2010 F1RWRS Luxembourg Grand Prix

The 2010 F1RWRS Luxembourg Grand Prix was the second race of the 2010 F1RWRS season held at the Nürburgring, in Germany. Dave Simpson won the race.

Race Report
For the second race of the season, Simon Redman, an Australian, took up the last available spot on the grid in the Kahama. This meant that 19 drivers would take part in the race. As the German Grand Prix was the first race, the pecking order could have turned out to be very different at the Nürburgring.

During qualifying, championship leader Ashley Watkinson only qualified 9th, but the first race had shown that qualifying position mattered less than race strategy. Frank Zimmer took pole position on the shortened track in the Rosenforth ahead of Douglas Mann and David Koczo.

Thomas De Bock and Ashley Watkinson both had a less than stellar first lap, with the same pattern as Hockenheim forming, three drivers at the front ahead of a larger chasing pack. This time, Zimmer, Mann and Koczo were at the front, while Daniel Melrose, who started 10th, made up a few positions. Almost immediately, Luca Pacchiarini lept up the order and took second place while Mann dropped back to fourth place. Meanwhile, De Bock was having another bad race, pitting on lap 2 for another new front wing.

The order then started moving at the front, with drivers straightlining the chicane and others missing it and hitting the tyre bundles, such as Hagane Shizuka. Dave Simpson obviously learned from Hockenheim that it was a better idea to pit early on, ending up in 18th position.

This started the pit window, with Pacchiarini, Adam Lewis, Frank Zimmer, Ashley Watkinson, Darren Older, Jr. and Gary Cameron among others pitting. Mann now led from Nathanael Spencer and Daniel Melrose. Dave Simpson looked set to win the race, being in fifth position and the highest pitter. However, the tyres were starting to wear heavily, potentially making early pitters have to adapt to two-stop strategies.

Meanwhile, Douglas Mann spun on lap 11, dropping to third behind Melrose and a charging Dave Simpson, who was surprisingly easy on his tyres. He was faring better than all other stoppers, with Zimmer having lost pace down in 14th, and Sammy Jones in last place after a spin. At that same moment, Thomas De Bock made a suicidal overtake at the chicane, gaining three spots to 9th place!

On lap 12, Simpson easily overtook Melrose, and was set to end up like Watkinson at Hockenheim, with Luca Pacchiarini the biggest threat, as the privateer had also pitted early and was fifth at that point. He quickly moved up to second place, with Mann pitting and Melrose falling behind. Rookie Simon Redman was now in third place and was very quick for a driver who had yet to pit.

Simpson then lost a bit of time in traffic, allowing Pacchiarini to reel him in. Redman's speed was now wearing off, as Adam Lewis passed him for fourth place. De Bock was now up to 5th, although he quickly dropped down a bit, in a heated battle with Ashley Watkinson for sixth. Gary Cameron was now up to third position, having a great, if anonymous race. Quickly, Frank Zimmer was at the front and battling for fourth place with Watkinson, while Pacchiarini was slowly getting closer to race leader Simpson. David Koczo became the first driver to pit twice.

Towards the end of the race, the battle for minor points finishes was getting more and more exciting, with De Bock holding on to seventh place, and both West Cliffs fighting for tenth place. Hagane Shizuka also pitted for the second time. At the front, Simpson and Zimmer were getting held up by traffic, preventing them from pulling away. However, the order stayed unchanged, and Dave Simpson won the race by less than two seconds from Luca Pacchiarini and Gary Cameron. Ashley Watkinson eventually finished fifth, retaining his championship lead by one point from Cameron, showing that consistency is key in this championship.

Race

 * Fastest Lap: Frank Zimmer: 0:55.46

Standings after the race

 * Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.


 * Drivers' Championship standings
 * Constructors' Championship standings
 * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.