SUZUKA EAST

 

RESULTS
PLACE	DRIVER	POINTS
1	Andrew Steppat	21
2	Ghabe Stouffer	18
3	Kyle Martinolich	16
4	Ethan Maestri	14
5	Travis Billingsley	12
6	Paul Maestri	10
7	Tony Tyree	8
8	Mikey Collins	6
9	Ricky Wilborn, Jr.	4

SERIES POINTS
PLACE	DRIVER	POINTS
1	Andrew Steppat	100
2	Travis Billingsley	82
3	Ethan Maestri	73
4	Ghabe Stouffer	62
5	Paul Maestri	62
6	Tony Tyree	40
7	Drew Dillbeck	34
8	Kyle Martinolich	24
9	Brandon Adkins	14
10	Mikey Collins	14
11	Ricky Wilborn, Jr.	4

RIO

FINAL RESULTS	POINTS
ETHAN	21
TRAVIS	18
ANDREW	16
GHABE	14
PAUL	12
TONY	10

Brands Hatch Indy Results

FINAL RESULTS

POINTS

1) Andrew                                            21
2) Travis                                               18
3) Drew                                                 16
4) Ethan                                                14
5) Paul                                                   12
6) Ghabe                                               10
7) Mikey                                                8
8) Tony                                                  6

Prague Results

FINAL RESULTS

POINTS

1) Andrew                                           21
2) Travis                                              18
3) Paul                                                 16
4) Brandon                                          14
5) Ghabe                                              12
6) Ethan                                               10
7) Kyle                                                    8
8) Tony                                                   6

Results for Mugello

FINAL RESULTS	POINTS
ANDREW	21
DREW	18
TRAVIS	16
ETHAN	14
PAUL	12
TONY	10
GHABE	8

FRL Season 9

Gentlemen it’s been a long summer break, but now with the days getting shorter it’s uonce again time to fire up the controllers and wheels. Without further ado the FRL is excited to announce Season 9. This will be an AWD Shootout, and return to a simpler style of race. The eligible cars are as follows;

 2017 Ford Focus RS
2015 Subaru WRX Sti
2014 Volkswagen R
2008 Mitsubishi Evo X

Once again we will be implementing a BoP, listed below are the tiers and car specific build regulations.

 Gold tier. 310hp max and no other changes except: Ford gets 80lb reduction VW gets 245 tire width

 Silver. All cars are different now.
 Ford= 255 tire width and 315hp.
 Evo= Street tires and 325hp.
 Sti= Street tires and 315 hp.
 VW= Street tires and 315hp.

 Bronze. Power and tire restrictions are lifted. Max allowed PI is 550, but no “race” upgrades can be applied anywhere at all.

 Wheel options are open for all classes after other performance restrictions have been met.

The BoP will constantly be under review, and more changes may occur.

With these simple upgrades and the prohibition on race upgrades, tuning and car prep should be simple if not nonexistent, allowing for more time on track. Also this series will be ideal for those who’ve been wanting to return but have found the faster cars and extensive tuning a bit much. A bonus is that word on the street has it that a number of the veterans will be going controller free and opting for the wheel instead.
We will be returning to heat races again for this series, each race will have 3 heats with alternating grid orders.
 1 qualifying results order.
 2 reverse previous heat results order
3 previous heat results order

The tracks and dates are as follows;
11/3 Mugello club – 13 Laps
 11/17 Prague short – 12 Laps
 12/1 Brands Indy (rain) – 15 Laps
12/15 Rio Mtn – 18 Laps
 12/22 Suzuka east – 14 Laps
1/12 Maple short (rain)– 18 Laps
 1/19 Hockenheim short – 11 Laps
 1/26 Sonoma short – 10 Laps

Returning drivers will race in the tiers that they were in during the last FEC season, new drivers or those that missed last season will start in the Bronze tier. Changes can and will be made throughout the season. In addition we encourage everyone to set time on the rivals board before the first race at Mugello on November 3.

 Also of note we will be using the newly added “Race Regulations” in the game. That means that knowing “clean track limits” will be crucial as time penalties will be assessed by the game per race for cutting corners.

We hope to see a full grid for this AWD Shootout.

Ethan Maestri Wins Fourth Running of the FRL Indy 200

 The fourth running of the FRL's annual Indy 200 took place Sunday June 2nd, 2019. Nine drivers showed for the 80 lap event at the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thanks to a recent update from Turn 10, this years lineup was in the 2019 Dallara chassis cars currently run in the real series, complete with low-downforce packages as well.

9 cars take the green flag at the FRL's 2019 running of the Indy 200

 Qualifying went well for race favorite Andrew Steppat, qualifying his number 001 Chevy powered car on the pole. But there wasn't much daylight between his top time and the rest of the field. At the drop of the green flag, the racing got interesting quick. Ghabe Stouffer, in his Willis and Associates RBR car turned into the grass in Turn 1, causing him to wash up the track in front of several cars behind him. This sent Elijah Maestri in the #14 One-off MBR entry into the wall hard, along with the #9 of Tim Adkins and #47 of Tony Tyree. Travis Billingsley missed the qualifying session and started in the back. He was able to pick his way around the carnage but quickly lost contact with the lead pack of cars.

Racing between the four strongest cars was close and fun

 At the front, Ethan Maestri pressed hard into Turn 3 and came alongside Drew Dilbeck. Drew had to check-up trying to race Andrew into the corner. He lost momentum alowing the #3 MBR Honda alongside him, the change in aero and a bump in his side-pod sent the car skidding high into the shoot between Turns 3 & 4. Nicholas Hargrove got caught out in the action and both he and Drew hit the outside wall hard.

Drew Dilbeck and Nicholas Hargrove get collected between Turns 3 & 4

 This effectively left Ethan and Andrew to duke it out for the overall win. Nick and Drew rejoined the track alongside the front runners and a four car duel unfolded for the next 35 laps. On lap 39, Elijah Maestri had tagged the wall for the third time and was slowly limping toward the pits in Turn 1. This caught Nick by suprise just as he turned in low to make a pass on Drew. Nick ran into the back of Eli and the resulting crash collected Drew and Andrew Steppat, effectively ending his run at a third straight Indy victory. The lucky dog of the night went to Ethan Maestri who kept the #3 Laws Whiskey House Honda out of trouble for the rest of the race and won the FRL's Indy 200 by nearly 2 full laps over second place Andrew Steppat.

 Travis Billingsley had a very good chance at the podium in third, but a late race run into the wall ended that opportunity, handing Drew Dilbeck the third place position. Tony Tyree would capitalize on Travis' misfortune and would snatch P4. Travis would cross the line P5. Nick Hargrove had an extremely fast race car but only managed P6 on the night. Tim Adkins brought the #9 PNC Bank car across in seventh. Ghabe Stouffer had a quiet night after the Turn 1 incident, finishing P8. Elijah Maestri retired from the event early, P9 overall.

New Car Rules for Indy 200

The new 2019 Indy cars released on Forza 7 have upgradeable restrictor plates and a wing configuration specific for Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With those options the FRL Board of Directors feel it necessary to make a few rule changes for the cars. The upgraded wing will be mandatory and the upgraded restrictor plate which gives a 10hp bump will be allowed but not mandatory.

2019 Indy 200 Anouncment

The 4th annual Indianapolis 200 will be held Sunday June 2nd

Resent Forza updates have giving us the new 2019 Indy cars to race with this year, cars once again will be  ran at stock PI  X999.

Qualifying starts at 8:45 central time with the race beginning at 9:00, 80 laps.

Road Atlanta Postponed Until Sunday May 12th

 The FRL body decided late yesterday to postpone the FEC Endurance race at Road Atlanta. Low participation and scheduling were cited as reasons for the move. Qualifying next week will take place at 8:45 pm with race start slated for 9:00.

 The season is winding down with only two events left. Road Atlanta next weekend and Watkins Glen as the finale on May 19th.

Steppat Back On Top At Road America

 It looked to be an extension of Laguna Seca when the FRL field of 6 cars took to the track at Elkhart Lake last Sunday night. Ethan Maestri set the fastest time in qualifying and early indications were that the two MBR drivers present for the event at Road America stood a good chance of making an interesting race at the front of the field.

 Once the green flag waved, things quickly equalized and the status quo returned to normalcy. Ethan Maestri suffered a stall at the line while the rest of the field got to speed. Andrew Steppat in the #001 Merkur and the #18 RX7 of Travis Billingsley quickly negated the Pole Position of the #3. Ethan would fight past Travis in the second lap and soon set his sights on Andrew, who struggled in the early laps of the race. Ethan would line up to pass under the bridge at Turn 6 but couldn't quite make the pass stick. Then a warning light appeared on Ethan's dash that spelled possible disaster for his race. Another battery failure loomed on the #3's horizon. Ethan would try to nurse the Mazda around to at least lap 5 of the 21 lap event, but several lock-up's and a last turn off track venture assured he would lose the front of the field for the rest of the night.

Early indications were for a tight battle at the front

 Back in P4-P6, a most interesting race developed early on. Drew Dilbeck, Tony Tyree and Ghabe Stouffer traded positions and kept nose-to-tail for many of the early laps. Tony would eventually take P4 when Drew had an off on Turn 11. Drew would pit early and utilized his fresh tires to gain back ground on Tony Tyree. Meanwhile, Tony had his rear-view mirror full of a hard charging Ghabe Stouffer. Ghabe would do a fair job maintaining contact with Tony's #47 Mustang throughout, and at the end of the night he was able to pounce on a stricken Tony Tyree to steal P5 in a last lap pass when Tyree slipped off the track.

Ultimately, the real entertainment for the race was to see who would get P4

 Travis would fail to capitalize on a shaky start for Andrew, eventually falling some 10 seconds off the leader. Andrew, for his part, found his rhythm late in the race setting fastest lap of the event and claiming his fourth win of the season. The series moves to the penultimate round at Road Atlanta on May 5th.

Road America Results:
1. Andrew Steppat - 21 points
2. Travis Billingsley - 18 points
3. Ethan Maestri - 16 points
4. Drew Dilbeck - 14 points
5. Ghabe Stouffer - 12 points
6. Tony Tyree - 10 points


Series Standings after 5 events:
1. Andrew Steppat - 102 points
2. Travis Billingsley - 84 points
3. Ethan Maestri - 79 points
4. Drew Dilbeck - 62 points
5. Ghabe Stouffer - 56 points
6. Paul Maestri - 46 points
7. Tony Tyree - 36 points
8. Nicholas Hargrove - 22 points
9. Matthew Smith - 12 points

Ethan Maestri Takes #3 To Victory At Laguna Seca

 The FEC made its way to the West coast of North America for a showdown in the dry riverbed that is Laguna Seca. In practice leading up to the event, many a driver spent time out in the sand just off track, learning where the limit was and realizing the line between just inside and just outside the limit was a very thin line indeed.

 Qualifying was lead by Ethan Maestri, setting a pole position time nearly a half second faster than team mate Travis Billingsley. Owing to his Pole Position was the fact that series points leader Andrew Steppat was late for the event, failing to set a qualifying time at all. Andrew would start from the back of the grid.

Green flag and the field of 7 cars sweeps into the Andretti Hairpin on Lap 1

 However, as the green flag dropped, Andrew got an incredible start and quickly rocketed up the order and into third position by the time he reached Turn 1. Ethan Maestri would maintain the lead from the start, quickly followed by Travis in the #18 RX7. Both of the MBR cars would set the pace from the start, and would even be joined by the #33 of Paul Maestri as he would take over P3 from Andrew Steppat in the early laps. This would setup a ferocious battle for P3 contested by Paul, Andrew and RBR driver Drew Dilbeck. These three would run nose to tail for the better part of 9 laps, trading paint and jockeying for position. Finally, Andrew was able to creep alongside Paul after catching him in the corkscrew. Once Andrew was clear, Drew quickly tried to make a move but was boxed out by Paul. Drew checked up hard and Paul careened into the tire barrier at Turn 11, seriously damaging the #33 Mazda and ending his race.

The battle royale for P3 was the contest to watch

 Pit stops would muddy the waters for a few laps, but once cycled through, Ethan retained the lead. Travis was still in second, but Andrew was closing the gap fast on them both. With eight laps to go, Andrew would finally catch and pass Travis and set sail to try and run Ethan down at the front. He would close to within just a few seconds of the #3 Mazda, but not before the checkered flag waved, giving Ethan his first endurance series victory since Road America in 2017.

Lap 5, Ethan nearly loses it all coming out of Turn 6 

 The series now heads to Road America for the fifth event of the series, a 33 lap event in the hills near Elkhart Michigan.

 Andrew's second place finish virtually assures him another series title. Travis and Ethan now appear locked in a points battle for second place. Fourth, fifth and sixth place are hotly contested by Paul, Drew and Ghabe.

Laguna Seca Results:
1. Ethan Maestri - 21 points
2. Andrew Steppat - 18 points
3. Travis Billingsley - 16 points
4. Drew Dilbeck - 14 points
5. Ghabe Stouffer - 12 points
6. Tony Tyree- 10 points
7. Paul Maestri - 8 points

Series Standings after 4 events:
1. Andrew Steppat - 81 points
2. Travis Billingsley - 66 points
3. Ethan Maestri - 63 points
4. Drew Dilbeck - 48 points
5. Paul Maestri - 46 points
6. Ghabe Stouffer - 44 points
7. Tony Tyree - 26 points
8. Nicholas Hargrove - 22 points
9. Matthew Smith - 12 points

Steppat Gaps Points Lead After Sublime Sebring Race

 The FEC series makes its stop at the storied Sebring Race Circuit. The field of 8 cars took to the track for qualifying with problems for the #3 & #33 MBR cars. Both drivers would drop out of the qualifying event without posting flying laps and would start near the back of the field. More worrying was whether or not they would make it through the 22 lap event. Andrew Steppat would score Pole Position.

 From the moment the green flag dropped, battles erupted through the field. Travis would make an early lunge into Turn 1 of the first lap, taking advantage of the tussle between the #29 of Drew Dilbeck and the #001 of Andrew Steppat. Both Travis and Paul would have to check-up and allow the front runners to sort themselves out. This allowed Ethan Maestri to close on the top of the order, quickly passing his team mates and setting sights on Drew and Andrew.

 Further back, the #4 of Ghabe Stouffer would struggle to get past Nicholas Hargrove. But Nick was fighting an ill handling Mercury Cougar and came off the track at Turn 10, allowing Ghabe a clean pass. Nick's woes would continue, allowing Matt Smith to close the gap. Matt himself was struggling with his recent switch from a Mustang to an RX7, but when Nick got crossed-up at Tower Turn, Matt was able to complete the pass, only narrowly avoiding a major collision. Nick ended up square in the wall and the damage was devastating. He would drop nearly two laps off the lead in the time it took him to limp back to the pits for repair.

 At the front, Andrew would hound Drew, but couldn't quite get the pass. Then on lap 8, Andrew would make a stunning move around the outside of Drew at Le Mans turn, he then made the most of his Merkur power, running away down Ulman Straight. Behind them, Ethan Maestri and Travis Billingsley ran nose-to-tail for much of the first half of the race. At times they could close on the battling front runners, but then they would lose ground as inconsistent laps slowly allowed the front two to pull away. Left to themselves, the two MBR drivers would trade places until Ethan made for the pit lane. Travis would pit several laps later, relinquishing the lead to Andrew Steppat, and emerged from the pit lane just behind the #3 RX7 of Ethan Maestri. They would resume their cat and mouse game, but Ethan eventually gaped Travis, securing the final podium position.

 Ghabe Stouffer would gather himself up from a less than stellar start and eventually closed on the #33 of Paul Maestri. These two would hound each other for nearly the entire race. Eventually the FRL veteran would make one too many mistakes, opening the door just wide enough for Ghabe to step through, allowing him to take a position in the Top 5. At the flag, Andrew Steppat proved to be too much for the hard charging Drew Dilbeck to handle. Andrew takes his 3rd straight victory of the season at Sebring. The series heads to Laguna Seca on April 7th.

Sebring Results:
1. Andrew Steppat - 21 points
2. Drew Dilbeck - 18 points
3. Ethan Maestri - 16 points
4. Travis Billingsley - 14 points
5. Ghabe Stouffer - 12 points
6. Paul Maestri - 10 points
7. Matthew Smith - 8 points
8. Nicholas Hargrove - 6 points

Series Standings after 3 events:
1. Andrew Steppat - 63 points
2. Travis Billingsley - 50 points
3. Ethan Maestri - 42 points
4. Paul Maestri - 38 points
5. Drew Dilbeck - 34 points
6. Ghabe Stouffer - 32 points
7. Nicholas Hargrove - 22 points
8. Tony Tyree - 16 points
9. Matthew Smith - 12 points

Andrew widens the gap at the top after Sebring. Ethan passes Paul to take over the third spot in the order. A nice points battle develops in the mid-field for P3, with 4 drivers in the hunt for the position, separated by only 10 points.