GPG Nations Cup S6 - Rounds 10/11/12 [Quali/Race p.35 || Vacancies!]
Posted by GPG_Nations_Cup
Round 1 - Brazilian Grand Prix - Qualifying
Hello and welcome back to the GPG Nations Cup! After a short break to recover from last years intense battles we are back and ready to kick of season 6 of the Nations Cup. A slightly reduced field of 20 has flown out to the first round at Interlagos in Brazil, and with everyone starting on equal ground, a good start could be absolutely crucial. I'm sure everyone is very eager to get things underway, so today we saw the first qualifying of the season result in a hotly contested battle. Here are how things looked once the 30 minutes were over:
20th: Montenegro - And we hand out the first qualifying wooden spoon to Mirko Vukcevic. The Montenegrin didn't help him self by running wide on one hot lap, as well as getting held up by Netherlands on another, but his two unhindered runs were rubbish and so comes out bottom.
19th: San Marino - Lining up alongside him will be series veteran Silvestre in another disappointing start. The Sammarinese driver set his fastest lap in his first run, and then could only watch himself sink down the order.
18th: Italy - A similar story for another veteran, Tafuro, in the Italian car. The maestro was as high as 7th after his 1st run, but it was all downhill from there as time went on.
17th: Wales - Season 5 Champion Pryce perhaps didn't get the start to the season he was hoping for. With no boost I'm sure expectations were low, but every race counts if he wants to retain his title.
16th: Brazil - The Brazilian fans might be a little disappointed to see Cremasco without any boost in his home grand prix. The qualifying result wasn't overly impressive, but the passionate crowd cheered along regardless.
15th: UAE - Another previous Champion with no boost in the opening round. Hatfield did a little better in his gold and black machine, and maybe with a few incidents will see himself near the points.
14th: France - The French team opted for an interesting strategy with max race boost and no qualifying boost. It may have paid off, as Prost dragged himself into one of the better no boosting positions. He'll have to do some serious overtaking tomorrow to make it count though.
13th: Uruguay - In the sunny blue Uruguayan car, Rodriguez put in a decent performance. Like many non-boosters, his best lap was his first.
12th: Netherlands - Now we hit the losers from the people who did use boost. It was only 200 for De Boer, but he must be disappointed with that, especially considering he finds himself behind someone who used no boost whatsoever...
11th: Australia - That being Nathan McGregor. The Aussie did well with just the stock car, and if things get heated in front of him looks set to gain some points from it. Good start.
10th: Finland - Keranen may also be a little disappoint with the results of his boost. The Finn just about scrapped himself into the top 10, but will hope the extra power in the race will help.
9th: China - The Chinese team came out a little better. 3 places above Netherlands with the same performance level, and an all-round solid performance from Tung. Nothing to complain about!
8th: Indonesia - Saputra will be reasonably happy with the outcome of his and Indonesia's first ever qualifying. Obviously having managed Japan before the boss brings over plenty of experience, but setting up a whole new team is no easy feat!
7th: USA - On his third run, Ricky Bobby decided to do a bit of offroading, running incredibly wide at Ferradura. That didn't stop the rest of his runs being solid enough though, so it's 7th for USA. Whether that's good enough with max boost remains to be seen.
6th: Russia - Another new entrant as Russia hit the track for the first time ever. Maslov was not phased one bit, and on his final run pulled a good lap out the bag to net himself 6th place.
5th: Germany - Kederer knows how to be near the top and proved it once again. The German did well to earn a top 5 slot, but will want a strong push towards the podium.
4th: Ireland - Daly Tyrson also outstripped where he was supposed to be considering the power of the car. Outperforming two max boosters is impressive, but the Irishman may be on the defensive come the race.
3rd: South Korea - Despite clinching a provisional podium slot it was a quiet session for Kuei. He was the last to set a lap in the first runs, grabbing himself a 3rd place there that he just never moved from.
2nd: Monaco - It was a similar day for Grimaldi to, who set his 2nd place time merely seconds ahead of Kuei. Still, the Monegasque driver will be content to be as quiet as can be if it brings him front row grid slots!
1st: Portugal - Which leaves Silva. Like those behind him, his best lap was his first one. Over a tenth ahead of the field and in complete control throughout, if the Portuguese driver can do the race in the race he will win the thing by a comfortable margin!
So congratulations to Paulo Silva of Portugal! A strong performance from all the top 3 with track grip seemingly going away after the first set of runs. It was never in doubt for them all, and it's going to be a cracking battle to see who comes away with the first race of the season!
Official Results
That's all for today, I hope you enjoyed this qualifying coverage. But more importantly, I hope it's set up a fantastic race for (a metaphorical) tomorrow. The weather has the potential to mix it up, and overtaking is most certainly possible, so we could be in for a good one. Join me then, bye!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2017 09:40PM by GPG_Nations_Cup.
Hello and welcome back to the GPG Nations Cup! After a short break to recover from last years intense battles we are back and ready to kick of season 6 of the Nations Cup. A slightly reduced field of 20 has flown out to the first round at Interlagos in Brazil, and with everyone starting on equal ground, a good start could be absolutely crucial. I'm sure everyone is very eager to get things underway, so today we saw the first qualifying of the season result in a hotly contested battle. Here are how things looked once the 30 minutes were over:
20th: Montenegro - And we hand out the first qualifying wooden spoon to Mirko Vukcevic. The Montenegrin didn't help him self by running wide on one hot lap, as well as getting held up by Netherlands on another, but his two unhindered runs were rubbish and so comes out bottom.
19th: San Marino - Lining up alongside him will be series veteran Silvestre in another disappointing start. The Sammarinese driver set his fastest lap in his first run, and then could only watch himself sink down the order.
18th: Italy - A similar story for another veteran, Tafuro, in the Italian car. The maestro was as high as 7th after his 1st run, but it was all downhill from there as time went on.
17th: Wales - Season 5 Champion Pryce perhaps didn't get the start to the season he was hoping for. With no boost I'm sure expectations were low, but every race counts if he wants to retain his title.
16th: Brazil - The Brazilian fans might be a little disappointed to see Cremasco without any boost in his home grand prix. The qualifying result wasn't overly impressive, but the passionate crowd cheered along regardless.
15th: UAE - Another previous Champion with no boost in the opening round. Hatfield did a little better in his gold and black machine, and maybe with a few incidents will see himself near the points.
14th: France - The French team opted for an interesting strategy with max race boost and no qualifying boost. It may have paid off, as Prost dragged himself into one of the better no boosting positions. He'll have to do some serious overtaking tomorrow to make it count though.
13th: Uruguay - In the sunny blue Uruguayan car, Rodriguez put in a decent performance. Like many non-boosters, his best lap was his first.
12th: Netherlands - Now we hit the losers from the people who did use boost. It was only 200 for De Boer, but he must be disappointed with that, especially considering he finds himself behind someone who used no boost whatsoever...
11th: Australia - That being Nathan McGregor. The Aussie did well with just the stock car, and if things get heated in front of him looks set to gain some points from it. Good start.
10th: Finland - Keranen may also be a little disappoint with the results of his boost. The Finn just about scrapped himself into the top 10, but will hope the extra power in the race will help.
9th: China - The Chinese team came out a little better. 3 places above Netherlands with the same performance level, and an all-round solid performance from Tung. Nothing to complain about!
8th: Indonesia - Saputra will be reasonably happy with the outcome of his and Indonesia's first ever qualifying. Obviously having managed Japan before the boss brings over plenty of experience, but setting up a whole new team is no easy feat!
7th: USA - On his third run, Ricky Bobby decided to do a bit of offroading, running incredibly wide at Ferradura. That didn't stop the rest of his runs being solid enough though, so it's 7th for USA. Whether that's good enough with max boost remains to be seen.
6th: Russia - Another new entrant as Russia hit the track for the first time ever. Maslov was not phased one bit, and on his final run pulled a good lap out the bag to net himself 6th place.
5th: Germany - Kederer knows how to be near the top and proved it once again. The German did well to earn a top 5 slot, but will want a strong push towards the podium.
4th: Ireland - Daly Tyrson also outstripped where he was supposed to be considering the power of the car. Outperforming two max boosters is impressive, but the Irishman may be on the defensive come the race.
3rd: South Korea - Despite clinching a provisional podium slot it was a quiet session for Kuei. He was the last to set a lap in the first runs, grabbing himself a 3rd place there that he just never moved from.
2nd: Monaco - It was a similar day for Grimaldi to, who set his 2nd place time merely seconds ahead of Kuei. Still, the Monegasque driver will be content to be as quiet as can be if it brings him front row grid slots!
1st: Portugal - Which leaves Silva. Like those behind him, his best lap was his first one. Over a tenth ahead of the field and in complete control throughout, if the Portuguese driver can do the race in the race he will win the thing by a comfortable margin!
So congratulations to Paulo Silva of Portugal! A strong performance from all the top 3 with track grip seemingly going away after the first set of runs. It was never in doubt for them all, and it's going to be a cracking battle to see who comes away with the first race of the season!
Official Results
That's all for today, I hope you enjoyed this qualifying coverage. But more importantly, I hope it's set up a fantastic race for (a metaphorical) tomorrow. The weather has the potential to mix it up, and overtaking is most certainly possible, so we could be in for a good one. Join me then, bye!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2017 09:40PM by GPG_Nations_Cup.
Yeah that is a very MEH result, well onwards with the race!!
Good coverage
If you are racing, keep on racing and get some points!
GPG Super League S11 | Driver #41 | Team-manager | Snake Motorsports Racing Group | Next Race: Emmeloord - Flevoland GP | Constructors: 10th | Best Race Finish: 1st
GPG Super League Season 9 Testers Champion*
Good coverage
GPG Super League S11 | Driver #41 | Team-manager | Snake Motorsports Racing Group | Next Race: Emmeloord - Flevoland GP | Constructors: 10th | Best Race Finish: 1st
GPG Super League Season 9 Testers Champion*
Am I wrong ? Mistral drivers locking the two front rows with their teams ? 
2nd place is a good place to start the season.
2nd place is a good place to start the season.
Team China
9th. Decent result, though we were hoping for a better position. Hopefully it'll go much better in the race.
9th. Decent result, though we were hoping for a better position. Hopefully it'll go much better in the race.
Not what we expected at home, but without boost, that's the best we could get it
Yeah! It's great to start the new season on Pole. Hope to finish the race in the race position...
@EricMoinet: Yes, Mistral drivers do it better!
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@EricMoinet: Yes, Mistral drivers do it better!
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Team Uruguay
Very nice result considering we're unboosted now. Race may pan out differently but if we stay out of trouble, points are up for grabs.
Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps
Very nice result considering we're unboosted now. Race may pan out differently but if we stay out of trouble, points are up for grabs.
Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps
Oh man, season veteran, I'm starting to feel old, maybe that's why we were so slow
In the top 10 is a good result. Hoping to continue where Japan were last season & points finishing is the key. Hopefully a successful race in prospect
A Scotsman in Indonesia. A fan of the Far East & all their drivers & an advocate of women in motorsport / GPGNC - S3: Team Philippines, S4/S5: Team Japan, S6: Team Indonesia (S6 runner-up)
A Scotsman in Indonesia. A fan of the Far East & all their drivers & an advocate of women in motorsport / GPGNC - S3: Team Philippines, S4/S5: Team Japan, S6: Team Indonesia (S6 runner-up)
Round 1 - Brazilian Grand Prix - Qualifying
Hello and welcome back to Interlagos. Yesterday we saw Portugal take a dominating pole position ahead of Monaco and South Korea. But the story hasn't been told yet. Ahead of us we have 47 laps with plenty of chances to overtake, and plenty of potential for drama. There is a slight shower, but the forecast suggests sunlight throughout so the rain shouldn't create a problem. Let's get down to the track and get the action underway!
You can barely see him but I promise you Silva is in pole, just peeking over the crest. Behind him, the other 19 in the field are going to do their best to take that away. The lights go on...
And they're off! Silva looks like he's got a good getaway, but Grimaldi is close behind. Clean so far.
Round turn 1 and they're side by side for the lead! It's exceptionally tight, with Silva on the inside, but it's Grimaldi who manages to power round the outside of turn 2 and takes it! Monaco in the lead! Behind, Germany has jumped Ireland for 4th.
Down the Reta Oposta and that overtake has put Portugal on the back foot. Kuei of South Korea dives out to have a look into 4. Behind Finland looks to do the same...
Move complete for Kuei into turn 4! It's been a really rough 4 corners for Silva, and he's already down to 3rd. Indonesia defends from Finland, Netherlands looks to go up the inside of of Uruguay, and Tafuro tries to put a move on Vukcevic.
A quick look at 10th to 20th to see how things have shaken out. De Boer got the move done on Rodriguez, as did Tafuro.
End of lap 1 and it looks like South Korea is not going to let Monaco get away scot free. We could well have an imminent fight for the lead.
Kederer now takes a turn at attacking Silva. That car must have some lead attached to it, because the German driver gets the move done easily.
Ireland is suffering the same condition, and Maslov puts the pressure on Daly into turn 1. The Russian goes aggressive, but just about gets the move done. Daly hangs on, keeping Bobby in the American car behind.
Moves galore into turn 1. First De Boer keeps his boost fuelled advance going with an attack on McGregor. Right behind, Prost does the same with a move up the inside of Rodriguez. Both get past with no issues.
At the back, it may just be for pride but there's still moves to be made. Tafuro gets past Pryce for 18th.
Silva tries for some instant revenge on Kederer into turn 4. The Portuguese driver get alongside around turn 5, and the two drag race round Ferradura up towards turn 8 still side by side! Who will fold first!
Round Pinheirinho and they're together! Only into turn 10 does one of them fold, and its Portugal. Kederer squeezes by thanks to the inside line and finally makes the move stick.
All that fighting has let Maslov get right up to the back of Silva. Portugal could well be under further pressure.
Pryce has found himself demoted to the very back of the order. Vukcevic makes a simple move into turn 4, and takes a very impressive 19th.
Monaco is starting to build a little barrier. A fastest lap sees the gap open up to 9 tenths of a second, enough to relieve some pressure.
Daly is really struggling right now, and another car makes an easy move into turn 1. This time its Bobby, with the American moving into 6th.
Another points move as Keranen takes Tung for 8th place. Turn 1 is definitely the place to be at this point.
Further down the order two more overtakes. First Hatfield overtakes Rodriguez for 14th, and then further back boos ring out as Silvestre overtakes the Brazilian car of Cremasco for 16th.
Into turn 4 and the seemingly inevitable happens. Portugal holds off for a little while, but eventually Russia steals 4th away. As we look at the movers from the start, it's pretty obvious Portugal and Ireland are the big losers.
Daly has to go on the ultra-defensive to stop things getting worse, just about keeping Saputra behind him. The same can't be said of Tung who lets De Boer by, dropping him out of the points. France and Australia look ready to pounce.
We go for an onboard view of Vukcevic, who gets a front seat for an overtake. The local boy is dropping even further, as Italy steals 17th away from Cremasco.
Lap 4 means we get more overtakes into turn 1. This time Daly can't quite defend enough in the Irish machine and concedes 7th place to Saputra.
Meanwhile we get one of the first defences into the first turn, as McGregor manages to hold off a far more powerful France car. It's safe to say Prost isn't using that max boost to it's best yet.
To be fair to Silva he's not giving up without a fight. First the battle with Kederer, and now he forces Maslov to go ultra defensive. Still no overtake for the Portuguese man though.
The same can't quite be said of Daly, who suffers the double overtake in a single lap. The Indonesia overtake left him vulnerable to Keranen, and it only took until turn 4 for the Finn to get it done.
Rodriguez is slipping although he can't use boost as an excuse. He lets Silvestre through in the second best overtaking spot.
It's like a broken record at the moment, with Silva losing yet another spot! Bobby breezes by, and the Portugal car has fallen from 1st to 6th in just 5 laps!
The differences in performance are definitely shaking out now, as Finland catches up and overtakes Saputra in just one lap too. 7th for Finland.
And what follows Portugal losing a spot? Well Ireland losing a spot of course! Daly is very close to falling out the points, with De Boer pushing him down a slot.
Completing the unfortunate trio is Rodriguez. Tafuro makes a move in to turn 1, and the Uruguayan now sits in 17th.
Hatfield isn't really having a great day either. The UAE driver is suffering too, and Silvestre makes to most to steal a spot. Just behind, Rodriguez manages to sum up some fighting spirit and puts a move up the inside of Tafuro. It sticks! Place gained!
Before Lap 5 has even ended, Daly is under attack again. Tung pulls out the slipstream and by the first turn has enough speed to take 10th comfortably. Out of the points for Ireland.
This Italy - Uruguay battle is really hotting up now, it seems Rodriguez has met his match. The Uruguayan defends strongly, and keeps 16th for now.
This is getting quite dire for Daly now. Australia has no boost whatsoever, and yet McGregor has managed to take the Irishman into turn 4. Prost is almost able to get by too, but Daly holds. For now.
Not for long though, it just takes until Prost can get a good driver into the Senna S next lap around, and the move is done. It's far too easy.
Tafuro takes a second bite at trying to get past Rodriguez. He makes it stick yet again, but as we know that might not mean much come turn 4...
Daly is put heavily on the back foot after that Prost move, allowing Silvestre to immediately attack. It's some strong defending though, and Daly manages to hold in 13th.
As I predicted, Rodriguez is involved in some overtaking into turn 4... but it's not with who I expected. Brazil pounces on an open door, and drives clean up the inside for 17th. Vukcevic looks interested in a move too, but its a little too ambitious, and the Montenegrin falls back towards Pryce.
It's been quieter towards the front with drivers trying to bridge gaps. Someone has made it though, and we have a battle for the ages as USA pulls out from behind Russia. Once you've got that slipstream though the move is simple, and Bobby takes 4th.
We couldn't possibly go a lap without some change for Ireland, and the move that failed a lap previous comes off this time. Silvestre cruises up the inside of Daly into turn 4, and it's simple again.
A lap later and... whats this? Daly on the attack?? The Irish driver is actually making a go at this, and manages to make it stick! Good to see he's not completely given up, maybe this is where things turn around!
Just behind we saw Tafuro trying to make a move on Hatfield, and as we can see the Italian has got that move down. He now has 15th place as his own.
Oh well... I spoke too soon. Silvestre closes right back in to Daly throughout the lap, and makes the easy move into turn 1 yet again.
Hatfield is also having a rough thing of it right now, with Cremasco giving the fans something to cheer about by breezing past the UAE driver on the start/finish straight.
And as if to try and confirm things aren't getting better, Tafuro uses a slow exit from Senna S by Daly to make his attack. Daly defends this time round, but you sense it's just a matter of time.
Hatfield isn't about to take things lying down either, and silences the crowd by putting Cremasco back into 17th right away. Nicely done.
As I say, most of the top 10 are in a nice gap, or trying to close to the guy in front. Keranen is the latter, as he catches up with the fallen Silva. It's an attack at the first corner, and unsurprisingly its job done. 6th is Finland's.
Brazil meanwhile keeps the battle with UAE alive. We're at turn 4 once again, and Cremasco has a good enough drive to take back 16th place. It's not points, but every position counts.
So we're just over 10 laps into the race, how about we look at the standings and the gaps between the drivers. Monaco has a nice gap to South Korea, who has an even nicer gap to Germany. From 6th down things get a bit closer, and that's where we'll probably see the overtakes before the pit window.
As we finish that, Montenegro dives up the inside of Rodriguez. The move sticks, and knowing the Montenegro manager like I do, he'll be slightly cheered up by that.
Tafuro takes another stab at Daly on Lap 13. He's close but once again the Irish driver is able to shut the door. Has Daly finally found a place where he won't be blasted out the water?
A few quiet laps later and we take a look at the top 3. They're reasonably close, but certainly not close enough for any tense fighting yet.
After his last attempt, Tafuro has changed his attack zone. He gets a better drive out of turn 14 and pulls out the slipstream on the start straight. By turn 1 he's easily by, and I'm now going to stop suggesting things are improving for Daly.
Keranen has used that time to work his way onto the back of Maslov and feels he's close enough to make a move. He ducks out the slipstream and... done. He's back on the driving line before the first corner even arrives, and 5th is his.
Lap 20 and De Boer is in! It is a scheduled stop, which means we're going to see this pitlane get very busy shortly.
Tung seems very slow here... he's got throttle problems! Luckily for team China that occurred at Mergulho so it's not long until the pits, but it still allows Australia and France to catch up massively.
That's incredibly close to a collision for Prost and he won't be happy! McGregor slowed surprised by Tung being as slow as he was. Prost tried to take the inside slipstream route, but all that did was put him right behind the Chinese car trying to enter the pitlane!
And to really rub it in, the slow down hits him so hard that Silvestre is able to breeze by without any issues whatsoever. What seemed like a small incident for just China has hit Prost pretty hard.
Luckily for the Frenchman though, his car does have a bit of pace in it. A good line through turns 2 and 3, gives him a good setup to attack into turn 4. Prost makes the move stick and any potential damage to position seems to have been reverted.
So that's the end of part 1! We're almost exactly halfway through this race which means you can expect part 2 to be just as action packed. Hopefully you're able to join me for that soon!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2017 12:22AM by GPG_Nations_Cup.
Hello and welcome back to Interlagos. Yesterday we saw Portugal take a dominating pole position ahead of Monaco and South Korea. But the story hasn't been told yet. Ahead of us we have 47 laps with plenty of chances to overtake, and plenty of potential for drama. There is a slight shower, but the forecast suggests sunlight throughout so the rain shouldn't create a problem. Let's get down to the track and get the action underway!
You can barely see him but I promise you Silva is in pole, just peeking over the crest. Behind him, the other 19 in the field are going to do their best to take that away. The lights go on...
And they're off! Silva looks like he's got a good getaway, but Grimaldi is close behind. Clean so far.
Round turn 1 and they're side by side for the lead! It's exceptionally tight, with Silva on the inside, but it's Grimaldi who manages to power round the outside of turn 2 and takes it! Monaco in the lead! Behind, Germany has jumped Ireland for 4th.
Down the Reta Oposta and that overtake has put Portugal on the back foot. Kuei of South Korea dives out to have a look into 4. Behind Finland looks to do the same...
Move complete for Kuei into turn 4! It's been a really rough 4 corners for Silva, and he's already down to 3rd. Indonesia defends from Finland, Netherlands looks to go up the inside of of Uruguay, and Tafuro tries to put a move on Vukcevic.
A quick look at 10th to 20th to see how things have shaken out. De Boer got the move done on Rodriguez, as did Tafuro.
End of lap 1 and it looks like South Korea is not going to let Monaco get away scot free. We could well have an imminent fight for the lead.
Kederer now takes a turn at attacking Silva. That car must have some lead attached to it, because the German driver gets the move done easily.
Ireland is suffering the same condition, and Maslov puts the pressure on Daly into turn 1. The Russian goes aggressive, but just about gets the move done. Daly hangs on, keeping Bobby in the American car behind.
Moves galore into turn 1. First De Boer keeps his boost fuelled advance going with an attack on McGregor. Right behind, Prost does the same with a move up the inside of Rodriguez. Both get past with no issues.
At the back, it may just be for pride but there's still moves to be made. Tafuro gets past Pryce for 18th.
Silva tries for some instant revenge on Kederer into turn 4. The Portuguese driver get alongside around turn 5, and the two drag race round Ferradura up towards turn 8 still side by side! Who will fold first!
Round Pinheirinho and they're together! Only into turn 10 does one of them fold, and its Portugal. Kederer squeezes by thanks to the inside line and finally makes the move stick.
All that fighting has let Maslov get right up to the back of Silva. Portugal could well be under further pressure.
Pryce has found himself demoted to the very back of the order. Vukcevic makes a simple move into turn 4, and takes a very impressive 19th.
Monaco is starting to build a little barrier. A fastest lap sees the gap open up to 9 tenths of a second, enough to relieve some pressure.
Daly is really struggling right now, and another car makes an easy move into turn 1. This time its Bobby, with the American moving into 6th.
Another points move as Keranen takes Tung for 8th place. Turn 1 is definitely the place to be at this point.
Further down the order two more overtakes. First Hatfield overtakes Rodriguez for 14th, and then further back boos ring out as Silvestre overtakes the Brazilian car of Cremasco for 16th.
Into turn 4 and the seemingly inevitable happens. Portugal holds off for a little while, but eventually Russia steals 4th away. As we look at the movers from the start, it's pretty obvious Portugal and Ireland are the big losers.
Daly has to go on the ultra-defensive to stop things getting worse, just about keeping Saputra behind him. The same can't be said of Tung who lets De Boer by, dropping him out of the points. France and Australia look ready to pounce.
We go for an onboard view of Vukcevic, who gets a front seat for an overtake. The local boy is dropping even further, as Italy steals 17th away from Cremasco.
Lap 4 means we get more overtakes into turn 1. This time Daly can't quite defend enough in the Irish machine and concedes 7th place to Saputra.
Meanwhile we get one of the first defences into the first turn, as McGregor manages to hold off a far more powerful France car. It's safe to say Prost isn't using that max boost to it's best yet.
To be fair to Silva he's not giving up without a fight. First the battle with Kederer, and now he forces Maslov to go ultra defensive. Still no overtake for the Portuguese man though.
The same can't quite be said of Daly, who suffers the double overtake in a single lap. The Indonesia overtake left him vulnerable to Keranen, and it only took until turn 4 for the Finn to get it done.
Rodriguez is slipping although he can't use boost as an excuse. He lets Silvestre through in the second best overtaking spot.
It's like a broken record at the moment, with Silva losing yet another spot! Bobby breezes by, and the Portugal car has fallen from 1st to 6th in just 5 laps!
The differences in performance are definitely shaking out now, as Finland catches up and overtakes Saputra in just one lap too. 7th for Finland.
And what follows Portugal losing a spot? Well Ireland losing a spot of course! Daly is very close to falling out the points, with De Boer pushing him down a slot.
Completing the unfortunate trio is Rodriguez. Tafuro makes a move in to turn 1, and the Uruguayan now sits in 17th.
Hatfield isn't really having a great day either. The UAE driver is suffering too, and Silvestre makes to most to steal a spot. Just behind, Rodriguez manages to sum up some fighting spirit and puts a move up the inside of Tafuro. It sticks! Place gained!
Before Lap 5 has even ended, Daly is under attack again. Tung pulls out the slipstream and by the first turn has enough speed to take 10th comfortably. Out of the points for Ireland.
This Italy - Uruguay battle is really hotting up now, it seems Rodriguez has met his match. The Uruguayan defends strongly, and keeps 16th for now.
This is getting quite dire for Daly now. Australia has no boost whatsoever, and yet McGregor has managed to take the Irishman into turn 4. Prost is almost able to get by too, but Daly holds. For now.
Not for long though, it just takes until Prost can get a good driver into the Senna S next lap around, and the move is done. It's far too easy.
Tafuro takes a second bite at trying to get past Rodriguez. He makes it stick yet again, but as we know that might not mean much come turn 4...
Daly is put heavily on the back foot after that Prost move, allowing Silvestre to immediately attack. It's some strong defending though, and Daly manages to hold in 13th.
As I predicted, Rodriguez is involved in some overtaking into turn 4... but it's not with who I expected. Brazil pounces on an open door, and drives clean up the inside for 17th. Vukcevic looks interested in a move too, but its a little too ambitious, and the Montenegrin falls back towards Pryce.
It's been quieter towards the front with drivers trying to bridge gaps. Someone has made it though, and we have a battle for the ages as USA pulls out from behind Russia. Once you've got that slipstream though the move is simple, and Bobby takes 4th.
We couldn't possibly go a lap without some change for Ireland, and the move that failed a lap previous comes off this time. Silvestre cruises up the inside of Daly into turn 4, and it's simple again.
A lap later and... whats this? Daly on the attack?? The Irish driver is actually making a go at this, and manages to make it stick! Good to see he's not completely given up, maybe this is where things turn around!
Just behind we saw Tafuro trying to make a move on Hatfield, and as we can see the Italian has got that move down. He now has 15th place as his own.
Oh well... I spoke too soon. Silvestre closes right back in to Daly throughout the lap, and makes the easy move into turn 1 yet again.
Hatfield is also having a rough thing of it right now, with Cremasco giving the fans something to cheer about by breezing past the UAE driver on the start/finish straight.
And as if to try and confirm things aren't getting better, Tafuro uses a slow exit from Senna S by Daly to make his attack. Daly defends this time round, but you sense it's just a matter of time.
Hatfield isn't about to take things lying down either, and silences the crowd by putting Cremasco back into 17th right away. Nicely done.
As I say, most of the top 10 are in a nice gap, or trying to close to the guy in front. Keranen is the latter, as he catches up with the fallen Silva. It's an attack at the first corner, and unsurprisingly its job done. 6th is Finland's.
Brazil meanwhile keeps the battle with UAE alive. We're at turn 4 once again, and Cremasco has a good enough drive to take back 16th place. It's not points, but every position counts.
So we're just over 10 laps into the race, how about we look at the standings and the gaps between the drivers. Monaco has a nice gap to South Korea, who has an even nicer gap to Germany. From 6th down things get a bit closer, and that's where we'll probably see the overtakes before the pit window.
As we finish that, Montenegro dives up the inside of Rodriguez. The move sticks, and knowing the Montenegro manager like I do, he'll be slightly cheered up by that.
Tafuro takes another stab at Daly on Lap 13. He's close but once again the Irish driver is able to shut the door. Has Daly finally found a place where he won't be blasted out the water?
A few quiet laps later and we take a look at the top 3. They're reasonably close, but certainly not close enough for any tense fighting yet.
After his last attempt, Tafuro has changed his attack zone. He gets a better drive out of turn 14 and pulls out the slipstream on the start straight. By turn 1 he's easily by, and I'm now going to stop suggesting things are improving for Daly.
Keranen has used that time to work his way onto the back of Maslov and feels he's close enough to make a move. He ducks out the slipstream and... done. He's back on the driving line before the first corner even arrives, and 5th is his.
Lap 20 and De Boer is in! It is a scheduled stop, which means we're going to see this pitlane get very busy shortly.
Tung seems very slow here... he's got throttle problems! Luckily for team China that occurred at Mergulho so it's not long until the pits, but it still allows Australia and France to catch up massively.
That's incredibly close to a collision for Prost and he won't be happy! McGregor slowed surprised by Tung being as slow as he was. Prost tried to take the inside slipstream route, but all that did was put him right behind the Chinese car trying to enter the pitlane!
And to really rub it in, the slow down hits him so hard that Silvestre is able to breeze by without any issues whatsoever. What seemed like a small incident for just China has hit Prost pretty hard.
Luckily for the Frenchman though, his car does have a bit of pace in it. A good line through turns 2 and 3, gives him a good setup to attack into turn 4. Prost makes the move stick and any potential damage to position seems to have been reverted.
So that's the end of part 1! We're almost exactly halfway through this race which means you can expect part 2 to be just as action packed. Hopefully you're able to join me for that soon!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2017 12:22AM by GPG_Nations_Cup.
What a downfall... From pole to 7th by now. Will Silva be able to score a single point at the end of the race? 
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Team China
A Throttle problem is not what we were hoping for for Cheng. Hopefully he can work his way back up to the top 10.
A Throttle problem is not what we were hoping for for Cheng. Hopefully he can work his way back up to the top 10.
Dat GP2 engine tho
Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps
Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps
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