2011 Formula 1 Rejects World Race Series season

2011 Formula 1 Rejects World Race Series
Previous: 2010	Next: 2012

The 2011 F1RWRS season was the second season of the F1RWRS. It was won by Nathanael Spencer after 15 races. Spencer's team Prospec won the constructors' championship for the second year running. The season was also notable for a large increase in field numbers and the introduction of pre-qualifying.

Season Review

The success of the F1RWRS' first year ensured the series' longterm future. The Zimmer brothers signed new race contracts and television deals through 2012 which left the series on firm financial footing. With business booming, the entrants for the series multiplied as twenty teams would eventually take part in the season. Hemogoblin Autowerks, Jones Racing, Trueba Racing Team, ECB, Australian Minardi and Anglo-Manx Racing would enter at the beginning of the year. By race 6, Holden became the first major manufacturer to commit to the sport (although they had provided support for John Zimmer's ZimSport squad). They were also joined by ArrowTech at the same time. However, this was balanced by the closure of several teams before and during the season. KQ Motor Sports was the first to go after their manufacturer backing disappeared, leaving the team with no money to develop a car for 2011.

The new teams also created a flurry of action in the driver market with Sammy Jones and Douglas Mann both creating their own teams. Dan BH and Adam Lewis retired after 2010 but neither seat was filled at KQ folded and Bangelia became a one-car operation. West Cliff was unfortunate enough to have both their drivers depart; they replaced them with Hagane Shizuka who had departed KQ at the end of 2010. JLD was able to retain Daniel Melrose but Chris Dagnall joined Sammy Jones' team. JLD would later replace Dagnall with Jeroen Krautmeir midway through the season. Pacchia signed Ashley Watkinson from CR, leaving CR as a single-car operation with Darren Older Jr.. Phoenix McAllister left Calinetic to join Rosenforth; he was replaced by Thomas De Bock. Six rookies, John Zimmer, Aurelien Moll, Giovanni Roda, T. Hemo Goblin, Dave Simpson and future champion Pippa Mann all made their debuts at the start of the season, most with new teams.

The season began at the the Norisring with the inaugural Bavarian Grand Prix. Cameron took pole but he slipped to third in the race behind his teammate De Bock and the winner, Simon Redman. Redman's first and only career win was also Kahama's first and so far only win. The series stayed in Germany as the teams made the short trip to the Hockenheimring for the 2011 F1RWRS German Grand Prix. Nathanael Spencer won the race easily from second on the grid. Spencer went on to win the next race in Oschersleben, establishing himself as the early-season title favorite with two consecutive victories. The fourth and final race in Germany, the 2011 F1RWRS Luxembourg Grand Prix was a chaotic farce after the track marshals decided to go on strike before the race. The replacement marshals were untrained and poorly organized and after a first-lap pileup involving four cars, madness descended upon the 'Ring. The three cars that had crashed out on Lap 1 would remain at the first turn as the marshals desperately tried to find cranes to remove the cars. Eventually, most of the field was caught at the Turn 1 pileup as the track workers failed to remove the stricken cars. Luca Pacchiarini survived and nearly made it to the end but he was collected in the pileup on the last lap. Chris Dagnall picked up the pieces to take his and RubberTex Jones' first F1RWRS victory.

The officiating problems continued into the next race in Belgium. Kay Lon speared off the circuit on Lap 14 which caused a chain reaction of collisions. The cars that sustained damage were all given the black-and-orange flag which forced the damaged cars into the pits (although, to be fair, they would have pitted anyway). The entire field was eventually flagged but Daniel Melrose was able to take his first F1RWRS win with Hemo Goblin in second. Race 6 at Silverstone saw the arrival of three new teams: Team Phoenix, Holden and ArrowTech. However, this was preceded by the ignominious end of Rosenforth one month before as the team divided in half. This was mostly due to the corrosive rivalry between Phoenix McAllister and Frank Zimmer. Zimmer fled to Holden while McAllister acquired a chassis and formed his own team. Barii Mori was hired to the team at the next race. But in Silverstone, Dave Simpson dominated the race as the championship battle was now delicately poised in Spencer's favor. The 2011 F1RWRS English Grand Prix was won by Melrose who took the victory after Simpson's tyre strategy failed.

The 2011 F1RWRS Kent Grand Prix at Brands Hatch was won by Aurelien Moll who became the fourth new winner of the season. ECB also became the the third different team to take their maiden win. Gary Cameron became the fifth new winner at the 2011 F1RWRS Dutch Grand Prix, despite the fact that he was already the reigning champion. Melrose jumped out to a twelve point lead over Spencer. Moll took his second win in three races on the streets of Adelaide but Spencer collided with Dagnall during the race, which wasted a good opportunity to gain ground on Melrose. The series stayed in Australia for the 2011 F1RWRS Australian Grand Prix at Mount Panorama. Melrose failed to qualify for the race after the qualifying system was revamped to include all the drivers in the field. The race itself quickly went awry when Nicolas Steele and James Davies collided at "The Cutting", causing a multi-car collision which blocked the circuit completely. The race was restarted without the wrecked cars and a second qualifying session was held, a decision that annoyed several drivers. Ashley Watkinson took the second race victory of his career with De Bock second and Spencer third. Cameron failed to score as the championship battle was essentially narrowed to Melrose and Spencer.

Melrose held a lead of five points heading into the final four races of the season. The first two were held on Melrose's home turf in Australia. The first, the 2011 F1RWRS New South Wales Grand Prix, was marred by the death of Holden legend Tom Walkinshaw. The Holden team paid their respects by painting their cars with a memorial livery and went on to take a commanding 1-3 finish in the race with John Zimmer in first after his brother was given a controversial twenty-second time penalty post-race for dangerous driving. Spencer managed to finish in second but Dave Simpson collided with Melrose midway through the race (Simpson was disqualified for his actions), giving the Englishman a five-points lead in the championship. The next race in Surfers' Paradise saw a race-long battle between the two title contenders in the rain which ended when Hagane Shizuka collided with Melrose in the rain. However, Spencer was also taken out in the crash which kept the title fight alive. Ironically, Shizuka survived to win the race followed by the two Phoenix cars. Prospec bounced back at the 2011 F1RWRS Chinese Grand Prix by taking a dominant 1-2 victory (led by Koczo) which sealed them the Constructors' Championship for the second year running. Melrose finished third. The championship went down to the final race of the year but both Melrose and Spencer did not factor during the race after both drivers screwed up their pit strategies. The race came down to the final lap when Jeroen Krautmeir passed Giovanni Roda with a spectacular move at the Corkscrew. Spencer and Melrose both failed to score, handing Nathanael Spencer the title.

Drivers and teams

Team	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	#	Race Drivers	Rounds
Team Calinetic	Calinetic	CAL2	Ford Boss 302 V8	Template:Michelin	1	Gary Cameron	All
					2	Thomas De Bock	All
Prospec	Prospec	PRS 271	Prospec PT-2011 V8	Template:Michelin	3	Nathanael Spencer	All
					4	David Koczo	All
Club Bangelia Racing	Bangelia	BH11	Alfa Romeo V6 Turbo	Template:Michelin	5	James Davies	All
Rosenforth Engineering	Rosenforth	RF11	Jaguar AJ-V8	Template:Michelin	6	Frank Zimmer	1-5
					7	Phoenix McAllister	1-5
Zimmer-Holden Racing Team NAB-Holden F1RWRS Racing Team	Holden	HRT-001	Holden HSV LS3	Template:Bridgestone	6	Frank Zimmer	6-15
					23	John Zimmer	6-13, 15
Team Phoenix Footwork Team Phoenix Honda	Phoenix	PP1 PR01B	Porsche 366 Flat-6 Honda MF303AX 3.0 V10	Template:Michelin	7	Phoenix McAllister	6-15
					27	Barii Mori	7-15
Pacchia-Coswojuddhartlambo	Pacchia	LP-02	Coswojuddhartlambo V.2	Template:Michelin	8	Luca Pacchiarini	All
					9	Ashley Watkinson	1-7
					28	Dougal Kerr	7-15
4 Loko Hemogoblin Autowerks Hemogoblin Autowerks	Hemogoblin	Type 501	Ford EDA	Template:Goodyear	9	Ashley Watkinson	8-15
					15	T. Hemo Goblin	All
Qantas JLD Motorsport	JLD	M2 M2B	BMW P84/5	Template:Michelin	10	Daniel Melrose	All
					26	Jeroen Krautmeir	6-15
CR Motorsport	CR	CR F211	Ford EDA	Template:Michelin	11	Darren Older Jr	All
West Cliff Racing	West Cliff	WC002	Chevrolet V8	Template:Michelin	12	Hagane Shizuka	1-5
Manx-Anglo-Nippon Racing Team	MAN	MAN-up	MAN Turbo Diesel	Template:Bridgestone	12	Hagane Shizuka	6-15
Kahama Motor Sport	Kahama	KT-2	Ford EDB	Template:Michelin	13	Simon Redman	All
					14	Kay Lon	All
Australian Minardi OzJet Team Minardi Australia	Minardi	PS04B	Cosworth V10	Template:Bridgestone	16	Dave Simpson	All
RubberTex-Jones Racing Team	Jones	100	Renault RS9000T-11	Template:Goodyear	17	Sammy Jones	All
					18	Chris Dagnall	All
Trueba Racing Team	Trueba	T701	Judd V8	Template:Pirelli	19	Giovanni Roda	All
Anglo-Manx Racing	AMR	007	Peel-DMC 38G1	Template:Dunlop	20	Douglas Mann	All
					21	Pippa Mann	All
Ecurie de Course Belge	ECB	JC01	Gillet G32 V10	Template:Continental	22	Aurelien Moll	All
Fwifwi-Holden Racing	ZimSport	FHR1	Holden HSV LS3	Template:Bridgestone	23	John Zimmer	1-5
ArrowTech ART	ArrowTech	AT-01	Cosworth CR-6 3.0 V10	Template:Bridgestone	24	Jari Kekkonen	6-15
					25	Nicolas Steele	6-15

Calendar

Testing

#	Date	Venue	Teams Present	Fastest Driver	Fastest Team	Fastest Time	Main Article
1	29-30 January	Donington Park	All Teams bar Anglo-Manx Racing	Daniel Melrose	JLD-BMW	0:59.38	2011 RWRS Pre-Season Test 1
2	5-6 February	Mondello Park	All Teams	Darren Older Jr	CR-Ford	0:57.97	2011 RWRS Pre-Season Test 2
3	26-27 February	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	All Teams	Gary Cameron	Calinetic-Ford	0:57.86	2011 RWRS Pre-Season Test 3

Races

Race	Track	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning constructor
Bavarian Grand Prix	Norisring	20 March	Gary Cameron	Frank Zimmer	Simon Redman	Kahama-Ford
German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	3 April	David Koczo	Frank Zimmer	Nathanael Spencer	Prospec
Saxon Grand Prix	Motorsports Arena Oschersleben	24 April	Chris Dagnall	David Koczo	Nathanael Spencer	Prospec
Luxembourg Grand Prix	Nurburgring	1 May	Dave Simpson	Chris Dagnall	Chris Dagnall	Jones-Renault
Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	15 May	Nathanael Spencer	Daniel Melrose	Daniel Melrose	JLD-BMW
British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit	5 June	David Koczo	Daniel Melrose	Dave Simpson	Minardi-Cosworth
English Grand Prix	Snetterton	19 June	Ashley Watkinson	Ashley Watkinson	Daniel Melrose	JLD-BMW
Kent Grand Prix	Brands Hatch	3 July	Thomas De Bock	Pippa Mann	Aurelien Moll	ECB-Gillet
Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Park Zandvoort	17 July	Nathanael Spencer	Gary Cameron	Gary Cameron	Calinetic-Ford
Tasman Grand Prix	Adelaide Street Circuit	7 August	Chris Dagnall	Barii Mori	Aurelien Moll	ECB-Gillet
Australian Grand Prix	Mount Panorama Circuit	14 August	Thomas De Bock	Barii Mori	Ashley Watkinson	Hemogoblin-Ford
New South Wales Grand Prix	Eastern Creek Raceway	21 August	James Davies	Jeroen Krautmeir	John Zimmer	Holden
Surfers SuperPrix	Surfers Paradise Street Circuit	4 September	Barii Mori	Barii Mori	Hagane Shizuka	MAN
Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit	18 September	Gary Cameron	Daniel Melrose	David Koczo	Prospec
United States Grand Prix	Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca	2 October	Gary Cameron	Douglas Mann	Jeroen Krautmeir	JLD-BMW

Points system

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	PP	FL
Points	15	10	8	5	4	3	2	1	1	1

Driver Standings

Pos	Driver	BAV	GER	SAX	LUX	BEL	GBR	ENG	KEN	NED	TAS	AUS	NSW	SUR	CHN	USA	Points
1	Nathanael Spencer	11	1	1	NC	6	7	7	8	13	15	3	2	6*	2	11	73
2	Daniel Melrose	5	14	16	6*	1	2	1	DSQ	4	8	DNPQ	10	7*	3	10	66
3	Gary Cameron	3	8	DNPQ	4	NC	13	2	10	1	17	10	8	Ret	7	18	46
	David Koczo	17	3	13	Ret	8	3	3	6	11	19	DNPQ	DNPQ	Ret	1	15	46
5	Frank Zimmer	6	9	3	Ret	14	10	Ret	3	17	2	DNPQ	3	Ret	9	4	44
6	Chris Dagnall	DNPQ	17	6	1	Ret	11	8	12	19	4	7	15	Ret	12	3	37
7	Aurelien Moll	13	15	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	1	12	1	DNS	4	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	35
8	Dave Simpson	4	12	5	Ret	10	1	Ret	Ret	18	18	DNPQ	DSQ	4	18*	5	34
	Thomas De Bock	2	DNPQ	14	Ret	3	DNPQ	10	13	14	9	2	7	8*	8	Ret	34
10	Pippa Mann	18	5	2	Ret	11	4	4	9	7	7	13*	16	Ret	5	DNPQ	33
11	Jeroen Krautmeir						14	12	DNPQ	DNPQ	3	DNPQ	5	Ret	10	1	28
	Simon Redman	1	4	17	DNPQ	Ret	8	15	15	15	6	5	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	13	28
	Giovanni Roda	7	16	DNPQ	DNPQ	4	6	11	5	16	5	DNS	DNPQ	DNPQ	14	2	28
14	Hagane Shizuka	DNPQ	13	4	DNPQ	DNPQ	19	DNPQ	4	DNPQ	13	DNPQ	9	1	19*	DNPQ	26
	John Zimmer	19	DNPQ	DNPQ	5*	7	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	10	DNPQ	4	1	Ret		14	26
16	Ashley Watkinson	14	18	18	Ret	5	DNPQ	9	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	1	11	Ret	DNPQ	8	22
	T. Hemo Goblin	15	7	7	Ret	2	16	Ret	14	3	16	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	15	DNPQ	22
18	James Davies	9	6	9	Ret	13	DNPQ	5	2	9	11	DNS	14	Ret	6	17	21
20	Phoenix McAllister	8	2	15	Ret	12	15	DNPQ	Ret	8	14	11	DNPQ	3	16	DNPQ	20
	Barii Mori							6	DNPQ	DNPQ	10	6	13	2	11	12	20
21	Kay Lon	12	10	19	Ret	DSQ	17	DNPQ	DNPQ	2	DNPQ	12	DNPQ	DNPQ	4	16	15
22	Douglas Mann	10	DNPQ	12	2	DNPQ	18	DNPQ	17	DNPQ	DNPQ	9	Ret	Ret	13	7	13
23	Luca Pacchiarini	DNPQ	DSQ	11	3*	DNPQ	DNPQ	16*	7	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	12	DNPQ	17	9	10
24	Darren Older Jr	16	11	8	Ret	9	12	DNPQ	DNPQ	5	DNPQ	DNS	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	6	8
25	Jari Kekkonen						9	14	16	DNPQ	12	DNPQ	6	5	DNPQ	DNPQ	7
26	Nicolas Steele						5	13	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNS	DSQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	4
	Sammy Jones	DNPQ	DNPQ	10	Ret	Ret	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	6	DNPQ	8	DNPQ	Ret	DNPQ	DNPQ	4
28	Dougal Kerr							DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNS	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	0

Constructor Standings

Pos	Constructor	#	BAV	GER	SAX	LUX	BEL	GBR	ENG	KEN	NED	TAS	AUS	NSW	SUR	CHN	USA	Points
1	Prospec	3	11	1	1	NC	6	7	7	8	13	15	3	2	6*	2	11	117
		4	17	3	13	Ret	8	3	3	6	11	19	DNPQ	DNPQ	Ret	1	15
2	JLD	10	5	14	16	6*	1	2	1	DSQ	4	8	DNPQ	10	7*	3	10	93
		26						14	12	DNPQ	DNPQ	3	DNPQ	5	Ret	10	1
3	Calinetic	1	3	8	DNPQ	4	NC	13	2	10	1	17	10	8	Ret	7	18	78
		2	2	DNPQ	14	Ret	3	DNPQ	10	13	14	9	2	7	8*	8	Ret
4	Holden	6						10	Ret	3	17	2	DNPQ	3	Ret	9	4	53
		23						DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	10	DNPQ	4	1	Ret		14
5	AMR	20	10	DNPQ	12	2	DNPQ	18	DNPQ	17	DNPQ	DNPQ	9	Ret	Ret	13	7	46
		21	18	5	2	Ret	11	4	4	9	7	7	13*	16	Ret	5	DNPQ
6	Kahama	13	1	4	17	DNPQ	Ret	8	15	15	15	6	5	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	13	43
		14	12	10	19	Ret	DSQ	17	DNPQ	DNPQ	2	DNPQ	12	DNPQ	DNPQ	4	16
7	Jones	17	DNPQ	DNPQ	10	Ret	Ret	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	6	DNPQ	8	DNPQ	Ret	DNPQ	DNPQ	40
		18	DNPQ	17	6	1	Ret	11	8	12	19	4	7	15	Ret	12	3
8	Hemogoblin	9								DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	1	11	Ret	DNPQ	8	38
		15	15	7	7	Ret	2	16	Ret	14	3	16	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	15	DNPQ
9	ECB	22	13	15	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	1	12	1	DNS	4	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	35
10	Minardi	16	4	12	5	Ret	10	1	Ret	Ret	18	18	DNPQ	DSQ	4	18*	5	34
11	Phoenix	7						15	DNPQ	Ret	8	14	11	DNPQ	3	16	DNPQ	29
		27							6	DNPQ	DNPQ	10	6	13	2	11	12
12	Trueba	19	7	16	DNPQ	DNPQ	4	6	11	5	16	5	DNS	DNPQ	DNPQ	14	2	28
13	Rosenforth	6	6	9	3	Ret	14											24
		7	8	2	15	Ret	12
14	Bangelia	5	9	6	9	Ret	13	DNPQ	5	2	9	11	DNS	14	Ret	6	17	21
15	MAN	12						19	DNPQ	4	DNPQ	13	DNPQ	9	1	19*	DNPQ	20
16	Pacchia	8	DNPQ	DSQ	11	3*	DNPQ	DNPQ	16*	7	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	12	DNPQ	17	9	16
		9	14	18	18	Ret	5	DNPQ	9
		28							DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNS	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ
17	ArrowTech	24						9	14	16	DNPQ	12	DNPQ	6	5	DNPQ	DNPQ	11
		25						5	13	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNS	DSQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ
18	CR	11	16	11	8	Ret	9	12	DNPQ	DNPQ	5	DNPQ	DNS	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	6	8
19	ZimSport	23	19	DNPQ	DNPQ	5*	7											6
20	West Cliff	12	DNPQ	13	4	DNPQ	DNPQ											5

Harvey Jones Memorial Trophy

Pos	Tyre Manufacturer	BAV	GER	SAX	LUX	BEL	GBR	ENG	KEN	NED	TAS	AUS	NSW	SUR	CHN	USA	Points
1	Template:Michelin	1	1	1	3	1	1	1	2	1	3	2	2	2	1	1	213
2	Template:Goodyear	6	3	4	1	2	5	3	6	2	4	1	4	Ret	4	3	108
3	Template:Bridgestone	2	4	3	Ret	4	3	5	3	4	2	3	1	1	3	4	104
4	Template:Dunlop	4	2	2	2	5	2	2	5	3	6	4	5	Ret	2	5	99
5	Template:Pirelli	3	6	DNPQ	DNPQ	3	4	4	4	6	5	DNS	DNPQ	DNPQ	5	2	55
6	Template:Continental	5	5	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	1	5	1	DNS	3	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	50