FSR 2015 Germany Preview

[James Sadler]

Hello, welcome to round 7 of the Thrustmaster Formula SimRacing 2015 Season. Germany is host to round 7 at the Hockenheimring.

A track that has had several years of service from both DTM and Formula One alike, with the 14 turns consisting of both fast flowing and slow corners. Although the old Hockenheimring had very long straights, punctuated by two chicanes. It lead to quite low downforce, high speeds and significant danger without adding much to the spectacle as it was largely unseen. It was the scene of the tragic passing of Jim Clark whom many feel was one of the greatest racing drivers of all time. The current Hockenheimring is safer than it’s predecessor but still has a variety of corners that can show every driver's strengths. Turn 9 will be especially difficult, to a quick lap. You need a good amount of downforce but also a high top speed for the race to ensure you can overtake and defend. The hairpin, at turn 5, has been host to a variety of overtaking, none other than the illegal overtake by Sebastian Vettel on Jenson Button where he extended the track to gain an overtake. Something for the drivers to consider for this weekend. Also the 4.5km circuit should offer great overtaking opportunities, at the hairpin, therefore it’s important that you get good traction out of turn 2 so you have the best top speed, with the use of DRS, to overtake your opponent. Hopefully we see a variety of overtakes that will be exciting for both viewers and commentators alike. As well as overtaking, the drivers have to be careful on these tyres. For round 7 we are using the super soft and medium compounds. Definitely should bring up and element of strategy and the drivers have to take into consideration, the front left, because it can get severely punished by the fast flowing corners. The first broadcast of the weekend begin with Ace at 16:30 GMT on Saturday 27th June with Pro and World Championship taking place on Sunday 28th June at 13:30 GMT and 16:30 GMT respectively.

Lets have a look at the top 3 in all three divisions in FSR. In Ace, currently Daniel Kiss is leading the way in the championship. However, it will be unlikely that he will race in Ace for Germany or the rest of the championship unfortunately. However, Daniel is going to be promoted to the World Championship, where he took his first WC victory at Melbourne this season. Currently he has less than a 100 point lead to his Twister teammate Rens Klop in Ace. A race win, in Ace is equal to 50 points. Therefore 2 wins in Ace can see Klop take the lead in the championship. Let’s see what he can do. Currently in 3rd place is FSR debutant Giuseppe Ragusa, definitely showing he has got some fantastic pace, one to watch out for the rest of the season.

In Pro, GhostSpeed Racing driver Jeroen Kweekel is topping the drivers championship. He had won every race up till the last race at Austria, where Michele D Alessandro drove a fantastic race and took victory. Stopping the Kweekel dominance in Pro. D Alessandro is currently 3rd in the drivers championship in his debut season, definitely we can expect more from him in the coming races. Maybe Germany? In between Kweekel and D Alessandro is Sander Kallas for Netrex. He is currently 96 points behind. Had a solid season so far. Can he take the fright to Kweekel?

Finally World Championship. Twister Racing have been exceptionally dominant in the World Championship for 2015. Credit to them. With Petar Brljak taking victory 3 times in the last 3 races. Fantastic form at the moment but can he keep it up? Especially since GhostSpeed Racing looked strong at Austria. Pro commentator Jonny Simon had an incident with a backmarker that cost him victory. Is he one to look for in Germany? Greek driver Jim Parisis is currently in 2nd place for Twister Racing, who is having a good season but is 36 points away from his teammate. Interesting to see what Parisis can do at Hockenheim. Finally Origin SimRacing driver Kuba Brzezinski is 3rd in the drivers championship for WC. He is currently top out of the non Twister Racing drivers in the championship, surely he can take the fight to the Twisters for the rest of the season?

Live Stream and Live Timing:
So with exciting racing beginning on Saturday and Sunday, watch coverage of all Formula SimRacing races across all divisions. Click on either Ace, Pro or World Championship to watch the broadcasts live as it happens, or on demand, on Youtube. During the broadcast, why not look at our live timing to follow you favorite drivers? So click here.

Thanks to @David O'Reilly and @Pashalis Gergis for the help!