Pavel Loknovski

Pavel Loknovski

Nationality	Estonian
Superleague Career
Active Years	2011-2012
Team(s)	Nordsjoen Racing
Grand Prix	24
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podium finishes	4
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First Grand Prix	2011 San Marino Grand Prix
Supercup Career
Active Years	2011-2012
Team(s)	Hawkeye Racing Triple-Double Racing
Grand Prix	22
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podium finishes	8
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	1
First Grand Prix	2011 Supercup Australian Grand Prix

Pavel Loknovski is an Estonian sim-racer currently driving for Nordsjoen Racing in the Superleague. He is also a team owner of Innervision.The team competes in the Supercup, Formula Challenge and in the World Sport Series.

Early Days

He competed in his first sim-race in 2009 ,when he joined a little league called GPROC which had started its third season. Pavel raced along with many of his future GPVWC competitors. He was a frequent podium finisher, also managing to win few races on his debut season. He then took part in many other similar leagues until late 2010 when he got interested in GPVWC. He has also taken part in some Race Department racing club races. Loknovski had been using PlayStation 3 gamepad throughout his sim-racing career before finally upgrading to a racing wheel at the end of summer 2012.

Superleague

2011

Pavel joined Nordsjoen Racing before the A1 Ring GP in Austria replacing Samuli Leinonen. He made his first appearance as a test driver at the same Grand Prix.

All Nordsjoen front row as Monza Grand Prix is about to start

He debuted in Nordsjoen overalls at the 2011 San Marino Grand Prix replacing Jyri Lylykorpi. An impressive debut saw the Estonian finishing in 3rd right behind his World Champion team-mate Joe Consiglio. A podium finish was followed by a setback at Istanbul Park, where Pavel managed only a shy 10th after string of incidents in the race. Loknovski continued his point finishing streak with 6th in Mexico and 4th place in Montreal, before a breakthrough race in Brazil. Lining up 3rd on the grid in a heavily upgraded car Loknovski was determined to secure a Norsdjoen 1-2. After few incidents and nail-biting moments in the race the Estonian managed to do so and Nordsjoen took first 1-2 of the season. 1-2 was followed by Nordsjoen front row lock out in Monza. Another 1-2 was on the cards but few too many mistakes from Pavel and some trouble with backmarkers saw him finishing behind championship contenders Consiglio and Lee Morris.

Rest of the season was hindered by lag problems for Nordsjoen's number 2. Lokonvski had to miss out Barcelona but another podium finish in Spa saw Nordsjoen closing in heavily on Red Archer in constructors standings. First retirement of the season came in Zandvoort where Estonian had been suffering from heavy lag whole race, until he crashed into the back Christoph Lichtenstein's Synergetic in a fast corner causing Nordsjoen driver to retire. Deciding not to drive at Singpore due to lag issues Loknovski took 6th position with 56 points in final drivers standings with Nordsjoen narrowly missing out on Constructors title.

2012

After competing in 8 races and scoring 4 podiums in 2011 Loknovski maintained his race driver seat in Nordsjoen Racing alongside double World Champion Joe Consiglio. 2012 was already dubbed as the most competitive season ever in the Superleague with Nordsjoen aiming once again nothing less than both titles.

Cattell launching final attack on Loknovski to claim 5th position.

Highly anticipated 2012 Superleague season kicked off traditionally in Melbourne. After having started from 8th, Loknovski picked up rear suspension damage after slight contact in turn 1. However, minimal damage was enough to ruin Estonian's first stint. Tyre wear issues and lost front wing saw Loknovski finishing in 7th in season opener. Next round in Shanghai was a race to forget for the Estonian. Weak 10th in qualification was followed by a terrible start, which saw Nordsjoen driver falling to 15th by the end of lap 1. Few technical issues in the race meant that Loknovski finished only 10th. Repeating his worst result so far in the Superleague. Nordsjoen's upgrades helped Pavel to improve his pace in Abu Dhabi where he made his best qualification performance lining up 5th on the grid. A race-long battle with Simon Cattell culminated on final lap when Cattell overtook Loknovski just few corners before the finish line. Estonian came over the line in totaled car after last-gasp efforts to retake 5th, which saw Estonian spectacularly crashing in final turn but still finishing the race in 6th.

Battle between Clark and Loknovski in Monaco.

Loknovski got a rare chance to fight for the podium in Hungary. Another strong qualifying performance led to 5th starting position. Avoiding a crash between team-mate Consiglio and Euler at the start saw Loknovski climbing up to 3rd after lap 1 and possible podium was on the cards. However, Nordsjoen driver couldn't keep up with Dave Carr-Smith and Cattell, and later in the race was instead overtaken by recovering Rowland, Consiglio and Euler settling to 7th after promising start to the race. Another 7th came in Spain after a rather quiet race. However, after round in Spain, Consiglio announced his retirement and Jarl Teien was recruited to partner Loknovski. While his new team-mate enjoyed front row start in Monaco on his debut, Loknovski qualified by far in his worst ever 18th place. But a strong race pace saw Nordsjoen coming through the field finishing 8th and salvaging few valuable points. Yet another 8th place finish for Loknovski in Montreal meant that the Estonian was one of the 3 drivers who had managed to finish all 7 races of the season in points. While Loknovski's season was unusually consistent with constant top 10 finishes, rumors started to spread about his future in Nordsjoen Racing. His points streak came to an end in Korea where he only managed 11th after an unimpressive race. Another non-point finish was close at Istanbul Park, but Pavel managed to avenge Cattell for Abu Dhabi on the final lap of the race with an overtake few corners before the finish and taking the final point.

Real nightmare for the Estonian started with second part of the season. 12th place after first lap incident at the British GP was just an introduction to forthcoming races. Loknovski expected to achieve best result of the season at Monza with track suiting the Estonian driving style. 7th in qualifying was followed by an early retirement in the race. First, Tom Parker locked his brakes and smashed into the back of Nordsjoen destroying the back end of the car in turn 1.

Pavel Loknovski and Tom Parker going side by side at Zandvoort.

Loknovski was forced to cut the track after being forced off it in turn 1, receiving a 10s stop/go penalty for doing that. Jamez Shepherd put an end to Estonian's miseries in turn 3 when he crashed into the side of Nordsjoen which got beached on a curb after the contact, retirement from the race was imminent. Yet another retirement in Spa after lap 1 crash meant that the Estonian had only scored 1 point in last 4 races. Zandvoort finally ended the points drought and respectable 7th place finish was a huge relief after number of troubled races. Pavel was unable to take part at Nürburgring and made his debut racing with a wheel at Road America. A race that went down as the most embarrassing race ever for the Estonian ended with yet another retirement. Having a harsh time in the race in the US Loknovski learned his lessons and was in much better shape at Interlagos. An impressive start got Estonian up to 7th but a contact with few drivers dropped him to last after lap 3. He managed to fight back up to 10th and took his final point of the season. Once again Pavel showed promising pace in Suzuka which was yet again canceled out with a lap 1 crash. This time Estonian had lag issues and was hit by his teammate. Fighting with severe suspension damage in his first stint, Nordsjoen's number 2 limped to the finish line in only 13th. Season finale took place traditionally in Singapore with Pavel lining up 10th in the final race of the season. Unsurprisingly Nordsjoen driver got once again in trouble at turn 1. Spun around and front wing lost after turn 1 chaos summed up perfectly Loknovski's second part of the season. After what almost became a customary pitstop after lap 1 shenanigans the Estonian literally ended his season with a bang. Approaching the final corner, Pavel went over the anti-cuts which launched the Nordsjoen car spectacularly high off the ground and also destroying the engine.

Woeful 30 points in 18 races was below any expectations. Nearly double less points than in 2011 and that with only 8 races. Astonishingly Estonian managed to get involved in lap 1 incidents in 6 races of the final 8 races he took part in. After a catastrophic season Loknovski still had few Superleague offers on the table but it is rumored that the Estonian won't be racing in the Superleague in 2013 and go back to racing in the Supercup instead.

Supercup

2011

De Vos and Loknovski fighting for the 2nd place at A1-Ring.

Pavel's first full GPVWC season began at the 2011 Supercup Australian Grand Prix. He achieved 5th place in his debut qualifying. Loknovski got a perfect start and overtook Leinonen and Jundt off the line to claim 3rd position before Turn 1. He then pursued de Vos and Millar who had a hectic battle for the lead. The pair managed to pull away from the Estonian driver and the order remained unchanged until Millar lost control of his Williamson Dynamics and spun into wall losing his front wing. That incident promoted Pavel up to 2nd and he would keep this position until the finish line.

Apart from retirement in Abu Dhabi due to engine failure, Loknovski proceeded his debut season strong with 5th place finish in Suzuka after 10s Stop/Go penalty and 2nd place in Shanghai after front row start and a race-long battle with Simon Cattell, Bart de Vos and Lewis Redshaw for the victory. Heavy crash with Championship leader de Vos saw Estonian finishing only 7th at Magny Cours. After 4 woeful races Pavel's luck finally changed for Monaco. Having inherited pole position from de Vos who was unable to start due to technical issues Loknovski went on to secure his first GPVWC victory after having long battle with Jason Muscat. 10 points for Loknovski and 0 for de Vos meant that the Estonian took the lead in drivers' Championship standings.

Warren, Loknovski, Parker & Walker going 4 abreast at Interlagos.

Fame was short-lived and things changed at British GP. Having missed out qualifying Loknovski had to start from the back of the grid. He had trouble understanding where he is and what is he doing due to fact that he was simply too drunk to understand anything. An unimpressive start to the race saw him having trouble to cope with the track and keeping up with the backmarkers. Somehow he managed to make his way up to 10th or something ,without crashing into anyone. However, his pathetic run came to an end when he double down-shifted in the Becketts corner and his engine or gearbox collapsed. That was the second time he retired due to this sort of error that season.

Pavel flying at Spa

After losing his Championship lead ,Pavel was eager to improve. However, troubled Bahrain GP saw Loknovski finishing only 13th, his worst result so far. 0 points from last two races were followed with back-to-back podiums from Imola and Istanbul. Another podium looked secure at Mexican GP but after technical issues Loknovski was forced to retire once again instead. Back on podium in Montreal and 4th place at Interlagos where Estonian lost 3rd place in final corner after silly spin cemented 2nd place in the Drivers' Championsip standings.

Estonian's strong form continued at legendary Monza circuit, where he took his first pole position and second win of the season after going side-by-side with de Vos in Parabolica on the final lap. Consistency seemed to be one of the biggest issues for the young Estonian as he proved in Barcelona where he lost an easy second place finish to a silly race ending mistake. Loknovski started from front row at Belgian GP only losing out to home crowd favorite de Vos. Huge sideways moment at Eau Rouge and few other mistakes ruined any chance of a win and Loknovski had to settle with 4th. Pavel was unable to take part in penultimate round at Zandvoort and retired due to technical issues in season finale at Singapore. Despite finishing season on a low Loknovski managed to hold on to second position in Drivers' Championship with 124 points only losing out to Bart de Vos.

2012

Loknovski was originally set to drive for Hawkeye Racing, but late driver restriction rule made that impossible. However, for round 3 Loknovski who finished 2nd in the Supercup last season was back in action as he became Hawkeye's reserve driver and stood in for Jack Nicholls at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Loknovski managed to qualify in high 3rd position but zeroed all his qualification efforts at the start of the race in turn 1, where he underestimated cold front tyres and spun trying to avoid another car. After being almost last after first lap Pavel made his way up to 5th after several spins and offs in his first 2012 Supercup race. Loknovski also posted the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, something he was unable to do in 2011.

Masters Series

2010

Pavel debuted in GPVWC in the 2010 Masters Series season where he raced at A1 Ring. He qualified 7th for his first ever GPVWC race. He finished accident filled Feature race in 9th position. In Sprint race he managed to finish 6th with yet again action and accident filled race. Loknovski raced in a guest car.

Loknovski and Mark Stanton collide in spectacular fashion

2011

Loknovski drove for Nijo Racing alongside Chris Williamson and Ben Warren achieving 8th in constructors standings.

2011 Masters Series season proved to be a dismal one for Loknovski. After successful season in Supercup and Superleague, Pavel managed only one podium at Zolder and 10th place in drivers standings. Apart from mediocre performances the season was overshadowed with lots of misfortune and crashes for the Estonian driver. Signs of improvement were shown at Watkins Glen where Pavel seemed to have certain pole position, but due to game bug Simon Cattell was able to snatch pole from the Nijo driver. Podium finish seemed to be certain in both races but Estonian's misfortune continued and he got taken out in both of the races. After the race Loknovski appealed and was given his deserved pole position back, which proved to be his first and only Masters pole position.

Racing Career Results

Superleague

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	WDC	Points
2011	Nordsjoen Racing	NR004	Mercedes	AUS -	UAE -	JAP -	CHN -	RSA -	AUT -	FRA -	MON -	GBR -	BAH -	SMR 3	TUR 10	MEX 6	CAN 4	BRA 2	ITA 3	ESP -	BEL 3	NED Ret	SIN -	6th	56
2012	Nordsjoen Racing	NR005	Mercedes	AUS 7	CHN 10	UAE 6	HUN 7	ESP 7	MON 8	CAN 8	KOR 11	TUR 10	GBR 12	ITA Ret	BEL Ret	NED 7	GER -	USA Ret	BRA 10	JAP 13	SIN Ret

^† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.

Supercup

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	WDC	Points
2011	Triple-Double Racing	SC-011	Renault	AUS 2	UAE Ret	JAP 5	CHN 2	RSA Ret	AUT 3	FRA 7	MON 1	GBR Ret	BAH 13	SMR 3	TUR 2	MEX Ret	CAN 2	BRA 4	ITA 1	ESP Ret	BEL 4	NED -	SIN 13†	2nd	124
2012	Hawkeye Racing	SC-012	Mecachrome	AUS -	CHN -	UAE 5	HUN -	ESP -	MON -	CAN -	KOR Ret	TUR -	GBR -	ITA -	BEL -	NED -	IND -	USA -	BRA -	JAP -	SIN -			NC	6

^† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.

GPVWC Masters Results

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	WDC	Points
2010	Guest Driver	BMW-E90	USA FEA -	USA SPR -	USA FEA -	USA SPR -	GBR FEA -	GBR SPR -	GER FEA -	GBR FEA -	GBR SPR -	AUT FEA 9	AUT SPR 6	GBR FEA -	GBR SPR -		19th	14
2011	Nijo Racing	BMW-E90	GER FEA 28	GER SPR 13	CHN FEA 18	CHN SPR 33	BEL FEA 19	BEL SPR 3	TUR FEA 4	TUR SPR 31	USA FEA 11	USA SPR Ret	AUS FEA 5	AUS SPR 29	GBR FEA 5	GBR SPR 15	10th	80