Everything crossed for you mate ( can you tell by my squeaky voice) that you get repaired in time 
f3
I was at Brands when you guys ran the GP config in July. I looked for you, but couldn't see you in the paddock. Lucky for you
I was sat on paddock hill and saw your pass for the lead. Great move!
Tough break at Snetterton... you had the pace that's for sure.
Read the article on the F3cup website. I think you could use some trips to Santapod
Nice to see a LFS'er putting some real effort into gunning for a championship and having the knowhow/drive to find the answers and improve. If you can carry the pace you have this year over to next year you should be well into getting that top step the end of next season, goodluck!
Always wondered, how much of your LFS experience have you actually been able to transfer into the real thing? Us sim racers all think that we could do what you are doing, if we had the cash. What things did you really have to focus on to get the pace?
I was sat on paddock hill and saw your pass for the lead. Great move!
Tough break at Snetterton... you had the pace that's for sure.
Read the article on the F3cup website. I think you could use some trips to Santapod
Nice to see a LFS'er putting some real effort into gunning for a championship and having the knowhow/drive to find the answers and improve. If you can carry the pace you have this year over to next year you should be well into getting that top step the end of next season, goodluck!
Always wondered, how much of your LFS experience have you actually been able to transfer into the real thing? Us sim racers all think that we could do what you are doing, if we had the cash. What things did you really have to focus on to get the pace?
Tristan, looks like you will be racing Da Costa this weekend!
Glad you enjoyed it at Brands. You should have come to find me a bit harder, always happy to see people I know. Snetterton was difficult, but that's racing I guess.
Santapod would be useful, but no point practicing starts in a road car, and can't afford to knacker the F3 car practicing in that. Hey ho.
I think my sim racing was a big help, especially at first. Understanding how to correct a car from spinning/understeering, and how to find laptime - late apexes, compromising certain corners. I think I'm pretty good at learning new tracks, and that's probably due to the techniques/mindset from sim racing. So there are things you can take from sims, but it never quite gives the full picture due to bumps, g-forces, costs, time, fear etc.
Indeed. Though I don't think I'll be racing him, more like on the same track as him. Da Costa, Sainz and Ocon will probably disappear up the road fairly quickly and let me concentrate on beating my championship rivals. That isn't enough though - I need to dominate AND have them both suffer terrible weekends, which isn't that likely. Ho Hum.
Hi t.cliffe, just wondering what happened to you on race 1, you passed powell and was catchibg the leader then all i herd was tyres screeching and then u ended up in cravel pit, as u was in second reace i take it that it was not a rear suspension failure.good racing any way.
Take it your not talking about today, as Race one isn't until 16:30
http://www.tsl-timing.com/timetables/2013/134351.pdf
http://livetiming.tsl-timing.com/134351
http://www.tsl-timing.com/msvr/2013/134351f3c.pdf
TC has put his car on Pole Position In Class. Pole is Sainz Jnr.
Pole for tomorrow's race will be decided by who gets the fastest lap in Race 1. That is some going by TC. Only 2 seconds behind the Professional Drivers :jawdrop:
Fordie
TC got win in Class and fastest lap in Class. the Pro drivers was about 4secs on front, but they don't count. TC Finished 4th behind the Invite Drivers
Well done mate. 1 race to go, tomorrow
Fordie
Well done mate. 1 race to go, tomorrow
Fordie
No m8 not todays, it was the other day, i watched it on motors tv, i think the track was snetterton, he came 2nd or 3rd in second race but ended up in cravel trap on race 1,he was doing well, i just wondered what happend in race 1, as they did not show a replay ect. 
I like no these things, It may of been silverston!!!
It was not that race, it was 1'st race at silverstone, he spun out after over taking alice for first place,
I like no these things, It may of been silverston!!!It was not that race, it was 1'st race at silverstone, he spun out after over taking alice for first place,
Yeah it wasn;t Snetty as ALex Powell tok TC out in the first race, and his car was so badly damaged that it could not be used. So he grabbed the spare car, and all the drivers except Alex Powell signed the agreement for him to use it. Because 1 driver said no, he could not race in race 2
Fordie
*Alice
Opps, yeah, sorry about that 
I rekon if alice powel was not such a pad looser/bitch, he would of been in with a good chance to win the championship,lets hope the man can get it next year, if he is racing.
Thank you all for the kind words. I'm not deserving of them at all - I'm just a bloke who likes motor racing and is lucky enough to be able to do it occasionally.
I did what I could on Saturday, with a pole, win and fastest lap (and out qualified Esteban Ocon too [but he only did 6 laps, had a misfire and came in when the track conditions deteriorated, whilst I stayed out in a healthy car until the track conditions improved in the last two minutes... but still!]), but Alex Craven came second in class and that meant I was out of the title fight.
The following day, I had a small clutch problem, and didn't have the presence of mind on the grid to pump the clutch up. So I crept forwards, hit the brake and stalled the engine. The Carlin cars ahead (Sainz Jr and Felix da Costa) also had clutch problems (which meant I didn't look as stupid!), so the first three didn't move. The cars at the back of the grid were doing 100mph when they came across us, and it was Felix da Costa that was hit. Sainz crept away and was safe, and somehow no one hit me.
At the restart, I made my best ever start (2m to 100mph/160kph better than Saturday, and about 2m to 100mph better than my previous best back in June), and leapt ahead of Sainz Jr (who still had clutch problems and was slow away, but still... I was ahead of Carlin/Sainz!!!!!!!!!!). He got me back after 2/3rds of the lap though - quicker in the straights and later on the brakes than me...
Going round the final right hander, there was some water dragged onto the track by the ambulance used after the start crash. I put my inside wheels on it at 122mph (thinking the downforce and warm tyres would cope), and the car spun round faster than my puny reactions could do anything. There wasn't a yellow/red flag, but even if there was I'd have probably not seen it or ignored it anyway, so it was ultimately my fault.
Backwards on the grass, I wanted to get reverse gear so I could maintain some momentum back onto the circuit, but the clutch problem meant that the car had stalled and stopped before I pumped the clutch up. And then I had no grip to get the car moving again... Game over.
3rd in the championship, and Alex Craven clinched it. I tried my best, but that wasn't good enough. I might have been quicker than Alex for a large part of the year, but he was more consistent and simply picked up more points. You only get one point for fastest lap, and you get a whole lot more than that for finishing on the podium almost every time. Well done to him.
I did what I could on Saturday, with a pole, win and fastest lap (and out qualified Esteban Ocon too [but he only did 6 laps, had a misfire and came in when the track conditions deteriorated, whilst I stayed out in a healthy car until the track conditions improved in the last two minutes... but still!]), but Alex Craven came second in class and that meant I was out of the title fight.
The following day, I had a small clutch problem, and didn't have the presence of mind on the grid to pump the clutch up. So I crept forwards, hit the brake and stalled the engine. The Carlin cars ahead (Sainz Jr and Felix da Costa) also had clutch problems (which meant I didn't look as stupid!), so the first three didn't move. The cars at the back of the grid were doing 100mph when they came across us, and it was Felix da Costa that was hit. Sainz crept away and was safe, and somehow no one hit me.
At the restart, I made my best ever start (2m to 100mph/160kph better than Saturday, and about 2m to 100mph better than my previous best back in June), and leapt ahead of Sainz Jr (who still had clutch problems and was slow away, but still... I was ahead of Carlin/Sainz!!!!!!!!!!). He got me back after 2/3rds of the lap though - quicker in the straights and later on the brakes than me...
Going round the final right hander, there was some water dragged onto the track by the ambulance used after the start crash. I put my inside wheels on it at 122mph (thinking the downforce and warm tyres would cope), and the car spun round faster than my puny reactions could do anything. There wasn't a yellow/red flag, but even if there was I'd have probably not seen it or ignored it anyway, so it was ultimately my fault.
Backwards on the grass, I wanted to get reverse gear so I could maintain some momentum back onto the circuit, but the clutch problem meant that the car had stalled and stopped before I pumped the clutch up. And then I had no grip to get the car moving again... Game over.
3rd in the championship, and Alex Craven clinched it. I tried my best, but that wasn't good enough. I might have been quicker than Alex for a large part of the year, but he was more consistent and simply picked up more points. You only get one point for fastest lap, and you get a whole lot more than that for finishing on the podium almost every time. Well done to him.
My season summary.
April, Oulton Park. Season opener at Oulton. Our new car was delayed, so at the last minute we prepped the old car (that I was intending to rent out and prepare for customer drivers) and went racing. No preseason testing at all. Came 4th, whilst Alice dominated and Alex came second. We all thought Alice would maintain that all year, as an ex-GP3 driver with plenty of money/testing should. In race 2 I was looking to get a 4th again, but the safety car was deployed and as we all slowed down and closed up, I locked up trying to avoid hitting someone (my misjudgement) and half spun. Rejoined last, and got back to 7th. This is "What If" number 1.
Alice 63 points. Alex 54 points. Tristan 38 points.
April, Silverstone GP. We got the new car, but only about 10 days before the meeting, so no time to test it or solve the various issues. For instance, the datalogger didn't work (flat logger battery), which meant I got no data and had the engine ignition retarded a lot (big drop in power). I also miscalculated the gearing, (but with the various logger problems it was very hard to tell what gears I was using anyway), so didn't have a useful 6th gear. Not counting this as a "What If" because there wasn't much more we could do in the time available. Nevertheless, I got a 6th and a 5th. Alice didn't dominate, and was beaten in race 1 by Henry Chart. Alex got a 4th and a 2nd, whilst Henry's engine exploded which ruined his season (the new engine took a while to get, and wasn't reliable to begin with). Alice blamed the ride height of her car for being beaten.
Alice 121 points. Alex 104 points. Tristan 76 points.
June, Brands Hatch Indy. Still no testing, but was pretty much on the pace of Alex, who in turn had caught up with Alice. Got a podium in the first race, and fastest lap (which was pole for race 2, my first pole of the year). In the second race my start was poor, and I dropped to 3rd behind Louis Hamilton Smith and Alex. Alice was slower than all of us. But I cocked up lapping someone, and spun across the grass. Recovered in 4th or 5th, but two laps later the master switch turned off (must have been knocked in the spin), and I coasted silently into the pits. With the electrics turned back on I rejoined in 10th and got back to 6th with a fastest lap. This is a "What If" - had I lapped more 'carefully' maybe I'd have finished 3rd, but it was my own fault. Alice had an engine problem in her main car, and so borrowed her teammate's car for the weekend. She blamed this alternative engine for being slower than usual.
Alice 173 points. Alex 162 points. Tristan 120 points.
June, Zolder. Abroad again this year. No testing. Alice tested there twice I think. I was quickest in qualifying, and claimed pole. Good-ish start and led from start to finish and got fastest lap. Alex was 2nd and Alice (who was in another teammate's car, this time with the Mugen engine) had some [genuine] technical problems and salvaged 4th with a good drive. In the second race, I was leading but I'd changed a couple of things on the car, making it very oversteery and the brakes very inefficient. I ran out of talent when both happened at once braking for a chicane, and hit a large kerb which broke my back (compression fracture of the T5 vertebrae). Struggled on in a lot of pain, but only managed 4th by the end of the race, before being lifted out of the car by medics and taken to hospital.... This is the third "What If", and was my fault for fiddling with the car in the wrong way. Alex should have won that race, but he was very very hungover after a night out, and Alice passed him when he went off the track once. Alice was 3rd quickest that weekend, but did well to get a lucky win out of it - she was in the right place to capitalise.
Alice 225 points. Alex 217 points. Tristan 174 points.
July, Brands Hatch GP. No testing, and my back was still delicate (I couldn't rest it much as I had to rebuild my car and repair the damage, as well as prepare it for this weekend). But the car was amazing. An easy pole position in qualifying. Race 1 was wet, but I stayed ahead to win and claim fastest lap (pole position for the second race) ahead of Alice in 3rd and Alex in 4th. Race 2 was my 5th pole position in a row. My start was okay, but I was beaten into the first corner by Louis Hamilton-Smith. Passed him on lap 3, and pulled away to win by ~15 seconds. Alex was 3rd, and Alice was 4th. Apparently her gearing was wrong (despite having done lots of testing, qualifying and a race to get it right).
Alice 271 points. Alex 263 points. Tristan 237 points
August, Silverstone GP (again). Windy conditions made it hard, but got pole in qual. Beaten at the start by Louis again, but passed him on the first lap and pulled away to win by 5 seconds. Alice was 2nd but quite a lot slower, and Alex was 3rd. I was on pole for Race 2, but Alice beat me into first corner. Took a few laps to pass her, despite her questionable weaving putting me on the grass, around the outside of Stowe on cement dust, and then I pulled away before I had to manage engine temperatures. Alice said it was the worst car she'd ever had (but denied it when her team questioned her comments). Alex retired with a fuel pump failure.
Alice 325 points. Alex 288 points (and effectively out of the championship). Tristan 299 points.
September, Snetterton 300. In tricky windy/damp conditions, managed to get my 8th pole in a row. Made a poor start (see the trend here!?), and dropped to 3rd behind Alice and Alex. Passed Alex after a few laps and then caught Alice at 0.75 seconds per lap. Overtook her round the outside of Coram (which becomes the inside of Murrays), but she got a slipstream down the start/finish straight. Alice has been complaining about being slow in a straight line all year (which was a lie, as her car was one of the quickest at the end of the straights, despite running more wing than me), and she got alongside and half-way ahead at T1. She turned in, and I tried to give her room, but I couldn't disappear. We touched at 120mph and hit the wall at (probably) slight over 100mph. The car was wrecked. Gearbox, Airbox, sidepod, suspension, wings, cooling system... Yes, I could have avoided it by lifting at 100m. But we both could have avoided it by not getting up that morning. It's racing and I firmly believe I was sufficiently alongside to have some rights to my bit of race track.
We tried until 3am to get the other car ready (Snetterton is my local track), but needed permission for every other driver to use it as I hadn't qualified in it. Even though I'd start from the back in a hastily prepared car, Alice (and her evil Grandfather) wouldn't let me race. This is the big "What If" if you ask me. Might have changed the complexion of the championship, even if I'd only got a 4th or 5th in Race 2. My fastest lap was enough to claim pole for race 2, even though I wasn't allowed to start. Alice then annoyed the whole paddock by getting new tyres for the second race, but then spun off on the first lap. Alex was unable to avoid hitting her though, and they both scored no points. She claimed she spun on oil, but Alex says she spun before the oil because her new tyres were still coming in.
Alice 325 points, Alex 315 points (and back in the title hunt again). Tristan 301 points.
September, Donington Park GP. Managed to call in every favour I'll ever be owed, and every bargain I could find, to fix the car in the 3 week gap between races. It was still tatty (still is), and far from perfect, but took the car by the scruff of the neck and got my 10th pole position in a row. Alice fell off in qualifying and blamed it on a stuck throttle (it wasn't - the data showed it was 100% fine). Oh, and she was hitting the rev limiter for 3/4 of the straights (when in fact it was like the last 40m). Another poor start though saw me in 3rd behind Alice and Alex. Alice was very slow through the fast corners (despite having more downforce than me), and even though she weaves around like "young pros" do these days I managed to pass her (although she claimed it was because her mirror came loose). Pulled away from her very quickly, but wasn't catching Alex that much. I tried to take too much kerb in one blind corner, and spun off. My fault for trying so hard, but I had to try, didn't I. This is another "What If" - at the time I felt I had to beat Alex, but picking up points for 2nd would have been wiser with hindsight. Alex dominated. Alice clung on to take 2nd despite pressure from the far quicker Louis Hamilton Smith in an older car.
Louis was on pole for race 2 (meaning that my 10 poles in row came to an end), but he made a mistake on the first lap. Alex and I had a great race, and I was unable to pass him, despite him not feeling the need to weave around the track like Maldonado on steroids.
Alice 372 points. Alex 375 points. Tristan 330 points. All of us still mathematically in with a chance.
October, Snetterton 300 (again).
Class pole (only invitation Carlin drivers quicker), and my best start of the year as well. Fairly comfortable win this time, but Alex was visible in my mirrors for the whole race. Alice had lost her mojo - despite choose a quicker car for the weekend, she went slower than ever (qualifying in 8th position). But Alex's 2nd meant that I was out of the championship fight, despite winning. In race 2, I made an even better start (blimey!), and actually led Carlos Sainz Jr for 2/3rds of the lap. But then two corners later I fell off on a damp patch. My fault, but hugely annoying not to end the season with a win. Alex was beaten by Henry Chart (who was finally back on the pace since the first Silverstone meeting when his engine popped), and Alice limped home in 3rd, not enough to deny Alex the title. He deserved it.
Alex 429 points. Alice 416 points. Tristan 362 points.
The rules allow us to drop our 3 worst scores (including zeros and no-shows).
Alex dropped 23 points. Alice dropped 20 points. I dropped 3 points. So the final points were...
1. Alex Craven on 406 points
2. Alice Powell on 396 points
3. Tristan Cliffe on 359 points
4. Mark Harrison on 286 points
5. Louis Hamilton-Smith on 273 points
Apologies for types and errors. Wrote it very quickly and haven't checked it.
I mostly lost the title by being bad at starts. If I had been better at starts, then I probably wouldn't have tripped over a backmarker at Brands Indy. I probably wouldn't have crashed with Alice at Snetterton, and would then have good some good points on the Sunday too. And I probably wouldn't have fallen off at Donington either, or finished 2nd on the Sunday. Maybe. Possibly. That's what I blame it on - the driver (me) not being good at starts, and hence having to push my limits more than I would like to to recover. In terms of basic speed I was quick enough. In terms of passing ability and race craft I was one of the best. In terms of setup (which I do myself), we had one of the best. But I let all the effort down the moment the red lights went out.
No regrets. I can't change it now, and I don't believe in sulking over "What Ifs", but I do like to know what the "What Ifs" were, so I can learn from them. If I can raise the funds to race next year, then I'll make sure I make a whole lot less of the above errors. Maybe then it will be enough.
April, Oulton Park. Season opener at Oulton. Our new car was delayed, so at the last minute we prepped the old car (that I was intending to rent out and prepare for customer drivers) and went racing. No preseason testing at all. Came 4th, whilst Alice dominated and Alex came second. We all thought Alice would maintain that all year, as an ex-GP3 driver with plenty of money/testing should. In race 2 I was looking to get a 4th again, but the safety car was deployed and as we all slowed down and closed up, I locked up trying to avoid hitting someone (my misjudgement) and half spun. Rejoined last, and got back to 7th. This is "What If" number 1.
Alice 63 points. Alex 54 points. Tristan 38 points.
April, Silverstone GP. We got the new car, but only about 10 days before the meeting, so no time to test it or solve the various issues. For instance, the datalogger didn't work (flat logger battery), which meant I got no data and had the engine ignition retarded a lot (big drop in power). I also miscalculated the gearing, (but with the various logger problems it was very hard to tell what gears I was using anyway), so didn't have a useful 6th gear. Not counting this as a "What If" because there wasn't much more we could do in the time available. Nevertheless, I got a 6th and a 5th. Alice didn't dominate, and was beaten in race 1 by Henry Chart. Alex got a 4th and a 2nd, whilst Henry's engine exploded which ruined his season (the new engine took a while to get, and wasn't reliable to begin with). Alice blamed the ride height of her car for being beaten.
Alice 121 points. Alex 104 points. Tristan 76 points.
June, Brands Hatch Indy. Still no testing, but was pretty much on the pace of Alex, who in turn had caught up with Alice. Got a podium in the first race, and fastest lap (which was pole for race 2, my first pole of the year). In the second race my start was poor, and I dropped to 3rd behind Louis Hamilton Smith and Alex. Alice was slower than all of us. But I cocked up lapping someone, and spun across the grass. Recovered in 4th or 5th, but two laps later the master switch turned off (must have been knocked in the spin), and I coasted silently into the pits. With the electrics turned back on I rejoined in 10th and got back to 6th with a fastest lap. This is a "What If" - had I lapped more 'carefully' maybe I'd have finished 3rd, but it was my own fault. Alice had an engine problem in her main car, and so borrowed her teammate's car for the weekend. She blamed this alternative engine for being slower than usual.
Alice 173 points. Alex 162 points. Tristan 120 points.
June, Zolder. Abroad again this year. No testing. Alice tested there twice I think. I was quickest in qualifying, and claimed pole. Good-ish start and led from start to finish and got fastest lap. Alex was 2nd and Alice (who was in another teammate's car, this time with the Mugen engine) had some [genuine] technical problems and salvaged 4th with a good drive. In the second race, I was leading but I'd changed a couple of things on the car, making it very oversteery and the brakes very inefficient. I ran out of talent when both happened at once braking for a chicane, and hit a large kerb which broke my back (compression fracture of the T5 vertebrae). Struggled on in a lot of pain, but only managed 4th by the end of the race, before being lifted out of the car by medics and taken to hospital.... This is the third "What If", and was my fault for fiddling with the car in the wrong way. Alex should have won that race, but he was very very hungover after a night out, and Alice passed him when he went off the track once. Alice was 3rd quickest that weekend, but did well to get a lucky win out of it - she was in the right place to capitalise.
Alice 225 points. Alex 217 points. Tristan 174 points.
July, Brands Hatch GP. No testing, and my back was still delicate (I couldn't rest it much as I had to rebuild my car and repair the damage, as well as prepare it for this weekend). But the car was amazing. An easy pole position in qualifying. Race 1 was wet, but I stayed ahead to win and claim fastest lap (pole position for the second race) ahead of Alice in 3rd and Alex in 4th. Race 2 was my 5th pole position in a row. My start was okay, but I was beaten into the first corner by Louis Hamilton-Smith. Passed him on lap 3, and pulled away to win by ~15 seconds. Alex was 3rd, and Alice was 4th. Apparently her gearing was wrong (despite having done lots of testing, qualifying and a race to get it right).
Alice 271 points. Alex 263 points. Tristan 237 points
August, Silverstone GP (again). Windy conditions made it hard, but got pole in qual. Beaten at the start by Louis again, but passed him on the first lap and pulled away to win by 5 seconds. Alice was 2nd but quite a lot slower, and Alex was 3rd. I was on pole for Race 2, but Alice beat me into first corner. Took a few laps to pass her, despite her questionable weaving putting me on the grass, around the outside of Stowe on cement dust, and then I pulled away before I had to manage engine temperatures. Alice said it was the worst car she'd ever had (but denied it when her team questioned her comments). Alex retired with a fuel pump failure.
Alice 325 points. Alex 288 points (and effectively out of the championship). Tristan 299 points.
September, Snetterton 300. In tricky windy/damp conditions, managed to get my 8th pole in a row. Made a poor start (see the trend here!?), and dropped to 3rd behind Alice and Alex. Passed Alex after a few laps and then caught Alice at 0.75 seconds per lap. Overtook her round the outside of Coram (which becomes the inside of Murrays), but she got a slipstream down the start/finish straight. Alice has been complaining about being slow in a straight line all year (which was a lie, as her car was one of the quickest at the end of the straights, despite running more wing than me), and she got alongside and half-way ahead at T1. She turned in, and I tried to give her room, but I couldn't disappear. We touched at 120mph and hit the wall at (probably) slight over 100mph. The car was wrecked. Gearbox, Airbox, sidepod, suspension, wings, cooling system... Yes, I could have avoided it by lifting at 100m. But we both could have avoided it by not getting up that morning. It's racing and I firmly believe I was sufficiently alongside to have some rights to my bit of race track.
We tried until 3am to get the other car ready (Snetterton is my local track), but needed permission for every other driver to use it as I hadn't qualified in it. Even though I'd start from the back in a hastily prepared car, Alice (and her evil Grandfather) wouldn't let me race. This is the big "What If" if you ask me. Might have changed the complexion of the championship, even if I'd only got a 4th or 5th in Race 2. My fastest lap was enough to claim pole for race 2, even though I wasn't allowed to start. Alice then annoyed the whole paddock by getting new tyres for the second race, but then spun off on the first lap. Alex was unable to avoid hitting her though, and they both scored no points. She claimed she spun on oil, but Alex says she spun before the oil because her new tyres were still coming in.
Alice 325 points, Alex 315 points (and back in the title hunt again). Tristan 301 points.
September, Donington Park GP. Managed to call in every favour I'll ever be owed, and every bargain I could find, to fix the car in the 3 week gap between races. It was still tatty (still is), and far from perfect, but took the car by the scruff of the neck and got my 10th pole position in a row. Alice fell off in qualifying and blamed it on a stuck throttle (it wasn't - the data showed it was 100% fine). Oh, and she was hitting the rev limiter for 3/4 of the straights (when in fact it was like the last 40m). Another poor start though saw me in 3rd behind Alice and Alex. Alice was very slow through the fast corners (despite having more downforce than me), and even though she weaves around like "young pros" do these days I managed to pass her (although she claimed it was because her mirror came loose). Pulled away from her very quickly, but wasn't catching Alex that much. I tried to take too much kerb in one blind corner, and spun off. My fault for trying so hard, but I had to try, didn't I. This is another "What If" - at the time I felt I had to beat Alex, but picking up points for 2nd would have been wiser with hindsight. Alex dominated. Alice clung on to take 2nd despite pressure from the far quicker Louis Hamilton Smith in an older car.
Louis was on pole for race 2 (meaning that my 10 poles in row came to an end), but he made a mistake on the first lap. Alex and I had a great race, and I was unable to pass him, despite him not feeling the need to weave around the track like Maldonado on steroids.
Alice 372 points. Alex 375 points. Tristan 330 points. All of us still mathematically in with a chance.
October, Snetterton 300 (again).
Class pole (only invitation Carlin drivers quicker), and my best start of the year as well. Fairly comfortable win this time, but Alex was visible in my mirrors for the whole race. Alice had lost her mojo - despite choose a quicker car for the weekend, she went slower than ever (qualifying in 8th position). But Alex's 2nd meant that I was out of the championship fight, despite winning. In race 2, I made an even better start (blimey!), and actually led Carlos Sainz Jr for 2/3rds of the lap. But then two corners later I fell off on a damp patch. My fault, but hugely annoying not to end the season with a win. Alex was beaten by Henry Chart (who was finally back on the pace since the first Silverstone meeting when his engine popped), and Alice limped home in 3rd, not enough to deny Alex the title. He deserved it.
Alex 429 points. Alice 416 points. Tristan 362 points.
The rules allow us to drop our 3 worst scores (including zeros and no-shows).
Alex dropped 23 points. Alice dropped 20 points. I dropped 3 points. So the final points were...
1. Alex Craven on 406 points
2. Alice Powell on 396 points
3. Tristan Cliffe on 359 points
4. Mark Harrison on 286 points
5. Louis Hamilton-Smith on 273 points
Apologies for types and errors. Wrote it very quickly and haven't checked it.
I mostly lost the title by being bad at starts. If I had been better at starts, then I probably wouldn't have tripped over a backmarker at Brands Indy. I probably wouldn't have crashed with Alice at Snetterton, and would then have good some good points on the Sunday too. And I probably wouldn't have fallen off at Donington either, or finished 2nd on the Sunday. Maybe. Possibly. That's what I blame it on - the driver (me) not being good at starts, and hence having to push my limits more than I would like to to recover. In terms of basic speed I was quick enough. In terms of passing ability and race craft I was one of the best. In terms of setup (which I do myself), we had one of the best. But I let all the effort down the moment the red lights went out.
No regrets. I can't change it now, and I don't believe in sulking over "What Ifs", but I do like to know what the "What Ifs" were, so I can learn from them. If I can raise the funds to race next year, then I'll make sure I make a whole lot less of the above errors. Maybe then it will be enough.
Where the carlin cars a completetly different class interms of engine power?
or just better equipment/setup.
or just better equipment/setup.
They were using newer chassis (2011 and 2013 spec) with current engines (more power, more torque), probably using the F3 weight limit which is about 15kg lower than ours. they were setup by more people, with more data, using better facilities, and driven by more talented guys with more practice than me, and without the worry of money if they crash it.
Their weekend (each) will have cost them (or their sponsors) more than I spent in the whole year!!!!! But they were only 2.25 seconds quicker in qualifying.
Their weekend (each) will have cost them (or their sponsors) more than I spent in the whole year!!!!! But they were only 2.25 seconds quicker in qualifying.
Thanks for the comantary on your year, Good racing, 1 of the most enjoyable classes to watch, Ill keep my fingers crossed for you that u can raise the funds for next year. 
Ill keep my fingers crossed for you that u can raise the funds for next year. Will Buxton is very happy, Alice is off to win GP3 next season. Or something. Probably something.
Place your bets on where she finishes in Abu Dhabi. Then take a place or two off, and that's where I might finish 
(except I'm not fit enough, rich enough, connected enough, or anything like that).
(except I'm not fit enough, rich enough, connected enough, or anything like that).It would have been interesting to see if Alex Craven had got the ride. Sadly never going to happen.
What spec F3 was Alice using in the Cup?
She used three different cars.
For most, she was in a Euro Open spec (Spanish F3), like I used in 2012. The car is 20kg heavier, but she is 20kg lighter, so she was on the weight limit pretty much (I was @5kg over the limit, and Alex was ~12kg over the limit). More revs, less torque (but gearing cancels a lot of that out), and more power (so higher straightline speed given equal wing angles and corner exit speeds).
For most, she was in a Euro Open spec (Spanish F3), like I used in 2012. The car is 20kg heavier, but she is 20kg lighter, so she was on the weight limit pretty much (I was @5kg over the limit, and Alex was ~12kg over the limit). More revs, less torque (but gearing cancels a lot of that out), and more power (so higher straightline speed given equal wing angles and corner exit speeds).
Thanks Tristan, I have always thought the same, but have not had the opportunity to test my hypothesis too much :/ Having two kids tends to put a damper on finances haha!
I will search you out next season. I am sure I will go to at least one event. Brooklands College races in the amateur track-day cup that runs with you guys. They are sponsored by 'the race centre' where I sim race.
Tristan you up for a 24hr endurance race on the 15-16Nov in London? Same goes for anyone really, we could always use more drivers! You get a chance to beat up on BRDC F4 cup driver Matt Bell
Watched the replay of Race 1 @ Snetterton. Looked like you were a bit optimistic there methinks
I'll give you that, it would take some large ko-hones to shove a car up the inside like that! No wonder your 5kg over the weight limit 
You have this car sussed it looks like standing starts aside, can't wait to see how it unfolds next season!
Tristan Cliffe
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