Le Mans By Numbers

Porsche 919 Hybrid, Porsche Team: Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, Mark Webber (c) photo courtesy of Porsche

LE MANS BY NUMBERS

There are names. There are stories. There are legends. Then, there are numbers.

Here are a few of those numbers.

For WEC Week and the build up to the greatest endurance race in the world, here is Le Mans By Numbers:

1 – Wins In Their First Entries – Andre Lagache, Rene Leonard, Bernard Rubin, Woolf Barnato, Luigi Chinetti, Tazio Nuvolari, Philippe Etancelin, Luis Fontes, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Peter Walker, Fritz Riess, Hermann Lang, Ivor Bueb, AJ Foyt, Hurley Haywood, Klaus Ludwig, Andy Wallace, Christophe Bouchut, Eric Helary, Alexander Wurz, Tom Kristensen, Laurent Aiello, Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber

2 – Most Pole Positions Without Winning – Toyota

2 – Most Consecutive Wins By Same Car – Bentley Speed Six, Ford GT40, Porsche 956 & Porsche WSC-95

2 – Most Cars In The Leading Lap – 1933, 1935, 1966, 1969, 1983, 1987, 1988, 2004, 2008 & 2011

3 – Wins In All Drivers Entries – Woolf Barnato

3 – Most Consecutive Pole Positions – Jacky Ickx & Stephane Sarrazin

4 – Most Consecutive Fastest Laps – Mike Hawthorn

4 – Winner With Most Constructors – Yannick Dalmas

5 – Most Wins By A Car – Audi R8

5 – Most Second Place Finishes Without Winning – Toyota

5 – Most Consecutive Fastest Laps – Audi

5 – Most Fastest Laps – Jacky Ickx

5 – Most Pole Positions – Jacky Ickx

6 – Most Consecutive Pole Positions – Porsche

6 – Most Consecutive Wins – Tom Kristensen

6 – Fewest Finishers – 1931

6 – Most Podiums Without A Win – Bob Wollek

7 – Most Consecutive Wins – Porsche

8 – Most Podium Hatricks – Porsche

8 – Most Cars Of The Same Brand In A Row – Porsche

9 – Most Driver Wins – Tom Kristensen

9 – Most Consecutive Podium Finishes – Emanuele Pirro

11 – Most Entries As Team Mates – Tracy Krohn & Niclas Jonsson

11 – Most Consecutive Finishes – Johnny O’Connell

12 – Most 1-2 Finishes – Porsche

12 – Most Safety Cars In A Race – 2013

13 – Most Wins By A Team – Joest Racing

13 – Biggest Gap In Years Between Two Wins – Alexander Wurz

14 – Most Fastest Laps – Porsche

14 – Most Starts Without Finishing One Race – Hans Heyer

14 – Most Podiums – Tom Kristensen

16 – Most Starts Before First Win – David Brabham

16 years (202 days) – Youngest Driver To Start A Race – Matt McMurry

17 – Biggest Gap In Years Between First And Last Win – Hurley Haywood

17 – Entries With Most Constructors – Francois Migault

17 – Fewest Cars In A Single Race – 1930

18 – Most Constructor Wins – Porsche

18 – Most Consecutive Podiums – Audi

18 – Most Retirements – Henri Pescarolo

18 years (133 days) – Youngest Driver On The Podium (Overall) – Ricardo Rodriguez

19 – Most Pole Positions By Constructor – Porsche

19 – Most Finishes – Derek Bell

20 – Most Entries With The Same Constructor – Bob Wollek

21 – Years Of Most Time Between Successive Starts – Jean Alesi

22 years (91 days) – Youngest Winner – Alexander Wurz

23 (hours, 15 minutes & 17 seconds) – Most Time In The Car During 24 Hours – Louis Rosier

30 – Most Winning Drivers Per Nation – United Kingdom

30 – Most Consecutive Starts – Henri Pescarolo

30 – Most Starts Without Winning (Overall) – Bob Wollek

33 – Most Entries By A Single Constructor In A Single Race – Porsche

33 – Total Starts – Henri Pescarolo

34 – Most Wins By Nation Constructor – Germany

34 – Most Winning Tyre Manufacturer – Dunlop

35 – Most Times Between First And Last Start – Mario Andretti & Yojiro Terada

43 – Total Driver Wins Per Nation – France

44 – Most Finishers – 2016

47 years (343 days) – Oldest Winner – Luigi Chinetti

55 years (110 days) – Oldest Driver On The Podium (Overall) – Mario Andretti

60 – Most Cars In A Single Race – 1950, 1951, 1953, 1955 & 2016

66 – Most Participations By A Single Constructor – Porsche

68 years (110 days) – Oldest Driver To Start A Race – Jack Gerber

788 – Most Total Entries By A Single Constructor – Porsche

24 – The Hours It Takes To Finish The Greatest Race In The World

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

 

Canadian Grand Prix: Marks out of Ten

 

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada.
Sunday 11 June 2017.
World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _O3I0085

Lewis Hamilton once again ruled the roost at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, on the Ille De Notre Dame in the St Lawrence Seaway in Montreal is a highlight of the Formula 1 season, a break between the European rounds. Known as a power reliant track compared to the prior rounds at Spain & Monaco the pecking order was shuffled slightly. We analyse each driver’s race in the simplest way we can, through marks out of ten.

Lewis Hamilton – 9

Ten years on since his maiden win in F1, Hamilton once more sees the top step of the podium. Montreal is a happy hunting ground for the Brit – this is his sixth time winning in Canada. He destroyed his teammate in qualifying by 0.7secs and matched his icon Ayrton Senna’s pole total of 65. It was a weekend that he needed, the hat-trick, pole, lights to flag and fastest lap. He kept the action kept behind him and caught up in the championship as we head to Baku.

Valteri Bottas – 7

The first 1-2 of the 2017 campaign for Mercedes, signs of the previous three seasons, but with Bottas all the challengers fell by the wayside. A poor qualifying from the Finn, a quite considerable gap of 0.4secs from the front row. He was helped by Ferrari’s issues as he took a comfortable second place. A solid result from the Finn but once more in the shadow of his teammate Hamilton.

Daniel Ricciardo – 8

The Honeybadger made it three podiums in a row, taking advantage of other drivers and using a unique strategy of running softs on the second stint rather than the super softs. He struggled early in the weekend with car trouble, and missed most of free practice two. The most important factor was his quick out lap which managed to keep Perez in the Force India at bay. We got to see a shooey to the delight of the Canadian fans – even getting Sir Patrick Stewart himself to partake in the ritual.

Max Verstappen – 8

Verstappen looked for all the world as if he could split the Mercedes after a blistering start, clipping Vettel’s wings especially. His race ended only ten laps in after an ERS failure and battery shutdown, the Ducthman visibly angry at his misfortune. Red Bull look as if they’ve made a step forward.

Sebastian Vettel – 9

Excellent recovery drive after contact damaged his front wing. Dropped to last after repairs, and a despite a damaged floor came from 16th to 4th. The four-time champion provided entertainment in the final twenty laps, limiting the damage to his championship lead to 13 points.

Raikkonen 7: A poor start saw Kimi stuck behind Perez and Ricciardo early on, the Iceman came alive when Ferrari switched the strategy to a two-stop. Unfortunate with brake failure but did well to preserve seventh from a difficult position with ten laps to go.

Sergio Perez – 8

Perez will not have won himself many French fans as he kept a faster Esteban Ocon behind him in the race-long battle for a podium position with Ricciardo. Perez will have his reasons, while Force India showed their car to be strong once again this season.

Esteban Ocon – 9

Showed a good temperament during the race and kept his head despite losing out to Vettel late on. His tyres were fresher at the end of the Grand Prix as Force India kept him out for a longer first stint, and wanted to have a go at the podium, but Perez refused to let him by.

Nico Hulkenburg – 7

The reliable Nico Hulkenburg scores points again after taking a gamble early on with the virtual safety car switching the strategy that they more than likely had planned. Renault are still not where they want to be and with this in mind it was a solid job all weekend. Almost caught the ailing Raikkonen at the end.

Jolyon Palmer – 6

This is the second successive race that the Brit has finished just outside the points after 11th in Monaco last time out. He’s faced constant speculation about his future after Hulkenberg’s excellent start at Renault. A man under pressure, he will be heartened by the step forward made in Montreal.

Lance Stroll – 8

The Canadian rookie got the monkey off his back as ninth place secured his first world championship points, at his home race. He is the first non-Villeneuve Canadian to score points in F1. After struggling in qualifying, Stroll executed a one-stop strategy well and we may now see the tension that he’s driven with all season loosened for the rest of the year.

Felipe Massa – 5

Massa was pole-axed by a pirouetting Carlos Sainz on lap one after being boxed in at the start. A good qualifying saw the Brazilian take seventh, and with power circuits such as Baku and the Red Bull Ring coming up, Williams can be confident of further points.

Romain Grosjean – 7

Grosjean managed to snatch a point from the jaws of nothing. The Swiss-Frenchman was chopped by Sainz on lap one to spark a safety car as the Spaniard was speared into an unsuspecting Felipe Massa. Picking up the pieces from Alonso’s engine failure on the penultimate lap, Haas’ weekend was rescued.

Kevin Magnussen – 5

A weekend to forget for Magnussen. He tried to be opportunistic at the end of the virtual safety car by pouncing on Stoffel Vandoorne, but timed his jump too early and earning himself a penalty. Failed to get out of the first qualifying session as both Haas’ struggled for pace through the weekend/

Marcus Ericsson – 6

This was always going to be a case of rolling treacle up a hill for Sauber. An underpowered old Ferrari engine was always going to suffer on a circuit where top speed is crucial. Sauber will be stronger on other circuits.

Pascal Wehrlein – 5

Wehrlein did himself few favours when he spun in qualifying, breaking his rear wing and gearbox. The German’s only route to points this weekend was going to be a Safety Car strategy call as in Barcelona, but it didn’t materialise for the ex-Manor man.

Stoffel Vandoorne – 6

Stoffel Vandoorne was another man on a hiding to nothing this weekend, with his Honda engine severely lacking in power. McLaren will hope improved results come on more twisty circuits.

Fernando Alonso – 8

Alonso had tigerishly fought his way up to ninth place until the penultimate lap, when his engine expired in a familiar tale of woe for the former double World Champion. The Spaniard still found time to vent his feelings about his engine during the race at a weekend in which he demanded McLaren show that they could win races by September. That looks well off.

Danil Kyvat – 5

Failed to get away for the formation lap and couldn’t get back into position. As a result received a drive through penalty. The Russian managed to fight his way back up to tenth but damage ended his day. Another chapter in a frustrating season for Kvyat.

Carlos Sainz – 5

His race lasted a matter of half a mile before his squeeze on an unco-operative Grosjean sent him to the wall, via the Williams of Massa. At a circuit where Toro Rosso were expected to struggle, he showed solid pace until Sunday.

Chris Lord & Jack Prentice

Image Credit: Steven Tee via PIRELLI MEDIA

What are Alonso’s options for 2018?

 

Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China.
Saturday 08 April 2017.
World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _ONY5020 via Pirelli Media

 

If he stays in F1:

Keep the seat at McLaren

It seems like the least likely option, but if by some miracle Honda improve the engine and McLaren suddenly look competitive, then he might—just might—stay for another season. If the power unit doesn’t find any obvious straight line speed and Honda isn’t prepared to stump up a hefty chunk of salary, he has openly said he’ll be off.

Back to Ferrari as Kimi’s replacement

If you follow Fernando’s pattern, he constantly returns to his old racing teams. Renault to McLaren, back to Renault, a trip to Ferrari and then back to McLaren. The next stage of the pattern is a return to Ferrari. Kimi is not certain to be around next year and whilst Alonso didn’t leave on the best of terms, he definitely left McLaren under worse circumstances.

Taking Bottas’ seat

Valtteri might have won his first Grand Prix this year, but he already appears to be playing an understudy role to Lewis Hamilton. Sitting on a one-year contract means that it won’t cost Mercedes anything to replace him. They can clearly afford Alonso’s wage and to find a winning car, he might even take a pay cut.

There’s no room in the Red Bull inn

Very simply, there is only one chance of Alonso taking to the Australian grid in a Red Bull. It involves either Ricciardo or Verstappen being taken over to a Silver Arrow or to the Scuderia in Maranello. If one of those seats is available and Fernando doesn’t get it, expect him to be extremely motivated in whichever car he ends up with.

A rejuvenated Renault

We know that Fernando had his most successful years under the Renault umbrella, but today it is a very different team to the one he remembers. Having said that, they are improving and we all know that Palmer’s seat is less than secure. Hulkenberg looks pretty good and there’s no talk of him moving anywhere anytime soon, so a Hulk and Fernando line up might be the option.

Williams, Force India nor Haas

There’s so little chance of Alonso going to a team which has no chance of taking a win. There’s even less chance of him doing so if they can’t match his salary ambitions. At least at McLaren he is getting paid well to have a rubbish engine. Not one of these three teams look likely to win a race without some major incident at the front of the grid, and Alonso can’t afford to wait for that to happen.

Life outside of F1:

WEC

It’s no secret that Alonso would like a crack at Le Mans as part of the Triple Crown. A year or two in WEC would not only give him the Le Mans entry he is after but also give him the schedule space to enter the Indy 500 again. Mark Webber tried to get him to the Porsche WEC team for a while and from all reports he was very close. If he put the feelers out for a seat, it would be hard to imagine any team not immediately making space for him. Imagine two million people tuning in to watch him practice around Magny Cours, that’s the sort of publicity any team would dream of.

IndyCar Series

Why not? He went, he saw, he so nearly conquered. There’s a proven path for ex-F1 drivers making the move; Brabham, Hill, Fittipaldi, Piquet, Mansell. These are legends in our sport and went over the pond to have a crack at a different form of racing. Then there’s the current crop of ex-F1 racers, less illustrious, but if Max Chilton can make a significant impact, imagine what Alonso could do with a repeated attempt.

Leave racing altogether

There is absolutely nothing which Alonso has left to prove to anyone about anything. He was the youngest F1 World Champion, is revered as one of the best drivers in the current crop and in the list of all-time, he even manages to get the McLaren with its GP2 engine into Q3.

Why would he not leave and start the next phase of his life? He has been shown a great example by Jenson Button. He’s taken to life away from F1, like Fernando to the Indy 500.

It is widely known that Alonso’s contract is up at the end of the year and there is nothing which could force him to race next season. The only thing which might tempt him would be a front of the grid seat. We’re sure he’d like to finish his career having at least won a few more races, instead of breaking down before the lights even go out.

However Alonso decides to spend the next few years, we know for certain that he has given us an amazing experience. Just look at what he did in Singapore in 2010, driving a car which had no right to be on the front two rows of the grid, he hauled the car to pole and then dominated the race all the way to the flag. It might not have the hallmarks of a Button Canadian win, but it just showed what the man could get out of a half-decent car.

Andy Robinson

Motorsport gaming in 2017: a look ahead

 

Gaming is one of the most talked about things in the world, and with the annual global gaming event E3 just around the corner, we felt it was time to look at the gaming market for motorsport. Whilst the Pit Crew Online largely focuses on the real-life view of racing, we felt it was time to broaden our horizons and look at the electronic view too. 2017 looks like a fantastic year for games, so stay tuned for some reviews throughout the calendar year, but here are a few to keep an eye out for.

DiRT 4:

Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: Codemasters
Release Date: 9 June 2017

DiRT 4 is the twelfth edition of the evolved Colin McRae Rally series, being the sixth game in the series to have the DiRT title. Focused on rallying as from the late great Colin McRae it carries on this with asphalt, dirt and snow with different weather conditions. This year DiRT and Codemasters have gained the FIA RallyCross Championship license, and Norwegian Rally/Rallycross expert Petter Solberg has been helping them with the handling model. Unfortunately it doesn’t have any aspects of the current World Rally Championship but has many cars across the last 30 years. The game is about to be released, so stay tuned for a review in the forthcoming days.

MotoGP 17:

Developer: Milestone S.R.L
Publisher: Milestone S.R.L
Release Date: 15 June 2017

Building upon the release of Valentino Rossi: The Game in 2016, Milestone is back with MotoGP 17. Having had the official contract since 2013 this is Milestone’s fifth annual release, which concentrates on the three series of Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP, as well as the feeder series before Moto3, the Red Bull Rookies. You can see that this has one career mode not for the faint-hearted. It has many legendary bikes and riders from throughout the years in the game too. Milestone are well renowned for their Superbike gaming, and the game has come leaps and bounds, with now 60 FPS (frames per second) and authentic sounding bikes it most definitely looks like the best one yet.

F1 2017:

Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: Codemasters
Release Date: 25 August 2017

Codemasters are one of the biggest players in the racing game market, with many series to their name, and the official Formula 1 video game is another in their locker. Taking the series to new heights ever since 2009 on the Wii, and 2010 on other consoles the game year upon year looks more stunning and has a breath of fresh air over it. This year Codemasters have gone retro, and gone back through the years to classic cars, a first since 2013. They have finally managed to get the iconic McLaren MP4/4 and listening to the scream of that engine up the hill of Monaco will sound beautiful. They currently have agreed on 12 cars in that classic selection and most recently announced the Red Bull RB6, with which Sebastian Vettel won his first Championship. Known for its great depth in career and balance online racing Codemasters look like they are raising the series to even greater heights than before.

Project CARS 2:

Developer: Slightly Mad Studios
Publisher: Slightly Mad Studios
Release Date: 22 September 2017

Slightly Mad Studios are back, with their second installment in the series, aptly named Project CARS 2. Slightly Mad are in one competitive market with the likes of Forza and Gran Turismo, serious realistic driving simulators, that have been doing it for many years. They have reviewed the first game as a success and didn’t hesitate on announcing that they were working on a second game. The Indy 500 was very popular this year due to Fernando Alonso taking part. They have lucratively managed to get licensing for Dallara Honda/Chevorlet 2016 Indycars, mixing with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, making them the only game that could theoretically do the Indy 500 in. This franchise doesn’t do things half-baked, with an estimated 150+ cars on launch and 60+ tracks, many licensed whilst some improvised versions of tracks they failed to get licensing for.

Gran Turismo Sport:

Developer: Polyphony Digital
Publisher: Sony Interactive
Release Date: TBC (Originally Early 2017)

Polyphony are racing simulator gods, returning for the thirteenth time using the Gran Turismo name first used back in 1997. Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport are the two giants in the racing simulation world, albeit locked to a console each—Gran Turismo being a Playstation exclusive whilst Forza is a Microsoft exclusive. It has a major partnership with the FIA, official Gran Turismo FIA Championships are taking place, as a result winners will be invited to their annual prize awards in Paris. eSports is something that is evolving and growing, and they have jumped on the opportunity especially with such a lucrative deal. A much more compact version of recent Gran Turismo games in terms of concentrating on three game modes on/offline, focusing on the core of the game, which is the racing. EA, more known for their sports games, lost the rights to a Porsche deal, so will be a first that the German manufacturer will be in the franchise. Polyphony are known for their delay in releasing games, as of yet we still have no idea of release date.

Others:

So far, Forza have yet to show their hand: their last release, Forza Horizon 3, was September 2016, so it seems some news is due on a new game, as they have annually been releasing since 2011’s Forza Motorsport 4. E3 is traditionally the big gaming event of the year, and each time Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo take the stage for a few hours showing off what is to look forward to in the year ahead of their consoles. We wouldn’t put it past Microsoft announcing something when the stage is theirs.

Codemasters are at it again, albeit with a more fun and friendly racing game, not as hardcore as their Dirt and Formula 1 games. Micro Machines World Series, the original creators of the franchise releasing a first game since 2006 having a more relaxed version of racing. Racing amongst pool tables and breakfast in attempt to wipe your friends and rivals off the map looks like a right laugh—although for the competitive people amongst you, there are also world championships to take part in.

The Pit Crew across the future will be looking at the big upcoming games, and future games that are announced to not only bring you the news of current motorsport news, but how you could possibly recreate it in your own living room.

Chris Lord, F1 Correspondent
8 June 2017

DiRT 4 Review

June 11, 2017

|

 

Developer and publisher Codemasters is back with the DiRT series, which evolved from the Colin McRae rally series way back on the Playstation 1 in 1998. Twelfth in the overall series, and the sixth to contain the DiRT name. Rally legend McRae passed away in 2007, but his name was used up until the release of DiRT 3 on console. The series has come leaps and bounds since, across all four generations of consoles since, currently on Playstation 4, Xbox One & PC. Between DiRT 3 and DiRT 4 there have been three games all offering unique opinions towards rallying.

Build up to the game

DiRT 4 was announced early in 2017 in January with June as the expected release date, which Codemasters has managed to abide by.

Norwegian Rally and Rallycross legend Petter Solberg has been a key asset to Codemasters in the sense of handling and the noise of the cars, and his feedback has been crucial for the developer to make DiRT 4 such a brilliant game. No wonder, as Solberg is an all time great, winning with the works Subaru team in 2003 in the World Rally Championship before moving to Rallycross and winning the 2014 and ’15 championships with Citroen in 2014 & 2015.

Game Features:

Career Mode

As per any racing game, there is a career mode within the game, and DiRT4’s has quite a unique aspect. With career you create your own driver from scratch and can select the particular disciplines in which you wish to compete. You can choose sponsors and develop your team with own livery development as well as a garage full of cars that are suitable for each individual series you can participate in, from rallying across the three types of surface—asphalt, gravel and snow—and Rallycross, which is a combination.

DiRT 4 has the official FIA Rallycross license, with 5 areas at which the events are based; by all means this can be done in single player, but is a substantial part of the career mode, very enjoyable and and with settings that can be amended corresponding to your driving skills. There are two types of handling: a fun arcade side, as well as a hardcore simulation mode—driving on the simulation mode in career gives a true reflection of how difficult it is but when finding the sweet spot it makes it so exciting to play.

Dirt Academy

The DirtFish Rally School is based in Washington and gives people a way to learn the skills of a rally driver via joy riding and time attack events, to then put towards Career and Multiplayer modes. It gives you a chance to develop skills to maybe push the levels of difficulty in career and quick modes as well as pushing yourself up the global leaderboard to become the very best. Events in this mode are rather enjoyable, especially the time attack scenarios across the area, and jumping up objects and smashing cardboard boxes—who doesn’t loves causing carnage to the environment!

Multiplayer

RaceNet has once more been developed further by Codemasters for this game, which sets an array of tables and events to partake in. You have access to this via the game as well as the website and this will give you the facility to view cross-platform leaderboards, with specific tournaments that can be completed throughout the game’s life span. DiRT 4’s challenges are tiered in terms of daily, weekly, and monthly which can be quite competitive and enjoyable to complete. Each individual event is different, and will never be same thanks to the stage creator they have on the game. You can take part in events with up to eight people online in terms of racing, but in terms of offline play the game has no split-screen facility.

Sound and Visuals

DiRT 4’s visuals are outstanding: the lighting in particular is brilliant, and the shadows in the morning and at time of sunset in the forest areas cannot be beaten. The cars’ characteristics in terms of damage to certain extent is limited but throughout career and Rallycross modes, you have a select amount of time to fix any problems with your car such as dampers to help handling. The cars look slick and through mud for example it doesn’t brush away, if it is wet on a gravel stage, the car becomes caked in mud. Driving at night is difficult but when you master how to drive the sense of accomplishment makes you push even further to great success.

The Co-Driver—which had work from the professional co-drivers of Jen Horsey and Nicky Grist—sounds clear and specific with how the information is given, such as the tighter the turns are the smaller the number is shouted to prepare yourself in advance. The cars sound so realistic, the engine revving if you don’t shift as well as the popping of the exhaust gives you a true version of the cars. The natural noises, for example jumping through the air whilst landing and going through water puddles, sound excellent.


Overall opinion

DiRT 4 is most definitely the best game yet in the series, returning to the good old days of the early 2000s of Colin McRae 2005, the buzz that all the game modes give as well as the noise that in first person gives you the feeling you are in control. It is wheel supported which is a true challenge, albeit a pad still gives you a thrill. The sheer amount of features in the game truly does not limit what you can do. The stage creator always gives you something new, and will be never be the same—choose a destination, difficulty and length of the stage, and off you go.

The first game reviewed with The Pit Crew Online and we score it highly, albeit a few things it does lack which holds back a perfect ten. The fact that we have no split screen for offline racing for people that wish to battle in their own living room and that when it comes to livery creator in career mode it is very limited in what can be amended. The Rallycross only has five of the series’ destinations, but at the end of the day these are small drawbacks. The variety of what can be done in career and online is astonishing with the sound, always advise to turn it up to hear the exhaust pop going around hairpins. Visually it’s amazing, which with graphics nowadays is hard to stand out amongst rivals, but definitely the best looking off-road game.

A solid 9/10 rating.

Chris Lord, F1 Correspondent

Joshua Kinroy : A friend, a fighter & top bloke

Not many people knew Josh, Josh was a quiet person almost shy at times. But he was funny, and could have a laugh with everyone he ever spoke to. Now that Josh has sadly passed away, myself and many others, not to forget his loved ones, family & friends will miss him so much.

I first spoke to Josh on twitter, probably 2011 if my memory recalls. As he was Jenson Button fan, and McLaren fan. He was always so funny to make a joke and join in with the rest of us. At this point I didn’t know about his condition, which is Muscular Dystrophy. He covered it up, didn’t tell anyone until he felt it was right to do so.

We had so many group chats on twitter where he was mostly found, general F1 banter chat and then the Pitcrew Online 2000 (now The Pitcrew Online) he joined myself to do F1 BTCC, and again we didn’t know of his condition. So he would struggle and we would help. Then he finally told me, he felt better for telling us. And we helped him as much as we could. Josh felt it was right to leave us, but we always stayed in contact.

Me and Josh, especially me and him always DM’d one another about F1, general news & topics. He’d have his low days, I would tell him it will get better. And he always kept on smiling whatever the issue was. It wasn’t until late last year when he started having problems. He had an operation, which was to help him move better (from memory) which improved his quality of life.

Josh never ever wanted sympathy for his condition, he just carried on a normal life. Always interacting with everyone on Twitter etc he was such a down to earth person, funny and tough. Many people didn’t know Josh like I did. And for the years I knew him he wouldn’t become just some follower, he was my friend.

I didn’t realise how badly Josh must have deteriorated this year, as he was seriously not well. And now looking back, I feel awful I wasn’t there for my friend, he was always rock solid. I feel bad that he couldn’t tell me he wasn’t ok, and I feel bad that overlooked him & that I wasn’t there for him to talk to. I should have seen his twitter that he wasn’t tweeting as much.

One thing you can’t take for granted is life itself. One minute it’s there and the next it’s not. There’s a huge void in my life know without Josh, we stayed up till stupid o’clock discussing everything you can imagine. He was just like me and you, his condition didn’t stop him doing what he loved which was Formula 1, McLaren, Jenson Button, Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso & Moto GP.

Josh was always the first person to make a joke in bad situations, he could break the ice when no one else could. He just perked everyone up when the mood was a little glum. He could do that, no matter what he was dealing with, he put that to one side and just made everything better or less awkward.

I urge you all to remember that twitter is sometimes the only place people can be themselves and hide away the pain they face on a daily basis. If someone needs a chat or anything just say “hey wanna talk? Am happy to talk!” It will go far, they’ll feel better about themselves also. Josh did, and I did. I gained a friend, and he’ll always be here no matter.

For Josh, I know you’re in a far better place now and it’s always going to hurt that you won’t be around on my feed or messages & phone. I feel for your family, your friends. You was such an inspiration and you fought so hard, you won’t be forgotten ever. Thank you for the memories, laughter & banter we had on group chats via the pitcrew and other places, you’ll be sorely missed mate.

I’d like to thank The Pit Crew, my former team for allowing me to do this tribute for Josh. We had many laughs in the chat! If you would like to donate to the Muscular Dystrophy you can click here.
Muscular ardystrophy.

Mark Whitelegge

R.I.P Josh Kinroy.

We at Crew Towers are very saddened to hear of the passing of our friend and one time Crew Member Josh.

Here’s and article he wrote for then forthcoming Chinese Grand Prix

Thanks Josh we will all miss you…

Chinese Grand Prix Preview – Can Ferrari challenge again
After the elation and emotion of Malaysia, the F1 fraternity now heads to China for the third race of the season in what will hopefully be an epic weekend in which Mercedes and Ferrari will be favourites for the win.
Sebastian Vettel will be on a high after the previous race and will be hoping for the same again but Lewis Hamilton’s win in China last season will invigorate the world champion in to keeping his winning streak going.
Lewis Hamilton said “Malaysia was a tough weekend. It always is with the heat – but with car problems on Friday, rain during qualifying on Saturday and a race which didn’t go to plan on Sunday, this one was particularly challenging. I think ultimately we made the best choices we could – but there is always room for improvement and we’ve been working hard to analyse everything for the next race in China”.
Teammate Nico Rosberg said “The last race weekend was not great for me. I didn’t get my lap together in qualifying, then losing time in the pits made it a tough race to fight back and try to catch Lewis. We’ve definitely learned some lessons and it’s time to take that to the track in China”.
The rest of the chasing pack will want to have a better weekend with Williams and Red Bull hoping to close in on the top two teams after a lacklustre race. Toro Rosso have put themselves in the running for the best of the rest as they battled in the top ten throughout.
McLaren had a much better weekend after showing much better pace and even with a double retirement, they are taking a step in the right direction.
Racing Director Eric Boullier is optimistic but realistic “We came away from the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend feeling optimistic about our state of development and the improvements we’d made relative to our closest rivals. However, we don’t take anything for granted, and are fully aware that the next two races probably won’t show quite the same rate of improvement as we witnessed at Sepang.
The weather can be unpredictable and will be significantly cooler than in Malaysia and Pirelli have said it is likely to be a 2-stop race.
Mercedes will be better suited to this race track with the long flowing corners and their car will suit cooler conditions but tyre could become an issue and Ferrari will hope to capitalise if they hit problems and it will surely make for a fantastic race.

Why Bradl Still Has It

Post by @MotoGPKiko

It is no secret that the Honda are struggling in World Superbikes, however, Stefan Bradl – the team’s sole rider after the tragic passing of teammate Nicky Hayden – has got bundles of talent and on a good bike with the right team, he’s a WSBK race winner all day long. Come next year, I have a feeling that the German could be a bit of a threat.

It sounds ridiculous that I am mentioning the 2018 WSBK season after just reaching the half way distance this year but for Stefan Bradl, the remainder of this campaign will be more of a huge test session on the new Honda Fireblade.

Having received the bike late this season, the Red Bull Honda Ten Kate Team have been slashed of testing time and the results have highlighted that. Stefan Bradl’s 6th place in Assen is the team’s best result and they are slowly but surely making progress, with throttle connection being a main target, although a gearbox solution for WSBK is still looming a large issue.

Stefan Bradl is one of the top riders in World Superbikes. Having been unceremoniously tossed out of the Grand Prix circus last year, following a tricky time at Aprilia, he found himself in WSBK on what was supposed to be a championship contending bike. Bradl’s speed is most certainly there and his resilience is too, riding in honour of fallen hero Hayden at Donington Park.

Bradl is also the only German on the grid, following Markus Reiterberger’s departure due to injuries sustained over a year ago. The former Moto2 World Champion has actually been rather steady in WSBK. Every race he has finished has been in the points, which gains not only track time for him as a WSBK rookie but valuable data which will be used to improve the Fireblade. He has only retired from two races, at circuits that he has never rode a 1000cc bike at in his life.

The next circuit for the German to visit is Misano, where the team recently held a test to try and make further gains with the Honda. Bradl also knows the circuit reasonably well too, having raced there in his Grand Prix years, with a 2nd in Moto2 in 2011 and a top class best of 5th.

There is no doubting Bradl’s pace. It will just take some more time to be shown. Likewise for the Honda, development and testing is the most valuable asset to the outfit at the moment. I’m predicting a Honda podium by the end of the season; where that will be, I’m not so sure. But with a determined Bradl and a hardworking team around him, I expect some breakthroughs very shortly.

Image courtesy of Gareth Davies from Full Factory Photography

 

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is preparing to host its 39th Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, a 4.3km-long track that features the infamous Wall of Champions – which has claimed the pride, and carbon fibre, of several drivers over the years, including names such as Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and 2017 championship points leader Sebastian Vettel.

The 70-lap race often boasts excitement, not only the dramatic encounters as you enter the pit straight, a number of on-lap overtakes and manoeuvres due to the high-speed nature alongside low asphalt grip.

Ultrasoft tyres will be the preferred option in the dry this weekend, with all four title contenders holding at least eight sets of the purple-walled rubber due to the low degradation expected, meaning a split-second mistake on the usual two-stop strategy could make all the difference.

Mercedes and Ferrari will be the ones expected to top the timesheets come Sunday, with the tarmac ribbon situated on the Notre Dame Island in Montreal favouring those with higher-power over aerodynamics. Bad news for the returning Fernando Alonso. At least he won’t have any penalties to walk into this weekend unlike his part-time replacement Jenson Button last time out in Monaco.

However, one target for the rest of the field to aim for will be Rubens Barrichello’s current race lap record around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve of 1:13.662, which the Brazilian set back in 2004.

Whether it be a Silver Arrow or Italian Stallion standing aloft on the podium come the end of Sunday afternoon, it will undoubtedly provide thrills and spills and disperse crucial points in the race for the Drivers’ Championship.

By Joe Owens

Image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports

Will we see another name added to the Wall of Champions?

2014 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 6th – 8th June 2014
Valtteri Bottas, Williams FW36 Mercedes, Action,
World Copyright: © Andrew Hone Photographer 2014.
Ref: _ONZ1071 / via Pirelli Media

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve based on Montreal’s Notre Dame Island is a stunning track. The track has the right balance of slow- to high-speed areas that creates some spectacular racing.

There is one infamous part of the track which legends such as the great Michael Schumacher have hit—they call it the ‘Wall of Champions’. After the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix the wall on the exit of Turn 14 was christened most notably with three world champions. Drivers had hit the wall prior, but 1999 was when it was especially unforgiving.

1999:

Many drivers—or shall we say victims—had fallen prey to The Wall especially this year, but it all began with Damon Hill, he was the first notable casualty, after winning the World Championship in 1996. Now driving with Jordan he was amongst a midfield battle, and he clipped the rear of his car against The Wall—you could say he was an appetiser for it.

15 laps later Michael Schumacher mid-chicane lost control after going off the racing line, and slid helplessly into The Wall’s grasp; at the time the German was leading the Grand Prix. The difference here was that Hill managed to get away, but Schumacher & Ferrari could not, with severe damage caused. The main course? The Wall was not done there, it wanted more!

Canada’s own Jaques Villeneuve was the third champion into The Wall, only 5 laps after Schumacher, pretty much nose on, it was getting more and more of the cars at every attempt! The Wall after that had had enough, was full and had its fair share of rubber across it. Villeneuve was the dessert of The Wall’s three-car meal in 1999. From then on it was named the Wall of Champions.

Recent Years:

The Wall laid low for a few years, claiming the odd driver here and there—on a diet, you could say, but when it saw an opportunity it was more than happy to take full advantage.

The rise, then fall, of Jenson Button at the 2005 Canadian Grand Prix, for example. He took pole position in qualifying, and then threw it away in the race when Schumacher was chasing him for third. He attacked the chicane but as a result broke his rear suspension: The Wall was ready for a taste of BAR, though much like Hill he managed to escape The Wall’s grasp.

The most recent major casualty was in 2011, where we had the most incredible race that Button won. Funnily enough it was the complete opposite with Button rising to the top from the bottom.

The Wall did not devour anyone during the race, as it was still buzzing from the first practice session. Sebastien Vettel lost his rear on a very green track, and over the kerbs he headed straight towards The Wall. So early on in the weekend, Vettel could not escape, and it ended his session with The Wall covered with fresh carbon fibre and rubber, whilst leaving the Red Bull team a major headache to get his car ready for FP2.

Other notable mentions:

– Ricardo Zonta, a champion in the FIA GT series, was actually the first to hit The Wall in the 1999 Grand Prix.

– Juan Pablo Montoya—the 1999 CART and two-time Indy 500 champion—in what turned out to be his penultimate Grand Prix, did brush The Wall in 2006 resulting in retirement. Could this have been the catalyst for what ensued in the following US Grand Prix, resulting in an early Formula 1 departure?

Will there be another one this year though? It’s been a few years since The Wall last had a tasty meal. Could an F1 champion such as Hamilton or future champion Max Verstappen join the ever-growing list of victims claimed by the Wall of Champions? The cars seem to suffer more in dirty air this year, and Canada always has been a tough track on brakes. The recipe is there for The Wall to claim another driver.

Chris Lord, F1 Correspondent

©2014-2024 ThePitCrewOnline