DanSkin Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 UKDirt F1 2014 World Final Preview Coventry (25/09/14) Okay folks, this Thursday is that time of the year again! We've toiled through twelve World Qualifying rounds, two Semi Finals and a Consolation Semi Final to reach this point! Just last Saturday Craig Finnikin (seen below at Skegness in August) managed to take the BriSCA F1 2014 World Final, from the outside of row eight in a truly epic race. Let's hope we see a race of comparable entertainment (although preferably without the restarts/initial carnage...)! Road to the Gold: Semi Final #1:112 527 229 238 246 40 90 249 180 48 // 315 385 165 47 204 146 474 39 443 525 Semi Final #2: 236 184 691 262 380 151 89 122 276 488 // 221 653 394 79 109 300 233 Consolation Semi Final: 297 39 653 43 // 146 47 443 385 300 254 79 480 356 109 394 237 At Skegness on 09 August 2014 (the F1 Semi Final meeting) the coin toss was made... UKDirt F2 Admin Wardieee was the master of proceedings, TomD called heads, the coin came up heads and TomD picked the inside pole position. World Final Grid: Reserves (in order): 146 47 443 385 300 254 79 480 356 109 394 237 315 165 204 474 525 221 233 167 384 244 73 155 62 64 515 560 342 338 98 454 291 285 467 93 818 115 503 14 21 28 84 211 330 484 405 470 134 71 Row 1 - TomD #112 // DanSkin #236 Defending champion and the form man of 2014 TomD starts from the pole position, with already nine A-Final wins to his name this season he will look to stamp his dominance on this race and take the gold roof for a second consecutive time. Looking a little further back, Tom has already held the title three times previously (2009(h), 2010 and 2013) so he is certainly no stranger to the pressures of racing for the gold. Focusing on Coventry form this season, he has picked up a heat and grand national win, as well as top scoring at the July meeting. Former champion (2004, 2012) DanSkin starts from the outside of the front row, with just a single A-Final win to his name this season he will look to build on the confidence that the win came only a short few weeks ago on the shale at Bradford. It seems to have been a season of losses, with both the European and British titles finding new homes, but in the race for gold Dan has nothing to lose and surely has the experience to be considered a challenger. Coventry form includes a heat win and second place in the April meeting A-Final. Row 2 - Chevykiller #184 // Fast Track #527 Our first Dutch competitor lines up on row 2, Chevykiller is without an A-Final win this season although he does have a healthy six heats and two grand nationals to his name. Niels qualified for the Shootout this year, although a missed round already leaves him at somewhat of a disadvantage in last (8th) place. A consistent performer, his World of Shale and Tarmac Masters points totals are almost identical and he starts comfortably with the reds or superstars week-in, week-out. Only the one outing at Coventry this season saw a sub-par meeting with a best of a heat second place, and twenty-two points to take home. To the outside of Chevykiller we find Fast Track, another driver that seems to perform equally well regardless of surface. With a bevy of race wins (9) to his name this season Richard has shown competence in dealing with traffic and challenging for race leads. Now settled back comfortably at red he is looking for his first major here at UKDirt. Coventry form this season is mixed, a dire performance back in April was overturned by picking up a heat and A-Final win at the July meeting, a good footing from which to start the World Final! Row 3 - Tsjalle #229 // Jakeeey #691 Continuing the train of Dutch cars on the inside line, Tsjalle will take his place on row three. A good performance on his seemingly favoured shale surface for the Stoke Semi Final has secured one of the most desirable grid slots out there. Tsjalle is the "winning-est" Dutch driver this season so far, and will look to progress from his A-Final win at the Stoke qualifying round in April by challenging for the gold. His Coventry form isn't that bad either, with a B-Final and grand national win back in April, although he will have to hope that missing the more recently July meeting isn't to his detriment. Having raced just under half of the meetings this season, and exactly half of the qualifying rounds Jakeeey has done well to progress to starting on the third row of the World Final. That's not to say those performances have been sub-par, with four heat wins along the way and settling at red grade he can be pleased with the season so far. The ace commentator's Coventry form is average, having raced just one of the meetings with a best of second place in the grand national. He did a little better at the qualifiers at the end of 2013, managing a heat win. Row 4 - Harmen #262 // Kane_M #238 Harmen starts on the inside of row four, having a quiet year with just a four wins to his name. Despite this, he sits comfortably as a superstar, second in the National Points, and seems to be making strong efforts towards the Shootout - sitting second, just 27 points adrift of TomD after the first two rounds. It's rare that he's missing from the booking list, and few will disagree that he knows what the bumper is for and how stockcar racing works. His Coventry form isn't the best, with a third in a heat being all there is to write home about... The statistics say that he favours tarmac racing, but it is difficult to think he won't play some part in the outcome of the big race! What do we say about Kane_M, a year on the up-and-up as the delightful Irish Championship green and white (unofficial!) checks on his roof attest to! Add to that winning the gold top race in the UKDirt Saloon Stockcars, and the picture of emerging talent becomes clear. There have been a few other wins to go with that Nutts Corner final back in April, all of which means Kane sits comfortably among the superstars and challenges for the shootout title as well. A third in the July Coventry meeting A-Final serves as a warning of his ability, but more scary is the consistency and points hauls from both Coventry meetings this season - having finished in the points in every single race. Row 5 - Stox #246 // Liam Powell #380 On a row reserved for the Powell brothers, Stox has found his way to the inside. If the two engage in competitive comparison, you might argue that currently Liam sits a little ahead with eight race wins to Sam's three. Liam's wins include the A-Final at the Ipswich qualifying round in May, and statistically both drivers seem to favour tarmac racing this year. There's little to pick between their Coventry form, with consistent top ten placings, starting from row five we would expect both to make progress. Row 6 - Dode #151 // LeightonH #40 The first Scotsman (not strictly foreigner in the end then?) on the grid is Dode, the former banger main-man George has adapted well over the years to the F1 way of racing with a few titles to his name. A bit of a quiet season this year see's him settled at mid red grade, with a few (6) race wins to his name. He's joined on row 6 by LeightonH the A-Final winner from the Posterholt meeting in August, and a bit of a form man at Coventry having taken three heat wins at the July meeting! Row 7 - LiamB #90 // Montangoo #89 Hidden back on row seven are a couple of current champions - LiamB and Montangoo, the European and Dutch Champions respectively. Both are settled comfortably in the red grade, although Alex races far less regularly (in fact qualifying for a Semi Final through just two rounds). At the July Coventry Alex out performed Liam in the heats, managing to take a win, while the tables were turned in the final with Liam breaking into the top ten, leaving Alex to sneak into the points with a twelfth. Starting these two experienced champions in the middle of the pack could be a recipe for excitement. Row 8 - Craig Charles #112 // Stoxjack #249 Renowned mischief maker Craig Charles will be starting on the inside of row eight, and after a strong showing at the April Coventry meeting with a fourth in the A-Final and a grand national win, he will be looking to make quick progress towards the front in one of the best turned out cars. Craig Finnikin was able to pilot his machine to glory from the outside of row eight and Stoxjack has the pleasure (or pressure?) of lining up in this position on Thursday. Whether he will be able to emulate Finnikin remains to be seen, and a quiet but successful A-Final fifth place last time out at the July Coventry bodes well. Row 9 - Wardieee #180 // Tyzer #276 Amateur gymnast Wardieee has managed to sneak into the big race, and carries some impressive form having won the Coventry A-Final at the first qualifying round back in October. More recently accustomed to stewarding and promoting it's not clear yet if Jamie will take his place on the grid. He's joined on row nine by irregular racer Tyzer, who either hasn't raced Coventry at all (or for a long time?), but the statistics show that Tyzer performs much better on shale - so what's to say he couldn't spring a surprise. Row 10 - Dave #488 // Tinman #48 Another relative stranger to the F1s is Dave, from five meetings he's managed to pick up six race wins this season - including the A-Final at the Buxton qualifying round in May. A single appearance on the shale, at the July Coventry meeting did not prove particularly fruitful yielding a best of third in the B-Final - it might be a stretch to make much progress, but at least some ground work has been done at Coventry. Yet another Dutchman appears on row ten in the form of Tinman, and some average performances at Coventry and on shale in general suggest that he should easily move forwards through the field from here. Row 11 - HamsterJnr #297 // LeeK #39 Row eleven is comprised of the first qualifiers from the consolation semi final. HamsterJnr took the win, capping his successful arrival in UKDirt F1s - although a final eludes him yet (possibly something to do with Stumpy and voodoo dolls?). One of the highest averages in the league, and comfortable scoring points towards serious possibilities for this driver. Josh is joined by UKDirt veteran LeeK, another season ticks by and he's settled back at a steady red grade and again contesting the shootout. Unfortunately a rare missed meeting fell on the last Coventry outing, although starting from this position surely all pressure is off... I'm informed he even has some experience leading the big race at Coventry, whether he will have to call on that this Thursday remains to be seen. Row 12 - Ryan Simpson #653 // Pinken #43 The back row is also populated from the consolation semi final, and the second Scotsman, Ryan Simpson, has the inside position. He seems to favour shale racing, as is evident in qualifying through a tough race at Belle Vue. Ryan had an average meeting at Coventry back in April, didn't race in July and no doubt will be looking to make his mark on Thursday. He is joined on row twelve by Pinken... Matt really seems to go well on the dirt, currently sitting second to TomD in the World of Shale points table and having won the A-Final at Sheffield in May. Coventry seems to be a comfortable track, having picked up a few third places in July, starting from the back he can only improve - and it seems like he should easily. It's worth noting that of this grid, only the two drivers on the front row (TomD & DanSkin) have ever held the gold in UKDirt F1 before. Additionally only Kane_M, Stox, LeeK and Dave have featured on the podium. It looks like it might be time to go out and put a few new names on that roll of honour. Good luck to all that are racing! Of course there will be a normal meeting around all this, with the World Final the first race of the night (start at 8.30PM). The World Final, and this meeting will be streamed live! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake691 Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Great preview Dan, roll on Thursday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wardieee Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Very nice Dan, always nice to see a preview for the big meetings and what a meetings its going to be! For me, who knows what Thursday will bring however no matter what im doing (Stewarding or Racing) I can guarantee this is a meeting not to be missed! Roll on Thursday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloydy89 Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Cracking preview dan! Cant wait for thursday, really looking forward to the race! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest poloscar42 Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Looking forward to giving this a watch and then joining in with the meeting after the World Final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wardieee Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 i did knock a little stuff up the this meeting in aid of promotion.... Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montangoo89 Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Great build up to the big race dan:) excellent write up on each person too!! lets roll on the 2014 championship of the world:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior397 Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 Damn you Stumps!! Lol, great write up, let's hope for a good'en! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NielsR Posted September 25, 2014 Report Share Posted September 25, 2014 awesome preview Dan. A joy to read ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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