Andrew Hurn medal 5000 11 years 355 days ago (edited 11 years 355 days ago)
British Racing League – Elite Tier - Season 17 Review
What a difference a season makes. You may recall that last season we had 11 different winners, this season there were just 3, as 2 experienced teams new to this league, won all the races. It looked from early on that the rest were battling over 3rd place in the teams title & 5th place in the drivers.
I wrote about the gap that was forming in our elite tier last season & this was evident again, but with the top 2 teams dominating, you could say that there were 3 distinct levels this season. The top level of 2 teams scoring 60% of the available points, the next 4 teams scoring 36% & the remaining 10 teams scoring just 57 points between them. I am not sure whether this presents a problem going forward or not. Is this growing trend an argument for a 4th tier? Those top 6 teams are all on the 1st page of the hall of fame, the next team are ranked 47 & failed to score this season.
Evidence of the gap between Pro & Elite was highlighted too last season with both of the promoted teams going without any points. This season that issue grew larger as one of these teams were relegated back to Pro, without scoring & just Ferreira Racing managing to score a solitary point.
More than ever the need to be consistent was emphasised. The top 3 teams had just 1 non-score between them & this occurred after both titles had been won & lost. But despite this dominance & as always, there was still some great racing.
Australia
Mansell for Doxjq took the opening pole position by half a second, with the top 20 covered by 1 second. Zerdzinski in his 13th season for EJ Technical Motorsport, (EJTM), was 2nd on the grid & made it passed Mansell on the 2nd lap. Lauda, also for Doxjq, had qualified 7th but by lap 8 he was right behind his team mate & when Zerdzinski stopped on that lap the 2 Doxjq boys led. Zerdzinski was briefly ahead of Lauda in his 2nd stint, but that already sealed the finishing order at the front. Mansell finished 14 seconds in front of Lauda, who was 7 seconds ahead of Zerdzinski who was 18 seconds ahead of the rest.
Richard Johnstone Racing's, (RJR) defence of their teams title did not start well, with them managing only 20th & 21st on the grid. They went much better in the race though making it into the points with 9th & 10th. Webber for QE Lyons Mercedes, (QELM), started 4th & finished 4th after a 6 stop strategy & Jerayesh for King Power was a fine 5th considering his poorly developed car.
Malaysia
Lauda took pole with the 1st 19 covered by a second. Kowalski for Williams F1 was a superb 2nd on the grid & held 4th for much of his opening 2 stints. A splash & dash at the end saw him finish a disappointing 25th. Mansell & Lauda were at it again here, circulating in formation with Mansell sliding passed on lap 44. They were 12 seconds in front of Webber who had a rather lonely run to 3rd.
The battle behind raged though. RJR had qualified poorly but again were going much better in race trim. After the final stops Jerayesh emerged 4th & had Castro for RJR just 1.9 seconds behind & he was closing. On lap 50 the gap was 1.9, then 1.8, 0.5. With 4 laps to go Jerayesh set his fastest lap of the race & extended the gap to 2.5 seconds, but Castro was not done. On the next lap he brought the gap down to 0.7 & looked to challenge. He made it passed on the next lap, but was just 0.2 ahead as they started their final lap. Despite Castro setting his fastest lap of the race Jerayesh got back passed to take 4th. Behind them Hamilton (KP), Smetowski (RJR) & Zerdzinski battled over 6th, 7th & 8th, with Smetowski finishing just ahead of Zerdzinski & Hamilton.
China
Lauda took pole again with Mansell joining him on the front row. 1 second covered the top 18. This was starting to look worrying as once again those Doxjq boys ran at the front, Mansell taking his 3rd victory & they were some 11 seconds ahead of a much better qualifying Smetowski. Schmidt from That Slow Team (TST) was only 19th on the grid but had a stellar drive to 4th his best result of the season. He battled with Castro towards the end, getting the better of the Portuguese star with 4 laps to go.
The points:
Drivers: Mansell 75, Lauda 54, Webber 31, Zerdzinski 29, Smetowski 25.
Teams: Doxjq 129, RJR 46, EJTM 35, KP 33, QELM 31.
Bahrain
Wood for Makla Motorsport (MM) took a superb pole with 1 second covering the 1st 18. His spell at the front was sadly brief, as Mansell, who started from 4th took the lead on lap 5. Wood went on to finish a lap down in 27th. Lauda qualified 5th & was into 2nd behind his team mate on lap 6 & they ran 1st & 2nd to the end, Lauda 13 seconds behind Mansell & 9 seconds ahead of Jerayesh. Hamilton took 4th a further 6 seconds back after passing Webber with 8 laps to go. Webber initially kept close & looked as if he might challenge, but Hamilton just extended the gap by a tenth here & there & was 2 seconds ahead at the line.
Spain
It was already looking like the championships were going to be decided early & Doxjq only furthered this view by locking out the front row with Lauda on pole. 1 second covered the top 16. Lauda led from lights to flag with Mansell some 11 seconds behind giving the team another 1,2. Zerdzinski showed promise early taking 2nd from Mansell on the opening lap, but he could not keep up with the furious pace & finished 3rd a further 17 seconds back, just ahead of Jerayesh who couldn't quite get close enough to challenge. Webber was another 6 seconds behind in 5th.
Monaco
Doxjq filled the front row again & already, just 5 races into the season, managers up & down the pit lane were considering options for next season. The 1st 18 were covered by 1 second. Mansell led every lap & looked as if he had plenty more pace if needed. Lauda held 2nd for every lap finishing almost 15 seconds back. Webber was best of the rest qualifying 3rd & finishing 3rd a further 13 seconds behind. Zerdzinski also finished where he qualified in 4th some 5 seconds behind Webber. Jerayesh impressed again with a fine drive from 12th on the grid to 5th. Only the 1st 9 finishers were on the lead lap & it seemed that Mansell & Lauda were unbeatable.
The points:
Driver: Mansell 143, Lauda 115, Webber 66, Zerdzinski 64, Jerayesh 61.
Teams: Doxjq 258, KP 96, EJTM 70, QELM 66, RJR 48.
Turkey
Castro took the pole with the 1st 14 covered by 1 second. Castro led until his 2nd stop on lap 16 & finished 5th. Mansell & Lauda passed by having qualified 2nd & 3rd & led all the way from here, Mansell finishing 3 seconds in front. Jerayesh was starting to appear more regularly near the sharp end after a somewhat slow start to the season; he was an uneventful 3rd. Behind there was a good scrap going on for the minor placings.
Juhno for Reidj Scuderia, (RS), had been on a different strategy & after the final stops was a superb 4th after qualifying all the way down in 18th. Castro emerged from his last stop just half a second behind on lap 51 & immediately looked to pass. On the next lap he was just 0.2 behind & duly passed on lap 53. Juhno had not given up however, & on the next lap they were separated by just 0.5, then 0.5 again & on lap 57 Juhno relegated Castro to 5th & set his fastest lap on the final lap to ensure he finished 4th.
GB
Castro took pole again with 1 second covering an incredible 26 starters. Castro didn't lead for long, with Mansell from 3rd on the grid making it into 2nd on the opening lap & then 1st on lap 3. He was doing it yet again & simply drove away from the field finishing 15 seconds clear. His team mate had not qualified so well, starting from 10th, but this did not hinder him. He was 3rd by lap 13 & 2nd by lap 25 but for once Doxjq would have to fight for their 1,2 finish.
Hamilton qualified just 11th & but traded 2nd place with Lauda for a while. After their final pit stops on lap 53 with 8 laps to go, Hamilton was ahead by just 0.7. Lap 54 the gap was 0.3, then 0.3 again. On lap 56 Lauda slid by & the gap was 0.6 the next time around. It grew to 0.8 next lap & then it was 1.6 & Lauda secured 2nd. Behind, Juhno was followed home by Jerayesh.
Germany
Smetowski took the pole & the top 23 were covered by 1 second. He led for just 5 laps when, yes you guessed it, Mansell from 3rd on the grid came passed. He led to the end & it was just a matter of time now before he took his 1st drivers title. He was 6 seconds ahead of his team mate at the flag, who qualified 8th but was 3rd by lap 6 & 2nd by lap 22. Chan for RS finished 3rd 10 more seconds behind after holding off a late challenge from Smetowski. Zerdzinski rounded off the top 5.
The points:
Drivers: Mansell 218, Lauda 169, Jerayesh 94, Zerdzinski 88, Webber 71.
Teams: Doxjq 387, KP 148, EJTM 95, RS 91, RJR 83.
Hungary
Lauda took his 4th pole of the season & 1 second covered the 1st 24. Lauda led all the way finishing 15 seconds in front. But behind, an intriguing battle developed. Jerayesh had qualified 2nd but looked to be in trouble early on as he fell to 5th by lap 7. Castro was 3rd on the grid & passed Jerayesh on the 4th lap. He was already 3.6 seconds behind Lauda, but things were different here. Lauda did not disappear into the distance, Castro was keeping up. Mansell who qualified only 8th made it into 3rd on lap 14 but he was unable to match the pace of the front 2 & suddenly it looked as though RJR's lead driver might do the unthinkable. Castro held 2nd until lap 31 when he emerged from the pits just behind Jerayesh.
Incredibly he too could now keep up with Lauda & they circulated for some time with the 3 of them covered by around 6 seconds. This went on until Jerayesh began his 4th stint, when Lauda finally began to pull away. The gap was 4.5 seconds on lap 41, but by the time of his next stop 9 laps later Jerayesh was almost 10 seconds back & Lauda would lead easily from there to take his 2nd win of the season. The battle behind though was fascinating.
The order on lap 50 was Lauda 9.4 Jerayesh 0.4 Castro 0.2 Mansell 1.2 Smetowski 0.7 Zerdzinski 0.6 Hamilton. In the next 5 laps Hamilton had made up 3 places & the order was Lauda 11.3 Jerayesh 1.0 Castro 0.7 Hamilton 0.9 Mansell 0.8 Smetowski 2.3 Zerdzinski.
Lap 59 signalled the start of what seemed to be the final round of stops & with them completed by lap 62 the order was Lauda 13.8 Jerayesh 1.5 Castro 0.2 Mansell 1.8 Smetowski 0.5 Hamilton 0.7 Zerdzinski. There were 8 laps to go.
The 1st change came on lap 64 when Zerdzinski made it passed Hamilton for 6th. Jerayesh was pulling away from Castro in 3rd & secured 2nd place. Castro's mirrors were full of Mansell, who was never more than half a second behind. But things changed with 2 laps to go when Castro & Smetowski pitted for fuel. They would finish 6th & 8th respectively. Mansell could do nothing about Jerayesh & finished 3rd. Behind him Zerdzinski was just holding off Hamilton & the order was sealed. It had taken 10 races but Jerayesh had split the Doxjq boys & proved that Mansell at least was beatable.
Europe
Mansell was on pole again with 1 second covering the top 19. Sen qualified brilliantly for Invictus competition, (IC), taking his place on the front row. Mansell, on time adjusted for pit stops, was back on form, leading the entire race. Hamilton qualified 4th but was up to 2nd by lap 5 & was 2nd throughout, some 5 seconds behind. His team mate Jerayesh ran strongly in 3rd without being close enough to challenge. Behind, Zerdzinski had an untroubled time finishing ahead of Lauda.
& yes you did read that correctly....Lauda was 5th, almost 18 seconds behind the winner.
I was surprised too.
Belgium
Lauda made up for his poor performance in Europe by taking pole & the top 16 were covered by 1 second. Lauda led away & finished only behind his team mate. Mansell had qualified 7th, but took the lead on lap 17 & finished 5 seconds in front of Lauda. Behind them Webber was briefly 2nd after his final stop, but once all the leaders had rejoined he was 3rd. Hamilton behind him, was setting a fast pace, closing from 2 seconds behind to pass on the final lap. Jerayesh was catching them both, but ran out of time, finishing just half a second behind Webber.
That win for Mansell gave him the drivers title & another 1,2 for Doxjq gave them the teams title as well. They hadn't just won, they had annihilated the opposition.
The points:
Drivers: Mansell 283, Lauda 222, Jerayesh 137, Zerdzinski 114, Hamilton 97.
Teams: Doxjq 505, KP 234, EJTM 125, RJR 121, QELM 93.
Italy
Mansell was on pole again with 1 second covering the 1st 16. He was at it again but there was a difference here though, Hamilton who qualified 2nd had a brief spell in the lead, but chased Mansell every inch of the way. He was 5 seconds behind at the end, but it brought hope to the other teams that Mansell was actually human after all. Castro had his best finish of the season here, about 5 seconds behind Hamilton. Jerayesh was an uneventful 4th & Zerdzinski came from 14th on the grid to finish 5th.
Singapore
Hamilton took pole with the 1st 13 covered by 1 second. Qualifying was wet & this meant that Mansell was only 6th & his team mate 8th. Hamilton led away with Webber in close attendance, losing 2nd to Mansell on lap 20. But it all changed on lap 28 when it stopped raining. The order was Hamilton 0.1 Mansell 3.2 Webber 4.3 Lauda 1.6 Jerayesh. The King Power pair stopped immediately & fitted softs, which seemed like a system problem. They stopped again 2 laps later for inters & 4 laps after that for softs again. This certainly cost them a podium finish & possibly the victory. They went on to finish 5th & 6th. Webber was also a victim of this issue & he would finish 7th.
Mansell however took the lead on lap 28 & never looked back. He took inters on lap 30 & softs on lap 38. His team mate on the same strategy was 2nd some 10 seconds behind & he just held off a rapidly closing Zerdzinski. Donk for EJTM was an astonishing 4th, albeit a further 22 seconds behind.
Japan
Monteiro took a superb pole for QELM & 1 second covered the top 15. Monteiro led until his 1st stop on lap 7, he battled on to finish 7th his best result of the season. The Doxjq manager was absent for this race & it showed the benefit of being present, as his boys finished just 13th & 14th. So who was taking advantage at the front? No prizes for guessing that KP took a 1,2 finish; Jerayesh just 1.6 seconds ahead of Hamilton. But they didn't have it all their own way as Chan for RS briefly led just before each of his pit stops & looked like he would take a podium at least, but he was light on fuel & stopped for a splash & dash on the penultimate lap, dropping him to 5th. Webber & Zerdzinski benefited from this finishing 3rd & 4th.
The points:
Drivers: Mansell 333, Lauda 246, Jerayesh 182, Zerdzinski 151, Hamilton 143.
Teams: Doxjq 579, KP 325, EJTM 178, RJR 149, QELM 127.
Brazil
It rained throughout here; Jerayesh splashed round for pole & the top 19 were covered by 1 second. This was probably the best race of the season for the top 2 places & Jerayesh & Mansell put on a fine show at the front.
Mansell qualified 5th but made it into 4th on the opening lap passing Hamilton. He ran 5th & then 4th in his 2nd stint too, taking the lead briefly before his 2nd stop. Jerayesh led until his 2nd stop, but emerged 3rd taking the lead again on lap 33. He stopped again on lap 37 coming out behind Mansell who then stopped on lap 43, putting Jerayesh back in the lead.
Mansell's 4 stop strategy got him into the lead on lap 50 when Jerayesh stopped again. Now they had just 1 more stop each & the battle intensified. Mansell pitted on lap 57 returning briefly into 4th & then 3rd as others stopped. He took the lead again on lap 61 just as Jerayesh rejoined after his final stop. They were only a tenth apart & Jerayesh seemed to know instinctively that this was the moment to pounce & managed to pass before the start of lap 62. They were then just 1 second apart. The next lap the gap was 0.8, then 1 second again, then Jerayesh managed to extend the lead to 1.5 seconds.
On lap 66 Mansell started to bring the gap down again, it was 1.3, then 1.2 then with 4 laps to go Mansell gave it everything he had, but still Jerayesh held him off. Mansell got the gap down to 0.4, but still could not find a way by. Lap 69 saw the gap back up to a second, but then it was down to 0.6 with 1 lap to go. They both set their fastest lap of the race on the final lap & Jerayesh managed to hold on; a superb finish. Behind them Hamilton was 3rd some 11 seconds back, followed by Castro & Lauda.
Abu Dhabi
Lauda took pole with 1 second covering the 1st 23. There was very much an end of term feel here, with managers openly discussing plans for next season, car development & driver choice. The race seemed to pass without incident. Lauda won from pole, but did not lead all the way. He pitted from the lead on lap 10, but spent his 2nd stint behind Castro who had come through from 2nd on the grid. Lauda was relegated to 3rd by Smewtowski but emerged 2nd after his 2nd stop. Lauda took the lead back on lap 30 & led to the flag. The RJR boys faded somewhat finishing 4th & 7th. Mansell took 3rd from 14th on the grid & Zerdzinski was 5th from 20th on the grid.
The final points standings:
Drivers: Mansell 366, Lauda 281, Jerayesh 215, Hamilton 176, Zerdzinski 165, Webber 124.
Teams: Doxjq 647, KP 391, EJTM 192, RJR 181, QELM 139, RS 109.
So, once again a fascinating season.
A long time ago.... someone joined the league & raised the bar. As I recall, Reidj Free was ranked in the top 10 then & to be still on the front page for all this time is an amazing achievement, particularly when you note that work & family commitments mean he is often not able to attend the races. I was merely trying to keep up with him. David Lyons did this when he joined, taking 3 titles & now Jason Lee & Chris Louth had done it.
Do not be fooled by the gap between them in points; Chris was hampered with a very poorly developed car as a result of joining us & I expect to see both of them at the sharp end next season. Of the other 4 leading teams Richard Johnstone Racing would be my best guess to challenge them. Richard has 2 good drivers & I expect him to have a highly developed car. If Reidj can be here, he will definitely go well & often manages to do so when he is not here too. David Lyons can do it as well. Webber is a class act in his team & ought to be right up there. Yours truly will still be campaigning the long suffering Zerdzinski, on the verge of turning 30 now. & what of the other teams I hear you ask...
Adam Gosling, Fernando D'Almeida, Jukka Jarvinen & Ben Cosgrove have all won races & any of them could make that leap into the upper level of the tier. Perhaps Anthony Davies & Marc Hammond freshly promoted from Pro could spring a surprise.
All that I can be sure of, is that as always, there will be great racing.
Edwin Smith.
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