Welcome to Round 3 of our ROOZ League races, coming to you from historic Monza. The drivers skills were tested to the extreme here, with conditions more suited to boating than racing. This circuit played host to the wet round in our series, and the Maclaren was not an easy beast to tame around the long flowing corners. So lets get our brolly's out and take a look at what happened. Part 1 of 3, we will bring you reports from Division 1 and 2. Division 1's report is coming from warrior2167: Round 3 was to be held at the historic Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The weather has been miserable all week and has left their track damp for qualifying and the race. Driving these monsters in the wet is no mean feat as all of those horses are just waiting to kick you off the track. Qualifying was tricky as predicted and coming out on top for his 2nd pole position of the season was Mustafur with a 1:45.513. Keeping him honest was N64 with a personal best starting spot. 3rd place went to Anon followed by Smithy, Mint, Optimus, warrior, thestig and Cyber. 26 laps were ahead of the drivers and Mustafur knew he had an excellent chance to capitalize on warrior's poor qualifying effort. The lights went out and before Mustafur could react, N64 had already waved goodbye with the best possible start and was well clear into the chicane. With all the spray that was kicked up a couple drivers had not seen their brake marker, but thankfully all got through without a major incident. Lap 2. N64 knew this could be his time to shine and was defending his lead like his life depended on it, he was making his red chrome mclaren as wide as possible and it still wasn't wide enough, as Mustafur just had too much speed today and regains the lead around the outside into the parabolica. That was the last time anyone saw him. Lap 3. Smithy was also having his best race of the season thus far, moving by N64. He was able to build a small gap but N64 still had him within his sights. Lap 8. Roughly a third into the race and the win was already decided, Mustafur had driven off into the distance. The race for 2nd was a different story. As Smithy and N64 try to keep their cars on the road, they are closely followed by warrior, Mint and Optimus. Lap 9. Anon was slowly recovering from his horror opening lap. After falling back to 9th from 3rd on the grid, he quickly passed thestig and cyber to move into 7th and was closing in on the battle for second. A couple of off track excursions from Mint and Optimus through Ascari just promoted Anon ever higher to now sit in 5th. Halfway Positions & Intervals 1. Mustafur 2. Smithy + 16.543 3. N64 + 18.310 4. warrior + 19.515 5. Anon + 19.656 6. Optimus + 22. 656 7. Cyber + 45.178 8. Mint + 55.204 9. thestig + 1:10.226 Lap 19. An outstanding recovery drive from Anon sees him now on the bumper of 2nd place Smithy. He's delivering all sorts of pressure to him but in a split second all hope for 2nd is quashed when the rear of his McLaren lets go through the left right hander at Ascari, sending him into the gravel. While Anon is trying to rejoin the track, Optimus suddenly sees his car right in front of him. Luckily Optimus is able to stay on the road after the pair had made some contact. Lap 20. Cyber and Mint find themselves together after not having the best of days today. Lap 24. Smithy had let slip a 7 second gap to 3rd and was now locked into a tight battle for the 2nd step with Optimus. Both had exchanged positions several times when, amazingly, both outbrake themselves into turn 1, letting warrior slip into 2nd place. Final Lap. Today was Mustafur's day as he had overwhelmingly dominated the field. A clean sweep victory by taking the win, pole and fastest lap is just what he needed for his championship and to put the pressure back on warrior. 2nd Place went to warrior. After starting in 7th, it was the best result he could achieved and limited the amount of points Mustafur was able to gain. 3rd Place went to Smithy. His best result to date, but he will be ruing some missed opportunities to finish 1 step higher. Race Results 1. Mustafur 46:12.237 2. warrior + 38.931 3. Smithy + 41.699 4. N64 + 46.109 5. Anon + 47.531 6. Mint + 1:07.143 7. Cyber + 1:21.590 8. thestig + 2:43.501 9. Optimus + 2 Laps RACE QUOTES: mustafur (1st): Not much to say, I was feeling pretty confident coming up to this round as my pre season pace here was good, got a bit worried when people were posting 45s on the 'shoutbox' when the best I could do was mid 46s, then come sunday it all changed and was able to get in the 45s and consistently. Qualifying went well and was able to even improve my lap on the final lap of the session to get pole. My start was very conservative but I wasn't too worried, N64 had a good start and was leading for about 2 laps when I managed to get past before the parabolica when he braked too early. From there on I was alone, had a few hairy moments but no spins thankfully, Mint beat my best lap in the last half of the race so I then started improving my pace to make sure I could get the extra point and was able to do so and from there on basically just hot lapping to the finish, getting my fastest lap on the second last lap. Very happy with getting Maximum points, which I think is the first time I have Won, got pole and fastest lap. I really need to step up at the next round and win to give Warrior a hard time for the rest of the season. warrior2167 (2nd): I believe I had my worst result in qualifying ever, 7th was the best I could manage. I had a careful start and had to watch out for a couple of guys who missed their marks into t1. After the end of the opening lap I found myself in 4th. I knew I didn' t have the speed to match musty's pace so I had to stay patient and keep the car on the wet black stuff. 2/3rds into the race I dropped back to 6th when Anon and Optimus went by, but I was still within striking distance of 2nd. With the 4 in front having their issues towards the end I somehow found my way into 2nd and the result was like letting me out of jail by not losing too many points to mustafur. To sum up that was a very enjoyable albeit a difficult one where as many as 6 drivers could have finished 2nd. Fastboysmith (3rd): Well it's not a win, but it sure feels like it. I think I was battling with someone all race. First was N64 think I was in battle with him till something like lap 12. Than came Anon put the pressure on me for like 5 laps, going side by side into the 3rd chicane I held my breath and hoped I came out the other side. Then I had Optimus battle with me for almost the rest of the race until he became the last of the late brakers and ended up in the wall, which allowed warrior past. Pushed my hardest to regain the position but he had me covered., so decided to cruise to the finish. But overall I would like to thank everyone for making sure my first podium wasn't just given to me. N64TheStig007 (4th): Well I don't know what to say after that, what a roller coaster ride! I pulled that lap out in qualifying like a magician, and to top it off, a perfect start put me in an unlikely lead (first time I've lead a Div 1 race)! I knew it wouldn't last long, but Mustafur outbraked me at the Parabolica. It was a matter of holding position, but I had my work cut out for me. Fastboy was putting on some great pressure, and got past. It was very chaotic after that, with some intense racing from 3rd to 7th. To sum it all up, the fact that I lost 1.5 kg in sweat after the race just shows how incredibly close, exciting and pressurised the racing is in Div 1. Really, I only made 4 errors the whole race, but all of them were costly, a podium should have been mine, but wow, I'm pumped after that 4th place. Huge congrats to Smitty for his first podium, he kept his head. Mustafur must have had an extra probe or two from Kang & Kodos, the pace was unbelievable. Nice job too to warrior, patient and deadly like a sniper. Anon666 (5th): Somewhat reduced no's tonight, but at times there felt like there was a dozen cars on the road. I got to be everything from 2nd to last, had a shot at 2nd, but front end got light through Ascari and off I went. Happy to see the wet race out the way, and a big pat on the back to Smithy for his first podium. MINT_GTR (6th): With limited practice this week, was just hoping the pace I found the night before could be replicated in the race. So plan for qualifying was to not start midpack but the car had other ideas and I started 5th. The start was absolutely insane with maccas going everywhere but at the end of it all, no loss of position. Everything was going well until my car decided to become a handful and by lap 10 I was last and 53+ seconds behind the leader. Obviously Murphy's law happened and the car became a rocket so I pushed for the fastest lap. I hunted down the only person I could see, cyber, and enjoyed a 2 lap battle which was the highlight of my race. Congrats to mustafur, the macca master in the wet, for a dominating win. Well done to warrior for 2nd and fastboy for his first podium in easy one of the hardest conditions race we have ever had, which makes it even more rewarding I am off to have a chat with my car to see if it actually wants to race at the start next week since it's a strong track for me from early season testing. Nice report warrior2167. Congratulations to mustafur for maximum points this round, pole, win and fastest lap. Congratulations also to warrior2167 and Fastboysmith for the final podium positions. No time for drying off yet, here comes the Division 2 report, brought to you by Tim (t_b_williams): Welcome, race fans, to round 3 of the Race On Oz Div2 Championship. This week saw 10 drivers head to the spiritual home of the supercar, Italy. They were to tackle 26 laps around the famous and historic circuit that is Monza, made all the more difficult with wet conditions. Grid: Faine, ComeAndGetMe, Razor, TTR_Joe, Stuart, Crunch, CobMcCool, t_b_williams, Firewind, Leeboy Both Faine and ComeAndGetMe7 (CAGM) were in a league of their own in free practice and qualifying, and rightly locked out the front row of the grid. Five lights lit up, went out and it was GO GO GO!!! It was chaos at Turn 1 with drivers jostling for position. Razor was caught out in the braking zone and tried putting his nose in Crunch's engine bay, sending the two of them off opposite sides of the track. With Lap 1 over and the field settling into some form, the big mover was Firewind, who had jumped from 9th to now be running in 5th. Lap 5 and after a bad run through the Parabolica, CobMcCool was passed by t_b_williams down the main straight and into Turn 1. Trying to get the position back, Cob gets on the anchors a fraction too late into the second chicane and has a big lose, dropping him down to 8th before giving up on a car/track/conditions combo he hated with a passion, retiring from the race. Just up the road, Firewind is distracted going into the second Lesmo and runs wide into the sand trap, rejoining as Razor and t_b_ round the bend. Razor manages to take avoiding action but t_b_ has nowhere to go and hits the #55 squirming on the wet tarmac. This off track excursion was enough to ruin another driver's night with Firewind also retiring. With the top 2 way out in front, the rest were left to battle for the minor placings, with Stuart and TTR Joe having a race long battle, as well as Razor and t_b_ fighting hard, but fair, for quite a few laps mid race. 10 laps down and the field stands, not surprisingly, with Faine out in front by 15 secs from CAGM +15 Joe + 13 Stuart +2 Razor +6 t_b_ +2 Crunch + 6 Leeboy + 34 Lap 11 sees a great display of driving as Razor and t_b_ manage to go two wide at full pace through Lesmo 1 with no contact, after t_b_ closed the gap via a small mistake from Razor. t_b_ takes 5th position but the two continue to race hard, changing places numerous times before Razor manages to get a gap and heads off for the battle for 3rd. Leeboy had had enough of the wet track after a disappointing round, circulating last and retired to set his focus toward Japan. With 6 laps to go, the order was, Faine CAGM +24 Joe +25 Stuart +3 Razor +11 t_b_ +4 Crunch +15 crunch fighting for traction out of ascari. Lap 22 saw Joe make an error at Turn 1, allowing Stu to close the gap Joe had and reignite their battle. The next lap, Joe ran wide at the Parabolica and spun to face Stu heading straight for him with nowhere to go, making contact and ending up in the sand. Razor was just close enough and pounced on a recovering Joe only to lose the position 1 lap later when a wild, sideways run through the Parabolica let Joe make the exact same move. He was then straight onto the tail pipes of Stu's yellow #17 until getting loose though Ascari putting him down behind Razor again. But Joe didn't give in, getting by again at Turn 1, losing at Lesmo and getting by AGAIN on the run to the Parabolica on the final lap. So after 26 hard fought wet laps, Faine crossed the line to take the chequered flag setting the fastest lap on his last, of 1:44.672. Faine ComeAndGetMe7 +30 Stuart +1:14 TTR Joe +1:15 Razor + 1:16 t_b_ +1:20 Crunch +1lap With eyes set on dryer conditions the drivers packed the cars into the transporters and set their thoughts to the next round of sprints at Motegi, Japan. RACE QUOTES: Faine (1st): Thanks for the racing guys.. So fair. As I got the hang of the car I started to feel really comfortable and consistently putting down some good times. But just to put it out there guys.. I believe that if something happens on the first lap, don't give up guys. You got another 40 minutes of racing, you can still do it. Don't give up. I got a 3 second penalty and spun twice and I didn't give up... But anyway, I had loads of fun once I got used to the car and track. Congrats to cagm for your podium!! This car plus wet was highly challenging.... I hope everyone had a good time, I sure did. Pleased with another win considering I missed a round, I'm glad I've gotten 2 wins, this will help as my round I missed put me back. Let's see if I can do the same next weekend! Stuart170773 (3rd): Well, after watching Faine and CAGM school us all in the wet, I have to say I ran my race with the thought of getting 3rd as equal to a race win, such was the dominance of the two fastest qualifiers. During the week I had put down quite a few laps in the low 7s, but really didn't threaten a 6 at all. In qual I was surprised that a low 48 (I think) saw me line up 5th, with razor and Joe in front. When the lights went out I had a cracker start and passed Razor who bogged down, so was up to 4th, ready for the carnage that I was hoping "wouldn't happen" at turn 1. I braked a little early, but I think I caught out Crunch, who got nailed by someone from behind. I managed to stay in 4th, till Joe copped a penalty at Roggia, and I managed to slide past into 3rd. By the end of the first lap faine and GAGM had disappeared up the road faster than my little brain could comprehend, so I settled into a very enjoyable few laps with Joe who was much faster but couldn't quite get a run to get past. On about lap 10, I made a small mistake on the exit of Ascari, and spun it up a bit fast, lost some speed and Joe made it past, then proceeded to gap me. I noticed he was, or seemed to be pushing quite hard at the parabolica, so I tried to keep him in sight in case he dropped it. With a few small mistakes from him, he was still in sight, and then with 3 to go, my world got a lot brighter when I saw him facing the wrong way where I was hoping he might have an off. Problem was, I ran out of talent as well in my excitement, and hit his rear quarter and sent myself into the sand, sorry mate, had nowhere to go I still managed to get the third place back, but joe was only about 5 car lengths behind, with razor up his clacker, and that was enough to see them both challenge into ascari with 1.5 laps to go. A small slide from joe while he was attacking me, saw razor attack him, and that was the break I needed for the final lap, enough to see me third by about 2 seconds. Great racing Joe, respect as always for having a go, but not one touch. Is what its all about. Congrats to Faine and GAGM, absolutely on another level guys. Hopefully we get Nat and Greasy in for the next round, is always good with a full grid, so long as we all take our time, keep our heads screwed on, and dont let the small things ruin what is supposed to be competitive but enjoyable. On to the sprint round, where hopefully I feel like I can hook it up and be a little closer to the front in lap times. TTR_joe90 (4th): Was lucky to get thru T1 without getting caught up in the 'pinball wizard' stuff and i felt sorry for Jim who was put to the sand. @Stu - great drive mate, you were rock solid even with a dud back and it should be me who apologies for us coming together as i rolled backwards into your path. I was in a tizz trying to find reverse after such a silly mistake which cost me a podium. I think I may have reeled you in if it had not been for Razor who put up a great fight to the finish line. Those last 2 laps were just magic and it helped with the disappointment of not getting a kiwi 123. @Faine - wow! - watched some of your race and i think you thought it was Group B rally car with the amount of drift you were getting out of the macca. Love wet races - more please!! razor4797 (5th): Wasn't particularly confident coming into tonight's race. Was very happy with qualifying 3rd, only to get bogged down at the line and instantly lose 3 positions. There must have been a tangle up ahead at turn 1 because I flew straight into the back of someone way before any braking point. Copped a 5 sec penalty for that. Then on lap 5, in 6th position, Firewind went off at the 2nd Lesmo corner (don't know the spelling). But came straight back onto the track in the middle of TB and I battling... Nevertheless, we continued battling for the next 15 laps until I got out to a few second gap. With about 4 to go, Joe and Stu tangled at the Parabolica. I couldn't believe it. I was gifted 4th in front of Joe. Stu was simply too quick for me and I couldn't get near him. Sure enough, final lap, final corner - Joe attempted and successfully completed a high-pressure overtake for 4th position. Well done mate! All-in-all, I'm fairly happy with 5th place, considering my horrific start.. Hats off to CAGM for his 2nd place, but all eyes were on Faine and his blistering performance. You're on another planet at the moment.. Also to TB - thanks for that unbelievable 20 minute stand-off on the track. Nothing in it! Nice work Tim. Congratulations to Faine for gaining maximum points with pole, race win and fastest lap. Well done also to ComeAndGetMe7 with Stuart170773 on the final two steps of the podium. Keep your umbrella on hand, and keep an eye out for the Division 3 and 4 reports in part 2. Division 1 Reporter/Photographer: warrior2167 Division 2 Reporter/Photographer: Tim (t_b_williams) Tables: DRZ-Hatfield Editor: Jamie (Ad2mny)
