After a very strong first season half, 3id J.Lehikoinen got the job done and secured the back-to-back drivers' title, despite missing round 4. With 8 wins and 2 second places in 10 races, no one could rivalise with him this season. He could clearly make 3 in a row if he decides to take part to season 19.
Meanwhile, Playerzone Italia gets their maiden teams' championship, in their first season. The Italian guys had a very consistant season, and drivers Naselli and Bartolotta were often the "best of the rest" behind Lehikoinen.
Here is a review of each of the last 3 rounds:
Round 4 - FBM @ Fern Bay Gold Reversed
The second and last race of the FBM cycle would be held at Fern Bay Gold Reversed, Jamaica. With its small runaway areas, its huge kerbs and tyres placed very close to the racing line, this one still looks to belong to the 20th century. Certainly the kind of track that would give an headache to any FIA safety inspector.
Before the race, the main topic in the paddock was the absence of the reigning champion and championship leader, 3id J.Lehikoinen. Although his lead isn't quite at threat so far, his non-show would definitely have a huge influence in the races, as it would allow many of his contenders to shine. Also to mention, this event would be the first to have two pools since round 1.
Qualifying would see PLZ-Naselli taking the pole. [HC]TEAM SAAB follows in 2nd, in front of the other PLZ car of Bartolotta.
The top 2 would be frozen in sprint race, with PLZ-Naselli taking his maiden OWRL victory in front of [HC]TEAM SAAB, who waited all race for long for a mistake from the leader. PLZ-Bartolotta made a mistake early in the race and dropped from 3rd to 5th, but the Italian passed B^mx devis shortly afterward, and eventually took the last podium slot after [SR] blb rolled in the last lap of the race. The top 5 is rounded up by FPR Tisu#66 and fζ T.Ramu, who had a strong run from 6th and 7th on the grid.
Feature race would see pod.hama Krutch and B^mx devis on front row, thanks to the usual top 8 reverse. The two of them remained in the lead for a few laps, until [HC]TEAM SAAB and PLZ-Bartolotta made the junction and took 1 and 2. Bartolotta would be left all alone in the lead after SAAB span out at lap 10. PLZ-Bartolotta would then cruise to the victory in front of B^mx devis and PLZ-Naselli. However poor Bartolotta would be given a 5 seconds penalty for hitting a chat bind early in the race, meaning that he would swap his position with devis, with the Russian inheriting of the main race win. pod.hama Krutch and OWRL returner eX.R Smutje round up the top 5.
In pool B ev0>>Timo and TEM/Y.Laprevotte took comfortable victories, without ever being worried.
At the championship, 3id J.Lehikoinen is still leading, thanks to the worst round being dropped. PLZ-Naselli and B^mx devis follow in 2nd and 3rd. Meanwhile at the teams' championship Playerzone Italia leads 173 points over Blur MX Team, 207 over eXtrem Racing, and 212 over Flash Racing.
There now are two rounds left in Season 18: Blackwood GP and Kyoto GP Long, both in the FO8.
Round 5 - FO8 @ Blackwood GP
The penultimate round of the OWRL S2 Season 18 would take place at LFS' oldest and most famous track ever, Blackwood GP, with the very powerful FO8.
After being absent last round, 3id J.Lehikoinen was back to try to secure the back-to-back title, against his rival PLZ-Naselli.
Without much surprise the Finnish driver came on top of the qualifying session. Lehikoinen showed another hotlap demonstration, lapping half a second faster than 2nd and 3rd place runners, championship contender PLZ-Naselli and his teammate PLZ-Bartolotta. Quite a huge margin for a 61 seconds lap. Cq| Gargi and spdoﾁ!ﾏed｡round up the top 5, in front of TEM/Y.Laprevotte, PLZ-Rotello and B^mx>devis.
The race 1 results were played by lap 1, as often in the sprint race. 3Id J.Lehikoinen and PLZ-Naselli took a fine start, and finished on top in this order. However spdoﾁ!ﾏed｡took a brilliant start from 5th, and passed both PLZ-Bartolotta and Cq|Gargi at T1 to get up to 3rd. Cq|Gargi then took benefit from Bartolotta's mistake one corner later, to take 4th. Behind, PLZ-Rotello takes 6th after having passed TEM/Y.Laprevotte at T1 around half-way, putting 3 Playerzone cars in the top 6. Laprevotte and eX.R Mikey23(who made a nice climb from 12th) round up the top 8.
The latter started on pole in race 2, thanks to the reversed grid. Surprisingly Mikey23 was still up front at the end of lap 1. 4th place starter Bartolotta led the chase and passed him at lap 2, but had to serve a drive through penalty for an incident occuring at round 4, giving 1st place back to Mikey. The top drivers of race 1 didn't take long to come back to him however. 3id J.Lehikoinen was the fastest of them all as usual, charging his way through the field and passing the German for the lead at lap 6. Cq|Gargi(lap 9) and spdoﾁ!ﾏed｡(lap 10) got round the eXtrem Racing car aswell. PLZ-Naselli wasn't part of this leading trio, having taken an extremely careful approach in the first few laps. The Italian made up some ground later in the race however, and ended up in 4th by the 2/3 of the race, followed by PLZ-Bartolotta. The top 5 order would then stay the same until the end, with 3id J.Lehikoinen taking another win, in front of Cq|Gargi, spdoﾁ!ﾏed｡, PLZ-Naselli and PLZ-Bartolotta. The main battle in the last few laps was for 6th. eX.R Mikey23 looked to be set to take it, but a spin at 3 laps to go made him drop to 10th. His fellow front row starter TEM/Y.Laprevotte was there to inherit of the place, after a great battle with pod.hama Krutch – the two drivers swapped positions several times, until the Frenchman got it for good. Krutch couldn't save 6th, as a spin very late in the race would cost him 3 places. B^mx>devis took 7th, in front of one of the two female drivers of the field, OWRL newcomer TEM/L.Solfrank.
Despite he clinched he clinched his 7 victories in the 8 races he took part in this season, 3id J.Lehikoinen did not manage to secure the drivers' title yet. PLZ-Naselli can still mathematically clinch it coming to the final round at Kyoto GP. However, this task will be extremely difficult for the Italian driver: finishing the race should be enough for his Finnish rival to keep the championship. Should the My3id driver not finish or take the start, Naselli would still have to finish on the podium to be crowded. Meanwhile, Bmx^devis looks confortable in 3rd place, though he still would have to worry of PLZ-Bartolotta currently standing in 4th, 21 points behind the Russian.
Meanwhile, in the teams' championship, Playerzone Italia is now officially team champions this season. The Italian team managed to build their advantage from round 1 thanks to consistant podium finishes. They now succeed to RAPTOR-RACING and Sonicrealms Racing, the two previous champions since the title's creation back in season 16. Congrats to them! Everything looks wide open for the remaining podiums slots however, with eXtrem Racing and Blur MX Racing standing in 2nd and 3rd, 17 points away from each over.
The penultimate round of the OWRL S2 Season 18 would take place at LFS' oldest and most famous track ever, Blackwood GP, with the very powerful FO8.
Round 6 - FO8 @ Kyoto GP Long
The conclusion of S2 Season 18 took place on the great Kyoto GP Long with the FO8. This combo, very much liked among the drivers, promised some good racing. The drivers' championship was to be decided here, with reigning champion 3id J.Lehikoinen keeping a commanding lead over challenger PLZ-Naselli before coming to qualifying.
Just like in S2 Season 17, 3id J. Lehikoinen has taken the driver championship of S2 Season 18 in commanding style. This time the decision wasn't made before the final event of the season. At Kyoto GP Long the Finnish driver finished second and first in the races to take the title with 91 points over PLZ Naselli.
Once again, congratulations Jarno!
Once again 3id J.Lehikoinen came on top of the qualifying sheet, taking his 10th pole position in a row. This time the gap to his opponents wasn't so much important as PLZ-Naselli was following 15 hundredths behind, in front of his team-mate PLZ-Bartolotta. In 4th and 5th came former champions spdo F!redUp, [SR] StormCloud, with the latter making a well remarked come-back. TEM/Y.Laprevotte, Bades, pod.hama Krutch FPR|Tisu#66, and a disappointing B^mx devis round up the top 10.
PLZ-Naselli was the one making the good operation at the start of the sprint race. The Italian took Leikoinen's draft, outbraked himself and got in the lead at the exit of turn 1. The latter seemed to be surprised as he messed up his corner exit slightly, allowing the other PLZ car of Bartolotta to get through before turn 2. The Finnish driver fought back and attempted to pass Bartolotta, but got sent in the grass at the end of lap 3, rejoining in 4rd place. It didn't take him longer than a lap to get back in 2nd, but Naselli was already too far up front to be caught. The Italian took his 2nd victory of the season, but 2nd place was enough for Lehikoinen to take his 2nd S2 Season title in a row. 4th time champion [SR] Stormcloud gets the 3rd place honours, while spdo FiredUp and TEM/Y.Laprevotte round up the top 5. PLZ-Bartolotta finished only 6th after a spin.
With the top 8 reversed grid, B^mx devis and pod.hama Krutch would be on front row for feature. The two of them made a good start and kept themselves in 1 and 2 for a few minutes, but they would have to surrender against 3id J.Lehikoinen and PLZ-Bartolotta by lap 4. The two of them battled together for a moment, before 3id J.Lehikoinen took a definitive advantage at the beginning of lap 6. The finnish driver then flew to his 8th victory of the season. PLZ-Bartolotta follows in 2nd, in front of his team-mate PLZ-Naselli, who had careful opening laps, as usual in feature. [SR] Stormcloud follows in 4th, in front of pole sitter B^mx devis. TEM/Y.Laprevotte takes 6th, after having passed spdo FiredUp in the last corners of the race. Pod.hama Krutch rounds up the top 8.
This allowed Jarno Lehikoinen to take his 2nd OWRL S2 Season title. The Finnish driver became the 5th driver to take a back-to-back S2 Season title, after Andy(GER), StormCloud, RAPTOR|Chris, and Firedragon. PLZ-Naselli takes the runner-up, while B^mx devis takes 3rd, after having a maiden win at round 3. PLZ-Bartolotta and TEM/Y.Laprevotte round up the top 5.
Playerzone takes their maiden teams' title, after having secured it at round 5 already. The runner-up slot gets to Blur MX Team thanks to consistant efforts, and 1 car entry My3id Gaming takes 3rd. eXtrem Racing drops from 2nd to 4rd, while Tiger Express Motorsports rounds up the top 5.
S2 Season will now have a few months rest, with season 19 set to start after September 2011. OWRL will nevertheless be busy enough with OWRL F1, and the FBM Trophy set to take place in Summer.
_______
Full Standings: Drivers | Teams
Results Page
Meanwhile, Playerzone Italia gets their maiden teams' championship, in their first season. The Italian guys had a very consistant season, and drivers Naselli and Bartolotta were often the "best of the rest" behind Lehikoinen.
Here is a review of each of the last 3 rounds:
Round 4 - FBM @ Fern Bay Gold Reversed
The second and last race of the FBM cycle would be held at Fern Bay Gold Reversed, Jamaica. With its small runaway areas, its huge kerbs and tyres placed very close to the racing line, this one still looks to belong to the 20th century. Certainly the kind of track that would give an headache to any FIA safety inspector.
Before the race, the main topic in the paddock was the absence of the reigning champion and championship leader, 3id J.Lehikoinen. Although his lead isn't quite at threat so far, his non-show would definitely have a huge influence in the races, as it would allow many of his contenders to shine. Also to mention, this event would be the first to have two pools since round 1.
Qualifying would see PLZ-Naselli taking the pole. [HC]TEAM SAAB follows in 2nd, in front of the other PLZ car of Bartolotta.
The top 2 would be frozen in sprint race, with PLZ-Naselli taking his maiden OWRL victory in front of [HC]TEAM SAAB, who waited all race for long for a mistake from the leader. PLZ-Bartolotta made a mistake early in the race and dropped from 3rd to 5th, but the Italian passed B^mx devis shortly afterward, and eventually took the last podium slot after [SR] blb rolled in the last lap of the race. The top 5 is rounded up by FPR Tisu#66 and fζ T.Ramu, who had a strong run from 6th and 7th on the grid.
Feature race would see pod.hama Krutch and B^mx devis on front row, thanks to the usual top 8 reverse. The two of them remained in the lead for a few laps, until [HC]TEAM SAAB and PLZ-Bartolotta made the junction and took 1 and 2. Bartolotta would be left all alone in the lead after SAAB span out at lap 10. PLZ-Bartolotta would then cruise to the victory in front of B^mx devis and PLZ-Naselli. However poor Bartolotta would be given a 5 seconds penalty for hitting a chat bind early in the race, meaning that he would swap his position with devis, with the Russian inheriting of the main race win. pod.hama Krutch and OWRL returner eX.R Smutje round up the top 5.
In pool B ev0>>Timo and TEM/Y.Laprevotte took comfortable victories, without ever being worried.
At the championship, 3id J.Lehikoinen is still leading, thanks to the worst round being dropped. PLZ-Naselli and B^mx devis follow in 2nd and 3rd. Meanwhile at the teams' championship Playerzone Italia leads 173 points over Blur MX Team, 207 over eXtrem Racing, and 212 over Flash Racing.
There now are two rounds left in Season 18: Blackwood GP and Kyoto GP Long, both in the FO8.
Round 5 - FO8 @ Blackwood GP
The penultimate round of the OWRL S2 Season 18 would take place at LFS' oldest and most famous track ever, Blackwood GP, with the very powerful FO8.
After being absent last round, 3id J.Lehikoinen was back to try to secure the back-to-back title, against his rival PLZ-Naselli.
Without much surprise the Finnish driver came on top of the qualifying session. Lehikoinen showed another hotlap demonstration, lapping half a second faster than 2nd and 3rd place runners, championship contender PLZ-Naselli and his teammate PLZ-Bartolotta. Quite a huge margin for a 61 seconds lap. Cq| Gargi and spdoﾁ!ﾏed｡round up the top 5, in front of TEM/Y.Laprevotte, PLZ-Rotello and B^mx>devis.
The race 1 results were played by lap 1, as often in the sprint race. 3Id J.Lehikoinen and PLZ-Naselli took a fine start, and finished on top in this order. However spdoﾁ!ﾏed｡took a brilliant start from 5th, and passed both PLZ-Bartolotta and Cq|Gargi at T1 to get up to 3rd. Cq|Gargi then took benefit from Bartolotta's mistake one corner later, to take 4th. Behind, PLZ-Rotello takes 6th after having passed TEM/Y.Laprevotte at T1 around half-way, putting 3 Playerzone cars in the top 6. Laprevotte and eX.R Mikey23(who made a nice climb from 12th) round up the top 8.
The latter started on pole in race 2, thanks to the reversed grid. Surprisingly Mikey23 was still up front at the end of lap 1. 4th place starter Bartolotta led the chase and passed him at lap 2, but had to serve a drive through penalty for an incident occuring at round 4, giving 1st place back to Mikey. The top drivers of race 1 didn't take long to come back to him however. 3id J.Lehikoinen was the fastest of them all as usual, charging his way through the field and passing the German for the lead at lap 6. Cq|Gargi(lap 9) and spdoﾁ!ﾏed｡(lap 10) got round the eXtrem Racing car aswell. PLZ-Naselli wasn't part of this leading trio, having taken an extremely careful approach in the first few laps. The Italian made up some ground later in the race however, and ended up in 4th by the 2/3 of the race, followed by PLZ-Bartolotta. The top 5 order would then stay the same until the end, with 3id J.Lehikoinen taking another win, in front of Cq|Gargi, spdoﾁ!ﾏed｡, PLZ-Naselli and PLZ-Bartolotta. The main battle in the last few laps was for 6th. eX.R Mikey23 looked to be set to take it, but a spin at 3 laps to go made him drop to 10th. His fellow front row starter TEM/Y.Laprevotte was there to inherit of the place, after a great battle with pod.hama Krutch – the two drivers swapped positions several times, until the Frenchman got it for good. Krutch couldn't save 6th, as a spin very late in the race would cost him 3 places. B^mx>devis took 7th, in front of one of the two female drivers of the field, OWRL newcomer TEM/L.Solfrank.
Despite he clinched he clinched his 7 victories in the 8 races he took part in this season, 3id J.Lehikoinen did not manage to secure the drivers' title yet. PLZ-Naselli can still mathematically clinch it coming to the final round at Kyoto GP. However, this task will be extremely difficult for the Italian driver: finishing the race should be enough for his Finnish rival to keep the championship. Should the My3id driver not finish or take the start, Naselli would still have to finish on the podium to be crowded. Meanwhile, Bmx^devis looks confortable in 3rd place, though he still would have to worry of PLZ-Bartolotta currently standing in 4th, 21 points behind the Russian.
Meanwhile, in the teams' championship, Playerzone Italia is now officially team champions this season. The Italian team managed to build their advantage from round 1 thanks to consistant podium finishes. They now succeed to RAPTOR-RACING and Sonicrealms Racing, the two previous champions since the title's creation back in season 16. Congrats to them! Everything looks wide open for the remaining podiums slots however, with eXtrem Racing and Blur MX Racing standing in 2nd and 3rd, 17 points away from each over.
The penultimate round of the OWRL S2 Season 18 would take place at LFS' oldest and most famous track ever, Blackwood GP, with the very powerful FO8.
Round 6 - FO8 @ Kyoto GP Long
The conclusion of S2 Season 18 took place on the great Kyoto GP Long with the FO8. This combo, very much liked among the drivers, promised some good racing. The drivers' championship was to be decided here, with reigning champion 3id J.Lehikoinen keeping a commanding lead over challenger PLZ-Naselli before coming to qualifying.
Just like in S2 Season 17, 3id J. Lehikoinen has taken the driver championship of S2 Season 18 in commanding style. This time the decision wasn't made before the final event of the season. At Kyoto GP Long the Finnish driver finished second and first in the races to take the title with 91 points over PLZ Naselli.
Once again, congratulations Jarno!
Once again 3id J.Lehikoinen came on top of the qualifying sheet, taking his 10th pole position in a row. This time the gap to his opponents wasn't so much important as PLZ-Naselli was following 15 hundredths behind, in front of his team-mate PLZ-Bartolotta. In 4th and 5th came former champions spdo F!redUp, [SR] StormCloud, with the latter making a well remarked come-back. TEM/Y.Laprevotte, Bades, pod.hama Krutch FPR|Tisu#66, and a disappointing B^mx devis round up the top 10.
PLZ-Naselli was the one making the good operation at the start of the sprint race. The Italian took Leikoinen's draft, outbraked himself and got in the lead at the exit of turn 1. The latter seemed to be surprised as he messed up his corner exit slightly, allowing the other PLZ car of Bartolotta to get through before turn 2. The Finnish driver fought back and attempted to pass Bartolotta, but got sent in the grass at the end of lap 3, rejoining in 4rd place. It didn't take him longer than a lap to get back in 2nd, but Naselli was already too far up front to be caught. The Italian took his 2nd victory of the season, but 2nd place was enough for Lehikoinen to take his 2nd S2 Season title in a row. 4th time champion [SR] Stormcloud gets the 3rd place honours, while spdo FiredUp and TEM/Y.Laprevotte round up the top 5. PLZ-Bartolotta finished only 6th after a spin.
With the top 8 reversed grid, B^mx devis and pod.hama Krutch would be on front row for feature. The two of them made a good start and kept themselves in 1 and 2 for a few minutes, but they would have to surrender against 3id J.Lehikoinen and PLZ-Bartolotta by lap 4. The two of them battled together for a moment, before 3id J.Lehikoinen took a definitive advantage at the beginning of lap 6. The finnish driver then flew to his 8th victory of the season. PLZ-Bartolotta follows in 2nd, in front of his team-mate PLZ-Naselli, who had careful opening laps, as usual in feature. [SR] Stormcloud follows in 4th, in front of pole sitter B^mx devis. TEM/Y.Laprevotte takes 6th, after having passed spdo FiredUp in the last corners of the race. Pod.hama Krutch rounds up the top 8.
This allowed Jarno Lehikoinen to take his 2nd OWRL S2 Season title. The Finnish driver became the 5th driver to take a back-to-back S2 Season title, after Andy(GER), StormCloud, RAPTOR|Chris, and Firedragon. PLZ-Naselli takes the runner-up, while B^mx devis takes 3rd, after having a maiden win at round 3. PLZ-Bartolotta and TEM/Y.Laprevotte round up the top 5.
Playerzone takes their maiden teams' title, after having secured it at round 5 already. The runner-up slot gets to Blur MX Team thanks to consistant efforts, and 1 car entry My3id Gaming takes 3rd. eXtrem Racing drops from 2nd to 4rd, while Tiger Express Motorsports rounds up the top 5.
S2 Season will now have a few months rest, with season 19 set to start after September 2011. OWRL will nevertheless be busy enough with OWRL F1, and the FBM Trophy set to take place in Summer.
_______
Full Standings: Drivers | Teams
Results Page