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

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

As 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..."

As 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.