Moderator's Report
SUMMARY
Mark wins an eventful race in convincing style leading from flag to flag. Dean put in a strong performance to claim second place followed by Tim Muttram in third.
The race was marred by a huge pile-up on lap 2. Please read the moderation report and heed the advice. With the 60fps patch, modern servers and good internet connections we should be able to enjoy good close racing without any major warp issues but we still need to drive carefully and considerately.
Server replay time: 0h00m53s
Lap 1 - Main Straight - Francesco Molteni and Ronnie Peterson
Ronnie gets a bit of wheel spin and is slightly slow off the line. Francesco gets a brilliant start and moves to the inside in order to overtake Ronnie. At the point where the track narrows and splits away from the old banked circuit, Francesco moves across and hits Ronnie's front wheel. Both cars hit the armco barrier and Ronnie spins but neither car appears to sustain significant damage. However both drivers, particularly Ronnie, loose a lot of time and more importantly any chance of a tow. At Monza with the 66 mod this is a serious disadvantage.
Ronnie did absolutely nothing wrong.
Francesco moved over far too early. He should have ensured he had cleared Ronnie which means he should have been able to see the Honda in his mirrors BEFORE he moved over.
Moving over at the start is particularly dangerous as it is difficult enough to keep a track of the position on one car you cannot see never mind several. Drivers should stay on their own side until they are sure it is safe to move over. For example P Thornton started on the left, stayed left through Curva Grande, left through Della Roggia then left through Lesmo 1 and only took the racing line into Lesmo 2 when he was sure no-one was alongside (Bastian Grupp).
Server replay time: 0h04m03s
Lap 2 - Parabolica - Axel Cookie, Evil Clive
Axel is fighting for position with Dean and holds a tight inside line through Parabolica but as he exits the turn he applies too much power (or maybe the limited slip differential had run out of slip) and he half spins. Tim Muttram is literally inches behind Axel but manages to avoid contact with some very skilful driving. Axel ends up going very slowly on the outside of the turn where he is collected by Evil Clive who moves out from the slipstream of Andreas just at the wrong time and contact is made starting off a chain reaction involving several other drivers.
Phil Thornton - no yellow flags - backed off but no chance to avoid Clive who bounced into his path.
Sam Blood - no yellow flags - backed off and successfully avoided the wreckage - excellent driving.
David Rainier - no yellow flags - backed off but couldn't negotiate a path through the wreckage - contact was made but because of slow speed there was not significant damage and the result was a simple spin - good driving.
Doni Yourth - no yellow flags - backed off and successfully avoided the wreckage - excellent driving showing superb car control.
Francesco Molteni - yellow flags waving - didn't back off for yellow flags. Started to back off when it was far too late and massive contact with Evil's car was made - poor driving.
Phillipe Girard - yellow flags waving - didn't immediately back off for yellow flags. Started to back off when he saw cars strewn across the track and was fortunate not to hit anything. The explosive contact between Evil and Francesco cleared his path - poor driving.
Bastian Grupp - yellow flags waving - didn't back off for yellow flags. Started to back off when it was far too late and massive contact with Evil's car was made - poor driving.
Server replay time: 0h04m03s
Lap 2 - Parabolica - David Rainier and Bastian Grupp
David Rainier is recovering from a spin having made contact with the wreckage strewn across the track on the exit of the Parabolica. David had hardly moved before he was hit by Bastian Grupp, so it cannot be said that he moved into Bastian's path, Bastian would have hit him anyway. Bastian's car is wrecked and he is out of the race, David can continue.
Bastian was unlucky but he didn't back off when the yellow flags were being waved. In effect he contributed to his own downfall. If he had slowed instead of accelerating at normal racing speeds he may have been able to take avoiding action.
David missed an opportunity to reverse out of danger. His first thought in a recovery situation should have been to get out of danger not how fast can he get back onto the track.
Server replay time: 0h04m09s
Lap 2 - Parabolica - David Rainier and Ronnie Peterson
David Rainier is recovering from a spin having made contact with the wreckage strewn across the track on the exit of the Parabolica. The sensible thing to do would have been to make a right turn away from the racing line. Instead David turns left onto the racing line and straight into the path of Ronnie Peterson. Despite the huge contact, David could continue but Ronnie's car was badly damaged and he was out of the race. The Yellow Flags were waving for Ronnie and he didn't slow but there was a clear path through the wreckage. Ronnie may have been able to avoid David if he had slowed considerably but there really was no need given the clear track. The responsibility for the incident must lie with David.