Formula SimRacing round 14, the fifth last of the season, will be driven at this historic Monza circuit on the upcoming weekend. The world championship is currently looking to fall into the hands of Bono Huis, but a returning Bruno Marques might still think otherwise. The track itself provides several interesting elements, amongst those the mighty slipstreaming. Read the full analysis to replenish your knowledge of the league and the track history and find the latest points of interests for the upcoming race.Live Broadcast (17:00 GMT)
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Track facts:
Length: 5.793km
Race distance: 53 laps / 306.720km
Direction: clockwise
Number of corners: 10 (right: 7, left: 3)
Longest flat-out section: 1.320m / 16 seconds
Full throttle: 70%
Tyre wear: Low
Engine wear: High
Downforce: Low
Lap record: Markus Könönen 1:19.410 (2005)
Previous winners:
2009 Jaakko Mikkonen
2008 Bruno Marques
2007 David Greco
2006 Bruno Marques
2005 Richard Dodd
2004 Dominik Binz
2002 Greger Huttu
2001 Roy Kolbe
History
Autodromo Nazionale Monza, built in 1922 and hosting annual F1 races since 1950, certainly belongs to the group of historic circuits with a scent of legendary in it. Despite numerous safety-measures which through the years have modified the track layout somewhat, the circuit remains the fastest in the calendar, both in terms of top and average speeds. The FSR lap record, 1:19.410 (262.7 km/h), was set by Finn Markus Könönen in 2005 and will certainly remain untouched for at least another year.
A closer look at the previous races reveals a couple of surprise winners. Roy Kolbe took his first and only victory in 2001, followed by Greger Huttu a year later. A dramatic race was seen in 2003, where no less than 9 cars retired on the first lap, which eventually boosted Adriano Calligarich into a surprise win by an impressive 30-second margin. The 2004 race saw Dominik Binz just out-edging Yannick Lapchin, while the 2005 race gave Richard Dodd his first and only win up to this date.
The 2006 race was less surprisingly a fight between Bruno Marques (Diamond Racing) and Kolbe (Kiwi-Virtual). The action-filled race ended in victory of Marques which boosted his championship campaign. A year later the duo fought together with David Greco in one of the most epic battles in FSR history, which in spite of mistake from Italian saw him finish first in front of Marques and Kolbe. The 2008 race was more straightforward - Marques taking his second victory despite of fighting attempt from Patrick De Wit. The reigning winner on the track is Jaakko Mikkonen, who with the help of some crucial moves secured a clear victory for Precision in 2009.
Analysis
From Spa to Monza then, the caravane goes. Are there any further ways to analyse Bono Huis' victory parade?
Obviously the results speak for themselves. Apparently Huis is the proven master of this mod, now when he won Spa - a track which shouldn't have suited his style the least bit. Analysing superiority is difficult, it is a result of several ingredients mixing together perfectly. Everything has to fit on the mod level, on the car setup level, and on the driver level. And everything in between the mod, the setup, the wheel assembly and the driver input has to work flawlessly. When all this works in harmony, together with the added confidence from previous results, it can produce results like Huis' first qualifying lap at Spa.
Hypothetically, do you think that the field, provided with Precision setups, could challenge Huis?
Doesn't work that way. Setups should always be a reflection on how a particular driver likes the car, only this way he can be 100% confident. One can always cut some corners short by using competent base setups as Precision can provide, but ultimately driver has to decide what he wants from the car himself. What Huis is fortunate in, is that incidentally several Precision drivers like the same car handling characteristics. But still, the most rewarding and the best way to reach success is by understanding your own drive and form your own demands of the car.
Onto Monza then. Unique track and plenty of talk regarding slipstreaming. Your thoughts?
Monza is an excellent track in that it provides a different challenge for everyone. Car setup, braking, cornering... everything has to be tailored for the lower downforce car. Ultimately strategy and being in the right position at the right time will decide the victory on Sunday. Even more because of the somewhat comical slipstream we now see on this circuit. The grid will probably stay closely packed together and the race may as well be decided in the last corner. Which of course speaks for incidents, debris and questionable moves yet again. Guaranteed brodacast material as always. Speaking of the strategy, it will be interesting to see whether we see the first driver in FSR attempting zero stops. Might actually happen in WT.
Slipstreaming in qualifying has raised some questions and heavy debating on the forum...
I'm not a big fan of artificially limiting competition and natural elements in motor racing such as slipstream. Having said that, a 15-20 km/h slipstream at Monza is hardly realistic either, and would not only result in the race, but even the qualifying being decided by luck. Anyhow, the league makes the decisions, the drivers should focus on improving their own pace instead of worrying about outside factors.
With Twister-Racing's Bruno Marques and David Greco back in action, what are your predictions for the race outcome? New champion crowned at Sunday??
It's still early days for the championship and without incidents the title should remain open for at least another round. There are still some interesting uncertainty factors for the race. Bono Huis has allegedly spent the week off with limited practise and Marques and Greco just recently returned back from their trip. The pace of Greco will be interesting to see; the home race might very well be the last chance for the Italian to score a win in 2010. The fight for the championship third (and why not second) place will be another factor, which might result in some more heated up moments between the Finns Puumalainen and Mikkonen.
The strongest bets for the win are once again put on the yellow-white cars, but the exact order is harder to predict. De Wit's all-or-nothing strategy worked at Spa, but in Monza the margins will be even closer - the odds for his finish are 50-60. Roaldo cars are intentionally left out from the top 8 row this time, but maybe that should actually give them a better chance of seeing the chequered flag...
1. Jaakko Mikkonen
2. Rasmus Tali
3. Mikko Puumalainen
4. Bono Huis
5. Bruno Marques
6. Dennis Hirrle
7. David Greco
8. Lee Morris
–JES –
