2011 UK-Dirt F1 Premier League

[Corny 391]

 

2011 UK-Dirt F1 Premier League

 

King's Lynn on Thursday shall witness the kick-off of a new series - for the first time ever, the elite drivers of UK-Dirt F1 will contest The Premier League. After a tough selection and invitation process, with drivers picked according to their recent F1 success, we have a final line-up of seeds, 8 of F1's best who will compete over 8 rounds. Let's meet those who will go bumper to bumper in UK-Dirt F1's inaugural Premier League...

 

Top seed - Tom D (1)

 

Tom D (1) - from Macclesfield, the reigning two-time UK-Dirt F1 World Champion having won in Heat (2009) and rFactor in last year's epic Coventry WF race. Starting from the back of the grid after a disastrous Semi Final and necessary CSF qualification, Tom kept his cool in the early laps as the whole field bunched up, and was exactly where he needed to be when the time came for a select group to break away, and start chasing the win in earnest. It was only yards from the finish line that Tom was assured of victory, after possibly the most exciting race UK-Dirt F1 has ever seen.

 

Also going for the hat-trick of silver roofs after back-to-back success over the past two seasons, and defending his 2010 Tarmac Masters crown. Tom really hit his stride during 2009, winning the last ever Heat F1 World Final; although he won his Semi in rFactor, he had to settle for 3rd place in the World at King's Lynn, but made no mistake in securing the silver roof through the end-of-season Shootout, a feat which he repeated last year and in doing so became the first person to retain the points title in UK-Dirt F1.

 

Numerous other (rFactor F1) wins of note include the GNC and World of Shale titles in 2009 and the Long Track Championship in 2010, as well as 10 career Grand Final wins in UK-Dirt F1 to date. Tom has a mix of raw speed and aggression which has rarely let him down in graded races these past two years, having now established himself as 'the man to beat' in a weekly sense. It could be argued that he is still not the complete driver, which, if there is some improvement left in there, does not bode well for the rest considering his already impressive level of achievement!

 

 

2nd seed - Dazza (290)

 

Dazza (290) - having made a single appearance in UK-Dirt F1 way back in July of 2003, it would be nearly 5 years until Dazza returned to the formula, with the advent of the rFactor mod. Despite being one of 2008's highest achievers, picking up the UK Open Championship and a Semi Final win along the way, Dazza had to play the runner-up role to HUTCH (331) in both the World and Points championships. After placing 2nd in his 2009 Semi, a commanding drive at King's Lynn saw Dazza crowned World Champion. The odds for him to hold onto the Gold roof in 2010 were slashed after a Semi Final win at Buxton and a pole position berth for the Coventry World Final. A valiant effort in the frantic opening laps saw the defending champ get his nose in front on more than one occasion, however with cars packed tight and pushing into every bend, Dazza was knocked just enough to lose time and put him back down the pack right at the point that the leaders were beginning to break away at the front - and this was enough to put a title defence out of reach.

 

Having reverted to a red roof and his 290 number upon the loss of his Gold and right to #1, it would be only two weeks before the roof needed repainting - this time with the chequers of British Champion status. A supremely controlled drive at Skegness, keeping his cool where many were losing theirs, left nobody in any doubt as to Dazza's continued position as one of UK-Dirt F1's very best. A month later the 2010 Grand National Championship was added at Birmingham, and with the Exeter man yet to surface in F1 2011, his first on-track action of the year could very well come in the first Premier League race. 7 career F1 Grand Final wins.

 

 

3rd seed - MoR (137)

 

MoR (137) - part of UK-Dirt F1 since early 2003, MoR had to wait the best part of four years before winning his first title race in November 2006 - the Grand National Championship at the formidable Newtongrange (Heat) track. Prior to that, a shock 2nd place in the 2004 Sheffield British Championship had been his best title result. Once rFactor F1 arrived, MoR hung up his Heat helmet and concentrated on the new mod, not only of course in the racing sense but with the countless modding developments which comprise some of the most life-like tracks and cars ever produced for an oval racing mod, making up the fabric of today's simulation as being closer to the 'real thing' than ever before.

 

MoR finished 3rd in the 2009 National Series Shootout, weeks after having been involved in an extremely close Tarmac Masters Final with Michael (2) at Ipswich, just falling short on that occasion. There were no shortcomings in the UK Open 2010 however, as the Nuneaton driver took his first rFactor F1 title around the tight Skegness track. Though no other titles have been added to the above, MoR finished 2010 with a points average only marginally bettered by Tom D, thus rightly begun 2011 as one of the F1 SuperStars. His consistency in Semi Finals has been notable in rFactor - 3rd place in 2008, 2009 and 2010, therefore if this is to continue, 137 should be well placed to have another crack at winning Gold this year after previous bests of 3rd in 2008 (rF) and 2006 (Heat). The fact that MoR has won only 4 career F1 Finals is something of a betrayal to his talent, as he is undoutedly deserving of more.

 

 

4th seed - Mike (315)

 

Mike (315) - from Baarlo in the Netherlands, Mike's first proper season was 2007 in Heat, in the days when he used 'Sybe Racing' as his racing nickname. A Semi Final win at Sheffield that year may have come as something of a surprise as, despite an inside row2 start, Mike was not at that time one of the established 'top drivers' of the formula. In the years since however, Mike has steadily improved and his big break really came in 2009 when he achieved a double British Championship success, winning both the Heat and rFactor versions of the event, the latter having been a great race at Coventry. He had already secured the 2009 UK Open from the yellow grade but by season's end was an established SuperStar and runner-up to Tom D in the grading points, an effort he repeated in 2010 and also on that occasion coming within 9 points of winning the silver roof through the Shootout.

 

With 61 wins in total including 10 Grand Finals, Mike has won the most races, and most Finals, of anyone on rFactor in UK-Dirt F1. With 16 career F1 Final wins he is tied in 3rd place on the all-time list with Parky (152) and Rebel (77).

 

 

5th seed - Murf (561)

 

Murf (561) - first seen in UK-Dirt F1 in 2007, Murf, from Spalding, raced the Heat mod in 11 meetings that year with moderate success from the white grade. Only 2 appearances followed in 2008 - one in Heat and one in rFactor. 2009 was the year when UK-Dirt F1 really got to see what Murf may be capable of. Back-to-back Final wins at Coventry and Birmingham in June of that year were his first in UK-Dirt F1, and another Final was added at Sheffield in late September, all from blue after an intermediate period spent at red. Appearances were few and far between in the latter half of 2009 resulting in an eventual 13th place finish in the points.

 

2010 saw Murf start the season firing on all 8 cylinders and he topped the grading points after the first period, rising from blue to SuperStar in the process. The Dutch Championship at Sexbierum at the start of April was his first Final win as a SuperStar and better was to come in mid-July, with a Semi Final win at Sheffield from outside row2. The dream World Final was not to be, as Murf ended up 6th from his front row start, however he continued to add race wins from SuperStar up to the end of the season with an eventual 5th place grading points finish. Murf now has 30 rFactor UK-Dirt F1 race wins to his name, including 6 Finals.

 

 

6th seed - Johno (3)

 

Johno (3) - second only to Mike in terms of rFactor UK-Dirt F1 wins, currently on a total of 48 including 6 Finals. 13 F1 Grand Finals in total puts Johno 7th on the all-time list, and at the time of writing Johno is comfortably in 4th place in the all-time F1 points scoring, one place ahead of Mike. Though Johno seldom fails to add to his win tally from the red and blue grades, it is fair to say that he has yet to really break through and deliver at the very top level over his UK-Dirt F1 career. Johno started in F1 in 2005 and improved steadily from there, achieving his first title race podium finishes in (Heat) 2008 with runners-up spots in the King's Lynn Semi Final and GNC at Belle Vue. 2009 gave the Doncaster racer his first title wins - the Dutch Championship at Sint Maarten in Heat and the rFactor Long Track Championship at Baarlo.

 

Johno finished 2nd in the 2009 National Series Shootout, albeit well adrift of winner Tom D, and finished 4th in the grading points. In 2010 he once again finished 4th in the grading points (as well as the Shootout), and notably was highest race winner for the season with 26 in total. The Premier League may be exactly the platform required for Johno to prove - to himself as well as to others - that he can really compete at the top level on a consistent basis, with the best that the F1 league has to offer.

 

 

7th seed - Tosh (8)

 

Tosh (8) - a UK-Dirt F1 racer since April 2007, Tosh has yet to win a title race with 2nd in the 2010 UK Open at Skegness being his most notable result to date. The Glenrothes driver has steadily built up his record of winning races though, and currently stands at 4th overall in the rFactor UK-Dirt F1 winners' table with 38 wins including 6 Finals. With 9 Finals in total over his F1 career, Tosh sits in joint 9th position in the all-time Final winners' chart with travel (365) and Jarry (164).

 

After an 8th-placed grading points finish in 2009, Tosh improved upon this placing 7th in 2010, though race wins proved slightly more difficult to come by, due likely in no small part to a much greater proportion of the season spent at red grade than in '09. A fair competitor who has earned his PL place with his steady results, Tosh looks like continuing in the same vein in 2011, having started the season well and currently being 6th in the National Points. Much the same as Johno, the Premier League could offer him the chance to elevate himself to another level when it comes to competing with the really big guns of the formula.

 

 

8th seed - Aub (188)

 

Aub (188) - hailing from Cirencester, Aub's biggest win to date in UK-Dirt F1 came in 2008 when he became British Champion at Belle Vue (rFactor). Though he first raced UK-Dirt F1 at the start of 2006, Aub has never really put together a sustained attack on the formula in quite the same way as many of his fellow competitors have - what he has shown though is that he is capable of returning from absences of weeks and even months, and be right on the pace and capable of winning races and Finals straight out've the box. There was perhaps no better demonstration of this than at last year's UK Open double-header, when after not having raced for 12 F1 meetings, Aub raced the Wednesday night and promptly won the meeting Final.

 

Winning the 2010 Champion of Champions at Birmingham was a crucial factor towards Aub earning his eventual Premier League place, and there may even be signs that in 2011, Aub may finally be having a proper full-on crack at F1. A successful opening 3 meetings have yielded 4 wins including a Final at the most recent Northampton meeting, putting Aub in a solid 2nd place so far in the National Points.

 

 

 

The venues & dates:

 

King's Lynn 24th March R1

Ipswich 31st March R2

Sheffield 5th May R3

Birmingham 26th May R4

Northampton 6th July R5

Arena Essex 8th September R6

Belle Vue 20th October R7

Coventry 17th November (Finale)

 

 

The rules:

 

Points: 15, 10, 7, 5, 4

Most laps led: 5 points (2.5 if shared)

Fastest lap: 5 points (2.5 if shared)

(Double points on all of the above for Finale)

 

Rounds 1-7 16 laps, Finale 25 laps.

 

Closed grid in ascending order so highest Premier League scorers at back. Seedings decide grid in absence of points scored i.e. for Round 1 and for any drivers still on zero points.

 

Reserve drivers in place to ensure an 8-car grid for every event.

 

Driver with most points after the Finale wins the Premier League.

 

Full UK-Dirt F1 racing rules apply.

 

 

All 8 seeded drivers are guaranteed a Premier League grid slot in Rounds 1-7, however, for the Finale, the grid will be based entirely on the Premier League points standings up to that point - therefore any seeded driver who has failed to appear/amass enough PL points, is at risk of losing their place in the Finale to any reserve driver who has scored higher over the first 7 rounds.

 

 

Reserves:

 

A reserve list (initially of 10) has been drawn up and will be effective for Rounds 1-to-4 only. This is as follows (ranked in order):

 

1) HUTCH (331)

2) matthewb (413)

3) Robin H25 (87)

4) Grasser (233)

5) davey boy (380)

6) walker (363)

7) Corny (391)

8) DanSkin (236)

9) Skeet (31)

10) Harmen (262)

 

For Rounds 5-to-7 reserves will be taken from the National Points chart at the time of each round, therefore whichever non-PL seeded driver is highest will be 1st reserve, next non-PL driver in the chart will be 2nd reserve, and so on.

 

 

The series will carry a significant prize, in line with all other UK-Dirt F1 major's. As with the Whites and Yellows series, those racers present in the server on race nights are encouraged to spectate in order to fully appreciate the series, and keep a close eye on how the top men in the formula cope with such an intense competition.

 

We look forward to the green flag dropping on the first event at King's Lynn and wish everyone involved the best of luck for PL '11,

 

 

On behalf of UK-Dirt F1 Admin,

Thanks,

 

Corny

 

 

[MoR137]

Great write-up Corny, looking forward to the series!

[southy277]

Good idea but this seems too similar to the National Series shootout for me.

[big al 515]

Cracking write up, well done.

[Corny 391]

Premier League R1: 1, 137, 315, 8, 391, 236, 413, 188

 

Most laps led: 1

Fastest lap: 1

 

 

Points after Round 1

 

25 pts......Tom D (1)

10 pts......MoR (137)

7pts.........Mike (315)

5pts.........Tosh (8)

4pts.........Corny (391)

 

 

So, a clean sweep for Tom D in the first round of the Premier League, with the race win, most laps led, and fastest lap bagging him the full compliment of 25 points! Well done Tom.

 

 

[Corny 391]

Premier League R2: 1, 391, 262, 137, 188, 315, 8 (dnf 236)

 

Most laps led: 1

Fastest lap: 1

 

 

Points after Round 2

 

50 pts......Tom D (1)

15 pts......MoR (137)

14pts.......Corny (391)

7pts.........Mike (315)

7pts.........Harmen (262)

5pts.........Tosh (8)

4pts.........Aub (188)

 

 

The first tarmac round of the Premier League last night was held at Ipswich and though it was a different surface from King's Lynn, it was very much the same level of scoring from Tom D, once again taking a maximum 25 for the race win, most laps led and fastest lap. With the series having kicked off with back-to-back rounds, there is quite a break now until Round 3, Sheffield on May 5th, where hopefully some more of the seeded drivers will be making an appearance!

 

 

[Corny 391]

Premier League R3: 8, 137, 315, 188, 290, 1, 3, 380

Most laps led: 8
Fastest lap: 290


Points after Round 3

50pts......Tom D (1)
25pts......MoR (137)
25pts......Tosh (8)
14pts......Corny (391)
14pts......Mike (315)
9pts........Aub (188)
9pts........Dazza (290)
7pts........Harmen (262)


There were Premier League debuts at Sheffield for British Champion Dazza (290), Johno (3) and Daveyboy (380), who got in as a reserve for the absent Murf (561). Despite a first-lap spin, Dazza went on to a respectable 5th place and also recorded the fastest lap of the race to bag himself 5 bonus points. It was Tosh (8) who broke away to lead through the early carnage, and though it looked like MoR (137) may be poised to challenge, a second-lap tangle in turn four cost the Nuneaton man significant time as well as having an even greater impact on Tom, the World Champ being spun and finishing the race with zero points, having previously taken maximums in both of the first two rounds of the series. The 4th round comes in a little under three weeks time, Birmingham May 26th - plenty of time (and laps!) remain over the upcoming rounds for anyone to really stake their claim on the series, with this most recent showing at the Owlerton Stadium giving proof of just how fine the line between 'hero' and 'zero' is in the inaugural Premier League!

[Corny 391]

[Corny 391]