2012 F1RWRS Saxon Grand Prix

The 2012 F1RWRS Saxon Grand Prix was the second race of the 2012 F1RWRS season and the third F1RWRS Saxon Grand Prix. The race was held at Oschersleben and was won by Pippa Mann - her first career win and Anglo-Manx Racing's first victory.

Race Report

Pre-qualifying and Aguri Suzuki Cup

Pre-qualifying, as always, was fiercely contested as Richie White missed out on the grid by 0.12 seconds. T. Hemo Goblin, Sammy Jones, rookie Tristan Jung and Hagane Shizuka won the four qualifying heats. Reigning champion Nathanael Spencer headed the list of notable drivers who were knocked out; Daniel Melrose, Chris Dagnall and Ashley Watkinson were also among the slowest thirteen drivers.

The second round of the Aguri Suzuki Cup saw a brilliant fight between Damon Cannon and Daniel Melrose with Cannon winning by 0.09 seconds. Cannon started dead last on the grid and his victory tied him with Melrose for first place in the championship.

Qualifying

Rhys Davies took his first career pole for HRT by 0.04 seconds to Pippa Mann's AMR. Jeroen Krautmeir and Gary Cameron qualified third and fourth, respectively, and Jari Kekkonen took a brilliant fifth place for ArrowTech. Pippa's brother Douglas Mann could only manage 18th while Tristan Jung qualified in twelfth in his second race.

Race

Rhys Davies led the field off the line but Pippa Mann fell behind Krautmeir later on in the lap. Dave Simpson came up from seventh to fourth and Frank Zimmer fell back to twelfth. Davies quickly gave up his lead on Lap 2 after a mistake which let Krautmeir and Mann through. As per usual, a large pack began to form behind the leaders. Mann and Krautmeir held position through Lap 10 while the pack shuffled around. Simpson couldn't keep up his early pace and he fell back to ninth. On Lap 13, Pippa Mann lost second place to her teammate James Davies as the AMRs looked to secure a double-podium finish.

Mann briefly fell to third behind crowd favorite Kay Lon but took the spot back after lap. Meanwhile, her teammate took over the lead from Krautmeir on Lap 15. James Davies then went off on Lap 19, letting Jeroen back into the lead. Polesitter Rhys Davies entered into the fight by taking third from Mann while Davies retook the lead on Lap 20. By Lap 24, the order was Davies, Krautmeir, P. Mann, Shizuka and Rhys Davies. The remainder of the pack chased close behind.

Pippa Mann continued to battle with Krautmeir, as she has been doing for the entire race. Mann finally got past on Lap 30, just as the pit lane opened up. Shizuka, Jung, Martins and Roda all pitted. Krautmeir actually repassed Mann before the leaders all pitted on Lap 31. Jari Kekkonen then assumed the lead in the ArrowTech, the first time that an ArrowTech had led a grand prix. Kekkonen pitted on Lap 33 and resumed in eleventh. However, that was immaterial to Pippa Mann as the AMR pit crew put her ahead of James Davies. The pit stops had mixed up the order, leaving Shizuka and Lon in the other podium positions. Lon came close to passing Pippa Mann but the German was denied a win on his home soil as Pippa crossed the line in first.

Shizuka filled out the podium with Davies in fourth, Simpson in fifth and Gary Cameron in sixth. Kekkonen completed a great run for the ArrowTech team in seventh followed by James Davies who finished in a disappointing eighth place.

Standings after the race

• Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Pippa Mann	18
2	Darren Older Jr.	16
3	Kay Lon	12
4	James Davies	11
=5	Hagane Shizuka	8
=5	Phoenix McAllister	8

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	AMR-Peel-Ford	29
2	CR-Ford	16
3	Kamaha-Ford	12
=4	Phoenix-Honda	8
=4	MAN	8

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

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