Race 1 – Sonoma Raceway (January 21, 2016)

Qualifying

It was a dry day and slicks were the call, but the rain from the week made sure the drivers had to keep their focus the whole time as wet patches and small streams gave no time to relax. No suprises in qualifying as series veteran Kevin Woods claimed the prime position. He is the ever fast and composed multi-winner who certainly will be a big challenger for the Winter Series Championship honors

2015 Summer Series Champ Peter Ludwig was right on his heels in second with John Jastremski and series rookie Maurice Smith impressively filling out the 2^nd row, if not a little off the pace of the top 3. Next saw the usual suspects of Schauerman, McGuire, Doppes, Coigny and Roy Block with new boy Jeff Stern filling out the top 10.

Race 1

At the green flag Woods got the jump from pole with Ludwig solidifying his 2^nd position. Jastremski however was a little sluggish and allowed Smith to take 3^rd only to get right back into it and surge by in turn 11 on lap 2 and  set after the leading duo. Lap 3 saw the pace car deployed as the unfortunate Schauerman was out for the count with a technical issue and had to watch the rest of the race from the sidelines. Peter Ludwig made an uncharacteristic error at the restart and spun in turn 3, allowing Jastremski to squeeze by for 2^nd. The battle for fourth was also well and truly underway as Smith, McGuire (sporting a James Hunt helmet to hopefully inspire a good race) and Gus Doppes fought hard as they drove nose-to-tail for many laps. As the race ticked on, Woods solidified his 1^st position but Jastremski was never too far behind and kept him honest. Ludwig gradually lost ground to the leading pair and with no challenge from behind ran out the race in a lonely 3^rd spot. Smith managed to break away from McGuire & Doppes who kept the fight going on all the way to the end with Gus never finding a way by the young man from Ohio. As usual Roy Block always kept it interesting until the very end as Quentin Wahl found a way by on the last lap, diving by the Argentinian at the turn 7 hairpin, but Block instantly pulled up his socks and charged through the ‘esses’ to take a stab from a long way back on the inside under braking for the turn 9 chicane, probably a bit optimistic as the door of opportunity closed quickly. Wahl turned in and a little wheel on wheel action led to some damage to Roy’s left front suspension but he was still able to limp it home to claim a finish with Wahl retaining his position. The finishing order had quite a re-shuffle in the race director Randy Bucks stewards’ room as some safety car and racing contact issues had to be dealt with. This didn’t affect the top 4 led as Woods claimed first blood, followed by Jastremski, Ludwig and Smith, but McGuire, Block & Wahl lost some spots, elevating the rest of the field and gifting some useful points.

Results

Race 2 – Sonoma Raceway (January 22, 2016)

Qualifying

Race 2 saw no need to wonder which tire would be best as the heavens opened and the rain poured all day long. The Sonoma track can change grip very quickly, so when you choose to set your lap was very important. Peter Ludwig got it all right as he claimed pole by a handsome margin over Race 1 winner Kevin Woods. John Jastremski kept his form card score high and his love of damp conditions apparent to line up a close 3^rd. After quite a gap the rest of the pack filled in as the tough conditions led to several off course excursions with new boy Scott Bassinder showing some good form to claim inside of row 3.

Race 2

Pole-man Ludwig made a swift getaway and made sure of being the point man through turn 2,  an extremely preferable slot as visibility in the wet conditions is always an issue. Hot on his heels were Woods and Jastremski, but unfortunately they wouldn’t see the end of the opening lap as Kevin then John both lost the rear ends of their cars in the middle of the ‘esses’ and spun in unison clouting the left side barriers to cause variable degrees of damage to the rear of the F3 Lolas. The Safety car led the field around as a long yellow followed while the 2 cars were extracted from the course. Once the clear up was finished only a handful of laps remained but still enough to still cause some issues for the drivers. Jim McGuire spun chasing the re-start in turn 11 and Quentin Wahl nudged the stationary car just enough to dislodge his front wing and finish his race. Meanwhile, with 1 lap to go, 2^nd place man Mo Smith ran into trouble entering the turn 3 complex and nosed it into the tires with no ability to slow down once he’d taken to the outside grass, gifting Alex Coigny and John Schauerman 2^nd & 3^rd places and the podium celebration. The consistent Jeffrey Stern ended up a fantastic 4^th with Scott Bassinder fairly far back in 5^th, followed by the recovering McGuire and Howard Sklar. Pole man Ludwig’s win notched up some valuable points over his non-finishing rivals with a lead in excess of 30 seconds at the checkered flag.

Results

Race 3 – Sonoma Raceway (January 23, 2016)

Qualifying

Day 3 saw much more mild weather, but the drivers knew they would be on the Pirelli rain tires for the day so qualifying had a big effect on your race. Tire preservation would be at a premium but the competitive nature of the series led to all  drivers running a surprisingly high amount of laps with P1 changing every lap between the 3 top runners of the weekend. In the end, John Jastremski put himself in the best position and threw down the fastest lap in the last gasps of the session. Ludwig lined up 2^nd and Kevin Woods in 3^rd, each of these men ending up with a pole a piece for weekend. Gus Doppes ended up 4^th followed by Schauerman and Bassinder on row 3.

Race 3

The last race of the weekend certainly proved the most entertaining. As race time approached, the track was pretty well dry but the rain tires had already been mandated, so this would be quite a challenge for all the drivers to measure speed and tire sympathy to ultimately get the best result possible. Jastremski led the way as Woods got by Ludwig on the opening lap as well as 5^th place starter Schauerman losing 2 positions as he over cooked the entry into the turn 9 chicane. Lap 2 saw a shuffle at the front as Jastremski’s fast start instantly over heated his rubber and allowed Woods to go by under braking in 9 and Ludwig to follow suite at the next opportunity in turn 11. Charging hard after Kevin,  Peter Ludwig lost significant ground with an error at the popular turn 9 chicane while Schauerman began a great recovery drive picking off Scott Bassinder in the turn 7 hairpin. A couple of laps later he was waging war with Gus Doppes as they passed and re passed each other at both ends of the track. Roy Block made an inside move on the exit of turn 6 on lap 9 as the struggling Coigny lost ground to his rivals ultimately spinning out of contention in turn 11. Fights were breaking out all over the place as drivers found or lost speed with the ongoing management of their Pirellis. Notably Ludwig started closing in on Woods again as Kevin started struggling with rear end grip. Ludwig was able to manage his greasy fronts a little better, the Schauerman/Doppes battle carried on as did an entertaining fight between Smith & Bassinder for 6^th. Lap 11 saw Schauerman finally make a pass stick on Doppes while all hell broke loose on lap 12 as Ludwig got a run on Woods through the ‘esses’ and made an attempt to out brake the leader on the outside into the chicane. The maneuver didn’t quite pan out, however, as he over shot the turn with smoke bellowing from his already tortured fronts. At the same time Woods, trying to thwart the play, had to take to the grass as his entry speed proved too much for the grip available. So with both leaders clambering to get back on track and up to speed Jastremski came barreling down to join the party. With 2 laps to go it was nose-to-tail at the front but alas that became 2 as Woods fell off the road on the entry to 6 in his pursuit of Ludwig, damaging his car in the process. Jastremski got very close on the last lap but never quite enough to have a go at Ludwig who claimed his 2^nd win of the weekend in fine style. We also saw some last lap heroics from Mo Smith who made a strong move on Doppes just 2 turns from the checker and snatched 4^th place away.  The steaming Pirellis told the story of the race as Ludwig now walks away with a nice points cushion leading into part 2 of the Winter series, but with one points finish to drop of out of the six races  it’s still all to play for in February.

Results

Race 4 – Sonoma Raceway (February 19, 2016)

February marked the return to Sonoma Raceway for the second half of the 2016 Simraceway F3 Winter series. Peter Ludwig looked to pad his championship lead while everyone else hoped for some good fortune and turn of speed to chase him down with John Jastremski and John Schauerman being the closest of the challengers. A rather difficult day greeted the 14 strong field with on again, off again rain—meaning some delays but ultimately in the dimming light of the day race 4 was in the books.

Qualifying

In a bid to avoid the weather, qualifying ran in quick succession after a delayed practice but ultimately had to be run in the worst conditions of the day with large puddles and massive spray pumping from the Pirelli full wet tires causing a real challenge for even the most seasoned of drivers. Kevin Woods, one of the fastest drivers in the championship,  had the biggest issue with a crash into the turn 11 wall causing a black flag stoppage and pushing one of the front runners to the back of the field for the race. Roy Block got his Lola high centered after spinning in the “esses” causing further delay with Jastremski ultimately putting an end to the stop/start session as he lost control up the hill into turn 2 making a mess of the car in the mud but getting away with light damage to the front wing. Peter Ludwig claimed another pole with former champion, Texas’s own Chase Murray, making a welcome return to the series alongside and Doppes, Jastremski & IMSA teammates Jim McGuire & Roy Block filling out row 3.

Race 4

By the time race 4 finally started the track was significantly dryer than before, which gave a couple of drivers a false sense of grip. As the green flag waved and Ludwig took off into the lead, both Jim McGuire and Mo Smith ended up spinning between the walls of the start finish straight, luckily avoiding contact with each other, other drivers, and the unforgiving concrete. They got going again quickly but with a massive loss in time (3 point turns do not make for a quick getaway). So Ludwig led the pack with Murray, Doppes & Jastremski running fairly close behind. While the leaders ran evenly spaced, not taking any chances in the new conditions the best battle was for 5^th between John Schauerman and Roy Block. By lap 3 Kevin Woods started to make his charge from the back passing Alex Coigny for 7^th which quickly became 6^th as Roy Block spun in turn 10 losing his battle with Schauerman in the #19. Lap 5 saw bitter disappointment as the leader Peter Ludwig slowed when a crankshaft sensor decided to ruin his day pulling clear and far off the road to gracefully avoid a need for a pace car. So now Murray was in the lead with Doppes comfortably gapped behind him in 2^nd and Jastremski slowly picking up his pace in 3^rd.

Midway through now and it was Woods still on the hunt this time picking off 4^th placed Schauerman. Everything seemed to stabilize position wise but it was apparent that Jastremski was closing on Doppes and Woods on both of them as the last 5 mins approached. As the white flag waved Jastremski had finally latched onto the back of Doppes and Woods was just a few car lengths back from the both of them as they approached a slower car, this was going to be good. Throughout the lap Jastremski bobbed and weaved with Doppes seemingly fully capable of being in a good position to thwart a pass, Woods seeing this seemed to find another gear and looked ready to pounce at any opportunity. As they ran through turn 10 the battle finally reached the lapped traffic and all three chose a different route into turn 11, Jastremski made the big move to run alongside Doppes, but Gus got a great run off the corner as did Kevin Woods who was able to power by Jastremski to claim the last spot on the podium! Up front Chase Murray claimed a fantastic series return win albeit at the expense of the stricken car of Peter Ludwig. Further down the order was Schauerman, Coigny, Block, and McGuire (recovering to 8^th after his start line spin) Jeffery Stern & Jim Garret filled out the top 10.

Results

Race 5 – Sonoma Raceway (February 20, 2016)

Qualifying

A nice turn of weather meant it was time to mount the Pirelli slicks for the 2nd race of the weekend. Kevin Woods barely ran any practice as the wily veteran chose to use his extensive track knowledge to be confident enough to save his Pirellis’ sweetest spot for Qualifying and in doing so locked in P1 for race 5 with a fantastic 1.34.51, over half a second clear of championship leader Peter Ludwig. John Schauerman lined up 3rd with Jim McGuire knocking Alex Coigny off the second row in the final throws of the session by a couple of 100ths. Unfortunately a technical issue kept Race 4 winner Chase Murray from setting a time, so he would have some work to do come race time.

Race 5

Kevin Woods made use of that pole position at the drop of the green flag to claim the front alone even before the cars shot up the hill to turn 2. Roy Block made a great start to move up 2 spots to 4th but threw it away as he spun into the grass exiting the “esses” when the tires were not yet fully warmed up. Lap 2 and Chase was already on the charge up to 5th spot, claiming 4th a lap later with a nice move around Jim McGuire into the turn 9 chicane. Woods and Ludwig were running within a second of each other and together they had a healthy gap already to Schauerman in 3rd. Over the next few laps the best battle was a 4 way tussle between Coigny, Stern, Jastremski & Smith, and a little further back Steve Campbell and Jim Garret were really having a ding-dong fight for 11th. By lap 9 Murray had reeled in 3rd place runner Schauerman, finally passing him after a side-by-side run through turn 7. Meanwhile, at the front, Ludwig was pressing hard to get within passing distance of Woods but went just a little too far as he spun on the crest of turn 3. Luckily his gap back to Murray in 3rd was extensive and he was able to re-join still safely in 2nd. With 2 laps to go the fight for 6th was still waging and finally Coigny made just enough of a mistake in turn 4 to allow Stern to reap the rewards of his race long pressure. Ahead of them Jim McGuire showing a good turn of speed had a lonely and error free race to 5th. So no last lap dramas as Kevin Woods claimed a well-earned win with Ludwig some 20 seconds adrift at the flag, followed by Murray and Schauerman.

Results

Race 6 – Sonoma Raceway (February 21, 2016)

Qualifying

The qualifying for the final race in the Simraceway F3 Winter Series was a tight run as Kevin Woods finally secured pole in the dying seconds from Chase Murray. Kevin still had an outside chance of taking the Championship from Peter Ludwig, but would have to have a perfect day with Peter having some trouble to do so. Pole position being the first order of the day, the mild mannered Woods really had the hammer down after coming in to reflect on his possibilities and snatched pole away by 2/10ths, pushing Ludwig back to an uncustomary second row slot. John Schauerman lined up next to him hoping to take advantage of a mistake by his 3^rd place championship combatant, John Jastremski, who had a spin causing damage on his out lap which would force him to a back row start. Scott Bassinder had a great run to 5^th after a tough weekend not of his doing, followed by McGuire, Smith, Stern Block & Steve Campbell to round out the top 10.

Race 6

A clean start all the way around had the field in close lock-step as they scythed through the many turns and undulations of the Sonoma track, Kevin Woods showing the way with Murray and Ludwig behind. Unfortunately, a half shaft failure took the 2^nd place Murray out of the race before the lap was done, not something that would make Woods happy as Ludwig was now right behind him. Meanwhile a war was breaking out for 5^th place as McGuire, a fast starting Block and Maurice Smith were really going at it with some side-by-side action in 11 as Block had his customary late brake dive into 11 on McGuire only for the Jim to retake his spot on the exit. Roy finally got the job done on the next lap and set off after Scott Bassinder in what seemed an unassailable gap—we would wait and see. McGuire was now under even more pressure as the train was joined by Stern, Campbell & Jastremski, Smith making a great move on the outside of turn 1 to claim 5^th. McGuire slowly fell down the order with an apparent loss of power elevating Stern, Jastremski and Coigny in quick succession. McGuire was still able to hold on to 10^th at the flag. Up front Ludwig was the eternal shadow to Woods as he never let Kevin more than 1 second away, slowly deflating his chances of a come from behind Championship title. Schauerman circulated a lonely 3^rd but was probably more than happy with this turn of events as this would secure 3^rd place in points with Jastremski so far back in the pack. As the laps wore down the relentless pursuit and speed of Roy Block to Scott Bassinder started to pay dividends and with 2 laps to go Block was just 2 seconds away, consistently lopping off 1 sec per lap. It was going to be tight but knowing the Argentinian’s aggressive style it wasn’t out of the question, and he did indeed have a go on the last lap closing rapidly through turn 10 to lunge on the inside of Bassinder into the turn 11 hairpin, but Scott just had enough exit speed to win the side by side sprint across the start/finish line. Up front Ludwig did in fact have a go for the lead, not being able to settle for the points and the Championship alone, but Woods held strong and was able to take his second win in a row ruing a costly mistake from the January races that really had him on the back foot for the Championship. So congratulations to Peter Ludwig who notched up another Simraceway F3 championship in fine style and possibly his toughest one yet as conditions and competitors did not allow any time to relax. Woods came in just 12 points shy in 2^nd with Schauerman taking advantage of Jastremski’s incident filled weekend to snatch 3^rd. Alex Coigny claimed 5^th place with newcomers Smith, Bassinder & Stern showing great form in in 6^th , 7^th & 8^th respectively.

Results

Final 2016 Simraceway F3 Winter Series Standings