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March 09, 2004
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Introduction
The 2004 test season started quite late if compared to the 2003 season (when testing started in November 2002), with the cars hitting the track only in January. However, all the teams had the chance to organize themselves to improve their packages, showing the odd amazing performance.
With the F1VWC entering its first full season in its own right, the 11 teams (12 if you consider the switch between Stealth and Puma) took part in 7 sessions, with Mapes-VO undertaking the most laps - at 746 - by the time of the season opener in Melbourne!
No particular team has had money problems of any kind at this stage of the season which has allowed all the teams to attend the sessions if they so wished. The only problem was - sometimes - the lack of communication between drivers and managers, and resultant testing criteria not being met or drivers simply not attending!
Test days attended
Teams
Laps Completed
Days Attended
Mapes-VO
746
27
Phoenix F1
732
28
MMC Racing
649
28
JTM
644
27
FinOz
640
28
Simsoa
627
26
SCUM
612
28
EIRE
574
26
MMRT
573
25
Woods
493
23
Puma F1
342
16
Stealth GP
257
12
Teams have obviously tested on different areas, and so their eventual improvements reflect the different choices of the team managers.
The two areas of improvement allowed are BHP (that is, engine power) and reliability. The team getting the highest power increase is FinOz, adding 43 BHP to their underpowered engine, whilst the team which has improved their reliability in the best way is MMRT, with a 7% decrease in the chance of a car failure within the GP4 game.
Improvements
The following table shows improvements from initial BHP and Reliability through to the position following the last pre-season test.
Teams
BHP Before
REL Before
BHP After
REL After
BHP Gain
REL Gain
SCUM
809
7.5
836
4
27
3.5
Mapes-VO
834
9
848
3
14
6
EIRE
820
9.5
839
6.5
19
3
Phoenix F1
806
6.5
834
3.5
28
3
JTM
821
9.5
840
4.5
19
5
MMC Racing
834
8
850
4
16
4
MMRT
808
13.5
831
6.5
23
7
Simsoa
780
6.5
815
3.5
35
3
FinOz
781
6.5
824
7
43
-0.5
Woods
790
7.5
821
7
31
0.5
Puma F1
772
6.5
794
3
22
3.5
Stealth GP
764
5.5
791
10.5
27
-0.5
What it does show is that the teams are a lot closer in terms of BHP, something we wanted to specifically ensure. Improvements can still be made, but in terms of motivation the driver really can still make a difference.
Average position in Test Days
With the teams running with different fuel loads and testing set-ups, it's difficult to state who really was fast and who was "sandbagging".
We have decided to put the statistics to work, however, indicating the average position of each team in relation to each Test Day attended over the last 7 tests - a potential maximum of 28 Test Days.
The results are quite surprising, with Phoenix F1 topping the rankings - its drivers topped the timesheets only three times in the pre-season. Should we await a surprise in the season? Unfortunately most of the testing was completed by their test drivers, so we don't really know what the pace of their race drivers will be!
The lowest position goes to newcomers Puma, but with the lowest BHP of the league (due to their changing to Porsche engines on a longer term deal than the VW powerplant they could have taken over from Stealth GP) this is hardly a surprise.
Team
Average Position
Phoenix F1
3.39
JTM
4.00
MMC Racing
4.29
Mapes-VO
4.59
FinOz
4.75
EIRE
5.31
Simsoa
7.12
SCUM
7.14
MMRT
7.24
Woods
7.74
Stealth GP
7.75
Puma F1
8.63
Leading Times
When it comes to pure speed, MMC Racing is clearly claiming the crown for the fastest team. Out of 28 days of testing, the guys at the American team were the fastest on 12 occasions, the next nearest team being JTM with only 6 top positions.
The other teams are share the spoils, with Mapes-VO, EIRE and Phoenix F1 on 3 each, and Finoz with 1 on the very last day of Pre-Season testing.
Conclusion
With the 11 teams already in Melbourne waiting for the start of a season full of promise, the F1VWC looks like it is heading towards a successful 2004 in terms of Racing up at the front and battles lower down the order.
With Shiro Ryong and Daniel Wilkinson (the top two drivers of last year's Championship) starring as test drivers, the Drivers Championship seems open to any possible winner in 2004. Names that spring immediately to mind are talents such as Jakonen, McConkey, Whiteman and Elencevski.
But there are also several unknown quantities - Irisarri (who drove so well in the 2003 Gold Cup race where all cars were on equal BHP); Maple; Koski, Fretter; Aparicio - the list is endless, because the one thing that the statistics don't tell is - who will be quick in RACE TRIM!
We'll find out soon in Melbourne, Australia!
The 2004 test season started quite late if compared to the 2003 season (when testing started in November 2002), with the cars hitting the track only in January. However, all the teams had the chance to organize themselves to improve their packages, showing the odd amazing performance.
With the F1VWC entering its first full season in its own right, the 11 teams (12 if you consider the switch between Stealth and Puma) took part in 7 sessions, with Mapes-VO undertaking the most laps - at 746 - by the time of the season opener in Melbourne!
No particular team has had money problems of any kind at this stage of the season which has allowed all the teams to attend the sessions if they so wished. The only problem was - sometimes - the lack of communication between drivers and managers, and resultant testing criteria not being met or drivers simply not attending!
Test days attended
Teams
Laps Completed
Days Attended
Mapes-VO
746
27
Phoenix F1
732
28
MMC Racing
649
28
JTM
644
27
FinOz
640
28
Simsoa
627
26
SCUM
612
28
EIRE
574
26
MMRT
573
25
Woods
493
23
Puma F1
342
16
Stealth GP
257
12
Teams have obviously tested on different areas, and so their eventual improvements reflect the different choices of the team managers.
The two areas of improvement allowed are BHP (that is, engine power) and reliability. The team getting the highest power increase is FinOz, adding 43 BHP to their underpowered engine, whilst the team which has improved their reliability in the best way is MMRT, with a 7% decrease in the chance of a car failure within the GP4 game.
Improvements
The following table shows improvements from initial BHP and Reliability through to the position following the last pre-season test.
Teams
BHP Before
REL Before
BHP After
REL After
BHP Gain
REL Gain
SCUM
809
7.5
836
4
27
3.5
Mapes-VO
834
9
848
3
14
6
EIRE
820
9.5
839
6.5
19
3
Phoenix F1
806
6.5
834
3.5
28
3
JTM
821
9.5
840
4.5
19
5
MMC Racing
834
8
850
4
16
4
MMRT
808
13.5
831
6.5
23
7
Simsoa
780
6.5
815
3.5
35
3
FinOz
781
6.5
824
7
43
-0.5
Woods
790
7.5
821
7
31
0.5
Puma F1
772
6.5
794
3
22
3.5
Stealth GP
764
5.5
791
10.5
27
-0.5
What it does show is that the teams are a lot closer in terms of BHP, something we wanted to specifically ensure. Improvements can still be made, but in terms of motivation the driver really can still make a difference.
Average position in Test Days
With the teams running with different fuel loads and testing set-ups, it's difficult to state who really was fast and who was "sandbagging".
We have decided to put the statistics to work, however, indicating the average position of each team in relation to each Test Day attended over the last 7 tests - a potential maximum of 28 Test Days.
The results are quite surprising, with Phoenix F1 topping the rankings - its drivers topped the timesheets only three times in the pre-season. Should we await a surprise in the season? Unfortunately most of the testing was completed by their test drivers, so we don't really know what the pace of their race drivers will be!
The lowest position goes to newcomers Puma, but with the lowest BHP of the league (due to their changing to Porsche engines on a longer term deal than the VW powerplant they could have taken over from Stealth GP) this is hardly a surprise.
Team
Average Position
Phoenix F1
3.39
JTM
4.00
MMC Racing
4.29
Mapes-VO
4.59
FinOz
4.75
EIRE
5.31
Simsoa
7.12
SCUM
7.14
MMRT
7.24
Woods
7.74
Stealth GP
7.75
Puma F1
8.63
Leading Times
When it comes to pure speed, MMC Racing is clearly claiming the crown for the fastest team. Out of 28 days of testing, the guys at the American team were the fastest on 12 occasions, the next nearest team being JTM with only 6 top positions.
The other teams are share the spoils, with Mapes-VO, EIRE and Phoenix F1 on 3 each, and Finoz with 1 on the very last day of Pre-Season testing.
Conclusion
With the 11 teams already in Melbourne waiting for the start of a season full of promise, the F1VWC looks like it is heading towards a successful 2004 in terms of Racing up at the front and battles lower down the order.
With Shiro Ryong and Daniel Wilkinson (the top two drivers of last year's Championship) starring as test drivers, the Drivers Championship seems open to any possible winner in 2004. Names that spring immediately to mind are talents such as Jakonen, McConkey, Whiteman and Elencevski.
But there are also several unknown quantities - Irisarri (who drove so well in the 2003 Gold Cup race where all cars were on equal BHP); Maple; Koski, Fretter; Aparicio - the list is endless, because the one thing that the statistics don't tell is - who will be quick in RACE TRIM!
We'll find out soon in Melbourne, Australia!
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