Mid-Grid Adventures Part 1: the 1990 Season

[ME9Swe]

???
What is mid-grid adventures? mid-grid adventures is a new series in which I torture myself (i hope not) through a whole season of F1 in a mid grid team in rfactor.

The season
The season or mod I will be using for the first part is the SRM F1 1990 mod, along with the official 1990 track pack by SRM. Beware! the series will not exactly mirror the 1990 season due to mod limitations, for example the SRM mod does not include the Coloni-Subaru, as it only includes the Coloni having the Cosworth engine. all races, including qualifying and pre qualifying, will come with a detailed report and analysis from me. A few other details to mention:
Skill level: around the 100% mark (track dependent)
Aggression: 75%
Mechanical Failures: Time Scaled
Race Distance: 50% of real life race distance (around 125 km)
Pit stops: no
Fuel usage: no
Driving aids: everything off except auto clutch (don't have a shifter unfortunately)
Damage: no (if you know the rfactor AI , you would call this decision a wise one!)

*The Italian Grand Prix was moved and changed to Imola because of woeful AI at Monza.
*Calendar updated, forgot that the Grand Prix was in Phoenix, not Detroit!

The Team
The team I will be driving for in 1990 is Onyx Grand Prix. Some of you might be thinking "hey, didn't Onyx only compete for half a season?". Yes, i know this, but as I said before, this series is not a Historically accurate 1990 season, so we can use a bit of story telling and imagination! Lucky for me the team did so well in 1989 that we don't even need to pre-qualify (at least for the first part of the season..) .The legend himself JJ Lehto will partner me in this great big adventure, which would provide me with a bit of a challenge. Finally the goal set for this season will be to at least score 6 points, the exact number of points Onyx scored in 1989

Other Thingz
I have set a bit of a time table for this series.
Friday: Pre-Qualifying Report
Saturday: Qualifying Report
Sunday: Race Report
*all days are ACDT


Championship Standings

 

[ME9Swe]

PRE-SEASON TEST

Background

The wait is over, Formula one is back! After many long and tedious hours over the winter, the teams pack their bags and headover to South Africa for the pre-season test at the Kyalami Circuit. The South Africans were happy to see international Motorsport competition return, as the last Formula One event organised in the country was in 1985. The Kyalami circuit has had some revisions since then, however the new layout retains the fast and tricky nature it once had. Some teams opted to miss the Test. Lotus, Minardi, AGS, Osella and Lola were all absent from the Hour long session, however there was also a new edition to the f1 grid. Italian team Life, revived from the cancelled FIRST racing project, was the only new team on the grid. There Unconventional W12 engine layout in the car sounds promising, despite rumors of the engine giving out about 480hp. Other surprises was the Coloni team, which axed there Subaru engine deal. The team was seen testing the engine on an ex-Minardi Chassis in the winter, however reports suggest the engine was overweight and underpowered, so the team opted for the Cosworth Engine

Report

It was a Mclaren domination once again as Ayrton Senna and new team test driver Jonathan Palmer locked out the first 2 positions. Ferrari showed no evidence of progress after there 2 drivers struggled to match the two Mclarens. Local driver Peter Morrison Showed rapid pace in the Coloni, while Dallara and Ligier lost progress over everybody after they found themselves at the back-end of the timesheets. Italian Driver Franco Scapini struggled to find any pace in the new Life. He clocked a lap which was 11 seconds of Ayrton Senna, and 8 seconds off the next opponent above, which was Nicola Larini’s Ligier

My Thoughts

First impressions of the car: very responsive and quite good in high speed corners, however The car tended to handle like a dog at low speeds. Quite happy to edge out my team mate, however with many teams skipping this test, the position we finished is quite un-representable.

 

[ME9Swe]

ROUND 1: USA PRE-QUALIFYING

Background

No Excuses, it's it, the first round of the season. After a few weeks break after the pre-season test in South Africa, the teams arrived in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the second time the city hosted the event, retaining its controversial 3.8km layout around the streets of Phoenix, with the only change being the Date of the race. The Date was originally scheduled for June, however due to extremely hot conditions usually present in the City’s summer, the race was rescheduled for March.


Report

The first pre-qualifying of the season was won by Bertrand Gachot. The Luxembourg born Driver set a quite impressing lap early, and was completely untouched throughout the session. Both the Lolas made the cut comfortably, while The AGS of Gabriele Tarquini was in trouble of Not Qualifying if it was not for a last minute lap which awarded him of Pre-qualification. Most Notably, The 2 EuroBruns struggled to find any sort of pace, while F1 Debutant Geoff Brabham had a difficult time in the Life, posting a time 6 seconds slower than the Coloni of Gachot

Green=Moved on to full qualifying
Red=Did not Pre-Qualify

 

[ME9Swe]

ROUND 1: USA QUALIFYING

Report

1987 World Champion Nelson Piquet took pole for Benetton in USA Grand prix, comfortably ahead of Nigel Mansell’s Ferrari, as Nelson clearly backed up the speed Benetton demonstrated in pre-season Testing. Both McLarens were lagging behind, Senna in 5th and Berger 7th, while Jean Alesi Impressed in 9th. Ivan Capelli rounded out the top 10, miles ahead of his team mate, while everyone was surprised to see Onyx debutant Luke Rosella in 12th, out qualifying his teammate JJ Lehto who narrowly made the grid in 24th. Gabriele Tarquini did well to qualify his AGS in 15th, while the likes of Lotus and Dallara were off the pace, qualifying deep in the field. Pier Luigi Martini was the last qualifier in 26th, while the non qualifiers were Alliot, Suzuki, Larini and Foitek.


My Thoughts

Even I was surprised with this result! Brilliant to out qualify my teammate in my debut weekend. The car felt great and if it would be the same in the race, with a bit of luck and retirements, we could see some very valuable points come our way.

 

[ME9Swe]

ROUND 1: USA RACE

Report

Riccardo Patrese was the winner of today's United States Grand Prix. The Grand Prix was a race of attrition, with the Italian battling at the back end of the points until most of the front runners had mechanical Issues. Ayrton Senna was unsurprising quiet, taking advantage of retirements to finish second, followed by Thierry Boutsen. There were a few upsets as well, with Australian rookie Luke Rosella spinning on the first lap, Bertrand Gachot being forced to go down the escape row after running in the points and Nelson Piquet retiring after leading the race for some time. Gabriele Tarquini, Martin Donnelly and Paolo Barilla rounded out the top 6, while to 2 Arrows missed out on points after having a bit of a scrap later in the race. It was a race to forget for both Ferrari and Benetton, with both there drivers succumbing to mechanical issues.


My Thoughts

Who knows what could of been if it was not for my silly mistake early on. Couldn't really make any impact following that, and in the end I just had to stare at the back of JJ’s car. If I could bring one positive from this, I would say that JJ’s 9th place could save us from pre-qualifying if we don't score any points in the first half of the season.

Quick Championship standings

Drivers
1 Riccardo Patrese - 9
2 Ayrton Senna - 6
3 Thierry Boutsen - 4
4 Gabriele Tarquini - 3
5 Martin Donnelly - 2

Constructors
1 Williams-Renault - 13
2 McLaren-Honda - 6
3 AGS-Ford - 3
4 Lotus-Lamborghini - 2
5 Minardi-Ford - 1

 

[ME9Swe]

ROUND 2: BRAZIL PRE-QUALIFYING

Background

The teams moved from the crowded streets of Phoenix to the technical and fast turns of the very much respected course of Interlagos, which hosted the Brazilian Grand Prix. To much of everyone's surprise, the Brazilian media and public came in their thousands to see their hero Ayrton Senna arrive in São Paulo, as they will be edging him on to bring his first Brazilian Grand Prix win. As for driver changes this weekend, German Bernd Schneider left the Footwork team to start a career in German Touring Cars, thus, he was replaced by Alex Caffi, who was injured in the winter because of a cycling accident.

Report

Once again it was the Coloni Driver of Bertrand Gachot who was fastest in the Friday morning Pre-qualifying. It Didn't come easy for him however, with Local driver Roberto Moreno coming very close, with Frenchman Olivier Grouillard Ending up in third, while countryman Eric Bernard rounding up the top 4. Both AGS drivers just missed out on pre-qualification, while Aguri Suzuki couldn't make his team have 2 cars in qualifying. Claudio Langes and Gary Brabham also did not Qualify.

 

[ME9Swe]

ROUND 2: BRAZIL QUALIFYING

Report

Brazil erupted on saturday as hometown hero Ayrton Senna took pole for the Brazilian Grand Prix. The gap between him and his opponents was quite staggering, with teammate Gerhard Berger three tenths off while two Ferrari’s of Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell five tenths off. The two williams lagged behind in seventh and ninth, while Roberto Moreno and Alex Caffi did well to line up in twelfth and thirteenth respectively. Gregor Foitek qualified for his first race for Brabham, while the likes of Lotus and Minardi struggled to find any speed, with at least one of their drivers qualifying, that is of course much lower down the order. Both Onyx’s just snuck in the top twenty six, with JJ Lehto and Martin Donnelly had a great duel in lap times, with JJ lehto beating the Irishman by just under a tenth.

My Thoughts

Wow, a totally different story than Phoenix. I was sitting in danger zone for the majority of the session, and just got in because of a last grasp lap. That's the only positive I can find, with most negatives pointing at the overall pace of the car this weekend

 

[ME9Swe]

ROUND 2: BRAZIL RACE

Report

Ayrton Senna Dominated today's Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos, with the Brazilian star ending an absolutely perfect weekend, pole position and race win. He got an excellent start, and was untouched throughout the whole race, ending the race with a massive 39 second gap to second place Alessandro Nannini. Riccardo Patrese and Thierry Boutsen both finished 3rd and 4th respectively, getting yet another valuable points haul for Williams. Ivan Capelli did well to finish 5th, with the Italian battling with some of the front runners, with Nelson Piquet’s Benetton just finishing behind in 6th. Bertrand Gachot and Alex Caffi both benefited from great race pace, while the likes of Roberto Moreno and the two Brabhams slowly lagged behind some of their close rivals. Emanuele Pirro rounded up a surprisingly high number of finishers, with a devastating double retirement for Tyrrell, and yet another bad race for Ferrari, who had their second double retirement in a row.

My Thoughts

Had yet another bad start, and was actually having an interesting scrap with Emanuele Pirro for last place! Reliability won that battle!

Quick Championship Standings

1 Ayrton Senna - 15
2 Riccardo Patrese - 13
3 Thierry Boutsen - 7
4 Alessandro Nannini - 6
5 Gabriele Tarquini - 3

*refer to first post for detailed championship standings

1 Williams-Renault - 20
2 McLaren-Honda - 15
3 Benetton-Ford - 10
4 AGS-Ford - 3
5 Lotus-Lamborghini - 1

 

[ME9Swe]

ROUND 3: ITALY PRE-QUALIFYING

Background

The Tifosi have had Christmas early this Year! The Italian Grand Prix was moved to the slot taken by the San Marino Grand Prix due to work being done on the Monza circuit. A massive six week gap between grand prix caused a few changes around the paddock. Ferrari, Benetton and Dallara both unveiled new cars, while David Brabham, son of 2 time world champion Jack Brabham, debuted in Formula One. He replaced Gregor Foitek at Brabham, who accepted a testing role at Onyx, a team that is farther part owns. The final Change was at Life, as ironically David’s brother Gary quit the team, and was quickly replaced by Italian Bruno Giacomelli, who was snatched off the Leyton House team as a test driver.

Report

Looking much more rapid this time round than Brazil, The two Lolas comfortably pre qualified, followed by Bertrand Gachot and Frenchman Olivier Grouillard, who all rounded up the top four. Both EuroBrun Drivers did not qualify, While Bruno Giacomelli had a difficult return to Formula One in the Life.