Bigwoottz had asked for a fairly modest improvement before Singapore: “Least give me 11th”. He started there, then won his first IMS race by 0.246 seconds over AlfieNerfBoy. Cadillac's supposed supporting division had supplied a winner.
Ten D4 starts last season had brought a best finish of fifth. His first E3 appearance turned that ceiling into a first podium and a victory, with thirty points towards Cadillac's opening 33. Opts Tryhard's tenth supplied the other three.
The team preview had treated this pairing as useful support for Cadillac's stronger divisions. A win from the sixth row is a much more ambitious contribution.
Enough battery, barely enough tyres
Alfie kept the winner occupied to the finish. “You always had just enough ers,” he told Woottz afterwards. “Pissed me off”. Woottz said he had been struggling in the second sector, with his tyres spent and Alfie forcing him to defend.
There was another gap to watch. Shrizz reported that WorseTurnip850 had finished first on track with six seconds of penalties; he was third in the result, 0.739 seconds behind Woottz. The winner had been trying to stay within six seconds of the car ahead while protecting his position from Alfie.
“I was so locked in defending from you,” Woottz said when Alfie asked about his tyre wear. He had not looked at it during the race. Alfie, in turn, said he had to be careful with his attempts because he was watching the gap too.
Jean_Claude04 arrived just behind them. Four drivers finished within 1.025 seconds, with the lead settled by less than a quarter of a second and the final podium place by 0.286.
Four cars, 1.025 seconds
Singapore E3 · Classified time gaps to the winner, including penalties in the race result. Lower is better.
| Pos | +/− | Team | Driver | Grid | Gap | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 10 | Cadillac | bigwoottzCadillacGrid 1110 | 11 | Winner | 30 |
| P2 | 0 | Aston Martin | AlfieNerfBoyAston MartinGrid 20 | 2 | +0.246s | 23 |
| P3 | 2 | Williams | WorseTurnip850WilliamsGrid 52 | 5 | +0.739s | 19 |
| P4 | 2 | Audi | Jean_Claude04AudiGrid 62 | 6 | +1.025s | 15 |
| P5 | 2 | Red Bull | Ceetee19Red BullGrid 32 | 3 | +5.017s | 13 |
| P6 | 5 | Red Bull | Tullo_Formula1Red BullGrid 15 | 1 | +9.483s | 12 |
Alfie gets his podium; Jean almost gets his
Alfie's disappointment came with a career best. His five previous official starts, spread across D2 and D3, had produced no podium and a best finish of fifth. Second in E3 gave Aston Martin 23 of their 25 points and left him seven behind Woottz in the drivers' standings.
Jean had tried to give his Audi team-mate a tow in qualifying and crashed. Sixth still gave him a useful starting position; fourth left him much less amused. He said he had gained five seconds in four laps, only to miss the podium by “3 tneths”.
His fifteen points were Audi's entire return. PCPADDLEBOY retired and reported the same brake trouble that had affected his D3 race, despite changing his setup. The team could take a strong finish from Jean, but not the second score it needed to turn that into a better opening position.
Two first podiums, one first win
Best official IMS finish before Singapore beside the E3 opener. Woottz previously raced D4; Alfie raced D2 and D3.
Red Bull score together while Cadillac win
Tullo's 1:29.257 took pole by 0.053 seconds from Alfie, then became sixth and twelve points including the pole bonus. The qualifying speed that made Red Bull our E3 pick had appeared immediately; converting it into a leading race result remained the problem.
Ceetee finished one place ahead, although his race had gone well beyond the two-place drop from third on the grid. “last to 5th with wing damage woo,” was his account afterwards. Those thirteen points helped Red Bull match Aston Martin's 25 and stay eight behind Cadillac.
Ferrari, the other half of our close pre-season E3 call, collected twelve. Geo climbed from 12th to eighth, while L3on fell from fourth to ninth. Milan gave Haas a stronger individual result than either Ferrari: seventh from 15th, nine points and a career best on his fourth official start. His previous best had been 15th.
VCARB left without a point after Willow retired and reserve D finished 14th. Willow had complained during the race that the traction kept changing from lap to lap. D recorded the fastest lap, 1:31.960, but finished outside the points and received no bonus.
Woottz had his own verdict: “That’s the best race I’ve ever drove”.
▶E3
