May 15, 2013

 

Historians scrambling to rediscover the last time Vod:Bul visited the podium in single-seat competition...
Round 6 - Monaco
Circuit de Monaco, Monte-Carlo, Monaco
7th-8th May 2013

In answer to SuperCup commentators Phillip Cullen and Nick Rowland, the last time a Vod:Bul appeared on the podium was just the week before, when James Johnson took 2nd at the Spa GT Cup, of course!

But indeed, the last time that a Vod:Bul pitched up on the podium of an official single-seat GPVWC race was when Laurent Keersmaekers won the final race of the 2007 Superleague season. So not only is the entire team celebrating its long-awaited return to the dizzying heights of the trophy ceremony, Vod:Bul can also celebrate a top-3 finish in the sixth round of a season they weren' even competing in until two days before the season's start.

Although a huge success, an unfortunate reality is that Morten's brilliant drive is about the only thing that VB Motorsport can celebrate, though celebrate they most surely did! The less happy news was mostly ignored until a certain member of the press-and-livery team slipped into the melancholy phase of champagne-induced insobriety and pensively mused about the equal *mis*fortune of VBM's three other drivers. This he expressed to some of his fellow team-mates as he lay outside, flat out, trying to not throw up while staring up at the Monaco high rises, wishing they would stop spinning. The new topic of conversation was only a marginally-welcomed change from the one before, focusing as that did on the suggestion that James Johnson's podium last week was the first time that a Vod:Bul had appeared on a podium in a tin-top competition since that certain member of the press-and-livery team had actually won for Vod:Bul in the old HOWC league. Possibly. The rapidly shrinking grid size had nothing to do with it!

Anyway, the team-member later apologised profusely.

Or at least, he hopes he did...?

On Tuesday there was some relief when it was revealed that no action had been taken against Mikko Jakonen following the Spanish Grand Prix and his 6th place, and 10 points for the team, were secured. However, Mikko would go on to have a miserable round, complaining of a lack of a competitive setup before the race even started. Both he and Ed Williams started comfortably below Row15 of the grid, starting 36th and 37th, though in some regards there was some relief when certain members of the team's staff had led themselves to believe that only the top 30 drivers would actually be allowed to race.

It made little difference as Mikko would be snared in first lap accidents in both races which nullified any potential of repeating his Spanish success. Various trips to the pits left Mikko several laps down by the end, finishing last in Race 1 and second last in Race 2. The FC field proved surprisingly resilient to the predictions of mass carnage and pileups at every corner of every lap, and simply finishing the race was unfortunately not enough to be rewarded with points.

Ed on the other hand drove a very strong race in Race 1, racing as high as 16th at one stage though unfortunately he would drop down to 19th by the end of the race. 19th was still a decent result for Ed and the team, and is Ed's best result so far in FC. Ed was also slightly unlucky that whereas 19th put him in the running for starting on the front row for the second race, Ed remained plum 19th and right smack in the middle of the pack for Race 2. Having a somewhat sluggish start, which saw him lose several places in the tight running, Ed then had a great run up the hill but then unfortunately came across the stationary SimInk of Pedro Melim. Melim had already had a spectacular trip head over heels and over the barriers, but had just come to a rest before the unsighted Ed sent him skywards again. Ed drove back to the pits, followed by Mikko who had enjoyed a strong start until Sven Smits literally leap-frogged over him and his own team mate into the first corner, removing Mikko's rear wing in the process. Ed retired in the pits; Mikko may as well have done.

Quotes
Mikko Jakonen #34 = Q: 37th R1: 31st R2: 24th
"A weekend I'd rather forget about... Big problems with the car, it was all over the place and we couldn't get it right during FP."

"Rushed to the dry track in Qualifying as it was obvious it would get wet very soon. Hit the barrier in the last corner on the first try and messed up the lap. After that it was too wet to improve."

"Starting from the back of the grid in Race 1, I crashed into Chris Williamson's car which did not move at all from the line; lost suspension and front wing, making the car even less driveable. At the end I was the last to finish, having used a full season's quota of pitstops."

"Got as far as the first corner in Race 2 before someone hit me, making me lose the rear wing. Hundred meters more, and I had lost the front wing and suspension. Long story short, crossed the finish line second to last."

"At least again finished both races, but otherwise this was a nightmare."

Unfortunately Juha Tanskanen was unavailable for comment as he has been taken ill. All of us at Vod:Bul Motorsport wish him all the best and a speedy recovery!

==============================

Tanskanen Racing was left to reflect on a fairly forgettable race. Somewhat optimistic hopes that better fortune might fall Vod:Bul's way the following day were met with remarks that they would be hard-pressed not to have better fortune.

What went unsaid at the time was the fact that, following a pattern that had appeared since the Malaysian Grand Prix, the SC team always seemed to celebrate a double points finish with a double retirement - and vice versa - and with the team still riding a double points finish at Spain, and with the clouds gathering again at the start of the race, there was plenty opportunity for Vod:Bul to have even less fortune. At least Tanskanen had got a car to the end of the race...

Much expectation was placed upon James Johnson following his great showing the week before and it was not just the team that were eagerly looking forward to seeing what result he may pull out on his first race in single-seaters, filling in for Dan Rusu whose steering wheel problems ruled him out of racing at Monaco. Unfortunately James never really got the chance to show his potential. Failing to set a qualifying time during the rain-affected qualifying session, James started near the back and elected to use the Prime tyres for his first stint.

Morten on the other hand had a great qualifying session, starting from a career-best 7th. At the race start both cars got away well, James taking it cautiously while Morten was scrapping in close formation with those around him. Unfortunately, at the top of the hill, Georgios Davakos lost control of his car and hit the outside wall. Ben Warren then understeered into the stricken Centurion, rebounding across the track right in front of James who had nowhere to go. The impact tore the front off the car and although James recovered back to the pits, the damage was far too great and his race was over.

Morten however continued his fine form through into the race and was up to 4th by lap 8. For several laps he held championship leader Ryan Walker at bay, though Ryan eventually slipped by and pulled away. Fellow championship contender Sindre Grimseth then challenged Morten and although he too got by, Morten kept relatively close and benefited when a few relatively small errors compromised Grimseth?s race severely. In a race where rain was never too far away and with track constantly at unpredictable levels of dampness, the tiniest of errors could spell disaster, and while the race unravelled for the likes of Oscar Hardwick and Giuseppe Rainieri, Morten kept his nose clean and his eye on the ball. Barely putting a foot wrong, he was into 3rd by lap 32 and never looked back. Though unable to challenge Walker or Pavel Loknovski, Morten remained the only other car on the lead lap and drove steadily to the end, matching the pace of the two leaders by the end and finishing comfortably ahead of Grimseth and those few other drivers fortunate and focused enough to make it to the end of the race.

It was Morten?s best career result and the best result for any Vod:Bul single-seat team in... more than five years, my fingers tell me. Though overall the round may not represent a perfect result for VBM, Morten?s drive will surely be one of the highlights of VBM?s season and the fact that it happened at Monaco makes the fact all the more special. VBM will be working hard to prove that this race will not be a one off!

Quotes
James Johnson #20 - Q: 21st R: DNF

"Jumping into the car for Qually, I felt confident I could do well with the car I had although It was the first time I have driven this car in anger; but unfortunately down into Sainte Devote I locked up my tires and went straight on. I didn't get away with it as I got collected by someone else while trying to recover."

"My race lasted even shorter! Took it easy off the start as I was going for a long stint on the primes but going up to Massenet I got taken out by cars crashing into each other and then coming back across the track. This is where my race ended as the damage was irreparable once I got to the pits with 3 wheels on my wagon!"

"Congrats to Morten, and I don't think the Mechanics will be too happy on my side!"


Morten Wernersen #21 - Q: 7th R: 3rd

"So, we take the battle to Monaco, the atmosphere was tense, the ambitions high, and the outcome fantastic!"

"I jumped in the car for qually, and thought I might as well try a good lap while the track was still dry; managed to get an alright lap in, and peaked down on my timing where it said provisional pole. Alright, I thought; I then tried to get some more time out of it, but I could only get 2 tenths more, even though I was still 0.5 off my pb time. So, in the end I was 7th, which is my best start position so far in my SC career."

"The race start came; I was fearing a bit that it might be pouring as it was in the warmup, but thankfully it was dry, or relatively dry. I spun my wheels a bit at the start but kept my position, and to my surprise and relief, I survived the first lap! I had Roy in front of me and Ryan Walker behind me, I had my hard time keeping Ryan behind me, and after a couple of laps Sindre (Grimseth), who was in front of Roy, made a mistake and was now behind Ryan, so now I had 2 cars I had to keep behind me. Ryan got a run on me down the start/finish straight after I got a bad exit and came up on my side, I decided to let him go, because I didn't want to end in the wall, Sindre got passed me the same way a lap or so later, but then Roy had a problem, so I got a position back. Tom Parker crashed out so I got another place from that and was now in about 5th place. I took my pitstop as planned and fitted some new options, and after a couple of laps I was catching Sindre in 4th. He then made an early pitstop, right as I caught him, so now I was 4th, and things was starting to look good, but then Oscar Hardwick retired and I almost threw the car in the fence because now I was 3rd and on the podium! I regained my cool and regained my rhythm; I still had to finish the race you know!"

"The rest of the race was quite quiet for me; I just had to keep the car away from the walls. I had no idea who was behind me, I only knew who was straight in front of me, because that was all my HUD would tell me, so I just kept the pace good and constant. I then took my 2nd stop as planned and went on the primes, and again I just had to keep it out of the walls. The last couple of laps just felt really long, and the rain at the end made the lap times even slower, so I was happy to finally see the finish line, with the car in one piece, and a nice 3rd place as a reward! Man that champagne tasted good!"

"And the mechanics will be happy too; I only scratched the right sidepod; not bad after 50 laps of Monaco!"

Mike Pitman - Team Owner

"I'm obviously a very happy team owner, Morten has had some great drives this year already but this is a particularly proud day. The skill and concentration he showed to bring the car home with very few issues was incredible. For the first single seat podium for five years at Vod:Bul to be around Monaco makes it even more special."

"It's a big shame James didn't get his chance to show what he can do too, but I am sure his chance will come soon. To have your first race in the Supercup at Monaco was always going to be tough but I know if he hadn't been unfortunate on the first lap he would have done well."