BMW Drivers Cup – Round 1

Winton Raceway

6 - 7 March 2010

Report by The Mobile Chicane

A field of 13 e30racers took to the track Saturday on a beautiful sunny day in contrast to Melbourne’s day of torrential downpours and flooding, with the wild weather not reaching Winton til the early evening.

Sunday was a different story – read on….

Qualifying
Matt set the fastest qualifying time to take pole, followed by Stan Armstrong in his non-regulation car, with Anton and Serge filling third and fourth spots.

Race One – 6 laps
Race one started in perfect conditions, and saw Stan lead past the control tower on lap one, only to be headed by Matt on the second lap, positions they held for the remainder of the race, with Matt leading Stan past the finish flag by a little over a second.  Anton, Gary and Serge tussled for the next three spots, with Anton leading Gary across the line by under half a second and Serge less than a second behind him, Oliver on his own in 6th place (after being passed by Paul on lap one, and then re-passing him on Lap 2),.and then another close finish between Sean, guest Robert Braune and Paul Kertes, again with under a second between them.
Final placings were: Matt, Stan, Anton, Gary, Serge, Oliver, Sean, Robert, Paul, Brian, Simon, Alan and Steve.

Race Two – 8 laps
Race one was a complete contrast – raining so hard that visibility was difficult, with a number of drivers unable to see through foggy windscreens, with the number of offs and passing in this race making it one of the most interesting we’ve had.
Stan led the field on the first lap from Gary, both of whom passed Matt on lap one. Gary then passed Stan on lap 2, a position he held til lap 6 where he retired. Stan lost it on lap 3, rejoining the field in 12th place and working his way back up to finish fourth.  Matt lost it again on lap 3, rejoining in 11th place, got back up to 5th, and then parked it on lap 6. Anton lost it on lap 3, and then again on lap 7 for a DNF.  Serge hit second place on lap 3, only to lose it on lap 5, Robert drove a steady race, moving from 6th to take the lead on lap 6, a position he held til the end. Paul worked his way up to second on lap 6, only to spin on lap 7, and DNF on lap 8. Oliver stayed on the track to work his way up to second on lap 7, holding that position til the end to head off Simon who’d come up from 9th.place
Only 9 cars finished, with final positions being: Robert, Oliver, Simon, Stan, Alan, Brian, Steve and Serge

Race Three – 10 laps
What a contrast!  Sunny, dry track, perfect conditions….
Gary and Serge had retired after race 2, so only eleven cars faced the starter
Oliver led the race til lap 8, where Matt, who had driven brilliantly from the back of the field (passing 6 cars on lap 1, two more on lap 4, another on each of laps 5 an d 6) passed him, with Anton repeating the performance on lap 9. 
Simon held on from 3rd on the grid for a 4th across the line. Stan went off on lap, rejoining in 10th to finish 6th passing Alan and Brian on lap 5 and Paul on lap 9
Everyone finished, with final positions being Matt by 4 seconds from Anton, Oliver one second behind in 3rd, Simon, Robert, Stan and Paul with under 2 seconds between them, Brian, Alan, Sean again with less than 2 seconds between them and Steve bringing up the rear.

Race Four – 6 laps
We could have been in Melbourne! The wild weather returned, again pouring rain, no visibility and water all over the track.
Anton led the field til the last lap, spinning to cross the line in 8th.  Stan again drove consistently to take the lead on the last lap. Paul drove a solid race to finish 3rd, being passed by Stan and Matt on the last lap.
Simon, after being 2nd on lap two, went off to finish 10th, Robert couldn’t repeat his Race 3 drive, and also had an off to finish 9th.  Sean drove well, working his way up from 9th to 5th, to just edge out Steve, who’d worked up from 10th on lap 1, followed closely by Alan who’d been 11th on lap 1.
Final placings were: Stan, Paul, Matt, Brian, Sean, Steve, Alan, Anton, Robert, Simon and DNF for Oliver, who put it in the kitty litter on the second last lap, to throw away a round win and discover that if you want to finish first, first you have to finish…

Final placings for Round 1 of the BMW Drivers Cup were:
Matt, Brian, Simon, Sean, Oliver, Alan, Anton, Paul, Steve, Serge and Gary,

Brian summed it up perfectly “..Proof that power isn't everything, Extremely wet Winton where visibility & grip were optional!, with faster cars & drivers spearing and sliding off the track … but some smooth driving saw me somehow get onto the podium in the only 323i.. “

See you at Phillip Island in April!!

The Mobile Chicane