Quenooo loses the win but brings the D3 title home at Monza

Quenooo came to Monza with the chance to become champion at home. He left with the title, second place and a small complaint: had anyone actually noticed?

“did anyone even realise im champ lol”

D3 had plenty to talk about. The midfield was still congratulating itself on some excellent racing, other drivers were arguing about who had driven into whom, and Quenooo had crossed the line first without winning. His three-second track-limits penalty gave kelloggsrule the victory by 2.900 seconds.

Second was comfortably enough for the bigger prize. Quenooo now has 203 points, 69 more than OnlineGuy99, with only 64 left to win. Abu Dhabi and Brazil can decide the remaining places. They cannot produce another champion.

Monza gives Quenooo another reason to remember it

Some circuits keep turning up at the important moments of a driver’s career. Quenooo made his IMS debut at Monza in Season 1, returned to win in Season 3 and has now settled the D3 championship there with two rounds to spare.

Five seasons after winning the E2 championship with McLaren in Season 2, Quenooo is a drivers’ champion again. This time in Aston Martin colours, he joins the select group of IMS drivers with two titles to their name.

Before the weekend, he had spoken about the memories of visiting Monza in person and the challenge of treating this as an ordinary race. There was very little ordinary about what was available to him. Nineteen points would have done the job; he scored 23.

He did not settle for following the leader home, either. Starting fourth, Quenooo spent a long time behind kelloggsrule, whose pace he acknowledged afterwards, before finishing ahead on the road. The penalty took the victory away, but he was still pleased to have beaten the polesitter to the flag.

“an on track win is an on track win”

It will not count as one in the record book. On an afternoon that delivered the championship at home, he can probably live with that.

The relief was more revealing than the joke. Quenooo thanked the drivers around him for being the reason he had stayed in IMS, adding: “Even when i thought i was over and done with, i wasn’t”. A title won with two races remaining can look straightforward in the standings. His reaction suggested getting there had not felt nearly as simple.

kelloggsrule becomes an IMS winner as JDJT makes up for qualifying

kelloggsrule had a milestone of his own to celebrate: his first IMS victory, on his 22nd start. He made his debut in Season 5 and had already reached the podium three times this season. Monza finally gave him the top step.

A 1:18.960 put the Red Bull on pole, and he remained close enough to take the victory when Quenooo’s penalty was applied. Pole and the win brought 31 points, but the afternoon will be remembered for the breakthrough.

jazzy-draught9 completed the podium from second on the grid, finishing 6.099 seconds behind the winner. JDJT3593 was next, although his route to the leading group had started considerably further back.

Twelfth in qualifying became fourth in the race, with the fastest lap added for good measure. The Williams driver’s battery use had attracted some merciless commentary during qualifying, including Wadz’s suggestion that he was saving it to pass down to his children. By the finish, JDJT had gained eight places and set a 1:21.640 that nobody could beat.

That is a much better answer than anything he could have typed in the chat.

The midfield reminds Trident why he races

Trident65 had not been looking forward to Monza. After racing ContexRL, Jacko and J_Coi33, he sounded rather glad he had turned up.

“You were rapid. I was not looking forward to this race but you lot made it fun! Ggs”

The feeling was mutual. Contex called it “probably the best fight I've had in months”, J_Coi was celebrating three-wide racing into Parabolica, and Kat told all four to take a bow. For once, a busy post-race exchange was mostly drivers telling one another how much they had enjoyed sharing the track.

Jacko had been hoping for an extra reward: getting the group close enough to benefit from a penalty ahead. Contex managed it, taking fifth, with BlackSkull sixth, Jacko seventh and Trident eighth. The four were separated by just 0.789 seconds in the results.

J_Coi finished ninth after reporting 90 per cent tyre wear in 16 laps. His tyres had given him rather less to celebrate than his rivals had. Behind him, ELITE HEAT SHOW completed the top 10 from 15th on the grid.

Tullo pays for a move that was meant for someone else

Red Bull’s first and third on the grid had promised rather more than one car on the podium. While kelloggsrule took the win, Tullo_Formula1 finished 13th after a race that included being hit from behind by ximqf.

According to Tullo, the Cadillac driver was trying to pass BlackSkull when he hit the Red Bull instead. ximqf apologised, explaining that a feint from the car behind had caught him out: “the fake of destiny and I folded”.

Tullo was the unfortunate recipient of the mistake. ximqf’s own afternoon ended in retirement, as did those of Poulparindo4256 and SimplyClutch707.

There was less agreement between Jean_Claude04 and BlackSkull. Their argument came down to two very different readings of the same contact: Jean said BlackSkull drove into him, while BlackSkull said he had been forced out of room. Jean fell from eighth to 12th; BlackSkull finished sixth. Neither sounded ready to accept the other’s explanation.

Fredrumguit was more direct after Izuna posted footage of their incident. He initially apologised for missing his braking, then accepted that the rejoin was the problem too. “Completely my bad.”

Monza’s cancellation makes Mercedes D0 champions

D0’s Monza race fell victim to problems beyond anyone on the grid’s control. EA’s servers went down at the scheduled race time, forcing IMS to cancel the event and remove it entirely from the season.

That decision has settled the constructors’ championship. Mercedes lead Williams and Ferrari by 110 points, with 288 to their 178. With Monza gone, a team can score at most 110 more across Abu Dhabi and Brazil. Even if Mercedes score nothing, their rivals can only draw level.

Williams would need a one-two finish, pole and fastest lap at both remaining races to reach 288. That would bring them level with Mercedes on four wins, but the next tie-break is second places: Mercedes already have five, while Williams could reach only four. Ferrari could also match the points total, but would finish with at most three wins.

Mercedes have therefore become D0 constructors’ champions without turning a wheel at Monza. Their four victories and five second places across the opening nine rounds have proved enough to finish the job.

Back in D3, the title conversation has reached its conclusion. Quenooo will go to Abu Dhabi with the championship already secured—and, judging by the messages that followed his gentle reminder, with the grid fully aware of it.