2011 F1RWRS Bavarian Grand Prix

The 2011 F1RWRS Bavarian Grand Prix was the inaugural race of the 2011 Formula 1 Rejects World Race Series season, as well as the inaugural Bavarian Grand Prix. The race was held at the Norisring. Simon Redman won the race for Kahama Motorsports.

Background
The long-awaited start of the 2011 F1RWRS season was held at a brand-new venue: the Norisring, a circuit located on the streets of Nuremberg, Germany. To go along with the new venue, there were no less than seven new teams and a host of new drivers joining the series. With all these new entries, pre-qualifying was needed to trim the field to a manageable size. Pre-quali was to take place in three heats; the drivers would be divided up into two heats, post their fastest times, and the slowest four would be eliminated. Then, the remaining drivers would compete for the fastest time. Testing revealed very little, as the times were perennially inconsistent. Reigning champ Gary Cameron was the only driver to record a top five time in every test session.

Qualifying
Gary Cameron placed his Calinetic on pole position for the first race of the season, continuing his good form from last year. Dave Simpson placed his Australian Minardi third on the grid after a smashing lap, a great start for the new team. All in all, the field was very tight; only 1.05 seconds separated pole from 19th position. Unfortunately, neither RubberTex-Jones Racing's cars made the grid, joining Hagane Shizuka and Luca Pacchiarini.

Race
The 2011 season started with a rather embarrassing penalty for Aurelien Moll who jumped the start and subsequently received a drive-through. Frank Zimmer made a good start and got past Cameron at the first hairpin. However, that lead didn't last long as Daniel Melrose passed both Cameron and Zimmer at the chicane to take the lead at the end of the first lap. On Lap 3, Melrose made a slight mistake, allowing Zimmer to muscle his way through. An enormous train was building up behind the leaders, but that did not faze Gary Cameron, who passed Melrose on Lap 4. Melrose then retook the lead at the end of Lap 5, passing his two adversaries again.

Chaos, now expected in this series, broke on Lap 6, with cars spinning everywhere. The top five all lost it at the hairpin, leaving Nathanael Spencer to take the lead. Spencer's lead didn't last long; Melrose had repassed him by the end of Lap 8. Giovanni Roda was the first to pit on Lap 9, but on his exit, Roda slowed up the frontrunners, letting the midfield catch up. Thomas De Bock grabbed third place, but pitted along with Redman, Cameron, Simpson and Davies.

On Lap 13, Melrose pitted, letting Spencer assume the lead. However, Melrose's stop was a few laps too late as the cars who had stopped had already caught up to the ones who hadn't. This basically stuffed the races of those who hadn't stopped on Lap 11, leaving Simon Redman to take the lead on Lap 18. Melrose was still in the best position of the non-stoppers and he used his speed to catch up to the stoppers. He eventually finished 5th. For Redman, the strategic call to pit on Lap 11 proved decisive as he took his first career victory, as well as the first Bavarian Grand Prix. Thomas De Bock was a stellar second; he was also amongst those who pitted on Lap 11, yet he was caught in traffic for a while and was unable to take the fight to Redman. Defending champ Cameron (another Lap 11 stopper) came third and Dave Simpson came in fourth, the first of the new teams. Melrose was fifth, Frank Zimmer sixth, Roda seventh for the new boys at Trueba, and McAllister was 8th, rounding out the points-paying positions. Frank Zimmer claimed the fastest lap and the one-points bonus with a 0.33.61.

Race
Note: For the 2011 and 2012 seasons, one point was awarded to the driver with pole position and the driver with the fastest lap.
 * Pole Position: Gary Cameron: 0:33.54
 * Fastest Lap: Frank Zimmer: 0:33.61

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.