View source for 2012 F1RWRS Bavarian Grand Prix

{{Infobox Race Report
|name               = [[File:Flag of Bavaria.png]] 2012 [[F1RWRS Bavarian Grand Prix|Bavarian Grand Prix]]
|Race_No            = 1
|Season_No          = 16
|year               = 2012
|series             = F1RWRS
|Circuit            = File:Norisring.png
|date               = 11 March, 2012
|official name      = II DHL Bayerischen Grand Prix
|location           = Norisring, Nuremberg, Germany
|course             = Temporary street circuit<br>2.3 km (1.4 mi)
|distance           = 66 laps, 151.8 km (92.4 mi)
|weather            = Sunny
|pole driver        = [[File:Flag of Germany svg.png]] [[Jeroen Krautmeir]]
|pole team          = [[Melrose Racing Team|MRT-BMW]]
|pole time          = 0:33.52
|fastest lap driver = [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Darren Older Jr]]
|fastest lap team   = [[CR Motorsport|CR-Ford]]
|fastest lap time   = 0:35.62
|first driver       = [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Darren Older Jr]]
|first team         = [[CR Motorsport|CR-Ford]]
|second driver      = [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[James Davies (F1RWRS driver)|James Davies]]
|second team        = [[Anglo-Manx Racing|AMR-Peel-DMC]]
|third driver       = [[File:Flag of Spain svg.png]] [[Phoenix McAllister]]
|third team         = [[Team Phoenix|Phoenix-Honda]]
|}}

The '''2012 F1RWRS Bavarian Grand Prix''' was the inaugural race of the [[2012 Formula 1 Rejects World Race Series season]], and the second [[F1RWRS Bavarian Grand Prix|Bavarian Grand Prix]] in total. Held at the Norisring, the race winner was [[Darren Older Jr]] - his first in his F1RWRS career, driving for [[CR Motorsport]].

==Race Report==
===Build-up===
As the first race of the new season, the paddock and fans were eagerly anticipating finding out who would be coming out on top after the pre-season tests revealed a closely-bunched pack that were relatively evenly matched. Of those teams feeling optimistic, [[Trueba Racing Team]] released a statement declaring their confidence with their new T801 chassis and announced new sponsors Korean Air and LG which had joined the team in the wake of signing Korean-American [[Tristan Jung]] to the team's second seat. Drivers [[Barii Mori]], [[Daniel Martins]] and [[Ashley Watkinson]] were more cautious in their expectations of their respective teams' cars however. Final car specifications and liveries were also revealed in the lead up to the race weekend, including those of [[Team Phoenix|Footwork Phoenix Honda]] and [[Australian Minardi|Team Minardi Australia]].

===Pre-qualifying===
For 2012, the pre-qualifying session was split into four separate heats, with eight drivers in each. Times from all the heats were then combined, with the fastest nineteen cars passing through into qualifying proper.

[[Jeroen Krautmeir]] demonstrated the pace of the [[Melrose Racing Team|MRT]] car by taking the fastest overall time of 33.47 seconds, whilst the other three heats were won by [[Frank Zimmer]], [[Kay Lon]] and [[Hagane Shizuka]]. Of the drivers eliminated at this point, the top two drivers from the 2011 season, [[Daniel Melrose]] and [[Nathanael Spencer]] were out. Other notable examples included [[Chris Dagnall]] and 2010 champion [[Gary Cameron]].

Due to the large number of drivers eliminated in pre-qualifying, a new contest was devised to allow these drivers to continue to participate in the race weekend. Named the Aguri Suzuki Cup, the contest pitted the eliminated drivers in a short sprint race with points awarded from first to sixth place, the system used being 10-6-4-3-2-1. Reaction to the contest was mixed, with some drivers, particularly [[Barii Mori]] and [[Damon Cannon]] openly deriding it.

Despite the criticism, the race went ahead, and using the times set in pre-qualifying to determine the grid, [[Daniel Melrose]] won the inaugural Aguri Suzuki Cup race from pole and was joined on the podium by [[Damon Cannon]] in second and [[Rhys Davies]] in third.

===Qualifying===
Krautmeir continued his excellent form over the weekend to set fastest time once again in qualifying proper and take his first ever pole position with a time of 33.52 seconds. He was joined on the front row by [[Darren Older Jr]] as the [[CR Motorsport]] team backed up its promising testing form with some genuine pace as they looked to improve on their lacklustre 2011 season.

Prior to the session, both [[Anglo-Manx Racing]] and [[Manx-Anglo-Nippon Racing Team]] had announced that their engine suppliers, Peel-DMC and MAN respectively, would be increasing their commitment, resulting in their logos being displayed prominently on their respective teams' cars. They celebrated this with an impressive qualifying performance as the two Manx teams were inside the top ten, filling 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th places.

===Race===
Getting a better start than Krautmeir allowed Older Jr to pull ahead and take the lead of the race at the first corner, although by the end of the lap the German had recovered first place with an ambitious move at the final turn. The early stages of the race saw plenty of overtaking as drivers traded places up and down the field, one of the biggest movers was [[Tristan Jung]] who took eighth place by lap 4 having started 15th on the grid.

On lap 7 [[Kay Lon]] pulled off an excellent pass at the final corner to leap from sixth to first place, and a lap later, Jung's good work was undone following a heavy impact with the barriers at the hairpin. His stop for repairs dropped him to a lapped last place.

[[Ashley Watkinson]] and [[Resi Respati]] began a chain reaction of accidents and incidents between cars on lap 10 with both having crashed into the barriers - on the exit of the hairpin and the final corner respectively. [[T. Hemo Goblin]] hit the touring Respati on lap 11, putting all three drivers out of the race. A similar incident on lap 13 which saw Richie White hit from behind and involved the unlucky Jung created chaos as Lon and Krautmeir who together held an enormous lead over the rest of the field became embroiled in the mess, along with [[Dean O'Lauchlan]] and [[Sammy Jones]]. The delay for the leaders allowed [[Douglas Mann]] to take the lead of the race very briefly, before an incident forced his retirement on lap 14. [[Thomas De Bock]] inherited the lead as a result, and after a handful of laps collided with slower damaged cars as well. Shizuka was also involved, which prevented the Japanese driver from leading the race after a promising race until that point. 

The carnage and confusion eventually resulted in [[Luca Pacchiarini]] taking first position, followed by [[Frank Zimmer]] and Pippa Mann in second and third. Krautmeir ended his race on lap 16 after a series of incidents with other cars, and a lap later Zimmer crashed out, giving Mann in her AMR car second place. That didn't last long though, as the Englishwoman span at the final corner attempting to pass Pacchiarini, with the incident forcing the Italian to retire as a result. Darren Older Jr negotiated his way through the mess to re-take the lead of what was rapidly degenerating into a race of continual crashes, incidents and retirements.

Eventually the drama subsided somewhat, and once the damaged cars had all retired and been cleared away, Older Jr was able to dominate the remaining part of the race to take his first victory, just edging out [[James Davies (F1RWRS driver)|James Davies]] who had rapidly closed in on the leader having stopped for fresh tyres on lap 21. [[Phoenix McAllister]] completed the podium. Richie White, Tristan Jung, Pippa Mann and Kay Lon were the other drivers to score points, with Hagane Shizuka the final finisher in eighth, albeit too many laps down to be classified.

===Post-race===
The high number of incidents and retirements provoked a strong reaction from drivers and team owners, with [[Ashley Watkinson]] and [[Sammy Jones]] the most vocal in criticising the driving standards of the more inexperienced drivers. Most drivers were however more philosophical, including [[Jeroen Krautmeir]] who remained positive and happy with his pole position, despite having been forced to retire, declaring that with three other German-based rounds on the calender, "there's plenty of time to entertain the home crowd!". [[Anglo-Manx Racing]] were delighted with [[James Davies (F1RWRS driver)|James Davies]]' podium whilst both [[Phoenix McAllister]] and [[Tristan Jung]] celebrated their results, particularly the latter for which Norisring had been his debut.

The race directors were also forced to correct their initial race results which had failed to take into account that drivers who had completed over 75% race distance were still eligible for points, ensuring that [[Pippa Mann]] and [[Kay Lon]] were belatedly awarded points for finishing in sixth and seventh place.

===Select quotes===
"Well, all I can say is I had terrible luck. Still, I think I proved myself today, and there are three more German races, so there's plenty of time to entertain the home crowd!" - [[Jeroen Krautmeir]]

"I congratulate my team mate, he kept his head and got a podium at the first race, intelligent driving at it's best. I think the next race we will both qualify and score some points." - [[Barii Mori]]

"This race was an absolute farce and shows up the lack of quality in the field. I'm pretty glad that Davies put me in the wall early on because I wouldn't have wanted to get involved in the pile up later on. All these guys are far too keen and unwise and it ends up with stupid situations where we don't even get enough classified finishers to hand out the points. I hope that they have all learnt a lesson today and learn how to drive properly in time for the next race." - [[Ashley Watkinson]]

"I have to agree with Watkinson I'm afraid, there's kids in this field that still think they're in karts, and the reality is very different. There are a number of experienced drivers in this field such as myself and my teammate Chris, who often can't even make it into qualifying proper. When we do manage to get into the race, we want to be able to achieve the best possible result and reckless kids are ruining that for many of us. Having said that I'm delighted with our new RTJ-101 which ran very well in the early part of the race, and I think both myself and Chris can look forward to an improvment on last year in regard to race results. With 4 qualifying heats now the competition is even fiercer but a couple of good results may just get us into a good position when the year is out. Personally I'm gutted to have missed out on points when there were so few finishers, but hopefully there'll be more chances so I can enjoy a much more successful season than last year." - [[Sammy Jones]]

"Ha! Why do you want to be fast if you end up crashing? I knew this circuit was very dangerous, so I opted to stay cool and try to avoid any incidents, which has reaped a sizeable reward as I see!" - [[Phoenix McAllister]]

==Classification==
===Pre-qualifying and qualifying===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos !! No !! Driver !! Constructor !! Pre-Q !! Time !! Gap
|-
! 1
| 4
| [[File:Flag of Germany svg.png]] '''[[Jeroen Krautmeir]]'''
| '''[[Melrose Racing Team|MRT-BMW]]'''
| '''0:33.47'''
| '''0:33.52'''
|align="center"| &mdash;
|-
! 2
| 31
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Darren Older Jr]]
| [[CR Motorsport|CR-Ford]]
| 0:33.62
| 0:33.56
| +0.04
|-
! 3
| 26
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Douglas Mann]]
| [[Manx-Anglo-Nippon Racing Team|MAN]]
| 0:34.04
| 0:33.61
| +0.09
|-
! 4
| 9
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Pippa Mann]]
| [[Anglo-Manx Racing|AMR-Peel-DMC]]
| 0:33.91
| 0:33.65
| +0.13
|-
! 5
| 11
| [[File:Flag of Germany svg.png]] [[Kay Lon]]
| [[Kahama|Kahama-Ford]]
| 0:33.49
| 0:33.85
| +0.33
|-
! 6
| 25
| [[File:Flag of Japan svg.png]] [[Hagane Shizuka]]
| [[Manx-Anglo-Nippon Racing Team|MAN]]
| 0:33.48
| 0:33.90
| +0.38
|-
! 7
| 10
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[James Davies (F1RWRS driver)|James Davies]]
| [[Anglo-Manx Racing|AMR-Peel-DMC]]
| 0:33.66
| 0:33.92
| +0.40
|-
! 8
| 15
| [[File:Flag of the United States svg.png]] [[T. Hemo Goblin]]
| [[Hemogoblin Autowerks|Hemogoblin-Porsche]]
| 0:33.74
| 0:33.94
| +0.42
|-
! 9
| 18
| [[File:Flag of Belgium svg.png]] [[Thomas De Bock]]
| [[Gillet Ecurie Nationale Belge|ENB-Gillet]]
| 0:33.76
| 0:33.95
| +0.43
|-
! 10
| 13
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Sammy Jones]]
| [[Jones Racing F1RWRS Team|Jones-Renault]]
| 0:33.76
| 0:34.05
| +0.53
|-
! 11
| 7
| [[File:Flag of Australia svg.png]] [[Frank Zimmer]]
| [[Holden F1RWRS Racing Team|Holden]]
| 0:33.48
| 0:34.07
| +0.55
|-
! 12
| 27
| [[File:Flag of Italy svg.png]] [[Luca Pacchiarini]]
| [[Pacchia|Pacchia-Coswojuddhartlambo]]
| 0:33.68
| 0:34.15
| +0.63
|-
! 13
| 28
| [[File:Flag of the United States svg.png]] [[Nicolas Steele]]
| [[Pacchia|Pacchia-Coswojuddhartlambo]]
| 0:33.88
| 0:34.19
| +0.67
|-
! 14
| 37
| [[File:Flag of Indonesia svg.png]] [[Resi Respati]]
| [[Flying Fish Motorsports|Flying Fish-Ford]]
| 0:33.89
| 0:34.26
| +0.74
|-
! 15
| 24
| [[File:Flag of the United States svg.png]] [[Tristan Jung]]
| [[Trueba Racing Team|Trueba-Piaggio]]
| 0:33.60
| 0:34.32
| +0.80
|-
! 16
| 16
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Ashley Watkinson]]
| [[Hemogoblin Autowerks|Hemogoblin-Porsche]]
| 0:34.05
| 0:34.42
| +0.90
|-
! 17
| 21
| [[File:Flag of Spain svg.png]] [[Phoenix McAllister]]
| [[Team Phoenix|Phoenix-Honda]]
| 0:33.96
| 0:34.44
| +0.92
|-
! 18
| 33
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Richie White]]
| [[Group Lotus|Lotus-Judd]]
| 0:33.82
| 0:34.54
| +1.02
|-
! 19
| 35
| [[File:Flag of Australia svg.png]] [[Dean O'Lauchlan]]
| [[O'Lauchlan Motorsport|O'Lauchlan-BMW]]
| 0:33.99
| 0:34.55
| +1.03
|-
! DNPQ
| 3
| [[File:Flag of Australia svg.png]] [[Daniel Melrose]]
| [[Melrose Racing Team|MRT-BMW]]
| 0:34.07
| 
| 
|-
! DNPQ
| 1
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Nathanael Spencer]]
| [[Prospec]]
| 0:34.13
| 
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 19
| [[File:Flag of Australia svg.png]] [[Dave Simpson]]
| [[Australian Minardi|Minardi-BMW]]
| 0:34.17
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 14
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Chris Dagnall]]
| [[Jones Racing F1RWRS Team|Jones-Renault]]
| 0:34.21
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 30
| [[File:Flag of Portugal.svg.png]] [[Daniel Martins]]
| [[ArrowTech ART|ArrowTech-Lamborghini]]
| 0:34.22
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 22
| [[File:Flag of Japan svg.png]] [[Barii Mori]]
| [[Team Phoenix|Phoenix-Honda]]
| 0:34.28
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 6
| [[File:Flag of Hungary svg.png]] [[David Koczo]]
| [[Team Calinetic|Calinetic-Ford]]
| 0:34.29
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 23
| [[File:Flag of Italy svg.png]] [[Giovanni Roda]]
| [[Trueba Racing Team|Trueba-Piaggio]]
| 0:34.29
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 29
| [[File:Flag of Finland.svg.png]] [[Jari Kekkonen]]
| [[ArrowTech ART|ArrowTech-Lamborghini]]
| 0:34.40
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 8
| [[File:Flag of Australia svg.png]] [[Rhys Davies]]
| [[Holden F1RWRS Racing Team|Holden]]
| 0:34.42
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 17
| [[File:Flag of Belgium svg.png]] [[Aurelien Moll]]
| [[Gillet Ecurie Nationale Belge|ENB-Gillet]]
| 0:34.43
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 5
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Gary Cameron]]
| [[Team Calinetic|Calinetic-Ford]]
| 0:34.44
|
|
|-
! DNPQ
| 32
| [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] [[Damon Cannon]]
| [[CR Motorsport|CR-Ford]]
| 0:34.49
|
|
|}

===Race===
===Race===

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"
|-
! Pos
! No
! Driver
! Constructor
! Laps
! Time/Retired
! Grid
! Points
|-
! 1
| 31
|{{GBR}} '''[[Darren Older Jr]]'''
| '''[[CR Motorsport|CR-Ford]]'''
| 66
| 44:21.99
| 2
| '''16'''
|-
! 2
| 10
|{{GBR}} '''[[James Davies (F1RWRS driver)|James Davies]]'''
| '''[[Anglo-Manx Racing|AMR-Peel-DMC]]'''
| 66
| +3.01
| 10
| '''10'''
|-
! 3
| 21
|{{ESP}}  '''[[Phoenix McAllister]]'''
| '''[[Team Phoenix|Phoenix-Honda]]'''
| 66
| +31.82
| 17
| '''8'''
|-
! 4
| 33
|{{GBR}} '''[[Richie White]]'''
| '''[[Group Lotus|Lotus-Judd]]'''
| 65
| +1 lap
| 18
| '''5'''
|-
! 5
| 24
|{{USA}} '''[[Tristan Jung]]'''
| '''[[Trueba Racing Team|Trueba-Piaggio]]'''
| 64
| +2 laps
| 15
| '''4'''
|-
! 6
| 9
| {{GBR}} '''[[Pippa Mann]]'''
| '''[[Anglo-Manx Racing|AMR-Peel-DMC]]'''
| 54
| +12 laps
| 4
| '''3'''
|-
! 7
| 11
|'''{{GER}} [[Kay Lon]]
| '''[[Kahama|Kahama-Ford]]
| 49
| +17 laps
| 5
| '''2'''
|-
! NC
| 25
|{{JPN}} [[Hagane Shizuka]]
| [[Manx-Anglo-Nippon Racing Team|MAN]]
| 39
| +27 laps
| 6
|
|-
! Ret
| 13
|{{GBR}} [[Sammy Jones]]
| [[Jones Racing F1RWRS Team|Jones-Renault]]
| 20
| Collision
| 10
|
|-
! Ret
| 35
|{{AUS}} [[Dean O'Lauchlan]]
| [[O'Lauchlan Motorsport|O'Lauchlan-BMW]]
| 19
| Collision
| 19
|
|-
! Ret
| 27
| {{ITA}} [[Luca Pacchiarini]]
| [[Pacchia|Pacchia-Coswojuddhartlambo]]
| 17
| Collision
| 9
|
|-
! Ret
| 28
|{{USA}} [[Nicolas Steele]]
| [[Pacchia|Pacchia-Coswojuddhartlambo]]
| 17
| Collision
| 13
| &nbsp;
|-
! Ret
| 7
| {{AUS}} [[Frank Zimmer]]
| [[Holden F1RWRS Racing Team|Holden]]
| 17
| Collision
| 11
|
|-
! Ret
| 4
| {{GER}} '''[[Jeroen Krautmeir]]'''
| '''[[Melrose Racing Team|MRT-BMW]]'''
| 16
| Collision
| 1
| '''1'''
|-
! Ret
| 18
|{{BEL}} [[Thomas De Bock]]
| [[Gillet Ecurie Nationale Belge|ENB-Gillet]]
| 14
| Collision
| 9
|
|-
! Ret
| 20
| {{IOM}} [[Douglas Mann]]
| [[Manx-Anglo-Nippon Racing Team|MAN]]
| 14
| Collision
| 3
| &nbsp;
|-
! Ret
| 15
|{{USA}} [[T. Hemo Goblin]]
| [[Hemogoblin Autowerks|Hemogoblin-Porsche]]
| 11
| Collision
| 8
| &nbsp;
|-
! Ret
| 37
| {{INA}} [[Resi Respati]]
| [[Flying Fish Motorsports|Flying Fish-Ford]]
| 11
| Collision
| 14
|
|-
! Ret
| 16
|{{GBR}} [[Ashley Watkinson]]
| [[Hemogoblin Autowerks|Hemogoblin-Porsche]]
| 10
| Accident
| 16
| &nbsp;
|}
*Pole Position: [[Jeroen Krautmeir]]: 0:33.52
*Fastest Lap: [[Darren Older Jr]]: 0:35.62
Note: For the 2011 and 2012 seasons, one point was awarded to the driver with pole position and the driver with the fastest lap.

==Standings after the race==
*'''Bold text''' indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! Driver
! Points
|-
| 1
|[[File:Flag_of_the United Kingdom svg.png]] '''[[Darren Older Jr.]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 16
|-
| 2
|[[File:Flag_of_the United Kingdom svg.png]] '''[[James Davies (F1RWRS driver)|James Davies]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 10
|-
| 3
|[[File:Flag of Spain svg.png]] '''[[Phoenix McAllister]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 8
|-
| 4
|[[File:Flag_of_the United Kingdom svg.png]] '''[[Richie White]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 5
|-
| 5
|[[File:Flag_of_the United States svg.png]] '''[[Tristan Jung]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 4
|}

;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! Constructor
! Points
|-
| 1
|[[File:Flag_of_Spain_svg.png]] '''[[CR Motorsport|CR-Ford]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 16
|-
| 2
|[[File:Flag_of_the Isle of Man_svg.png]] '''[[Anglo-Manx Racing|AMR-Peel-Ford]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 10
|-
| 3
|[[File:Flag_of_Spain_svg.png]] '''[[Team Phoenix|Phoenix-Honda]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 8
|-
| 4
|[[File:Flag_of_the United Kingdom_svg.png]] '''[[Group Lotus|Lotus-Judd]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 5
|-
| 5
|[[File:Flag_of_Italy_svg.png]] '''[[Trueba Racing Team|Trueba-Piaggio]]'''
| style="text-align:right;"| 4
|}
*<small>'''Note''': Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.</small>

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 900px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%"
| width="35%"| Previous race:<br>'''[[2011 F1RWRS United States Grand Prix|2011 United States Grand Prix]]'''
| width="30%"| '''[[Formula 1 Rejects World Race Series]] Championship<br>[[2012 F1RWRS season|2012 Season]]'''
| width="35%"| Next race:<br>'''[[2012 F1RWRS Saxon Grand Prix|2012 Saxon Grand Prix]]'''
|-
| width="35%"| Previous race:<br>'''[[2011 F1RWRS Bavarian Grand Prix|2011 Bavarian Grand Prix]]'''
| width="30%"| '''Bavarian Grand Prix'''
| width="35%"| Next race:<br>'''None'''
|}

[[Category:F1RWRS Races]]