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July 22, 2010
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For Round 12 the GPVWC teams and drivers travelled to Mexico for a race at the ex-F1 track at the Hermanos Rodr?ez circuit. With two very fast sectors separated by a twisty middle section, drivers found they had to find the best compromise between grip and straightline speed when setting up their cars. With different teams and drivers taking different approaches, it lead to some interesting battles in the race.
For qualifying, the battle had a similar flavour to the preceding races, with Nordsjoen taking the front row once more, this time with Janne Tanskanen almost a second ahead of Adam Rouse on his return to GPVWC action. The Woods cars were very close behind with Mark Wicks taking 3rd spot and Kieran Ryan having to settle for 4th. The Draig cars were the rest of the best, using the power of their Ferrari engine to good effect and lined up 5th and 7th.
Once the lights went out, the first lap was filled incident. Incredibly, Welshman Wayne Mullins managed to only go a couple of hundred metres before his engine died, leaving him a passenger as the field rushed past him. Although most could avoid his stricken car, unfortunately he was collected by Nikos Evangelidakis, who luckly was able to limp to the pits. Wicks once more lost ground in the opening corners, as do Phil Perkins and William Ponissi.
As the Nordsjoens led from Ryan at the front, a battle developed between Wicks and Jason Muscat for 4th place, with the Englishman managing to overtake the Red Archer after several laps of pressure. Behind them Liam Hatchell and Nick Rowland had a scrap which ended badly, as Hatchell knocked Rowland into a spin which then led to a secondary collision with Sam Millar. Millar was forced to make an unscheduled stop, while Rowland decided to call it a day.
With most drivers electing to take a 2 stop strategy, the first round of pitstops took place around Lap 22. Having pushed the tyres too hard, Rouse is the big loser here as he was struggling for grip during his inlap, allowing both Woods cars to leapfrog him. Tanskanen however keeps things under control and maintained a reasonable lead over Ryan after his first stop. The situation remained much the same after the second round of stops.
In the battle for 2nd, Ryan had Wicks on his gearbox for much of the second half of the race, but unfortunately for Wicks, his higher downforce setup meant he just couldn't find a way past his teammate. Further back, Ponissi and Christoph Lichtenstein enjoyed an exciting duel for 7th place in the final laps, whereas both Synergetics joined a growing list of retirees, leaving just 9 cars running at the finish.
So in the end Tanskanen achieved his 3rd consecutive win, 27s clear of his nearest rivals. Ryan finished just 2nd with Wicks just behind and Rouse a further 10s behind.
For qualifying, the battle had a similar flavour to the preceding races, with Nordsjoen taking the front row once more, this time with Janne Tanskanen almost a second ahead of Adam Rouse on his return to GPVWC action. The Woods cars were very close behind with Mark Wicks taking 3rd spot and Kieran Ryan having to settle for 4th. The Draig cars were the rest of the best, using the power of their Ferrari engine to good effect and lined up 5th and 7th.
Once the lights went out, the first lap was filled incident. Incredibly, Welshman Wayne Mullins managed to only go a couple of hundred metres before his engine died, leaving him a passenger as the field rushed past him. Although most could avoid his stricken car, unfortunately he was collected by Nikos Evangelidakis, who luckly was able to limp to the pits. Wicks once more lost ground in the opening corners, as do Phil Perkins and William Ponissi.
As the Nordsjoens led from Ryan at the front, a battle developed between Wicks and Jason Muscat for 4th place, with the Englishman managing to overtake the Red Archer after several laps of pressure. Behind them Liam Hatchell and Nick Rowland had a scrap which ended badly, as Hatchell knocked Rowland into a spin which then led to a secondary collision with Sam Millar. Millar was forced to make an unscheduled stop, while Rowland decided to call it a day.
With most drivers electing to take a 2 stop strategy, the first round of pitstops took place around Lap 22. Having pushed the tyres too hard, Rouse is the big loser here as he was struggling for grip during his inlap, allowing both Woods cars to leapfrog him. Tanskanen however keeps things under control and maintained a reasonable lead over Ryan after his first stop. The situation remained much the same after the second round of stops.
In the battle for 2nd, Ryan had Wicks on his gearbox for much of the second half of the race, but unfortunately for Wicks, his higher downforce setup meant he just couldn't find a way past his teammate. Further back, Ponissi and Christoph Lichtenstein enjoyed an exciting duel for 7th place in the final laps, whereas both Synergetics joined a growing list of retirees, leaving just 9 cars running at the finish.
So in the end Tanskanen achieved his 3rd consecutive win, 27s clear of his nearest rivals. Ryan finished just 2nd with Wicks just behind and Rouse a further 10s behind.
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