Before this weeks’s third round of the championship, we take a look back at the first two rounds.

After weeks of preparations, GPVWC’s 2017 Formula Challenge season finally started in early March. After a strong showing in the pre-season test, our two drivers Menno Klont and Chris Shepherd were confident that they could finish in the points regularly this season.  The first two rounds of the championship were the Australian GP in Melbourne and the Russian GP in Sochi. Below, you can find our race reports. The broadcast of the Australian Round can be viewed on the next page and on the last page, all qualifying and race results are listed.

Melbourne (7th March, 2017)

In our first ever Formula Challenge race, Chris qualified in 3rd position. Menno started alongside him in 4th. The team was delighted to find itself near the top of the grid for its maiden GPVWC Career Ladder race.

For most of the first race, Chris was able to match the pace of the frontrunners and was able to defend 3rd place in the process. However, on lap 12, he made a driving error and lost control of the car while riding the curbs on the exit of Turn 4. As a result, he lost his rear wing and had to pit for repairs. After pitting, he drove the fastest lap of the race, which was about 0.7 seconds faster than any other driver could manage. He finished the race in 24th position. Menno finished the first race in P7, after losing several places due to two driving errors. He wasn’t too happy about the balance of the car but was able to gain a few positions in the closing laps of the race.

In the second race, Menno had to pit for repairs after making contact with Patryk Gerber on the fourth lap. The Bastvik Grand Prix driver rolled back on the racing line after a collision and Menno had no chance to avoid him. After the pitstop he was in 20th place, but having a clear track in front of him enabled him to bang out some fast laps and in the end he finished the race in 14th position. Chris, too, was involved in a crash in the second race. After starting 24th, he already gained four places when he was involved in a 5-car-accident on the back straight on lap one. His car was too damaged to continue the race and thus he decided to retire the car.

Autodrom Sochi (21st March, 2017)

For the first race of the 2017 GPVWC Formula Challenge Russian Grand Prix, Menno qualified in fifth place. Chris started one row further back in P7.

Menno was in fourth place after the first few laps. On lap four, second placed Patryk Gerber spun directly in front of Menno who was able to just avoid contact with the Polish driver. Later that race, Menno had a long battle with Davidt Jundt for fifth place. The two drivers swapped positions on several occasions. In the end, Menno finished the race in sixth place behind the Downforce Racing driver.  Chris had an equally action packed race. On the second lap, he got a tap from behind which spun him around. Miraculously, Chris was able to do a perfect 360 and continued the race without any damage. In the end, he finished the first race behind Menno in seventh place, scoring points for the first time this season.

The second race was very similar to the second race in Australia for both drivers. Menno started in tenth position, but gained four places in the first lap. However, still in the first lap, he was spun around and rejoined the race in P21. On lap five, he made a perfect Mark Webber imitation when he drove into the rear of Matthew Clipp and almost flipped the car. However, this didn’t stop Menno from fighting his way back through the field. He finished the race in ninth position. Chris’ second race that evening was very similar to his second race in Melbourne aswell. He started the race from ninth place, but lost his front wing after a tank-slapper in lap 4. Chris deemed the car to be too damaged to continue and decided to retire from the race.

After the first two races, STAX Racing is seventh in the Constructors’ Championship. Finishing every race in the points, Menno Klont now finds himself in 12th place. Chris Shepherd is 16th.

The next race of the season will be held in Shanghai, China, on April 4th. On the next page, you can find the broadcast of the Australian round. Unfortunately, the second round of the season was not broadcast live. On the third page, you can find all qualifying and race results of the first two races so far.