February 25, 2016

 

The GPVWC Career Ladder's top tier starts tonight, and Ollie Woods has been looking at who's hot and who's not after pre-season testing.

As another season rolls into view, it's time to take a closer look at the Superleague field for 2016. The merry-go-round has been in full swing and the lineup looks very different to last year. Who will win and who will be looking anxiously at the relegation standings?

Vod:Bul Racing - Philipp Puschke, Agustin Canapino
After a slow first year back in 2014, Vod-Bul dominated a large part of the 2015 season on their way to taking the Drivers' Championship with Philipp Puschke. Unfortunately a string of poor results (and driver uncertainty) in their second car meant that they could only manage second in the Constructors Championship. This year, once again, they've had a successful pre-season, signing the majority of the field to engine deals despite being the second highest priced engine available. That's an awful lot of useful feedback for the engine development, and VB are no slouches with car development either. Puschke's back to defend his crown and his pedigree is well known; the only question mark is Agustin Canapino, who no doubt has pace but can be inconsistent in both race craft and internet connection. That said, it's not like VB have nobody else they can turn to, with most of the Career Ladder field having some form of connection to them! If both drivers are consistent this could be a marquee year for VB, but that's a big 'if'.

Nordsjoen Racing - David Fidock, Florian Geier
After a couple of years in the wilderness, 2015 was the year where former champions Nordsjoen made their way back up the grid. Florian Geier was a smart signing on William Ponissi's part and repaid the faith placed in him, scoring points on all but one occasion and picking up podiums towards the end of the year. Agustin Canapino was also strong, even winning in Spain, and finished fourth in the standings despite two retirements and some races missed. For this year Geier is partnered with 2014 champion David Fidock, who Geier knows well from his CSG years. Fidock, runner up last year, could well get even more out of the young German - I wouldn't bet against Nordsjoen contending for the titles this year. There was a slight mis-step with engine bids, an over-estimate of the team's market value leading to a second year of only Nordsjoen being supplied by Martex, but Ponissi and the team have been doing this for long enough now to do the right thing with development.

Hawkeye Racing - Marcos Riffel, Phil Perkins
Under new management with Wopke Hoekstra overseeing things, Hawkeye took fourth in the standings largely thanks to David Fidock's great run to second in the Drivers' championship. The other car was pretty much a merry-go-round of drivers with six different drivers taking to the track. Ultimately, Fidock has moved on to Nordsjoen leaving a massive gap for the team to fill. They've gone with Marcos Riffel, who spent much of the 2015 season in the lower points for Edonis, and the surprise return of Phil Perkins after a few years away from the league. Perkins did a decent enough job in the older days of GPVWC, but so far pretty much every returning driver has struggled against the new crop of talent. A change to Valiant engines after years of Potentia could be useful, but I can't see Hawkeye maintaining fourth place this year. A mid-table finish would be a job well done.

Red Archer Virtual Racing Team - Michael Teichmann, Fran Lopez
Last year's all-Lithuanian lineup didn't last long and team boss Nikos Evangelidakis soon pinched Fran Lopez from Edonis in a bid to save the season. It paid off immediately, with Lopez winning in Turkey, and results were consistently good from there despite inconsistencies with the other seat. For 2016 Lopez retains his seat - his speed is never in doubt but his race craft and temperament will need work this year. He is joined by Michael Teichmann, a newcomer to the Career Ladder who has had strong results elsewhere and in the Masters. Red Archer are always somewhere near the higher midfield and I can't see that changing much this year.

Simcraft Midnight Motorsport - Tom Parker, Rudy van Buren
2015 was a rare mis-step from former champions Midnight, finishing sixth in the championship with just two podiums, a long way from the heights the team are known for. It was a controversial year with team manager Nick Rowland being outspoken on various league topics, so it was a pleasant surprise to see them line up again this year. The Potentia engine was cheaper than anyone expected, and four teams will carry it this year, giving good feedback to the team. Tom Parker rejoins from sister team CSG (sadly no longer with us) and gets better and better every year - last year he took two podiums and you wouldn't bet against him taking a maiden win this year if his head's in the right place. Rudy van Buren joins him and has a great racing pedigree. The parts are in place for Midnight to push back up towards the top of the grid - they'll be a threat to Vod:Bul and Nordjsoen, no doubt.

Edonis Engineering - Eros Masciulli, Michael Francesconi
Edonis's debut year was a strong one despite the early loss of Fran Lopez to Red Archer. There was a bit of a driver carousel going on but points were consistently scored and the team beat a lot of established names on their way to seventh. For this year manager Menno Klont has secured two big names from FSR and has another strong driver, Lars Brugeman, stepping in for the first few races. If the drivers can adapt to the GPVWC way of life they could do very well, but FSR converts don't always thrive over here and that might put them off. It's also important to remember that Klont is still learning his trade in management. If the drivers stay put, Edonis could well challenge at the upper midfield. Hopefully there won't be a repeat of the cameos from last year!

Torrent Motorsports - Mindaugas Klumbis, Jordan Weekes
It's a surprise to see Torrent on the grid again if I'm honest. A string of retirements throughout the European season gave way to the cars just not making it on the grid at all for the last few races, and with various disagreements between the team and the administration the worst was feared. However, they line up with an unchanged driver combination of Klumbis and Weekes. Both are very capable drivers, though Weekes is known for blowing hot or cold depending on how he's feeling. It's very difficult to predict where they'll end up, but it's great to see them back and hopefully this won't be a swan song.

Woods Racing - Lewis Redshaw, Roy Schroten
The 'Woods Curse' struck once again in 2015 with retirements aplenty and Jarl Teien leaving midway through the season. Sven de Vries came in towards the end of the season and restored some credibility to the team with a series of top ten finishes and even a front row start, proving the car wasn't a complete dud. For this year the team have scored a coup, signing Lewis Redshaw now that CSG have folded. It's no secret that the CSG testing regime hasn't come with him, but he shouldn't be discounted at any point. Roy Schroten had a mixed year in 2015 and will hope for slightly better results. The team, now the only one to run the Trinity engine in a slightly embarrassing twist to the bidding results, will hope to move up the grid but there's always a good chance of something going wrong?


Green Stripes Racing - Ben Horrill, Dewald Nel

2015 wasn't really anything to write home about for the German team, with low points the order of the day as well as a bunch of retirements. Despite this, the team have retained Horrill and Nel for another season. I don't think either driver is going to set the world alight, but hopefully they gained enough experience from last year to push on a bit this year. If not, the team could be looking at a relegation scrap.

Nijo Racing - Joonas Raivio, Juha Maki-Jouppi
Nijo started 2015 having lost Ruud Heesterbeek and Tom van der Voort to the Supercup and Midnight respectively, and unfortunately it showed in their results. A mishmash of drivers had a go in the green cars but just couldn't score enough points and the team ended up twelfth. However, it's all change this year. Gone are Trinity engines, replaced with Valiant, and the lineup is a rather Finnish one. Joonas Raivio is promoted from Formula Challenge and has had a mixed bag of results, from fifth in Abu Dhabi (and winning in the International Touring Cup) to placings a lot lower down the field. Juha Maki-Jouppi is new to the league but is rather more well known in Finland as a real life racer - hopefully his commitments won't get in the way of his role here. Nijo only ran two cars at the last test session which could be costly as the drivers need time to get used to the new set up of Superleague. I reckon Nijo will be better off than last year but I can't see them emulating 2013 or 2014's successes.

Kernow Sport - Bart De Vos, Daniel Brewer/Sven de Vries
Kernow's financial struggles in 2014 led to a muted 2015 season where points were incredibly difficult to come by. They've changed their engine to Potentia after a year with Trinity in a bid to kickstart things, but have kept the consistent Bart de Vos on. Hopefully he'll have more of a chance this year to show what we all know he's capable of. The team have signed talented Daniel Brewer as their second driver but before that Sven de Vries will be doing his usual stint of four races that has helped out other teams in previous years. Sven is a top driver so no doubt the hope will be that he gets enough points and gives enough feedback on the car to propel the team for the rest of the season. Certainly the car looked strong during pre-season testing! The question is, what will happen after Sven leaves?

Storm Racing Team - Adrian McNaughton, Emanuel Gaczella
After making their way through the ranks, Storm have finally made it to Superleague. Their last two Supercup runs haven't been the strongest - seventh and fifth overall - but the team are consistent and took the odd podium and race win last year. Gaczella is a previous champion in other leagues and has been round for a long time so has the experience to do well here. McNaughton isn't exactly a slouch either. Expect a year in the midfield while the team get to grips with how things work in Superleague before a bigger challenge next year.

Wauters Automotive - Alex Cooper, Pedro Melim
Third in the Supercup last year, it was always on the cards that Wauters would move up in 2016. The team battled hard throughout the 2015 season and the return of Jarl Teien at the end of the year gave them a couple of wins. It's all change for this year, albeit with a pair of league veterans in Alex Cooper and Pedro Melim. Alex is well proven at Superleague level and Pedro is a Supercup race winner - having two former members of the Midnight stable will undoubtedly help the team get to grips with their new surroundings and it's no surprise that the team have Potentia engines. Andreas Wauters has a remarkable eye for detail and I would expect the team to be fighting in the upper midfield.