Nordsjoen Racing Merry-Go-Round - Who Will Get On Next?

With heads still rolling from the shocking, (or not so shocking) news that Lee Morris has lasted just three races as a driver for the legendary Nordsjoen Racing team, speculation is already rife as to who may be the man to fill the boots of the man from Doncaster. Ollie Woods has examined how, what and why exactly this was not a match made in heaven, and now it is time to assess who may, or may not be the next driver to join the ranks of Nordsjoen Racing.

Pavel Loknovski

Pavel would seem like the most logical choice for the average fan. The Estonian has plenty of experience as a driver for the team, being with them since 2011. Although he was dropped as a main driver for this season in favour of Morris, the fact he was still retained as a test driver shows Nordsjoen still value Pavel as an integral member of the team, and the transition from test driver to main driver is something he has already experienced. He has shown moments of impressive speed over the years, mainly during his times in the Supercup, the series he has re-joined this season driving for his own team Innervision. 2012 was not the best of years for him, and suffered a lot of bad luck, along with some other retirements which could only be put down to driver error. He would surely relish an opportunity to make up for a disappointing season last time out and deliver on the form Nordsjoen hoped from him in the past.

Jamez Shepherd

Jamez is arguably the fastest driver not currently competing in the GPVWC Superleague, and is unsurprisingly dominating proceedings in the Supercup series, despite the season still in its early stages. The Australian driver has the experience of competing in the Superleague for part of last season with Hawkeye Racing, achieving some impressive results. During the 2013 off-season he was linked with a number of Superleague drives, including Nordsjoen Racing, but surprised many by opting to compete in the Supercup series for CSG Racing, which of course is managed by a certain Nordsjoen driver. Whether Dave would want a driver that's currently part of his own team and in strong championship contention in the Supercup to move up and drive alongside is one of many questions surrounding the possibility of this move happening. Jamez is also currently the test driver for Midnight Motorsport, another potential stumbling block considering both teams are in direct competition with each other. Would Jamez want to give up the very real possibility of becoming the 2013 Supercup champion in pursuit of a Superleague seat, considering he decided not to compete in the series from the beginning anyway. Many unanswered questions still remain, but there is no doubt at all that a partnership of Dave and Jamez would instantly keep the team in very strong contention for the Constructors championship.

Tom Parker

Although the likelihood of Parker returning to racing in the Superleague in the very near future is unlikely, the Swindon based driver cannot be completely ruled out. After recently pulling out of a drive from the Superleague with Woods Racing due to personal issues, Tom is enjoying a more relaxed approach to life in the GPVWC. While he has shown great loyalty to team boss Ollie Woods over the past couple of years, would the lure of rejoining Nordsjoen Racing be too tempting for him to turn down? Again, the initial thought of this happening would appear unlikely, but Parker has some experience driving with the team for a short time during the 2011 season alongside eventual champion Joe Consiglio. All signs point towards Tom rejoining Woods Racing at some point again during this season though, and his friendship with the Woods team will likely win out.

Jordan Weekes

Although still relatively new to the GPVWC scene, Jordan has impressed many with his impressive testing times, both at the back end of 2012 and also so far during this season. He is currently part of the Red Archer Virtual Racing Team stable and currently drives for Malta Force in the Supercup, but has always reiterated his desire to someday be a full-time driver in the Superleague series, sooner rather than later. There is no doubting his speed, and also his passion for wanting to get better. Jordan is often found out on track testing. He's had a solid, if unspectacular start to the season for Malta Force, and is regularly running near the front. He's surely ready for the Superleague stage, but whether he's ready for the pressure of driving for Nordsjoen Racing at this early stage of his career alongside a proven quantity in Dave Carr-Smith can only really be answered by actually seeing him in the car and the series racing. It would be a gamble for Nordsjoen to opt for Weekes, but one that most certainly could pay off as his talent and passion for sim racing is already fairly clear to see.

Joe Consiglio

Double champion extraordinaire Joe Consiglio is obviously a name that speaks for itself in the lore of GPVWC. Consiglio's retirement from sim racing during the early part of last season was met with some surprise and disappointment after thrilling the league with dominant drives, and epic battles with the likes of Morris, Wicks and more throughout the past few years. Although it is no more than one year since Joe left the league, GPVWC has grown in terms of size, and depth of talent within new drivers. Could the appeal of driving against a new generation of drivers help bring the Maltese driver back from retirement? Or was this the very reason he retired during last season? Whatever your opinion is, the thought of Consiglio returning to Superleague would be very appealing for fans and drivers alike of GPVWC. Team boss William Wangensteen Ponissi could well have already tested the waters and contacted Consiglio, but the retired double champion remains an outside shot for now.