Lehdistötiedotteet - Season 12 Full Roundup - Part 1: The Rookies

Season 12 Full Roundup - Part 1: The Rookies

Season 12 series races are (almost) done, the titles have been decided (or will be today), so I thought, it would be a good time to look back on what happenned this year in the MRC racing world. If you'd like to know who's hot and who's not going into the next season, take this journey with me across the globe of racing!

I'll start at the bottom, and work my way up to the pinnacle of the sport. (BEWARE: it will be a very(!) long read!)

S13 had an incredibly promising rookie class, mostly because multiple high-profile rookies decided to stay and contend for the top spot for another year. The top 15 was ruled by a combination of very quick French and Italian racers (no surprises there...), occupying 8 out of the 15 spots combined. France has the edge, securing 1., 2., 4. and 8. position in the final standings, with top honors going to Nicolas Chatenet (age:20).

Chatenet needs no introduction to those who frequent the tracks regularly. He was a force in every event he started, and was a threat to most of the veterans in single and custom racing, too. He also has plenty of growth in him, so guys at the top, beware, Chatenet is coming!

The rest of the top French rookie squad has plenty to offer too. Baralair (20), Gourbiere (18) and Labielle (20) all showed mega-speed this season, and they all have similar potential to Chatenet. I guess it's safe to say: France won't have to worry about finding talent to follow in the footsteps of PSG...

Italy's Long Johnson (19) and Alex Giannini (20), the Aussie Mike Smith (23) and the surprising young swiss, Seppi Siffert (18) seemed to be top challengers to the French hegemony, with occasional bursts of terrific form, from Alonsa (26), Ifj. Uti (19), McCoy (18), Totinjo (19), Da Tempo (23) and Ojala (25).

Obviously - anybody, who managed to make it to the major rookie showdowns in Audru, Silverstone, Misano or Baobabs, has a chance to become a major contender in the future.

These youngsters are still learning, some of them will get a lot faster, others will fade, and of course, there are 2 kinds of racers who couldn't feature at the top level of the rookie standings, but could rock the racing world with their talent later:

- Those who joined mid season, and simply could not accumulate enough points from the fewer number of starts,

- and those who decided to rather learn how to learn first. These raw talents might not have the speed now, but they will progress faster over the years.

A few names for the notebook (sorry, if I forget about someone, there are way too many rookies to check all of them!):

Koelman (18); Starr (18); Silversage (18); Mclara Jr (18); Rea (19); Lacroix (19); Doodle (18); Vaicocantaro (18); Andreas II (18); Anastopoulos (18); Kaderabek Jr (18); Fokin (18); Calibra (18); Benedetti Jr (18); Muzzio Jr (18); Bennett (18); Leholk (18); Morkel* (21 - he's older, but has insane potential); Beret* (18 - less potential, but really quick for his age); Eliasson* (18 - same as Beret, looks a bit limited, but he's incredibly fast, winning 8 races this season - same as Chatenet, although against slower competition).

Finally, to give you a glimpse into the battle of top rookies, I'd like to talk a little bit about one of the most interesting showdown races this season.

The top rookie drivers were already racing against each other in Moscow, the Arctic Circle and Audru, so by the time we got to Silverstone in the calendar, pretty much everybody had some information on his own pace related to the field. What they did not expect, was the absolute perfect lap put together by "showdown-newcomer" Seppi Siffert in Qualifying. As the big guns made all kinds of mistakes, Siffert managed to stay out of trouble, and go fast at the same time, taking pole for the sprint.

Labielle and Chatenet commited errors at different parts of the track, but their sector times indicated better speed than the young Swiss on pole. Same could be said about Giannini, while pre-race favourites, Baralair, Gourbiere and Johnson were mired back behind "veteran rookie", Matveev, and the German hope, Totinjo - setting up a very promising sprint race.

Siffert managed to get away clean at the start, but Labielle and Chatenet were immediately glued to "his" rear wing, while Giannini's mistake cost him a place to Matveev.

Siffert couldn't hold on for long, both frenchmen were able to pass him quickly, while Baralair, Johnson and Gourbiere tried hard to close back up after poor starts and/or bad qualifying.

On lap 6 Matveev tried to make his move on Siffert in Vale, but messed up the exit big time, dropping way back to 10th.

In the meantime, Labielle was flying up front. Nobody could match his pace, not even Chatenet, who circled around comfortably in 2nd.

Siffert on the other hand had his hands full with the rapidly approaching pair of Johnson and Baralair (who swapped places a bit earlier), and the pressure got the better of him in lap 9 - a mistake in Club corner cost him a couple of spots, putting Johnson on the provisional podium.

Not for long though, as Johnson immediately outbreaked himself in Stowe, letting Baralair complete the French clean sweep - for the time being. Same lap, Labielle was reminded that it's not over until the checkered flag, his big mistake allowed Chatenet right back in it.

In the next few laps, Baralair and Johnson entertained the crowd by passing each other back and forth, while the Giannini-Gourbiere couple was working hard to catch lonely Siffert for 5th. Siffert, once again faithful to his age, "helped" them getting closer by making a few mistakes.

3 laps from the finish, Baralair seemed to throw away his chance for a taste of the bubbly, when he overcooked Brooklands - Johnson was right there to pounce. Even Siffert tried to take advantage, using the tow to get away from his chasers.

Apparently, Baralair's focus was gone by this point - another huge error almost exactly a lap later dropped him to 5th, while fast-finishing Matveev passed 3 cars in 4 laps to climb to 6th.

In the final lap the order of the top 6 have not changed (surprisingly...) - Labielle took the checkered first, with a solid 3s advantage from Chatenet, and Johnson coming in 3rd, Siffert a distant 4th, Baralair closed his race in 5th and Matveev completed the top 6.

That was my favourite race of the Rookie Series this season, but it's worth catching a replay of some other ones, you'll find plenty of good close racing.

I hope you guys enjoyed this in-depth look into the future of MRC talent, and stay tuned for Part 2, when we take a look around the F3 National and Regional Championships.

Cheers,
Sharpbyte