van T Land headed straight for the wall. Two seconds now separated Tanttu and Van T Land. Further down the order Clive Melbourne had managed to hold P5 ahead of the rest of the pack. Onlyvision had a few exciting moments on his own at the rear of the pack, just a few spins and some minor damage, but was still soldiering on. Unlike the 2 retirements for the race who had now been joined by Colton Fox, taking the number of drivers out of the race up to 3. Van T Land began to have a couple of sniffs at passing Tanttu for 3rd. Equally, Tanttu had been pressuring Williams, It wouldn't be too long before Van T Land would get past using a good tow down the straight and into turn 1 around the outside and would set off after Williams, a possible result, but with not long left on the clock it looked increasingly likely. A Brilliant and well performed Victory for Salem, He seemed very comfortable in the lead and had the pace to maintain the gap to 2nd place Williams Top 3: Sammy Salem Oscar Williams Martijn Van T Land RACE 2 The second race would see a more cautious start from every one with Alex Cochrane now poised to lead the pack down into turn 1. A great start from Nick would see him challenging the lead with Potapenko on his outside and Cochrane on the inside as the pack hurtled down towards Turn 1. Nick just squeezed through into the lead with Potapenko following him taking 2nd and Wagenvoort already putting his car into 3rd. Behind A trio of cars tried to make the first corner side by side and it was inevitable there would be some contact. As Salem became sandwiched between Syntax and Tanttu. Syntax was squeezed into the barrier and Tanttu nudged by Salem. The nudge made Tanttu hit Williams rear wheel and pushed him into the barrier on the inside of the track losing a lot of time and places. Melbourne ran off track at turn 1 but would continue on. Colton Fox was also caught up in the pendulum effect of the Salem, Tanttu, Syntax collision and is spun around after a collision with the recovering Williams. Nick would now begin to pull a small lead over Potapenko, who was doing a brilliant job of defending against the advancing Wagenvoort. A minor nudge at the slow chicane would bunch the pack slightly but allowed Potapenko to pull away from Wagenvoort. The Inforward car would out drag the Vermin car down the straight but Potapenko bravely retook the position from Wagenvoort around the outside into turn 1. Cochrane had also been holding his own in 4th, with Van T Land breathing down his neck, followed by Williams. Cochrane hit the wall and Van T Land did a similar mistake dropping him down several places. With Cochrane now pressured by Williams he made another error and slid off into a small escape route which allowed Williams to take 4th. Wagenvoort managed to slipstream his way past Potapenko for 2nd but a great display of determination was shown as he kept pace with Wagenvoort for the remainder of the lap, only dropping back due to a mistake. Potapenko allowed Williams to pass for the final podium slot. A slight scrape with the armco sent Potapenko back into 6th place behind Salem. Another mistake from Potapenko would release Tanttu who set about catching Salem ahead. A huge error from Van T Land would force him into retirement, clipping the inside of the barrier on an apex sent his car across the track and heavily into the outside barrier. Leaving only 11 runners after an early retirement from DJB. The luck of Van T Land's team mate was more promising as Wagenvoort had been chipping into the lead of Nick and was now slowly starting to mount some pressure on him. Williams who had been struggling with a heavily damaged car had now been caught by Salem who was starting to line up some moves but unable to pass, Williams manages to keep 3rd just ahead of Salem as the checkered flag is waved. However following a complaint from Salem, Oscar would lose the place, promoting Salem to the final podium spot. Wagenvoort's solid performance pays off as he is able to snatch the victory away from Nick on the final lap. Nick still finished a very well driven and deserved but no doubt in his eyes a somewhat disappointing 2nd place. Top 3 Jaap Wagenvoort Nick Oscar Williams *Sammy Salem ROAD AMERICA With the Formula 3 cars returning to a nicely flowing track layout of Road America the racing would be a lot closer than the last race at Macau. Qualifying saw some tactics being used by the Inforward guys as they slip streamed their way up the grid, Martijn Van T Land and Jaap Wagenvoort taking 3rd and 4th respectively: Oscar Williams without that luxury at the moment as he was the only available Vermin Racing driver for this race managed to get his car into 2nd by the end of the session. But it was the single lap king that is Arttu Nieminen who took another Pole, his 4th of the Season! Race 1 The tyres squeal into life as the grid sets off for race 1, Nieminen leading with a great start, Williams having to go defensive behind as Wagenvoort has a sneaky look but not a serious challenge into turn 1, with Van T Land unable to hold position as he runs off track ahead of Sammy Salem who inheirets the 4th place. The top 4 manage to pull a good distance ahead of the rest. Syntax and Alex Cochran's battle for 6th is very close as they match each other on track lap after lap. Jelle Lamers has an issue and retires his car to the pits, a lap later Assetto Drifter retires a lap after Lamers, leaving only 8 runners left. Meanwhile, Oscar is mounting more and more pressure on Nieminen has him covered for now. Each lap Williams applies a bit more pressure which allows him to capitalize on a mistake by Nieminen, as he looks to overtake around the outside of one corner, Nieminen defends well but with Williams tucked up close behind, its almost inevitable that he will take 1st place with a great slipstream. Williams and Nieminen are almost touching rims as they go side by side, the precision, respect and skill is evident as Williams just manages to swoop his way into the lead around the outside. Nieminen has a small error on the exit of the next corner which allows Wagenvoort to slip past with much more ease into 2nd place. Nieminen looks to retake the place around the outside of a corner but backs out and settles down behind Wagenvoort. With Nieminen's car looking increasingly difficult to drive, running wide and sliding a lot he manages to stick with Wagenvoort for around a lap and a half before the car throws itself off the track and promotes Salem and Van T Land into 3rd and 4th and the struggling Nieminen to 5th. With just over 10 minutes left in the race, the cars and drivers began to settle down and into a very consistent pace. Van T Land and Salem having a very good battle on track, but it was the battle for 6th as the struggling Nieminen who had slipped back further managed to overtake Cochran for 6th. Williams pulled out a decent lead over Wagenvoort but dropped some time due to a slight mistake meaning the last 2 laps would see Williams under more pressure. Van T Land took advantage of Salem making a mistake and grabbed 3rd with less than 3 minutes left. Salem would try to gain the position back, tucking in tight and following closely as the pair made it down the start finish line it was Salem who managed to snatch away 3rd on the line as he slip streamed his way past. All in all a very incident free race with some excellent showcase driving on display from all. Another win by Oscar Williams and Vermin Racing Team, but a shame about Nieminen who had probably his worst race of the season after taking pole. Top 3: Oscar Williams Jaap Wagenvoort Sammy Salem Race 2: With Nieminen starting first again in race 2, this time due to the reverse grid rule. He was hoping for a stronger finish, a chance to pull a gap on Clive Melbourne and Syntax who were 2nd and 3rd. Some minor contact at the back set back Williams who had to run on the grass but still remained in the pack of cars but running in last place. Poor luck struck Nieminen again as a slow exit drops him from 1st place to 5th on lap 1 and allows Melbourne to take the lead with Van T Land and Wagenvoort now running 2nd and 3rd. Williams had been quietly moving up the field and passes Nieminen for 5th place. The Inforward cars swap positions using slip streaming so Wagenvoort can apply pressure to Melbourne who is coping impressively with the two Inforward cars filling his mirrors. Van T Land makes a mistake and runs off track out braking himself and dropping down to 7th with Williams now in 4th chasing Salem. Wagenvoort makes his move on Melbourne taking the lead. Melbourne keeps pace Wagenvoort for several laps, keeping him insight but losing time to Salem and Williams behind him. Cochrane has a huge accident as his throttle jams open sending him into the wall hard and beached on the inner part of the track and eventually pulls into the pits to retire. Salem tries to make a pass on Melbourne around the outside but the pair make contact sliding off track just ahead of Williams who inherits 2nd place because of the accident. Salem is able to continue on just behind Nieminen who is struggling to run in 3rd place. The final 6 minutes left, Williams really pushed as hard as he could to close down the gap wot Wagenvoort, running wide at one section and nearly hitting a wall. But still closing down the gap little by little each lap. A huge incident with Nieminen's car forces him to call it a day and retire from what turned out to be a horrible weekend for him, but gifting his team mate Salem 3rd place. As the last minute of the race clocks down Williams gets the gap down to just over a second as Wagenvoort's car seems to lack grip on the last lap. However Wagenvoort has enough of a cushion and is able to maintain the gap and come through as the winner of Race 2. The unfortunate Melbourne beaches his car on the final lap only managing to pick up 7th place after some impressive form early on in race 2. Top 3 Jaap Wagenvoort Oscar Williams Sammy Salem |
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AuthorR.T. Driver for Vermin Racing Archives
January 2019
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