2011 F1RWRS Surfers SuperPrix

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Flag of Queensland svg.png 2011 Surfers SuperPrix
Race 13 of 15 in the 2011 F1RWRS season
Surfers Paradise.png
Date 4 September, 2011
Official Name 2011 Nikon Surfers SuperPrix
Location Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Course Temporary street circuit
4.47 km (2.77 mi)
Distance 30 laps, 134.1 km (83.1 mi)
Weather Heavy rain
Pole Position
Driver Flag of Japan svg.png Barii Mori Phoenix-Porsche
Time 1:16.89
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of Japan svg.png Barii Mori Phoenix-Porsche
Time 1:14.98
Podium
First Flag of Japan svg.png Hagane Shizuka MAN
Second Flag of Japan svg.png Barii Mori Phoenix-Porsche
Third Flag of Spain svg.png Phoenix McAllister Phoenix-Porsche


The 2011 F1RWRS Surfers SuperPrix was the thirteenth round of the 2011 F1RWRS season. The race was won by Hagane Shizuka, his first win in the series. His victory came after an enormous thunderstorm which saw many cars go off.

Race Report

Qualifying

Pre-qualifying for the Surfers SuperPrix was dry but the only notable knockout was Aurelien Moll who missed out on qualifying by 0.01 seconds. Qualifying saw a massive thunderstorm hit the track and the session was postponed after a major hailstorm. When qualifying finally began, Barii Mori was able to set a quick time before the rain began to fall again. Mori then ended up on pole by over 1.5 seconds. Championship aspirants Nathanel Spencer and Daniel Melrose qualified second and fourth respectively while Hagane Shizuka took a surprising third place. Frank Zimmer and Dave Simpson both crashed during qualifying, causing them to start at the back.

Race

The race was run in the same conditions as qualifying with cars aquaplaning everywhere. The race was chaotic and the action was obscured by the heavy spray. Spencer and Melrose shot off into the distance and had an epic battle for the lead and the extra points that came with winning. Further back, Mori and Shizuka attempted to keep their cars on the road. Meanwhile, five cars had already hit the wall by the end of Lap 1. John Zimmer, Jeroen Krautmeir, David Koczo, Gary Cameron and Sammy Jones all found themselves out after the first lap. Unfortunately, John Zimmer suffered a badly sprained leg after the accident and missed the next race in China

As Spencer and Melrose continued to have their epic duel, the rest of the race involved many drivers crashing into the barriers. Ashley Watkinson threw the car off on Lap 10. He was followed by Frank Zimmer who lost it at the first chicane. Then, James Davies had a serious accident after his car jumped the catch-fencing at the first chicane on Lap 19. Fortunately, no one was injured. Then, Chris Dagnall collided with Douglas Mann on Lap 21, forcing both out of the race. Pippa Mann would follow just one lap later, crashing into the barriers at the first chicane. Thomas De Bock was also caught out and he retired (although he was still classified in eighth).

As all this was happening, Melrose and Spencer continued to battle in the wet. Some laps Melrose would lead while others saw Spencer edge ahead. Spencer was leading on Lap 28 when disaster struck. Hagane Shizuka was about to be lapped by the duo and Melrose used it as an opportunity to pass Spencer into Turn 5. The move was successful but Shizuka lost it at the chicane, hitting Daniel Melrose. Melrose did save himself from losing the title right then and there when his tyre inadvertently struck Spencer's Prospec. Both title contenders were out of the race and Shizuka took the lead after he pitted.

Hagane led the six survivors through the line. Polesitter Mori was second and took fastest lap. He was followed by Phoenix McAllister and Dave Simpson who had come through from the back of the grid (literally in Simpson's case) to score points. Jari Kekkonen was fifth. Spencer, Melrose and De Bock rounded out the points although none of them actually finished the race. This put Spencer six points up on Melrose with two races remaining.

Standings After the Race

  • Bold text indicates who still has a mathematical chance of becoming champion.
Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Pts
1 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Nathanael Spencer 63
2 Flag of Australia svg.png Daniel Melrose 57
3 Flag of Australia svg.png Gary Cameron 41
4 Flag of Australia svg.png Frank Zimmer 39
5 Flag of Belgium svg.png Aurelien Moll 35
Constructors' Championship standings
Pos Team Pts
1 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Prospec 92
2 Flag of Jamaica svg.png Calinetic-Ford 74
3 Flag of Germany svg.png JLD-BMW 69
4 Flag of Australia svg.png Holden 48
5 Flag of the Isle of Man svg.png AMR-DeLorean/Peel 39
Previous race:
2011 New South Wales Grand Prix
Formula 1 Rejects World Race Series Championship
2011 Season
Next race:
2011 Chinese Grand Prix
Previous race:
None
Surfers SuperPrix Next race:
2012 Surfers SuperPrix