WSR Nurburgring 2015

[skells22]

just 6 days before the WSR hits the track again. this time at the Nurburgring and therefore I wonder if the German weather might be in play, also turn 1 has seen issues in the past

[WSR Fan]

Just a few bits of news ahead of the weekend in case people have missed them:

* Roberto Merhi has called time on his FR3.5 season at Pons and for this round is replaced by GP2 driver René Binder.
* Philo Paz Armand has visa issues once again (like the Red Bull Ring round) and is replaced by Japanese Euroformula Open driver Yu Kanamaru.
* Nyck de Vries will receive a two-place grid penalty for Saturday's first race after causing a collision with Bruno Bonifacio in the second race at Silverstone.

[bella]

a two place grid penalty... i bet he's really regretting that

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

It means he lines up 4th for race 1, bella! Rowland on pole, can he actually get a perfect weekend in this series? Whatever he does, he's been more consistent than Sainz was last year!

Kanamaru starts 11th, not bad for a debut, especially when you see Binder in 19th...

[bella]

a good day so far for racing steps - another pole for rowland, and pole for barnicoat too in the eurocup.

[WSR Fan]

WOW, what a race so far! Not even sure where to start in explaining it!

Rowland has some work to do as he was tagged into a spin at Turn 1 - I think it was by Malja who's just taken on a new nose section at his pitstop.

Safety car on track at the moment to allow the marshalls to collect Panis's Tech 1 car which stopped at Turn 1.

[WSR Fan]

Well, what an entertaining race that was! It's a Strakka 1-2 with Ellinas taking the win ahead of Malja, with de Vries in third.

Rowland gets the last point in tenth with Vaxiviere in eleventh.

[Go_For_Pole]

Tiooooooooo!!

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Gutted for Fantin though, he had that second race in his hands before the safety car...

[chunterer]

Sensational Sunday race.

So much action it was hard to keep up!!

Tio responded superbly at the end as Malja came at him like a rocket and I thought the Swede was just going to drive around him but Tio dug deep and found some more ideas to fend him off and in fact pull away again.

Stoneman (the albatross of the series, he's had so much bad luck!) was mega as was Rowland coming back through the field, even when both pitted late on.

Both drivers deserve to progress, but both will depend heavily on their current backers extending their deals no doubt.

I fear Marko may drop Dean but he's quick enough to deserve another year whether it's in RPM 3.5 or GP2.

Rowland is just a class, class driver isn't he.

Could he go all the way and become the next superstar Brit F1 driver?

[WSR Fan]

Originally Posted by chunterer

I fear Marko may drop Dean but he's quick enough to deserve another year whether it's in RPM 3.5 or GP2.

Rowland is just a class, class driver isn't he.

Could he go all the way and become the next superstar Brit F1 driver?

There's no doubt that Dean has had a lot of bad luck recently, but in the last three rounds de Vries has really upped his game and on pace he is the quicker of the two at the moment. I agree that he deserves another year in 3.5 or a step up to GP2, but I think he needs a really solid final two rounds to retain the confidence of Marko. Another issue is that at 25 years old, for how much longer can he be deemed a 'junior' driver with so many 17/18/19 year olds coming through the ranks?

Rowland has been super, super impressive this year. Going into a season as a hot title favourite doesn't always sit well for some (Sirotkin last year for example) but he has handled the pressure extremely well. Some of his driving has been sheer first class (his overtakes in Silverstone Race 1 and his charge back through the field at Monaco are two of the best examples). If, as expected, he wraps the title up he will be a very deserving champion indeed.

I read an interview with him a few months ago where he stated he would like to step up to GP2 next season, but it wasn't the be all and end all for him - he said if he was offered a serious drive in DTM, LMP2 or LMP1 and therefore a long-term, professional career, he wouldn't hesitate to snap it up.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by WSR Fan

There's no doubt that Dean has had a lot of bad luck recently, but in the last three rounds de Vries has really upped his game and on pace he is the quicker of the two at the moment. I agree that he deserves another year in 3.5 or a step up to GP2, but I think he needs a really solid final two rounds to retain the confidence of Marko. Another issue is that at 25 years old, for how much longer can he be deemed a 'junior' driver with so many 17/18/19 year olds coming through the ranks?

Rowland has been super, super impressive this year. Going into a season as a hot title favourite doesn't always sit well for some (Sirotkin last year for example) but he has handled the pressure extremely well. Some of his driving has been sheer first class (his overtakes in Silverstone Race 1 and his charge back through the field at Monaco are two of the best examples). If, as expected, he wraps the title up he will be a very deserving champion indeed.

I read an interview with him a few months ago where he stated he would like to step up to GP2 next season, but it wasn't the be all and end all for him - he said if he was offered a serious drive in DTM, LMP2 or LMP1 and therefore a long-term, professional career, he wouldn't hesitate to snap it up.

I haven't seen Nick outpacing Dean, just keeping it on the road more often!

That's a refreshing quote from Oli about his future btw, Think that shows he's got his head well and truly screwed on properly.

Maybe Stoneman will end up in sportscars as well.