FR3.5 Series: Round 8 - Le Mans

[WSR Fan]

So it's the penultimate round this weekend at Le Mans, using the shorter Bugatti circuit.

And like recent rounds, there are a few more driver changes:

* Yu Kanamaru keeps his seat at Pons and is joined by Russian Nikita Zlobin for the final two rounds of the season.

* Pietro Fantin and Bruno Bonifacio are both absent for Draco (for as yet unknown reasons) with their former driver Andre Negrao returning to form a one-car effort.

So just 19 cars for the weekend then..

[bella]

mm, even the biggest optimist has to see that's a bit of an issue going forward.

still, the front end isn't diminished, and it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top out of those guys. anyone know who's tested there?

[Formulahistory]

Negrao is the son of the Draco team owner.

Would be nice to know what's the matter there...

[jodi]

slightly overwhelming to know that there is only one more race after this weekend, goodbye world series by renault as we know it.

[kotkot]

Well, this is already not the same quality in terms of grid size. The top drivers might still represent a lot of talent but in this weekend's field, Negrao and Stockinger are both from GP2, Kanamaru is from EF Open, Zlobin is just out of nowhere. Out of the full-timers, Gelael, Malja, Rowland and even Latifi have raced in GP2 already with Celis also doing GP3, even if he preferred FR3.5 over GP3 when they clashed.

That leaves 10 people focusing solely on the championship, which is not too nice compared to what we had just a couple of years ago.

[WSR Fan]

Originally Posted by Formulahistory

Negrao is the son of the Draco team owner.

Would be nice to know what's the matter there...

Autosport quoted Negrao saying "Bruno and Pietro aren't coming as the situation is, unfortunately, 'No money, no race", which might be the case for Bonifacio, but ItaliaRacing have rumoured that Fantin quit after the disappointment of the Nurburgring when the timing of the safety car and a team mistake with the pitstop took away a likely victory. They also said that Fantin may have decided to retire from racing altogether, which would be a shame if true as on his day he's a pretty decent driver.

So after today's race I think we can now safely say well done to Oliver Rowland for practically sealing the title. He's driven beautifully all season and together with Fortec they have fully justified their pre-season title favourite status. He's now equalled Sainz's record of seven wins in a season which he should break in the last three races, and also no previous FR3.5 champion has scored points in every race during a season so it would be good to see him do that too.

Great result for Yu Kanamaru and Pons Racing in sixth after starting eleventh as well!

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Rowland should seal it tomorrow.

Kanamaru has been surprisingly good since joining. Perhaps EFO graduates may view FR3.5 in its new guise as a better option than GP3, where they just don't gel. Wouldn't mind Vitor Baptista in one of these things.

[tux]

Absolute comedy from Negrao and Draco doing two laps with oil pouring out the back of the car right at the start of qualifying.

Its really good of Renault to stream the qualifying sessions.

[WSR Fan]

Originally Posted by tux

Its really good of Renault to stream the qualifying sessions.

It is brilliant isn't it. Just got to hope that RPM will consider something similar for next season.

Ellinas on pole for Race two with Vaxiviere alongside him with Rowland starting only 14th.

[tux]

Negrao has had an awful day, oil leak this morning, contact and a roll in the race.

What was going on with Vaxiviere at the start? He lost alot of places off the line.

[WSR Fan]

He selected fourth gear instead of third, according to the Autosport race report.

Congratulations once again to Rowland, who put in a good drive today despite apparently not feeling 100%. That was some battle up front with Orudzhev and Vaxiviere, it was tight at times but on the whole pretty fair. One thing you definitely can't accuse Vaxiviere of is lacking commitment, he went for nearly every opportunity this weekend, whether it was on or not! It'll be interesting to see where he ends up next year - I'm imagining GP2 is probably the aim?

Orudzhev has certainly been of the nice surprises of the season I think. Pre-season I thought Latifi would generally be the better of the Arden pair but Egor has shown to be that little bit more consistent.

Looks like being a good battle at Jerez between the DAMS pair for the rookie of the year crown too.

[chunterer]

Rowland reminds me a bit of Johnny Herbert in talent and driving style when he was in F3 and 3000 pre career stifling crash.

Such a great natural flair, car control and consistency he makes it look so simple.

It will be a huge loss to top level single seaters if he cannot move up to GP2 now and really he is already F1 class imo.

Vaxvierre has disappointed this year. Clearly he is massively quick but lacks composure and seemingly also a good 'racing brain'.

Someone said yesterday he is a good overtaker? I have seen very little evidence of that this year. Time after time he has failed to make the most of a great qualy opportunity and either gone backwards off the line and then got bogged down behind slower cars or thrown it away with an ill judged move.

He lacks a 'killer' instinct in comparison to a Rowland.

However their is an awful lot of promise there, it needs honing quickly though.

Should he stay in this category for a 3rd year (well 2nd full year) or see if Gravity can move him into GP2?

[gert]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Should he stay in this category for a 3rd year (well 2nd full year) or see if Gravity can move him into GP2?

If he stays on only the title will be good enough, everything else will be a disappointment, since he finishes 2nd this year.
If he moves on expectations will be somewhat lower and he can afford a learning year.