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February 21, 2013
Published on tags: Supercup

 

Ben Warren gives an exclusive overview of the 13 teams competing in the 2013 GPVWC Supercup.

With less than a week to go before all the cars are lined-up on the grid for the 2013 GPVWC Supercup season, what better time than now to preview each team and their chances of success during what will no doubt be an extremely competitive series? With old foes moving onto pastures new, with some of the old guard remaining in Supercup, and with plenty of new faces joining the grid, there is a small sense of uncertainty in the air as the teams pack up their last belongings before the long trip to Melbourne. Here at GPVWC, we'll do our best to predict what may or may not happen during the season. The chance of having egg on my face after Round 1 is high, but we shall see!

CSG Racing - #0 - Jamez Shepherd, #2 - Roy Schroten

CSG Racing announced their 2013 Supercup line-up quite early into the off-season, and immediately set tongues wagging, confirming Superleague podium finisher Jamez Shepherd, and Most Improved Driver in Supercup 2012 award winner Roy Schroten as their main drivers. Despite a fairly lengthy period of time between now and then, the CSG Racing team still remain the strong favourites for glory in 2013.

Any fears of the team losing competitiveness with former driver Alex Cooper moving up to Superleague were soon forgotten after the team announcement. Many anticipated Shepherd to be a full-time Superleague driver for 2013, but surprised many by announcing his intention to contest the entire Supercup season. Shepherd in particular is currently the odds on favourite to win the 2013 championship even before an official practice lap has been turned yet, but it would be hard to argue against the bet after showing excellent speed in every series he's competed in so far. Young Dutchman Roy Schroten thoroughly deserved his Most Improved Driver award last season, and after making the move to one of the most successful teams in the Supercup, is expected to improve more and hopefully challenge for wins. How Schroten will cope alongside a competitive teammate in the form of Shepherd remains to be seen, but big things are expected from both drivers.

Malta Force GP - #3 - Jordan Weekes, #4 - Patrick Gatewood

The 2011 Supercup champions were slightly brought back down to earth in 2012, despite ending the season in equal third with Halcyon Racing. The driver line-up was fairly unstable throughout the year, and while regular points were being scored each race, the team still looked a shadow of their former selves, not finishing any higher than second.

Malta Force arrive for a third season in the championship, with a brand new line-up. Englishman Jordan Weekes has shown good pace throughout pre-season testing, and is by far and away the driver who has logged the most laps throughout the winter break. Anything other than being a regular front runner will be disappointing to Weekes, and could even serve as one of the main threats to CSG Racing at the front. Little is known in the GPVWC about American driver Patrick Gatewood, but he will certainly hope to continue the proud tradition Malta Force have of being a team in regular contention for strong finishes. If a championship challenge appears to be unrealistic to the team, they'll still no doubt aim to achieve a win or two, to avenge their lack of victories in 2012.

Innervision - #5 - Pavel Loknovski, #6 - Scott Bennett

Innervision probably set the record for most amount of different drivers used during one season in 2012, after initially hoping to be a strong championship challenging team in the hands of Dave Carr-Smith and Ben Warren. The team struggled at times with drivers becoming unavailable to race, and fill-in drivers would to little to aid the team's fortunes.

Despite their difficult debut season, Innervision remain as the Nordsjoen Racing Superleague team's affiliate Supercup team, and much more stability is expected with team boss and now driver Pavel Loknovski at the helm. Loknovski admitted his 2012 Superleague season was disappointing, but will hope to rejuvenate himself with a return to Supercup, a series in which he often show devastating speed in 2011. He'll be joined at the team by Scott Bennett, and will hope the team can find the stability it so desperately needs. Both Loknovski and Bennett have the talent to be regular points scorers, and both have experience in Supercup, but it remains to be seen just how well the team can do against the likes of CSG. The team were unable to make the podium last season, and will hope to rectify that in 2013.

PP Dynamic Motorsport - #7 - Martin O'Connor, #8 - Andrejs Pestovs

The team formerly known as NRT Racing return for a second season of Supercup action, and can boast about being the only team in Supercup this season to remain with their 2012 driver line-up, announcing Irishman Martin O'Connor, and Latvian driver Andrejs Pestovs as their men to lead the team.

It wasn't the easiest of debut seasons for the Latvian outfit in 2012, with O'Connor only making a handful of races, and Pestovs only managing three points finishes. Quite often at times, the team did not reach their potential, and a few opportunities to gain more points were not taken. Pestovs enjoyed a run out as a temporary driver for Superleague team Nordsjoen Racing last season which has no doubt put the Latvian slightly more on the radar, but the goal for this team surely can't be anything more than scoring points whenever possible.

Scuderia Basilea - #9 - Martin Bulgin, #10 - Janne Vaananen

Team boss David Jundt has taken it upon himself to completely re-brand the team formerly called Tiger Express Motorsports, changing the team name and the livery, no doubt in the hope of a fresh start for the team. Martin Bulgin remains with the team for 2013, and joining him his Finnish driver Janne Vaananen, who competed for the same outfit in Formula Challenge last season.

With just one solitary points finish for 'TEM' during the whole of 2012 thanks to Andrew Morgan at Monza finishing fifth, the team had a season to forget. Not for the want of trying, Bulgin encountered some terrible luck through the season, and despite all his best efforts was not able to to register a top ten finish. Janne Vaananen has speed, but has proven to be quite error prone in the past, though especially in Qualifying trim has shown some excellent speed. If both drivers can keep their heads, and their cars in gear, the opportunities to score points may be there for Scuderia Basilea rather more often than they were in 2012.

PB Racing - #11 - Ben Warren, #12 - William Tringas

PB Racing carries the unenviable title of finishing last in the Constructors championship in Supercup last season, and nearly failed to score any points until Teemu Toikka rescued ninth place for the team at the very last round in Singapore. With Toikka moving up into Superleague, Ben Warren takes the remaining seat at PB, with William Tringas returning for another season.

Warren will hope to draw on a positive experience competing in Superleague last season with Nijo Racing, and in-turn become a regular points scorer with his return to the Supercup series. Aussie driver William Tringas had a season to forget in 2012, but no doubt has the talent and experience to be running higher up the field. May sound like a broken record already, but this is another team that need to maximise the opportunities presented to them when it comes to breaking the top ten.

FA Racing - #13 - Nico de Koninck, #14 - Vinodh Moodley

FA Racing are the first of our teams to make the jump from Formula Challenge to Supercup. Teemu Toikka's first foray into Supercup management will be an interesting one, with a driver pairing consisting of a relatively unknown driver in the form of Belgian driver Nico de Koninck, and the experienced South African driver Vinodh Moodley.

Belgian driver de Koninck made a few appearances in the Winter GT Series and looked a solid driver, but his pace in single seaters is as of yet unknown. Moodley is the more known package in the team, being consistently solid if unspectacular. His experience of driving in Superleague and Supercup over the years can only help build the team into a solid outfit. Regular points finishes will of course be the aim, but given that this is the team's first year at this level, I think we can give them a pass if results are not what they hoped for.

Streetfighter Racing Systems - #15 - Mark Wicks, #16 - Dale Stones

William Tringas will juggle his driving duties for PB Racing alongside managing his SrS team in the very same championship. SrS also make the jump from Formula Challenge to Supercup, and boast an exciting all-English line-up with GPVWC stalwart Mark Wicks, and Dale Stones.

It will definitely take some getting used to when it comes to not seeing Mark Wicks on the Superleague grid, but for this season at least, Wicksy has decided that his time will be better spent working as purely the team manager of his Kernow Sport team in Superleague, and just enjoy a season of less pressure competing in the Supercup. Dale Stones has some experience working as part of the Red Archer team in the past, as well as now becoming the Constant Racing test driver. How quickly Mark and Dale will adapt to the Supercup cars remains to be seen, but the team has two stable drivers, and some points should be on the board sooner rather than later.

Fox Racing - #18 - Dimitri Demuelemeester, #19 - Andreas Wauters

Belgian team manager, two Belgian drivers, based in Belgium. Even the car has the Belgian colours! Definitely one of the most nationalised teams we've ever seen in GPVWC, Bart De Vos definitely has high hopes for his team for 2013.

Dimitri Demuelemeester may cause our commentators all sorts of problems with his name, but even at this early stage of his GPVWC career, quite a lot is expected from him. After taking a win on his debut near the end of the Formula Challenge 2012 season and achieving some strong results in the Winter GT Series, some are even calling him a potential title contender. Whether that is a stretch or not remains to be seen, but he is widely expected to be at or near the front. Less is expected from Andreas Wauters, who will likely use this season to gain experience with driving in a full grid and look to build the foundations of a solid career in the GPVWC. Curious eyes will be on this team to see what Demuelemeester in particular can achieve.

Allen GP - #20 - Chris Allen, #21 - Morten Wernersen

Allen GP return to the GPVWC for the first time since 2009, and after making a few fleeting appearances at every level of GPVWC over the past few years, Chris Allen becomes a full-time driver for his own team. He's partnered by Danish driver Morten Wernersen, a driver who has produced some solid results since his introduction to the league.

Chris Allen hasn't set the world alight in his few appearances after taking a break from driving, and will hope 2013 can be the year he can prove his abilities as a solid driver. His teammate Morten Wernersen has shown himself as a capable driver when driving in Supercup last season, and able to bring the car home, usually in the points. To establish themselves as a team that should be taken seriously at this level, these sorts of drives will be necessary from Wernersen. Chris Allen is the more unknown quantity, so any points finishes from him will be a bonus for the team.

Satellite Racing - #22 - David Nichols, #23 - Ryan Walker

Satellite Racing make their single seater racing debut in the GPVWC Supercup, and boast a good line-up, and a pairing who have previously worked together in their endurance racing escapades.

The team's prowess when it comes to endurance racing is never in question, but it will be interesting to see how they adjust to a different type of racing. Having Ryan Walker on the team will only help, having a lot of experience racing in both Superleague and Supercup over the past couple of seasons. Less is known about David Nichols, but it's still expected that he'll produce some solid results. Ryan's pace in pre-season testing looks encouraging, lets just hope his motivation, and his mind doesn't go wandering again. If he sticks around for the duration of the season, expect the team to be on the podium a few times in their debut season.

Centurion Racing - #24 - Georgios Davakos, #25 - Ihab Abbas

Georgios Davakos and Ihab Abbas reunite for the first time since they teamed up together at Water Blue Racing in 2011, bringing a sense of familiarity to a brand new team in the shape of Centurion Racing. Vinodh Moodley had originally hoped to see his team grace the Superleague paddock, but instead will contest the 2013 Supercup season.

Davakos in particular had some good results during 2011 in the Supercup, and the two drivers seemed to work well together before going their separate ways for 2012. Abbas contested a successful season in Formula Challenge, while Davakos kept his racing to a minimum, but both drivers appear excited and ready for the 2013 season. Instant familiarity can only help the team build together quickly.

Target Racing - #26 - Sindre Grimseth, #27 - Ville Leppala

The most mysterious team on the grid by a long way, Petter Kaasa's team were not confirmed to be competing in Supercup until a few weeks after the rest of the teams had been announced, and little is known about their two drivers Sindre Grimseth from Norway, and Ville Leppala from Finland.

Despite the uncertainty over the two drivers, both carry experience from racing at various high levels of sim racing in other series, and both are expected to be immediately running at the front. Things will of course, become clear once we reach Melbourne, but do not be surprised to see both drivers at the sharp end of the grid. It's unlikely Petter would select any old driver to race for his team, personal friend or not.