The gloves are off, the jokes have an edge to them, and the wind is faintly overlaid with the reek of cow urine. All these things indicate it’s Manfeild, Friday morning of Grand Prix weekend.
We’re at the pointy end of the championship, 12 races of 15 completed, and four of five weeks on the road behind us. The rumours are flying. We already know Marcus Armstrong is confirmed as one of three Prema drivers for the coming FIA Formula Three Championship – effectively a world championship, since it follows most of the Formula One calendar. But what’s going on with Liam Lawson?
Early indications were that he was looking at Formula Renault or regional F3, possibly with van Amersfoort. But from Taupo onward the talk has been that Grant McDonald, who deserves all credit for building and guiding Liam’s campaign, is getting calls from teams absolutely busting to get Liam into the same FIA F3 Championship.
A nice position to be in.
Yesterday there were sessions for the cars and drivers of the 2019 Castrol Toyota Racing Series. Many of them were seeing the circuit for the first time. A few like Brendon Leitch and Marcus Armstrong were seeing it for the third, fourth or fifth time.
And with a wild mixture of tyres on, Thursday’s sessions are largely irrelevant to the business at hand: the winning of the 64th New Zealand Grand Prix and the 15th Toyota Racing Series.
Today, the young masters of mind-meddling are on form. A safety car/red light when a car goes off is no longer simply a chance to relax and mentally prepare for the next few laps, getting tyres back up to temperature.
Today, it’s a massed dive for the pits to adjust shock absorbers and check tyre pressure. And a few bolt on sticker tyres – brand new Michelin slicks. Ostensibly they want to get a scrubbed surface on the slick so they grip quicker on race day. And if you buy that then I’m the Tooth Fairy.
It’s the Mind Game. Go slightly faster, with apparent ease, leave your rival wondering wat’s wrong with their car or their braking or cornering style. Send them into their post-session debriefs more worried that they are doing something wrong than whether they are lapping consistently and sorting Manfeild’s unique corners and surface changes.
The opening session delivers the fastest times and the gladiators in carbon fibre jostle for advantage. The championship’s story is wound tightly around Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong, two very different Kiwi stars aiming to do the same thing.
All through the four rounds completed to date these two have hogged the podium, grudgingly allowing occasional international drivers a peep of the top step.
In various capacities, I have been around this series since a long time ago, and even back when it was almost exclusively Kiwis I have never seen the crowd react the way they have to this epic duel.
So who did what? In the first session today, Liam edged Marcus by.2 sec, setting the day’s fastest time, a 1:02.501. Lucas Auer (do we need reminding he’s ex DTM, off to race against Nick Cassidy in Super Formula in Japan next year?) was another .2 sec shy in third. Pleasant surprise: Kazuto Kotaka, the sole Japanese driver, Is next. Makes me wonder why we haven’t had a lot more Japanese drivers down her given the series is backed – very proudly – by Toyota.
Second session, the temperatures is up a good four degrees, the slight breeze has given up, and times are up by around 1.5 seconds.
Mind Game central: Liam goes AWOL, circulating in ninth while Marcus sticks in a best lap of 1:03.530 (lap 14). Shock! Kazuto Kotaka goes faster four laps after Marcus’s time, fastest in fact of the whole session in fact, on1:03.451. Can’t ask him how that happened, he speaks less English than I do Japanese. Fresh slicks? Low drag setup? Or just enjoying the unique challenge of Manfeild? Great work in any case – by Kazuto and also by the Mtec team.
Parker Locke is third fastest,
Last test/practice session, and Kotaka is no longer in the frame. It’s the Marcus and Liam show again, with Lucas Auer hovering close. Times, in the heavy afternoon heat, are in the 1:03s. Nobody’s going to go into the 1:02 bracket again today.
Early in the session, it’s our third Kiwi who sets the pace, an impressive 1:03.344 for southern man Brendon Leitch in the bright yellow ITM car. His eighth lap stands as best of the final session. Liam is .2 off, Marcus third and another .2 back.
So the psyching is finished for this championship, now it’s time for quali and racing. Marcus, like all the contenders, knows the championship and the grand prix will be won by being on the front row of the grid. Qualifying is more important here than anywhere, given how few safe passing opportunities are available. He also knows he’s only five points adrift of Liam – underdog by a tiny and actually quite useful margin.
Ask yourself this: who has more pressure, the guy behind you breathing down your neck waiting for the slightest mis-step, or the guy out front, undeniably lightning fast but having to watch for his rival’s attack? Both know the sting of a DNF and the disastrous effect that will have on their championship aspirations. Both have their mojo up, both are well versed in how to win, both know the value of these Mind Games.
Neither will be taking undue risks on their way to the title – or the trophy. Let the best man win, and best wishes to those who follow. Their turn will come.
Comments