[NoSkillz]

RACE FIVE: Ardennes Grand Prix, Belgium (July 7, 2016)

Track Layout A
Track Guide - Top Speed and Low Speed Corners Crucial; Acceleration Useful
Track Info - Fuel Burn (high), Tyre Wear (low)
Laps - 33 (3.61 miles each)
Tyres Available - SuperSoft, Soft, Intermediates, Wets
Weather Forecast - Practice (Mostly Sunny); Race Day (Sun and Clouds w/Rain)


We are in disarray at Predator. Our high cost new driver just crashed in his first race and the engine in his car was banned by the Global Racing Association. Despite having a negative bank balance of around £3 million, I have no choice but to get our lead designer to build yet another engine, our second rebuild already this season. We're just THROWING MONEY AWAY!!!

We DO get a piece of good news a couple days after the race, as we welcome a new race bonus sponsor to Predator. Likely influenced heavily by the arrival of Rodrigues, we welcome Northern Harbour Clothing out of the UK on as our first ever 2 star sponsor. They give us a whopping £1.25 million upfront in the deal and offer us £880,000 if we finish 2nd or better in a race they sponsor. This is a six race deal and I'm relieved to get a quick cash infusion to offset all these added costs.

In late June, Global Motorsport Association members vote on whether to introduce low-profile tires in future years. They aren't fast tires but look great and are the second cheapest tyres available at £15,000 per race. We decide to vote on this one, siding with introducing the new tires but the vote is rejected by a 6-4 margin.

We are able to get our new engine built a few days before the race, with a performance rating of 25/77 and 50% reliability and a "good" rating, replacing our previous 40/52 engine that was banned. That engine goes into Rafael Rodrigues' car and Ines Santa Ana keeps her current, shoddy engine.

The practice session is run under mostly sunny skies but with rain expected tomorrow, I make sure to get both cars working with both SuperSofts and Inters, just in case the rain comes. Thankfully, we do a great job getting the car setups right in practice, with both cars coming in around 95% or so. Promising! Once again, I invite Wan Chai Industries to the race as our sponsor and our target is a 9th or better finish.

Once again, we hold both positions in the first row, with Rodrigues on the pole and Santa Ana in second position. Santa Ana falls pretty quickly to the bottom of the pack and even though our #2 car seems to be more reliable than our #1 car, it just doesn't have good performing parts and can't keep up with the other cars on the circuit. Despite only three pit stops, Santa Ana finishes over a lap behind the eventual winner and in 19th place, only topping Tanvir Jha, who crashed out on lap 7. Meanwhile, Rafael Rodrigues took control of the race from the pole position and maintained a lead for at least half the race. We had issues with his brakes about half way through the race, necessitating a repair and that pit stop dropped him back into 3rd place. He'd hold onto that position for the back half of the race but with about six laps remaining, his brakes failed AGAIN! They were redlining and I had to pull him into the pits one more time. Our pit crew did great work to get him back out on the track quickly but ultimately, he would drop out of a podium spot and finish 5th, a very promising performance and our best finish of the season thus far! 20 year old Amanda Cavalcanti from Silva Racing stuns the field and wins her first career race by 45 seconds over Bao Tang from Dragon Race Team China. Jean-Francois Beauchamp from Garuda finishes in third. Edda Jonsdottir only finished in 11th but had the fastest lap and therefore gains an extra two points.

Well, from hitting rock bottom last month to a 5th place finish in Ardennes, allowing us to reach our sponsor target and earn an additional £450,000. If we had a more reliable car, I'm positive we could have earned a podium position and maybe even a win.

July 7, 2016
Ardennes Grand Prix - EVENT RESULTS

1. Amanda Cavalcanti, Silva Racing, 33 Laps, 20 Points
2. Bao Tang, Dragon Race Team China, 33 Laps, +45.062, 19 Points
3. Jean-Francois Beauchamp, Garuda Racing, 33 Laps, +45.781, 18 Points
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4. Jean-Pierre Gerard, Firebird MRT, 33 Laps, +46.531, 17 Points
5. Rafael Rodrigues, Predator Racing Group, 33 Laps, +47.031, 16 Points

19. Ines Santa Ana, Predator Racing Group, 32 Laps, (+1 LAPS), 2 Points