Round 6 - Macau

The Macau Grand Prix, Macau Special Administrative Region The final round of the 2007 F1RST3 ETCC03 Summer League saw the circuit head over to Macau Special Administrative Region for the Guia Race. The Macau Street circuit features fast straights and tight hairpins which makes this Grand Prix known as one where the most talented drivers emerge. Some famous winners from the past include Aryton Senna, Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard. Qualifying Review Qualifying saw the returning Edwards take pole position with a time of 2:27.525 (94.011 mph / 151.296 kph). Zunik was second, a further half-second behind. Third was Frozen making it a BMW 1-2-3. Alfa Romeo came next in the form of Championship leader TJBoiler. B-Izadfar was fifth in the Audi. The Final Grid of the Season About to Start Race Review As the lights went out on the final race of the season, Edwards got off to his customary flying start. Third placed Frozen got a sluggish start and was passed by TJBoiler almost instantly. Amazingly, on what was the most difficult track of the season, there was no major panel bashing into Turns 1, 2 and 3. By the time, the field reached the Melco Hairpin on lap 1, Edwards has established a big lead with Zunik, TJBoiler, MJanosh and B-Izadfar all chasing him down. A bit later on and further down in the pack, Beukie clipped the inside barrier and had caused quite a considerable traffic jam at the Melco Hairpin. On Lap 2, Zunik was slow out of the Melco Hairpin and TJBoiler managed to get a run on him through Fishermen's Bend and the R. Bend. By the time, the pair of them crossed the start and finish line, TJBoiler had taken 2nd place from Zunik. Edwards, meanwhile, was still setting a scorching pace out front. On Lap 4, the battling MJanosh and B-Izadfar were Beukie Not Quite Making the Best of Friends with Those Further Down running close together but as they approached the braking zone for the Lisboa Bend, MJanosh braked fractionally earlier than B-Izadfar. The inevitable contact happened sending MJanosh into a spin. Thankfully for MJanosh, he only slightly touched the wall and he managed to carry on in fifth place. B-Izadfar, ever the gentlemen, let MJanosh back through to fourth at Maternity Bend. Edwards was still extending his lead from TJBoiler until Lap 8, when for some unknown reason, his car suffered a mechanical failure. TJBoiler then took over the lead and immediately started to look after his tyres but by this time, they were a long way from their best. Zunik, in his rear wheeled BMW, and B-Izadfar, who had now got past MJanosh on lap 6, were both closing in fast. "Do-or-Die" B-Izadfar Died on this Occasion As the final lap of the season started TJBoiler, now on really really worn tyres, lead the race from Zunik and B-Izadfar. As the three of them headed towards the Melco Hairpin for the final time, B-Izadfar went for a "Do-or-Die" manoeuvre and tried to pass Zunik and TJBoiler in one move. He managed to get past Zunik cleanly but he hit the side of TJBoiler. B-Izadfar got through, much to TJBoiler's annoyance! As the chequered flag dropped, B-Izadfar won the race by 1.358s from TJBoiler. But this wasn't to be last drama of the season! TJBoiler, still raging about that pass, stormed straight down to the stewards to see if something could be done. After many hours of deliberation, the stewards deemed the move to be "A Outstandingly Brave Move" but they also said "Under which the rules of the Championship are governed, this move caused someone to go off-track and therefore must be punished". As a result, B-Izadfar was handed a 30 second penalty, dropping him to 5th place. TJBoiler therefore won the race by only 0.186s from Zunik, and following on from B-Izadfar's demotion to fifth, MJanosh took the final podium place. TJBoiler (499) won the Championship by 57 points from MJanosh (442). Zunik (377) finished third in the Championship with NewtyNG5 (361) next. Rounding out the top 5 was AJYates (325). In the Teams Championship, Lowland Racing Team 2 (837) beat Serviola Spanish Team (789) by 48 points. Third was UK Racing (766) with Don't Lift (699) in Fourth. Hellas Racing Team (591) rounded out the top 5. England (1386) are the top country this year as they beat the Dutch (1000) by 386 points. Spain (594) finished third with Greece (591) very close behind in fourth. Macedonia (442) finished 5th. On the right, you can view our official highlights package, produced by NewtyNG5. A MASSIVE THANKS TO NEWTYNG5 FOR THIS SUPERB VIDEO!! Season Review Video: F1RST3 ETCC 2003 Season Review Directed & Produced by NewtyNG5 So that's it folks! Another season done and dusted. Stay tuned to www.F1RST3.com for news on the next league! Till next time... Your reporter, NMansell

1) TJBoiler Lowland Racing Team 2   2) Zunik Serviola Spanish Team   3) MJanosh Art-Of-Racing

Round 5 - Italy

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy Round 5 of the Championship saw the teams arrive back in Europe and to the home of the Italian Grand Prix - Monza. The 5.793 km / 3.6 mile circuit first played host to the ETCC, then WTCC, in 2003 when the Alfa Romeo of James Thompson and the BMW of Jörg Muller took the victories.  Qualifying Review Pole Position at Monza was taken by the Australian B-izadfar. His time of 1:58.841 (109.041 mph / 175.485 kph) was 0.117s faster than his nearest challenger Zunik. Row 2 was taken up by BlueChris and Chacal. The top 12 in Qualifying were covered by just 1s - close racing indeed. Race Review The news before the race was the second place Zunik, was unable to make the race and as such everyone moved up one place. This elevated, BlueChris to second. So, as the red lights went out, the front few rows of the grid got off to a good start with BlueChris taking an early lead. However, this wasn't to last as he missed his braking point  The Red Lights Go Out but the Trouble Has Only Just Started! for the Rettifilo - he rejoined in sixth place. In the mid-field however the trouble had started. TJBoiler, Tygernoot and Yiannis-HGT tried to three wide into the braking point. This was never going to work, and it didn't! Yiannis-HGT tapped the left-rear of TJBoiler's car, sending them both into the Armco. Both drivers continued but further down the order. Keithyboy has a Great View of NMansell's Roll! Yet this wasn't the most dramatic panel bashing moment of the season so far! That honour falls to yours truly - NMansell. Ricardoferreria broke extra early into the Rettifilo in order to avoid all the trouble ahead of him but he didn't expect to see the charging NMansell in his mirrors. As Ricardoferreria moved left onto the grass, NMansell swerved right straight into DavidB's path. DavidB had no where to go. DavidB hit NMansell side on and this caused NMansell to roll over spectacularly. (A video made by the unlucky DavidB can be viewed here). At Ascari, again on lap 1, twelfth place Snakey_UK lost control of his Alfa Romeo and spun straight into Trick's path. Trick, like many before him, had no where to go and hit Snakey_UK in the side. Both continued, but Trick had a puncture and Snakey_UK wrestled his car to the finish. At the front, B-izadfar and Tygernoot enjoyed a race long battle that was only decided when Snakey_UK Spins In Front of Trick on lap 7, B-izadfar missed his braking point at the Rettifilo and overshot. By the time he recovered, he lost over 10s to Tygernoot and his chance of the win had gone. So Tygernoot took his first win of the season. B-Izadfar took second with BlueChris rounding off the podium. In the Drivers Championship, TJBoiler still leads the Championship by 41 points and with 100 on offer at the next round. Someone famous once said "Anything can happen.... and it usually does." The Final Round of the 2007 Championship sees the circus enter the streets of Macau in Asia. The 4.35 mile / 6.20 km street circuit contains a challenging mix of fast straights and sharp bends. The Macau Grand Prix is widely regarded as one of the most demanding races in the World! Your reporter, NMansell Do you have news and/or race reviews for me to include in the news? Please e-mail me them on NMansell@F1RST3.com, Thanks.

1) Tygernoot Lowland Racing Team   2) B-Izadfar Ice Block F1   3) BlueChris Hellas Racing Team

Round 4 - Japan

Suzuka International Racing Course, Mie, Japan Round 4 of the Championship saw the teams arrive in Asia and to the Suzuka International Racing Course. Suzuka was once the home of the Japanese Grand Prix and has played host to some dramatic title deciders. 1989 and 1990 saw Alain Prost and Aryton Senna collide with each other, and in 1996, Damon Hill became the only son of a world Champion to win the title. The most famous corner at Suzuka is the 130R turn. Qualifying Review The front row of the grid at Suzuka was an all Greek affair. Yiannis-HGT took Pole Position with a time of 2:09.698 (100.146 mph / 161.170 kph). Yiannis' team-mate BlueChris was second, a further 0.162s behind. Championship Leader TJBoiler was third with MaxMotus in fourth. MJanosh rounded out the top 5. Race Review As the lights turned to green, Yiannis-HGT lead the pack into the famous turn 1, with BlueChris following him in second. TJBoiler rounded in third with the marauding pack following him in. Unbelievably, the pack managed go through Turn 1 without any major contact. However, that was about to change as the leaders headed into Degner The downhill grid at Suzuka always provides a challenge! bends. Leader Yiannis-HGT ran wide at Degner 1 handing the lead to BlueChris. TJBoiler took second and the recovering Yiannis-HGT rejoined the track in third. Fourth place Frozen, got a slide on and slid across the track. NewtyNG5 had no where to go apart from into the side of Frozen. Anyone would think this was a D1 Grand Prix The panel bashing however, didn't finish there. At spoon curve, Trick tried to dive down the inside of Iron_Gr. On the contrary, Trick wasn't fully down the inside but Iron_Gr had to turn in and the inevitable contacted ensued. Iron_Gr came off worse and lost a load of places. Out at the front, the race stewards decided that BlueChris jumped the start and was given a 10s stop-go penalty. This handed the lead to TJBoiler with MJanosh chasing hard behind. As is the norm for the ETCC Championship races, it started to settle down into a nice rhythm with many battles throughout the field. The last major panel bashing happened a few laps later at the infamous 130R bend. Get it wrong here and you have a major shunt, and that's exactly what happened to Frozen and Mike_Nap. On the exit of the 130R bend, Mike_Nap spun his Alfa-Romeo and, unfortunately for Frozen, he spun into Frozen's path. Both were eliminated on the spot. At the same time, NewtyNG5 spun in sympathy. Frozen failed to avoid the spinning Mike_Nap at the modified 130R bend At the chequered flag, TJBoiler crossed the line 11.324s ahead of MJanosh. Zunik, rounded out the podium finishers but was a further 15.762s back. Round 5 of the 2007 Championship sees the circus re-enter Europe at the world famous Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. Long straights and hard braking makes the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza a special challenge. Your reporter, NMansell Do you have news and/or race reviews for me to include in the news? Please e-mail me them on NMansell@F1RST3.com, Thanks.

1) TJBoiler Lowland Racing Team 2   2) MJanosh Art-of-Racing   3) Zunik Serviola Spanish Team

Round 3 - Canada

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada Round 3 of the Championship saw the teams cross the Atlantic Ocean into Canada. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, on the Île Notre-Dame, was named after the late Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve. A famous part of the circuit is last chicane were the wall on the outside has claimed numerous World Champions including Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. Qualifying Review Qualifying saw a third different pole man of the year. NewtyNG5 took pole position with a time 1:44.884 (92.983 mph / 149.641 kph), a full 0.365 seconds over title chasing MJanosh. TJBoiler was third another 0.173s back. Joining TJBoiler on the 2nd row of the grid was MaxMotus. Race Review Moments before the race got underway, all of the team managers were requested to an urgent meeting. At this meeting, the team managers were told that the race stewards would be watching very carefully for any body cutting the track. The pack of 22 wait for the lights to go out. So as the lights went out at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the pack of 22 descended towards Turn 1 and this is where the trouble started. According to the race stewards Tygernoot, B-Izadfar and, the returning NMansell caused all the trouble. The race stewards issued the following statement about the incident at turn 1: "Tygernoot nudged a fellow competitor off the track and as a result, this driver shall be penalised 30s. B-Izadfar and NMansell caused considerable damage to other competitors and as a result, the stewards had no option to issue a 1 minute penalty to each driver." NMansell creams into B-Izadfar and causes "considerable" damage to other drivers. At the front, MJanosh got a flying start and managed to take the lead into Turn 1. Pole position man, NewtyNG5 lost a further place to MaxMotus at Turn 6. TJBoiler tried to get in on the act at the hairpin but the lack of straight line speed cost him the place back the chicane. So over the stripe for the first time, the order was MJanosh, MaxMotus, NewtyNG5, TJBoiler, Tygernoot. The race started the settle down into a sensible rhythm after all the chaos at the back. MJanosh took the chequered flag and the provisional win but that wasn't the end of the story - the race stewards had to review the race replay. The final race classification was announced 2 days later and there was some controversy about it... Race winner was TJBoiler (+0s) who managed to move up from third. TJBoiler, lights ablaze, trying desperately to catch the leaders. Second place was MaxMotus (+0s) with third place going to NewtyNG5 (+6s). Fourth went to the race winner on the day MJanosh (+16s). The next stop on the 2007 Championship sees the circus continue on its global  tour. This time we are in Japan at the famous Suzuka International Racing Course circuit. Can TJBoiler keep his lead in the Drivers Championship or can one of the other close gap? Find out in two weeks time! Your reporter, NMansell Do you have news and/or race reviews for me to include in the news? Please e-mail me them on NMansell@F1RST3.com, Thanks.

1) TJBoiler Lowland Racing Team 2   2) MaxMotus Don't Lift   3) NewtyNG5 UK Racing

Round 2 - Great Britain

Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England The 2007 F1RST3 ETCC03 Summer League sees the circus move from the sweltering heat of Malaysia, to the cold and miserable Great Britain. This year, however Silverstone was baked in glorious sunshine. The drivers turned up expecting to race on the national or international circuit, but the organisers decided to race on the 3.194 mile Grand Prix circuit. Qualifying Review Qualifying saw the welcome return to action for BMW factory team. Edwards taking pole position with a time of 1:54.785 (100.173 mph / 161.213 kph), a full quarter of a second faster than the first of the Alfa Romeo's of Yiannis-HGT. Third was TJBoiler in his Alfa Romeo with MaxMotus in fourth. NewtyNG5 makes it 3 English drivers in the top 5. Race Review The major news of Round 2 was Edwards managed to get himself stuck in  a Silverstone toilet and as a result missed the race. This left the race clear for the Alfa Romeo's to take full advantage. As the 22 drivers charged towards Copse corner on lap 1, no-one could have predicted that they would all get round it safely. At the front MaxMotus, got a flying start and moved up from third to first, and conversely, Yiannis-HGT didn't get a similar start and he moved the in the opposite direction. However, the panel bashing begun in earnest by the time the field filtered through to Maggots bend and it didn't end there. Coming up to end the lap, there was move panel bashing. None of this mattered to MaxMotus, who tried to get into a settled race pace. Behind MaxMotus, TJBoiler and Yiannis-HGT tried to catch him. One man on the move however was Tygernoot. After starting 8th, he was up to 3rd by lap 10. Early Panel Bashing at Maggots More Panel Bashing at Brooklands Turn. Out front, MaxMotus seemed to be cruising, until TJBoiler put his foot flat to the floor and started chasing down MaxMotus. Lap 13 is when TJBoiler made his move, in what could be described was later described as a "race-winning, championship-leading move", TJBoiler took the lead. It was lead he didn't look loosing. Therefore, TJBoiler took the chequered flag in a time 31:23.587 (97.672 mph / 157.188 kph).  MaxMotus finished 2nd, with Tygernoot in third. _Chacal__ finished fourth with Ricardo in fifth. Drivers Championship Review TJBoiler (155) takes over the lead in the Drivers Championship, with Yiannis-HGT in 2nd place (142). NewtyNG5 is close behind in third (140), and Round 1 winner, MJanosh, is fourth (137). The leading BMW driver is Zunik, who is in fifth place in the drivers championship (117). Teams Championship Review Don't Lift (255) take over the lead of the Teams Championship from Team World Racing (235), who have dropped down to 2nd. Lowland Racing Team 2 are third (226), with Hellas Racing Team in fourth (194). Rounding out the top 5 is UK Racing (140). Country Championship Review England continue to lead the Country Championship (480) with the Netherlands in 2nd (298). Greece are third (194) with the Spanish in fourth (177). Fifth place goes to Macedonia (137). The third round of the Championship sees the circus staying in Europe. They shall be hoping over the Brno track in the Czech Republic. Qualifying starts on the 16th April. Round 2 will be held at the Spanish track of Jarama. This nostalgic league will run side-by-side with the ETCC league. Qualifying has already started and the race will be run on Sunday 15th April. Head of over to www.f1rst3.com/gp79 for more information. Your reporter, NMansell Do you have news and/or race reviews for me to include in the news? Please e-mail me them on NMansell@F1RST3.com, Thanks.

1) TJBoiler Lowland Racing Team 2   2) MaxMotus Don't Lift   3) Tygernoot Lowland Racing Team

Round 1 - Malaysia

Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia Welcome one and all to the 2007 F1RST3 ETCC03 Summer League. Round One was held at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. All the manufacturers bar Alfa Romeo struggled to get their cars to Malaysia. Zunik managed to buy a BMW from a local showroom just to be different. 23 Drivers qualified for the first round of the championship but not all of them raced on Sunday 25th. Qualifying Review In one of the closest qualifying sessions for as long as I can remember, TJBoiler secured pole position in the dying seconds with a time of 2:10.542 (94.976 mph / 152.850kph), which was only 0.070s quicker than MJanosh. Aussie b-izadfar came third with Yiannis-HGT in fourth. The shop-bought BMW of Zunik came in fifth. With 7 different nationalities in the top 7 spaces, there really was an international feel about the starting grid. Race Review 20 Drivers took part in the 2 races that would constitute the first round of the Championship and Race 2 would become memorable for 2 drivers -  MJanosh and ToddyTauk. Not only did MJanosh win this race, he also managed to win the overall race - his first EXP division race. We spoke to MJanosh just as he stepped from the car and the first question we asked him was how it was? "It was amazing! First off I was scared because I didn't know what to expect with it being the first round and all. After the start, I pulled away a bit and then I saw Toddy chasing me very hard. As a result, I made a mistake and went off at penultimate corner. I then got back on track and started doing fast laps and eventually caught Toddy. As soon as I got past him, I started to pull away". MJanosh added "After 10 laps, the tyres went away but luckily Toddy made a mistake and that gave me about a 20sec lead which allowed me to drive safely. Behind me Toddy, was very fast and somehow he managed to preserve his tyres and started to catch me up very fast." Behind MJanosh, winner of the Race 1, NewtyNG5 would find himself on the second place on the podium. The bronze medal went to the runner-up in the second race - ToddyTauk. This would become ToddyTauk's first ever Podium in the EXP division championship. Drivers Championship Review With only one race gone, the Drivers Championship looks like this - MJanosh leads the championship (98) from NewtyNG5 (81).  Yiannis-HGT is in third place (74) with the delighted ToddyTauk in fourth (72). Teams Championship Review Unbelievable, the self proclaimed "All-AMA" team, TWR 1 lead the Teams Championship (152) from Lowland Racing Team 2 (104). Art-of-Racing are third (98) with Hellas Racing Team and UK Racing tied for fourth (81). Country Championship Review England lead the County Championship (236) from the Netherlands (104). Macedonia are third (98) with the United States (92) in fourth. Australia round out the top five (88). The second round of the Championship sees the circus going to the home of British Motorsport - Silverstone on the full Grand Prix track in one weeks time. Qualifying starts on the 2nd April. If you can't wait that long for your rFactor Racing fix, head over to www.f1rst3.com/gp79. This nostalgic league will run side-by-side with the ETCC league. Qualifying has already started and the race will be run on Sunday 1st April. Your reporter, NMansell Do you have news and/or race reviews for me to include in the news? Please e-mail me them on NMansell@F1RST3.com, Thanks.

1) MJanosh Art-of-Racing   2) NewtyNG5 UK Racing   3) ToddyTauk TWR 1

Pre-Season News

The 2006 ETCC03 Summer League Begins!! Welcome one and all the 2006 F1RST3 ETCC-03 Summer League! As I am sure you are all aware, the European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car series, organised by the FIA, run using the new Super 2000 regulations. Touring car manufacturers such as Audi, Alfa, BMW, Seat, and Volvo all slugged it out to see who would be the 2003 Champion, but in the end it was the Alfa Romero 156 of Gabriele Tarquini. This year’s F1RST3 championship will be run over 8 rounds from countries as far a field as Mexico and Japan, to countries more at home such as Britain and the Czech Republic. The calendar can be found here but should you not have any of the tracks – the innovative F1RST3 client will automatically install them to your rFactor directory (more details about Auto-Download here). Following on from the hugely successful 2006/7 V8Factor Winter League, we will be using the League system specially designed for this type of league! If you haven’t raced in this type of league before, it's too long winded to explain it all in the Pre-Season News, so go here to read all about it! All EXP Division races will last 1hr, with all AMA Division races lasting 45mins. Should you need to ask an admin a question about the upcoming league you can find a list of contact details here! See you in Mexico for Round 1 of the 2006 F1RST3 ETCC-03 Summer League. Qualification starts on Monday 19th March 2007! Your reporter, NMansell Do you have news and/or race reviews for me to include in the news? Please e-mail me them on NMansell@F1RST3.com, Thanks.