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The 2011 UF1R TrackMania Forever Grand Prix season, the 3rd running of this series, has proven to be the greatest championship of them all. With the introductions of Pool Championships new for this year, everyone in the field had more to race for, however the Driver’s and Constructor’s Championships proved to be exciting and close affairs throughout the 20 race season!
This year saw the rise of a few new names in contention to the throne of the fastest driver of them all, with a staggering 5 different race winners this year, and the two titans of speed in the team, Sammy and RoyBoy, we’re under pressure as early as the opening race of the season! Gr3y, the only other driver in the top tier Pool A along with the two speed demons, was a surprising winner of the season opener at Avus in Germany. While the track in notorious among our drivers due to its short and simple nature, the race proved to be one of the closest ever, with our top 7 drivers separated by only 17 seconds! Roy finished the race in his lowest ever finish in the championship’s history that wasn’t affected by a major crash. Was the aged 39-year-old looking at losing his position as the number 2 at UF1R?
For the next 9 races it certainly didn’t seem so, as Sammy and Roy finished 1-2 in every single race, leaving everyone else behind and seemingly setting up the Driver’s Championship between them 2 yet again at only the halfway point of the season. Further down the order Iron was seeing even further improvement on his pace from 2010, becoming a regular podium finisher and trumping the Pool A driver Gr3y for 3rd place, who was rapidly losing touch in that championship too. The two Sauber drivers NightFire and Jake were locked in a great battle for 5th place, having both secured one podium each yet both also having a disaster race, with NightFire falling off track at the famed Nordschleife track and scrambling home to 15th after that and Jake also finishing 12th falling victim to a curb bug at Watkins Glen. With Jake also being handed a one minute penalty for a jump start at Hockenheim that has become notorious for introducing a new replay system to the championship, the two drivers could have been in closer company with Iron and Gr3y ahead. This was also hurting the Sauber tilt at the constructor’s championship, who they would remain in a fight with Mercedes GP and Team Lotus all year. They were aiming to be the first ever team to win the constructor’s championship without having a race winner in the team, and while they barely led to the halfway mark, the second half would prove so difficult for Sauber that their comfortable position early on in the championship was definitely a long forgotten memory. The Pool Championships were proving to be a welcome addition to the field, and while nothing much was occurring in Pool A, Pool B was proving to be a tighter affair. While Iron showed more pace than NightFire, the only two racers ever in contention for Pool B, NightFire’s more consistent ability to finish races would help him make a fight of the championship that would ultimately go down to the wire. Pool C was a bit more of an easier affair, as Jake was proving dominant with pace even outpacing most Pool B drivers. Baxter proved to be a little more inconsistent and was keeping touch though. And much-loved racer deudeuf held the lead in Pool D also due to consistent finishes, something competitors Cyrus and DaleJr could not achieve.
The race at Mosport Park in Canada in June would prove to be the beginning of a far more interesting 2nd half of the championship than the first. The old man Roy finally broke a drought of wins not affected by penalties and retirements, beating Sammy on the road for the first time since 2009! While Sammy won the following race at Serres Autodromo, the finishing differences were growing ever smaller and all of a sudden Roy was making things interesting in the 2nd half of the championship, keeping his hopes alive in both the Driver’s and Pool A Championships. Sammy was beginning to feel the pressure, and at Brands hatch it showed, finishing in his lowest position ever that was not affected by a major crash or penalty, finishing 4th. This race was notable as it saw a very unlikely winner in Speedy, with the young American Pool C driver winning in a great battle with Iron, who was now constantly trying to win his first race, showing that he could match and beat the pace of the classic top 2.
Our championship leader Sammy was in need of a break and it was lucky this race marked the beginning of a 4 week season break. When the championship returned at Mont Tremblant, our reigning champ was back to his best, winning the race convincingly from Gr3y, finally returning to a top 2 race after his win at Avus, and Roy by over 15 seconds. He would also win at Road America two weeks later before needing to miss the race at East London, which allowed Roy to take win number 2 for the year and also tightened up both the Driver’s and Pool A Championships considerably. Sauber also needed this no-points score from Constructor’s leaders Mercedes GP, who was missing Jake after the break, leaving NightFire to salvage points on his own. Sauber had fallen to 3rd at this stage, but remained in touch behind Mercedes in 2nd and new leaders Team Lotus, who all of a sudden looked favourites to take the Constructor’s Championship for a 2nd year running on the back of Roy’s return to race-winning form and deudeuf’s consistent finishing. This race also proved interesting for the fact of Iron retiring from the race, allowing NightFire a 22 point lead in the Pool B championship, a lead in which he would try to keep in the last 4 races of the championship. Pool C was now an interesting affair with Jake’s no-shows, with Baxter being the most consistent in scoring of the driver’s left in there. Speedy was favourite there despite missing this race though, however Jake and his famous love muscle were not done with yet. This was also the race that saw the old Frenchman deudeuf win the Pool D championship. In a championship that was ultimately decided by finishing races more, deudeuf excelled despite his speed, and ultimately proves to be a popular winner.
For all of Lotus’ pace, it all came crashing down with a thud at Circuit Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico. The Constuctor’s leaders only scored 15 points this race, with Roy suffering an early crash which caused him to finish 14th and deudeuf retiring on top of that. With Sammy winning but being the only Mercedes car at the race, Sauber pounced, with the return of Jake and NightFire’s solid 4th place, Sauber once again led the Constuctor’s Championship. Lotus now fell to 3rd and ultimately, this would prove to be the race which would kill their chances at back-to-back championships.
This didn’t harm Roy though, as his pace was so fast that he won the next two races, at Bathurst, the race he always truly wanted to win, and at Phoenix. However at this stage all that Sammy needed was consistent podium finishes, which he did despite jump starting at Bathurst, and ultimately secured the Driver’s Championship at Phoenix with one race remaining. Sammy is now the Driver’s Champion for a 3rd straight year, and still proves to be the fastest driver of us all despite the fact this championship was much more competitive than 2010! Pool C was also wrapped up now after Baxter’s and Speedy’s no-shows, giving Jake the championship he truthfully deserved even after personal problems harmed his season after the season break.
However going into the final race at the UF1R Home Circuit made by team member Arzack, the Pool A and Pool B championships were still up for grabs, along with the most interesting championship fight all year, the fight for the Constructor’s Championship. Pool A saw Sammy with a comfortable lead, with Roy needing a miracle to steal away the championship. Pool B was a much simpler affair, with the winner of the championship being whoever finished higher in the race: Iron and NightFire. The Constructor’s Championship seemed to be Sauber’s to lose, having a lead of 41 points from Lotus with Mercedes not too far behind, but with Jake missing all the pressure was on NightFire to finish decently on a dangerous track and hope Roy or Sammy would not win the race.
Iron, his rival all season in Pool B, proved to be a valuable ally to NightFire, being incredible quick all week in practice, and despite being pipped with only moments remaining in Qualifying, he was fastest in the shootout and ultimately had the fastest race pace of anyone. Sammy and Roy just could not keep up, and while NightFire was having a shocking race, he was surviving and keeping the points difference high enough to keep Sauber ahead. Iron ended up being race winner number 5 this year and finally getting his maiden victory after a fantastic season that sets him up for a championship shot next season, with Sammy and Roy following behind.
Roy’s 3rd place was the gift NightFire needed to crawl home in 9th and give Sauber enough points to be crowned constructor’s champions by 17 points over Team Lotus, who were themselves only 4 points ahead of Mercedes GP, which makes this the closest Constructor’s Championship in UF1R history easily and the closest championship we’ve had in general since the final round at Zolder in 2009, where Sammy won the championship in the very final race over Roy. While Iron may have deservedly beat him in the Pool B championship, NightFire was ecstatic with the result. Sammy also secured the Pool A championship with second place, and despite not winning a race in the last 3 races, he looks to go for 4 championships in a row in season 2012, a championship that is bound to be interesting with some neat changes planned. We hope to see all of you there for another year of fantastic racing, starting January 15! Unless we see you at the inaugural UF1R 24 Hours of Zolder event on the 10th and 11th of December of course! Congratulations to all of our winners and thanks to all our racers for participating!