The 18th season of OWRL's S2 league has just reached half way point. The league, running in the first half of 2011 visit LFS' 6 venues in 6 different events, using the FOX, the FBM and the FO8 for 2 rounds each.
So far the championship has been dominated by 3id J.Lehikoinen, who clinched 5 wins out of 6 races. The Finn isn't very far away from his 2nd OWRL S2 title. Meanwhile, Playerzone Italia tops the teams' standings.
Here is a resume of the first 3 rounds:
Round 1 - FOX @ Kyoto National
OWRL hadn't seen such a quality field for a long time, as S2 Season 18 kicked off on a very classic and popular combo: FOX at Kyoto National. This proved to attract crowds, with 50 drivers showing up and separated in 2 pools, including many famous and experienced drivers.
3id J.Lehikoinen proved straight away why he was the favorite for his own succession. Reigning champion took pool A pole in the first qualifying of the season. His countryman ineX T.Iivonen follows closely behind in 2nd, while Italian ace PLZ-Naselli takes 3rd for his OWRL debuts.
Race 1 was on shortly afterwards. The long run up to turn 1 was said to be a crucial point in the race, considering the huge slipstreaming effect on these small single seaters. And it was eventful indeed, with 3rd place starter PLZ-Naselli taking the lead very intelligently at the breaking point. Not for long. 3id J.Lehikoinen had the situation under control again after passing PLZ's new recruit at turn 3. One lap later, and it was ineX T.Iivonen's turn to take his place back. In the end Nazelli couldn't even cheer himself up with a podium: he was the last victim of v\Kristov. Starting 10th, the Hungarian youngster was already 7th at the end of lap 1, 4th after lap 2. He then sold Nazelli a dummy at lap 5, before securing 3rd behind the two unreachable Finns, 3id J.Lehikoinen and ineX T.Iivonen. Naselli ended up in 4th in front of another Finn, spdo Maddee.
Top 8 reversed grid for main race meant that [SR] Isaac would start on pole, in front of ex-team-mate ineX S.Cattell. The latter took an early lead after pulling a great pass on the outside of T1, despite his persistent reputation of "not being able to overtake". Isaac's reply came shortly afterwards: a great pass - still on the outside - at T5, a fast and long left hander. Those two however, didn't stand a chance against the great 3id J.Lehikoinen, and neither did the rest of the field either. Starting from 8th, the reigning champion quickly made his way through the field, and took a definitive lead by lap 12, after [SR] Isaac lost several places due to an half-spin. The other man on a charge was v\Kristov. The Vires driver was on 2nd place for most of the event after some eventful first few laps, but ruined all chances of a good result after getting tangled by ineX S.Cattell, before being collected by the poor PLZ-Naselli. This meant that Lehikoinen would be followed by 3 ineX members, T.Iivonen, S.Cattell and A.Terzic. [HC]TEAM SAAB follows in 5th after a quiet but strong run.
In pool B Cq|Gargi took sprint race, but didn't have the opportunity to make it 2 out of 2 after an incident with other race contender TEM/Y.Laprevotte in feature. This was a golden opportunity for former OWRL admin pod.hama Pio to win the race, after starting from 5th.
3id J.Lehikoinen very logically takes the championship lead after snatching all available points so far. ineX drivers T.Iivonen and S.Cattell follow in 2nd and 3rd.
Round 2 - FOX @ Aston Historic Reversed
S2 Season 18 carried on with its last FOX event of season 18, taking place last Saturday. The OWRL circus visited one of LFS' fastest road course: Aston Historic Reversed.
After some moments of confusion before the event, it was decided to only have one pool instead of the planned two, due to an weak turn-up rate. If reigning champion 3id J.Lehikoinen turned-up as planned, some of his opponents didn't: ineX did not field one single car, as they were too busy with round 4 of the prestigious Masters of Endurance going on the same day, [HC]TEAM SAAB was absent aswell for unknown reasons, so was v\Kristov, though Team Vires managed to sign up 4 of his team-mates, including MRT Cup race winner v\J.Peace.
Unsurprisingly qualifying was dominated by 3id J.Lehikoinen, who claimed his 6th S2 Season pole in a row. The My3id driver somehow managed to get a 4 tenths margin over his closest opponent, England's famous kart ace v\J.Peace. PLZ-Naselli follows in 3rd as he did in round 1.
The first chicane was quite a concern considering the huge field of 32 cars. And it didn't go so well in sprint race indeed: a small pile-up occurred at the back, while PLZ-Bartolotta was taken off after a strange lag-related incident. Positions did not change up front however. This, until lap 4, in which v\J.Peace launched an attack on Lehikoinen, pulling a fantastic outside pass at the exit of the sweepers. Lehikoinen had the draft in the next straight, and tried to counter this immediately. The two cars were side by side at the entry of the mighty flat out chicane. Peace had the inside and took the lead, forcing his Finnish rival to go wide in the grass and rejoin in 2nd. Positions didn't change until the end, and v\J.Peace won in front of 3id J.Lehikoinen, PLZ-Naselli, CR|BLOBO and [SR] blb.
The top 8 reversed grid for main race meant that Croatia's mega™ IvaN would start on pole, in front of [SR] Tanakan and v\J.Villa. One main absent in the race: v\J.Peace, who had to leave the server. Mega™ IvaN could not pull the start he wanted, and was passed immediately by Frenchman [SR] Tanakan. Meanwhile, a huge incident or a rare violence stroke the back of the field: after getting an unique lag issue, PLZ-Bartolotta litterally drove through the field, sending several drivers to the airs, ruining their hopes. Up front, IvaN kept losing ground in the opening lap, and dropped to 5th after being passed by v\J.Villa, CR|BLOBO and 3id J.Lehikoinen within lap 1. The three of them quickly caught Tanakan back, leading into a 4 way battle by lap 3. It was clear however that 3id J.Lehikoinen was the fastest of them all. The Finnish driver managed to get away from the pack by the end of lap 4, and easily cruised to another victory. Battle for 2nd was still raging for a few laps, until CR|BLOBO got a definitive edge on his rivals to get 2nd behind his countryman. v\J.Villa appeared to be able to get the final spot, but a mistake at lap 12 made him swap positions with [SR] blb. The top 5 is competed by the very surprising 12th place starter PLZ-Rotello.
Round 3 - FBM @ Aston Historic Reversed
Last week saw the beginning of the FBM cycle. After the very fast Aston Historic Reversed, the drivers had to master the much slower, but still tricky South City Long.
At the start of the qualifying session, it appeared that the man to beat was still reigning champion and current championship leader 3id J. Lehikoinen. But the Finnish driver showed straight away he still wouldn't get defeated this time. With an impressive 1:36:7, Lehikoinen would put himself on pole for the seventh time in a row in the S2 league. [HC]TEAM™SAAB and Cq|Gargi were following in 2nd and 3rd, almost half a second adrift.
The sprint race was rather uneventful up front. 3id J.Lehikoinen, [HC]TEAM™SAAB and Cq|Gargi kept 1st, 2nd and 3rd all the way, without being in real danger one single moment. The main interrest in that race was the battle for the lower positions: v\J.Koskinen was starting 4th, but got passed by PLZ-Bartolotta at turn 1. Koskinen then overheated his front tyres early in the race, probably due to inappropriate camber settings. This allowed PLZ-Nazelli to take 5th at lap 7, despite an aggressive defense from the Finnish teenager. After an impressive climb, 13th place starter PLZ-Rotello then tried to follow his team-mates, but a desperate attempt on Koskinen at the very last corner of the race ended badly: the two cars tangled, sending Koskinen upside down. This is how Russian driver B^mx>devis got 6th place on a plate.
Top 8 reversed grid meant that Kamikas[EST] would start on pole for feature, in front of PLZ-Rotello. However, Rotello got a better run on the poleman at the start, and took the lead before turn 1. Kamikas lost a few more places at turn 1, after being a victim of an opportunistic overtaking manoever from Naselli, which caused some trouble in the pack. This is what 3id J.Lehikoinen was waiting for: the Finnish driver was already 3rd at the end of lap 1, after going through unhurt through the may-hem. Lehikoinen then passed both B^mx>devis and PLZ-Rotello in one move a lap later, and took the lead already. This maneuver also allowed PLZ-Bartolotta and Cq|Gargi to get through the two cars a few corners later. Without much surprise, 3id J.Lehikoinen managed to pull away from his rival, and took his fifth win in 6 races this season. Cq|Gargi takes 2nd after having passed PLZ-Bartolotta in lap 3. The latter seemed to be set for 3rd place, until another lag oddity sent him into the barrier after halfway, fortunately without taking out anyone else this time. This handled the last podium slot to team-mate PLZ-Naselli, while Bartolotta could eventually secure 4th. Most of the action was on the battle for 5th place however: early leaders PLZ-Rotello and B^mx devis carried on with their initial fight for most of the race. Until lap 19, in which B^mx devis attempted an ambitious outside move at the last corner of the course. The two cars contacted, sending B^mx devis into a spin, while PLZ-Rotello could carry on with no damage or position loss. Rotello then had to defend against Kamikas[EST]; the two drivers swapped positions several times until the Estonian driver got a definitive edge on his Italian rival at lap 23, and took 5th place. Devis eventually got around Rotello some laps later, and took 6th. The Playerzone driver even lost 2 positions after an unfortunate last lap puncture, and ended up in 9th place.
With 3 races completed out of 6, 3id J.Lehikoinen now holds a 99 points lead over PLZ-Naselli, with PLZ-Rotello and B^mx devis following respectively 133 and 134 points behind. With the worst round being dropped at the standings, the My3id driver could well clinch the title for next round, at Fern Bay Gold Reversed.
Meanwhile, at the teams' championship, Playerzone Italia tops the standings sheet, with 355 points. The one car entry of My3id Gaming is second with 270 points. The podium is surprisingly rounded up by Flash Racing from Finland(228 points), who are closely followed by Russia's Blur MX Team.
Standings: Drivers | Teams
Results Page
So far the championship has been dominated by 3id J.Lehikoinen, who clinched 5 wins out of 6 races. The Finn isn't very far away from his 2nd OWRL S2 title. Meanwhile, Playerzone Italia tops the teams' standings.
Here is a resume of the first 3 rounds:
Round 1 - FOX @ Kyoto National
OWRL hadn't seen such a quality field for a long time, as S2 Season 18 kicked off on a very classic and popular combo: FOX at Kyoto National. This proved to attract crowds, with 50 drivers showing up and separated in 2 pools, including many famous and experienced drivers.
3id J.Lehikoinen proved straight away why he was the favorite for his own succession. Reigning champion took pool A pole in the first qualifying of the season. His countryman ineX T.Iivonen follows closely behind in 2nd, while Italian ace PLZ-Naselli takes 3rd for his OWRL debuts.
Race 1 was on shortly afterwards. The long run up to turn 1 was said to be a crucial point in the race, considering the huge slipstreaming effect on these small single seaters. And it was eventful indeed, with 3rd place starter PLZ-Naselli taking the lead very intelligently at the breaking point. Not for long. 3id J.Lehikoinen had the situation under control again after passing PLZ's new recruit at turn 3. One lap later, and it was ineX T.Iivonen's turn to take his place back. In the end Nazelli couldn't even cheer himself up with a podium: he was the last victim of v\Kristov. Starting 10th, the Hungarian youngster was already 7th at the end of lap 1, 4th after lap 2. He then sold Nazelli a dummy at lap 5, before securing 3rd behind the two unreachable Finns, 3id J.Lehikoinen and ineX T.Iivonen. Naselli ended up in 4th in front of another Finn, spdo Maddee.
Top 8 reversed grid for main race meant that [SR] Isaac would start on pole, in front of ex-team-mate ineX S.Cattell. The latter took an early lead after pulling a great pass on the outside of T1, despite his persistent reputation of "not being able to overtake". Isaac's reply came shortly afterwards: a great pass - still on the outside - at T5, a fast and long left hander. Those two however, didn't stand a chance against the great 3id J.Lehikoinen, and neither did the rest of the field either. Starting from 8th, the reigning champion quickly made his way through the field, and took a definitive lead by lap 12, after [SR] Isaac lost several places due to an half-spin. The other man on a charge was v\Kristov. The Vires driver was on 2nd place for most of the event after some eventful first few laps, but ruined all chances of a good result after getting tangled by ineX S.Cattell, before being collected by the poor PLZ-Naselli. This meant that Lehikoinen would be followed by 3 ineX members, T.Iivonen, S.Cattell and A.Terzic. [HC]TEAM SAAB follows in 5th after a quiet but strong run.
In pool B Cq|Gargi took sprint race, but didn't have the opportunity to make it 2 out of 2 after an incident with other race contender TEM/Y.Laprevotte in feature. This was a golden opportunity for former OWRL admin pod.hama Pio to win the race, after starting from 5th.
3id J.Lehikoinen very logically takes the championship lead after snatching all available points so far. ineX drivers T.Iivonen and S.Cattell follow in 2nd and 3rd.
Round 2 - FOX @ Aston Historic Reversed
S2 Season 18 carried on with its last FOX event of season 18, taking place last Saturday. The OWRL circus visited one of LFS' fastest road course: Aston Historic Reversed.
After some moments of confusion before the event, it was decided to only have one pool instead of the planned two, due to an weak turn-up rate. If reigning champion 3id J.Lehikoinen turned-up as planned, some of his opponents didn't: ineX did not field one single car, as they were too busy with round 4 of the prestigious Masters of Endurance going on the same day, [HC]TEAM SAAB was absent aswell for unknown reasons, so was v\Kristov, though Team Vires managed to sign up 4 of his team-mates, including MRT Cup race winner v\J.Peace.
Unsurprisingly qualifying was dominated by 3id J.Lehikoinen, who claimed his 6th S2 Season pole in a row. The My3id driver somehow managed to get a 4 tenths margin over his closest opponent, England's famous kart ace v\J.Peace. PLZ-Naselli follows in 3rd as he did in round 1.
The first chicane was quite a concern considering the huge field of 32 cars. And it didn't go so well in sprint race indeed: a small pile-up occurred at the back, while PLZ-Bartolotta was taken off after a strange lag-related incident. Positions did not change up front however. This, until lap 4, in which v\J.Peace launched an attack on Lehikoinen, pulling a fantastic outside pass at the exit of the sweepers. Lehikoinen had the draft in the next straight, and tried to counter this immediately. The two cars were side by side at the entry of the mighty flat out chicane. Peace had the inside and took the lead, forcing his Finnish rival to go wide in the grass and rejoin in 2nd. Positions didn't change until the end, and v\J.Peace won in front of 3id J.Lehikoinen, PLZ-Naselli, CR|BLOBO and [SR] blb.
The top 8 reversed grid for main race meant that Croatia's mega™ IvaN would start on pole, in front of [SR] Tanakan and v\J.Villa. One main absent in the race: v\J.Peace, who had to leave the server. Mega™ IvaN could not pull the start he wanted, and was passed immediately by Frenchman [SR] Tanakan. Meanwhile, a huge incident or a rare violence stroke the back of the field: after getting an unique lag issue, PLZ-Bartolotta litterally drove through the field, sending several drivers to the airs, ruining their hopes. Up front, IvaN kept losing ground in the opening lap, and dropped to 5th after being passed by v\J.Villa, CR|BLOBO and 3id J.Lehikoinen within lap 1. The three of them quickly caught Tanakan back, leading into a 4 way battle by lap 3. It was clear however that 3id J.Lehikoinen was the fastest of them all. The Finnish driver managed to get away from the pack by the end of lap 4, and easily cruised to another victory. Battle for 2nd was still raging for a few laps, until CR|BLOBO got a definitive edge on his rivals to get 2nd behind his countryman. v\J.Villa appeared to be able to get the final spot, but a mistake at lap 12 made him swap positions with [SR] blb. The top 5 is competed by the very surprising 12th place starter PLZ-Rotello.
Round 3 - FBM @ Aston Historic Reversed
Last week saw the beginning of the FBM cycle. After the very fast Aston Historic Reversed, the drivers had to master the much slower, but still tricky South City Long.
At the start of the qualifying session, it appeared that the man to beat was still reigning champion and current championship leader 3id J. Lehikoinen. But the Finnish driver showed straight away he still wouldn't get defeated this time. With an impressive 1:36:7, Lehikoinen would put himself on pole for the seventh time in a row in the S2 league. [HC]TEAM™SAAB and Cq|Gargi were following in 2nd and 3rd, almost half a second adrift.
The sprint race was rather uneventful up front. 3id J.Lehikoinen, [HC]TEAM™SAAB and Cq|Gargi kept 1st, 2nd and 3rd all the way, without being in real danger one single moment. The main interrest in that race was the battle for the lower positions: v\J.Koskinen was starting 4th, but got passed by PLZ-Bartolotta at turn 1. Koskinen then overheated his front tyres early in the race, probably due to inappropriate camber settings. This allowed PLZ-Nazelli to take 5th at lap 7, despite an aggressive defense from the Finnish teenager. After an impressive climb, 13th place starter PLZ-Rotello then tried to follow his team-mates, but a desperate attempt on Koskinen at the very last corner of the race ended badly: the two cars tangled, sending Koskinen upside down. This is how Russian driver B^mx>devis got 6th place on a plate.
Top 8 reversed grid meant that Kamikas[EST] would start on pole for feature, in front of PLZ-Rotello. However, Rotello got a better run on the poleman at the start, and took the lead before turn 1. Kamikas lost a few more places at turn 1, after being a victim of an opportunistic overtaking manoever from Naselli, which caused some trouble in the pack. This is what 3id J.Lehikoinen was waiting for: the Finnish driver was already 3rd at the end of lap 1, after going through unhurt through the may-hem. Lehikoinen then passed both B^mx>devis and PLZ-Rotello in one move a lap later, and took the lead already. This maneuver also allowed PLZ-Bartolotta and Cq|Gargi to get through the two cars a few corners later. Without much surprise, 3id J.Lehikoinen managed to pull away from his rival, and took his fifth win in 6 races this season. Cq|Gargi takes 2nd after having passed PLZ-Bartolotta in lap 3. The latter seemed to be set for 3rd place, until another lag oddity sent him into the barrier after halfway, fortunately without taking out anyone else this time. This handled the last podium slot to team-mate PLZ-Naselli, while Bartolotta could eventually secure 4th. Most of the action was on the battle for 5th place however: early leaders PLZ-Rotello and B^mx devis carried on with their initial fight for most of the race. Until lap 19, in which B^mx devis attempted an ambitious outside move at the last corner of the course. The two cars contacted, sending B^mx devis into a spin, while PLZ-Rotello could carry on with no damage or position loss. Rotello then had to defend against Kamikas[EST]; the two drivers swapped positions several times until the Estonian driver got a definitive edge on his Italian rival at lap 23, and took 5th place. Devis eventually got around Rotello some laps later, and took 6th. The Playerzone driver even lost 2 positions after an unfortunate last lap puncture, and ended up in 9th place.
With 3 races completed out of 6, 3id J.Lehikoinen now holds a 99 points lead over PLZ-Naselli, with PLZ-Rotello and B^mx devis following respectively 133 and 134 points behind. With the worst round being dropped at the standings, the My3id driver could well clinch the title for next round, at Fern Bay Gold Reversed.
Meanwhile, at the teams' championship, Playerzone Italia tops the standings sheet, with 355 points. The one car entry of My3id Gaming is second with 270 points. The podium is surprisingly rounded up by Flash Racing from Finland(228 points), who are closely followed by Russia's Blur MX Team.
Standings: Drivers | Teams
Results Page