FRL Update

 As the year concludes, we send it out with a bang running the 6th Forzday Race League event of this season at Brands Hatch GP. This tight, twisty track will likely field the largest number of drivers to participate in the series to date. The competition this season has been intense. This is reflected in the fact that the series points lead is being challenged by three drivers this late in the series. Newcomers to the league have also made their presence felt on the track as well. While rookie driver Bryan Dean may have the rookie points lead all to himself, others are jockeying hard on the points leader board. We've missed a few veterans as well. Though, word has come of late that perhaps a couple will be returning to the track soon.

 All in all things are looking up for the FRL. So in keeping with that sentiment, we are pleased to announce that a new series will be kicking off in January! The Forzday Endurance Championship Series will get started with a 29 lap event on Sunday, January 31st at Circuit of the America's. The FEC will feature GT-R series cars from the modern era. Cars like the Aston Martin DBR9, 458 Italia, McLaren, Lamborghini and more!

 The class will be limited to R-865 and each driver will have to register his selected car and use it for the duration of the season. Events will be spaced out a little further than FRL events, in order to give race teams time to prepare. All this will hopefully give everyone a more realistic race feel. Stay tuned for a full race schedule and a post showing all the eligible race cars for the series. In the meantime, keep checking in for further updates on the exciting FRL season that is still unfolding as we countdown the last 3 events of season 4!

Forzday Race Review - Circuit de Catalunya

 It was a short trip for the haulers to move from the Czeck Republic to southern Spain and the FRL kicked off another event at Circuit de Catalunya. This would be a barn-burner at times and would ultimately change the face of the points race for the season, mainly due to a connection problem experienced by series front-runner Andrew Steppat. The rest of the field connected, but Andrew drew the short straw and the Microsoft gods prevented him from being able to join the lobby for the night.

 B-Class racing started off with several bangs into Turn 1 as ‘up and coming’ rookie Chris Radar and Tim Adkins – Tim, making his FRL debut here – tusseled in Turn 1 (and elsewhere) on several races. Mikey Collins, coming off a solid start at his Prague debut, raced Ethan fairly well in the opening lap of each heat before finally settling into two 3rd place finishes in the class heats. Carter Merkling showed some fire in his Renault keeping mostly quiet in the first two heats, but taking advantage of a late mistake by Mikey and sniping a 3rd place finish in Heat 3.

 Bryan Dean was the front runner for the night, racing sharp as a tack and staying laser-locked on the proper line. He would post a field best 2:01.158 in his psychedelic VW. Ethan followed a short ways behind, posting laps about a half second slower.

 Tim would exit for the night before A-Class racing could begin, leaving a field of 5 to pilot their BAC Mono’s around the F1 course these race whips were designed for. Ethan Maestri gained a stranglehold on 1^st place for the first two heats, leading all six laps. But in the final heat, he and Bryan would tangle through Turn 1 and Ethan ended up out in the grass. Though Bryan valiantly offered up the position, both would have to race from the back in 4^th and 5^th positions. Bryan encountered some trouble getting around Carter early and Ethan was there to pass them both. This setup Mikey, Chris and Ethan running nose-to-tail for about a lap of intense jockeying. Eventually, Chris faded back to 3rd and had to contend with a hard charging Bryan Dean. Mikey and Ethan ran hard through the final lap when Mikey finally slipped up the track enough for Ethan to make a pass to take 1st place. Chris almost gave away 3rd, but held on and beat Bryan in a drag race to the finish line.

 The racing was good, even for a night soured by the absence of a race regular. Mikey, Chris, and Carter, all new drivers in the series, posted at least one 3^rd place heat finish. Bryan Dean demonstrated sheer dominance in the B-Class cars, but closing the gap on Ethan proved to be a wash due to Ethan’s solid A-Class performance. The points shake-up is noticeable as Andrew now drops to 2nd place and Ethan moves up to 1st place, with only 11 points separating the top 3 drivers. Chris continues to lead in the rookie race, enjoying a 20+ point lead over his nearest opponent. However, Mikey gains nearly 8 points on the rookie front runner and closes to within 8 points of Carter Merkling. Both points races will be interesting to watch in these final 3 events. We are headed back to the UK and Brands Hatch for race #6 in the series on Jan. 7, 2016. 

Race Results

B-Class
Driver	Position (Avg.)	Best Time	Points
Bryan Dean	1.66	2:01.158	20
Ethan Maestri	2.00	2:01.488	16
Mikey Collins	2.33	2:06.500	13
Carter Merkling	4.00	2:11.895	10
Chris Rader	5.00	2:10.637	8
Tim Adkins	5.66	2:16.924	6

A-Class
Ethan Maestri	1.00	1:58.880	20
Bryan Dean	2.66	1:59.464	16
Mikey collins	3.33	2:01.434	13
Chris Rader	3.66	2:03.558	10
Carter Merkling	4.33	2:03.563	8

After 5 of 8 events:

Series Points:	B-Class	A-Class	Total
Ethan Maestri	77	84	161
Andrew Steppat	73	80	153
Bryan Dean	82	68	150
Chris Rader	36	40	76
Carter Merkling	26	26	52
Mikey Collins	23	21	44
Paul Maestri	10	8	18
Ross Merkling	8	8	16
Tim Adkins	6	-	6

Circuit de Prague - Race Results & Points Standings

B-Class
Driver	Position (Avg.)	Best Time	Points
Bryan Dean	1.66	2:05.341	20
Ethan Maestri	2.00	2:05.979	16
Andrew Steppat	2.33	2:04.187	13
Mikey Collins	4.00	2:08.621	10
Chris Rader	5.00	2:17.029	8

A-Class
Andrew Steppat	1.66	1:59.094	20
Ethan Maestri	2.66	2:00.230	16
Bryan Dean	2.66	2:02.229	13
Chris Rader	3.66	2:04.488	10
Mikey Collins	4.33	2:03.456	8

Points Standings after 4 of 8 events:

Series Points:	B-Class	A-Class	Total
Andrew Steppat	73	80	153
Ethan Maestri	61	64	125
Bryan Dean	62	52	114
Chris Rader	28	30	58
Carter Merkling	16	18	34
Paul Maestri	10	8	18
Mikey Collins	10	8	18
Ross Merkling	8	8	16

Forzday Race Review - Nurburgring GP - 11/19/2015

  You could practically smell the bratwurst and pretzels from the track vendors as the FRL descended on the hinterlands of the German countryside as Nurburgring GP hosted the 3^rd event in the series. Action started off quick as Andrew Steppat and Bryan Dean both rolled off the line in their Australian Chevrolet’s. Andrew started off at a blistering pace, setting the B-Class top lap of 2:13.099 in the first heat. Bryan capitalized on his Holden’s straight line speed and stayed in front of Ethan Maestri’s VW Bug in 2 of the 3 heats, securing a solid second place finish in the B-Class. Carter Merkling made his return to the track for this event and ran well in his mustachioed Fiat, racing ahead of Chris Rader in the 3^rd heat. But Chris ran steady and came in ahead of his fellow rookie driver, securing 4^th overall for himself.

 BAC Mono racing was even more competitive than B-Class as all drivers got a fell for the class change and began jockeying for position. Front runners Andrew and Ethan pushed their Mono’s hard through all 3 heats, swapping leads and heat wins and finishing each race with very close overall times. In the end, Andrew would out drive Ethan and take a win overall in the class. Bryan, sporting a fantastic Mario Kart livery on his Mono would cruise to a 3^rd place position overall. But he was not all alone as Chris demonstrated some advancement in his Mono driving skills, keeping the top running rookie close for much of the three heats.

 As we conclude the third event in the series, we take a look now at how the points standings are shaping up. Andrew Steppat continues his stranglehold on first place, extending his point lead to 120 points – 27 points over second place Ethan Maestri. The battle for second position shows signs of heating up with Bryan’s challenge on Ethan in the B-Class cars, but he’ll have to shore up his handling of the BAC Mono’s in order to close the 12 point gap between them. With solid runs in 2-3 events Chris Rader and Carter Merkling have raised themselves over Paul Maestri and Ross Merkling who have been unable to make every event.

 We look forward to the next event on Dec. 3^rd at Prague and to the possible debut of two more drivers to the series. 

For video of some of the action, click here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/

Results:

B-Class
Driver	Position (Avg.)	Best Time	Points
Andrew Steppat	1.00	2:13.099	20
Bryan Dean	2.33	2:16.726	16
Ethan Maestri	2.66	2:15.459	13
Chris Rader	4.33	2:26.539	10
Carter Merkling	4.66	2:25.007	8
A-Class
Andrew Steppat	1.33	2:08.109	20
Ethan Maestri	1.66	2:09.063	16
Bryan Dean	3.00	2:13.886	13
Chris Rader	4.33	2:15.293	10
Carter Merkling	4.66	2:19.352	8

Points Standings after 3 events:

Series Points:	B-Class	A-Class	Total
Andrew Steppat	60	60	120
Ethan Maestri	45	48	93
Bryan Dean	42	39	81
Chris Rader	20	20	40
Carter Merkling	16	18	34
Paul Maestri	10	8	18
Ross Merkling	8	8	16

Forzday Race Review - 11/5/15 - Spa

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps – 11/5/15

 The action was intense last night as the field of 5 racers took to the corners and straights of the legendary Spa race course.  After sorting through connectivity problems, and losing Paul Maestri from the field, we got started with Heat 1 of the B-Class series cars. Turn 1 proved to be just as difficult as anticipated. Several altercations would happen here in the opening seconds of nearly every heat that was run. But staying true to form would not be Andrew Steppat’s problem on this inaugural run of Spa on the FRL circuit of tracks, and he would easily best the field securing a solid 1^st place position in the class. Racing between series vet Ethan Maestri and newcomer Bryan Dean would be very close in the opening stages of Heat 3 in the B-Class. Bryan would ultimately win out and placed second with Ethan finishing a ways behind in third.

 In the BAC Mono A-Class, these race machines proved to be a lot of fun. Some very tight racing was seen amongst the front runners as Andrew and Ethan would finish 1-2 in every heat with no more than 2 seconds separating them at the finish line. In the final heat, Bryan would make his presence known as he led most of the first lap, but got his machine out of sorts in the final chicane and pushed out and into Ethan, allowing Andrew to step though the open door. Though Ethan would post the fastest lap of the night @ 2:33.120, Andrew would again take the class win with three solid 1^st place positions.

 It was “experience night” for two others in the field. Newcomer Chris Rader made his debut in the series posting solid 4^th position finishes in each class, and placed him ahead of Carter Merkling and Paul Maestri in the series points. Series veteran Ross Merkling made his return to the ranks of the FRL and posted 5^th position in each class. He’ll be looking to shore-up his stable and make a run for Chris’s position in the coming events.

 The FRL is off to Germany as we take the series to the Nurburgring Grand Prix Circuit on November 19^th for the showdown on the GP-Strecke.  

Results:

B-Class
Driver	Position (Avg.)	Best Time	Points
Andrew Steppat	1.00	2:37.989	20
Ethan Maestri	2.33	2:40.779	16
Bryan Dean	2.66	2:40.916	13
Chris Rader	4.00	2:55.648	10
Ross Merkling	5.00	3:20.297	8
A-Class
Andrew Steppat	1.00	2:33.428	20
Ethan Maestri	2.00	2:33.120	16
Bryan Dean	3.00	2:36.583	13
Chris Rader	4.00	2:42.235	10
Ross Merkling	5.00	3:05.216	8

Series Points after 2 Events:

Series Points:	B-Class	A-Class	Total
Andrew Steppat	40	40	80
Ethan Maestri	32	32	64
Bryan Dean	26	26	52
Chris Rader	10	10	20
Carter Merkling	8	10	18
Paul Maestri	10	8	18
Ross Merkling	8	8	16

Forzday Race Review - Sliverstone GP - Oct. 22nd 2015

  The sun shone brightly over the HD enhanced digital rendering of Silverstone raceway last night, as the Forzday Racing League kicked off its fourth season of racing. We didn’t have to wait long to get the excitement started either. Newcomer to the series Bryan Dean, showed some moxy and raced his 63’ Beetle into the front of the field early. This aided him in being able to avoid a terrific crash in the early stages of the race on Turn 3. Carter Merkling, also a rookie in the series (and late entry as well), forgot where the brake pedal was and plowed his Lancia into Ethan Maestri, spinning his Beetle like a top and caused team mate Paul Maestri to have to swerve like mad to avoid getting collected as well. 

Carter and Ethan would both finish way back in the field of 5, Bryan turned in a solid 2^nd place finish in his first heat as a rookie, and Andrew Steppat finished on par with a heat victory.  

 With ‘first race’ jitters out of the way, things settled into clean solid racing for heats 2 & 3. Ethan recovered nicely to win heat number 2. Andrew would win heat 3 going away with a top lap on the night in B class racing, turning in a lap time of 2:20.094.

 On to A-Class racing and the BAC Mono’s. After a few moments of discussion amongst race officials concerning rookie Bryan Dean’s illegal entry in the race, we got started. Going from B-Class street cars to these mini F1’s proved to be quite an adjustment for the drivers, and the early racing in heat 1 was sketchy at best. Several drivers swapped ends, and passes were often less than clean.  In the end, Andrew would dominate the field with two heat victories and screaming lap times. Both Maestri Bros. Racing drivers experienced technical difficulties and posted last place finishes in all three heats. This benefited rookie Carter Merkling, allowing him 4^th place finishes in all three heats. The closest race of the night was between Bryan and Ethan, both averaged a 2.66 place finish in the class, but due to Ethan’s 2:14.861 lap time in the third heat, he takes the position over Bryan’s best lap of 2:16.139.

 We’re off to Belgium for the next event of the series at Circuit de Spa on November 5^th. And afterward, we’re gonna make waffles!

 Results:

B-Class Driver Position (Avg.) Best Time Andrew Steppat 1.33           2:20.094 Ethan Maestri 2.33           2:21.180 Bryan Dean 2.66           2:23.250 Paul Maestri 3.66           2:24.875 Carter Merkling 5.00           2:39.869 A-Class Andrew Steppat 1.33          2:13.468 Ethan Maestri 2.66          2:14.861 Bryan Dean 2.66          2:16.139 Carter Merkling 4.00          2:23.509 Paul Maestri    4.33 2:22.351 Series Points: B-Class A-Class Total Andrew Steppat 20 20 40 Ethan Maestri 16 16 32 Bryan Dean 13 13 26 Paul Maestri 10 8 18 Carter Merkling 8 10 18