2011 UK-Dirt F1 Fixtures

[Corny 391]

2011 brings several fresh challenges for UK-Dirt F1 racers, along with all of the expected tried, trusted and traditional F1 StockCar championships as part of a 40-meeting calendar.

 

The formula's four major championship races - the World, British, European and UK Open Finals - will be arrived at through largely unchanged formats and spread equally over both racing surfaces, the tarmac of Northampton (15th September) and Arena Essex (7th July) hosting the World and Euro' Finals respectively, while the British' goes to the ultra-smooth King's Lynn shaleway (2nd June). For the first time in UK-Dirt rFactor F1, the UK Open double-header will be held on shale - at F1's very own 'Mecca', Coventry (11th/12th May).

 

 

 

 

One of the biggest changes to regular fixtures in 2011 comes with the introduction of concentrated championship series for both the Tarmac Masters and World of Shale titles. With all racers competing in 3 Heats each as standard in these series events, the 'TM' and 'WoS' will each comprise 7 qualifying rounds, with the points chase in each having the potential of running all the way through to the end of the Finals nights - Ipswich (27th October TM) and King's Lynn (3rd November WoS). A staggered scoring system for these series will be applied once again, to ensure those drivers from the lower grades have the maximum chance of keeping up with their seasoned star and superstar grade opponents in the points charts - culminating in closed-grid Finals at two of F1's premier raceways.

 

No title in F1 is more valued or respected than that of National Points Champion - the silver roof - and this season the 'points chase' will be just as demanding as at any time in UK-Dirt F1's long history. With National Points towards the silver roof being available in each and every one of the 40 scheduled meetings, drivers' Best 35 scores will ultimately contribute towards their end-of-season points total. This represents a move back to a true full-season competition for the National Points Championship and silver roof, while offering a small amount of flexibility to points chasers in order for them to be able to accommodate the necessities of wider life, without necessarily forfeiting any chance of dozens of weeks of hard racing effort amounting to any realistic silver roof challenge.

 

The final two Thursdays in August bring us the first use of the Anglo-Dutch 'Golden Helmet' mini-series in UK-Dirt F1 - two very different tracks in Hednesford (18th August) and Sexbierum (25th August) hold the two rounds back-to-back. Few other places offer the same opportunity to open up the F1 throttle as these two do, but as their similarities end just there, any aspiration to take this series will depend heavily on a driver's adaptability over these high-speed affairs.

 

Two tracks have their inaugural UK-Dirt rFactor F1 meetings during 2011 - the compact but compelling Mildenhall has the penultimate World Qualifier (30th June) followed later in the year by a WoS round (22nd September), and Nutts Corner means a virtual voyage across the Irish Sea for the Irish Open Championship, which is also a Tarmac Masters round (4th August).

 

 

 

 

Early September 2010 saw TomD (1) claim Gold in a thrilling 3-car sprint finish with Mike (315) and JK (16), after 25 gripping Coventry laps in what had to be UK-Dirt F1's best World Final to date. TomD is guaranteed his place on the NIR 2011WF grid as defending champ. But he along with all other Gold roof hopefuls will have to go through the 10 remaining World Championship Qualifying Rounds, kicking off with the season-opener at Birmingham (3rd March), before either the Skegness (21st July) or Belle Vue (28th July) Semi Finals to give themselves the best possible chance of taking Gold in 2011.

 

Should TomD successfully defend his World title, he would become the first in UK-Dirt F1 to retain the Gold in the same 'mod' - already being a two-time F1 champ with the first of his two titles won on the Heat platform at Buxton in 2009. No other driver has won more than one World title in UK-Dirt F1, so for TomD to taste the September champagne for the third year in succession would see him establishing a significant lead in that respect.

 

In addition to striving for 3 World titles in as many years, TomD has the chance to stake his claim as #1 in terms of the history of the National Points Championship by winning a third silver roof. Already the first to win back-to-back titles (tied on 2 in total with Rebel (77) who won in 2001, DTRSC and 2003, Heat, and Michael (2) who won in 2004 and 2007 both in Heat), TomD is well-placed to go for the hat-trick in the new-for-2011 silver roof system, having topped the 'grading points' in both 2009 and 2010 as well as securing the silver through the Shootout on both occasions.

 

Defending British Champion Dazza (290) is a proven big race winner around King's Lynn, having been crowned 2009 rFactor F1 World Champion at the Norfolk Arena. He should therefore have no doubts whatsoever about being able to produce the same stunning level of performance that won him the chequered roof in 2010 at Skegness. Few, if any, have demonstrated the ability to combine speed with fairness in rFactor F1 races so far quite so convincingly as Dazza, and as soon as his name appears on the booking list, Dazza will surely be installed at very short odds to retain his British title.

 

JK will be aiming to make it 3 wins out of 3 in the European Championship - though having taken his 2009 and 2010 wins around Northampton, he will have to master Arena Essex if he is to draw clear of Michael with whom he is currently tied on two Euro wins (Michael having won twice on the Heat mod in 2004 and 2007). If JK is able to maintain his 100% European record in 2011, he will become the first person in UK-Dirt F1 to win the same major championship in three successive seasons.

 

There have been 11 different winners of the UK Open over the years in UK-Dirt F1, no one driver having won it on more than one occasion to date. MoR (137) will be looking to defend his title and become the first two-time winner, and having won at Skegness last year, this time around it will be very much a case of the master track and car builder having to conquer one of his own creations - the Brandon bowl at Coventry.

 

Of course the title races account for only a tiny percentage of races in the season, and there is a challenge and hopefully much enjoyment to be had in each and every race week-in-week-out, whether it be a Heat, Consolation, Final or Grand National. We very much hope that online racers old and new will relish the prospect of competing in UK-Dirt F1 2011, and look forward to you joining in a meeting sooner rather than later.

 

On behalf of the UK-Dirt F1 Admin Team,

Thanks and good luck for 2011

Edited April 20, 2011 by UKDirt F1 Admin

[Corny 391]

Whites & Yellows Series rounds now shown on the list - look for the W&Y coloured symbol next to each included date