For the first time in PinPoint Racing’s history, drivers took to the track in a meaningful race. It’s been a bumpy ride to get to where we are today, but finally, it was race day. The grid was nearly full with 19 runners, but there were a couple of reserves. Here are the transactions that you need to note ahead of the race.
Reserves
| Missing | Team | Reserving |
|---|---|---|
| Icespiller MC | Alpine | Owinblues254169 |
| silkwever | Mercedes | J2How1 |
| Marshmauro | AlphaTauri | Moldy Muskrat |
All three of the reserve drivers selected for the race have previously shown to be very quick, and more importantly, clean. Owinblue254169 was a driver in previous leagues that struggled to work his way up to the F1 ranks, but we have seen flashes of talent from him. Moldy Muskrat is a more than capable driver who is a race winner in other leagues. J2How1, possibly better known as Ottawa Redblacks’ defensive back Justin Howell is rapid in the sim rig and has a chance to win races when he’s out there.
Qualifying
If you are wondering who the fastest drivers in the league are, look no further than the results in qualifying. Qualifying sets the grid for the race and is vitally important for drivers, especially for circuits that are more difficult to overtake at.
*PinPoint Racing uses short qualifying for all F1 races. It is an 18 minute session where all drivers set their fastest lap. Unlike real world Formula 1, there is no knockout zone and there is no Q2, or Q3.
| Position | Team | Driver | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | FishingRic08 | 1:25.527 |
| 2 | AlphaTauri (R) | Moldy Muskrat | 1:25.833 |
| 3 | Mercedes | PWW BlueFlame | 1:25.996 |
| 4 | Red Bull | DylanL2017 | 1:26.397 |
| 5 | Alfa Romeo | Syko IX | 1:26.437 |
| 6 | Aston Martin | Rustywelder | 1:26.491 |
| 7 | Williams | II UnKnOwNn II | 1:26.572 |
| 8 | Alpine | RNG Merrett | 1:26.615 |
| 9 | Haas | zZirconium | 1:26.887 |
| 10 | Haas | MustardOwl46548 | 1:27.101 |
| 11 | Ferrari | Wittboy | 1:27.238 |
| 12 | Aston Martin | SeelsTeam6ix | 1:27.664 |
| 13 | Mercedes (R) | J2How1 | 1:27.807 |
| 14 | McLaren | Patient AI | 1:27.811 |
| 15 | Alpine (R) | Owinblues254169 | 1:27.845 |
| 16 | Alfa Romeo | BlueBird2711 | 1:28.557 |
| 17 | AlphaTauri | Dr0pdeadLauren | 1:30.358 |
| 18 | Red Bull | EasternPromisee | N/A |
| 19 | Williams | DPV909 | N/A |
FishingRic08 topped the times with a 1:25.527, a full three-tenths faster than Moldy Muskrat over the single lap. Down the list, there are few drivers who really seem out of place, but there are a couple worth noting.
zZirconium started much higher up the field in an exhibition round at U.S.A. just a week prior and it was a surprise to see him starting in ninth. Going into the race from that position, he would need to have a good strategy and more importantly, avoid the chaos into turn one if he hoped to win the race.
Both EasternPromisee and DPV909 failed to set lap times after retiring from the session. Both drivers would be forced to start right from the back of the pack and play a serious game of catchup on the day.
Race
The race strategy at Bahrain is quite simple, if you hope to do a one-stop strategy, staying off the soft compound of tire is a must. You can’t even start to think about a one-stop strategy if you use them. In this way, starting outside the top 10 gave many drivers the distinct advantage of starting the Grand Prix on the medium compound tire.
The race got underway with the run down to turn one, a heavy-braking zone followed by a sharp hairpin turn. This routinely causes an issue in sim racing and real racing alike, but it did start the string of DNFs that took over the race at Bahrain over the weekend. MustardOwl46548’s Haas collided with Rustywelder’s Aston Martin into turn one and MustardOwl46548 was forced to retire from the session with terminal damage.
The race was put under Virtual Safety Car and off the restart, both Owinblues254169 and PWW BlueFlame retired from the session, creating a Safety Car. It was at this point that many of the drivers who chose to start the race on the red-marked soft tire decided to head into the pits. The tire of choice for most drivers was the yellow-marked medium.
During the Safety Car period, there was yet another DNF, but it wouldn’t be the last. Dr0pdeadLauren got a little too close to J2How1 and hit him from behind, causing one of her wheels to come flying off, ending her race of course.
In short order, there would be a flurry of DNFs on the sixth lap of the race. II UnKnOwNn II couldn’t get on the brakes early enough and collided into the back of an AlphaTauri ending his race, and FishingRic08 had his race cut short after he tried to send one up the outside on BlueBird2711 who was fortunate to continue racing. That incident was submitted for further review, but it was decided to be a racing incident. The incident brought out yet another Safety Car, however.
This Safety Car triggered yet another set of pit stops, but for many of the drivers, there would still be another to come if they hoped to make it to the end of the race. There was another DNF under Safety Car conditions when EasternPromisee was caught off guard by cars heavily breaking up ahead. He became the seventh DNF of the race.
For all of the DNFs in the opening nine laps of the race, there was some good wheel-to-wheel racing on the restart of the race. That good racing lasted a couple of laps before Rustywelder retired from the session. Now with only 10 drivers remaining, everyone left was guaranteed a points finish.
The Safety Car was brought out once again. After a lap or two of clean racing, both Alfa Romeo drivers lost control of their cars and had their days end short. Both retired with terminal damage. Another Safety Car was brought out.
Please note: The amount of Safety Cars has been noted by league admins and steps will be taken before the next race to ensure that they are reduced.
With J2How1 lagged out of the session, DPV909 hit him hard from behind losing his front wing in the process. The AI car broke really early and didn’t give DPV909 any chance to react. He would soon after retire from the session after limping back to the pit lane.
The final retiree of the session came on lap 25 after a handful of clean racing laps, and it was Patient AI. That marked the end of the retirements mercifully, and it was an all-out sprint to the finish for the win.
There was plenty of separation between drivers, and you can see how the race wrapped up below. DylanL2017 finished the race with the fastest lap, earning himself and Red Bull one more point in each championship.
| Position | Team | Driver | Time to Leader | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haas | zZirconium | – | 25 |
| 2 | Red Bull (F) | DylanL2017 | +6.416 | 19 |
| 3 | Ferrari | Wittboy | +8.831 | 15 |
| 4 | Aston Martin | SeelsTeam6ix | +32.610 | 12 |
| 5 | AlphaTauri (R) | Moldy Muskrat | +1:14.326 | 10 |
| 6 | Mercedes (R) | J2How1 | +1 lap | 8 |
| 7 | McLaren | Patient AI | N/A | 6 |
| 8 | Williams | DPV909 | N/A | 4 |
| 9 | Alfa Romeo | BlueBird2711 | N/A | 2 |
| 10 | Alfa Romeo | Syko IX | N/A | 1 |
| 11 | Aston Martin | Rustywelder | N/A | 0 |
| 12 | Alpine | RNG Merrett | N/A | 0 |
| 13 | Red Bull | EasternPromisee | N/A | 0 |
| 14 | Ferrari | FishingRic08 | N/A | 0 |
| 15 | Williams | II UnKnOwNn II | N/A | 0 |
| 16 | AlphaTauri | Dr0pdeadLauren | N/A | 0 |
| 17 | Mercedes | PWW BlueFlame | N/A | 0 |
| 18 | Alpine (R) | Owinblues254169 | N/A | 0 |
| 19 | Haas | MustardOwl46548 | N/A | 0 |
Penalties
| Driver | Team | Lap | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Rustywelder | Aston Martin | 5/29 | P11, +5 seconds, +1 super Licence point (4 total points) |
*Rustywelder created contact with another driver while driving too fast under SC conditions. There was no obvious signs of trying to avoid the impact and a second collision followed soon after.