News Archive

 

  19-09-2005 - Washington and Ansell take their season 4 crowns

It's been a while since the season ended, but now that the stewards have reviewed all the races it can safely be said that Jeremy Washington won the FMBL4 title, while Tom Ansell took the FMBL4.2 crown. Congratulations to both of you! They drove a very consistent season, fending off challenges from several established FMBL drivers and were rewarded with the ultimate prize in simracing: their name on the FMBL Hall of Fame waiting list!!

However, the end of this season may also mark the end of GPL as the platform on which our much-desired Hall of Fame waiting list spaces are fought over. More and more new sims are coming out, and interest for GPL is clearly fading, to the point where we have trouble getting a nice grid of cars on the track. The solution to this problem is most probably moving on to one of these new sims, something fresh and new, but also something that will last for several seasons like GPL did.

The best option right now seems to be rFactor and its (coming) mods, like the Formula 3 mod. There will be more mods and addon tracks soon, so this promises to be a big one - and the many mods should be able to keep it "alive" for a long time. So, in the coming time we'll be looking into this, and more importantly our capability of hosting races. We've postponed the start of FMBL5 to early 2006, so the remainder of this year can be used for test- and funraces so everyone can get a feel for things.

Ofcourse, this is not final yet - suggestions are always welcome!

GPL '67? '69? Thundercars? Live for Speed? Perhaps something else? Anything that is easily accessible for all of us (read: cheap, easy to run, easy to host) should be considered.

  21-12-2004 - Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Yes, we know you were expecting the race reviews for Albi and Silverstone, but we have to disappoint you. We hate to do that, especially this short before Christmas, so we'll just say it's all Jeremy's fault and he'll make up for it soon, just so you know he's the bad guy who spoiled the holidays for you :p

See you at the Ring in 2005!

  23-11-2004 - Washington takes his first FMBL victory!
  By Jeremy Washington

If you like sand in your pants, you'll like the Dutch GP - otherwise you're at a distinct disadvantage. Thus those who were not held back by the physical limitation of pants were in a position to benefit, because 50% of the JS-Racing team was pant free this goes some way to explaining their great form this weekend.

The paddock was astir behind the Zandy garages as off track news took the spotlight away from the practice sessions. Word on the pit lane is that several older drivers from FMBL3 are interested in rejoining the series; obviously this is just a rumour but it has many of the top teams excited yet nervous at the same time. More big news was the surprise entry of Joris Verheul to the league, driving for the Norfolk and Chance team Joris is also expected to take over running the team in the near future and it will be interesting to see how he handles the added pressure of the hustle and bustle of the Herring Club.

Soon the roar of 8 of the most powerful cars on the planet turned people's attention back to the track as the drivers left the pit lane to begin qualifying. Initially the times were disappointing as the dust was swept off the racing line, but soon it became apparent that it was very slippery offline as Washington speared into the fence at the last turn wrecking the front end of his car "I'm having to switch to the spare" exclaimed the flustered Ferrari driver who lost a lot of time looking for his spare keys. Almost at the same time his team mates Ferrari power plant had a piston failure and so he had to cruise into the pits where a quick, and ultimately shoddy repair job was done. Soon after Strang had rejoined the engine completely exploded without any chance of repair. Luckily for Samuli the engine from Jeremy's wrecked car was still working so a quick change over allowed the young Finn to race.

Besides the pandemonium in the JS-Racing garage qualifying was a rather sedate affair, the sound of Beaudoins screaming Lotus echoing off the dunes gave some clue as to his speed but the clock showed it best. Didier took yet another pole position a mind-boggling 6 tenths ahead of second placed Gregory. Thankfully behind him the field was closely bunched, less than 3 tenths covering the next 4 drivers (Gregory, Washington, Thomassen, Strang; in that order) promised a tight race for second at least. Virtanen was 6th with Hammond and Verheul rounding out the grid. It appeared all Didier had to do was cruise around and take victory here, but as we've seen in the past anything can happen in race conditions.

Officials decreed that the grid would be a 3-wide affair so it would be a showdown between Beaudoin, Gregory and Washington into T1. As the flag ripped down Didier got away well while Howard bogged down and got swamped by the field, but on the outside Jeremy had got a strong start and lead into T1. As he had the inside line Beaudoin managed to bring his Lotus alongside as they ran to T2 but alas the two cars tangled and the JSR Ferrari was sent spinning right in front of the pack, only some quick reflexes from Thomassen avoided a horrible accident and Washington was able to recover at the back of the field.

Strang who had a fantastic start was promoted to second and began to attack the lead Lotus, but as they exited T1 on lap 2 Samuli used too much throttle and spun into the sand, dropping him to the back of the field; JSR's already poor weekend was getting worse! And so a familiar sight was restored, the two HERTZ drivers leading the pack - due to others misfortunes Gregory was promoted to 3rd but didn't appear to have the pace to go with the leaders. Towards the back Hammond, Virtanen and Verheul were having a battle of sorts as they continued to pass and re-pass each other as they flew off the road. While there wasn't much wheel to wheel action it was exciting nonetheless.

Benefiting from their misfortune Washington and Strang were able to progress up to 4th and 5th, the former was soon tucked up behind the BRM of Howard Gregory who was having to work very hard to stay ahead, using all the track and really pushing the limit. In contrast the compact red automobile behind him was looking very smooth and effortless to drive. However, there is only one legitimate overtaking spot at Zandvoort and that is into T1; to get alongside a driver needs to get a better run than the car in front out of the final corner to have a chance into Tarzan. As it was, Washington seemed faster than Gregory everywhere except the final turn. For 6 frustrating laps the Ferrari was held up "I was getting a bit annoyed as I knew I could go a second or so faster, and I could see the HERTZ guys driving off with it" On lap 9 his wait would end.

Up front as Didier began his 9th lap he carried too much speed into Tarzan, locked his rears and spun up onto the embankment - Marcel who was pressuring him stayed low in an effort to get past but unluckily for both of them gravity kicked in and carried the spinning Lotus right into the others path! Contact was made and while Thomassen could go on it appeared as though he was struggling "It was enough to bend my car up, so although I initially went on I had to stop at the hairpin to repair my car" explained Marcel later on. 7 Seconds later Gregory also locked his rears on the way into Tarzan and spun next to Beaudoin who was still recovering, Washington managed to squeeze through the carnage and moved up to second, this quickly became first as he past the stranded Thomassen at the Hairpin. Strang also gained places and moved into 4th, a perfect 200m for JSR.

Marcel had to hop out at the hairpin to realign his suspension, but was soon back underway in 5th position. Within laps he was upon Strang and soon made an effort to pass him at Tarzan, this was to be an unlucky corner for HERTZ though as he went in too hot and clouted the wall, ending his afternoon. The past series champion was philosophical afterwards "What happened happened and let's go on racing with a fresh mind".

Washington now had a 5 second lead over Gregory and within the next laps eased away to make it a 10 second gap. Concurrently, Beaudoin was recovering and began challenging Howard for second spot, a couple of times he drew alongside but was unable to get past. On lap 21 he spun around the back of the track, dropping himself to 4th behind Strang in the process. Again he caught up to the car in front easily but was unable to pass, eventually he tried to out brake the Ferrari into Tarzan, but sadly Didier ran wide and spun losing himself even more time. This left Washington leading, with Gregory second and Strang third.

In the closing laps Washington cruised allowing the gap to drop back down to 5 seconds, but he was never in danger and after 50 minutes of hard racing crossed the line to take his first FMBL win! "It's a great day, obviously I was lucky but I was really consistent and feel that I deserved the win today - being the only driver to be mistake free and all". Behind him Howard came home a very credible 2nd in what will be a big boost for L'Equipe Djangos championship position "I can't be too disappointed with second place, maybe one of these days I'll make the top step of the podium". Taking the final podium position was Samuli Strang who drove well after his earlier spin "I had to drive pretty defensively today, but I'm very pleased with how it went. We had a rough qualifying so to get both cars on the podium is fantastic for JSR".

Didier limped his battered Lotus home in 4th in what was really a good result considering the day he'd had. In his first FMBL outing Joris Verheul drove brilliantly to come home 5th "That was a blast!" he shouted as he climbed from the cockpit. Celebrations erupted around the nation as soon as he finished in scenes reminiscent Melbourne 2002. We foresee a long and prosperous career for the young man and hope he can inspire more young drivers to join the league!

After such a roundabout race the championship has tightened up considerably. Didier still leads but only by 3 points from Washington who leaps from 4th to 2nd, Strang is third just one point behind with Gregory and Thomassen still in the hunt. With Albi (a track conductive to good racing) next on the schedule exciting times lie ahead.

In other news the FMBL4.2 support race also took place at Zandvoort this weekend past, resulting in a great win for Tom David Ansell of FMBL3 fame, who came out on top after an inspired battle with Lennart Magi. Zandvoort is a difficult track and the win will do wonders for his confidence.

And so, the huge FMBL4 championship lead we foresaw for Didier has failed to materialize and we are left with a tight race for the title as we head into the mid part of the season. With 3 new winners so far this season, and 4 different drivers taking victory from the first 5 races the quest for glory has never been so thrilling, watch this space.

  12-11-2004 - Perera's long overdue first FMBL victory comes at Milwaukee
  By Jeremy Washington

Nishi slides perfectly through T2 on his way to a world record!!!!!! Last Sunday at one of the greatest oval tracks in the world, the Milwaukee Mile, Nishi Perera showed us in the most stunning way possible the classy, well rounded intelligent racer that he is. Within the space of 2 hours the young Canadian annihilated his FMBL competition to secure his first full league race win in the most dramatic style.

Since the Milwaukee Mile is so short (My secret sources have led me to believe it is around 1.6km in length) qualifying was decreed to be a single car event. In no particular order each driver would enter the track one at a time, do an out lap and two fast laps and an in lap. The better of these two flying laps would be their final time.

All initially went well until Varun (who else?) made his way out. Thomassen, in control of the timing, became discombobulated when Kotharu spun more times in two laps than thought humanly possible. Marcel, distracted by the physics defying Brabham managed to lose all the previous times, including his own. The session would have to be re run.

When it was announced that Qualifying would be restarted there was a disappointed sigh from the drivers, except for one "YES!" from the still gyrating Varun Kotharu.

Marcel was first out, setting the benchmark time of 31.1, Jukka Maattanen followed and quickly beat that with a 31 flat.Washington then tookto the track and set a modest time of 31.3 - next up was the whirling prowess of Varun, who managed to keep it together and set a fantastic time of 31.6. As the rest of the cars did their laps it seemed as though Jukka was going to snatch pole with only Virtanen and Perera to go. But Mauri utilized the amazing agility of Chicken Runs new BT-11 to take provisional pole with a 30.79. The paddock gasped as Mave went 3 tenths faster than his team mate who was relegated to second.

The pressure was on as Perera brought his Brabham up to speed, and bang first lap he was right up there clinching second spot! And then it happened, Nishi drove what could only be called the perfect lap to take pole position and amazingly, set a new world record, with a scorching 30.70. Amazing stuff in what was easily the most exciting qualifying session of the year!

Championship leader Didier Beaudoin took fourth while second placed Strang qualified in sixth, as good as could be expected with the lumbering Ferrari.

For the second, and last, time of the year a rolling start was called. Varun pulled off his move of the race by taking Washington on the warm up lap, but let him go through before the S/F line thus avoiding punishment.

From the start Perera looked strong; you could visibly see him making an effort to keep his tyres cool. Initially Virtanen was able to keep with him, but Nishis pace was such that he could pull a tenth or two occasionally and in the end Mauri was unable to keep up.

Behind them Maattanen and Didier were battling hard, with Thomassen in hot pursuit. On lap 7 Didier and Jukka came together while fighting for the final podium position, Marcel managed to get through the wreckage but by the time they had recovered Didier and Jukka were 7th and 8th.

As the laps ticked by they started to make their way through the field, easily dispatching Washington, Hammond and Strang. Kotharu would have been included in this list but he wasn't able to find a good balance all weekend and eventually ended up in the wall on lap 41.

Just before that on lap 28, Strang suffered yet another Ferrari engine failure and slipped down to 8th behind his team mate. The JSR team was having a horrible weekend on what is thought to be the worst track on the calendar for them. By lap 42 Strang had clawed his way onto the gearbox of the other Ferrari and on lap 44 made his move, for 3 laps Washington and Strang went side by side - huge grins on their faces. Eventually Strang slipped by and took 7th.

As the race drew to a close Pereras pace (and race) got better and better, his lead extending as Virtanen suffered cramp in his legs. And so at the end of lap 90 Nishi crossed the line to take his first ever win by 19 seconds, what a great way for him to kick start his championship campaign! Virtanen survived what he described as an uneventful race to take 2nd while Thomassen cruised home 3rd after being free of immediate competition most of the race.

Beaudoin and Maattanen recovered to take 4th and 5th while Eric Hammond survived a late scare with his suspension to finish a fantastic 6th. The JSR cars filled the last two points paying positions.

In championship news Didier extended his lead over Samuli to 5 points and looks very good at the head of the table. More troubling news was Thomassen moving ahead of Washington in the standings to snatch 3rd, obviously there's some mistake there which will hopefully be rectified on the coming rounds. In constructors news Chicken Run now looks a force to be reckoned with as they boosted their points tally massively after Milwaukee.

Next up on the schedule we have Marcel's home race at Zandvoort, with Didier looking to extend his lead, JSR hoping to fight back, Thomassen striving to do well at home and Chicken Run surfacing as a threat it promises to be one of the most exciting races of the season!

 

 

 

  19-10-2004 - Another double for HERTZ at the Norisring
  By Jeremy Washington

In 1356 Nürnberg became the capital of what was known at the time as the Holy Roman Empire, for a large period of the Middle Ages the HRE was very much the centre of attention in Europe. In the mid 1930s Nürnberg again became the centre of interest as it hosted massive Nazi Party rallies, and once the war was over the world turned its gaze upon the ravaged city as it held the trials of suspected German war criminals. All these events are probably very important to the historians and maybe even the average Nürnbergian but in the year 1965, FMBL came to town - finally, some important history would be written.

The story of the weekend was those bumps on the entry into the Esses. Lap after lap cars would come through unsettled from the pounding they got under braking, drivers hands a blur, wheels squealing, a hint of a muttered curse from the cockpit as the power was fed back on through the right foot. Before they arrived many drivers smirked at the rumor going around "The Norisring is like a mini Monaco". After their first laps those smiles were gone.

For such a basic circuit (Hairpin, Esses, Hairpin) the Norisring throws up many challenges. High curbs at T1, the bumps at the Esses and final hairpin, as well as a slippery track surface make for a unique test.

As we've come to expect these days, Didier Beaudoin stormed his way to pole with a scorching lap early on in the qualifying session, Howard Gregory drove excellently to take second 2 tenths behind, Thomassen and Washington wrapped up the second row another tenth behind. There was then a half a second gap to Strang with a further margin back to the Chicken Run duo led by Jukka Maattanen.

Another small field for the Norisring brings afresh fears about the cost of F1 these days, if Petie Oosterstone doesn't start sharing the TV money with the teams FMBL could soon be under threat. Heres hoping for a bigger grid at Milwaukee!

At the start the HERTZ cars got away cleanly and took 1st and 2nd into the first corner. Gregory had a tardy start and under braking into T1 had to take a tighter line to cover Washington who was now all over his gearbox. Aided by a poor start by Strang was Maattanen, cutting the field like something warm through something cold and spreadable the BT7 swept around the outside at T1 and snatched an amazing 3rd place. After the first turn the running order was Beaudoin, Thomassen, Maattanen, Gregory, Washington, Strang, and Virtanen.

It didn't take long for Howard and Jeremy to pick up where they left off at Monaco; the Ferrari flew through the Esses and pulled alongside Howard into the final hairpin. The red car got through but it wasn't over yet, Gregory came back down the straight and had Washington into T1. Again the pair drove aggressively each not wanting the other to get the upper hand. Two corners later Washington had another shot and flew past the BRM under braking; spotting a gap the second JSR car of Strang tried to follow his team mate through but Howard closed the door, the two cars made contact. Strang spun off while a rattled Howard kept going albeit 2 seconds down on Washington.

After qualifying it was accepted that only Howard and Washington would be likely to challenge the two Loti today and their squabbling played right into HERTZs hands. Didier and Marcel now had over 6 seconds on the pair with Jukka still going strong in between. Maattanen was fighting hard to keep his underpowered car ahead of the works Ferrari's and BRM, for the few laps he was in third he had to push super hard to stay there - unfortunately cooking his rear tyres, on lap 5 he lost the back end at the first hairpin and dropped back to 5th. It looked as though the race was going to settle down into a fairly tame one until Marcel, pushing hard to put pressure on Didier, lost the back end over those bumps. Completing a clean 360 the only damage done was to Thomassens ego. This faux pas allowed Washington and Gregory to close up on the Lotus which was still getting its rhythm back. Washington had one little look at the second hairpin but decided against taking a stab and then frowned as the green machine pulled effortlessly away.

In an attempt to keep Marcel in sight the lead Ferrari took too much speed over the bumps and started a half spin, with no where to go Howard clipped the front of his rivals car, righting it in the process! A chuffed Washington got back up to speed only 2 seconds behind Gregory who was now in 3rd position.

Back down the road Jukka was still holding a nice gap to the recovering Strang when he lost it under braking into the final hairpin. The Monaco winner swept past and took 5th. The Brabhams were now 6th and 7th, Mauri having a torrid time on his way to being lapped.

And so the race was set, with large gaps between everyone, to run out sedately. Beaudoin re-stamping his authority on the league with another dominating performance. With 5 laps to go a secure podium spot for Gregory took a turn for the worse with a moment at T1, this allowed Washington to make his presence known, possibly causing the next incident. A lap later Howard got sideways under braking for T1 allowing Washington to sneak by and take third, Jeremy then set about setting some low 55s while Howard struggled in the high 55s.

With 3 laps to go Strang was 3 seconds ahead of Maattanen when he came up to lap Jukkas team mate, Virtanen.As theywent into the Essesthe second Chicken Run car conveniently managed to spin right in front of the Ferrari! Not panicking, Strang calmly downshifted and navigated around the Brabham - crisis (and possible evil teammate "assistance") avoided!

On the 38th of 39 laps Gregory set a scorching 55.0 while Washington floundered with a 55.7 "Coming out of the last corner I got very sideways, I held it for as long as possible but had to get off the gas to save it - this killed all my drive for the main straight" said a dejected Washington. So on the last lap Gregory got a great run on Jeremy and forced him to go defensive into the first hairpin; Washington took too tight a line and clipped the curb. The Ferrari bucked as the front wheels lost contact with terra firma, taking the car out wide. Howard got through with Washington sweeping back across to fight back. Gregory ran wide at the first "S" and allowed Washington to go for the outside on the exit of the final "S". "I was out on the concrete, dust coming off my tyres as I got squeezed between the BRM and the wall - eventually I had to get out of the gas" With that avenue blocked the Ferrari darted around looking for another way past. Going into the final corner Howard took the inside line while Jeremy went wide, it was obvious to all he was going to try a criss cross to gain as much speed as he could for the final drag over the line. Howard was driving exceptionally at this stage though, and saw this move coming, to counter he took the tightest line he could and "parked" his car on the apex. "I saw him take the apex and I knew I was stuffed, but it was the last corner of the last lap so I had to try and keep the momentum going" And momentum he had! Carrying a huge amount of speed through the apex the Ferrari clouted the back of the BRM sending it spinning. The final podium was Washingtons! But nay, as they came to the line the Ferrari slowed and let the recovering Howard through to take the 3rd that he deserved. A great year long (friendly, lets hope) rivalry seems to be sparking between these two virtually evenly matched drivers and it is certainly giving the fans their monies worth!

And so the Norisring provided us with another HERTZ 1-2, again led by Beaudoin. Thomassen must me slightly worried about his teammates current form, and pondering ways to get back to the front. Howard picked up his second podium in a row while Washington grabbed his second 4th of the season. Strang backed up his first win with a solid, if unspectacular 5th place "I can't be fast everywhere…be right back, food" explained the Frying Finn. Maattanen again punched above his weight scoring a great 6th place while Virtanen came home a distant 7th. Word from the paddock is that there is a BT7-B spec car (badged the BT11) in the works for Chicken Run, but its still unclear if that will come to fruition.

With two excitingly close championships being fought for, FMBL begins preparations for the most strategic race of the year at the Milwaukee Mile on the 31st. Lets hope there are more close battles, and more battlers!

  04-10-2004 - Strang takes JS Racing's first win at Monaco
  By Jeremy Washington

After World War Two the first organised motor sport event to take place occurred at Monte Carlo on the famous Monaco circuit. After years of fighting you'd think the populace of Europe, and the world, would be quite content to live in peace. But nay - battles draw people in, and even though the battles around the Principality are limited to the track they are still ferocious and unforgiving. Add a little slice of FMBL drivers and a pinch of beastly cars into the mix and you have a virtual war zone that makes Normandy look like a tea party. Carnage was going to have a new meaning.

Most of the drivers took the time to check out the track before the weekend, each seeing the proximity of the barriers only inches off the racing line. Imaginations ran wild as thoughts of a multiple car first corner pileup were pondered. And so on Friday evening a very nervous group of drivers met in the paddock and decided that they would begin the race not from the normal stationary position but go, Varun styles, with a rolling start.

With that issue settled, qualifying was free to begin! Back in 1297 control of Monaco was seized by Francois Grimaldi whose family was best known beforehand as a band of pirates from Genoa. Naturally, FMBL resident pirate Didier Beaudoin was hoping to re-enact that event this weekend, thus seizing control of the Championship - but unfortunately (for him) that was not to be. "I'm tired" yawned the HERTZ driver, in fact half the grid had been decimated by a corresponding 24 hour event at Le Mans. Missing for Monaco would be both HERTZ and Balderdash Drivers as well as Eric Hammon and Ivan Djjodjjo. This left the door open for the chasing pack to cast off and tack their way to the front of the grid.

Within 5 minutes the front row had been set, Samuli Strang charging to provisional pole with a blistering 1:28.4. His team mate Jeremy Washington lodged his claim on second spot with a 1:28.7 - these two times were never bested and were the only 28s set over the course of the weekend. Behind them the two Chicken Run cars of Virtanen and Maattanen fought hard, Mauri (4th) finally edging out his team mate (5th).

After initial teething problems Howard Gregory was able to get some track time and set a fantastic 1:29 lap to snatch 3rd on the grid ahead of the two Finns. This complemented nicely his team mates 6th on the grid taken by John Potter in his first outing for FMBL4. Varun Kotharu got 7th followed by rookie Esben Tipple in 8th.

As the cars rolled slowly away for the warmup lap warnings were shouted between drivers to remain calm and leave big gaps on the first slow lap - luckily for all these alerts were heeded. The lead drivers swerved their cars viciously on that first lap in an attempt to warm up their boots, but through the tunnel the lead Ferraris seemed very cautious. The two drivers sensing that the dark underpass was a dangerous place for their red machines…

Coming out of the hairpin for the first time Strang lit up his rear Dunlops and immediately pulled a 1 second gap on his team mate. Washington repeated the treatment and pulled a 2 second gap on the chasing Gregory - the press box sighed as thoughts of another Monaco, Ferrari dominated, procession did the rounds.

The 3 lead cars held position for the first laps, with nice buffers between them. Behind them though the chasing pack couldn't keep up and after a few laps Virtanen had an incident that dropped him two places to 6th. Behind him Kotharu was running in 8th when mechanical problems (also known to us normal people as a wall) put the young driver out.

Back at the front Strang relaxed his pace allowing his team mate to close right onto his gearbox. "There was no need for me to go faster, you can't pass here and I knew Jeremy wasn't going to do anything stupid". Wise words, but this put Washington in a rather awkward predicament, after 5 laps he was tucked up behind Strang and had Gregory all over him, ducking and weaving as he looked for ways past. "I thought Samuli had the wrong setup for a while, he was so slow!" Washington Exclaimed "I was willing him to go faster just so I could ease the pressure from Howard, which was rather intense at the time!"

For 15 more laps the trio remained nose to tail, the second Ferrari boxed in desperately trying not to make a mistake, but at the same time not put too much pressure on his boss. The crowd cheered wildly each time the trio passed separated by less than 2 seconds lap after lap. On lap 19 Howard closed to within a second of Strang, Washington squeezed in between them, when the inevitable happened. Samuli seemed to make a small error at the top of the hill which baulked Washington through Massenet, Gregory had his opportunity and started his attack run. As they sped towards Mirabeau the second prancing horse dived to the inside to block the pursuing BRM. "I covered the inside line, but I didn't have a breaking point and I thought the track was dirty so I ended up slowing earlier than I should have, Gregory clipped me and I spun in the air and hit the wall hard, damaging the right rear suspension and tyre wall." The damaged Ferrari howled like an injured animal as it spun back onto the track and charged off after the leading pair - now 7 seconds down the road - leaving a cloud of tyre smoke in its wake. Washington was seemingly out of contention.

At almost the same moment Virtanen finally gave in to the temptation of the scantily clad women sunbathing on the yachts beside the track, parking his Brabham BT7 in the tunnel to continue the off track chase. This left the hopes of Chicken Run to Jukka Maattanen who was driving solidly, if unspectacularly in a lonely 4th position.

Back at the front Gregory was bobbing around and generally being a nuisance in Strangs mirrors, and for a time it looked as though the BRM was going to fight his way past. But by now the lead Ferrari was very good at making itself rather wide, hampering Howards attacks.

In third place Washington was finally in some clean air, with a stunning burst of speed he was the first driver (the only other being Strang late in the race) to dive into the 1 minute 29s. Fastest lap after fastest lap allowed him to get within 1 second of the battle for the lead with 6 laps to go - the stage was set for a thrilling finale. It was now that the lead Ferrari looked at its weakest, but alas for Gregory, it was a ruse. Strang had been pacing himself the entire race and with only a small way to go he put the hammer down. He soon joined his team mate in the 29s and eased away from the chasing BRM. Howard pushed hard to keep up but was unable to match the pace shown by the two Ferraris. In an attempt to keep up Gregory started pushing hard: "I saw the BRM kiss the wall at Tabac with about 5 laps to go, I got pretty close, then on the entry to the corner before Portier he got very loose, it looked like he half spun - I slammed the brakes on but just had nowhere to go" Explained Washington. "It should be an interesting replay" frowned Howard. This time it was Gregory's turn to hit the wall, an event which meant he would finish 3rd. Washington managed to limp his Ferrari home in second place to round off a JSR 1-2!

The final Chicken run car was brought home in a lonely 4th, Jukka cruising most of the race and just glad to get a solid haul of points this weekend. John Potter drifted his way nicely into 5th spot, putting the icing on the cake for L'Equipe Djangos weekend. Debutant Esben Tipple came home in 6th benefiting greatly from the small field. The highlight (lowlight? -Ed) of his race was a heart stopping 360 degree spin at 200km/h at the exit of the chicane. Our congratulations to him for sticking with it though!

Ultimately though this weekend was all about Samuli Strang, his first FMBL pole position and win in the one weekend will be a great boost for his morale, and ultimately his Championship chances? Time will tell. But without a doubt his speed, consistency and race craft were faultless this weekend.

This small round of the championship certainly sees a major shuffle of the championship standings. JSR has leapt to the top of the Constructors Championship ahead of HERTZ while Strang and Washington sit first and second in the Drivers Championship. Monaco was certainly a shot across the bow of the HERTZ battleship and the Norisring in two weeks should see fantastic battles as HERTZ, Balderdash, JSR, Chicken Run and L'Equipe Django go head to head once more.


  20-09-2004 - Perfect start for Beaudoin at Kyalami
  By Jeremy Washington

HERTZ first into T1 at the start of the new seasonAs the setting suns waning rays pierced the surrounding trees, the track workers of the Kyalami race circuit set to work, clearing debris, removing scaffolding, sweeping the track; The track that for one fine September day belonged to one man, Didier Beaudoin.

After months of off season testing there was a collective sigh of relief from the FMBL crews and drivers as they arrived at the scorching hot South African circuit. It was almost as though the racing was going to be a break from the testing rather than vica verca, and so as the practice session began cars instantly flooded the circuit, their drivers eager to get things underway. Many the driver had a slight smile on his face for that first out lap as the reality dawned; FMB Legends 4 had begun.

Instantly though, it was back to business. Beaudoin staking his claim at the top of the timesheets within two laps with a solid 1:23:98. It seemed to the press corps that Didier was going to start pumping out some mid 23s but for some reason his times didn't improve; "I thought I made fast laps, then I saw that I was making only 24s" This allowed JSRs Jeremy Washington to come in and steal the spotlight. Setting a blistering lap of 1:23:64 the Ferrari driver set the HERTZ team a serious target.

In the end, Thomassen wasn't able to get into the 23s and ended up in an ominous 3rd place. Beaudoin finally managed to knock Washington off the top spot with a stonking 1:23:5 late in the session. However, controversy reigned after Howard Gregory rocketed to the top of the charts with a world record lap! Unfortunately the FMBLIA time machine still has some bugs and transported poor Gregory back in a 1967 spec car ruining his weekend. Samuli Strang rounded off JS-Racings strong qualifying with a great 4th place while Balderdash Racings Nate Perron was very pleased with 5th, less than a tenth ahead of his team mate Nishi Perera. In 8th came Jukka Maattanen in the lowly BT7 followed by Hammon, Djjodjjo, Virtanen and Kotharu in places 9th-12th respectively.

As the drivers got ready for the start a shadowy figure, whose profile had many Zebus like qualities, was seen around the JS-Racing garages…but more on that later.

With the cars lined up on the grid the tension rose. The time had come and with a drop of a flag FMBL was going to be underway. Unfortunately it was all too much for Varun Kotharu who got over excited at the idea of going wheel to wheel with some of the worlds best. As the flag man stood motionless Kotharu engaged first and ploughed into the back of the stationary Djjodjjo. Their races were effectively ruined, both cars soon retiring.

Unfazed the flagman raised his arm, savored the glorius onslaught of 12 beastly F1 cars revving at full tilt before whipping the flag down. Beaudoin and Washington got solid starts, the latter going for a very small gap to get past the illegal Gregory. From 3rd position on the grid Thomassen leaped away to get the inside line for T1, snatching second from an overly cautious Washington. Right behind them was Strang who had made a good start and was looking for a way by his team mate.

The rest of the field came through led my Perron, Perera and Gregory, as is always a risk at the first race of the season everyone was worried about a T1 crash. Thankfully for all, besides the Kotharu incident the start was clean.

After half a lap the cars started to settle down into single file as the drivers started to take stock of where they had shuffled out. At the front Beaudoin had already pulled a few car lengths with team mate Thomassen providing a comfortable rear guard. Behind him on lap 2 Washington started to close the gap. It was then that a rare happening occurred; the Ferrari engine exploded. These engines are very tough and it is strange indeed for one to fail, especially so early in the race. "We aren't sure what happened to the engine yet" explained a JSR spokesperson "But a bag full of bolts placed in the wrong spot can do the type of catastrophic damage seen here" The image of a Zebus lurking around the JSR garage certainly fired up the small team and revenge may be on the cards in the coming races.

Back to this race though; his engine on fire spewing debris and oil Washington pulled sharply off the track and let his team mate Strang past unhindered. Samuli now had a free line of attack at the two HERTZ cars but was unable keep up their stunning pace and dropped back into a lonely 3rd place.

Behind him Perron and Perera started battling for 4th and went side by side a couple of times before Perera got by on lap 4. Unfortunately the '67 shod Gregory sped past and then braked hard into T1, Nishi had nowhere to go and slammed into him - effectively ending his race right there.

After that came Maattanen, Hammon and Virtanen who fought a race long battle, the two Chicken Run drivers having trouble with their underpowered cars, spins and a stop go penalty. "I got one for cutting the course" said a livid Jukka. Like the good FMBLer he is, JM served what he saw as an unfair penalty but still picked up a point for 8th. Virtanen looked set for 5th when spun on the last lap and allowed Perron (who'd spun back to 6th just before) back past, Mave recovered to finish a respectable 6th. In a very strong 7th place came Eric Hammon who after an earlier incident had driven a strong race to finish just 1 second behind Virtanen and 2 seconds behind Perron.

Perera was classified 9th two laps down after he tried to limp his poor handling BT11 to the line.

Coming from the back of the pack for 4th place was Washington, benefiting from other peoples dramas he made up a few positions quickly, passing both the Chicken Run cars in one move into T1 and getting past Perron after the Brabham driver pulled aside to let the faster Ferrari through. Washington fought back a 20 second deficit on his team mate and was planning to do a formation finish when electrical problems struck 4 laps from home "I started having difficulties controlling the car and my ECU and FMBLIA Timing Unit short circuited" Washington cruised home 4th.

With Strang in an easy 3rd after a brilliant drive the new JS-Racing team went home from South Africa very pleased with the result "Its great for us, and a real motivational boost for the team" Strangs manager read from a statement for the shy Samuli "I'm very strong at Monaco so another podium is definitely on the cards there"

Ahead of the pack by a mile this weekend was the HERTZ pair though. Thomassen cruised to a strong second place while Beaudoin survived a heart stopping half spin with a trip across the grass on lap 15 to take the win. For most of the race both drivers had clear track and used that to their advantage to pump out some very impressive times. After the race Marcel had this to say to the press corps "After Jeremy fell back early on it was actually a bit boring for me. Didier's pace was too much for me today, and I could only come closer when he made a mistake about halfway through the race. Which I quickly compensated for with a 360 at the first turn!" Beaudoin added "Well, I do feel very well, I must say! I had some troubles with the car in practice so I thought for most of the session that I would have to give up the Pole to Jeremy who had made a very fast lap. But after a few adjustments, the car was perfect until the end of the race, and I was able to do what I was expecting to do in Kyalami..."

Washington's engine has had enoughAs for HERTZs start to the season Thomassen went on to explain how proud he was of his team "Ofcourse! Well I'd rather see the positions reversed ofcourse, but we blew over the JSR "threat" quite comfortably and that's what counts for now. And we're now the most succesfull team in FMBL history!"

The winner was overjoyed with the Lotus 33 suplied for him "I must thank the entire team for the excellent work done in Kyalami!" Indeed the car seems to have amazing pace straight out of the box.

As thoughts started to turn towards the next round in Monaco Beaudoin is feeling confident he and the team can continue their amazing start "Marcel is always very quick in Monaco, so he'll be tough to beat. But it seems that I have got the hang on the new cars and I like Monaco, so I'm moderately optimistic that I can surprise there and take home a second win in a row."

And so as the teams packed up their gear and said farewell to South Africa, everyone was greatly relieved to have gotten the championship underway. The season should be a hot one, the HERTZ drivers battling for wins with JS-Racing fighting hard to hold back the likes of Balderdash and Chicken Run for second place in the Constructors Title. With battles appearing all through the field this reporter can't wait for Monaco, the jewel in the FMBL toilet bowl, to see the fight continue!


  13-09-2004 - FMBL 4.2 introduces itself
  By Alex Reyes

With the beginning of the fourth season of the FMBL, two things will be new this year: firstly, 1967-spec cars with 3 litre engines are out, and 1965-spec cars with 1.5 litre engines are in, and secondly, FMBL has been split into two leagues… The main league will exist in the same form as the previous united series, but there is a second series introduced for drivers who feel their abilities are not up to par. This is FMBL4.2.

The season premiere of the league will be in the South African track that is loved by many, but hated by a few: My Home, better known as Kyalami. It is a medium-high speed course with some tricky corners. The drivers are training hard, and will giving their best to make a good impression for the forthcoming season and establish themselves a good reputation.

From all around the world, the drivers are registered for this season premiere. The Estonian driver Lennart Magi, the Venezuelan driver Alex Reyes, the British drivers Rob Martin, Craig Harris and Tom Ansell, and the Brazilian driver Pedro Paiva are ready to rock and roll in the season opener in Kyalami, trying to give the best of them. We will see everything from close battles to stupid mistakes, from excellent runs to spectacular crashes. We will see the elation of victory, and the pain of defeat. The drivers are ready and they're not afraid to give the best. So, to all the drivers of the FMBL4.2, consider yourself welcome to the exciting world of Grand Prix Legends!

We are ready to rock and roll!!!


  10-09-2004 - FMBL 4 starts soon!
  By Jeremy Washington

Each year hundreds of millions of people around the world celebrate the holiday known as Easter. Now while this religious festivity is largely used as an excuse for chocolate to be thrown around with careless abandon it is also a time for rebirth. A new beginning for people to look to the time ahead with hope and expectation - FMBL is having its own Easter right now. The league is going back in time to begin a new season in the happy old time of 1965, where the cars are slow and Marcel's even slower. The League is reborn.

And so as the drivers huddled around in the winter rains, or relaxed on summer beaches depending on your hemisphere and your interpretation of the words winter and summer, the mighty organization that runs Farzads Message Boards Legends, the FMBLIA, worked non stop to push their drastic rule changes through the Technical Working Group. The TWG said it couldn't be done - but with a determination that amazed us poor peasants the ruling body invented a time machine and sent us all back to 1965. New cars, and new life, were upon us!

Among cheers of joy there were several dissenters that have decided to move on. Az Edwards and Alex McCarthy have decided to concentrate on other endeavors while the leagues evil duo of Herrings, Parise and Fransson, have taken their skills (Edu's skills anyways) to other FMB racing pursuits. Luckily many of the old guard have decided to hang around and grace us with their presence.

With arguably the strongest pairing on the grid H.E.R.T.Z Racing returns (sans Herring) with Didier Beaudoin and Marcel Thomassen taking their trusty Lotus to round 1 at Kyalami. "This will be a hard year for HERTZ Racing." Thomassen rambled "Now that the Herrings have gone we had to find something else to live on, and after the Endurance Challenge we realised Balderdashes were really not so kind to our stomachs. Thankfully now we have JS-Racing. We heard J's are very nice as a snack -small and insignificant, good for your cholesterol and eating it helps pass the time waiting to receive another winner's laurel." I think this team is very much FMBLs DreamING Team.

Balderdash Racing returns with a new lineup that will certainly have an impact on the results this season. Nishi Perera and Nate Perron will be driving the nimble BT11 around and round, hopefully more on the green stuff than on the grey matter. It is expected that this will be the most consistant line up in FMBL4, consistently fast or slow…we'll find out!

Also returning after a late FMBL3 debut is L'Equipe Django, the team consisting of John Potter and Howard Gregory driving the mighty BRM. Big things are expected of this team and the amazing pace Gregory demonstrated at Adelaide last year will net him wins this year if he can utilize it again in the '65 spec machines.

A brand new team consisting of two of the most promising rising FMBL stars has been formed over the off season creating a team that has set its goals very high, and very much in reach! That team is the amazing JS-Racing. Now some may accuse me of being biased here but this team will be pushing very hard to trouble the more settled teams at the top of the ladder. The team will be leading the Ferrari horse over the line in a gallop and is expecting big things from the word go, or the moment the flag drops.

In any given league there are trouble makers and FMBL is no different, and so it is Mauri Virtanen and Jukka Määttänen that have to be different and leave their launch until the last minute. Word has reached us that they will be driving the Brabham BT7 and have named their team based on the amount of points they expect to get…nothing, none, zip, naught!

Also joining the main league after participating in the faltering Endurance series is Ivan Djjodjjo. This new driver plans to drive the BRM and is expected to do very well after a very solid debut at Le Mans. He's also fishing for a team mate (lets hope he doesn't catch anything red and smelly) so if anyone's interested you may wish to contact him.

Varun Kotharu also returns at the helm of Xytech Racing driving the Brabham BT11, heres hoping solid performances from him! Several other one car teams are in the league including BioX Racing, Team Repook, Race 4 Beer (yes please!) and Gutsprayers. Hopefully many good performances can come from these teams and perhaps they can upgrade to 2 car outfits soon!

Some amazing circuits are on the cards this season with famous tracks like Monaco, Monza, Spa and the Nurburgring gracing us with their presence and giving us an amazing backdrop to go racing at.

As the teams work hard in testing, staying up late tweaking suspensions and chassis settings - at the back of their minds is the knowledge that very soon they'll be racing wheel to wheel with some of the best drivers in the world. I, for one, can't wait for FMBL4 to come out of the oven.

 


01-05-2004 - Edwards takes the last victory of the season at Adelaide

News just filtered through from the other side of the planet that LA Racing driver Az Edwards has won the final round of the FMBL 3 Championship at Adelaide. With the top three drivers in the championship absent, he took his chance and took 3rd place in the final standings from the unfortunate Beaudoin.

When the FMBL spectacle arrives at the traditional season ender at Adelaide, the championship is often already decided. This means the top drivers can take it easier, or in this case, stay home to see what the rest of the racing world is doing. This gives many drivers a good chance to provide some good racing - like they always do, but this time in the spotlights. In only his first season of FMBL, Howard Gregory took finished the race in a formidable second place to take his first podium. Alex McCarthy took a solid 3rd to make it an all-British rostrum.

Just behind him came Nishi Perera in the only Lotus that was shipped to Australia, followed by another fine performance from Samuli Strang. Local hero Jeremy Washington took the 3 points that come with 6th, while Samuli Ikäheimo took his first (and last!) points of the season in 7th. Tom Tziotzios, recently voted Top FMBL 3 Backmarker, took his Ferrari home in 8th place.

So that's it - another long season of hard racing is over. Edu Parise took another deserved title in his last season, while HERTZ Racing took the Teams' championship. Lotus not surprisingly won the Constructors title. Canada was the fastest country this year. A last-minute British charge was too little, too late so they had to settle for 2nd.

Many thanks for everyone who raced, followed or participated in any other possible way and see you in FMBL 4 - but don't forget the two off-season leagues that are organised. The FMBL F2 League starts tomorrow with a race at the challenging Dijon-Prenois track, while the FMBL Endurance Challenge (using the new 1965 mod!) will start in 2 more weeks at Daytona. Be there!


13-04-2004 - Team of FMBL drivers takes 5th place in Oulton Park 1250 km race

Team FMB International, formed by 6 of FMBL's finest drivers, managed an excellent 5th place finish in the first round of the European Endurance League. The race was held over 1250 km, or 282 laps, of the long layout of the British Oulton Park circuit. At the end of the gruelling 7 hour race the FMB team, of Fransson, Perera, Beaudoin and Thomassen, as Parise and Perron were unable to make their way to the track, was 20 laps behind the winners of the race, Team Notepad. During several stints the team faced connection problems, causing it to fall back.

Team Captain John Fransson qualified the car for the race, putting it on a fine 9th position on a 13 car grid. That's exactly where he kept the car during his stint, but at the end of what should have been his first of two stints the problems began. Nishi Perera was up to do the second stint but had trouble rejoining the race, causing the team to lose several laps in the pits.

Perera: "I had a bit of trouble starting the car for the 2nd stint, then my teammate Jo kicked it and it fired right up, unfortunately it lost us quite a bit of time. Once out onto the track I took it cautiously for the first couple laps. I was right in the a gaggle of battling cars, so I didn't want to get in the way. Then I had some clear track I began to push a bit harder, but still keeping a margin of safety. the stint got better and better. Especially with new tires after the pit stop, I was even catching and passing a few cars. I only had one incident where I was trying to let a faster car lap me, but he just drove into the back of me, and pushed into the gravel trap of the last turn. Fortunately, I was able to drive out and didn't loose too much time. I then handed the car over to Didier after 1h30m."

Didier Beaudoin now took over the car for the third stint. Beaudoin: "Even if it was an endurance race, my stint seemed too short! I must say the car was absolutely perfect throughout, mostly because of the fantastic work of the mechanics, that I want to thank! Great job guys! While I'm in the thanking mode, I'd also like to thank our sponsor who backed us magnificently and made this race possible, namely Farzad's Message Board.

When Nishi came at the end of his first stint, the driver change was pretty fast. I got in the car and started lapping really consistently and pushing more and more as I was really at ease in the car. I started overtaking cars and I completely lost track of the standings, I was only lapping as fast yet consistently as I could until my tank was amost completely dry. I came in for new fuel and some fresh tires but I had some troubles in the pits as the gear indicator and the speedometer weren't working, so I had to guess what speed I was going. Fortunately, We didn't get a speeding penalty, but I suspect I lost many seconds because I was driving too slow.

When I came out, I was surprised by the car handling onfull load and cold tires and spun twice at the hairpin. Fortunately again, I was able to avoid an other car that had spun and went back to the track unharmed twice. Then went back into the mood I had at the start of my stint and stayed there until the end. I even made temporary team's fastest lap. I then had an incident at the very end when a slower car spun right in front of me. I couldn't avoid it, but there was o damage.

I'm really happy brecause no other car lapped me during all my stint and I overtook quite a lot of them, which is very positive."

Now the "connection" problems got worse, as Fransson failed to reconnect his hands to the steering wheel for the fourth stint. However, in a hurry to get back to the circuit, Fransson unsettled a policeman's hairdo by flashing past it at 124 mph in his Volvo, and was subsequently thrown in jail. Fortunately he used his one phonecall to call Nishi and ask him to stand in for him.

Perera: "I was watcing the race from the pits, thinking that my hard work was done for the day, when I got the call to suit up agian. Apparantly Jo had been pulled over by the local police and thrown in jail! So I was called in to do another stint, as I was the only one available at that moment. But I had forgotten to take my noise cancellation earplugs off before putting my helmet on. So I couldn't hear a damn thing! I did the best I could for that stint, trying to use my eyes as feelers for how the car was reacting. Fortunately it was only a 45m stint and Marcel was ready to take over."

Thomassen was now up to take the car to the finish, and to drive the 2 remaining hours of the race. At the end of his stint, Perera still had the car in last place but he managed to get it well within reach of WR Racing. Now it was up to Thomassen to finish the job.

Thomassen: "When I got in for the last stint, we were about 7th or 8th, I'm not sure. I had seen on the timing screens before getting into the car that we were closing considerably on WR Racing, so I figured that once they made their last driver change, I should be able to challenge them. With this being my first race in the car, I really had to get used to the car. I had to let a few cars by in the beginning, one even shoved me to the side a bit, but we survived. A little later I was able to push harder and gain on other cars, who must have felt our pressure as they spun off right in front of my nose.

Then a few more cars retired, so we were 6th when WR Racing did make that final change. That put me to within a lap behind them, and I was gaining on them quite rapidly at some 3 seconds per lap. Within 10 laps I had catched them, and a few laps later I was by into 5th place. However they got it back for a while when I had to stop for fuel and tires for the second time - but I was able to repass them before they had to stop themselves.

During the last pitstop I didn't need a full tank of fuel anymore to finish the race, so the car was a bit lighter on the last stint. With nobody left to race I kept myself alert by trying to drive good lines and fast laps - and helped by the lighter fuel load set Team FMB's fastest lap at 1:22.808s. It was really great to do the last stints! It lasted 2 hours but they went by very fast, so while I was craving for a brake I wouldn't have minded another stint! It was just fantastic to cross the line in 5th, rewarding all the hard work by my teammates. I'm hungry for more!"

The three remaining drivers now went to to have a party in the paddock as if they had won the race. Completely forgetting all the troubles they had, and that Fransson was in jail. Finishing 5th was what mattered. A little while after the race Fransson joined the party, after he worked his charmes on a policewoman and set himself free.

Fransson: "What an absolute rush it was to run as the first driver and teamleader today! I am so proud of my team and the job from everyone involved. If we keep on building on this, our car will pack a potent punch when we arrive at Le Mans in October! It's an honour working with such fine drivers."

Perera: "That was a great result for our first race. The team was put together very late and we barely got any testing in the car. So our goal was to try and finish the 1250km in one piece. We had a roller coaster race, with various troubles. But at the end of the day we managed to finsh and the 5th place is a bonus. All the driver's did a great job, so here's to them! Cheers!"

Beaudoin: "I really appreciated my first experience in Trans-Am and endurance racing. The car was fast and very fun to drive and the track was really interesting with ups and downs and some very challenging corners. Also, the final result is really pleasant, and I think team FMB will get many other good results throughout the season."

Thomassen: "This was awesome! I already was really enthusiastic about endurance racing but now the bug has really caught me! I'd just like to thank my teammates for all their great work, and ofcourse our broad base of hardcore fans, who were cheering us on throughout the race. See you at Road Atlanta!"

The race results can be found here.

Team FMB hopes to enter both cars, or maybe even a third one, at the next race at Road Atlanta on May 1st.


03-04-2004 - Edwards brings a British flair to the US GP as Parise takes FMBL WDC

"The Eagle is a bitch around here!" - Az Edwards
By Varun Kotharu

As the sun rose above the small town of Watkins Glen, there seemed to be a feeling of suspense and anticipation. Nearby, the roaring voices of fifteen FMBL F1 cars were shaking up the Watkins Glen track. The overnight parties of the American people in the bog left a lingering dark omen in the skies as the smoke from the burnt vehicles in the bog raised into the sky and swirled around clouding the sun light. But Eduardo Parise of Team Herring was not to be deterred by such excitement as he was to emerge as the driver of the year once more.

Fifteen races have gone by us in this seventeen round championship and the Championship still seemed possible to be up for grabs. Round sixteen was set in the USA at Watkins Glen. The small town is shaken up every year as the FMBL circus gives them a visit from time to time with the clowns being the drivers mostly. On this occasion, there was an added incentive for the people to be at their best since there would be a big party at the end if Parise were to take the championship away from defending champion Marcel Thomassen and take revenge for the Herring's that were eaten by the hungry HERTZ during the season.

Qualifying time came and the pits were starting to brim with activity to show that the weekend had begun. It was once again a battle of skill and speed as Az Edwards of Great Britain was to snatch pole position from Edu Parise with a mere 0.056 second difference while registering a smoldering time of 1:04:263s. It seems that the race was not without the hint of irony as Edwards had branded the Eagle as a "bitch" to drive at Glen. The irony was not to end there since Parise himself drives an Eagle. Defending champion Marcel Thomassen took third place on the grid with his Lotus while being slow by only 0.104 seconds behind Edwards. Nishi Perera took fourth place with the difference being just over half a second. Samuli Strang of Finland in his Ferrari once again surprised everyone by planting his Ferrari fifth on the grid while being just over a second slower than Edwards. He was followed by Alex McCarthy in his Ferrari as well. Howard Gregory and Jeremy Washington took seventh and eighth respectively in their Brabhams. Mauri Virtanen and Samuli Ikaheimo took ninth and tenth in their Ferrari's. They were closely followed by Nate Perron and John Potter in eleventh and twelfth positions in their Brabhams. So far, it looked like the constructor's wanted their cars to be side by side on the grid given the notorious T1 incidents at Glen and in FMBL. Tom Tziotzios and Matt Danson finally broke that chain when they qualified thirteenth and fourteenth with Tziotzios in his Ferrari and Danson in his Eagle. It was a great day for Tziotzios since he outpaced a much better ranked FMBL driver probably for the first time in his career. Craig Harris in his Ferrari took last spot on the grid just for showing up. Due to a screw up in the time frame of the world on this day, Didier Beaudoin who was the most likely candidate to beat Edu Parise arrived to the Grand Prix one hour late only to find that he got the message about the race being an hour earlier than usual a little late. Being the man that he is, he simply took the next flight home with a smile on his dejected face. Whether it was the smile or the dejected face that broke the heart of the spectators will forever remain a mystery. His loss was a loss to all Canadians as it ended the Canadian charge for the FMBL WDC.

The Esses of Watkins Glen provide a dangerous way to start a GP. However, the Esses also provide the best way to set oneself up for a pass during the lap. Therefore, a certain level of restraint and commitment is required from the drivers at Watkins Glen during the start. The younger drivers are the most prone to crashes while the elder drivers are more prone to being butted out due to the eager mentality of the younger drivers. Tensions ran high among the marshals of the track who were dreading a cleanup since drivers don't slow down while on their second lap which makes it a hazardous environment for a marshal to work in.

As the green flag came down, the drivers rocketed away leaving a stream of blue smoke from the tire's on the pit straight. While, Edwards, Parise and Perera zoomed away into the distance, the rest of the field had a very different story to be told.

Two drivers who never were able to make it to the start for problems that are still unclear were Samuli Ikaheimo and Craig Harris. Both Ferrari drivers were not to be seen for the race. While that may seem unusual, their disappearance might be linked to the bizarre problems that affected TV camera's as the only replay left was from the unreliable feed of Nishi Perera's own crew that was able to salvage a little of the race coverage. Problems caused them to focus on only a few drivers and the incident at the Esses is still undergoing extensive investigation.

Tom Tziotzios finished in the unlucky thirteenth position while having his car stamped with the number thirteen for the race. Being on the of the drivers who was caught in the incident at the Esses, Tziotzios had a hard time recovering from the accident and managed to complete only 2 laps before he parked his Ferrari and retired from the race. An uneventful race for the Greek if one does not count the Esses incident.

Twelfth position was taken by the Big Man aka Mauri Virtanen in his Ferrari. The Finn managed to finish about 5 laps before he had to park his Ferrari alongside Tziotzios' car for the same reasons. After being caught in the Esses, there was nothing much left to do but save the car and once the car gave up, he retired and watched the race dejectedly.

Aussie Matt Danson of Australia was able to finish six laps before his retirement from the race. Like Tziotzios and Virtanen, the damage suffered by the cars due to the Esses incident was too much and he took third spot in the retirement's podium. A man who is known to speak his mind, he babbled incoherently into the public radio channels which disrupted the concentration of some drivers. After being informed of their discomfort, Danson announced his retirement from FMBL but not before he called Jeremy Washington his best friend and told the world that "Jeremy is not a toss pot". We can only deduce that Danson and Washington were close friends who will not see each other on the tracks of GPL ever again.

The driver who took fourth spot in the retirement placements was Jeremy Washington. While it was not a real retirement, the unusual transportation of the car to some other place with the driver left to stare at their screen is officially called a retirement. But his race was a little more fascinating than that of the people who finished behind him. While the true culprit of the Esses incident may never be found, Washington admitted that he and Howard Gregory might have been responsible for the Esses incident. Since they qualified next to each other and since he saw himself drifting over into another Brabham, it is only right to surmise that he and Gregory were indeed the spark that ignited the volatile condition of a clean start in FMBL. But a quick recovery on his behalf saw him in fifth place at the end of lap one. After unable to keep up with Alex McCarthy and letting Marcel Thomassen through safely, he fought a bit with Samuli Strang who was successful as well in getting through past Washington. After that, Washington settled for seventh place and two points. But fate had its own mind and Washington was forced to retire and end in tenth place in the grid. Had it not been for the Esses incident, he might have been the "Driver of the Day".

Canadian driver Nate Perron had a roller coaster of a race. After getting caught in the Esses, he managed to get ahead of John Potter who was upside down. Being in eleventh position then, he kept going on with Potter behind him chasing him. But Perron lost his bearings when he planted his car into the lush green grass at the Loop and this allowed Potter to get ahead of Perron. But Perron was able to pull himself up behind Potter and the two pushed it to the max in their Brabhams until Potter spun at the last corner. This allowed Perron to pass him and get ahead of Potter. But Perron was unable to contain his excitement while in tenth position after the retirements of Virtanen and Danson at the Loop. He spun off and got lapped nearly by everyone and was in last position. However, Potter took advantage of the spin and propelled himself up the charts and away from the sight of Perron. Once Perron got lapped by Washington once again, he lost all joy and just drove to finish the race in ninth position due to the retirement of Washington. John Potter was the lucky man of the day. After taking advantage of Perron's spin he got himself enough of an advantage to stay ahead and with the retirement of Washington, he managed to get into eighth spot and get himself one point in the championship.

The ever elusive Howard Gregory who was never available after a race for his comments was hounded by reporters and cornered off in the paddock before he could make his escape undetectable. Forced to give his evaluation of the race, Gregory summarized his race into four small points and as a result adding to the world's stereotype of English men as stylish and diplomatic. Like many others, he was another member of the now famous Esses incident. After piloting his car to the ground, he managed to save his car unlike others. He kept his car on the asphalt and drove a calm and collected race while passing four other cars with their own accidents. He also managed to beat Danson in his Eagle before it expired. Gregory's engine had a small problem on lap 18 but the crew managed to change the engine in less than a second and he was on his way again. And instead of settling for one point after sitting behind Washington, he got more than he gambled after Washington's forced exit from the race. As a result, the teammates Gregory and Potter score a 1-2 in the 7-8 positions with their Brabhams.

Sixth place went to Finn Samuli Strang who was driving a Ferrari. After a small wrestling match with the Lotus of Marcel Thomassen at the Loop, Strang got ahead of Thomassen. But the final laugh rested with Thomassen who passed Strang a couple of laps later. After that, Strang passed Aussie Washington and managed to stay in 6th place till the end of the race. A quite uneventful race for him when compared with the races of the drivers from the lower order.

Fifth place was taken by Alex McCarthy in his Ferrari. In a way, the Ferrari's of Strang and McCarthy only swapped places with each other before they finished the race. A clean race for the Brit saw him get through the race unscathed and also allowed him to pick up some valuable points that saw him consolidate his sixth position a little more in the Championship Standings.

Marcel Thomassen who is the defending champion finally finished in fourth place in the race. After tangling with Strang at the Loop on lap one, he drove a magnificent race to overtake all the slower and much more inexperienced drivers. While the task may have been easy on paper, it is no easy task to keep the car on the track and pass others. It is a true legacy to his experience, skill and dedication.

Canadian Nishi Perera in his Lotus finished on the podium in third place. While he may have had it easy without being involved in the Esses incident, he certainly gave Eduardo Parise a run for his money after Parise's mistake during the race at the last corner. It seemed that Parise got a little too much over steer and he spun on the straight. Perera being right behind him used evasive tactics to run circles around Parise and move into second place. Parise's spin on the pit straight was a reminder of Surtees' spin on the pit straight in the 1967 US GP at Glen. After that incident, Parise drove a grueling race to pass Perera who was not going to give up second place so readily. Perera was seen locking the brakes and spewing the smoke into Parise's face while trying to get away from him. Parise was not to be deterred as his perseverance saw him brake a tad bit later than Perera into the Loop twice or thrice. But Perera was smart enough to get the inside line onto the straight which put Parise behind him. However, Parise was no fool and he showed this after a slight mistake by Perera at the Big Bend saw Parise get through him and take second place back. But the battle will be remembered by all who have seen it and cherished for a long time to come.

Brit Az Edwards drove an almost flawless race and was the Schumacher of the race instead of the "Driver of the Race". He lead from start to finish and only passed drivers when lapping them. The few mistakes he encountered were not enough for the other drivers to pass him since he was so far out ahead. And in the end he took the chequered flag of the US GP.

While Edwards may have won the race, it was Eduardo Parise who won the hearts. The Brazilian has had a tough season and he has emerged victorious as FMBL3 WDC. After taking the first FMBL WDC, he lost it last year to Marcel Thomassen. But he has taken his WDC crown once again. His victory will be long remembered since he has officially resigned from FMBL. Politics and young drivers were the cause for his retirement from FMBL. The day was marked with irony since Parise had furiously announced his retirement after the Belgian GP at Spa Francorchamps earlier this year. But he has seen it through the season and congrats to him on his second WDC.

And the US GP also marked the victory of the HERTZ Team for the Constructor's Championship. Teammates, Thomassen and Beaudoin did not party as expected due to Beaudoin's dejected outlook on the year at the US GP. But the bubbly will most probably flow at the Australian GP which is the last Grand Prix of the season.

With the US GP, we have seen three retirements. Team Herring will no longer exist with John Fransson and Edu Parise leaving FMBL. Another retirement from FMBL is Varun Kotharu of Xytech Racing. Without his team's second driver Gaarenstroom active, it's most likely the end of Xytech as well.

Both the WDC and Constructor's Championship have been decided. But more excitement lies in store for everyone since the battle for second place in the Driver's Championship is still on. That will give Beaudoin something to cheer about and the only way to know if he will ever show up is to rejoin us in two weeks time.

FMBL 3 Champion: Eduardo Parise, Herring Racing


02-04-2004 - Parise takes his second FMBL crown!

By finishing in 2nd place in the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Eduardo Parise deservedly clinched his second FMBL World Drivers' Title. With two races still remaining on the calendar all he needed to do was keep in front of the HERTZ drivers. He started from 2nd place on the grid to finish second, but not without one of the greatest battles in FMBL history with rising star Nishi Perera. Thomassen qualified right behind Parise in 3rd, but had a bad start followed by a first lap incident, which caused him to fall back. He eventually finished 4th behind Perera. Didier Beaudoin very unfortunately missed the event due to a bad misunderstanding over the start time, which meant he was unable to defend his chances. The race was won by Az Edwards in an Eagle, staying out of trouble way ahead of the most important battles of the race.

A report of the race will follow soon.


24-03-2004 - Parise works the Brazillian magic to win at Monza

"Eagles may soar but Brabhams don't get sucked into jet engines"
By Varun Kotharu

The Italian GP. Home to the team Ferrari and its beloved Tifosi. Round 15 of the FMBL was located in the exquisite surroundings of this Europe's most southern country. The track is a favourite of all drivers because of its simplicity, the ability to overtake and more importantly, because of the speeds. An easy track to learn, it is quite a relief for many drivers who had driven at the last race in Canada at St Jovite where keeping the car in the right direction is in itself tiring.

Round fifteen attracted fifteen drivers. A statistic overlooked by everyone who were lost in the excitement of the race. Qualifying was as usual a dogfight at the front of the pack. Eagles are known for their prowess at fast tracks and the defenders of this opinion were able to entrench themselves as Az Edwards raced to pole position with a 1:27:372s. However, people expecting an Eagle front row were disappointed as Didier Beaudoin drove a wedge between the Eagle's of Edwards and Parise by taking second position in his Lotus giving only 0.166 seconds away to pole sitter Edwards. Parise took third and was 0.398 seconds behind the leader. Following him was another Lotus with Marcel Thomassen who was 0.433 seconds behind Edwards. Nothing less or more was expected from the top four who are all vying for the championship this year. Nishi Perera sat on fifth position in his Lotus and was finally followed by the Scarlet cars of Mauri Virtanen and Alex McCarthy. Danson took eighth in the Eagle with Howard Gregory in his Brabham following close by. Samuli Strang in his Ferrari was 10th fastest and was followed by Perron, Kotharu, Washington, Potter and Tziotzios in his Ferrari. A popular among fans even though he planted the red car on last position.

All drivers tensely gripped their steering wheels in anticipation for the start. Fifteen very powerful cars were roaring to be let free like lions held in chains against their wishes. Infact, most drivers were known to wet in their pants because of the tension. But the diplomacy they have learnt in their career's also came with lessons in quick thinking and they all waved it away saying they were sweating. (Yeah Right!) Drag racing met Formula One racing at Monza as drivers with quicker reflexes were able to literally drag away. This resulted in Didier Beaudoin taking the lead, Nishi Perera beating Thomassen for 4th place and Kotharu in the back loose two places to the Brabhams of Washington and Potter. All drivers who lost positions were noticeably frustrated as they kept hitting the dashboard in utter frustration - except for Tziotzios who was extremely slow and not frustrated since he was at the back to begin with.

A fascinating phenomenon took place at T1. While FMB races are notorious for T1 incidents, all drivers were able to get through it safely except for Mauri Virtanen in his Ferrari who stuck a wheel on the grass but was able to continue without wrecking anybody else's race. However, a new phenomenon is taking its place to replace the old. Drivers are now messing up at corners which are supposedly easier since everyone's has settled in by now. However, Danson in his Eagle and Gregory in his Brabham made unusual contact which resulted in Danson spinning wildly and forcing Potter in his Brabham to avoid collision. Unusual indeed. Later on, Perera and McCarthy had another incident which was blamed on spatial distortions which ruined McCarthy's steering column and no blame was assigned to any driver.

An unsettling first lap indeed with racing coming from stalled cars, crashed cars and other non racing events. And while the field was swearing, spiting and making vows to kill each other in retribution, Beaudoin, Edwards and Parise were swinging around Parabolica and in their perfect unity around Parabolica, they emulated the music of racing. Mozzart would have been proud of them. And while the three aliens were running away, Perera and Thomassen were not far behind as they too were swinging into Parabolica. And while they might not have been in perfect sync, they performed the art of racing. da Vinci would have been proud of them in this case. And as the rest of the field was drowning in their troubles, they performed the unexplainable music of racing in the view of bands such as Slip Knot and Metallica. Just pure shouting and screaming for justice. We are not proud of these mortals even if they are supposed to be created in the image of god. (Then why can't they all drive like gods :S :S :S :S :S)

After Lap 1, all the anger and tension rolled away as drivers started to think about just driving home. Perron and Strang found each other on Lap 1 and they were found to entertain the crowd by racing each other. And with Strang in the Ferrari, there was no doubt that the car would be bolstered by the cheers of the crowd every time Strang was found to be strangling Perron into the corners to yield and stay back. However, Italy was not to favor the Finn as he spun off into Parabolica after a sensational battle. A little while after that, he found Kotharu who managed to keep him behind in his highly powered Eagle. After Strang passed him, it all dwindled down to skill as Strang blasted away only to find himself with a blown engine on lap 14. (Perhaps that engine could be used on Schumacher's car next race to spice up the F1 season). After that, it was a case of showing his anger as Strang ran away to his bicycle and started to pedal home to Finland vowing revenge on the power the Ferrari didn't have.

Till lap 5, the four championship contenders were close to each other pecking at each other's nerves to see who would crack first. While no one doubts their will to win, Thomassen began to show signs of nervousness in his car. The car became twitchy into Parabolica on many an occasion and Thomassen started to fall back without ever loosing his consistency. The Dutchman finished in fourth place and the suspicions were confirmed when he admitted to foolishly changing the brake bias during qualifying. It could very well have costed the defending champion the championship. With annoying and monkey like Thomassen off their backs, the three orchestra performers were able to continue on with their performance till lap 8 when Beaudoin had to get his priorities straight after he claimed to have seen a woman showing her chest to distract him. Whatever the incident was, it worked as Beaudoin lost all interest in his work and by lap 11, he even let Edwards through and he settled in 3rd place. (Further investigation revealed the "woman" was actually a man in disguise trying to show his muscle to the ladies in the crowd. So Beaudoin lost his lead for nothing. Well; amost nothing since it was something according to him :P)

While such drama was taking place at the front, Perera who challenged Thomassen in the beginning had a nightmarish kind of race. After spinning into Lesmo 1 under braking, Perera politely waited for the field to zoom by him. The onboard camera at this point makes any driver want to hit the gas and rudely step into the race. That showed the amount of self control Perera used to wait and then move on. After whizzing by the helplessly slow drivers, Perera once again said hello to the barriers at Lesmo 1 after cloberring wheels with McCarthy. At the same time, his car's gearbox also said hello to the nose of Kotharu's Eagle who clobbered into the barriers as well at this time. After that, Perera got down to business and passed Potter in his Brabham and finished in 6th place. A respectable drive since most backmarkers would have hung up their gloves by this time and moved on with their lives (or whats left of them atleast).

Nascar enthusiast Matt Danson once again joined the field in hope of getting a podium. He was to be dissapointed since he managed to bring the car in 10th position. Thats two places short of getting a point and 7 positions short of a podium. However, his race was not spent in complete boredom as he clashed wheels with Howard Gregory, Jeremy Washington and Az Edwards. While he gave a warning to Washington and didn't literally clash wheels, the chatting of these two on the public team radios caused quite a stir and the RAT's ratted them both out for misappropriate use of public chanells to fuel their tete a tete. But more damage to his image was done when another spatial anomaly in the space time continum caused his steering column to malfunction and lapping Edwards was unfortunate enough to collect him without spinning. But Edwards claimed to have been put at a disadvantage of this incident and while he hasn't complained to the RAT's, the incident has been noted in their logs as Edwards was a strong contender for the championship.

Howard Gregory was unavailable for his comment after the race despite the fact that he managed to finish in 5th place. No big event befell him and he drive an almost calm and clear race as he was never in threat of loosing that 5th place after gaining 4 places after the start during small mishaps. His team mate John Potter was however more cooperative and managed to inform the reporters that he was suffering from brain fade throughout the race which caused him to cream his car into Lesmo 1 and Parabolica on many an occasions and finish in 9th position. Reporters informed him that he might want to get checked up by a brain specialist and he just looked at them darkly with no apparent reason and flew away into the night sky with wings sprouting from his arms and laughing like a crazy man. (Beware this man people for he just might have gone insane from hanging around the normal FMB'ers.)

Team reports from Team Ferrari were sketchy to say the least. Their drivers Virtanen and McCarthy were the only ones capable to finish in point scoring positions in 6th and 7th place respectively. Tziotzios representing Italy finished in 11th place and Strang in his Ferrari retired early on in the race. Rumours and little evidence points to a "dissapointing race" for McCarthy according to him. The incident with Perera at Lesmo 1 seemed to have damaged his car more than he had anticipated and a few other mishaps made this race a difficult one for him. Virtanen in his Ferrari seemed to have the same problems as Thomassen did due to a faulty setup. However, the Big Finn as he is affectionately called was able to adjust to the new conditions and he ended his race in 6th place. Both the drivers voiced their beliefs that they might have done better had it not been for the minor accidents. Tziotzios who adopted Italy as his nationality was forgiven by the Tofosi for his love of them. And the fact that he didn't come in last place was more than an incentive for the Tifosi to raid his car for souvenirs at the end of the race.

Washington was the last running driver of the race. After a small laugh with his countryman Danson at Lesmo 2. However, that small chat got him into enough trouble to keep his mouth shut for Watkins Glen when many eyes will be trained on him. But a slight miscalculation on his part put him at the back of the grid and it has been reported that Nate Perron has cut his salary from 20 million dollars a year to 6 peanuts or so. Washington was seen to be running after his peanuts with tears streaming down his face because the 6 peanuts were blown away by the wind.

Retiree's Kotharu, Perron and Strang were thoroughly rebuked by many people for their inability to finish a race and all three drivers were seen to be escorted out of Monza by security guards for fear of being pelted by stones after not giving the crowd enough attention.

And that brings us to a looooooooong and tiring Italian GP. Join us for the US GP at Watkins Glen. The championship will most probably be decided here and that puts a lot of pressure on the US GP officials who will have to make sure none of the crowd will go beserk and trash the track for the GP. Join us if u are not yet tired or leave us if u are.


06-03-2004 - Meticulous Parise Drives To Victory In Canada

"Mountains & Ditches" (Mt Tremblant in a nutshell)
By Varun Kotharu

Round 14 of the FMBL Championship drew 13 competitors to the St Jovite aka Mt Tremblant for the GP du Quebec. The ever changing track elevations in the track certainly differentiates the men from the boys more than any other track with the exception of the Nurburgring. It was no different today as only 10 drivers of the 13 who arrived for the race were able to take up the challenge and defy the track's outright prejudice towards the drivers. One of the main attractions besides the championship contenders was Nishi Perera. This young driver from London, Ontario took a podium in his debut race last year at this very track. The crowd certainly hoped for another podium for him here and he was not to dissapoint them. Another home favourite was Didier Beaudoin who is also a strong contender for the title this year.

Two of the most experienced drivers in FMBL are the Brazillian, Eduardo Parise and the Dutchman, Marcel Thomassen who are in the neck to neck battle for the championship. Qualifying may not be very exciting for the viewers, but these two drivers were absolutely terrific in the fight for pole position. Parise was able to edge out Thomassen by a mere 0.162 seconds. But that was enough to give him an advantage for the race on this track where passing is almost impossible. McCarthy took third place on the grid followed closely by Beaudoin and Perera. Sixth place was taken by Howard Gregory who was then followed by Jukka Mattanen, Samuli Strang, Nate Perron and finally Varun Kotharu who formed the end of the grid. The crowd wasn't very happy with the performance from their home drivers but their charm and good looks were enough to make all the women scream out loud and that bolstered the morale of Perera and Beaudoin who would entertain the crowd by taming the untamable track.

When the flag dropped, the bullshit certainly stopped. 10 cars with the engines screaming for mercy rolled away into the first corner. A spectacular view presented itself as the drivers literally dived down into the track. Dirt and grass spewed onto the track as some of the drivers stuck a few wheels on either side of the track to gain control or rather because they lost control. In either case, one of the first drivers to loose himself was Nate Perron of Canada in his Brabham. An embaressing moment for him considering this is his first race in his career in FMBL in front of his home crowd. And before he waltzed across the track out of control, Varun Kotharu in his Eagle somehow managed to keep the car under control as Perron went across him down the hill. Terrifying seconds for both drivers as the incident between Sato and Heidfeld at Austria flared up in everyone's memory. Both drivers were calm about it and continued on. Meanwhile at T3, Beaudoin of Canada lost it too and hit Strang in his Ferrari. This allowed Kotharu and Perron to pass them both and move ahead while Kotharu had to slide his car a bit to avoid the collision there. But Strang would later take him out in an "optimistic move" as penned by the RAT's. As a result, he has managed to come under the scrutiny of the RAT's who will rat on him even for the slightest misconduct.

Ahead of the pack, Eduardo Parise and Marcel Thomassen were flying away as if on wings and these two drivers clearly stood out from the rest of the field. Many people felt a reminiscing of the famous battle at Dijon between Gilles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux was required in order to properly showcase the intense skills of these two drivers. While there was not much banging of wheels, their courage at T1 was enough to satisfy the crowd and change the mind of the harshest critic. Since there was not much racing between them, it was an excellent case of modern racing meeting the old. And that does not change the quality of racing between them by even one bit.

One of the favourites of the home crowd was Nishi Perera. He maintained his position in third place throughout the race and while he was not racing anyone, he apparently enjoyed the attention of the home crowd and more importantly of the women for getting on the podium in third place and waving the Maple Leaf for all to see. While he may have been on the podium, another fighter was Didier Beaudoin who politely let Strang go after he took him off on Lap 1 and simply raced back to 4th place on the grid from the back. This accomplishment shows tremendous courage and skill of the driver since St Jovite is not very polite to drivers who want to overtake.

Alex McCarthy of Great Britain in his Ferrari was fantastic in qualifying. Placing himself 3rd on the grid, he looked set to place a Ferrari on the podium. However a slight mistake on his part put him down to 5th place. Another spin let through Beaudoin who was charging from the back. With a few laps to go, he blew his engine and a quick reset of the car corrected his problems and he was on his way when fate intervened in the form of a racing incident with his countrman Howard Gregory. McCarthy was quite furious at this incident and while he reported Gregory to the RAT's, the RAT's have turned down his plea and set him in his place which was 6th in the end while Gregory finished in 5th.

Finn Maattaanen in his Lotus managed to finish in 7th place while his countryman Strang in the Ferrari finished in 8th place. A relatively boring race was Jovite for the Finns despite Strang's problem with the RAT's. One can only hope they will race at Monza and bring out more interesting results.

Canadians Perron and Kotharu topped off the bottom of the sheets. But that was enough for admiration and respect from all of Canada and the ladies as each driver was seen driving away with a car full of ladies to their homes. (:P)

And that ends the Canadian GP and now all eyes turn towards Italy as Monza is next on the schedule. Answers to Questions about the Title will be given here as the race for the Championship is more intense and closer than it will ever get. Do join us after the next race or the Questions will remain Questions.

(Note: A lot of reference is made to Canadian drivers and women with them. Dont feel jealous. We were just living the moment :P)


15-02-2003 - Thomassen Emerges Victor at Keimola
By Varun Kotharu

"There are those who think that they were dealt a losing hand,
The cards were stacked against them; they weren't born in Lotusland."

The small elegy by John Fransson of Team Herring proved to be almost a foreshadowing to the outcome of the Finnish Grand Prix at Keimola. Round 13 of the FMBL Championship was set in the land of the thousand lakes. While Keimola had been shutdown in 1978, the FMBL drivers felt it would be nostalgic and an honour to the Finnish drivers in FMBL. With the battle for the championship fully heated up, it was ironic that the race should be held in a cold country. (No offense Finns)

All drivers felt it was quite a dull track to race at. But race day certainly proved their assumptions to be quite wrong. Testing was interesting and intimidating as usual. Eduardo Parise released fake times of his fantasy laps in a BRM. But the FMBLIA was too quick for him and he denied his times. (Don't we all wish we had an edit button in life?)

Qualifying was nail biting. Among the Finnish drivers, Samuli Strang managed to get 7th spot on the grid while Mauri Virtanen and Samuli Ikäheimo were fighting to win the crowd's heart and while Virtanen managed to get 10th place, the crowd applauded both of their heroes as they managed to lap equal times of 1m17.939s. It couldn't have been better entertainment for the Finnish fans even with a victory for the Finnish drivers. However, the Dutch driver Marcel Thomassen in his Lotus was able to get pole position with a blistering time of 1m15.892s. He was closely followed by Didier Beaudoin of Canada also in a Lotus who was followed by Eduardo Parise in an Eagle. These drivers managed to be seperated by only 0.06 seconds and the crowd showed their appreciation by politely giving them a standing ovation.

Sixteen drivers managed to make the start. Such a large turnout towards the end of the season shows that the FMBL has been a success - which Farzad Bakhtiar should be proud of. While Farz may be proud, his fellow countryman Nishi Perera seems to be in a sea of troubles. His tangle with the Nascar fan and F1 driver Matt Danson at T1 caused quite a problem on this narrow track. Perera literally rammed Danson and started a chain reaction as most of the drivers at the back were caught in this incident and were thrown across to either side of the track. The crowd immediately went up on its feet and were ready to stop the race since a couple of Finnish drivers were involved in this incident. But Virtanen managed to calm them down by waving to them and Strang and Ikäheimo followed him and the race went on again. Meanwhile, the leaders Beaudoin, Parise and Thomassen were close to each other and took this opportunity to stream away. First retirement of the race came from Kotharu who was pathetic during qualifying and it should have been a relief to the frontrunners.

But Beaudoin soon developed problems due to his setup and he started to fall back. The problems were so troubling, he took second place in the retirement department and was found to be crying like a baby in his trailer because of his stupidity. Meanwhile, Parise and Thomassen were playing the bitchfight game by clawing at each other like little cubs and giving the crowd something to "ooooh" and "aaahhhh" about.

Virtanen was on quite a charge by this time and he was quickly moving through the field nearly getting a position every two laps or so. A graph of the race history showed a remarkable consistency by him. On the other hand, Jo Fransson of Sweden seemed to make a few mistakes which dropped him down a bit. But his driving seemed to get better and he managed to redeem himself and finally finished in 8th place.

Meanwhile, a whole bunch of positivers were passing and repassing each other on track and off the track. But only John Potter was able to keep his head high and finish what he started and he managed a meagre result of 11th place while his teammate Howard Gregory was able to finish in 6th place. These two make a good team and we hope they can continue to race with us in the future. Canadian Nishi Perera in his Lotus had a horrible race and he stayed on to finish the race in 10th place. When it comes down right to it, the Canadian involvement in this race was saddening and the TV stations in Canada reported a marginal drop in ratings when it came to the race.

The amazing driver of the race was Matt Danson. He kept the "Eagle flag high" according to him and we have to agree with him. A relatively inexperienced driver; he managed quite an astonishing result. A few congratulations went in his direction and everyone hopes that he will quit Nascar to become a full time GPL driver.

British driver Alex McCarthy in his Ferrari finished in 7th place and he was neither happy, nor sad at this result given his excursion at T1 on lap one. He certainly played his part well and kept the British pride up even with the retirement of Tom Ansell in his Honda early on in the race.

The Finnish drivers had a great outing and even if Ikäheimo couldn't finish in the points by placing in 9th place, the crowd went nuts about the huge battle between Strang and Virtanen for about 9 laps towards the end. Virtanen with his experience was able to pull ahead and finish in a well-deserved 4th place giving Strang 5th place. The crowd certainly had a great day with their heroes banging wheels in qualifying and in the race.

The fight at the front between Thomassen and Parise was breathtaking to say the least. These two drivers harrassed each other for the extent of the whole race and in the end Thomassen managed to pull ahead of Parise and finished just 0.80 seconds ahead of Parise. No amount of words can express the tension and competition these two drivers brought about during the race. We salute you.

And that wraps up the Finnish Grand Prix of FMBL 3.0. Join us next year and certainly join us for the next race at Mont Tremblant in Canada since the fight for the championship is certainly still on!

The latest championship standings can now be found at GPLRank.


14-02-2004 - The title fight is on

Going into the 13th race of the season at Keimola, the fight for the FMBL3 crown has become closer and closer. And we've even come to the point where the championship leader has to start dropping his worst results of the season. He is the only one to have contested every race so far - and finished every one of them in the points. Parise in 2nd place has already missed 5 races, so he won't have to drop any results. Thomassen will have to drop 2, Edwards one.

It's going to be Lotus vs Eagle, and the last part of the season seems to favour Lotus over Eagle. The graph on the left pictures the fight for the title so far (click for a larger version). Beaudoin keeps going all the time, although he will be held back by dropping results from here on. Parise seems to have come to a stop now but with his speed he only has to finish to win a race - and as said he won't have to drop results. Thomassen is on a charge lately, taking over 3rd place from Edwards after the last race at the Nürburgring. Edwards is going up and down a bit, and he will have to race every race to keep in contention.

The next track is real Lotus territory, then there's a real drivers track, and then Monza, where Eagle should have the upper hand. It's going to be a couple of exciting races at the front, as this is where it matters. Will Beaudoin hold on to his lead, or can Parise work his magic once more? Or will it be Thomassen who takes his 2nd consecutive FMBL title? And Edwards is still looking very strong as well, now with the 2nd best GPLRank in the championship.


02-02-2004 - Thomassen takes victory at the Ring

Marcel Thomassen has won yesterday's German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring for the second year running. Having set pole with a time of 8:03 he led the best part of the race to take the win and, as at Clermont-Ferrand, set fastest lap as well. This win, with Beaudoin and Edwards finishing further down the field and Parise retiring on lap 1, brings him up to 3rd place in the championship standings, within reach of Parise and still a chance to defend his title.

Samuli Strang took a very impressive 2nd place in his Ferrari, driving an incredibly constant race, lapping with an average deviation of 0.988 seconds! In the end, only Thomassen and Edwards were able to lap quicker than him. Getting stronger by the race, he could be one of the strongest drivers in FMBL4.

McCarthy took 3rd place, also for Ferrari, nearly a minute down on Thomassen. This ensures him of 7th place in the standings, under little threat from anyone else - if it weren't for that same Samuli Strang. Both are still within reach of 5th place.

Championship leader Beaudoin had another disappointing outing, finishing 4th. He still enjoys a 17 point lead to Parise but having scored at every race this year he'll have to start dropping results from the next race. Having missed 5 races, Parise won't have to drop results, so Beaudoin isn't there yet! Thomassen, now 21 points behind, still has to drop 2 results but has the "advantage" that he can drop a 7th and 8th place...

Howard Gregory started from an impressive 3rd grid position to take his first points in only his second race, finishing just behind Beaudoin in 5th. Congratulations! Perera fought to hold on to 6th place, just in front of Edwards in 7th. Jeremy Washington took the last point of the day.

The Nürburgring saw another debut, namely that of Joe Cammarano in an Eagle of the Bald Eagle Racing team. Qualifying for 14th place on the grid, he had to retire on the 2nd lap. Better luck next time!

The next race will be at Keimola in Finland, a very twisty track where the Lotus is a powerful tool. Can Beaudoin reassure his lead or will Parise forget he's driving an Eagle and make another one of his amazing performances anyway?

The Teams & Drivers page has been updated with the new teams and, finally, everyone's GPLRanks. Quite a few big improvements since the last update, and even a few new negatives! Keep it up!

See you at Keimola!


25-01-2004 - Edwards wins at home, too!

Az Edwards has won last Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the first race in the new year. Spurred on by all the crowd, he ruled supreme with his Eagle to win by a margin of 4 seconds to Thomassen, after some problems late in the race threatened his victory. Starting from pole, he led all the way to the finish to score a popular victory, which further strengthened his 3rd position in the championship standings and brought him closer to the lead as Beaudoin ended a misfortunate race in 5th.

Australia's Darius Koreis finished 3rd, half a minute behind Edwards and with Perera breathing down his neck in 4th. Strang put in another fine performance to take the 3 points that go with 6th place while the reformed Repco-Slipstream team finished 7th and 8th with Perron and Washington just 3 seconds apart.

Silverstone also saw the debut of L'Equipe Django, which runs all-new Brabham cars for Howard Gregory and John Potter. Gregory finished his first race in a fine 9th after some problems caused him to fall back, while Potter claimed 11th in front of Tziotzios. A very respectable debut for a team from which we'll hear more in the future, no doubt.

The FMBL circus now moves to the German Eifel region and the Nürburgring for the 12th round of the championship. So far only 2 of the current drivers have managed a lap under 8 minutes at the track - both are champions of the series. This is where the boys will be seperated from the men - will we see the FMBL3 champion rise here?


28-12-2003 - Thomassen rules at Clermont-Ferrand

News has reached us today that last Sunday's French Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand has been won by HERTZ driver Marcel Thomassen in a dominant display. Taking pole with a blistering time of 3m24.738s he was over 2 seconds faster than anyone else - he was obviously on a mission to make up for his loss at Le Mans.

In the race, Thomassen got a good getaway to keep Parise behind. Parise then went for a thourough guardrail inspection in turn 2, which promoted Beaudoin to second place. He was able to close on his teammate but spun out later on the first lap, and he had to let a lot of cars pass him by. It was now Koreis who was running 2nd for PITA Racing. However, now that Thomassen was relieved of his teammate's pressure he was able to pull away, never giving Koreis a chance to catch up. In fact, a few laps later Beaudoin was back in second, but he made a mistake, allowing Koreis to slip back into 2nd. Beaudoin now dropped to 4th behind Parise, but soon passed him for 3rd just before Parise's race came to a premature end. So Beaudoin found himself again catching Koreis, but having caught him in the last laps he couldn't find a way past on the twisty roads that make such a fabulous racetrack.

Behind all this action, Perera, Strang and McCarthy all drove steady but lonely races for 4th, 5th and 6th places. They were far off Thomassen's pace, but today nobody could keep up with him. An enthusiast for the longer tracks like the Nürburgring and Le Mans, this one was for him - he eventually crossed the finishing line 42 seconds in front of Koreis ending a perfect meeting with pole, fastest lap and a win.

Parise, although retired, still took 2 points for 7th while Perron took the last point. Ikaheimo, who fell victim of Thomassen's off just a week earlier, had to retire after just 3 laps, eventually classified 9th.

The next race will be the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the first FMBL championship meeting of the new year. Being one of the oldest venues on the calender, all drivers know it well and times are close, and with 3 weeks still to go until the race those will only get closer as the teams will be testing intensively.

After that it's time for the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, the most challenging track on the calendar. In preparation, Thomassen competed in a 500 km race there yesterday, finishing 4th after 3 hours of racing when the race was cut short to 478 km. After some considerable warming up trouble in the early laps, he worked his way up from 15th.


16-12-2003 - FMBL Endurance Race

Sunday, december 14th, 2003, 14:00 CET. Time to start the long awaited FMBL endurance race at Le Mans. 12 drivers have lined up for the start, eager to make a big leap in the standings with the chance of scoring double points today. The rolling start will be at the end of a formation lap, so the drivers leave the grid to warm up their cars and tires. At the end of the famous Mulsanne straight, polesitter Eduardo Parise stops. Having reached far out of his cockpit to feel if his tires are warming up nicely, he missed the turn and had to back up. Meanwhile the rest of the drivers got stuck in the traffic jam. After a neatly executed metre of reverse driving, the field could continue, so that Parise could again stop, now to check his temperatures properly. This allowed Thomassen to ram him from the back as he didn't have any intentions yet to check his temperatures. That would have been something to do at Indianapolis, he thought. The little Zebu nudge was enough to put a Herring upside down though, and it was time to restart the race, especially as further down the grid some people couldn't even see where the others were going, let alone themselves.

A restart it was, and the field was back at the end of Mulsanne when Thomassen spotted an untrimmed hedge on 2 'o clock and couldn't resist sacrificing his race to help the Le Mans' greenkeeper. Afterall, when the FMBL series runs a race at a track it is very important that the track looks the part. Once the field reached Maison Blanche, the hedge was in order and Thomassen went chasing the pack.

At the start, Parise got away well from his 30th career pole and took advantage of his Eagle's high top speed to open up a gap to Perera and McCarthy. Thomassen soon caught Tziotzios and Ikaheimo, who kindly let him by, when he spotted a high patch of grass coming out of Maison Blanche. Without any effort at all, and again putting his race on the line, he put a wheel on the grass and flicked the car into a spin, mowing the grass within the blink of an eye. About to rejoin the track he spotted more trouble on the other side, so off he went in a graceful pirouette to save the greenkeeper's job once more. His job now well and truly done, it was time to come to a standstill on the middle of the track. Ikaheimo had been catching Thomassen again during the mowing action, and he simply was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and struck the Lotus. Or was it Thomassen who was in the wrong place? Opinions in the paddock varied. The only consolement they have now is that the greenkeeper can still feed his children. Ikaheimo's Ferrari lost two wheels in the crash, so he was out. Thomassen's car also lost two wheels, and blew the engine, so he could go on albeit on a slightly slower pace.

A few laps later, Nate Perron in the sole Brabham had to retire his car with an engine problem. His faithful Repco V8 had never failed him before but as luck has it, it did in this all important race. Meanwhile, Parise was still comfortably leading, but Perera had retired. A little mistake had cost him and he was out of the race. After a short battle with Tziotzios, Thomassen retired from 8th place because his car was lacking power and speed on the straights. The Ferrari's fuel tank had gotten stuck against his brake pedal, and the fumes coming from it were making him sick, or so was said the press statement.

There was now a great battle going on for second place between Beaudoin and Edwards. After a little mistake from the Canadian Zebu driver, Edwards took over second place but Beaudoin catched him back up again, thanked him for keeping his seat warm and took over again and held on to finish 2nd, with Edwards behind him in 3rd.

The last retirement came with Strang, whose Firestone suspension proved not to be able to cope with the extreme loads, as did his Ferrari's suspension. He couldn't go on and dropped to 7th place, still earning him 2 points for the championship. Tziotzios took advantage to take 6th place and 6 points with a steady race.

Koreis had run 4th for a while until he was overtaken by Beaudoin and Edwards, and finished the race in 5th after Perera retired. McCarthy underwent the same fate one place higher to take 4th. The Beaudoin-Edwards battle was won by Beaudoin in the end, beating Edwards by 25 seconds at the line by taking full advantage of Edwards' language disadvantage. But Parise was the class of the field. Never threatened by anyone, he was able to slow down on the last laps to let Beaudoin finish only just within a minute.

Those who finished this race made great leaps in the points standings, which are now dominated by Beaudoin and Parise 4 points apart, with Edwards no less than 20 points down from 2nd place Perera and Thomassen follow at 14 points behind Edwards. The teams championship however is still lead by HERTZ, with a margin of 34 points.

That's not the end of it though! There are still 8 rounds to come, including Clermont-Ferrand and the Nürburgring, so nothing is decided just yet.


07-12-2003 - Endurance Race: Qualifying Results

Herring Racing's Eduardo Parise continued his Anderstorp form to set pole for next Sunday's Endurance Race at Le Mans, with a blistering time of 3m16.274s. Just 6 tenths behind him is HERTZ driver Marcel Thomassen, going faster than anyone would have expected to be the fastest Lotus at a track where Eagle is the way to go. Third fastest was Balderdashes Nishi Perera, lapping half a second quicker than championship leader Didier Beaudoin. The fastest Ferrari on track was Alex McCarthy with 5th place, followed by Nate Perron with an impressive time in the Brabham, which doesn't suit this track at all. Darius Koreis took 7th, closely followed by Samuli Strang and Samuli Ikaheimo. Niklas Rudi and Craig Harris were also present but both failed to set a time.

This means 11 people are qualified for the race so far, and 9 places are still available. Those who join now will have to submit a recent replay of them doing at least 3 consecutive, quick and trouble-free laps in order to be allowed to race. That goes for those who failed to set a lap today as well except they can't be bumped off the grid in case the 20 driver limit is reached. You can sign up for the race by posting in the Le Mans thread and sending your replay to Marcel before saturday the 13th.

Qualifying results are online on the endurance race page - names will be added to the list as people sign up, their entry will be confirmed when the replay is in. (Professional, eh? :D)


06-12-2003 - Endurance Race: Qualifying

With qualifying coming up tomorrow (um, today) at F1 time, I've created a little page for the endurance race, with all the dates and times we need, the extra rules for the race, and some tips for dummies which nobody probably needs anyway. I'll post the qualifying results there as soon as I can, and add people to the starting grid if they join in after qualifying. There may be some typos in there but all the information on that page will be official (damn doesn't that sound professional?? :D). Click the endurance race logo to go to the page!

See you at Le Mans tomorrow!


03-12-2003 - Parise dominates at Anderstorp

Last Sunday's Swödish Grand Prix at Anderstorp has been won by Herring's Edu Parise, making him the fourth double winner of this season. Parise led from start to finish to take a deserved win. In qualifying practice, Parise took pole with a time of 1:35.41, just 0.2 seconds ahead of HERTZ driver Thomassen. Championship leader Beaudoin was half a second off Parise's pace in third.

At the start of the race, Beaudoin got away well and slipped into 2nd place in the first corner, only to explore the Swõdish grassfields a few corners on, allowing his teammate to take back 2nd place. Eager to make up for his terrible time at Francorchamps, Thomassen was pushing hard to catch Parise and keep Koreis behind. But on the 2nd lap the inevitable happened as he misjudged his braking at the end of the runway and spun. On further investigation to the car by the team afterwards, it was found that the cause of the spin would fade away during the day but furtherly remains unexplained. The spin caused him to fall back to 6th place. Meanwhile, Parise just went on like he was still at the party of the night before, like in a trance.

John Fransson, who was driving his home race, was now third in front of Beaudoin and the crowd loved it. Beaudoin was now catching him though, and the crowd hated it. He made a move at the third corner and the crowd hated it even more. Fransson, having just seen Beaudoin sail by on the inside, only just managed to hit the HERTZ Lotus to spin them both and allow Thomassen into 3rd place. The crowd now started to scream all kinds of compliments we didn't understand at Fransson, who soon stopped to scream back some more things we didn't understand. Meanwhile, Parise acted as if his nose was bleeding and went on leading the race.

Thomassen was now catching Koreis for 2nd rapidly but the cause of his earlier spin still hadn't faded away so he soon had to spin twice more. This prevented him from getting close enough to Koreis and 2 more valuable points. With Beaudoin right behind him in the race and 25 points ahead in the championship, this meant the gap would be closed by an encouraging.... one point. Meanwhile, Parise's Eagle was rocking him to sleep and, dreaming about everything except the race he tried to take off at the end of the runway but soon realised braking would probably would be better for the forest surrounding the track. So he went to fill his radiator with grass and returned on his leading way.

Beaudoin was now experiencing the same strange fading problem his teammate had earlier, allowing Aaron Edwards to overtake him for 4th. Now Thomassen got 2 points closer to his teammate in the championship, so he pushed a little harder (obviously) to try and take 2 more from Koreis, setting his fastest lap on the last lap. Koreis held on to his 8 points however, giving him another boost in the standings. Meanwhile, Parise woke up to notice the race was over and celebrate his win.

Aaron Edwards held on to 4th with Beaudoin right on his gearbox, while Nishi Perera took 6th. Both one lap down, Samuli Strang and Alex McCarthy took the last points of the race.

The action returns next weekend already with qualifying for the important endurance race at Le Mans. More on the endurance race, like rules, race times and qualifying results can be found here soon.


20-11-2003 - Second win for Beaudoin!

Round seven of the FMBL Championship saw the circus at Spa. The magnificent hilly mountains and the ever changing altitude of the track promised an eventful race. Seventeen drivers took to qualifying at this challenging track. While the leaders felt at home here, many rookies were just here for the experience. With seventeen drivers, it proved to be a very interesting qualifying with cars all over the track proving difficult for a driver to get a good lap. Nevertheless, Brazillian driver Eduardo Parise of Team Herring snatched pole from the British driver Az Edwards with a blistering 3m15.072s, well ahead of Edwards who slotted in 00.856 seconds behind. Didier Beaudoin of Canada took third place with a well driven 3m.16.505s, which proved to be 01.433 seconds short of Parise's time. Now, the stage was set and all the drivers were ready to play their parts.

Seventeen, very tense drivers were on the grid waiting for the green flag to drop. And when it did, the Ardennes Forest trembled with the echoes of seventeen cars roaring away into Eau Rouge at over 8000 RPM's each. A clean T1 was almost in sight until backmarkers Niklas Rudi and Craig Harris crashed their cars while entering the intimidating T1 of Spa Francorchamps. Luckily they were the only ones slowed down by the incident and no other driver was involved in a chain reaction and the race was on.

Parise followed by Edwards followed by Beaudoin was the order going into Les Combes and all drivers came through another intimidating corner unharmed. However, Parise was being challenged by a very aggressive Edwards and the two looked almost connected to each other going into Burnenville and the rest of the field was following them while respecting each other. However, the umbilical cord was disconnected when Edwards stuck his Eagle onto the grass on the exit out of Burnenville and in the process took out Pererra, Thomassen, Virtanen from the frontrunners and the upcoming Perron in his Brabham.

Rest of lap 1 consisted of the drivers involved in the pile up playing the chasing game making up for lost time. But the line up now consisted of Parise, Beaudoin (who escaped the accident), McCarthy, Koreis, Kotharu and Matannen from the top six. Lap two was pretty much a normal lap with the frontrunners overtaking the slower drivers except for Perrera who stuck 2 wheels on the grass from the exit of Masta which was quite unusual since he always seemed so cool under pressure.

Lap 3 took another twist with another big bang - this time at Burnenville. In his chase on Kotharu, Strang who passed Matannen after a slight mistake made a big miscalculation and ended up banging wheels with Matannen on the entry to Burnenville. Both drivers reset their cars and were on their way when charging Washington followed by Thomassen got caught up in the crash. This saga wasn't over by a long shot when Pererra and Ansell also joined the melee and it soon became another chaotic place on the track.

The man responsible for the crash on lap 1 got a big advantage from this crash on lap 3 since he passed all the cars that had built up a substantial lead over him. He soon was in the hunt for Strang and Washington who were the first ones to get out of the crash before he came through. Once he passed both these drivers, he started to cut into the 20 second lead Kotharu had built up from the crash.

Meanwhile at the front, all was quiet with Parise enjoying a pleasant race and who indulged himself by going into "the zone". Parise openly admitted this after the race. Beaudoin in his Lotus was no match for the much more experienced Brazillian in the Eagle and was becoming content with his second place. McCarthy was also enjoying the scenery in his third place and was not willing to push his car beyond the limit for fear of loosing his much awaited and deserved podium finish. Koreis, himself was prolly not willing to push his car either since he failed to catch McCarthy in his Ferrari. Kotharu in fifth place was however sweating buckets in his cockpit for fear of loosing his fifth place from Edwards on the warpath.

Lap 7 awarded Edwards with fifth place after he passed the Eagle with no effort and he continued on to chase Koreies but twas too late. The race was coming to an end and Parise was relishing victory but Ansell and his Honda were to play a major role in the finish of this incident filled Belgian Grand Prix.

On lap 8, Ansell lost it at the exit of Masta while closly followed by Parise who was to lap him. But the Honda driver mysteriously began to reverse his Honda onto the track once reset was impossible. A distraught Parise tried his evasive manouvers only to nick the Honda and spin wildly on the straight while managing to stay clear of the house. But the damage was done and the toll taken by the engine over the 8 laps and this accident was too much for the fragile piece of machinery which gave up at the entrance to Blanchimont. But the reset took too long as Beaudoin flashed by the Eagle with adrenaline pumping through his entire body only to hear the distraught Parise cry out "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo".

And when the chequered flag came down, Beaudoin took his second win of the season followed by an angered Parise who left for the airport as quickly as he got out of the car without waiting for the awards ceremony. McCarthy has something to cheer about after climbing the podium after awaiting for the moment a long time.

Immediately after the race, Team Herring announced in a press statement that the team was to retire from active racing there and then. H.E.R.T.Z. Racing Team, dominant leaders in the teams championship, are now considering changing their name to Starving Zebus, and trying to find out whether or not a Balderdash is good on their stomachs.

Thus ended the Spa adventure of FMBL 3.0 and now we move to Anderstop for the Swedish GP in two weeks. But before we do, the circus stops at Rouen for a non championship race. The fun never ends.


04-11-2003 - First FMBL win for Beaudoin

The setting for the 6th round of the championship was the mountainous region of Zeltweg for the Austrian Grand Prix. There were reports of incoming rain, but the track stayed dry in an area where changeable conditions are common. During qualifying twelve cars took to the track to fight for pole. The Lotus 49 was well suited to this track with long straights and medium speed corners. Canadian, Didier Beaudoin, took pole with an impressive 1m44.381s followed by two more Lotus’ of Koreis and Perera. Only nine cars were able to make the grid because of technical difficulties and Thomassen having to rush off after forgetting about a denstist appointment.

On the start, Perera got a swift get away, passing Koreis for second and following Beaudoin into the fast Hella Kurve. Further behind there was contact between Moulin and Rudi into turn two. After putting two wheels off the edge of the track, Beaudoin spun towards the end of the first lap. Perera took over the lead with Kories in close pursuit.

Beaudoin now pushed hard, and set a blistering pace trying to recover. He easily passed McCarthy in the Ferrari and caught Kories within a few laps. Kories had a moment at turn one, not hitting anything, but letting Beaudoin through. Beaudoin soon caught leader Perera, and the next few laps became a monumental battle between the two. Observers report that the two went side by side many times. Eventually Beaudoin took over the lead, with Perera spinning in his wake. Further in the field Moulin was having a rollercoaster race and could only recover to 8th after battling with Tziotzios and Rudi. Kotharu had a solid 5th place denied when his engine blew on the last lap. The race ended with Beaudoin taking the checkered flag, his first of the season, with Kories and Perera in tow.


20-10-2003 - Another home win!

Yesterday's Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort has been won by HERTZ driver Marcel Thomassen, as for the second time in a row a GP was won by the home favourite. HERTZ had the Herring opposition, who took turns in setting off mines to get to the circuit wearing nothing but a bit of sand, completely boxed in as teammate Didier Beaudoin finished fourth. "It might seem like they just got 2nd and 3rd, but the truth is we've got them right where we want them. We are now first and joint second in the drivers championship, and leading the teams."

The start of the race was an FMBL first as nobody managed to crash himself or another in Tarzan. Half the spectators immediately left the circuit in disgust to go and watch the minefield on the beach being dismantled. In an effort to keep the remaining spectators at the track, Eduardo Parise soon spun at Tarzan, letting Thomassen into 2nd place. Now, Beaudoin was running away with it quickly, so most spectators set about building sand castles in the dunes. Realising it was of no use in the dry sand they returned their attention to the race. Now Beaudion was already coming up to some backmarkers, and lost the lead when he collided with one. The spectators soon found out trying to throw dry sand at the backmarker was of little use as well as they tried to get it out of their eyes again.

So now Thomassen had a surprisingly firm lead. Parise and Beaudoin were catching him by leaps at a time but they were too far away. The specatators soon found out throwing dry sand at fast drivers to slow them down doesn't work either. Now it was Thomassen's turn to have a moment with a backmarker, but fortunately his car was undamaged and he could continue still leading. The spectators soon found out throwing dry sand at backmarkers still didn't work.

Thomassen's lead was still confortable however, and he could continue at the same pace - at which Beaudoin and Parise were catching him a second per lap at times. Everything looked to be in the bag for him when, going through Bos uit to start the last lap, he went off. The spectators wisely figured throwing dry sand at him would be of no use, since his cockpit was now filled with it anyway. He still had enough time though, and completed the last lap to win his home GP.

Zandvoort also saw John Fransson and Varun Kotharu scoring their first points of the season with 3rd and 8th, while Määttänen and Perera took 5th and 6th for Balderdash racing, and Strang again scored some valuable points for l.A.D.a. in 7th. Furthermore, by finishing first and second in the race, Thomassen and Parise became the first two drivers to ever score more than 200 points in their FMBL careers!


17-10-2003 - Testing in the dunes...

As the Dutch Grand Prix is closing, all the competing drivers have been very busy testing and testing and testing, and then testing some more. Afteral, Zandvoort will be a big chance for points for many, as the otherwise so annoyingly present Herrings are expected to prefer the oh-so nearby salt water of the North Sea over the asphalt of Zandvoort. In case they should still want to get out of the water, the mine fields created especially for the event should keep them occupied for a while as well.

It's the reigning champion's home race, and he will be eager to do well, especially after that strange race last year, when some old timekeeper put him down as one lap behind when he fell asleep. And not having made the trip to Interlagos means he has some catching up to do in the championship standings as well. The picture shows him testing at Zandvoort, where a huge crowd showed up, just to block the view to the Herrings, and to see the Lotus 49 in its new orange livery in real life.

A definitive starting time for Zandvoort has yet to be decided, however we can not race between 15:00 and 17:00 CET since that coincides with the final two races of the ETCC at Monza, with Alessandro Zanardi and Giancarlo Fisichella.


08-10-2003 - Parise wins home Grand Prix!

Eduardo Parise had an impressive weekend, netting a new world record and a home grand prix win! The major players knew the possibility of going under the record from previous practice times that were very close to the mark. But early in the qualifying session, Parise took a dominant pole time of 2.47.735. Beaudoin lined up 2nd, with Edwards in 3rd.

On the start, Beaudoin pulled off the line well and took the lead briefly, before running off in turn 2. Parise and Edwards then battled down the long straight with the two Eagles running wheel to wheel. Parise kept the lead into turn 3, and began to increase the margin. Further behind, McCarthy, Perera and Perron also battled into the braking area for turn 3. Perera overshot and fell down to 10th, while McCarthy moved into 3rd.

It was a race of high attrition, and many cars had mechanical failures. Edwards reported that his engine was sounding horrid, and pulled out of the race in disgust. Perera and Tziotzios had a lap long battle, going side-by–side a few times. Towards the end, Parise had made a massive lead, and was followed by Perera to the line. McCarthy and Strang battled to the checkered for the final podium spot going to Strang by only half a second.

There was a joyous celebration for Parise’s home win. The spectators went into a frenzie and the ale flowed until the wee hours of the morning.

 

FMBL3 Round 4 – Brazilian GP: Podium Press Conference


Q: In attendance today we have Samuli Strang from team LADA finishing in 3rd spot. In second is Balderdash Racing driver Nishi Perera. And the winner of the Brazilian Grand Prix, from Herring Racing, Eduardo Parise. Welcome gentlemen.


Q: First of all, Eduardo, can you tell us about that blistering qualifying lap of 2:47.735, a new track record.

Parise: Well, I had the warmup lap, one flying lap which I thought was pretty good, then I decided to risk it all and push it to the limit. The only small mistakes I had were missing the apex a bit on turn 4 and scratching the wall on the pitstraight, but all around it was a perfect lap. That only goes to show how competitive we were this weekend, the car was excellent and thankfully I was enlightened during that particular lap.


Q: Now can each of you tell us a bit about the race itself? Lets start with Samuli.

Strang: I got 7th position in qualify, and I kept it in the start.. in T3 I passed Nate and Nishi, they had spun there. On lap 2 I passed John who probably had some problems, because he retired on lap 3. After 4 laps, I was 3rd. I didn't made any serious mistakes in the race, and I was pretty lucky when so many drivers retired ahead of me. I drove last lap easily, I didn't want to make a mistake now, because Alex was so close to me, he finished 0.4 seconds behind me.

Perera: Well once again, I made life difficult for myself. I got a decent start, but made a mistake into turn 3. Fortunately I didn’t collide with anyone, but it was close. I then waited till the field had past, and got going again. I had to overtake quite a few cars, but it was a enjoyable, and through attrition I finished in second. Albeit a country mile away from Edu.

Parise: One word sums it up: perfect. Probably the best race weekend I ever had. Got pole, then on the start I was surprised I was exactly side-by-side with Didier on the grid, and on the outside, so I was cautios on the start and left some room for him to go ahead. Then he ran wide on Turn 2 and retook the lead. Aaron gave me a hard time during the opening lap, but then I managed to pull away and build a safe margin, and the race was only made easier by the retirements of Aaron and Didier, which were a shame, but the championship table sure looks more interesting now!


Q: What are each of your impressions of the track layout?

Parise: It's a very pleasant track all around, very selective also, you have fast bends such as the pitstraight kinks and turns 1 and 2, long radius corners such as Curva do Sol and the technical infield from Laranjinha to Junção. I liked it a lot.

Perera: It is more modern of a layout than we nomally race on. It has a good variety of high speed and low speed corners. The track length is also slightly longer than average track, this helps to keep a good flow going for the lap. I just cringe every time I pass the lake on the infield though!

Strang: This track is great, I like long tracks.


Q: Samuli, you’ve improved a lot since your first race in grand prix machinery. Congratulations on your first podium, tell us about it.

Strang: I have nothing to add.. I didn't made any mistakes, and many drivers retired ahead of me.


Q: Nishi, you had a problem on the first lap that dropped you to 10th place, how challenging was it to get back on the podium?

Perera: Yeah, I was going side-by-side with Alex. It is a long straight, with not much reference other than the brake markers on the far right. I was on the inside and completely misjudged my braking distance for full fuel and cold tires condition. Anyway, after that I just drove a steady race with no problems. Most of may laps were in traffic, following people, but the key was keeping it on the road till the end.


Q: Back to Eduardo, after so many wins and championships, how does it feel to finally have a race in your home country and to win it?

Parise: It feels great, I could see the crowd was going mad on the final few laps as I drove past the pit straight, and the invasion after the race was over was also very touching. Surely a great debut for the brazilian crowd on this first event in the country. Not to mention that this win, combined with the misfortune of the championship leaders and the successful destruction of Marcel prior to the weekend really propelled me up through the standings, and I feel I'm back to the fight now.


Q: Now can we have a word in your own language.....

Strang: Joo oli hyvä kisa, en tehny mitään isoja virheitä ja moni keskeytti edestä..

Parise: Eu ganhei!! Puta que o pariu!! Uhuuuuu!!


Q: Thank you gentleman.

And now it's on to Zandvoort, racing in the dunes along the North Sea. Parise just won his home Grand Prix - can Thomassen do the same at Zandvoort? He will be eager to move up the ranks after missing the Brazilian GP...


23-09-2003 - Thomassen back on the podium

Last Sunday's FMBL Oval race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway saw the reighning champion finally return to the podium after a poor start of the season, to clinch H.E.R.T.Z. Racing's first double victory of the season as teammate Beaudoin finished second.

Pole position was for Nishi Perera, winner of the FMBL USAC race ran at Indy earlier. He set a blistering time of 52.24 seconds, lapping almost 2 tenths faster than anyone else. Beaudoing qualified second, Thomassen was third on the grid. Right at the start Beaudoin overtook Perera, and as both went wide in turn 1 Thomassen took the inside of Perera. Cominng out of the corner they touched, which sent Thomassen racing violently towards turn 2 while Perera could go on without any trouble except crashing into the wall, rolling over and completely losing the well-deserved advantage of his pole position. With Beaudoin now 1st with Thomassen 2nd and Edwards 3rd, Thomassen started making up time to his teammate, eventually passing him in turn 3 when the first suffered a cramp in his right leg. After being given advice from the team to use just one pedal and don't bother about the other one however, all was well again. Except that Thomassen was now 1st, but the team didn't really mind.

After about 30 laps, halfway into the race, Perera had amazingly made it back int 2nd place, albeit 16 seconds down. Having nobody to fight and not finding any good radio stations, Thomassen now gradually fell into a deep sleep while driving the car subconciously in his dreams of world domination by Zebus. Or at least that could explain why his laptimes went up. Having lost several wins by thinking "this is boring, I'll let the 2nd driver catch up to have a fight", surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to do it again? Well....

This time however it worked out for him and he took the win, while Perera took advantage of a late encounter with Beaudoin to drop back to 3rd in what must have been an awful race for him, seeing his USAC performance at the track.

But Perera was not the only one to have reason to be disappointed. Tom Tziotzios inexplicably failed to finish last, and even scored a point by crossing the line in 8th position. This may sound like a very good performance but at most of us know, this goes in against Tom's deepest principles, so after the race everyone did his best to console him by feeding him as much beer as possible. We hope he is feeling better now.

Below, you can read the podium press conference.

FMBL3 Round 3 - Brickyard 150: Podium Press Conference

Interviewer: In attendance today we have Nishi Perera from Balderdash Racing finishing in 3rd spot. In second is HERTZ driver Didier Beaudoin. And the winner of the Brickyard 150, from HERTZ racing, Marcel Thomassen. Welcome gentlemen.


Interviewer: Can each of you tell us a little about your qualifying lap and the race itself?

Thomassen: My qualifying lap wasn't all that great. I mean I did qualify third, and my fastest ever lap wouldn't have got me 2nd or 1st, but I was a few tenths off. Then in the race I had a reasonably good start. I managed to stay close to Nishi and Didier, while I think Aaron dropped back a little more. Then when Didier took the inside of Nishi in the first corner, I could get alongside Nishi as they both went wide. Then we touched - I could go on while I saw poor Nishi crashing in my mirrors. A few laps later I suddenly saw Didier going sideways into turn 3 and I just managed to get by down the inside. From then on it wasn't very difficult. I mean I had to push hard to keep in front and open a gap to Aaron but he didn't get close enough to have a fight. About halfway into the race my crew told me Nishi was 16 seconds behind me, and bored as I was I decided to slow down and have a fight with him for the lead - that's where he belongs here afterall! Those laps allowed me to cool my tyres a bit so that could explain why I could hold him off until the end.

I'm delighted to win here but I just wish I would have been able to race Nishi and Didier for it. Then it would have been worth so much more to me. But in the end I think my times prove I was the fastest today so my win wasn't entirely undeserved. The first FMBL win for the team after Didier's win in USAC, the first double even! Wooohooooo!! I would like to thank everyone at the team, from the toilet cleaning equipment supplier to my race engineer and Didier. Great work guys!

Beaudoin: I was pretty happy of my qualifying lap, because it equalled my personal best time. Nishi was too strong in qualification today, and I would really like to see a replay of his fastest lap!! Over the 30 minutes of qualifying, I used 20 of them to get a good place on the grid, and then I proceeded to validate my race setup with 60 laps of fuel aboard.

My race was pretty good. I did have a great start! I accelerated at the same time as Nishi, got his draft and went by him at T1. Unfortunately, we went a bit wide and Marcel collected Nishi. Then, I had a horrible leg cramp that made me lose 2 places, but I was able to get one back, until I touched the wall. I fell back to 4th and I had a great fight with Nishi, but unfortunately, we touched and Nishi spun.

Perera: Qualifying was good for me today. The car was really hooked-up and on each of my four runs I improved my time. I set a 52.532 on my first, then backed it up with a 52.338 and 52.300. Since I had nothing to loose, I did a bonsai final run, and did a 52.243. I think I scared myself with that lap!

In the race, I got a poor start and Didier drafted and passed me into turn one. I didn’t see that Marcel had caught us and gone to the inside and we touched. I went flying, and the whole field had to avoid me as I lay stricken on the short chute between turn 1 and 2. I raced all the way back to second place, but unfortunately had another incident that sent me air born with ten laps to go. It just wasn’t my day, but all things considered 3rd is respectable. Congratulations to Marcel, he was running very fast and consistent in the race, well done.


Interviewer: This is clearly a long haul of a race, what strategy did you have for the distance?

Thomassen: The idea was to try and keep up with Nishi and Didier, but.... I didn't really have a strategy for the race, not even for my tyres and I think it turned out I didn't need one anyway. I was surprised that my car didn't get any understeer as the tyres heated up. Still though, those few slow laps may have helped.

Beaudoin: I knew I had to get the lead on the start, or else Nishi would have flew away. I did get it, but the cramp destroyed my good start. Afterwards, I just wanted to be as fast as possible, so my tires suffered a lot!!

Perera: In hindsight, my car wasn’t set up for the scenario today. I had to attack every lap to make up the deficit from the start. This took too much out of the tires, and by half way, I was out of steam. I also had the team install taller ratios after a previous testing session. I knew it was a long distance, and I didn’t want to stress the engine at all. But most of my laps were in traffic, and I needed the extra rpm to get down the straight a little faster.


Interviewer: Marcel, quite an improvement from your last appearance here at the Speedway. Did you bring that lucky charm this time?

Thomassen: No. Well, I intended to wear my lucky underpants but the customs officer never gave it back to me when he checked my suitcase. Luckily though he didn't take the voodoo doll I made of Nishi.

Perera: Excuse me?…?!!?! Just a second… *vakks Marcel* okay, continue...

Thomassen: Seriously though, we've been testing here a lot over the past two weeks. It turned out that the setup I used in the USAC race was... improvable. As I wasn't used to oval racing at all then I had no clue what to do even though the car felt good. So I asked some Indy drivers for advice, tried one of their setups and further developed it into what I have now.


Interviewer: Didier, you’ve now finished 2nd for the last three races in a row. What is the key to your consistency?

Beaudoin: Well, it's a combination of good pace, obviously, of luck and of lack of luck. I could have been placed better today, and at Monaco too. I must absolutely stop making my usual mistake and then, I'll battle for victories. I must also thank HERTZ crew who has made of my car the most reliable (touches wood) I have ever driven. Good work guys!!


Interviewer: Nishi, an impressive come back drive today. What were you thinking after the first lap?

Perera: Well actually I didn’t have time to think of anything other than pushing, pushing, pushing to catch back up. I have to say I was really focused and enjoyed coming through the field. I made a couple bold moves in traffic, that was fun. This track really suits my smooth driving style, and I knew I was quick here after extensive testing. It is just an enjoyable place to drive.


Interviewer: Back to Marcel, you are back on top of the podium again, is this the start of things to come?

Thomassen: I sure hope so. I really needed this but as I've said these two here are ridiculously fast. Didier is fast everywhere, but then he does most of the team's testing too. Nishi thought this was his only chance of a win but really who is he kidding. And then I haven't even mentioned Aaron and Edu. This championship is just getting so competitive!


Interviewer: Now could we have a word in your own language.....

Thomassen: Auw hoor man, ich heb gewonne! Ich kin ut neet geluive, ich heb gewonne! Jaaaaa kom allemoal mit zoepe dat mot geveerd weure! Wueueueuaauauauaaaaah!


Interviewer: Thank you gentleman…..

After the Indianapolis race, we see Edwards still leading the championship, while Beaudoin has closed in on him and Thomassen's win boosted him up to third. Perera is now fourth, just one point behind Thomassen. It was a good weekend for the Zebus, as the double victory meant they took over first place in the teams' championship from L.A. Racing.

We now move on to Interlagos and Eduardo Parise's first home race. The track is very challenging and new to all. Testing times will undoubtedly soon appear but for now ofcourse Parise is favourite as he will be eager to win his first home GP in three seasons...


08-09-2003 - Edwards does it again!

Aaron Edwards took his second victory in a row in yesterday's Monaco GP - his second win in Monte Carlo. It was a big battle for 1st as Edwards, Parise and Beaudoin were in a league of their own. Parise had to retire from the lead, very near the end of the race and after having set both pole and fastest lap. Edwards now took over. The Balderdash duo of Perera and Määttänen took 3rd and 4th, another solid score for the team. Samuli Strang took an impressive 5th as the first of the Ferraris, just in front of reighning champion Thomassen who had to fight back from last after a first lap incident. "I really had a pretty good run back into the points - I overtook a lot of people cleanly and made little mistakes. But once I passed Jukka I started to make mistakes and fell back, but it's good to see Didier up there again. At least we'll have another party now! Wooohooooooo!" said Thomassen, after draining his teammate's cockpit with champagne.

Lionel Moulin put in a solid performance to score his first points of the season with 7th although there was a lot of talk afterwards, accusing him of cheating. The matter was taken in by the stewards of the meeting, who concluded that the accusing party had not paid them enough for a good bribe so the result stands.

Nate Perron took his, his team's and Brabham's first point of the season in 8th after a lengthy dice with Moulin, and a remarkably consistant drive for a rookie at Monaco.

Below you can read the press conference held for the podium finishers of the race.

 

FMBL3 Round 2 – Monaco: Podium Press Conference

Interviewer: In attendance today we have Nishi Perera from Balderdash Racing finishing in 3rd spot. In second is HERTZ driver Didier Beaudoin. And the winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, from LA Racing, Aaron Edwards.


Interviewer: Can each of you tell us a little about your race? Lets start with the winner.

Edwards: My race was quite consistant for me at least. Some close racing at times, and was just glad to cross the finishing line 2nd victory at Monaco in the FMBL.

Beaudoin: I'm a little disappointed about my performance, really. In qualifying, I was really slow. I couldn't get a fast pace. Then, in the race, everything was going well, but I was too inconsistent. I spun twice, which is a shame. I must thank the entire HERTZ team for their wonderful work, I had a perfectly stable and reliable car for this race and they would have deserved a win. Merci à tous mes supporters du Québec!

Perera: Well, any time you can finish on the podium is a great result, especially at a place like Monaco. The field has gotten really competitive compared to last year,so 4th was the best I could have qualified. In the race I was very lonely, I fell behind the lead pack of three, but was ahead of the pack behind me. I was my own island out there. I made a few small mistakes, but was fairly consistent today.


Interviewer: How was the start from your vantage point?

Edwards: 3rd place on the grid was about the best I could of hoped for as both Edu and Didier are faster on paper. I was a little disappointed with the time as I hoped to do a 1.25.xx but 3rd was ok. As for the start it was fine, I had no problems and us 3 managed to pull away from the field a little.

Beaudoin: The start was really clean. Edu did a good job leading the pack. I was really afraid right after the chicane on the pace lap though, when Aaron almost touched me.. I supposed he didn't see Edu was almost stopped right after the chicane... He passed on my left and then let me go in front... Other than that, it was just perfect.

Perera: I was following Aaron on the pace lap, who was going a bit too slow I must say. I saw the first two cars go away into the distance. Then Aaron took off, so I was relieved that we would catch back up. Unfortunately it all came to a standstill at the chicane, and I had to brake hard where I normally wouldn’t, this sent the car head on into the hay-bales. Fortunately the car rebound back onto the track pointing the right way. After that it was a normal rolling start.


Interviewer: Didier, you took the lead at one point, and were setting very fast laps, how confident were you of winning the race?

Beaudoin: I was quite confident.. I knew it is almost impossible to overtake here, and I had a 4 seconds lead, which ic comfortable. But I made a stupid mistake at Gazometre and I paid for it. I was unlucky though, because it wasn't anything spectacular, and I would usually have lost 2 or 3 seconds, but I was stuck against the haybales and I had to go backwards in order to get going again. I was really angry at this point.


Interviewer: Aaron you started 3rd and finished 1st, not a bad days work. Tell us about your climb to 1st place?

Edwards: The climb to first place was not easy! Mistakes, and tripping over backmarkers was what allowed me to get through. It's about the only was to pass at Monaco. I had my fair share of problems getting past the backmarkers, at one point my own teammate flipped me up into the air!


Interviewer: Nishi, you had a relatively quiet day today, any major issues during the race?

Perera: Well the car didn’t really inspire my confidence, so early on I thought I would just go slightly under my limit, nine tenths lets say. But this actually caused me to make more mistakes since I was out of my normal rhythm. It was okay, I had a two small moments at the chicane which slightly bent my steering. I knew I had a large gap in front and behind, and when Edu fell out, I moved into 3rd and finished there.


Interviewer: Now Aaron, you have two wins in a row. Is it too early to think about a championship?

Edwards: Thinking about the Championship is not in my mind at the moment. There have only been 2 races and I'm only strong on the original Papy tracks. The field is so strong now and 1 small mistake can cost you the race. I think after 6 or 7 races we'll see who is most likely to win the Championship. Didier is right behind me and we can never rule out Edu. I also expect drivers like Marcel, Maw and Nishi fighting for wins as they develop the car through the season.


Interviewer: Thank you gentlemen, now could we have a word in your own language.....

 

With his win Edwards stretched his championship lead to Beaudoin by another 4 points, while Perera and Määttänen both passed the unlucky Parise for an equal 3rd place. For all the changes there see the standings page. Next race is the series' oval race at Indianapolis, where the drivers are returning after the race there for the USAC championship. That race was won by Perera...


05-09-2003 - Statistics updated, Monaco coming up!

Yes, at last I have updated all the statistics. Sorry to Didier that it took so long but it's simply a lot of boring work! ;) Enjoy - there is a lot of new stuff there so great work Didier. Note that the statistics don't include Kyalami. The teams page has also been updated with the latest ranks and statistics (the ones that are easy to calculate ;)).

So next is Monaco! As you've probably read on the board there are a lot of worries for this race, mostly in terms of backmarkers. No matter what we do accidents will always happen but at Monaco the chaos is always bigger so I urge everyone to just take things easy and don't push to go faster than you've ever went before - always try to keep a little margin to prevent you from crashing. I'm not saying that if you're slow you can't race. We've set a benchmark of 1:35 as the slowest permittable time but things depend much more on your consistency (read: your ability to keep it out of the walls and stuff).

Just practise as much as you can. Don't push yourself too hard - just go gradually faster and faster at a pace you can keep up with yourself. Without crashing. If you're just a bit slower than the benchmark but consistent, then no problem, you can race. Determine for yourself whether or not you're good enough to race and decide if you'll join or not. Afterall consistency is what pays off at Monaco, not fast laps and lots of crashes!

If you'll get lapped in the race, don't panic. Wait for the right spot to let him by, like going off the line on a straight, making it very obvious to the one behind that you're making way. But always keep control of your car - when you do this at the tunnel or the chicane, this is THE way to crash because you just can't go off line!

If you'll end up lapping someone in the race, take it easy. As above, wait until he makes way instead of going for the first gap you see. It's a long race and (again) the ultimate opportunity for a crash.

Good luck everyone!


02-09-2003 - Driver Interviews Online

Finally, the driver interviews are online. There aren't too many of them unfortunately, but go and read them in the features section! More statistics coming soon...


27-08-2003 - Edwards wins at Kyalami!

Aaron Edwards has impressively won the first race of the season at Kyalami after a big fight with Edu Parise and Didier Beaudoin, who set a staggering fastest lap in under 1:19 in the progress! The first race saw a prett decent grid turn up and apart from a few minor incidents it was a good race. The standings after race 1 are now online, and the FMBL 3 statistics are also there.

The rulebook has also been updated to comply with the new points rules and the USAC results have been added to the history page, with thanks to Nishi Perera for making and hosting it all!

The statistics have been updated with the USAC results but are so far not yet completely online. More will follow as soon as possible. Same goes for the interviews...


16-08-2003 - Just a few weeks to go...

...until the FMBL 3 season kicks off at Kyalami! The site has been completely updated, so have a look around and let me know what you think. Please take a look at the teams list to check if all the information is correct - there are a few teams at the bottom that don't have a car or name or whatever so let's get it all up to date. Also check if the helmet colours, names etc. are correct.

New on the site are the statistics that Didier posted at the board a while ago. There's some really interesting stuff in there and there's even more to come! More, like the history of the league. So far there are just the results and standings from the first two seasons - summaries are being made but are heavily delayed by severely good weather. It's always fun to look back at how things were in the beginnings, especially for those who were already with us at the time.

Also new is a page with all the information needed to join the league. I'd like you all to read it through and tell me if I've forgotten about anything so that it will be complete. And finally, I've added an extra links page for any GPL sites we need. Again, suggestions are always welcome.


25-06-2003 - FMBL3 Teams list and provisional calendar

The teams list has been updated as in the forum. Please check if all is right and for the teams at the bottom please confirm whether or not you are going to compete in FMBL 3. The provisional schedule is also updated, with Interlagos and Clermont-Ferrand added.

So yes, I did update the site again, even though I said earlier that I wouldn't do it anymore. I guess I like this more than I thought. FMBL has had some hard blows to endure lately and, hoping to keep it going after all that, I decided to go on. FMBL can be too good to let it die away. Please just quit all the whining, the insulting, the silly rivalries and have some respect for others. Both on and off track. Then this can become again what it used to be: a FUN GAME.

Let's start with a clean slate, all of us.

The series must have some sort of leadership to make things work. We can say we'll just arrange things among everyone but it won't happen. That doesn't mean a few people will make all the "important" decisions - they'll just keep tabs of things and try to keep things a little organized. I did that in the past because I enjoyed doing it and now I'm willing to do it again. Anyone who cares to join me is free to do so, or for all I care we can organize elections if you want.

Marcel


14-04-2003 - Thomassen wins the race and the title in Mexico City

Harakiri Racing's Marcel Thomassen has won the Mexican Grand Prix, taking full advantage of Parise's and Edwards' misfortunes. Thomassen was in terrible shape in the first race, although he took the lead at the start, but the race had to be stopped because suddenly... um... all drivers had to leave the track! Some setup changes were made just before the restart and they paid off as his car was now much more stable.

For the restart, many qualifying times were lost as people took them out of the circuit gates and forgot them as they returned. This meant an extra session had to be held, resulting in Edwards on pole, Parise close behind in second and Thomassen in 3rd, with Ebert right alongside of him. As the flag dropped Thomassen got another good getaway but he couldn't find a safe way past Edwards and Parise. However towards the first corner a gap opened up and he got alongside Parise. As Parise was gently worked towards the wall Thomassen got past, and set about chasing Edwards. After a few laps Parise had his car repaired and went after the leaders, repassing Thomassen into turn 1. However a lap later he spun at the very same spot and Thomassen was back in 2nd, just holding on to Edwards. 

Tziotzios was tearing along the track in his most spectacular fashion when he suddenly saw just green and yellow in his mirrors. Quickly remembering Parise drives the same car as he does, he did a Schwalbe and spun right in front of the two, being t-boned by Edwards and only just missed by Thomassen. What followed was a short but exciting fight between Edwards and Thomassen past the hairpin, but Edwards managed to keep in front. At this time Parise was again catching up with them quickly, setting the fastest lap of the race in the progress.

A few laps later Edwards ran a little wide coming out of the hairpin after almost losing it in turn 1. This slight mistake was all Thomassen needed to get alongside at the short straight that followed, and he promptly outbraked Edwards at the next corner. To his surprise he started to open up a gap to Edwards when the news came that Parise had retired from the race. Various accidents with backmarkers had damaged his car beyond repair and there was no point in going on. Ex-Grand Prix driver and wannabe FMBL star Stirling Moss interviewed him in the pits for the worldwide live coverage of the race: "What's the matter, Edu?", asked Stirling. "Oh, I don't bloody-well know," he said, "Except that the ....ing car is as rough as a bear's ass!". Moss soon realized that children might be watching the race and drew back at this rather blunt reply but for the sake of journalism he tried again: "Well, why have you retired, Edu?", at which Parise replied "Oh, the bloody thing was wandering all over the ....ing road, It's like a bag of ..." - at which Stirling quickly and wisely drew back again "Ladies and gentlemen, I've just spoken to Parise about his retirement um, that wasn't him just now really, um, anyway he said..."

With Parise out of the race and Edwards at a fairly safe distance, Thomassen had a better chance than ever to win the title and backed down to save his Lotus. Even after backing off the gap with Edwards kept opening up, until suddenly Perera showed up 2nd on the timing sheets. It turned out that one of the timekeepers had fallen asleep, and Edwards laps weren't counted anymore. Edwards stopped immediately to give the timekeeper a piece of his mind but the old geezer wouldn't understand English even if it was read out to him, or at least that's what we have been told. With Edwards now out of the race as well, Thomassen only had to finish in the points to take the title so he backed down to a ridiculous pace in the closing laps. Eventually Ebert felt the need to write off two Lotuses as they crossed the line, and gently rammed Thomassen into the air and over the line. 

Apparently Edwards' timekeeper had been out partying with the MCAEJW (Mexico City Association for the Elderly Jackass Wannabe's) together with his old pal, Didier Beaudoin timekeeper, who had fallen asleep even before him. Beaudoin had been driving a fantastic race with his Cooper and with Edwards' retirement was now running 2nd. In the race, that is, not in the timing sheets. This was soon rectified after the race and Didier got the 6 points he so rightly deserved. Nishi Perera again put his Cooper on the podium as well, followed by Ebert in the Lotus who had somehow managed to get his wreck over the line. Rory Gaarenstroom, driving his first race since Le Mans, took 2 points in an excellent 5th, while Moulin again took the last point.

Last, but certainly not least, many thanks to Mauri Virtanen for providing us with a fabulous dedicated server for the second race in succession. Thanks!

With the driver's title decided, the fight is between Parise and Edwards for 2nd place with a points difference of just 3 points, but Koreis also has a chance of taking 3rd. Harakiri Racing moved just ahead of Herring Racing at this race, taking a 3 point advantage to Adelaide. The fight for 3rd place in the teams' standings is between Lotarri Ferratus and Feeble Fortnight fillers racing, seperated by just two points.

Lotus is now quite sure of the constructor's title, with a 107 point lead over Ferrari with just one race to go. However again the battle for 3rd is an exciting one since Beaudoin and Perera brought 10 points for Cooper with them from Mexico, putting them on equal hights with Gurney's Eagle with 40 points.

And finally the Netherlands has a 13 point lead over Great Britain in the Nations Cup. Canada, again thanks to Beaudoin and Perera, was boosted up to 3rd place while Brazil and Finland fell back to 4th and 5th respectively. The three of them are seperated by just 4 points and they still have 2nd place well within reach. Canada, with its four drivers, even still has a chance of the title.

You got it, there still is a lot at stake at Adelaide. Many people will have to race to give themselves, their team, their constructor and their country that extra boost of points needed to challenge for the title. Many people haven't taken part in a lot of races but they will be much needed here to defend their honours. You heard us, you can't stay away!

See you at Adelaide!


02-04-2003 - FMBLIA makes a joke - hihihi!

Yes you guessed it, and for those who didn't, dropping the Mexican Grand Prix was our April fool's joke. Apparently it was good enough to make some people fall for it so we had a good laugh!

While you're here to see that there really isn't any news, get to the board and express your views on what we should do with the third season of FMBL here!


01-04-2003 - Thomassen takes championship lead with Zeltweg victory

Harakiri Racing's Marcel Thomassen finally took the lead in the FMBLIA standings, a long time after Eduardo Parise had taken a break from racing. In a heartbreaking finish, he took victory in the last corner after Aaron Edwards had led the whole way.

Edwards, who had learnt very little from his Zandvoort experiences, was now driving not with his earplugs in too far, but with too many! Subsequently, again he couldn't hear his own engine. However, Edwards using too many earplugs had another consequence as he had taken the last 17 sets from the FMBLIA-supllied box. This left Thomassen without any earplugs at all, resulting in a headache that lasted two days. 

After a shortened qualifying session, Edwards, despite the extra weight of 18 sets of earplugs, came out fastest with Parise, who after Zandvoort again attempted to race, in second place. Thomassen managed 5th quickest, despite the added aerodynamical drag created by his arms sticking out of the cockpit while keeping his fingers in his ears. Thomassen had a fantastic start however, shooting up to 3rd place as if he could hear where the cars around him were. Parise soon dropped out with another loose connection, seriously hampering his title chances, and Edwards and Thomassen drove away from the pack. For several laps they ran very close to eachother, until Thomassen dropped back with severe keepingcarontracktrouble and an engine failure, but he regained some ground when Edwards, too, ran into keepingcarontracktrouble. Then, on the very last lap and the second last bend, Edwards ran into terminal losingtrackofthetracktrouble, undoubtedly lulled into a deep sleep while hearing nothing, and Thomassen slipped by to take the win.

Meanwhile there was a very exciting fight for third between Koreis, Määttänen and Kotharu, eventually won by Määttänen. Kotharu took a very respectable 4th while Koreis, too, suffered from poor a electrics job on his Lotus and retired with another loose connection.

But the most exciting fight was fought by Moulin and Tziotzios. Theirs was a most furious fight, with both drivers said to have been repeatedly calling the other names, showing tongues and teeth. And never mind all the arm-raising! Several spectators felt offended by their antics, and went to the parc-fermé to give them a piece of their mind. In the end, Tziotzios won the fight and took a heroic 6th place and a championship point in the race of his life, leaving 5th place and two points for a disappointed Moulin. However Moulin was very happy for Tziotzios, as was everyone, knowing the day had finally come that the last to finish was awarded with a point. The angry spectators at the parc fermé saw this and instantly started cheering "Tom-mie! Tom-mie! Tom-mie!" and having group hugs in an overwhelming feeling of romantic injustice they hadn't felt since seeing Titanic.

After the race, there was much debate about the suitability of the Mexico City track for FMBL. Many found it challenging, others boring or too difficult for them to memorize. As the FMBLIA always seeks to make people do exactly what people want the FMBLIA to make them do, the unanimous decision was taken to drop Mexico City from the championship. As according to article 7b of the regulations it is not allowed to change the venue of a championship round in the last 12 days before the event, the Australian GP will be the next race in 4 weeks.

See you at Adelaide! 


27-03-2003 - Edwards wins at Zandvoort

Aaron Edwards won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, despite the fact that he couldn't hear his own engine because he put in his ear plugs too far. He had to shift gear and drive by his rev counter only but nevertheless beat Darius Koreis. Nishi Perera took another brilliant 3rd place with his Cooper and promoted himself to 5th place in the drivers' standings. Then came Jukka Määttänen and Lionel Moulin, who drove the race of his life to secure 2 more points for la Belgique, and recorded the 3rd fastest lap of the race. Alex McCarthy took the final point with his Eagle in front of Marcel Thomassen, who only managed 7th after he mysteriously had to start one lap behind the rest, before he became victim of another first corner crash. Eventually he did set the fastest lap of the race.

Zandvoort saw the FMBLIA try a new qualifying format, designed to make the session more exciting for all the spectators. Every driver had one lap to qualify for the race, being the only car on track. This puts considerable pressure on the drivers, making it more exciting for them as well. Aaron Edwards proved best at this and even beat pole king Eduardo Parise, who intended to race again but his car didn't make it to the grid.

The new qualifying format has since been voted away however. It takes too much time and effort, and the risk of people disconnecting during this time is too big. It might be used in a few special races in the future but not for FMBL races. Some liked it however, saying things like "In 2003, when I'm an old geezer, I'm gonna do this in F1 I tell ya!" - we'll have to wait and see if that's ever going to happen eh?


03-03-2003 - Koreis wins his second race in a row at Brands!

Daruis Koreis has won the International Race of Champions yesterday at Brands Hatch, taking his second win in a row. This promotes him to third place in the championship, just 2 points ahead of Aaron Edwards, who finished the race in second place after leading for 22 laps from pole position. This also means Feeble Fortnight Fillers Racing is promoted to 3rd place in the team's standings, ahead of -who else- Lotarri Ferratus!

Nishi Perera again took his Cooper to the podium and 4 points, followed by Jukka Määttänen, Tobias Ebert and Alex McCarthy. That means that for the first time this season, Ferrari failed to score any points!

On the hosting side, we've found a new host in Nishi Perera but things unfortunately still don't seem to be as they should be so we'll have to keep trying to improve things for the next race, the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in two weeks.


15-02-2003 - Hosting problems, rule changes, blah blah blah

After two races where things didn't exactly go as planned, several people left, several people joined, there were a lot of rants and stuff, it's time for a few rule changes and additions. Apparently we need those to keep things from getting out of hand sometimes - or at least we hope they will help. Take a look at the rulebook, read it all again, and post any comments or suggestions you might have in the Stop the press thread at the board. Maybe we should add more, maybe we should take away stuff.

Also, all drivers with fast connections are kindly requested to go to VROC sometime, maybe ask a few others along, and set up an open server to see if they're capable of hosting - the root of all our problems lately. If you know a good host, if you are a good host, please let us know!

With John Fransson leaving we lost a good host and the rest of the Herring team, and after missing the race at Monza, Mauri Virtanen also resigned, sadly. However we are sure that at some stage in time, as always, they won't be able to repress that irresistable need to race in FMBL anymore, so we reckon they'll be back in notime!

On a happier note: congratulations to Aaron Edwards and Daruis Koreis for their wins at the Norisring and Monza respectively! The second win for Aaron, and the first of many for Darius. While many of the other front runners weren't racing, they made up a lot - check out the standings after race 12!


05-01-2003 - Thomassen wins his second race on the trot!
In a dramatic race, Marcel Thomassen took a dramatic win for team Harakiri. A violent starting smash which saw a number of cars involved, turned the tables immediately. Thomassen and Edwards went away in the lead, until Thomassen nudged Edwards off to take the lead and later on the win.

But behind them, actions were taking place. Jo Fransson (Team Herring) and Mauri Virtanen (BFR) had dropped from 4th and 2nd, to 17th and 18th. Together they now started climbing back to the top; with Virtanen 7th by the end of lap one, with Fransson trailing behind. Virtanen then passed Alex McCarthy on to 6th, and was shortly followed by Fransson. Fransson did his best to keep up with the finn, holding a one second gap, until Virtanen spun off at Scwedenkreuz/Aremberg. Fransson now was the hunted driver, managing to fend off Virtanen, until the fun crashed out and retired at Pflanzgarten on the second to last lap.
So Thomassen won the race, before Aaron Edwards and Darius Koreis, and Nishi Pereira fourth These four had managed to make the most of the T1 havoc, and cruised to take well deserved points. Fransson fought back to finish fifth, a rougly minute ahead of Jukka Maattanen.

Sadly, Team Herring driver Edu Parise decided to take a break from the FMBL. We hope that he returns in the cockpit as soon as possible, but until then; have fun!


05-01-2003 - Thomassen wins Swedish Grand Prix!
Marcel Thomassen won the Swedish Grand Prix, held at Anderstorp, after claiming the lead on the second to last lap of the race. Qualfying was scratched, due to track beeing in dire need of repairs after Thomassen demolished his car during practice. Fransson lead the restart, and the race for the first six lap before beeing violently taken off by Thomassen's Lotus.
This netted Nishi Pereira's Cooper in the lead, which he held onto until the second last lap, when he spun, and handed the lead and win to Thomassen. Fransson's made a late charge to reclaim a podium finish, but ended up fourth, just behind Edwards.

< Lionel Moulin finished fifth is his first race, and Samuli Ikanheimo sixth. Next race is the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.



05-01-2003 - Edwards wins chaotic Monaco GP!
Aaron Edwards took his first ever win, in a chaotic Monaco Grand Prix, held at the Monte Carlo street circuit.

Following a restart after a first lap smash involving 11 of the 15 starters, Jo Fransson's Herring H01 took the lead. Fransson lead the race for the first seven laps, until a touch with the barriers at the chicane, and a slight tangle with Edwards caused Fransson to yield to lead to the Englishman. Edwards drove a perfect race onwards, leading Harakiri's Flying Dutchman Marcel Thomassen over the line. Fransson's car problem got worse at the end of the race, as he had to surrender second place to Thomassen.

Darius Koreis took fourth, Jukka Maatanen fifth and Swedish day-viewer Niklas Rudi sixth.


08-12-2002 - Parise wins as Herrings dominate the U.S. GP!
Eduardo Parise won todays United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.
Parise took pole, with Marcel Thomassen second, Alex Roache third and Jo Fransson fourth. After letting Thomassen enjoy four laps in the lead, Parise took his lead back and lead the drivers over the line.
Marcel Thomassen came second, 7.4 seconds after the winner. Jo Fransson came back from his 12th place after the turn one smash,
with what might be the driver of the year so far, and took a third place in a fighting finish.
Nishi Pereira (Balderdash) was fourth, Darius A. Koreis fifth and Alex McCarthy sixth.
This means that Parise increased his lead in the championship run, and now has a total of 52 points.

Next race is the Monaco Grand Prix.

04-12-2002 - Back on track!
Due to financial difficulties, the FMBLIA site had to close down for a few weeks. Now all is good and we're back on track though!

During our break, three races have been driven; Keimola (Finland), Spa (Belgium) and Mont Tremblant (Canada). The usual drivers attended the race, except Team Herring driver Jo Fransson who missed three races due to injuries sustained while crashing his Jaguar E-type at the Breidsheid corner during the Nurburgring 1000 kms. The next race coming up is a true classic; The United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen! Follow us as championship points are getting important now!

In the meanwhile, we have a new team as well! Balderdash Racing will join us, driving a Cooper, with the new talented (Canadian) driver Nishi Perera. In their first GP at Mont Tremblant, Pereir took a strong third place! Welcome!

22-09-2002 - Thomassen wins at Le Mans!
Flying Dutchman Marcel Thomassen was the winner of yesterdays French Grand Prix at Le Mans. Taking the lead when Mauri Virtanen retired with only two laps to go, Marcel held off the attacking Parise to take the checkered flag.

The win was the first this year for the dutchman. Young Swedish driver Jo Fransson had a quiet race, finishing 3rd. New Zealander Jork Wierdsma was fourth.

 Click here to read the race report
 Click here to read an interview with Marcel Thomassen

08-09-2002 - Parise wins South-African GP!
Edu Parise was the winner of todays Grand South African GP at Kyalami.
Driving his underpowered Herring H01-Ferrari, he took on and beat the entire field to take a grand victory!

The post-race discussions was mostly to be about the be or not to be of the "Shift + R" rule. There was many a driver who were highly annoyed with it, one of them beeing  Herring No 2 driver John Fransson, who suffered a total of five (5) "shift + r" penalties before finally retiring.

 Click here to read the race report

04-09-2002 - Sign up! And a new team!
With the first race of the season only one day away, excitement is mounting!
The latest addition to the series is "Destination Racing", the only Brabham team so far.
Furthermore we are proud to announce that the rulebook is online, along with the dates for the races!

Big update I suppose!

23-08-2002 - First interviews uploaded! And new teams as well!
At long last, the FMBLIA can present the first driver interviews!
They are uploaded in our equally brand new Features section! Go check it  out!

Furthermore, the FMBLIA would like to welcome a few more teams to the league! The league has swollen and now features 21 drivers!
The latest edition is called Northwest Racing! The team will be using Eagle chassis, and the drivers name is Mike C. Smith.
Welcome!

17-08-2002 - New team! The FMBLIA welcomes Kiwi Racing!

The FMBLIA are proud to announce another team to join the FMBL - Kiwi Racing from New  Zealand!
The guys run a works Ferrari outfit, along with Genesis Racing.

With yesterdays change in the schedule, and the replacement of Bern-Bremgarten, with Syracuse, the shedule is now set.

Not long now. September 7th is the day!

16-08-2002 - Syracuse replaces Bern-Bremgarten!
After todays board meeting, the Swiss GP at Bern Bremgarten was scrapped and replaced  with the Sicilian Grand Prix at Syracuse.
Bern Bremgarten was not deemed fit as a motor racing circuit after John  Fransson's violent test crash last week.
Fransson got into a violent spin, following a brake failure in the Tenni corner.
John's Ferrari rolled over three times, to land upside down in the middle  of the track.
The young Swede was airlifted to a local hospital, where a slight concussion was the only  injuries sustained in the crash.

The new Syracuse track, is a 5.567 km long track, winding it's way aroun the streets of  Syracuse, Sicily.
It contains 11 turns, of which two of them requiers dropping as low as 2nd gear, or even  lower!
The lap times for the top drivers is estimated to be just a tick over 1.35.5.