The 2007 ISF Season Review - F1
by Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett
12/31/2007
The 2007 ISF F1 season campaign was a toughly fought contest.
Like the GTP review we continue with our grading system.
Team Renault/Jordan
Mike Fitzlaff: Fast cars. Renault never looked as good as Jordan. Switched back for the final few races and looked as if there is some glimmer of light for 2008 to get back to being a top three team. It will be a close fight for 2nd or 3rd in the championship.
Grade: C
Dan Margetta: I said in my pre-season predictions that Margetta might get "a win or two." He did. I also said he "might be a title contender if he makes all the races." He did not. Grid loves his energy and sense of humor.
Rivalries are nothing without Margetta. Ask Dean Strom, John Shea, John Wiedemann, etc. etc�..
Grade: C+
Team Ferrari
John Shea: What happened? No handling and no speed compared to the Williams is what happened. One win. Unusual for him.
Grade: B-
Everet Kamikawa: Won on the Indy track for 5th consecutive win on that track. That was the high. Getting beaten by a rookie in a Toro Roso was the low point.
Grade: C-
Williams
Jim Iverson: Wins and steady pace for the team leader. He missed defending his title, which holds to his pattern of only winning the title in even years. Took the fight down to the last two races.
Grade: A-
Mark Walczak: Two wins to start the season set the tune that the other would have to try and sing for the rest of the year. Looked shakey in the 2nd third of the season, but gathered it together to win the title. No alarm klaxxons this year for "3 Mile Mark." Even money to win the championship again in 2008.
Grade: A
Team McLaren
Larry Rotter: He won four races and was competitive at every stop. Just needed a little more luck.
Grade: A
Amy Butler: Two starts in 2007 showed that her HOCC successwasn't a fluke. The series and McLaren would still probably like to see her in the car more often.
Grade: C-
Spyker
Dean Strom: Driver in demand settled in with a new team with full support from Williams. Several early frustrations lead him to quit the series full-time when he complained his car wasn't being set up right and he was being put at a disadvantage by Williams. That conflict somehow got resolved and the now veteran ran better in the subsequent races he entered.
Grade: C-
Andy Spehert: Settled in ISF nicely and matured in 2006 and had a decent 2007 HOCC campaign. Disappeared from 2007 ISF grid for schedule conflicts.
Grade: incomplete
Red Bull
Chad Sorce: Veteran has several schedule conflicts that have kept him from all but a handful of starts the last three years. He does still have the pace though when he is in the field. Will Red Bull be moving over to Mark Walczak, or will Walczak be joining Sorce since Red Bull sponsors Walczak in other divisions?
Grade: Incomplete
Toro Roso
John Wiedemann: He got accustomed to the cars more and more and gained a teamate. Having another friend/competitor in the series helped him as well. Won a couple of heat races including one over Ferrari and seemed more confident in the car. Move to Jaguar in 2008 might be a small step back as the team gets sorted out technically, but when the smarts kick in all should be well.
Grade: C+
Mike Lack: A newcomer to the league, Lack proved that he has the speed to compete by the end of the season. Qualifying pace is not there, but pal John Wiedemann says Lack will be on the sharp end of the grid before too long.
Grade: Incomplete
Jaguar
Nick Bartolone: Another newcomer to the league who only competed in the last two events, Bartolone didn't have the seat time to prove anything, however when teamed with John Shea in the endurance race he proved his pace and car handling. That amount of time will serve him well in 2008.
Grade: Incomplete
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
2007 ISF Season Review - GT/LMP
The 2007 ISF Season Review - GT/LMPby Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett
12/31/2007
The ISF GT division was given up for dead at the end of the 2005 season with only the 2006 season being given as a sort of swan song. It turned out to be anything but! The dominance of Jim Iverson and Corvette in general, plus the struggles of Kamikawa led to four different winners and generally interesting racing. The GT cars again proved themselves when they raced the 2.4 hour endurance race in September and produced a stunning show there as well. In 2007 perenial champion Everet Kamikawa almost came back to win another championship. Iverson stumbled out of the gate and couldn't defend his title. There were several winners as this championship turned out to be one of the closest in series history.
Everet Kamikawa: His domination of the 4 race seasons almost killed this division. His stuggles early in the 2006 season (when there were 6 races) may have saved it. 2007 saw his consistency return. One win in 6 starts does not sound like the dominating Kamikawa of old, however he made the most of all the starts to get the most points his car would allow him. Only a wishy washy judge kept him from winning title number 6.
Grade: A
Jim Iverson: Concentration on the GTP and F1 titles openned this divison up to someone else. He won one race but no one was afraid of him after his switch to the factory Corvette team. Maybe Corvette should have hired all of the Great Big Pictures GT crew to work with Iverson's car?
Grade: C+
Mark Walczak: A win and a fast car! A switch from the F40 to the F50 is the rumor for 2008.
Grade: C+
Mike Fitzlaff: He didn't win in 2006 but he was quick in the three different Corvettes he ran. I wrote in my season preview: "For my money he should stay with the factory B team or move up to the A team. His talent is wasted otherwise." Fitzlaff chose to stay with his own Opus team and was fast all year long. Almost loked like his car would be banned after failing tech inspection for the first race. A weak argument of not knowing the points system and thinking he could skip the last race without consequence would have cost him the championship if not for a sympathetic judge who found a loophole in the rules. Although if he had made the last race, he probaly would've made enough points to win straight up anyway. Congratulatons on a well deserved first ISF title.
Grade: A
Larry Rotter: Toyota Celicas and Supras were more competitve. A switch away from the Tyco pan chassis in this division would be a great sign for him as he has the least expereince running that type of chasis. That might come his way�but not until 2008.
Grade: C+
John Shea: The vette was fast as off season testing solved some problems.
He had a new teammate in Jim Iverson. Still no wins and no championship.
Grade: C
Chad Sorce: Schedule conflicts cost him his seat in the factory Corvette team.
Grade: Incomplete
Dean Strom: If he gets a steady ride in the same car he could make some noise in the races he enteres.
Grade: Incomplete
Dan Margetta: No one is better in a broken car. His endurance race in 2006 proved that. He won in 2007. A steady ride in a good car would improve his championship challenge.
Grade: C+
John Wiedemann: Same as Strom in that his own car will help in 2008. He has several Ferrari F40s to choose from. He quit the factory Ferrari team after one race, then bought several F40s. Is this a sign the factory doesn't trust Kamikawa to win for them and might hire Wiedemann fort he factory team if Kamikawa can't get it done? Naaaaaaaa!
Grade: C
Andy Spehert: didn't get much seat time, if any, in the GT division.
Grade: Incomplete
Nick Bartolone: No seat time in the GT division.
Grade: Incomplete
Mike Lack: Like Wiedemann, Lack also quit the Ferrari factory team after one race (What was the Ferrari factory team thinking in trying to expand to 3 cars?!). Unlike Wiedemann, Lack's plans for the GT series are unknown at this time.
Grade: Incomplete
Amy Butler: One race in the GT division.
Grade: Incomplete
2007 saw the GT cars being joined by a second part-time division, the LMP division. Since this is a new division I thought it would be unfair to grade the drivers individually since no one knew what to expect. If I were to grade them, I would give Mark Walczak an A for winning all 5 races he started, and an F to Everet Kamikawa for not even being able to advance out of the last chance heat race most of the time. The LMP division proved to be popular with several new paint schemes and manufactures entering the challenge.
12/31/2007
The ISF GT division was given up for dead at the end of the 2005 season with only the 2006 season being given as a sort of swan song. It turned out to be anything but! The dominance of Jim Iverson and Corvette in general, plus the struggles of Kamikawa led to four different winners and generally interesting racing. The GT cars again proved themselves when they raced the 2.4 hour endurance race in September and produced a stunning show there as well. In 2007 perenial champion Everet Kamikawa almost came back to win another championship. Iverson stumbled out of the gate and couldn't defend his title. There were several winners as this championship turned out to be one of the closest in series history.
Everet Kamikawa: His domination of the 4 race seasons almost killed this division. His stuggles early in the 2006 season (when there were 6 races) may have saved it. 2007 saw his consistency return. One win in 6 starts does not sound like the dominating Kamikawa of old, however he made the most of all the starts to get the most points his car would allow him. Only a wishy washy judge kept him from winning title number 6.
Grade: A
Jim Iverson: Concentration on the GTP and F1 titles openned this divison up to someone else. He won one race but no one was afraid of him after his switch to the factory Corvette team. Maybe Corvette should have hired all of the Great Big Pictures GT crew to work with Iverson's car?
Grade: C+
Mark Walczak: A win and a fast car! A switch from the F40 to the F50 is the rumor for 2008.
Grade: C+
Mike Fitzlaff: He didn't win in 2006 but he was quick in the three different Corvettes he ran. I wrote in my season preview: "For my money he should stay with the factory B team or move up to the A team. His talent is wasted otherwise." Fitzlaff chose to stay with his own Opus team and was fast all year long. Almost loked like his car would be banned after failing tech inspection for the first race. A weak argument of not knowing the points system and thinking he could skip the last race without consequence would have cost him the championship if not for a sympathetic judge who found a loophole in the rules. Although if he had made the last race, he probaly would've made enough points to win straight up anyway. Congratulatons on a well deserved first ISF title.
Grade: A
Larry Rotter: Toyota Celicas and Supras were more competitve. A switch away from the Tyco pan chassis in this division would be a great sign for him as he has the least expereince running that type of chasis. That might come his way�but not until 2008.
Grade: C+
John Shea: The vette was fast as off season testing solved some problems.
He had a new teammate in Jim Iverson. Still no wins and no championship.
Grade: C
Chad Sorce: Schedule conflicts cost him his seat in the factory Corvette team.
Grade: Incomplete
Dean Strom: If he gets a steady ride in the same car he could make some noise in the races he enteres.
Grade: Incomplete
Dan Margetta: No one is better in a broken car. His endurance race in 2006 proved that. He won in 2007. A steady ride in a good car would improve his championship challenge.
Grade: C+
John Wiedemann: Same as Strom in that his own car will help in 2008. He has several Ferrari F40s to choose from. He quit the factory Ferrari team after one race, then bought several F40s. Is this a sign the factory doesn't trust Kamikawa to win for them and might hire Wiedemann fort he factory team if Kamikawa can't get it done? Naaaaaaaa!
Grade: C
Andy Spehert: didn't get much seat time, if any, in the GT division.
Grade: Incomplete
Nick Bartolone: No seat time in the GT division.
Grade: Incomplete
Mike Lack: Like Wiedemann, Lack also quit the Ferrari factory team after one race (What was the Ferrari factory team thinking in trying to expand to 3 cars?!). Unlike Wiedemann, Lack's plans for the GT series are unknown at this time.
Grade: Incomplete
Amy Butler: One race in the GT division.
Grade: Incomplete
2007 saw the GT cars being joined by a second part-time division, the LMP division. Since this is a new division I thought it would be unfair to grade the drivers individually since no one knew what to expect. If I were to grade them, I would give Mark Walczak an A for winning all 5 races he started, and an F to Everet Kamikawa for not even being able to advance out of the last chance heat race most of the time. The LMP division proved to be popular with several new paint schemes and manufactures entering the challenge.
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