GPGSL Season 6 Complete!

Without meaning to be awkward I'm against matt keeping the seat. I'd rather my team raced against somebody who could be bothered and not just a ghost.

GPGSL - Christel VXR team Boss S6-S8, S12 Onwards

Matt Houston will not be racing at Silverstone.

If Dan needs a replacement driver, then Aston Martin Racing offer the driving services of Adam Davies, if Adam is in agreement that is



5 x WCC - S5, S6, S7, S8, S10 | 4 x WDC - S5 Nick van der Voort ; S6, S7, S8 Ed Greenhalgh | 2 x WTC - S6 Stuart Ingers; S8 Andrei Sevastian

Okay, now that I have the spreadsheet for the GPGCL done (Paolo, if you want to claim credit for the name, go on right ahead - brilliant idea), I can now inform everyone how things are so far. Given the competition rules, we have our finalists and the bronze medalist.

But first, I take us back to Race 1. As the two new teams in the competition (and subsequently the two lowest placed sides in the competition), MAC Racing and Christel VXR had a one race shootout to decide who would be the last team in Group B.

As we all know, the Christel lads had a strong debut - whilst MAC Racing went home with nothing: MAC Racing 0 - 8 Christel VXR. Christel VXR joined the other 9 teams in the Group Stages of the GPGCL.

In line with the Constructors Championship of Season 5, the Groups were as follows:
Group A: Aston Martin, Southern Cross, True North, VanSmirren and Snake Motorsports.
Group B: Shadow Subaru, Martini Paddock, ART, Tafuro and play-off winners Christel VXR.

Group A
Aston Martin: Despite some woeful points totals (6 of their 10 results between Races 2 and 11 were less than 10 points) and an unlucky occasion where they had a bye during their best scoring round of the 10 races, the S5 constructors champions secured top spot with a perfect record (even though they were run extremely close by Snake Motorsports in Race 8 and won by a single point) - 92 points scored in their 8 games, whilst only conceding 23.

Southern Cross: Many claimed Southern Cross were in the worst form of their life during the opening stages of the season - and it certainly showed. An opening 10 point win over Snake in Race 2 and a solitary point victory over True North were the highlights of a woeful group stage for the Australian outfit. With two matches left, and following a run of 4 straight defeats, it was very possible that SCR could've been dumped out at the Group Stages. However, a 17 point win over VanSmirren secured their place in the Quarter Finals - and despite losing to Aston Martin in the last game, the bronze medalists in Season 5 finished 3rd in the Group, scoring 40 and conceding 42.

True North: True North had to work hard to secure 2nd place in the Group - a 6 point win over VanSmirren in the opening round was followed by a narrow 1 point defeat to Southern Cross. An easy 18 point win over Snake in their third match seemed to give confidence to the British team - but then fell flat against GPGSL champions Aston Martin, losing by 14 points. However, they did secure the first point against the champions - who up to that point had kept clean sheets in their first few games. They completed the double over VanSmirren in a 17 point win, before barely defeating Southern Cross by 2 points (in a game that finished 2-0 to the British constructor). Two defeats to Snake and Aston Martin in their final games did little to change the mood - True North were 2nd, having scored 60 and conceded 52.

VanSmirren: An overall disappointing campaign for the Dutch team. A 7 point win over Southern Cross and a dead rubber 9 point win over Snake Motorsports were the only wins in a dreadful set of games. 50 points scored, 88 points conceded - and VanSmirren were heading home.

Snake Motorsports: Hardly anyone expected Snake to make the Quarter Finals. However, they managed just that, finishing 4th in the Group only on Points Difference - despite losing the first three of their eight games. A 4 point win over VanSmirren began the fightback, which was quickly followed by a 3 point win over Southern Cross. A narrow 1 point defeat to Group winners Aston Martin did little to dampen spirits, as they secured a just as narrow victory over True North to secure their place in the Quarter Finals - but were only truly safe after Southern Cross beat VanSmirren. A 9 point dead rubber defeat ended their group stage, having scored 28 and conceded 65.


Group B
Shadow Subaru: If the Shadow Subaru team had been expecting an easy ride in the Group, they were mistaken - however, they did manage to win 5 of their 8 games to secure 2nd place in the Group. On the other hand, they suffered the embarrassment of losing to Tafuro GP not once, but twice. With 108 points scored and 71 conceded, it seemed as though the S5 GPGSL silver medalists were to have a simple route to the final.

Martini Paddock: Like Shadow Subaru, Martini Paddock suffered two embarrassing defeats against Tafuro GP (with the other defeat coming against Shadow Subaru). Just like their dark blue and yellow rivals also, they secured 5 wins out of 8 - and only goal difference separated the two sides, as Dan Paddock's team finished 3rd - having scored 93 and conceded 64.

ART: Given their mid-table standing in S5, 3rd place seemed to be the target for the Dutch side. However, like Southern Cross and Snake in Group A, ART tasted victory just 3 times - with two of those victories (a 15 point win and a 4 point win respectively) coming against bottom side Christel VXR in Races 4 and 9. A surprise 5 point win over Group B surprise package Tafuro was seen in Race 7 - which saw ART finish below expectations in 4th, with 82 points scored and 86 conceded.

Tafuro GP: Tafuro had a knack for low scoring games during the group stages - though it didn't seem to faze anyone within the Italian team. 50 points scored and 42 conceded didn't look like much. However, after completing remarkable doubles over Shadow Subaru and Martini Paddock, Tafuro were well on their way to securing a surprise top spot in the Group - and 6 wins out of 8 was enough to give the Italian side just that. On the other hand, Tafuro drew a blank in their last game of the group stages and suffered the ignominy of being the only side in the Group to lose to Christel VXR.

Christel VXR: The luster of the Group Stages was definitely too much for Christel VXR - 7 straight defeats (including a crushing 21 point defeat against Martini Paddock on the opening day) ended their challenge long before it had even begun. However, the GPGSL rookies had something to cheer about in their dead rubber at the end of the group stages, as they secured their only win (by 9 points) against Group B winners Tafuro GP. 42 scored, 112 conceded, and the rookies were going home.


Finals
Unlike other cup competitions, the GPGCL organisers elected not to do a Quarter Final draw - and instead ensured that the Group Winner of each Group would play the 4th placed team, and the Runner Up would play the 3rd placed team.

As such, the Quarter Finals looked like this:
Aston Martin v. ART
True North v. Martini Paddock
Southern Cross v. Shadow Subaru
Snake Motorsports v. Tafuro GP

Aston Martin v. ART
By the time the Quarter Final races came around, Aston Martin were on an extremely strong run of form thanks to their 8 game winning streak - and, unsurprisingly, ART had no answer. The Aston Martin team had kicked it up a gear, completely obliterating the Dutch team in both legs of their Quarter Final tie. A 27-7 first leg victory, coupled with a 23-9 win in the return, saw Aston Martin make the Semi Finals, winning 50-16 on aggregate.

True North v. Martini Paddock
Martini Paddock, seen as the favorite in this tie, paid dearly for a poor first leg. They drew a blank in a stunning 20-0 defeat against True North Racing. With 28 points being the maximum for a team in any race (A 1-2, pole position, fastest lap and most places gained), Martini Paddock faced a hill to climb - one that proved to be insurmountable. A 14-10 win gave them something to be happy about, but a 30-14 loss on aggregate meant that the favorite for the tie was out - and True North were through.

Southern Cross v. Shadow Subaru
Given their woeful run of form, anyone backing Southern Cross Racing in this tie were seen to be completely off their rockers. However, no-one expected Shadow Subaru to implode in the way they did. A poor race for Shadow Subaru in Austria, coupled with Southern Cross's strongest team showing for some time, resulted in a 14-4 win for the Australian side. A poorer race for both in Monaco meant that, like Martini Paddock, the favorite for the tie had suffered badly because of a poor first leg. A 7-5 Shadow Subaru win was not enough - and against all the odds, Southern Cross were through to the Semis after a 19-11 aggregate win.

Snake Motorsports v. Tafuro GP
Just like last season, Snake Motorsport were starting to hit the brakes in terms of their points scoring form at this point - so anything other than a strong Tafuro GP aggregate win was to be seen with some surprise. However, there was no such problem for the Italian surprise package, securing 10-1 and 8-1 wins over the Dutch minnows to seal their Semi Final spot with an 18-2 aggregate win.


The draw for the Semi Final led to the following ties:
Aston Martin v. True North
Southern Cross v. Tafuro GP

Aston Martin v. True North
Seen by all quarters as the stronger of the two semi finals, pundits across the GPGCL circuit claimed that the winner of this tie would go on to secure the crown - and having won 4 of the last 5 GPGSL races, many believed that Aston Martin would have little trouble in securing a Final berth (leading to many bets for the British marque to win the competition on the whole). The Aston Martin team certainly didn't let the betters down, securing two crushing victories in both the GPGSL and the GPGCL. Whilst Ed Greenhalgh picked up two more winners trophies in the GPGSL (and the GPGSL Drivers crown), his team were in the final after a 16-5 first leg win and a 28-5 second leg demolishing of their strong opponents - leading to a 44-10 aggregate win.

Southern Cross v. Tafuro GP
Despite the Group Stages suggesting an easy Tafuro win, this Semi Final was significantly closer than anyone ever expected, and led to a GPGCL first in the first leg of the tie - a draw. A 10-all draw in the first leg meant everything was to play for as the GPGSL rolled into Belgium - and there was even very little to separate the two teams in the second leg. However, a victory was obtained by Tafuro GP in Spa-Francorchamps - though it was by the tighest of margins with a 9-8 victory, leading to the Italian outfit winning 19-18 on aggregate.


Resultantly, these results meant that it would be Aston Martin playing against Tafuro GP in the GPGCL final in Silverstone. However, there was something left to take care of as the GPGSL rolled into Brazil - the owner of the inaugral GPGCL bronze medal.

This led to a match between losing teams True North and Southern Cross. Despite both SCR cars making it into the points, Norbert Horvath's fourth place (coupled with a most places gained point and Glen Sheppard finishing in 9th place) meant that the British outfit secured a 14-7 win.


The only question that remains now is this - Aston Martin or Tafuro GP. Who will be taking the first ever GPGCL trophy?

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2011 11:16PM by Diax F1.

Thats really good im quite impressed with the report to be fair
But with that its good to see Christel in the groups, even if we did end up last...

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For a list of EVERY download for GP4, look here: [docs.google.com]

That was a brilliant report

This would be an extra talking point for next season.



5 x WCC - S5, S6, S7, S8, S10 | 4 x WDC - S5 Nick van der Voort ; S6, S7, S8 Ed Greenhalgh | 2 x WTC - S6 Stuart Ingers; S8 Andrei Sevastian

Guys could we see a temporary championship table?

Also cool post Dean

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Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions

Wow, from a personal view, and a TNR drivers view, this final round is gonna be exciting!! A good weekend should give TNR a 3rd place finish in the Constructors title, and as long as our engines don't blow up this weekend, hopefully a top 8 in the drivers title for me. Just got to hold off that Tafuro GP machine of Gianluigi....

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GPGSL Team Owner Debut - Melbourne, Season 8 - present
GPGSL Test Debut - Hungary, Season 4. GPGSL Race Debut - Adelaide, Season 5.

oensan Owen Edwards
Very much excited about the possibility of making my début on home turf with @Ferrari2007 's Martini Paddock Racing. Will keep you posted.
8 seconds ago

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Unless I'm very much mistaken... I am very much mistaken!

The Le Mans and Interlagos races really hurt us, we need some luck to get that 3rd place in the constructors championship back..

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Ohh man! This last race is going to be mega exiting! I am 5 points away from the 3rd place in the drivers championship! But with bad luck I can also become 6th, or in worst case 7th..

Man, bring it on! I cant wait! :P

Race starts: 141 | Points: 886 | Podiums: 35 | Race wins: 10
 

 
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Uhh... it took me some time to understand that mini-tournament thing, but I got it, barely.

A little question, is Owen to test for TNR at Silverstone, or only to race for MPR? Just asking because I wanted to grab my calculator and see my odds for the 9th spot.



Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps

The perfs cannot be posted until Dan Paddock makes a decision as who will replace Matt Houston in the main series, therefore Silverstone is on hold.

What I can tell you is Matt Houston is out the main series and will be replaced by a test driver. As MPR have 2 team owners as testers, Dan will have to get a driver from another team.

AMR have offered to loan out Adam Davies as we did last season. I also believe TNR have offered Owen Edwards too.



5 x WCC - S5, S6, S7, S8, S10 | 4 x WDC - S5 Nick van der Voort ; S6, S7, S8 Ed Greenhalgh | 2 x WTC - S6 Stuart Ingers; S8 Andrei Sevastian

I know the situation is probably very rare, but should there be a rule put in place where a team cannot have two team bosses as test drivers, so this situation does not occur again? Or some kind of rule stating each team has at least one eligible test driver to step in to race whenever needed. So, effectively one reserve driver and one test driver. Therefore, I would be the True North's reserve driver and Mills would be the test driver.

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Unless I'm very much mistaken... I am very much mistaken!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2011 12:33PM by oensan.

I will offer the services of Connor steer as well if you need somebody.

GPGSL - Christel VXR team Boss S6-S8, S12 Onwards

oensan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know the situation is probably very rare, but
> should there be a rule put in place where a team
> cannot have two team bosses as test drivers, so
> this situation does not occur again? Or some kind
> of rule stating each team has at least one
> eligible test driver to step in to race whenever
> needed. So, effectively one reserve driver and one
> test driver. Therefore, I would be the True
> North's reserve driver and Mills would be the test
> driver.

I agree with you entirely, Owen - given the way the activity rules work (and the ban on team bosses driving for teams), the idea of having two team bosses in the same team as test drivers is no longer viable.

And in response to the bold statement, it brings me to a thought. Unless there are more than 33 drivers in the series (two race drivers per team and one reserve), each team's boss takes the role of 'test' driver. Might not be the best solution, but it at least ensures that the tester's championship is somewhat competitive (at least 11 drivers would be there the whole season, for one).

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Yup i understand im not necessarily the most attractive choice (by a long shot ) but i would be happy to offer my services for one race.

Oh and i tried Dean's GPGCL with the testers. So far AMR and TSS have walked it

_________________________________________________

For a list of EVERY download for GP4, look here: [docs.google.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2011 12:51PM by truecrysis.

MPR Press Release

I'd just like to confirm that Matt Houston has departed the team

We have decided that Owen Edwards will race in the no.7 MPR at Silverstone, alongside Charrel

We want to thank Dan Mills for loaning Owen to us on such short notice. Also our thanks go to Stuart Ingers who offered us Adam Davies for the race

Thank You

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Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2011 01:23PM by Ferrari2007.

It's a pity that Matt hasn't remained active, as he was a great part of the series in the past.

So who are the only drivers to have started every GPGSL race now? Marko, Ross (?), myself?

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X (@ed24f1)

lol TafuroGP in GPG Champion's League Finale

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My GPGSL Career